Municipio Roma 2 - Rome week 28

We had a busy and crazy week this past week.  It was transfer week and A LOT happened.

To start off on, Thursday was transfer day.  I helped a lot of the sister missionaries get to the train station so they could get to their next destination. I met my new companion, Sorella Barnes, she is from Centerville, Utah and has been in the mission for about 5 months. I moved into a new apartment and now instead of 6 sisters in an apartment with me its just the 4 sisters. I really enjoy being in 4. Our apartment is very cute!!!


With my new leadership assignment as STL (Sister Training Leader) I had a lot of meetings this past week. We had a meeting with the mission president and all of the other leaders in the mission to see how we can help the
mission be better and how we can do missionary work more effectively. I have been making the schedule for all of the sisters in the visitor center. I am also helping the sisters with any difficulty they may have.


A few days ago my companion and I had an appointment to meet a lady who had seen and visited with sister missionaries 3 years ago. She directed us to her house and when we arrived it looked like an apartment building but it turned out that it was a hospital. This lady seemed fine. When we entered the building the lady pointed to a nurse (who was putting on gloves) and said it was her best friend, we thought it was strange but we continued to follow her. I found it interesting that we did not have to check in to the place and the lady was whispering to us. We went to the elevator and she said she lived on the 5th floor.  She was trying to press the button but kept on hitting the ground floor button.  Then she hit the 7th and 8th floors and my companion helped out by pressing the 5th floor and off we went.  We finally ascended to the 5th floor and once we got into a hallway we noticed all these very weird paintings of people. These paintings were of people with overly sized heads and small bodies and they were serious - seriously scary and weird. We finally went inside her room and the lady said it was her house; it was a hospital room with a bed and stuff in it; the lady just kept babbling. 

After some time we tried sharing a message with her about Jesus Christ and she randomly got so mad at me. She realized that wasn't the same sister missionary as 3 years ago and she didn't like me because of my skin color and hair color; which is weird.  She did say that my companion was the same but my companion said that she was not there 3 years ago.  The lady got mad.  She started saying that I was saying things I never said like "let's go" in Italian. She then go really mad with my companion and growled at her like a dog and the lady had a huge cane in her hands. I thought she was going to hurt my companion. I felt uncomfortable so I prayed in my heart. This lady was crazy! 

I got up to leave and she said we couldn't leave unless she told us to. So I said well we are missionaries and you do not want to hear our message about Christ so we need to go. She got more upset, she said that we only want to talk about Jesus Christ but that she just wanted friends to go to a bar with her and hang out. She was literally insane! Finally she started putting on her shoes and started ballistically laughing and growling at the same time; and it scared me. She got up angrily and said she would accompany us out. I was too scared so once the door was open I ran out of the room and my companion ran behind me. We went down about 10 flights of stairs. We then we got lost in the mental asylum! We couldn't find the way out.  There were crazy people everywhere. It was like a horror movie of being stuck in an asylum. My companion finally found another flight of stairs and we followed it and found the exit. We vowed never to go back again

This week I also had another baptism! I had been teaching a young man in Brasil, online, who was very interested in the Book of Mormon. He read the whole book and prayed about it. He told me he needed to get baptized. I called the local missionaries and they helped him prepare for baptism. I got to watch the baptism over Skype this past Saturday. It was such a blessing.


The gospel of Jesus Christ brings such joy to our families and our lives.


Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹

My new companion and roommates

The Spanish Stairs - Rome

My first companion in Italy - she went home last week

My MTC Companions - we meet again!

The Panthenon

Transfers! New Responsibilities! New Area! Rome week 27

Today was transfers!!!

I am going to...

Rome 2!!!

I'll still be in the visitor center but I move houses and zones!


I am also the new STL (Sister Training Leader). I will be helping with zone conferences and I will be responsible for scheduling for the visitor center. I do not know what else an STL does but I guess I will find out.  It's kind of like a Zone Leader but for the sisters in the zone.


