Sorella Cherrington's Italy Rome Mission Blog! :D: SORELLA COREY CHERRINGTON'S EMAILS FROM 11/4/13 & 11/11/13

SORELLA COREY CHERRINGTON’S

WEEKLY EMAIL FROM 11/4/2013

Hello, Everyone! :D

So, Fabrizzio's baptismal date got changed again, but for sooner! :D He will be baptized the 8th of November at 7.30pm. We are soooo excited, and I know that he will be happy as a result of his choice to get baptized. :) We always have so much fun teaching Fabrizzio, and he will be a good friend of ours for the rest of ever! :D Just the other day, we did another lesson with him and Sorella Alicino, and she was telling us about how she comes to church, even though it is difficult on her legs and that she would go to church on a skateboard if she had to. When she said, this, I gave her a thumbs-up and said, "yeah!" Lol, then, Fabrizzio started cracking up, and then I did, and then the Sorella... Lol, it was one of those hysterical laughing moments too, and both Fabrizzio and I started crying because we were laughing so hard! Lol, I love being one of Fabrizzio's missionaries. :) I feel it a privilege to know him and all the rest of the wonderful people here.

Also, we are seeing a ton of progress with our seemingly-perpetual investigators. They are, piano piano, accepting and up keeping commitments that they had trouble with in the past, and we are seeing cambiamenti in them. For example, Angela came to church, and Odile has accepted a piccola sfida to read the Book of Mormon every day and pray while she is doing so. I really love Angela and Odile, and I hope that they know how much we love them as well.

OH! So, cool story! We went to Odile's house this week in Ardea and she cooked a traditional dish of Togo for us! She is the coolest! XD It was rice and beans cooked together and you put a variety of toppings on it. She said this one was one of the simpler ones that they do, but we had oil infused with sautéed onions, chili powder mixed with salt, and boiled eggs to put on top. It was SO spicy, but SOOOO good! :D Odile said that most of the dishes in Togo are really spicy. Gah! It was sooo good! :D Then, we went to go take our bus when it started pouring rain... Luckily for us, Heavenly Father loves His missionaries, and he sent the bus to pick us up a half hour earlier than it usually comes! I believe in miracles. :)

Also, I had the opportunity to fast this week, and my Testimony of fasting grows every time that I fast. Ever since we taught Fabrizzio about fasting, as well, I thought of the importance of fasting once a month as a commandment of God. This gives it even more meaning for me than before because it really puts it into perspective for me the fact that our church uses the fast offerings (the amount that church members pay in for the cost of the 2 meals they skipped) to give food to those who have little or none. As members of our church it is really important to fast and to pay fast offerings so that the needy can receive that which they need as well. I love fasting.

Also, we had our Zone conference this past week in which we talked about the importance of the Book of Mormon as the keystone of our religion. Like Preach my Gospel says, if the Book of Mormon is true, than Joseph Smith was a Prophet and the church which he established is, in fact true. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and we have been working extra hard this week to share the Book of Mormon specifically with our investigators and the people we meet. I especially love sharing the promise given in Moroni 10:3-5 when it says that, if we read the Book of Mormon and pray with sincerity and with a desire to act upon the answer to our prayers, asking if the Book of Mormon is true, we will know the truth through the power of the Holy Ghost. I know this is true- there is no doubt in my mind of this.

I think my favorite part of Zone Conference was when Anziano Steur read aloud from his mission journal from 45 years ago! :d It was sooo cool, and I really loved hearing his stories. :) One of the repeated phrases that he used stuck out to me, "This should be interesting" :D Lol, when he was here, he had to search for an apartment for himself with his companion! Now, they choose apartments for us and they are prepared for us when we come. It is really exciting to hear from people like Anziano Steur who laid the foundations of the work here.

There was also a miracle that happened in church as me and Sorella Kimball were fasting for our investigators. A woman from Brazil came up to us and said, "Hey, who would I talk to about getting the missionary lessons?" Us, of course! We set up an appointment with her subito dopo, and we are excited to teach her and invite her to come unto Christ. :D SOOO cool! The Lord provides the work for us! The field is white and ready to harvest, and all we are as missionaries is workers in the Lord's field. Ostia is a place of miracles. Anywhere can be a place of miracles when you are working for the Lord. It is meraviglioso! :D

Well, until next week, my friends! :D

Vi voglio bene!

Sorella Cherrington

SORELLA COREY CHERRINGTON’S

WEEKLY EMAIL FROM 11/11/2013

Hello, everyone! This week was amazing! Fabrizio was baptized at 7.30pm on the 8th of November, and it was one of the coolest, most Spirit-filled baptismal services I have ever seen. Wow, Meraviglioso... Fabrizio is such a good person, and everybody could feel it. The feeling there was a feeling of purity and content and serenity. I loved it. Just being there and seeing Fabrizio take this step in his life was an honor and a privilege for me. I am so grateful for this experience. He was confirmed yesterday in church and it was an amazing confirmation blessing. Our Vescovo, Vescovo Menis, gave the blessing, and the Spirit there was soooo grande! Vescovo Menis is a really great person, and so kind. Church in general was just really great.

We got to teach Principi yesterday too, and there were TONS of investigators there, just wanting to check stuff out. We were also able to have some really great members there too and the lesson went soooo well. The Spirit was really there as we talked about our assigned topic- "There is a God." Words do not do this experience justice. Also, this week was FULL of miracles because we finally started teaching people who I have been waiting months to teach! And one of these fantastic people, Elena, the girlfriend of Federico who leaves on his mission Dec. 2, has chosen a date to be baptized before her boyfriend leaves! She has chosen the 23rd of November, and she is so ready for it! She has already read through the Book of Mormon up to 3rd Nephi, and Federico's family has done a really great job with fellowshipping her and helping her to feel comfortable in church. She is so awesome! I feel so blessed to be able to help her progress towards baptism in these coming weeks. We have only a few days until she has to have her interview too, so we will be seeing her a lot this week! We are so excited to teach her about the Gospel.

Ostia is full of miracles, and Sister Kimball and I know that the work we are doing here is not our work, but Heavenly Father's. We know this because people are coming to us, asking us for the lessons and asking us how they can be baptized. This work is meraviglioso, and I know that the Lord is blessing us as instruments in His hands. It is a beautiful feeling to know that, when we dedicate ourselves to the Lord's service, He will bless us with His help and guidance. Everything we do is guided by the Spirit, and I am so thankful for this guidance.

OH! I cannot forget about Alexandra! (the Braziliana chi ci aveva chiesto per le lezioni Domenica Scorsa. :) She came to Fabrizio's baptism all by herself, which took about 1 and a half hours! She is so dedicated and so ready for the gospel! She didn’t come to church yesterday though because she had a stomachache. So, we just went to go see her! It was a really nice visit and we got to share a nice scripture and a prayer with her. AND, we got to meet her compagno (boyfriend) who is Napolitano, and is really awesome! He does not really believe in God, but he is reading the Book of Mormon! Alexandra said he is reading it more than she is, and asked us for another copy (in Portuguese this time) so she could continue to read if he took her book again! I really love working with them. :)

I sincerely love Ostia soooo much, and I love these people here with all my heart. I love God and Jesus Christ, and I will continually do my best to "forget [my]self and go to work," as Gordon B. Hinckley's father told him to do so long ago. I love this church and I know that it is true! Arrivederci, e alla prossima settimana!

Vi voglio bene!

Sorella Corey Anne Cherrington