Mission Week 68 in Italy;

Hello! This week was a slow week but filled with so many things that I cannot even remember too much of what we did.  The quarantine rules have loosened up a lot but we still have some restrictions.

We started out the week grocery shopping. My companion and I have been eating a lot healthier since we are on a "diet" except on Sundays we did not have to buy too much! We bought a lot of meat and salad and vegetables and fruits.
We have been running every morning and night for at least 45 mins and we end with an ab workout. We do not eat breakfast except for a fruit or something super duper light and we eat a healthy lunch. Then after, if we are hungry, we eat a fruit or salad. This has actually worked... lost 5 pounds in 2 weeks! What a record


We also had the opportunity to finish the lessons with the Brazilian lady that we have been teaching that lives in Italy. To our surprise she lives closer to Pescara! The place where I did my outbound transfer last year! So, we go in contact with some of the members that I knew there to help with meeting Vania and getting to know her. It has been a blessing.


This week on our Facebook page that was Sunday Night Live...we changed it to Pace in Cristo which translates to Peace in Christ.. I put up an ad in Italian focused on our area asking questions about where we came from before this life and where we will go after... and so many people sent us messages asking us to learn more! We are having so much success.


Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹

President and Sister Smith with us in our apartment

Mission Week 67 in Italy,; Rome week 11 in Quarantine

These past two weeks have been eventful. 

Last week the Milan and Rome Italy mission both had an amazing opportunity to have Elder Holland speak to us on a zoom call. 

Elder Jeffery R. Holland is an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is called by God and given the authority of the priesthood to be an Apostle just like the apostles of old.
We were very blessed because he was live and only did it for our 2 missions here in Italy. Obviously, my companion and I took a screenshot of us and him because, why not? 

He said incredible things especially about why we are all still here in Italy during this hard time especially when tons of missionaries had to go home.
He told us that we were chosen to be on these missions way before we were born and that God knew all of this would happen. The Area Presidency for Europe received revelation that we were not supposed to go home and we were supposed to continue our missions through technology and that it would bring success. We are the pilot team for doing missionary work only online. He also told us that sometimes through certain circumstances is the only way we can learn principles that Heavenly Father wants us to learn. All of his words comforted me and let me know that My mission is important and that we have been called here at this time for a special purpose and to help others to come unto Christ. It was a very special occasion for all of us.


This week we have seen so much success. We have received 2 referrals from people and we got at least 3 new people to teach online. 

My companion and I have a total of 10 people we are teaching. All either English, Portuguese or Italian speakers.

I'm having the amazing opportunity to teach some of my friends from home. This week I retaught one of my good friends from home combined with the local missionaries in Cape Girardeau, all through technology....she absolutely loved the lesson of the Plan of Salvation and even thanked us for it and we have another appointment with her this week!


We also had the opportunity to teach a Brazilian girl who actually has been my friend for a very long time and a childhood friend I would play with when I was in Brazil. She had shared one of our Sunday Night Live videos and I got in contact with her about her interests in it. Long story short, she wanted to know more about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and we taught her the Restoration. She then said she would really like to have the Book of Mormon. That was amazing!!!


This week I also got a little sick and I think it was from food poisoning. Literally, on Wednesday, I felt super nauseated. I got so bad that I ended up vomiting. First time doing that in the mission. My house mates were very kind and ran to the pharmacy for me and got something equivalent to Alka Seltzer. Thursday I was still nauseated in the morning but in the evening I ended up getting better


As I am going home in 3 weeks I had the opportunity to speak with my dear mission president this past week.  All departing missionaries usually have last interviews with their mission presidents. He watches over all the missionaries in my mission, the Italy Rome Mission. He loves and cares for us and to me he is like another dad. He is always concerned for our safety. Provides fun things for us to do on our free days in quarantine and makes sure that we know he loves us.

 

My last interview with him was a tender moment for me. He told me that he is very proud of all the work I have done. He also told me that after my mission I should stay firm to the Doctrines of Christ and always serve the Lord with all of my heart. He also told me that he and his wife are claiming me as one of their own and that they want to always know how I am and that I will always be their missionary.

