Merry Christmas!!! Pescara, Italy week 11; Mission Week 45 in Italy

Buon Natale!

This week was transfer week. I am staying in Pescara again for 7 weeks. My companion is Sorella Magness! She is also a visitor center sister that I had worked with before. I am pretty excited that we have the chance to be companions!

These past 5 days we have had quite a few appointments with people. We have also done a lot of street finding. We have been showing everyone the "Christ Child" video. It is about the Savior's birth and people really enjoy it. With Christmas its cool to see how such a Christian country really celebrates Christmas. All the cities are covered with lights that represent that city. They have Nativity scenes everywhere. There are also sooo many beautiful presents! 

Something my companion and I did this week was try a new approach for Christmas especially when we stop people to talk about Christ. We decided to ask everyone a simple question instead. "What is Christmas to you?" It was interesting to see their responses. The majority of the people said, "It is a time to drink and have a big party!" Others said, "It about giving presents and making sure you gave a better present than last year." Many of them said "It is about the big lunch and being with family!" I was super surprised that no one said the true meaning behind Christmas. 

We were able bare our testimonies about the Savior. We actually are celebrating somebody's birthday who is very important. That is the birth of Christ. His birth was a miracle and it fulfilled old testament prophecies. The most important thing we should remember is what he did in His life. He healed the sick, comforted the weak, taught about eternal life, most importantly He sacrificed Himself for each and everyone one of us. If Christ had not have done these things then His birth would have been a normal birth. Because Jesus is the Christ that is why Christmas is so important. We should look at Christmas with a different perspective and really take the time to be grateful for that historical day in which Christ did come to earth. 

The night of Christmas Eve, my companion and I got invited over to a Brazilian's house to have Christmas dinner. It was an amazing time to be able to share that with such a beautiful family. The food was so good but most importantly their testimonies and faith in the Savior was strengthing. I have learned so much more about people and the Savior in this time of Christmas. 

I hope everyone can remember the Savior in this time. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹

Pescara, Italy week 10

This week has been eventful! It is me and my companion's last week together. We worked very hard. We did a lot of finding and talking to people. 

   We were blessed to see a girl in a family that we have been teaching to enter into the waters of baptism! She is 10 years old! She told us that the reason for her baptism was that everytime she read the Book of Mormon she was able to feel the spirit!  She got baptized on Saturday it was so amazing. 

   Last night my district and I had the opportunity to carol in heart of Pescara. We had so many people around us listening to us sing about Christmas and about Christ. We were able to share the message of christ through songs and we talked about Christ in everything. It was such a great way to do missionary work.

Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹

Pescara, Italy Week 9 - Mission Week 43 in Italy

This week was full of busy things and it went by so fast.

We went up to Rome last P-day. We decided to go to the temple with our District. A district is a group of missionaries that are located within zone of your area in the country that you are preaching. We get together once a week in a council to talk about the work and how we can strengthen one another as missionaries. My district decided to take a trip up to Rome to go to the temple and to take some Christmas District pictures.

This week I also had a scambio (exchanges); that is where my companion spends 24 hours with another missionary and I spend 24 hours with a different missionary. We do this so we can strengthen each other as missionaries and learn different teaching skills. I was with one of the Sorelle that serve in Perugia, Italy. Sorella Vincent, she is from Canada! We had a very good experience together. Together we were able to meet so many new people and see a couple of miracles.

Also this week we were able to see the family that we have been teaching. We asked them if they were ready for baptism and their daughter said, "yes". This week we have been working hard to finish the remaining lessons with her and preparing her for baptism. Yesterday, at church, she was so happy. We made invites for her to invite her family and friends to the baptism. In church they announced her baptism. We found her a beautiful white baptism gown that she tried on and she was so happy! I am pretty excited to see her get baptized. She has so much faith in our Savior Jesus Christ. I am also very happy that her family is so supportive of her. It will be a great week!

