Week 69 The Lord Loves Effort

 Wednesday January 27, 2021

This week was a really, really great week!! We stayed really busy at the Visitor Center. 

At the beginning of the week, my companion and I decided to set another goal for scheduling tours at the Visitor Center. We made the goal for 21 tours, and we worked really hard all week to meet that goal. Unfortunately, by Sunday afternoon we had only done 18 tours for the week. We did lots of contacting Sunday afternoon and by Sunday night we had 2 more scheduled for a total of 20. We only needed one more tour. We decided we would go give the last tour and then hope that someone would respond to us so we could meet our goal of 21 tours. Right before walking down for that last tour one of our new investigators called us and we scheduled a tour with them. We met our goal at the very last second!!! I have a strong testimony that the Lord loves effort and he will help us as we put in that effort. We had some really awesome tours this week and I'm truly so grateful for the opportunity I have to work in the Visitor Center every day. My testimony grows stronger with every tour I give. We are working hard and having so much fun at the same time, and I have really seen an improvement in my Italian during the last few transfers. 

I have also been studying a lot about spiritual gifts and how important it is for us to earnestly seek these gifts. We are commanded to obtain spiritual gifts because through them we can overcome our weaknesses and be perfected. Whenever I heard the phrase "our weaknesses can become our strengths" I was always so confused how that could be possible. . .it didn't make sense to me. However, I read in the book "The Infinite Atonement" this week that when we have a weakness it is our duty to pray to obtain the gift that will help us overcome that weakness. Right then the light bulb turned on and I realized that that is how we can make our weaknesses strengths. Spiritual gifts are so important for us to obtain and work for every single day. We are all blessed with different talents and gifts but we must put in the effort to develop them!

Love you all so much!!

Ci sentiamo presto!

Sorella Acton

Some of my favorite things:

My comp, the VC, the Rome Temple

P-day fun at the beach

Week 68 Sweet Success!!

 Wednesday January 20, 2021

This week was so awesome!! At the beginning of the week we set goals and made plans to be able to find two new people to teach and to schedule 15 tours at the Visitor Center, making sure that at least 5 of them were from Italy. We worked really hard and we not only reached our goals, we exceeded them with 20 tours at the Visitor Center. I went through my friends list on Facebook and messaged all my friends who are Italian asking them if they would be interested in a tour. I was able to set up 14 tours by doing that! Not only were we able to stay really busy at the Visitor Center but I was able to see a lot of members, friends, and investigators from my past areas here in Italy! It was so much fun! I also had the pleasure of giving my trainer in the Mission, Olivia, and her new husband a tour and that was a lot of fun! It was so good to see and talk with her! Out of all the tours we did, one of them was with an English Course student and he has a desire to learn more so he became one of our new people to teach. The other new person was a referral from a member. We went to her house to have pranzo(dinner) and she told us that the start to her life was rough because she really didn't know who she was and always felt like the real her was being suffocated. Then she met a really good guy and got married and for 20 years it was wonderful. However, now he is handicapped and she's had 10 years of taking care of him and feeling very alone. She said because of this she feels like she has lost herself again. She shed some tears and as I bore my testimony of Heavenly Father's love for her and that we could help her find her purpose again, I shed some tears as well. It was a wonderful day with her and she became our second person to teach. My companion and I are working very well together and have been having so much fun. She really is an incredible blessing for the last transfer of my mission. I'm so happy to be with her and for all the wonderful blessings the Lord has been giving us. I am really doing all I can to enjoy every single moment for the next 6 weeks. I was also reading in the Infinite Atonement book and came across a quote that I really, really loved. It touched my heart and really made me ponder a lot. I want to share it with you as well;

". . .'Make no mistake,' He says, 'if you let Me, I will make you perfect. The moment you put yourself in My hands, that is what you are in for. Nothing less, or other, than that. You have free will, and if you choose, you can push Me away. But if you do not push Me away, understand that I am going to see this job through. Whatever suffering it may cost you in your earthly life, whatever inconceivable purification it may cost you after death, whatever it costs Me, I will never rest, nor let you rest, until you are literally perfect-until my Father can say without reservation that He is well pleased with you, as He said he was well pleased with Me. This I can do and will do. But I will not do anything less.'"

I know that our Savior loves us so very much and he is always there for us to help us along the way and lift us up. All we need to do is accept Him and allow Him to carry us. 

