Today was P-day, we woke up and cleaned the apartment, which was much needed it was pretty gross in here. Then we got ready and went grocery shopping and the food here is pretty cheap, we got a good handful of stuff for 25 euros. We came home, put the groceries away and went to the church to do some emailing and that was really nice. After that we went to do some shopping for me, I had to get pants. At first I thought, gross. . . pants, but now everyone is wearing them and there actually are some that are cute, so I got some pants. And I also got a new pair of shoes, you know me with the shoes I can't help myself. haha, jk I actually needed them but also they were really cute. And I also got a smaller bag because the one I used in the MTC was wayyyy to big. Then I had some pizza from Italy for the first time and it is much better than pizza in America, I will say that. I've heard that Naples pizza is the best, but the pizza here in Rome is pretty good too. Actually everything, like the theory about bread tasting better over here. . . it's real. Then we got canolo, which was very delicious, and I got a pistachio one. So it had the canolo part, then the cream filling, then they top it with crushed pistachios. It was super good. We continued shopping and then returned to the church for calling our families. I got to call Mom and Dad and Rachel and Marc also joined the call and we also got to talk to Faith and it was AMAZING!! It was much, much needed! After that we came back to the apartment and planned. Then there was a huge thunder and wind storm, which was super awesome. I love thunder and lightning so I loved when the storm came. However, my companion does not lighting at all so she got very scared when the lightning struck and then there was thunder, which was actually super hilarious.
Tuesday was a super busy day but it was also a really good day. At first I had to go to Termini to get my Permesso which is kind of like a green card in America. It is what we get to legally be living here. It was quite the ordeal to get all the things for it. I had to get up and go get on the bus and then get on the metro to Termini to take money out because it cost $111. And then we had to find a post office, but not all post offices take the stuff to set up an appointment. We had to run around trying to find a post office, luckily we got to enjoy the scenery as we went and took some pictures. We had trouble finding a post office, but finally we prayed that we would be able to find one. After the prayer, we went into the post office and waited for thirty to fort-five minutes and got called up and it all worked out. The lady was able to help us and she was super nice, unlike the other post offices. So, we learned big or small, the Lord helps those who have faith and call on Him. That was our little lesson we learned for the day. After that we went to lunch at a hamburger place near the temple. It was super yummy, huge hamburgers. And a really nice man paid for our food there. Then we headed to the temple and we were able to go inside the temple into one of the sealing rooms for the dedication. It was so beautiful inside and right before the dedication started, Elder Oaks, Elder Eyring, Elder Stevenson, and Elder Cook came up into our room where we were, waved and said "Hi". We weren't able to shake their hands because they were in a hurry but they were like two feet away from me, so that was super cool. The dedication was amazing and it was the fourth time I got to hear the dedicatory prayer, so that was super cool as well. After the dedication I got to see a lot of my friends from our MTC district and it was really nice to see them, it was like a happy little reunion. And we got to see the Apostles up close. Elder Gong actually came up and said "Hi" to us, that was super neat. My companion thinks its because she looks a little bit Chinese so he thought he would come and say "Hello", lol. But either way it was a cool experience to have him come up to us and say "Hi". The temple is just beautiful it was amazing to be on the temple grounds for the first time and to be actually inside the temple. After the temple we got a snack and orzo, which is so good. . . I love orzo. It taste similar to coffee but its not, its actually made from barley. It was from a little cafe, I couldn't say anything because I can't speak Italian that well yet, so my companion did that. They actually thought I was from London, which was interesting (it might have been my outfit, I was lookin kinda fancy that day). Then we went to the church for English class, there were 4 to 5 people who came to learn English so that was fun. It was a super, super cool day and tomorrow I get to start working in the Visitor Center so I'm super excited!
