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🇮🇹

Pescara, Italy Week 4 - Mission Week 39 in Italy

We started the week off right this week!

A Brazilian lady found out I was half Brazilian and she randomly invited us over Monday night to eat Brazilian food! 

We had the opportunity to eat amazing food that night and we shared what the Book of Mormon is. She was very interested in it and asked if she could have one. We were prepared before hand and had with us a Book of Mormon in Portuguese for her. She was so happy and said that she would read it. 

We had a person we were teaching come for a lesson at church (she didn't want to have the lesson at her home) and we taught her the Restoration. It was the first time she fully accepted the lessons from the missionaries and she has been reading the Book of Mormon.

Also, we had a Thanksgiving Dinner with our English course group that we teach. It was a huge success. We had about 30 people there and everyone brought so much food. We went around and said what we grateful for in English. It was very good. 

Randomly,this week, a lady that we helped to be reactivated in church came to our Book of Mormon Family Home Evening and  brought a cake that she baked for me for my birthday. Even though it wasn't my birthday last Friday it was fun. She knew my birthday is this week but was not going to be able to give me the cake on my birthday.

We had a simple week. But we read in the scriptures that it is through small and simple things that great things are brought to pass!



Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹

Pescara, Italy Week 4 - Mission Week 38 in Italy

This week has been a good and successful week. My companion and I have been working very hard and diligently.
Everyday we've had appointments, one after the other. Some days we would walk for a long distance to get to a member's house and while walking we would stop and talk to people on the streets all the time and tell them why we are here.
One day, my companion and I went a blind date  , I will explain... 

There is a member of the church in our ward in Pescara who is blind and he invited us to go with him and his wife (who is also blind) to eat lunch with them and share with them a message about Jesus Christ. My companion and I enjoyed being able to help this couple by being their eyes for them, being their guide. We were also very amazed at how intelligent and talented they are to be able to be mostly independent by using their other senses to help them in everyday life. It made me think about the Savior's love towards them. Heavenly Father has given them talents and increased their senses so that they can live normal lives. I asked the husband about how he felt about losing his vision at a young age. He said to me that it was very hard for him but he had so much trust in the Lord that he was not afraid. He said that he knows the Plan of Happiness and knows that this life is temporary and that this is for his growing experience. I think this man taught us more than we taught him. He is facing a hard trial in his life and he still trusts in the Lord. He knows the gospel so well that he does not have fear and knows that this is temporary. 

Another day we got invited over by our neighbors who live in an apartment across from us to have dinner with them. We have been helping the mom with her English and basically have been tutoring her and helping her understand her homework from her English class at university. She cooked amazing food for us, real Italian things that I can not remember the name of. It was so good. Her family was very cute and asked us questions about what we do as missionaries and who we are. They believe in Christ and that is just about all that they believe in. They do not go to church nor do they know much about other religions. We basically taught them the Restoration of the Gospel in little pieces and offered them a Book of Mormon. They accepted to have it and we shared a small scripture with them. We had such a great time with this family it almost felt like we were home.

We also went to a inactive member's house because she invited us over. She had had a dream that she was in the dark with her family and she was scared. When she looked up at the sky she saw Christ and he told her that she needs to start looking for Him again because if not now it will be too late. We then went to her house and we were supposed to get there in 30 mins but we got lost. The Relief Society president was driving us to her house but refused to follow the map. The person lives far from the city, we have been to her house before using the map but that day the map wasn't followed.  We got to their house an hour later. We shared with them the story of Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ because some of Luisa's family members are not members of the church.

The week ended up very nicely. We had 4 new people in church this past Sunday and 2 inactive members also showed up. We then taught these 5 together the Plan of Salvation and they were all so happy! It has been a great week! 

"And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."  2 Nephi 25:26

Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹

Pescara, Italy Week 3 - Mission Week 37 in Italy

This week has been amazing! I have enjoyed every single second of it with my new companion Sorella Cluff!!!

