These past few weeks have been absolutely insane. People are starting to come up to
US to ask us questions. For example, I was talking to this guy on the
bus, who wasn't very interested. But then we get off, and another man
stops us asking, ''What exactlty is that book you were talking about?''
We end up teaching him a mini lesson about the book of mormon.
Meanwhile, another gentleman is standing off to the side, watching us.
As we finish with the first, he comes up to us and says, ''Hey, what is
it you guys are talking about?'' So we teach HIM about the book of
mormon, restoration, etc. Then, the next day in the same place, a
couple sitting on a bench say, ''Hey, which church are you from?'' As
we talked about the restoration and my comp recited the first vision,
they just kept saying, ''Che bello, che bello.'' ''How beautiful, how
beautiful.'' None of them turned into investigators (yet) but I now
know what the Lord means when Ammon and his brethren taught EVERYWHERE:
''And we have entered into their houses and taught them, and we have taught them in their streets; yea, and we have taught them upon their hills; and we have also entered into their temples and their synagogues and taught them...'' Alma 26:29.
Sarah and her companion also recently gave another concert in Milano:
THE CONCERT! How can I forget?! It was one of the coolest things
I've experienced in my entire mission. It went SO well. At the end, we
finished with this rendition of ''How Great Thou Art'' that was so
powerful, that when our ward mission leader got up to bear his
testimony, he couldn't even speak. (And he's one who speaks a lot!)
Also, one of our members brought her neighbor, who had received lessons
before. So we're hopefully going to set up an appt with her. But the
most amazing thing was how the members responded. The loved it so much,
that they want us to do it again! Everyone, and I mean everyone, kept
asking, ''You have to do it again. When will you do it again?!''
Little Ivan, from the Astudillo family, started crying while I played
''If you could hie to Kolob'' because he said he felt the spirit.
Sorella Wolfgramm said, ''This is one of the highlights of our mission.
I couldn't be any prouder of our two daughters.'' All of the members
kept trying to invite us over for dinner to thank us. People told us
that we had to find each other after the mission and go on tour or
something, because we are the perfect companionship.
It was so wonderful to be able to give back to the ward - to thank
them for all they do and who they are. It wasn't about the compliments
or the quality of the music, but the spirit that all of us felt there. I
know that the Lord blessed us for all of those years in practice, and
allowed us to put them together for this ward, so they could feel how
much they mean to us a missionaries.
This week, they repeated the concert for the Institute:
We repeated the concert for the GANS (young adults). There were only
about 7 people there, but it was worth it. Before it started, I talked
with Sorella Capece who was having a really rough time. She was
frustrated with a lot of things, and understandably so. She said she
needed this to help her regroup. There was such a special spirit - at
the end she came up to me just bawling. So we at least helped one
person.
And the miracles continue:
Just when you think you've had the best lesson ever, the Lord sends
you an even better one to prove you wrong. The Crisciones are the
best! Litlle Charlotte and I made lemonade...it's been so long since
I've ''babysat.'' it reminded me of Portia. Meanwhile, Daniela made
pasta with shrimp, my companion and Rachel fished the salad, and
Giovanni set the table and entertained. Because Daniela lived in NY for
a few years, it was this awesome mix of Italian-English. Dinner was
delicious, and everything always seemed to tie into the gospel.
The lesson on the Restoration blew my mind. The spirit was SO
powerful. Rachel and Giovanni bore simple, short Preach my Gospel
testimonies. Somehow Giovganni compared the gospel to a ''map'' and
then everyone picked up on that metaphor, even Daniela, for the entire
lesson. We talked about God revealing the map through prophets,
different interpretations during the apostasy, etc. When we asked
Daniela if she would read and pray to know if our message was true, she
said, ''I already know it's true. I can feel it. I can see it in the
way you live.'' We invited her to baptism and she said she was open and
would like to, but still is attached to the nuns that she grew up with,
and has a lot of questions and doubts to present to the Lord. Befoe we
could say anything, Rachel just asks the most inspired question, ''Do
you believe you can ask God these things and that He will answer?'' She
and Giovanni talked about Christ knocking at the door. It was exactly
what she needed. She said, ''I guess I need to start talking more
openly and look for my ''map''' through prayer and reading.'' WOW!
There was such a peace, and you could visibly see how tranquil she
felt. The spirit was definitely guiding that lesson, through us,
Daniela, and especially Giovanni and Rachel.
~Love to you all, Sorella Jacobson
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