Wednesday was the first day of Visitor Center training. We started the day with introductions of ourselves and where we are from, our names, and then talked about the gathering of Israel and our importance as missionaries in the gathering of Israel. After that we talked about our role as Visitor Center Missionaries, the role of our purpose and the importance and how we can begin teaching. We talked about how we don't give tours because a lot of the people that come into the Visitor Center believe that we give tours but that is not what we are there for. We are there to create faith based experiences whether they are investigators or members of the church. We learned how the bearing of our own testimonies is so important and how they purposely didn't put audio by the Christus so that we can teach and bear testimony instead. And I love that, it is so powerful. The statue of Christ and the Twelve Apostles face the temple, so while you are in that room you can see them and you can see the temple. We did some role plays and then the people that were training us did some role playing using the Christus. As I sat looking up at the statue of Christ with his arms open to me and the words "Come Unto Me" in Italian ("Venite a me ") under it, the spirit hit me so hard. The lady that was sharing the scripture shared a scripture in 1 Nephi 21:14-16 and it's talking about how Christ knows us and He will never leave us alone. As we put our faith and trust in Him everything will work out and I just started bawling because of my experience earlier that week and how I know that the Lord looks out for us and that He knows us individually and he will never leave us alone. And then she continued to bear her testimony that she knew that the Savior knows each of us and he never forgets us or leaves us alone. The spirit was soooo strong!!! I know my Savior loves me!! And that is the reason I'm here. I worked so hard to be here and then sitting in front of that statue my testimony grew even more. It was incredible this past week and a half. Then the couple who designed and worked on the stained glass picture came and they explained to us what the stained glass picture was about and how all the lines in the picture, they all point to Christ's heart. The main picture shows a man grasping onto the Savior and the Savior grasps his hand right back and reaches out for him with the other. That's how Christ saves us, He saves us physically, emotionally, mentally. He saves us in any way possible. There are tons of New Testament Stories, the Ministry of Christ, and Parables of Christ in the stained glass picture. They are testifying of Christ and His Glory. They also talked and emphasized just like each piece of the stained glass art is crucial and each piece is unique, that is the same as how we are in God's eyes. He has a purpose for us and each of us are crucial to Him, He knows us and loves us so much! That was especially important to us as we started our Visitor Center training because there is like 14 girls and they explained to us how we are all different, we are all so unique and important. And that God chose us to work in the Visitor Center. This also got me emotional, that day was just an emotional day. The Visitor Center is so powerful and the testimonies born inside are even more powerful and so the spirit is constantly very strong. After that, it ended around 1:30 or 2:00 we went home studied, and ate pranzo (which is lunch) and it's always delicious. Me and my companion make some good lunch! And then we went out to do a little bit of finding, I'm still getting used to that. It's scary and I don't know the language, but we're getting there. We also tried to make brownies that actually turned into a cake because we accidentally used yeast instead of baking powder. And so we made chocolate cake, but then it was too late to bring them so we ended up eating them all ourselves, haha.
Thursday we had more training at the Visitor Center we talked about having empathy and connecting with those we meet and teach at the Visitor Center. And that empathy is different than sympathy. Empathy is really going down, being personal, getting vulnerable, and opening up to the people as they open up to you. And really making that connection and how that is so important as we are beginning to teach. Then we walked around the whole center, learning more about each spot of the Visitor Center and what we teach and share in that area. This Visitor Center is truly amazing there are so many amazing exhibits and every one of them is so beautiful. There is so many things that we can talk about in each place. After we came around the Visitor Center we just bore testimonies and the whole day was used up with that. So then after at like 12 we came home, made a big pranzo-which was pasta. It was a lot, I was very full afterwards. Then we did some personal companion study and then we went out and did some finding and we actually talked to people, so that was good. Then we had English class and then afterwards we bought pizza and came back home. And it's like a whole pizza, the crust is a lot thinner so its not like a whole big pizza like back at home but its still very filling and its like 9:00pm, so I ate 3/4 of it but I could not finish it. I ate way too much food today. I had some pretty good work with my companion and I think that I have some pretty good potential with the language as I have her as my companion because she does not speak a lot of English, so that is helpful for me.
