Week 45 in Italy

Dude we have seen so many miracles in the last week! We've also had tons and tons of cancelations. But we really have seen tons of miracles. Everyone always says that greenies bring greenie magic. It's a real thing. I know it. 

Seeing the family was amazing and so happy! Loved it and hated it at the same time. I'm still the worst at goodbyes. 

Cool miracle of the week. So we have been having SOOO many cancellations and we're really lacking in investigators right now. So we did a special fast to have less cancellations and to find more investigators. That day we prayed about a number of different ex investigators that we could go and visit. We felt like we needed to go to a few in particular. So we headed out to go and find these people. We went to the first person and totally got lost. We walked for like an hour in the freezing cold of Cologno Nord trying to find her palazo. Miraculously, we eventually did. We rang her cittofono and she answered. She said that she was about to leave, like everyone always says. And I insisted that we just wanted 30 seconds to come and give her our phone number and introduce ourselves. She eventually said yes and proceeded to let her into her home. She is now a new investigator and we will continue to work with her!!

Mercedes is still on track for her baptism the 10th of january and we are soooo excited for her!! I can't wait. 

Lots of good things are happening. We have to go inside at 5 today to make sure that we're safe. Happy New Year everyone!!!!! 

Love you all so much, 

Sorella Tokarski 

Week 44 in Italy

We received the best Christmas gift of the season being able to Skype with Sonja. After more than seven months of not seeing her or hearing her voice (yes, we know that’s what we all signed up for) we had 40 wonderful minutes with her. It was probably the fastest 40 minutes of our lives but an absolutely blessed occasion. She looks and sounds amazing! She speaks beautiful Italian, as far as we could all tell, and shared a recent experience where someone made the assumption she is Italian; a true compliment for a missionary from Oregon. She loves her companion and loves her current area of Milan. Getting laughed at or snubbed is a daily experience but not the least bit of a deterrent as she boldly continues to share what she knows is true.

Her reactions were priceless to seeing how much Nicholas had grown and to see his pearly whites now that the braces are off. Or when Dana and Grammie stood with Kelly between them so she could see how tall Kelly has become. Or when Poppy stood up to show her that he’s lost so much weight she now only has “half a Poppy”. I could tell it was particularly special for her to see Quinten who was not on the Skype during Mother’s Day. There was even a call from Grandpa Larry who got to exchange a quick hello and Merry Christmas through the phone.

There are not really words to express the feelings we all felt during our time with her. There’s the natural emotion and excitement of getting to see her and talk to her after so many months, but it’s much more than that. I think of two passages of scripture that give the best descriptions of what we felt. The first is in the Third Epistle of John in the New Testament.

3 John 1:2-4 reads “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”

The second is from the Book of Mormon. In Alma chapter 29 the prophet Alma describes his feelings after hearing of the missionary success of his brethren. Verses 14-16 read:

“But I do not joy in my own success alone, but my joy is more full because of the success of my brethren, who have been up to the land of Nephi. Behold, they have labored exceedingly, and have brought forth much fruit; and how great shall be their reward! Now, when I think of the success of these my brethren my soul is carried away, even to the separation of it from the body, as it were, so great is my joy.”

Combining the meaning of these two passages; to see our daughter walk in truth and share that truth with zeal is quite literally an experience which brings a joy to carry away ones soul. As the call concluded we let her know of our love and gratitude for her and the blessing she is to us. Crying tears of joy we sang “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”, blew her kisses and signed off until May.

Thank you all for your love and support of Sonja as she faithfully and diligently serves Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ. Please keep up the prayers, letters and emails. They mean so much to her.

Here's a link to a portion of the call if you'd like to watch. She speaks Italian a couple minutes in. YouTube Video

Week 43 in Italy

I can't believe how fast this year has flown by.. It's incredible. The fact that it's almost Christmas just baffles me.

It's been a great week!! I picked up my new companion on Thursday, Sorella Burgess. She is awesome! We had another new sister with us, Sorella Snow, until monday. We had a great time in three for the weekend and now things are starting to get back to the normal routine. Sorella Burgess is the best! I just love her to death. She has such a strong desire to learn and to grow and to work! She talks to tons of people and has no fear. I am so lucky!

We have had a number of great things happen this week!

We had an entire family in church on sunday that hasn't been in a very long time. We are planning to set baptismal dates with them this week!