We were invited to attend a wedding with our friend who did the wedding planning.  The wedding was an AFRICAN wedding.  It was very different than what we are used to.  My friend made an African type dress for me and my companion wore a skirt.  It was very interesting to see.

This week the town of Pescara has been decorating for Christmas. They have giant lit up animals downtown. They have lights everywhere and a giant tree. It looks like they put on Christmas shows at night. All the Italians are super excited with the Christmas spirit. They are a little more open to talking about Christ now! I really like the Christmas vibe.


Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹

 Lighted Alligator

 At the African Wedding in my African Dress

Pescara, Italy Week 8 - Mission Week 42 in Italy

This week has been interesting. I have been sick for most of this past week. I had a fever that lasted for a couple of days. My companion and I basically stayed inside for most of the week. The good thing that came out of being sick was that I was able to finish reading the Book of Mormon in Italian! Now I am restarting it again in Italian.

 
The Book of Mormon is a great book. I can testify that there is so much knowledge, truth, and happiness that comes from the Book of Mormon. One thing that stood out to me is the prophet Mormon and his son Moroni. These two prophets were the only people left who believed in Christ and His gospel. They lived in a time where everyone around them was wicked and had forgotten about Jesus Christ. Mormon was instructed by God to gather all of the records of all these ancient prophets and put them together as well as write his own record. Mormon was later killed in battle in the fight defending his people. His son, Moroni, remained with the records and he hid from everyone in the known world. The people were wicked and they sought to destroy every last who believed in Christ and if the records would have fallen into the wrong hands it would have been destroyed and we would not have the Book of Mormon today. 

Moroni lived his last days alone in the wilderness. He eventually buried the records in the ground where no one would be able to find them until the Lord's own time through His authority. To me, all of these prophets in the Book of Mormon gave up their lives for Jesus Christ and did everything in their power to preserve these records which are scriptures to us that only truly testify that Christ is our Savior. This shows how much trust and faith they had in the Lord and how true this book really is. I had never had so much gratitude for something in my life until I finished reading the Book of Mormon again, in Italian, and took the time to realize the sacrifice that all these prophets of the Book of Mormon did in order to fulfill God's plan! I encourage everyone to read it. 

The beginning of this week I finally felt better and we were back to doing missionary work. We have been teaching a beautiful family of 4 about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We recently got a call from the mom saying that her children would really like to get baptized and that her husband is still thinking about it. The joy that my companion and I felt in our hearts was unfathomable. We are planning for their baptisms the following Saturday! We are going to try our hardest to prepare them to enter into the waters of baptism. 

This week we also has 6 people, who are interested in the gospel, at church this past Sunday. One of the ladies was from our English course group. She came to church and she wants to help decorate the church building for Christmas. This lady also has been organizing a trip for everyone at English course to go to the temple in Rome!!! What?! My companion and I were so amazed. This lady said she would love to see the temple and learn more about what we believe and that the other students in English course also have been curious. My companion and I were pretty shocked; so we are planning for the 28th. 

I do know that with the Lord everything is possible. God is a God of miracles and He always has been and always will be. Through our diligence and faith we will be able to see and have all the miracles that God is ready to give us!






Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹

Pescara, Italy, Week 6&7 - Mission Week 40-41 in Italy

I had my first birthday on the mission on November 13 and it was very good. I had district council and the Anziani (elders) gave me a cake and some little presents. 

That week we met with a member and talked about missionary work. The member, right afterwards, started knocking on the doors in her apartment complex and now we have an appointment tonight!

We also taught a family about Jesus Christ and just focused on Him. We extended the invitation for baptism to 3 people that are members of that family and they felt like they should be baptized like Jesus Christ was and by the proper authority of the Priesthood. They said that they will work towards that goal. 

Last Sunday night we drew a question on a white board (out in the town square) asking people who Christ is to them. We had so many people come around us and listen to us teach about Jesus Christ and His life. One man came up to us after that and asked for a Book of Mormon it was so cool!
We have had a very good miraculous week.