Friday we had more Visitor Center training and I really enjoyed a certain part of today. We started it off by talking about invitations and then we went and talked about how to teach online. I pretty much already knew everything because we learned it in the MTC but it was a good refresher and there are new girls, so. After that we did role playing and I can't wait to actually bring people around the Center!! It is beautiful, and I know I have said that a lot. Anyways, we ended up in the theater room and it is so cool. The videos are called the "Storms of Life" (there are more videos but those are the ones we were watching).. It started out with a clip from the Savior's earthly ministry where they were on the water and the huge storm came. What is so cool about that theater room is that the seats move so that you can personally experience as you watch. As the water starts to be stormy and the rain comes yours seats are moving like you are in the water. It is super cool!! Then after that little clip, it stops right when everything is getting really bad; John's in the water, Peter's falling and then it just switches and you're like "what?", "what's going on". But it switches to a personal story of a man, whose name is Jonathon. This was a story of a man who made a lot of bad life choices. He was in a bar once and he got in an argument and almost killed someone. And that really shook him because that's not who he was, that's not how he was raised and he didn't want that. So he decided to evaluate his life and he went on a big biking trip all by himself, and towards the end of his trip he was becoming very exhausted and he felt really alone, he didn't know who to turn to. He didn't really have a lot of friends, he didn't have a good connection with his family and he didn't have anyone to vent to and to comfort him. And then he remembered that he could pray to God, so in that moment he knew he was not alone and that God loved him. And as he prayed he felt embarrassed because he hadn't done it for a while and he had made some bad choices but he just poured out his soul and he felt comfort. And after that he returned back and as he went through the repentance process he said that he created a really personal and strong deep connection, a special bond to the Savior, as he went through that process. And this got me crying again (I cry a lot more now that I'm on my mission. . just first off), but this hit me really strongly because I have been in the same situations, well not exactly the same but you know, I've been in a similar situation and I know that the repentance process is truly a gift and that it does really create a special bond with the Savior through using His Atonement. Then it ended with this man, he is now active in the church and he has a beautiful little family. . .he's not alone anymore. It is so sweet. After it concluded with his little clip it went back to the video of the ministry of Christ and it ended with Peter asking "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" And the Savior gets up and says "Peace, peace be still" and the waters are calm. Then the Savior asks Peter why do you have fear, why do you have such little faith, and that was just a deep question for us all. Because I feel like in our lives we all have fear, there's a lot of things that we worry about and that we fear but the Savior says why do you fear, why do you have such little faith? I'm here for you. I know the Savior is there for us in our storms and we only need to reach out in faith and He will rescue us. I know this to be true! He has rescued me more than once and He continues to do so. I love my Savior!! So that was an amazing experience at the Visitor Center and I can't wait to share that with people that come in. After that we came home, studied and ate pranzo. Then we went to do some finding, I will for sure need to practice and adjust because finding is very difficult. We did leave a card with some people and I got to practice little parts of the language but there's a lot I don't know yet. I have a wonderful companion who helps me. Hopefully tomorrow's role plays in the Visitor Center will go okay because they are with Italian members. I am very grateful to be a missionary. There was something really cool that happened today while we were finding, we went up and started talking to this lady and she was having a really bad day. She left her bag on the bus which had all her money, her documents, and everything. She was really stressed out and just really in a lot of turmoil so we asked if we could leave her with a prayer. And she knew more English than Italian so I said a prayer with her right there on the street with people walking by and shopping, and we said a prayer for her and asked that she would find peace in this time and if her bag didn't turn up or didn't get turned in that she would find peace and that everything would work out for her. That was a really cool experience. I am excited for tomorrow, for the role plays.