I met this great man on the metro a few weeks ago and he called us saturday night to confirm the hours of Church. He was like, Hey so we still have church tomorrow at 9 right? And we were like YES WE DO!! COME! So he did! We passed him off to the elders to start teaching him and he will continue to progress in the gospel. He calls me his flame. Hahaha. He says, You are the flame that lit something inside of me! And now I'm on this great journey to understanding and learning! He is great.

We all have the opportunity to spark a flame in someone else. In fact, it's our job to share the fire of our testimonies with those around us. As we do that, they will be left with sparks that can start a new testimony burning in them! Share the gospel! Don't be afraid. It's a lot scarier to think about getting the other side and having everyone we know ask us why we didn't tell them what we knew while we were here on earth! Just do it. Please.

We also got to participate in a great stake youth activity. All of the youth wrote their testimonies in Books of Mormon. Then we gave them a short training on how to talk to people on the street, and we all jumped on the metro together to head to the Duomo. We went around in groups trying to give out books of mormon all wrapped up like christmas presents. The youth were to do it by themselves with out help and guide. I went individually with a couple of different girls at different times. I always started the conversation because they were too nervous to. Hahah. But then they had to share their testimony and try to give the book away. I watched each of them get denied over and over again. It was hard to watch, but at the same time, it was great! It was such a wonderful opportunity for them to realize what the Book of Mormon really means to them! They also got a little taste of missionary work. At one point, I saw a young woman by herself struggling to find the words to say. I rushed over and started to help her. She ended up giving the book away and we even took the woman's phone number! Afterwards, the young woman started to cry and said, "I was starting to panic! I didn't know what to say or do!" I just hugged her and told her that she had done her best and that was all that mattered! That's exactly how it is for me every single day. I do my best, and some nights I get on my knees and cry and just tell Heavenly Father what's in my heart. But every time, I feel His love and the love of my Savior comforting me and letting me know that as long as I've done my best, that's all that matters.

We have just had some really great experiences this week and we have some great things planned for this next week.

Milano is gorgeous at this time of year! We will be going caroling tonight at the duomo. It will be great! I am so excited. Some of us sing, and then at least two of us missionaries go out and contact people. We've gone a couple of times before and it's fun! Usually people just laugh at us or ignore us. But, the members love it! 

Have a great week. 

Love, 

Sorella Tokarski

Week 42 in Italy

Well, we got our transfer calls this week and I've been asked to train a new missionary! I am SO excited!!!! I will be meeting her tomorrow. It's going to be great. 

We had the sisters that flew in from the Spain MTC stay with us last night, and they were so cute! We were on splits with them all day. I took Sorella Bowman with me and my companion took Sorella D'Aleo with her. While I was with Sorella Bowman, we went to do an ex-investigator pass-by. We got in and she was totally ready to hear the gospel! She became a new investigator. We had some great miracles together. They met up with the rest of the missionaries from the Provo MTC today and we will all be together tomorrow to get matched up. 

We also found out that we will be having another half trained sister stay with us because her current trainer is going home and her next companion can't match up with her until monday for some reason... So me, and my greenie, and another new sister will be in a Tri-panionship until monday! It will be a crazy weekend. 

This week has just been a week of fire and craziness. It's been wonderful though. I am so excited to meet my new companion and just work hard! I am grateful for the opportunity to train and I am prayerful that I will be able to help her learn and grow in these first couple of transfers. 

We had a great Christmas combined zone training slash conference... It was awesome! We talked a lot about the "He is the Gift" video and how we can use it as a very simple but powerful way to share the gospel and the message of Jesus Christ with everyone we meet! We also talked about how to properly make a bed... It was wonderful. President and Sorella Dibb showed us how to do everything from putting on the duvet covers, to how the sheets need to go. It was great! They are the best. We also sung tons of Christmas carols at the end. I just love this time of year! 

Tis the season!!! 

Love you all. 

Love, 

Sorella Tokarski 

Week 41 in Italy

Well, it's been a long week. Full of all sorts of experiences and ups and downs. I feel like I've grown more in this week than I have the last couple of months of my mission combined. So that's great. I feel overwhelmed with gratitude and love for my family and for the gospel. I feel like this past week I learned so much about the Plan of Salvation and how important every single human soul is to God, and how important every single person is to at least one other person. 

I don't have a whole lot to say this week. We had a great lesson with a new investigator that promised to read the entire book of mormon before we had even invited her to do so, and told us she would call us when she had finished. We giggled a bit and then told her that we could continue to come and see her even before she finishes the book. She was really happy about that. She was great! 

