Italy Rome Mission

Dear family and dear ones:

This week was so crazy! It had the good moments and the bad moments,
but no week in missionary work is ever perfect. There must be
opposition in all things! I am convinced that if we had investigators
falling out of the sky, we wouldn't be able to see the tiny daily
miracles that we have this past week. We've been working with a lot of
the less actives lately and we saw so many miracles and tender mercies
happen. Even though none of them came to church this past week, it's
okay. This work takes patience sometimes, and I can only imagine how
hard it would be to come back after years of not going. We just have
to keep reminding them of the rewards that they will receive in forms
of blessings and eventually eternal life with their families.

This week, we travelled to Rome a lot. On Monday for P-day, then on
Tuesday for district meeting, which we go to the mission office for
(meaning, send my mail there since I go every week), and again on
Wednesday for a conference we had with the Europe area president,
Elder Kearon, and Elder Hallstrom, a member of the presidency of the
seventy. I'll talk more about that later. Traveling to Rome means lots
of opportunities to talk to people on the trains and on the metros. On
Tuesday, we met this sweet lady named Alessandra on the metro. She
lives near Ostia which is Rome 4. She was really sweet. She has a
family, I think she was an author, and she listened to us. It was fun
to see her eyes light up when we said families can be together
forever. Even if we wouldn't even be the ones to teach her someday, it
is so fun to share your testimony. We were going to ask for her phone
number when she received a call herself and then by the time she got
off, we had to get off the metro. I'm pretty sure Satan does that
sometimes... Oh well, we gave her pass along cards. Phone numbers are
so much better though!

Also, for those who know me... Riding the metro has given me
flashbacks of Washington D.C. and riding the metro there when I was 7.
Thankfully the doors haven't shut on me and my companion yet. That
would be scary!

Sergio (the guy who helped us with my luggage) came to English course!
Such a miracle! He really enjoyed it too, and he seemed to really
listen and enjoy the spiritual thought. Then the anziani saw him on
the train on Friday and talked to him for a bit. We talked about
feelings in English course, and when we asked him how he felt.. He
said, " I feel happy." He is so cool!

Wednesday, we had the conference with Elder Hallstrom. And it was so
good! They said a lot of really cool things, but two things I really
liked, one from the area president, and one from Elder Hallstrom kind
of go together. President Kearon said, "we should be happy with
success and progress, but we should never be satisfied." Satisfaction
leads to slothfulness and a block in our progress. Then Elder
Hallstrom said something along the lines of, "the mission changes
people, and we want that change to last forever. We want your
discipleship now, and we want you forever." At least that was my
interpretation of what he said through whatever I felt the spirit tell
me. They also talked a lot about how appreciative they are for our
service. Especially the sisters. Elder Hallstrom asked President how
many sisters are in the mission right now. He said 55. That means I am
just one of 55 of the luckiest people in the world, who get the chance
to serve in this beautiful mission. It made me realize how blessed I
am and also how once of a lifetime this opportunity is. I learned a
lot of other things too, but that is the basis of what I felt while I
was listening. :)

While at the conference, I got to see a lot of other missionaries that
I know. It was really fun to see some of the them again. Sorella
Waddoups asked if I felt lost in Rome. She then said that she missed
me and gave me a nice hug when she only gave bacis(kisses on the
cheek) to everyone else. Hah! It made me feel loved.

I also got a haircut on Wednesday. Before I left, I didn't get many
layers in it, so as it grew out, it got really thick and kind of
triangle shaped. Frankly, I was kind of nervous to get it cut, because
I've heard horror stories, and I didn't really know the vocabulary to
explain what I wanted, but it turned out okay. She did a great job,
and Sorella Condé spoke up and talked about the gospel with them. It
was perfect!

We went to see this less active sister this week. She doesn't usually
let the missionaries in when we go by, but she did this time. :) it
was a miracle! We got to know her a but and learned that she has a
really strong testimony about prayer and she can recognize the spirit.
She agreed to come to church this last Sunday, and although she ended
up not coming, seeing the light come back into her eyes just from
before and after the lesson was enough for me. We'll bring her back
even if it takes patience and lots of work. The moment I meet the
people here in Ladispoli, I just love them more than I ever could have
imagined.

Friday was a sick day. I began to feel sick on Wednesday.. And I was
so frustrated because that means I've been sick 5 times in 6
transfers, which is a lot. Sorella Condé thinks I stress myself out
too much and it makes me more susceptible. It could be true, but if I
do... My body needs to realize that stressing myself out is just
making it worse. Anyways, I felt horrible on Friday. We tried to do a
few appointments, but they all fell through at last minute. I think it
was Heavenly Father telling me to go home.

Saturday night we helped this lady named Antonetta with English. She
is technically our investigator. She is just a really slowly
progressing one. Like really slow. But she is sweet. She made us
dinner on Sunday night since we were fasting on Saturday. It's hard to
teach English grammar in Italian. But it was a good experience. :) She
doesn't believe in organized religion, but we'll get her there
someday. We gave her an English Book of Mormon on Sunday and told her
the promise that if she reads it in English, she will be able to speak
and understand the language. It's a promise from the prophets. It's
also our attempt to get her to read the Book of Mormon. Clever, eh? ;)

On Sunday morning, it rained so hard. Haha... I was soaked by the time
we got to the church. The bottom of my skirt was so wet. And my hair
got so big from the humidity! Haha.. I'm sure I was quite a sight
while bearing my testimony. :) I love the ward here. Everybody speaks
English pretty much, and I realized that I'm so excited to bring my
family back here because then you will actually get to talk and
understand these people that I have fallen in love with. These people
are just awesome!

Sunday afternoon, we went to the Palmieri's to make brownies and
chocolate chip cookies. Their 12 year old daughter had invited friends
over, so we helped them out. It was so much fun, and at the end we
were able to share a short spiritual thought with all the kids who
were there. The spirit really does help us know which spiritual
thoughts we need to do with which families.

This week in my personal studies, I got curious as to how Moses, Adam,
etc were called to be prophets. My search led me to The Pearl of Great
Price where I skimmed all the chapters and discovered that all of them
either saw an angel or the lord and then were ordained to the
priesthood. Also, it specifically says that Moses was given power over
water. Just think about it... So cool! I just loved learning again
that the ministering of angels really isn't that weird of a belief. If
it happened in ancient times, what happened in history that would have
made it stop happening? I just love how simple and powerful the
message of the restoration is. It truly is a message from God.

Yesterday, Valentine's Day, one year ago, I went to the Bountiful
Temple and received my endowment. I can't believe that was a year ago,
but I can still remember how amazing it felt to have my entire family
in the celestial room with me. That is what heaven feels like, and I'm
so grateful I can share the message of eternal families with the
people in Italy. Leaving your family for a year and a half is a
difficult sacrifice, but to help other families be together for
eternity, I think it's worth it.

Also, last night, I had a slight panic attack as I realized that today
is 9 months until I go home. It scares me so much how fast time goes.
I'm going to cherish the next 9 months like they are gold. :)

Long email this week. Hope you all had as great of a week as I did. :)

I love you all!

Con amore,
Sorella Flansberg