I absolutely love them and I love my mission. I only have 3 weeks left but I plan to finish it out working as hard as I can.


Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹

Mission Week 65 in Italy; ROME week 9 in Quarantine

This week was an amazing week!

My companion and I have been seeing success through teaching online.

We received 2 referrals this week. The first one is a Brazilian lady who lives in Italy near our area. She contacted the temple visitor center a couple months back because she had been curious about the church due to an experience she had. One day she was locked outside of her own house and she didn't have her phone or anything since it was in the house. She went over to her neighbors house that she had never met. They were american and they were members of the church. They tried to communicate with her the best they could and they welcomed her into their house and let her use their phone. She said that they treated her so well and she felt like she had been part of the family for so long because how much loved they had showed her and she was a stranger to them. She found out they were members of the church and her desire to learn about the church fluttered in her heart. She had planned to go to the visitor center to check out some things but then the quarantine started. Finally she reached a sister missionary here who referred her to my companion and I since we are both Portuguese speakers if is easier for us to communicate with her and teach her. This lady is so prepared. She had told us that she has visited many churches and is trying to find the true one and that she can see corruption everywhere but she had a strong desire to know about our church and about the temple. My comp and I were so surprised and we started with first lesson and talked about the Book of Mormon. The lady was so eager to start reading it... so we sent her the PDF online since we can't physically deliver it to her. She loved the lesson so much that she has scheduled to have us teach her everyday at 5:00 pm. She is so amazing. This is Miracle number 1


Referral number 2: an Italian member in our ward randomly called us at 10:00 at night and so we answered because it was strange to receive a call at that hour. He then told us that he has a friend that lives in Brazil and wants to know more about the church and wants a copy of the Book of Mormon. He then said that he remembered that we were a Brazilian companionship and he told her that we would get in contact with her. Anyway we were super surprised that an Italian member gave us another person to teach from Brazil! Before we knew it this lady contacted us eager to know more. The next day we had the opportunity to video chat her and teach her the Restoration. She said that she used to walk by our church all the time to get to work and she always had the desire to go in. As well as she had seen the missionaries multiple times and was just waiting for them to stop her but they never did. She then told us that she is very interested in learning more and she really enjoyed talking with us!


3rd Miracle: My companion and I have been teaching the gospel of the Restoration to one of my cousins in Brazil. Last Monday she randomly called us saying that she wanted to get baptized on Sunday May 3rd! We were super shocked and surprised about her decision. We hurriedly, during the week, finished the lessons with her and prepared her for baptism. Yesterday, 5/3/20, we had the baptism; she is in Brazil and that is where the baptism was held. My companion and I had the opportunity to watch the baptism online. It was amazing!

One of the reasons that this was such an amazing baptism, besides the fact that she is my cousin, is that another cousin of mine was able to perform the baptismal ordinance and the confirmation.  He is currently a missionary.  He was called to serve in Juarez, Mexico and spent 1 year and 4 months in Mexico until he was sent back to Brazil because of the COVID pandemic.  He is at home but is still a missionary waiting to be reassigned to a mission in Brazil so that he can finish his 2 year mission.

Such a tender moment to see my family during this baptism. It was awesome to see her Uncle, who is also my cousin.  We have been teaching him the gospel and he went to the baptism! Also amazing is that the lady in miracle #1, from Brazil that lives in Italy, joined us on the call so she could see how the baptism worked. It was very very special and heart warming to see my cousin follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by the proper authority of the priesthood.

Most of all this was practically the first baptism during quarantine and we had taught her from Italy while she is in Brazil through technology. What a blessing! What a miracle. Seriously the Lord's work still prevails in any circumstances.


My house mates and I did a "family photo shoot" as well it was super fun. We took some funny pictures and individual photo shoots.


Overall this week was full of miracles and we could definitely see Gods hand in our lives.


Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