Saturday was a very spiritually beautiful day for me. Probably my favorite day of Visitor Center training. We did a real life role play and I was very worried about this day and very stressed because an Italian member of the church came and we practiced talking to them around the VC and I don't know a lot of the language. I have a strong testimony that I want to share and a lot of things I want to say in the VC but I can't because I can't speak that Italian. I was really worried about that. We ended up taking a middle aged, probably like around a "Grandpa" (I guess that's not really middle aged but he looked like he was maybe in his 50's, 60's) he was from Naples, which was cool because we have ancestors from there so that was just a little neat thing, but he was really nice and he was a member but he was playing as a non-member and he asked us a lot of questions. It was difficult for me with my limited Italian so my companion spoke the most, but I answered questions simply and the best I could when I could. Every time I started I looked a little bit stressed because I couldn't say or recall the words and whenever he would see that he would say "tranquilla" like be calm, like it's okay and just smile at me and help me work through what I wanted to say in Italian. At the end of our time my companion and him started to walk away to go into the other room but I pulled them back so I could say my testimony because that was something I knew how to say. And it's the most important thing we do in the Visitor Center, to bear testimony and I really wanted to try it. I was looking forward to it. So, I bore testimony of God as our Father in Heaven, that we are His children; about the Prophet, that I knew Joseph Smith was a Prophet and that President Russell M. Nelson was the Prophet today. And I spoke about prayer and how through prayer we can become closer to our Heavenly Father and how I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that through the Atonement of our Savior we can feel peace and receive eternal life. And that's all I could say in Italian so I finished it. Then after that we went back into the room for them to give us feedback and when it came to him, he said that we did really well. He felt the spirit really strongly and he said that if he had been an investigator he would have been fully engaged and he would have reached out to the missionaries and took lessons right after that and the spirit was very strong. The next part of what he said really is what hit me, he said that (he was saying this all in Italian and it was being translated) the sister who had only been here for a week at the end asked to bear her testimony. As she did, I felt the spirit so strong, that someone so young had such a strong testimony and tried in the language the best she could. That really meant a lot to him and he was touched. During this time he was emotional, and I was getting emotional because I have been stressed with not feeling good enough and struggling with the language and these comments from him meant so much to me. That through my testimony he felt the spirit so strongly and that's what I was wanting. The language doesn't matter as much as the feeling of the spirit and that's what I was able to do and so that really touched me. And it kind of made me think, that was a message from my Heavenly Father to me, that He wanted me to know that He's proud of me, that I need to be patient with myself and the language. That I can teach with the spirit and I am good enough. And how important our testimonies and the spirit are when we teach. So. . .that was a very, very strong experience that I had. Then after that, our trainer-his name is Aaron Hall, he told me that I can do it. From that man was a beautiful compliment for me. That he can see I'm a perfectionist and that as a perfectionist I need to not be hard on myself, I need to be patient. I am so grateful for this experience that I had. After that, we practiced a song and it was "I Stand All Amazed" and we are going to be singing that to different groups that come into the Visitor's Center right in front of the Christus. The acoustics are beautiful and that song is so powerful (that's my 2nd favorite song in the hymn book). It was wonderful. After that we came home ate, studied and I really enjoyed something that my companion shared during studies that I also needed. It is from a conference talk in April and it ties into what happened today. It's from April in 1994; the five loaves and two fishes (or something like that, I can't remember for sure) but it says; "Any man or woman who enjoys the Master's touch is like potter's clay in His hands. More important than acquiring fame or fortune is being what God wants us to be. Before we came to the earth we may have been fashioned to do some small good in this life that no one else can do. The Lord said to Jeremiah 'Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee.' If God has a work for those with many talents I believe He also has an important work for those of us who have few."
I LOVE that quote from that conference talk!! God really does have a plan for us all and even if we are given less talents than somebody else, our work is unique and just for us and God has potential for us, so I love that!