Anyway. We ate some delicious food this week. Had a fun activity with the young women. our district leader bought us all chocolate Christmas countdowns! And we almost taught some Gnomes the gospel. It was really exciting. 

I know that families are eternal and that God's plan for His children is truly a plan of happiness. I know that the gospel brings peace even in times of trial and moments of despair. I am eterally and deeply grateful for the knowledge that I have of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and of His plan for each of us.

Have a great week! 

love, 

Sorella Tokarski

Week 40 in Italy

So it's been a good week. This week is consecration week. So we are putting forth even more effort and trying even harder to be better missionaries. Consecration weeks are basically just a way to see how much better of a missionary you can be and it's funny because usually they end up being the weeks where everyone and their grandma cancels on you and people reject you even harder than normal. We've already had some really weird experiences this week and it's proving to be a trial of our faith. But faith can't grow without it being tested!

We had an AWESOME conference this past week with Elder Fingerle of the seventy and his wife Sister Fingerle. They were so cute! They were young, vibrant, and very excited about missionary work. They gave us some incredible training on how we can improve significantly as missionaries by making small 1% marginal changes in our missionary work and personal lives. We also talked about how we can use social media to share the gospel without being facebook/ipad missionaries (we can invite members to use the mormon messages, we can ask them to send messages to their friends through their social media sites, and we can encourage them to use the family search site correctly).We also talked a LOT about the importance of doing family history work and using the family search site. It's such a cool site! I am so excited to just spend a good amount of time on it when I get home. (Which will be in a very very very very very very very long time. Hopefully.) Overall, the conference was just great and so uplifting and inspiring. My companion and I have set some good goals from what we learned.

I have had a goal to start 15 conversations every day between appointments on the metro, and I have been able to do it and surpass that number so far. They haven't all turned into meaningful conversations, but that's the curse of metro finding work. People eventually get off! Anyway. I plan to keep doing it!

We are trying so hard to be consecrated. We got invited to eat Thanksgiving with an American family in our ward this thursday. Without thinking, we accepted gladly. Then yesterday we were reminded of how important it is to be obedient and consecrated. We talked about it for a few minutes and decided that it would be best to not go. We felt really bad about canceling, but we knew it was the right thing to do. So we did it. I continue to learn lessons about the importance of exact obedience and just forgetting myself and being 100% involved in the work that I chose to come here to do.

The church made a great video about what really matters this time of year, and every time of year. I love my Savior Jesus Christ. He is the gift. He is the reason why I am here. He is the reason why I do anything. I am grateful for His sacrifice and I am grateful for the sacrifice that Heavenly Father made in sending Christ here. The link to watch the video is below. 

http://www.mormon.org/christmas

Enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving! Don't forget to share your grattitude in every moment. 

I am grateful that I got to go and see one of the most famous works of art of all time! The Ultimate Supper! Yes I am fully aware that it is called The Last Supper. But in Italian it is called L'ultima Cena. So. Ultimate is just much easier to say.

I love you all. 

Love,

Sorella Tokarski 

Week 39 in Italy

So we're trying out a new internet point today because it costs a lot less. But the keyboard is miserable and I have to type at the speed of a 5 year old. So this won't be very long. 

Anyway. Great week! Busy. But great. Milano was basically flooding all week so it made transportation hard all week. The metro was shut down in a few areas. 

We had a great Family Home Evening with Karina and her family. We celebrated her sons birthday and then had a great little lesson about prayer. She is still on track for her baptismal date of the 27th of December. 

We worked really hard this week on a massive project where we went through the area book of previous investigators and organized every single one of them by where they live ( using metro stops). We felt like taking the time to go through all of them, figure out where they live, and then organize them would really help us to waste less time during the week. If someone cancels on us, we will already have a list of 5 or 6 people that we can pass by that live at or close to the same stop. 

Another great thing that we do is teach Italian! I've only ever taught English before, but here we teach an Italian class to those who don't know how to speak it. It's so fun!!! I'd love to teach Italian when I get home. It's super great. 

Anyway. That's about it! Today we plan to do some shopping and just explore Milano. 

The gospel is true! God lives. Christ is our Savior. 

I love you all. 

Love, 

sorella Tokarski

Week 38 in Italy

It was a good week that even consisted of a long anticipated field trip to TORINOOOOOOOO to pick up my permesso di soggiorno (residency permit). Finally I'm legal! 

We set a baptismal date this week with a woman named Karina! We are so excited for her. She is great. She has real intent and came to church and loved it this past sunday. 

