Sorella Rebekah Tiffany Acton: Week 3: A Week of Miracles

Monday October 21, 2019

***This might be a bit long, but stick with me there is really good stuff towards the end!!***

Monday after Pday was over we went to a lesson and taught about the Restoration. I was actually able to contribute to the lesson in Italian. I recited the First Vision and I felt the spirit so strong as I was reciting it and as I testified of Joseph Smith. It was the first time that I have ever felt the spirit that strong while talking about the First Vision. I don't know if it was for me or for the lady we were teaching, but I loved the feeling that I had and it was exactly what I needed in the moment and I hope it was what she needed as well. I know that it was a blessing from the Lord. After that we started our scambio, which is exchanges, I was with a different Sorella from an area about 2 hours away. We went to do some finding and some contacting and we found a couple people on the street and handed out English Course cards. We were also able to get in contact with a less active and ask him to come to church and he said he would come.
Tuesday was the last part of our scambio, and we decided that we wanted to go to Monreale, which is literally the prettiest place I have ever seen in Italy so far. We went and had a talk with a girl named Kav, who is from Pakistan, that the Anziane (Elders) are teaching. We were going to share the Book of Mormon video with her and talk about the Book of Mormon but when she showed up she had a lot of things she wanted to talk about. She is alone here without her family or any friends and she doesn't speak much Italian so it has been a really hard time for her to be here. So, we just talked with her and she opened up so much and told us about all these experiences that she has had in her life and how her faith has grown and been tested. She really opened up to us which we were shocked about since it was the first time we had ever met with her. We were just trying so hard to let her feel of our love. Afterwards, she called and asked to talk to me. She asked me not to tell anyone else because she has never told anyone that stuff and she didn't know why she had opened up so much to us. She said it has been something that she has pushed down for a lot of her life and she's not really sure why she shared it. I just told her that as Missionaries we are called of God and we are given the ability to get a glimpse of the love that He has. I told her that we love her so much and that her Savior loves her so very much. I felt very blessed to have that experience with her; to feel that love for her and to get a glimpse of the love that Heavenly Father has for her as well. Once we ended the scambio, Sorella Johnson and I had another lesson where we taught the Restoration again. Then we came home and did some studies and then had English Course, which is always super fun. On our way out of English Course I was just being silly and I smacked my elbow on the side of a door frame and I cut it open and it started bleeding. So that's how our day ended, lol. Other than that, I felt very blessed for my experiences that day.
Wednesday morning, we had District Council. We talked about how we could feel the Spirit and how important personal revelation is. It made me think about how last week I was really down on myself, but how I needed to look more at the blessings in my life. Then I started to think about how I had to come home from the Mission and how actually, as I look back on it, even though it was super hard I'm grateful for the time that I had home. Because my mental state of being now is so much better than it was before. I know that now the Spirit can be with me a lot more and he can work through me, so I'm grateful for that time I had to change. We then had two good lessons and I realized that finding little things each day to be happy about is helping me a lot.
Thursday we had to go to the questura again to see if we could change my fingerprint appointment and on our way back we met the sweetest lady, she's from Romania. She has worked here for four years and speaks a little bit of Italian. She told us that she has never really been interested in religion or any other churches that try to meet with her, but our church is the only one she has ever been curious about. So, we brought her a Book of Mormon in Romanian and we shared with her the importance of the Book of Mormon and how it could bless her life. As we were at that lesson and then again as we were leaving, she kept telling my companion, Sorella Johnson, "Wow, your companion looks so pure and innocent; so gentle. She just smiles and is so intent to the conversation even when she can't understand and she just looks so pure." That was really sweet and it meant a lot to me. After that we met with a less active member in the evening and she shared her conversion story with us and told us that even when we get discouraged to not give up and to just keep going. Because even if we don't see the fruits of our labors right now, the things that we are teaching people are going to help them in their life eventually. Just maybe right now it's not the right timing and maybe they need to wait in their life until something hard happens and they're going to reflect back on the lessons that we taught them and it's going to help them. So, to not become discouraged because that's what happened with her. Then as we were leaving from that lesson, she also told my companion that I just looked so sweet and pure. That was the second time that was said in the span of about four hours. It really got me thinking. Inside, when my companion told me that those things were said of me, I was thinking pshh. . .I don't know why they would even think that. I'm definitely not innocent and I've had a rough past, but then I had the thought "Wow! The Atonement is so amazing and it is so real. No matter how broken or unclean we are; Christ can heal us and make us white as snow. And even though I can't speak the language, the people can see the light of Christ in me and that's enough. Because of Christ, because of the Atonement, I can be made pure." That really just strengthened my testimony a lot more and it was another answer to my prayers because these people were able to see my love and my light even though I couldn't say much. I think this Gospel is so wonderful and I am so grateful for the little things every single day.
Friday was a day of weekly planning and studies. We were in the house for a while getting those things done. After that we had a lesson and then we did some contacting on our way back home. Today, I was really striving to work on patience. Not being able to be independent and speak the language is really hard but I know that right now is a time for me to be refined and molded so I can reach the potential that Heavenly Father has for me, so I need to be patient. I am so grateful for the time that I have to do personal study. I have been studying a lot of conference talks and reading scriptures. I love how no matter where I turn during personal study, it always has a part that answers my questions or strengthens my testimony for that day.