Well, this week was pretty good. We stayed in the visitor center a lot because this week was "Fer Augosto" where it's a random holiday here in Italy. My companion and I asked some random people on the streets about what it is and they said they actually didn't know why they celebrate it but they love eating good food together and making parades. So on the actual holiday all the missionaries do deep cleaning in our apartments. We are not supposed to do missionary work on that holiday because it is such a big holiday here. I live with 6 Sorelle (sisters) we cleaned the whole day and dissected the whole house. It was weird how much work we did for a little apartment but at the end it was so nice because everything was cleaned from top to bottom. Definitely being in a clean environment brings the Spirit of the Lord.


I have been teaching new people online this week. A lot of people interested in reading the Book of Mormon. I am currently teaching 4 Brazilians online who have gone to church and are reading the Book of Mormon and meeting with me as well as the local missionaries. It's really cool. I'm also teaching some people around all over the United States. I am helping them gain a relationship with Christ through a Bible study online and also through the Book of Mormon. It is really fun to help people come closer to our Savior.


This week in the visitor center we had Musical Moments. The director over the visitor center asked me to play my trumpet, at least 3 songs, for a musical moment and I would be playing in the room with the Christ Statue and the 12 apostles statues. Sorella Heslin (my accompaniment) was amazing on the piano. We picked two other songs to play together and I transposed the music for trumpet so a trumpet and piano would sound good together. Finally played it and it was so fun. A lot of people came because they heard the trumpet echo where the statue of Christ was. I then played my last piece which I played for my zone conference "God be with you until we meet again" and it was good. Later that evening I got a surprise call from the director of the visitor center asking if I could play that last song again. I was honored.


This week I learned a lot about the power of prayer. How amazing is it that we can talk to the Creator of this world whenever we please. We can tell Him anything and He is ready and wants to listen. Heavenly Father will always respond. In the Book of Mormon I read the book of Enos this week. One of my favorite stories. I love how he prays with so much faith and he does get a response from God. We can all receive that through faith in our Lord. Every time I pray I feel peace and comfort from my Father in Heaven. He is always helping me. I invite everyone to read the Book of Enos and to pray with a sincere heart and willingness to talk with Heavenly Father.


Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹

                                                                 

                                                                   Drinking water while on a run

                    

                                                                                

                                                       A wonderful meal provided by a wonderful family

U.S. Mail?  In Italy?

Beware of Dog!

                                                                  Sorella Gonzalez and I

                                                                 

                                                      Sorella Mannucci (Italian from Milan) and I

                                                      Sorella Waddell (MTC -Provo roommate) and I

                                                      Sorella Weaver, friends from Sabina and I   

                                                             

My new area - ROME 2

Rome Week 26 - still working in the town of Sabina

This week was crazy because of zone conference. It was our first zone conference with our new President. It was such a good conference.



We learned about obedience and how it is the first law in Heaven. Literally everything of God requires obedience to Him, His ordinances and His commandments. I enjoyed conference so much. I got to play my trumpet in zone conference! It was the first time that many people found out that one can actually make the trumpet sound spiritual and play hymns on it. My mission president loved it so much and little did I know he played trumpet before. He was so thrilled and now everyone will forever remember me. It was awesome and fun.


My companion and I went out to our area (Sabina area) this week and we spoke with some people on the streets about the temple and the visitor center and invited them to come see it. Randomly, while walking in the city, a man and his mother stopped us to talk. We ended up talking with them on benches in front of their house for an hour or more just explaining who we are and what we do. This little family really enjoyed talking to us and they want us to come back. They also said they would like to visit the visitor center so that is so exciting.


I taught a lesson online with one of my Brazilian contacts. He had discovered the church on his own and has already read the whole Book of Mormon by himself. he said he knows the church is true. He also told us he had been to church one time but he knew the moment he stepped in the chapel it was the true church because of the wonderful feeling of peace. He wants to be baptized so bad and therefore he needs to take missionary lessons. I am his missionary teaching him the lessons until he's comfortable to meet the local missionaries in person. He is really cool and he loves all the reading invites we give him.


