HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARA! I hope you had a wonderful day! And I hope you got my letter this week!
This week was a good week in Turín. I think we have so much potential here, just seems like we never have enough to visit all the people we have. We didn't get as much accomplished this week as we would have liked to, but I am hoping and praying this week that we may be able to move forward with several of our investigators this week. We have a new family, the Torres Martinez family, who we are hoping to set some baptismal dates with this week. We have not had an opportunity to really talk much with the father yet, but the mother and the daughter seem to really like what we are teaching. So we need lots of prayers here so we can progress with them.
Honestly, its been a hard few weeks here. Its at times frustrating to feel like we are doing so much and not seeing many results. Although, I do feel over the past few weeks that our lessons have improved a whole bunch. So I just try to look at that. I have been able to feel the spirit really guiding us over this past week. That has been my focus over the past few weeks, making sure I am really following what the Spirit tells me to say and I feel it now. I feel a real difference, and I think as we have changed our teaching methods a little, our investigators have felt it more too. It is such an important and sometimes such a hard thing to do, but I am feeling better about it with every lesson. I have also really been focusing this week on charity. We are told several times in the scriptures that if we don't have charity, we aren't anything. In Doctrine and Covenants chapter 4 it says that charity will qualify us for this work along with faith, hope and with an eye single to the glory of God. And it says it Moroni, that charity is where we have to start to have a true hope and faith in our Savior. And at least in my mind, it is these two things that help us to have our eye single to the glory of God. I feel as I have been focusing on these things, the work has been a little easier, my companion and I are getting along a little better and I have been able to feel the spirit alot more frequently guiding me what to say, where to go, and what to do.
We are still working with Nestor and Karen. We have had several good lessons with Nestor, where I know he has been able to feel the spirit so strong. He truly loves this. It is so fun to see him with young men, attending seminary and in his white shirt and borrowed tie every Sunday. It is just so sad that his mom does not support him more. Her mom passed away when she was younger and shortly after started receiving the lessons and was baptized. Now she believes that she was tricked in to it and has alot of things against the church. And besides that she is SUPER Catholic (Not that she goes or anything, just because its the church of her family). We talked with the both of them on Saturday night and It was really sad to hear some of the things she said to her own son, especially because he is so excited about this change in his life. He has a different light in him since we started teaching him, and it seems that that goes missing every time his mother is around. But, we are hoping this week that we can have her sign the papers so he can be baptized and he has set a date for his 16th birthday on the 17th of March.
We saw Mynor a couple of times this week. We aren't working with him much...just praying alot that he will realize the things he is doing are wrong and that he can find the strength to overcome his temptations and remember those things that we have taught him. Its so hard because we were so close with him. He was teaching the lessons himself and inviting all of his friends too. Then he just crashed when we told him we couldnt keep visiting him in his home. But, we are praying that the blessing will come for our obedience and he will be able to understand and search more into the church. We had a reeeeeeeaaaally good lesson with him on Thursday night. We read these verses in 1 Nefi 21:
14 But, behold, Zion hath said
15 For can a woman forget her
He sat for a moment and started to cry. He then started to explain to us that he had never felt the feeling he was feeling before. He explained it as his blood was warm and it was like the Lord was standing right in front of him, but even then, he still ignored it. That is the hardest thing out here. To see people have a huge change and to watch them feel the spirit and then watch them ignore it and not do anything about it. But I have faith he will get there. Just need lots of prayer, lots of obediance, lots of trust in the Lord. And I know he will get there.
Overall things are good here in Turín. Its the last week of the change and we will next Sunday who is getting kicked out of Turín. I am really hoping I get to stay here. I feel like there is so much more work to do here and I really want to be a part of it. And I just love the people here. They are so wonderful. I would be okay if I could stay here for my whole mission. So I'll let you know next week on Monday! I love you all so much! And pray for you daily. Never forget that. But most importantly, never forget how much the Lord loves each and every single one of you. He has you graven in the palms of his hands. And he is always waiting on you, to pray, to search for him. He is real. And his love is infinite.
Hermana Stoor
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