Saturday morning we had a senior couple come over and do house checks and they brought us some stuff from the Military Base that we've missed from America. Since I'm so new to Italy, I didn't know what I've been missing so I just got some cinnamon Life cereal. Then we went to a lesson with a woman from Nigeria who is just so incredible and so cute. In this lesson she was telling us that she loves church and she wants to come to church but she has work and she's made a commitment to this elderly lady that's really sick, that she will be there to take care of her. She's made a promise to her that she won't leave her. She knows it's bad that she's not coming to church but she's made this commitment to this lady. I just felt that I needed to share my feelings with her on that. I told her that Heavenly Father understands and that the greatest thing we are on this earth to learn is how to become like Christ. When He was on the earth, during His earthly ministry, He attended to the sick and the afflicted and that's what she was doing. I told her that Heavenly Father was proud of her and that He loved her for serving one of His children. For the first time ever, I felt so much immense love for someone I barely knew. I experienced how it feels to feel the love that God has for them through me and through the things that I was saying to them. I was overwhelmed with emotion and almost started crying. That was a really neat experience. Later that day we went to a member's house and made a lot of baked goods with her and shared a spiritual thought with her. Then we did some finding. I just realized that sometimes, all the time actually, finding can be difficult and a lot of times when you first start finding the first handful of people you talk to are really, really hard. But as you keep pushing through and keep going, that's when you start to see the miracles. It's kind of like God seeing how willing you are and how diligent you're going to be and then that's when he puts those people in your path that are ready to hear His word.
Sunday was a really good day. We went to church and let me just tell you, Sunday walks to church are so beautiful. The streets are so empty and so peaceful and everything just seems so calm. I LOVE walking to church on a Sunday morning. Church was great, I sat next to one of our English Course students who is not a member. After church we were talking with a couple of the Italian members and one of the guys asked me, "Did you dance when you were younger?" I told him I did, actually. Then he said "Wow, I can tell by the way that you stand and you move." That was kinda cool and then we just kept talking and he also said, "You seem a little Italian, do you have ancestors that are Italian?" I said "Oh my gosh, wow, ya I do actually and they are actually from here in Palermo." That was really neat. I have had three people now tell me that I seem or look a little Italian. I have no idea how, I don't see it at all, but somehow they see that. Then we came home, had pranzo, and did studies. Afterwards, we went to a family's house to teach the Restoration and this family is soo wild, the kids are insane. They just scream and laugh and run around all the time and it's really hard to get through a lesson. This time we felt that we should share a video with them; the movie of the Restoration that is 19 minutes long. We had the parents sit and watch it on the phone while we kept the kids quiet, drawing pictures with them. It was a really spiritual experience, that we were able to calm the kids down enough to where the mother of the home could feel of the Spirit. We could tell that she was feeling the Spirit as she was watching the Restoration video. Afterwards we were going to go do some finding in the area but the husband of the family kept insisting that he drive us to the tram station. We kept trying to say "No, No it's fine. We can just walk." But he was insisting on taking us. We wanted them to feel appreciated so even though it wasn't in our plans, we decided to just go ahead and let him drive us to the station. We got on the tram and went back to our area. Once we got back to our area, Sorella Johnson prayed that we would have some successful finding for this last hour before we needed to be home. And that we would be lead. After we prayed she had me close my eyes and picture a door in my head. She asked me what the size was, what the color was, what the handles looked like. In my mind, I pictured a big brown door with big brass round doorknobs on it. So we just started walking down a street and once we saw a door that fit that description we were going to knock on it. We were just trying to find something to make finding fun. We found the door that looked like the one I had pictured and so we went up to it and we buzzed a couple people and they weren't interested. We almost left that door because we had already been turned down twice and there were people going in and out of the door so it was a bit awkward. But we decided to stay and buzz one more person. We told them that we were missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ and that we were here to share a message about Jesus Christ and how the Gospel has been restored to the earth in our day. And they actually listened!! We taught them a quick principle of the restoration through the intercom down by the door. And then we asked if we could return. They said that right now they were needing a boost of faith in their life and they were willing to listen to anything about Jesus Christ, so we set a date to come back on Wednesday. As we were walking away I had goosebumps through my whole body, even though it was hot outside I had so many goosebumps. Because we literally just had experienced a miracle. If anything had been different, if the husband hadn't insisted on driving us to the tram station instead of finding in his area or if we had left that door because it was awkward with people walking in and out, we wouldn't have found them. That miracle was amazing! We just realized that once you put your trust and your faith in God, He really can bring about miracles.
This week was really amazing! I am so grateful for the Savior; for Him realizing what I need in my life and placing things in this week to strengthen my testimony and to help me feel His love and His concern for me. I know that as we put our faith and our trust in Him that He can make anything possible. He loves us so much and we wants us to be happy. But we have to work hard and we have to put our faith and our trust in Him. I want to share something from conference that I really liked. It was from the Sunday afternoon session from President Eyring's talk. It says;
"Greater holiness will not come simply by asking for it. It will come by doing what is needed for God to change us.
President Russell M. Nelson has given what seems to me the best counsel of how to move along the covenant path to greater holiness. He pointed the way when he urged:
'Experience the strengthening power of daily repentance-of doing and being a little better each day. When we choose to repent, we choose to change! We allow the Savior to transform us into the best version of ourselves. We choose to grow spiritually and receive joy-the joy of redemption in Him. When we choose to repent, we choose to become more like Jesus Christ!'
President Nelson went on to give us this encouragement in our efforts to become holier:
'The Lord does not expect perfection from us at this point. . . But He does expect us to become increasingly pure. Daily repentance is the pathway to purity.'"
I loved that because as we become more pure and gain greater holiness we really do find more happiness. That is my goal for this week is to find ways to become increasingly pure and gain greater holiness.

Ciao, Ciao, Ciao

Sorella Acton