This week has been a very fast and great week!


I know this church is the true restored Church of Jesus Chirst on the earth today. I know the Book of Mormon will bring us closer to God and help us become better people. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet and that President Russel M. Nelson is a true prophet of God living today. I know through the wonderful Plan of Salvation we can be bonded with our families forever and we can return to live with our loving Heavenly Father

Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹

                    

                                                             My companion and I

                                                                          Rome Zone

Sorella Belarmina and Sorella Hyatt

Two Italians and one Brazilian

Rome Week 25

This week went by super fast but was very good!

There was a Brazilian man who lives here in Italy that we taught in the visitor center. He had actually been to church once and said that he knew it was true and wanted to be baptized but since he mainly speaks Portuguese the other sisters asked me if I could teach him. My companion and I taught him the Restoration and also showed him the little 20 minute video of the Restoration in Portuguese.

He then said that he believes that if God has always called prophets then why would he stop now? He believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet who restored the Church of Jesus Christ back on the earth. It was a very cool experience. We also had a Brazilian couple who are members of the church come in to talk to him. They were very loving to him.

One of the days that we were in the visitor center we talked with a couple from France who spoke some English and they are members members of the church. It was very cool to be able to talk to them and answer their questions regarding the visitor center. Their favorite part was about the statue of the 12 Apostles and we bore our testimonies on these remarkable men who died gruesome deaths. The important thing is to remember what they died for and that was for believing in the Savior of Jesus Christ. They could not deny what they knew and saw to be true so they died those tortuous ways. It is so powerful. 

My online teaching went very well this week. I met another Brazilian online who requested for a Book of Mormon so I called him and he had very good questions which were all in regards to the Plan of Salvation. So, in Portuguese, I started teaching him where we as human beings came from. He then got into the Godhead and how we believe they are 3 separate Beings that work for the same purpose. He asked me to clarify... I then mentioned to him that in the Garden of Gethsemane when Christ prays to the Father, He says, "Father, if thou wilt take this cup from me. But not my will but thy will let it be done."   I then proceeded to ask him if Christ and Heavenly Father were the same person why would Christ ASK himself to take this Cup from him?  Whereas, if he were to be God then He would not need to ASK anyone and He would have probably done it. We can clearly see that Christ is asking someone else higher, more powerful and was in charge of this Plan. The investigator was very intent in listening to more. I then asked him a simple question.... If Christ and God were the same person why would He lie to us and refer to Himself as 3 different people when he could of just have said, "I am God" without causing any confusion. I then bore my testimony saying that I know God is not a God of lies or confusion. He wants all of us to understand His beautiful plan and how we can come back to return to Him. 

Out of nowhere the Brazilian man I was teaching online said he had never even thought of the things I had pointed out in the Bible. He was very happy and said that it does make sense and he wasn't confused anymore. After our call I called the local missionaries (in Brasil) to take to him a Book of Mormon for our next online lesson with him and those missionaries did just that - immediately. They even invited him to church and they walked to go pick him up and go with him to church. Yesterday, I called this investigator back to check in on him and he absolutely loved the church and the people. He said everyone gave him huge hugs and he felt loved. He said he loved the feeling there and loved how we try to be like Christ. We now have another appointment with him next week! 

So far there are 3 Brazilians that I am teaching; I had a lady online that I have been teaching and now the mane online and the one in the visitor center. So it's just so awesome!

Probably the first time I have been studying a lot of things in Portuguese in order to teach in that language. 