Our first day doing finding, on Tuesday, we went into the city. I then noticed a lady with super long, black hair. I turned to my companion and commented on how beautiful it was and my companion asked, "Why don't you go tell her that?" I did not want to, so my companion walked up to her and commented on her hair.  She told the lady that I had been admiring it. The lady then smiled and invited us to go get breakfast with her. We went and she drank a coffee while we drank a hot chocolate, haha. We explained to her that we are missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and that we are all over the world, called to serve, and speak to the people in the language of the country we are in. She then informed us that she has a daughter who has depression but is very "into God". She said that she would like us to meet her and talk to her about Jesus Christ.  She told us to finish our breakfast and then come to her business which was right around the corner.
We finished our breakfast and while we were trying to find a scripture to share with the lady, we were, of course, speaking in English. A young man heard us and asked us if we were speaking English and we said, "yes" and then he just sat by us. We had asked him how he learned English and he said because he lived in England for 3 months. Then we asked him why he was in England and his response was, "to learn the English language and to smoke weed". My companion and I just laughed so hard because we are missionaries and we were not expecting an answer like that. He then told us that he has visions and crazy things and that is why he likes to smoke weed. We then decided to talk about the Plan of Salvation and explain who we as humans are. Where did we come from? Why are we here? And where do we go after this life?
He was interested but he did not seem all there so after speaking with him we invited him to English class because he wanted to improve in the English language. He was super happy and said he would.
After that we visited the first lady at her business and dropped off a scripture.  We were then back on the road again. 

My companion just of no where stops 2 young men that were at a bar from that morning. We asked them why they were in Pescara and they said for vacation. We asked them what they did for a living and they said they had been studying to join the military but they both failed, they passed the physical fitness testing but not the mental testing. Sorella Cluff and I both burst out laughing and they did too. I thought to myself, "how could you fail out of the military" 

After that, my companion talked to one of them and I spoke with the other one. The guy I spoke with was atheist but he was interested in our religion because he had never heard of it before and why would there be two young girls in his country speaking his language. He was very impressed with our language skills. We then walked with them by the beach explaining what we do as missionaries. After we found a bench where my companion and I sat on the bench and these young men sat on the ground cris-crossed looking up at us. They wanted to hear a story from us. My companion and I looked at each other with a smile and we told them we would tell them a story about a young man who saw God and Jesus Christ. The story was about the Restoration of the Gospel. They were so interested in it. We came to the part about Joseph Smith and his vision; they were in awe. The man who was atheist thought it was interesting but didn't want to know anything else. The other guy wanted a Book of Mormon and to learn more, so we gave him one and exchanged numbers.  We realized he lived in our area so we could totally teach him some more. 

All 3 of these stories happened in one day.  On the same day, as we were going home for lunch, we reached our apartment door and the neighbor who lives across from us asked if we could come inside her house and help her with some English. She had heard us speaking English, she is taking a difficult course and needs help, so we spent about 30 mins with her helping her comprehend English.  Today, after P-day ends, we will help her again and we will eat dinner with her.


Also this week we went to a house of one of the ladies we are teaching with a member. When we arrived her table was so cute and had a huge cake and mugs on it. She had made us herbal tea and it was all girls at the table.  It seemed like a tea party!  It was very good. 

We taught her and her family that the important thing in this life is having a testimony in Jesus Christ because without having a testimony the church, sacrament, temples, and the priesthood does not matter. In our church our foundation is built upon our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We need to know for ourselves that Jesus Christ lived and that He is our Redeemer and that only through Him can we return to live with our Father in Heaven. 

In the Book of Mormon: Helaman 5:12  "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

Saturday night we were able to go to Rome and go to the temple.  It was so amazing. 

This week was full of miracles. I know that when we put our trust in the Lord he can help us with anything!


Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹

Pescara, Italy Week 3 - Mission Week 36

This week has been a hastle! We had zone conference!!! It was amazing. We to Rome on Friday to the mission home. Everyone in my zone stayed at the mission home. We ate very good food together and president was the one who served us. He is such a great guy. 

