Sprinting to the finish line

Well I feel like I am definitely sprinting to the finish line! It has been a crazy week - we really cannot believe that we have arrived to another Pday. These last few nights I have been SUPER tired, more so than usual and just have to go to bed a little early or take a few moments to consider the lilies. :) I am so grateful that I have been called to serve here in Busto with Sorella McPeek because I wonder if staying in Alessandria as an STL would have killed me. Hahahah plus Sorella McPeek is sooooo laid back and wonderful. She reminds me a lot of Sorella Andromidas in that aspect. Just willing to do what is good but at a good, healthy pace.

This has been such a rewarding week and month. Last week we found 9 new simpatizzanti - 5 of them were referrals and the others were elect people that the Spirit led us to. Up to this point, we have found 28 new simpatizzanti which is almost 1 new simp everyday. Our goal is to find more and help them come unto Christ. :) Also, we had a BAPTISM on Saturday!!! :)

It was such a beautiful baptism. It honestly felt like a dream. Mauro was the perfect person to teach - there was ALWAYS a member present and he consistently went to church. He is solid and strong with the support of the members. We have at least 2 short visits with him every week - one with the family who baptized him and the second one with a another member. We have no worries about his segue into member life.

After the baptism, we went to F's home!!! FINALLY!!!! It is soooo hard to get a hold of teenage girls......We went the day before to make enchilada's with her but she totally spaced the day and forgot! So we talked to her father and planned a family dinner. It was wonderful! They loved the enchiladas (thank heaven's I am obsessed with food - it is a footstep into the hearts of many people) and we were able to leave a small message with them. Only her little sister, father, and grandma stayed to listen. At the end, Nonna said that she wasn't going to change but said that she would still be our Italian nonna. :) Her father agreed to have us over again tomorrow night for dinner. PLEASE pray that their hearts will be softened and that they can accept this message. This weekend F will leave for vacation until Settembre. I was here literally the PERFECT amount of time to see her. She wanted to come to Milano with us but couldn't today. :)

So we are starting to teach the husband of a member who is SO faithful and one of her friends. Their children joined the church too and are all incredible. His name is R and he reminds me a little bit of a snail or crab - super hard and crusty on the outside but kind and sweet on the inside. BUT he mocks us when we teach and laughs at the testimony of his wife. On our last visit, he and the friend snickered and laughed at our invites, saying that praying at least 2 times a day was too much. In that moment, I felt a little bit like how Jarom much feel. He has this BEAUTIFUL message that people don't even TRY to take because they are content and don't want to bother themselves with more work to do, even if it will bring them true happiness. It was frustrating and heartbreaking. Most of the time people reject us because they are either faithful in their religion, believe there is not importance in Christ's church, or they are Atheist. We are praying to know what to do.

This is my final week as a servant of the Lord. It is a weird limbo state as of now but as I said before, I am at peace with everything and content, excited, but of course a little sad to come home. One thing that we talked about with R was WHY we serve a mission. His son served one and he couldn't understand  WHY. He just compares it to military, which is something that he did and didn't love.Sorella McPeek and I explained it simply to him - We LOVE Heavenly Father. We LOVE Jesus Christ and His gospel. We are HAPPY and want others to feel the same way. The Lord has given me MUCH more than we ever gave to Him in this short 18 months of service. I will be eternally grateful for my chance to serve as Sorella Jameson in the Milano Italia Missione. :)

VI VOGLIO TANTO BENE!!!!