I'm so grateful for all the Savior has done for me and for the opportunity to bear testimony of Him every day!

Love you all!

Ciao, Ciao

Sorella Acton

Pizza!!!

Virtual Tour with My Trainer!!

Exploring Rome on 

p-day with my comp

Week 67 The Beginning of the End

 Wednesday January 13, 2021

First week of my last transfer!! I can't believe that time has flown by so fast!! I will be staying here in the Rome 5 area, working at the Visitor Center, and training until my time is up.

This last week was my first full week with my greenie and it's been a lot of fun! All the lessons that I've learned through my time in the mission so far are really helping now as I train. 

This week we were able to be out of quarantine fully again, so we have been working hard at the Visitor Center and seeing lots of miracles. We found a lady through facebook and scheduled a tour with her and she was able to come with her friend and they both really enjoyed it and want to do another one!

It has been a real joy for me teaching my new companion all the amazing things about the Visitor Center; in English and Italian. We had a tender moment with an older lady from Northern Italy during a tour with her. She had been having a rough time and really needed to feel the spirit. She told us after the tour that it was an incredible experience. She felt the spirit so strongly and loved that the tour was interactive. She said that day we were her angels. I love doing these virtual tours because the spirit in the Visitor Center is truly so strong and it can even be felt through zoom. We frequently have the opportunity to meet people from all around the world and bear testimony of the Savior.

I am so excited to make my last transfer the best one yet! We are determined to find and schedule as many tours as we can and remain very busy! We were able to have two appointments with members this week also which was so nice. I really have such a deep love for the Italian people.

My greenie and I are doing great and have many plans and goals for this transfer. I'm very excited and so grateful for this time I have left. I'm beginning to realize how much growth I've experienced over the past 17 months and I feel like I'm flying!!

Here's to 7 more weeks!!

Ciao, Ciao

Sorella Acton

One of my favorite views

from the Visitor Center

VC Crew

My new companion

aka my "greenie"

Group Pics at the VC

Flying High!!

Week 66 Happy New Year

 Wednesday January 6, 2020

This week was pretty good. 

A lot has happened in the past week and a half. It started with the new year! New Year's Eve we made a yummy dinner, the girls in the house made empanadas and we ate all together. Then we talked and laughed until 12 when the people around us started letting off tons of fireworks. We ended the night with a little dance party together and then went to bed.

Friday, the 1st of January, we had a deep cleaning session. My companion and I deep cleaned two apartments. We were cleaning from 9am to 20,00 (8 o' clock pm). It felt really nice to get everything cleaned and ready for the new year. Then we were in full lockdown from Friday to Monday.

Luckily, Monday we were able to go to the visitor center and do some tours. I did 4 tours that day and they were all wonderful! The first two I did with my companion I've been with the past two weeks while my greenie (new missionary) was in quarantine. And then the other two I did with my greenie. She finally got out of quarantine and finished her premesso so we were able to switch comps on Monday evening. One of the tours Monday was with two non-members and we were able to teach them throughout the whole tour and they enjoyed learning about our church. It went really well and was super fun. It was quite the blessing because it was in Italian and the companion I was with is still learning the language. I was able to lead the tour and realized that even though my Italian still needs a lot of work, I've really improved over the last 2 transfers. 

It's been fun to get to know my greenie and we are both very excited about me teaching her all I can about the Visitor Center. I really can't believe I only have 7 weeks left! I'm so grateful for the mission and how much I've learned here. I read a talk this week that was perfect for me. It's called "Finishers Wanted" by Thomas S. Monson. In this talk he taught a lot about the importance of being finishers and what we need to do do to become finishers. He gave six points; the mark of vision, the mark of effort, the mark of faith, the mark of virtue, the mark of courage, the mark of prayer. And he shared this quote that I love so much that my mom has had up in our kitchen for several years. 

Stick to your task 'til it sticks to you;

Beginners are many, but enders are few.

Honor, power, place, and praise

will always come to the one who stays.

Stick to your task 'til it sticks to you;

bend at it, sweat at it, smile at it, too;

For out of the bend and the sweat and the smile

will come life's victories after a while.

-Author Unknown

I know the spirit definitely guided me to this talk because I really needed this reminder. I am so excited to enjoy and go hard for this last transfer of my mission!

Ciao, Ciao

Sorella Acton

Silly Times

It's the Little Things

Saying Goodbye to my temporary companion