We then watched the Book of Mormon movie series all together which was so fun. The next day we got FLU SHOT! Everyone was nervous, including me (I hate shots) but I'm proud to say, "I did it!!!"


Zone conference was so great. We talked about how we receive personal revelation from the Lord. Personal revelation is the key to personal conversion to the Lord. It is the key to missionary work and the key to life!
We also talked about doing service to everyone. Meeting the needs of the people you are teaching and showing them that you love them. It was such a great zone conference.


Last night my new companion arrived and her name is Sorella Cluff!!! I have known her in the mission and I have always wanted to be her companion, now I get that chance!! She is so sweet and she is so happy all the time. She is from Nauvoo, IL. She is a great missionary.


We had a great P-day today. We went to the beach and walked on it and we toured around our town. We then ate really good American burgers and we took a little nap. It was such a relaxing P-day and I am really glad. Ohh, we also bought awesome, funny slippers. I got unicorns and my companion got sharks, hahaha.


This week has been very good. I encourage everyone to continue to read the Book of Mormon and to pray about the truths that are being taught. I know that when you do that you will gain your own personal revelation. I can promise that as you do these things you will see so many blessings in your life.


Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹

Pescara, Italy Week 2 - Mission Week 35

This week went by  so fast! I officially hit my 10 month mark on my mission and in 2 months it will be a year. Time flies by fast.

This week we did a lot of things. We went to Chieti, a city in my area, about an hour away. We went there because I have been teaching English to two 8 year old girls. At the end of the lesson we always share a spiritual thought. Recently, one of the mothers became very interested in what we do as missionaries and wanted to learn more!  That is why we went out to Chieti.

In the same area we met with a young medical student.  He took us on a walk in the city as we talked about God. It was a very nice conversation and we also talked about what we do as missionaries. At the end we gave him a Book of Mormon and told him what it meant to us. He was emotional that we had given him something but happy. 

One day, as we were walking to the church building, my companion was holding her English copy of the Book of Mormon (because I have been teaching her how to read it in English). While we were walking a man randomly stopped us and asked us what book we were reading. My companion and I were both shocked and we explained what the Book was about. He seemed interested and asked us for our number so that when he wasn't as busy we could talk more about it. 

On Fridays we do Family Home Evening at church where we watch the Book of Mormon series videos together and we share a spiritual message. The Anziani (Elders) had found a popcorn maker in their apartment so they brought it to the activity to make popcorn while we watch the videos. My companion and I went into the kitchen to see if they needed help. When we got to the kitchen the popcorn kernels were splattering everywhere. The Anziani were trying to catch all of them it was so funny. We then grabbed two bowls and placed them right on the opening of popcorn maker. One kernels shot out and one of the Anziani caught it but it was so hot that he threw up in the air and then it landed in my shoe and it was super hot. My foot now has a kernel mark it burned a little bit of skin but it is okay.


It has been a busy week but full of miracles.


Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹

Pescara, Italy Week 1 - Mission week 34

This week was a busy week with transfers. I packed in advanced so I would not be stressed with packing. 

Finally, Thursday came around and it was time for me to leave. My companion had dropped me off at the metro station Termini and I waited for 3 hours there with some other missionaries until my new companion came in to pick me up. When she arrived we immediately grabbed my heavy bags and started to the metro. After the metro we stopped to grab some lunch and then our adventure continued as we pushed my heavy things. 

We then arrived to a bus station where there were charter buses. We waited for an hour for the bus to Pescara! We finally got on and it took about 2 hours to get to Pescara. I slept the whole way there. When we got there it was raining and it was very cold and I was not prepared. I just had a summer dress on and all my things were packed away in the luggage. Nevertheless we made it through. 

We live about 5 minutes away from the station so we pushed all my bags in the rain to our apartment. 

Our apartment is very cute and nice. We have wooden floors and we have a cute room where each one of us has our own closet and the fridge is big. We have nice comfortable chairs and the bathroom is very clean. It's the first time that I will be living with just my companion. In the past, I have only lived with either 4 or 6 sisters in an apartment. Now it is different but I really like it. I feel more at home and more comfortable. There isn't a lot of noise and the apartment stays clean. 