This most recent week went by very fast.  We had mission tour.  That is when all of the missionaries assigned to this mission get together and we hear a general authority speak.

We were in Rome for this. The ride up to Rome is usually 2 hours by the bus. My companion and I went with our district.( A district is where just a few missionaries in a mission zone are assigned to get together once a week to help strengthen each other in the work.)
We went up with them around 6:00 in the morning. It was a long ride but it was fun being able to talk to them. One missionary was very, very sick and he was super miserable so we all prayed for him and felt bad for him. 

The tour was good. I was able to see all my fellow missionary colleagues. The general authority (Elder Sabin) talked about our purpose as missionaries which is to bring others unto Christ. He also talked about that sometimes our life may seem like we have a part that is dark because of certain trials but we can know that it is for our benefit and it can be like the chocolate chip in a cookie. 

This week was also my companion's birthday. I had made a scavenger hunt in our apartment that led to a present. Then for lunch she wanted to go to Toast Amore! They make sandwiches and toast the bread and its so big. We went there and she invited a person that we are teaching to come. This person came and we had a great time talking about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

Later that night we taught English. I now teach a class by myself which is the basic English. My companion teaches intermediate and the Anziani (elders) teach advanced. I enjoy it a lot because I also am learning from my students. 

On Friday we usually do Family Home Evening with the ward. Sorella Cluff wanted to do a birthday party. We invited a lot of people from church and our people who we are teaching. A member baked Sorella Cluff a very beautiful cake that was chocolate. We were very surprised when we saw how many people came for her. We watched the Book of Mormon video and then we watched the new Light the World video.  We bore our testimonies of Christ. Afterwards we ate cake with everyone. It was fun. 

This week we also went to a different part of our area, a different town, because a member family invited us over for lunch. It took about an hour to get there by train.

 

Popoli Vitorio! 

It was a cute little city that reminded me of my first area Sabina. It had older houses but everything was clean and the people were actually in their houses! We knocked on a lot of doors and were pretty impressed of how many people actually opened their doors. We got to speak with so many people and invite them to come unto Christ. For lunch with the family that invited us; they made a really good rice with cheese (I do not know how to describe it) it was great. At the end we were able to share a spiritual thought with them and we chose to speak about repentance. Repentance is a big deal for each and everyone of us. Some people think that repentance is a negative thing but actually it is something super positive and beneficial for our lives. Repentance means to change. Due to the sacrifice that Jesus Christ did for us we are actually able to have this gift of repentance. Try to imagine a world where we could not repent of our sins. We would be cast out of the presence of God not only in our mortal life but after our life here on the earth. Without repentance we would be nothing and we would be miserable for all eternity. There would be no purpose to even be on this earth. Thankfully we have a Savior who was chosen in the beginning to do this Ultimate sacrifice in order for us to be forgiven of our sins and come closer to God the Father. The whole sacrifice of Jesus Christ is practically for all of us. It wasn't for God and it wasn't for Him. They didn't need it, but it was for us because He loves us and wants us to return to Him. We should all really take the time to realize what Jesus Christ has done for all of us through an eternal perspective. We must repent of our sins because He has already paid for them. We do not know nor do we comprehend how difficult the agony and pain was for the Savior in order to give us this opportunity to change. We should cherish this gift and thank our Heavenly Father everyday. We should repent everyday because we are all imperfect. 

I invite all of you unto repentance. That each of us may actually take the time to ponder about the atonement of Jesus Christ and how we can better use it in our lives and our eternal progression. I invite you to read about Christ's life in Matthew and take the time to really get to know who Christ is and what He means to you. I invite you every Sunday to partake of the sacrament and hear the words of the prayer and what it means about being the body and the blood of Christ, renew your baptismal covenants and be grateful. 

I promise you all that if you do these things you will be able to see the hand of God much clearer in your lives. You will be able to live happily knowing that you have a chance everyday to change and be more like Jesus Christ. You will prosper in your endeavors.


Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