Cosenza

Week 22

( Written on July 4, 2016)

Happy Lunedi and Fourth of July, everyone! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

It feels weird that it's PDay already since we just had it last Wednesday. Feels like not much has happened since, but in reality, we've done so much!

Meeting President Pickerd Thursday was SO great. As soon as he walked in the room filled with all the missionaries from the Bari and Taranto Zones, we could feel his love and care for each of us. He really is filled with the spirit and has the authority necessary to fill the big shoes that this calling is giving him, I'm excited to see the things that he and Sorella Pickerd do for this mission. 

Bari/Taranto Zone Conference with Pres & Sister Pickerd

With Sorella Hess and Anziani we knew in the MTC

While in Bari, Sorella Hess and I were reunited with two Anziani from our MTC group! It was so fun to be all together again and see how much growth and progress we've all made!

We returned home LATE Thursday night, and then Friday was full with a great trip to Amantea to teach two less active sisters who live there. (We had a lot time before our first appointment, so of course we stopped to take a photo at the beach! ;)) Our lessons went really well with Sorella Pignataro and Leone. It's hard to see faithful members who live so far away from church with out a car, or have family members opposed to the church, or health problems...whatever it may be, but have such a great desire to be the best members they can be and continue to have a testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. One day I know the church here will be big, because it's continually growing, and it's my hope that they will receive the blessings one day of full activity in the church! 

Saturday we did some service for a member who has been in and out of the hospital for a couple weeks and had a lovely dinner appointment with Sorella Minieri. We also spent a lot of Saturday and Sunday getting ready for a Fourth of July Festa that we (missionaries) planned together for the ward tonight. The Anziani are barbecuing hamburgers, we decked out the church in red white and blue, and we're all going to watch Meet the Mormons together! We're doing all we can to build branch unity here and bring the members together, so we are hoping that this festa will help us! We're excited!! 

So two really exciting things happened this week:

Yesterday was my five month mark as a missionary! I can't believe so much time has passed already... As I looked back at how much I've learned and experienced in the past five months, I can't help but be excited for the next (and be a little scared by how fast this is all going! 😳)

AND I finished the Book of Mormon for the first time during the mission this week! I started while I was in the MTC and have loved every minute I have been studying it since. As missionaries, obviously we are asked to spend serious time studying it, because it's one of our greatest tools/resources in our work. But honestly, this time through reading it, I learned so much and felt so much. 

One of my favorite verses in the entire Book of Mormon is 2 Nephi 25:26...

"And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins"

I know that this book contains the fullness of the gospel and is another testament of Jesus Chirst. But reading it, I came to know for myself the Christ lives, he is our savior and redeemer, our advocate with the Father, and that His gospel truly has been restored here upon the earth in these latter days. I'm so grateful to have this testimony and the opportunity to read the Book of Mormon everyday. I know that if we study it with real intent (meaning we will then act on the answers and guidance we receive) we will feel peace and joy and this life and have hope and faith for the life to come. 

If you haven't read the Book of Mormon, I hope you will accept the invitation to read it. It will change your life for the better! If you've read it, continue to read it. It will continue to mold and shape us into better people and more effective instruments of our Father in Heaven.

Sending love and hoping you all have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sorella Kaitlin Carver