The next day we went out into Pescara and it is sooooo beautiful! The roads are so clean, unlike Rome where there is trash overflowing the bins and just trash everywhere. Here it is well taken care of and I can actually breathe fresh air! 

We went downtown in the center of Pescara and it has everything you need. All the shopping malls that you find in Rome are here too in this cute city. There are so many people and they are more open and nice. I have talked to so many people in just these past couple of days who are actually willing to listen to us. We also did some finding right by the beach!! It was so cool to smell the sea while I was doing the Lord's work. Now that conference is over on P-days we are allowed to go to the beach on the sand. I'm very excited. 

It is also a lot cooler here. The weather in Rome is always sooooo hot and you just sweat when you step outside. Here it feels like spring. All the Italians are wearing coats but it is really just jacket weather and so nice because we actually have a breeze. 

My companion is very sweet. She is from Milan and doesn't speak English. I never knew how much Italian I could actually speak in a day. I speak it everyday from the moment I wake up until I sleep. Just in these past couple of days I can see myself improving. When I spoke with my bishop here the first thing he said was, "Wow, you speak very good Italian". I was overly happy because it is hard to speak Italian in the Visitor's Center especially when most of the people that come in speak English. I still have a lot to learn but I am feeling more confident in the language. 

On Fridays the Pescara Ward does family home evening at the church. The missionaries (us) we get the new episode of the Book of Mormon series going and we all watch it together, in Italian, of course. Then at the end we share what we learned from it and how we can apply it in our lives. It is one of my favorite things. 

The ward is very open and very welcoming. I am enjoying where I am so far.


Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹

Eating grapes

My new companion

The beach in Pescara

Pescara, Italy

We found Guarana!

"Style Wars" Italian style

Rome Week 33

Today we received transfer calls and I have been transferred out of Rome and out of the Visitor Center. I am going to Pescara and my new companion is Sorella Varano-Chu, she is Italian.

Pescara is on the other side of Italy, on the Adriatic Sea.  It is known for beautiful beaches.
I am leaving Rome on Thursday. I have mixed emotions about it all. I have never left the visitor center, I have been here in Rome and the Visitor Center my entire mission.

When I was in the visitor center an American gentleman started to ask about some of the things there.  He was a member of the church and I was pointing things from the visitor center out to him.  He asked me where I was from and I responded, "I'm from Missouri."  He said that he loved Missouri and wanted to know where I was from in Missouri.  I answered, "I'm from the St. Louis area."  He said, "That sounds like you are not really from St. Louis."  I said, "I am actually from Cape Girardeau but know one ever knows where that is so I say I'm from St. Louis area."  He said, "I know where Cape Girardeau is!  I was there for stake conference last October.  I think I saw you there because you look familiar."  We chatted for a little bit about Cape and the stake, he showed me a photo of him with President Dickson and President Baird.  After he left I was thinking about it and realized that he was a General Authority of the church.  He was a Seventy!  Pretty cool.

This week has flown by super fast. We had so many visitors this week in the visitor center.
We had an appointment with one of the people we are teaching. She cancelled on us due to work. While we were waiting for our bus we heard a lady yell "SORELLE!"  My companion and I both turned around quickly and it was the lady we were supposed to have had an appointment with. She came and gave us a hug and introduced us to her son. It was a miracle. 

Downer story: one of the guys we were teaching decided he did not like our church when we taught him some of the commandments and the Restoration. He was really cool and we respect his wishes. It was just kind of sad when he told us he thinks his church is for him and ours is for us. Well, what can we do? We all have free agency.

We had a very good district council. We also had our district lunch and we went to a restaurant called The Break. We had really yummy like burgers just like America


This P-day is my last P-day in Rome. So we played zone calcio which is a zone soccer. Man it was fun, I missed soccer it was pretty fun!

Sorella Hyatt🇮🇹