The Adventures of Sister Holiday: Week 2

So much has happened this week I can't believe it's only been a week. Last Sunday feels like a year ago! I can now put faces to all of the people my trainer told me about last week, and the city is beginning to feel more familiar. We've had good days, and better days. There are seriously SO many hills here, my calves are getting huge.

There's just so much to say! I can't choose which stories. Okay, we had a lesson with one of our investigators this week (I'm changing names of people so I'll say he's Giovanni). He owns a beauty supply store where the sisters used to buy some of their supplies, and then he was interested in knowing more about the church so a couple weeks ago they started teaching him. He read the Book of Mormon in TWO weeks! Which is especially impressive with how much he works. He doesn't get much business so unfortunately his shop is closing down. So when we saw him last week he seemed pretty distracted but he was still willing to listen. We had a lesson prepared on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We teach him in his shop and he's really cool about it, he even lets us pray with him, which some people can be pretty weird about if it's in public, so props to him. But it was the coolest thing as we started teaching this lesson, the entire atmosphere of the shop just changed. It was like BOOM, spirito! I felt like I wasn't in a foreign country anymore, everything felt so..comfortable? Warm, good? I don't really know a word to describe it, but the spirit filled the shop. I can't remember what part of the lesson we got to, but then he got a customer! We were happy because he usually doesn't, so we took a pause, the lady checked out, back to lesson? Nope. For the next HOUR, I kid you not, he got customer, after customer, after customer. One would leave and another would come in. We couldn't stay there all day so we left him a pamphlet to read and left. It was kind of a bummer, especially because he said some of the people probably just come to buy his stuff and sell it for more money somewhere else. We'll just see where things go, and we're praying he'll find some more work and relief because it's a really stressful time right now for him.

Today we are headed to Cantania for zone conference, woo! It kind of makes the rest of the weeks schedule crammed together, but it will be fun to see the other missionaries and President Waddoups and his wife again. :)

We are teaching another girl, she's about fifteen and the sisters met her from English course. They've started helping her with her English homework, and having a lesson with her afterwards. To any of the young women reading this, it is amazing what a difference it makes knowing that you are a daughter of God. Seeing the light in this girls eyes as she's beginning to realize that is awesome. He's truly our Father in Heaven. Can you even imagine what that says about your worth and your potential? You can pray, and sincerely ask Him what he thinks of you. He loves you beyond belief.

Finally, church was awesome yesterday! First Sunday with the members, we all had Pranzo together after church, a family that was vacationing from England came and one of the sons served a mission in Philadelphia, Shannon Doxey I think he knows you. It was fast and testimony Sunday, so all the members had the chance to go up and bear their testimony. I went up, and did it in Italian. Scariest thing ever. My companion translated for the family that came from England. There's a brother in the ward whose son is serving a mission in England right now, he was so touched that they were there. It was awesome to hear everyone bear their testimony and to see that the gospel and the church is the same in every language, all over the world, and yes it's in Italian but there is the same spirit of love I feel from these people that I felt from the good members back home.

Love you all!

Sorella Holiday