Monday November 16th, 2020
This week was so amazing! A lot of really cool things happened this week. The start of the week was pretty normal with lots of tours at the Visitor's Center. But then Tuesday we had a lesson with a girl we have been teaching, her name is Esther, she was having a little bit of a hard time with some gospel principles. We had a really good lesson with her and then she said that she wants to pursue this course and wants to become a member. So, we chose a baptismal date with her for the 19th of December. This was so exciting because it was a first for both me and my companion. Right after that we had District Council and our district "celebrated" with us. (Having someone progress towards baptism is what we all hope for out here on the mission. We know how much the Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses lives and it is so exciting to help someone along the path).
Wednesday we had some more tours at the VC and then a lesson with another girl we have been teaching and that lesson went really well too. It was wonderful to see her and visit with her. We also had two hours that day where we had the first session of our Mission Tour with President and Sorella Smith and Anziano DeFao, the Area President here. President and Sorella Smith gave a really good devotional about letting God prevail in our lives and are we willing to let Him prevail. They talked about how this is EXACTLY what the Lord wants us to do at this time and how important it is for us to not become weary in well doing. They also talked a lot about the Jaredites, from Ether chapters 2-6 specifically about the boats the Jaredites made. They had to make them "tight, like unto a dish." They compared that to our lives and asked us, "How tight is your dish? How strong is your fortress?" It is so important that we do all the little things in our daily lives to get closer to our Savior, to tighten our dish and strengthen and tighten our testimony and conversion. As we do the little things like saying our prayers and reading our scriptures and following the commandments we can improve our relationship with the Savior. Especially during these difficult days. They also talked about how our Heavenly Father is with us, He is there in the storm with us. I really loved something they said; "He prefers to prepare us for the path not prepare the path for us." I have definitely felt that in my life and especially while here on my mission. Heavenly Father really does prepare us for the path; for the trials we are going to face. He doesn't do the things for us, He doesn't prepare the path for us, but rather He prepares us for the path; for the things we will face. But we have to allow Him to prepare us for those things. The President De Fao gave his training. He talked about how the Lord knows; He is aware and He prepared you for this. He said; "If we are serious about our discipleship, the Savior will ask us to do the things most difficult for us to do." I loved this is so much because it is so true. If we are serious about our discipleship the Savior will ask us to do things that are very difficult; things we don't think we can do. But of course with Him on our side, we can do anything. And not shrinking is more important than not suffering. He also shared something really profound that Elder Holland actually told us as well during a devotional he gave while we were in quarantine, Christ chose to keep the scars in His hands and His feet to show us that He really is our Savior and that He knows what its like to have wounds. And to remind us that He understands everything that we go through; physically, mentally, emotionally, He knows every single thing. He kept those scars to show us that He understands. We are all going to have wounds in our life and the person we can turn to that will understand that perfectly is our Savior. He continued to tell us that "You have been chosen to go through this at this time. Have the courage to listen and to act on the promptings the spirit gives you." He shared another thing that I really, really loved. He said, "You are assigned to your Mission President too." He explained that we aren't just assigned to our Missions, the language, and our areas, but also to our Mission President. It is actually a process and something they consider when they extend a call to a Missionary. There is something specific that we can learn from our Mission President and his wife that will affect us for the rest of our lives. I loved that because my Mission President and his wife have made an incredible impact on my life. They have taught me so many things and I am very grateful for both of them. He told us to search, ponder, and pray to discover what we are supposed to learn from them, but I already know there is so much I have learned from them that will bless my life forever. Then he asked us the question, "Are you still fighting?" And had us ponder on that for a little bit. Then told us to stop fighting and let God prevail. I loved that so much! He went on to say, "Will you allow His voice to take precedence above any other?" That made me ponder, am I letting God prevail in my life?
Wednesday afternoon I had the wonderful opportunity to do a virtual tour via zoom for my family, friends, and ward members back home. That was so incredible, I loved it so much! It was an amazing experience and I loved being able to see everyone. I really miss everyone from back home! I hope that everyone was able to feel the spirit that I was feeling as I gave that tour.
Thursday we had another session of the Mission Tour with Anziano DeFao and he talked about having hope in difficult times. Having hope is having trust in the Savior and trusting that the promises He makes to us will come true. The Savior will deliver us but first we have to go through the refiner's fire. He also talked a lot about working with the members and he gave us some good advice about that. Then he had us write down our impressions. One impression that I had was in my prayers each night to ask my Heavenly Father what I can do, or what He wants me to do, to learn through this experience. And then when I get my answer to go and act on it. And to allow God's voice to prevail in my life above any other.
Friday we had a Mission Leadership Conference and since I am the Sister Training Leader I attended that. As part of that we had another devotional with Anziano DeFao and we talked about how we can help our Mission develop a culture in which all the missionaries are agents unto themselves and have the constant directing guidance of the spirit regardless of outside forces acting upon them. We talked a lot about prayer and doing the little things. President Smith talked about how yesterday we had discussed about having hope in the Lord and trusting that He will keep His promises to us, and how he sure hopes that the Lord will have trust in him to keep his promises. I loved that! We also talked a lot about being good examples and helping others to understand their divine potential. Because when we truly understand our divine potential we have more of a desire to serve. We also talked about keeping our flame burning. It isn't so important how big our flame is but whether it is continuing to burn. The flame being our testimony of Jesus Christ.
Friday night we had a lesson with a member family because their daughter is preparing for baptism. We taught them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We had a really good lesson with them and it was a lot of fun, I enjoyed being with them.
Saturday, we had a really busy day. We did service in the morning which was a lot of fun and then we had a lot of tours at the Visitor Center.
Sunday we were able to go to the church and partake of the Sacrament which was really nice because we haven't been able to do that for the past two weeks. Then we had a couple tours and then had lunch at a member's house.
Sunday night we had a Visitor Center virtual tour for as many members that could join here in our Mission. We had 500 connections, which is actually the maximum number. It was incredible! It was so cool to see all the members that joined and to feel the spirit that was there in the Visitor's Center with so many united here throughout Italy. Especially during these difficult times as Covid restrictions are getting more strict.
I felt the spirit so strong this week and recognized the things that I can do to be better, to follow my Savior more, and to let God prevail more in my life. I am so grateful for everything I am learning on my mission and how much I am growing, it is incredible! I have gained such a strong testimony of my Savior.
Ciao, Ciao
Sorella Acton
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