Funny moment: 

I was in the visitor center helping a Brazilian lady get some information about Italy and the temple. Then an Italian lady in my Branch came up to me and gave me a big hug and she stood with my companion, the Brazilian lady, and I in a circle. Then the Brazilian lady asked me to ask the Italian about when the temple opens. So I did ask in Italian and then I had to translate back into Portuguese. They were going to so fast making me tell one to the other in Portuguese and Italian. And my companion was also there asking me things in English. This took about 20 minutes and I was trying to speak all 3 languages at the same time. I became so overwhelmed that I spoke with my companion in Portuguese and I spoke English with the Italian and I don't even know what I spoke with the Brazilian. My head hurt very very bad. All my force was weakening and I just had to stop. I didn't know what language I was even thinking. The Italian lady laughed at me so hard and said, "poor girl, doesn't even know what language she is speaking". I couldn't even answer because she was right. I understood all 3 languages but at the end I couldn't even tell you what language they were speaking I just understood it. My companion gave me water and made me sit down because I had a small mental breakdown for a little bit ha ha ha; then I laughed and at least remembered English. 

Also... a giant group of Brazilians came in to the visitor center and at the moment I'm the only one who speaks Portuguese and it was so cool to give them a spiritual experience in Portuguese about the visitor center. They were very sweet and its just so cool that I am teaching MY other people in ITALY. kind of strange that I teach more Brazilians in Italy than Italians, but I do not mind. 

The gift of tongues is real. Heavenly Father loves each and everyone one of us and that's why we are here on this earth and why He sent Christ to reedem us from our sins so we can return to live with God. 

Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹

                                                                  The Group of Brazilians I met

                                                         

                                                           Grapes, the country side and a cat!

                       

                                                        My companion Sorella Weaver and I   

Rome Week 24

This week has been a very an amazing week! We met a lot of different people in the visitor center this week from some different places. 

We met a Hungarian couple who walked in to the visitor center. It was pretty cool because they knew just a little bit of English and the rest was just in Hungarian. So we taught them using English and Google translate. We taught them the Restoration of the Gospel. They loved the temple and how beautiful it is. We ended up giving them a Book of Mormon in Hungarian and then they asked us if we could give their information to the Hungarian missionaries because they wanted to learn more. It was really amazing, I was able to contact the missionaries in Hungary and got them in contact with this couple. It was super cool! 

We also met up with an inactive member of the church that we had been trying to meet up with since the first day I arrived in Italy and finally we did. We went to Toffia, another city in our area, where the lady works. She met with us and she was very happy to meet with us. So that was awesomel! 

Then, I am teaching two Brazilians now. One was given to me by the other sisters because this man is from Brazil and only speaks Portuguese so we have a lesson appointment with him on Thursday in the Visitor center. 

Then the other Brazilian is a woman I found on online teaching. This person is from Goias, Brazil (the state where my mom is from and where I have spent a lot of time) and she had requested a Book of Mormon. So, I called her to see how she wanted it delivered; it was interesting how she found out about the Book of Mormon. She said she was just watching YouTube with her little little kids and then she saw the Book of Mormon on it and she really wanted to know more. I asked her if she would like to learn more from the missionaries in person or online and she said online. So now I'm her missionary!  We have an online appointment tomorrow evening. So I have to practice my Portuguese better  and that is very exciting. 

This week my companion and I have been studying about Pride and that the antidote to pride is Humility. To be humble takes our whole entire lives. But we can strive day by day to be a little more humble. When we become humble we learn to come closer to our Savior. We learn how to become like our Savior. 

Pride is a sin, it keeps us away from the Savior. If we look at the Book of Mormon and look how many times the Nephities got caught up in their pride and they had hardened their hearts to the words of the Lord, and then they are hit with destruction. We need to try to be humble like Enos, a prophet in the Book of Mormon, was when he recognized he had sinned and then he got on his knees for multiple hours and prayed for forgiveness. 

I know as we read the Book of Mormon everyday we can learn to be humble and become like our Savior Jesus Christ. It teaches us about Jesus Christ and how we should keep the commandments. I know it will bring us closer to God.

Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