Sunday was my first time with the ward here and because of that I had to go and introduce myself and bear my testimony and it was scary because it was all in Italian of course. But I did it with a smile and it went pretty well. As I looked out into the congregation they were all smiling at me and I told them that I had only been there for a week and I did my very best to bear my testimony and introduce myself and it went pretty well, but I definitely was shaking. After church my head hurt a lot because I was trying to listen so intently to try to pick out the words in Italian that I knew. After church we studied and ate. Then it was our first day working in the Visitor's Center for real. It was harder to start convo's and teach real people that were not role plays, but it was a lot of fun. I talked to a good handful of new people and I think I did pretty well. I gave some pass along cards to a family because they wanted to go out and share their experience with their friends. And I also met a couple that I talked to for a while and they had a son on a mission and wanted to go on a mission themselves so that was fun. The Italian people that come into the Visitor's Center is very hard for me because I can't talk to them so my companion does a lot. But I know with time I will get so I'm just taking it one day at a time. Then after we came home at 6:00 we did weekly planning and tomorrow we will be working in the VC all day; 9:00-9:00 and I'm excited. I absolutely LOVE it! That was my Sunday, pretty short but sweet.
Monday, usually I will have P-days on Monday but the other Zone had something going on today so we had to switch them. Today was my first full day in the VC. In the morning it was pretty empty so we watched a couple videos to try and get familiar with them. Then I spent two hours reading about the stained glass window. They wrote a book about what it's about and I was able to read that. And there is so many AMAZING things in that book, Oh my gosh! There is so much represented and so many spiritual thoughts and inputs in that book and into that window. There are three things that I came across that really stood out to me. The first is a quote from Elder Holland that says "Whatever your struggle, my brothers and sisters, mental, emotional, or physical or otherwise, trust in the Lord. Hold on His love, know that one day the dawn will break brightly and all shadows will flee." To me that was so beautiful and so true. It is so relevant in my life. We have to trust in the Lord! And my second one I liked says "The great day of judgement is when Christ determines who, after having been given full knowledge and every possible opportunity, has chosen to be with Him and who has not. The final judgement is not like a movie in which our whole life is flashed before Jesus and He gives it a positive or negative review. The tipping of the scales will completely come down to whether or not we have chosen to be joined with Jesus by covenant or not." And then it has 3 Nephi 27:16 attached to that. And I love this because it explains it simply that it really comes down to if we choose to follow Jesus or not. Then the third one I liked is actually my favorite one as well. It is from President Nelson; "Countless women from every continent and walk of life have made dramatic contributions to the cause of Christ. My question is, will you be one of those women?" I LOVE this!! It hit me very directly and very personally. I have a very strong desire to be one of those women. A woman whose testimony is rooted in Christ and is unmovable. I want to reach the full potential the Lord has for me and I want to express my love for Him by serving His children. So. . .I'm going to be one of those women! Then after that I met some really nice people, and I gave a little walk around (it was kind of a tour but not because we're not suppose to do those), but it was with an Italian couple and it was difficult. The older man and I spoke Italian and then he spoke a little English, so we went back and forth trying to help each other. It was fun and good practice for me but it was difficult. Every day, I'm like man there is so much I don't know. But I will get there. I talked to a good handful of people, I learned some really cool things, got more familiar with the Visitor Center and we watched a lot of videos because it was really slow today. But that was good because we got to catch up on what we can offer to other people when they come in. On our way back we stopped and got pizza. And the men working at the pizza place gave us free drinks and a suppli, which is like a little fried ball of rice and succo and cheese, and it was just delicious. And our theory of why they gave those to us for free is because we are just so cute, lol. And also because we were just nice when we walked in there. But they were kind of interesting, the men here are a little interesting. I've also been winked at and had a quick kiss blown to me. . .Italy its crazy.
I'm excited for P-day because we are going to Tivoli, which is so beautiful. I've seen pictures, so I'm super excited. I actually get to go see something. So. . .that was my week. It was AMAZING!! The spirit was so strong!
Love,
Sorella Acton
Elder Christofferson
My Collega
I Love To See The Temple
My Sweet Collega
One of the exhibits in the Visitor Center
My Collega and I in the Visitor Center
Another beautiful view
of the Temple
The AMAZING Stained Glass Mural
One of my favorite places
The Temple is beautiful at night
Italian Foods
Tortellini Soup
Our Pranzo
Suppli
Pizza, Italian Style
Orzo
