Fiorella

Well this will be the last email sent out from my missionary email! I am currently at the mission office waiting for my family (well most of them) to arrive and pick me up. The past transfer was spent in Macerata. I don't remember if I have shared anything about it but it is the furthest city south in our mission. So far south that it is actually outside of my mission. I was able to see it really as a 6 week vacation, even if we did have to do a lot of work. There is only a group there. A group so new and so small that we would meet for church in our house. That's right every Sunday our living room turned into a chapel.

Many of the members spoke spanish so I did not get the chance to get to know many. There was a half english woman named Maria, her and I became friends. I also became friends with a young guy named Christian who started coming back to church for the first time since he was about 13.

Another important person to mention (and the title of this email) is Fiorella. She was our first baptism in Macerata. The first baptism in 20 years in Macerata! She is super super sweet and has truly been touched by the Holy Ghost so much. When she first started meeting with the missionaries the transfer before I got there she believed in God but didn't really understand Jesus Christ. Over the course of meeting with missionaries she has felt the change that accepting Christ can bring into her life. She received a blessing during a lesson and said that she had never felt the Lord of God so personal to her. Her baptism was great, and also held an hour away in Ancona since we don't have a font.

While at the baptism an American family that is new to the area was able to come and meet everyone. Her kids are not baptized so they enjoyed getting to see a baptism for the first time.

I enjoyed my time in that little city on a hill, especially the best missionary apartment ever. But it was easy to leave when I was able to look forward to going to the temple for the first time in 2 years! And my first time in the Rome temple at that. It was a great experience getting to be with so many missionaries, some for the first time since the MTC. We didn't see much of Rome except the crazy roads and a lot of the train station seeing as our train got cancelled and we were stuck for a longggg time. We still made it home closer to midnight while we ate pizza in the mission home and chatted about our futures. The next day at 4am most of my mission friends headed to the airport the fly home. Since then I have been at the office helping with any odd jobs.

I am so thankful for all of the experiences that have happened over my mission. I think the biggest themes of the mission have been 1) to be a good example and 2) seek and expect miracles. When thinking about the restoration I am always reminded of a video I saw at a church historic site where someone is being asked if they truly believe the Prophet Joseph and what he said. His response was simple. He asked back on if God loves his children any less now than he did in the times of the bible. If God is still our loving heavenly father (which he is), then of course there are still miracles, of course he wants to bless us by putting his power back on the earth, and of course he still wants to have a relationship with us.

We can chose how close we will live our lives in line with Christ. And the closer and closer I have put my will to rest and accepted His, the more miracles and divine help I have seen. Not every day was easier, happy or even just pleasant. But the great memories, amazing people, and special experiences more than make up for it and then some.

Our Heavenly Father wants to be close to all of His children. He loves you so much. He loves the people in this world so much that he calls missionaries to go and look for them. He loves us even when we mess up, or think we can't do anything right. He will always love you, because He will love you even if you chose to not love Him.

The idea of missionary work can be daunting, but I have learned how much actions mean. How what we do and how we treat others means way more than our words ever could.
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