We have a lot of things happening here in Cimiano. We did the math and we had about 50% of our lessons planned cancel on us in this past week. We are working on having more solid backups, but it's hard in a big city because of travel time lost. I know numbers aren't everything, but they are important, and I would like to be able to get the numbers here in this city up. We are praying to know what we can do to better the quality of our backups and ensure that we have less cancellations.

We also had a great scambio this week! Sorella Smart is a good missionary. She is calm but powerful and she teaches with the spirit. It was wonderful. 

I am super tired and I'm pretty sure that I've aged at least a year for every month that I've served. But it's great. I wouldn't have it any other way. 

In recent news, an Elder in my district is like obsessed with the Paleo diet. So I caved and decided to try it! Wish me luck! (Meal appointments with members and investigators don't count. It is literally impossible to not eat carbs in Italy.) 

We have been talking a lot about consecration lately. I have such a strong desire to just be a good and consecrated missionary. We are asked to leave behind all personal affairs. It's not easy. And I can't even honestly say that I've been able to do that. But I am putting forth some extra effort and making a few extra sacrifices to show God that He is the most important thing in my life. And my desire to follow Jesus Christ is stronger than my desire to do anything else. It's not easy. But I don't want to stand in front of my Savior someday and have Him ask me why I wasn't just a little bit more focused or just a little bit more dedicated. 

I know that in each of our lives, we will have to make sacrifices to be disciples of Jesus Christ. The path to discipleship is simple. But it isn't necessarily easy. I do know though that the happiness that Christ promises us if we follow Him is much greater than anything else we can imagine. I owe everything to Him. He saved my life and has given me the possibility of eternity with those I love. There is nothing that I wouldn't do for Him to show Him my gratitude and love. 

I invite you to read the book of Matthew and think about what it means to be a disciple of Christ and what it means to really follow Him. 

I love you all. Thank you for your support! 

Love, 

Sorella Tokarski 

Week 37 in Italy

Oh my heck. I LOVE this city. It's huge and sketchy and there is like an eternity's worth of work to do here. The metro freaks me out but it is SO fun to do metro finding. I was talking to a man on the metro the other day (METRO FINDING IS THE BEST THING EVER), and it turns out that his wife is a REALLY inactive member and his children are active members. His wife isn't on the ward list, but he gave us his address and said we could come by any time! He said that he has been so close to being baptized several times and has just never done it. We will work hard to make sure that something changes this time. 

Anyway. I don't have a whole lot to share from this week other than that I just love being here. I'm so tired. But it's so great. There are two companionship's of Elders and then my companion and I in our ward. It's huge. We have 600 in our ward, 500 of which are less active. We have a lot of work to do. 

We use the metro. it's huge and kind of confusing, but I'll get the hang of it after a couple of weeks. 

We hope. 

For p-day today we went and ate somewhere called Luini's. They make something called panzerotti. it. is. heavenly. it's famous among the missionari

es of the Italy milan mission. So we had to do. SOOOOO yummy. Also. We saw the duomo and yeah. We're absolutely napping later. We'll have a more interesting p-day next week.

We showed a video this week to a few different people. This video is so powerful and I absolutely love using it in lessons. This is the link: https://www.lds.org/youth/video/because-of-him?lang=eng

I know that everything that we have; life, love, hope, is all because of Jesus Christ. I know that without him, there is no hope. I am so grateful for him and for what he has done for me. I know that I am nothing without him. 

I love being a missionary!!!! It's the greatest thing ever. 

Have a great week! 

Love, 

Sorella Tokarski 

Week 36 in Italy

So after 6 months in Sanremo, I will be heading up north to serve in Milano. I am excited and sad at the same time. I will be bottle-breaking, or follow-up training a sister, which means that she is going into her 3rd transfer and is just finishing up being trained. My companion will be staying here to train a new missionary.

It has been a crazy and slightly stressful week. Transfer weeks always are. But things will all work out. We have eaten enough in these past few days to solve world hunger... Literally  or three meal appointments every day. And we're talking Italian meal appointments. You don't just eat. YOU FEAST. I may or may not have gained like 5 pounds in the past three days. 

It's amazing how during the mission, all of our weaknesses just become amplified. There are some nights when I'm on my knees praying asking God to just change my heart so that I can be a better missionary and be a better tool in His hand. It's incredible how easily we can get in our own way. And even worse, we get in God's way. He can't work with someone who's prideful. He can't mold and fix and change someone who is selfish. He needs someone with a soft heart and a willing and open mind. I, unfortunately happen to be a pretty prideful person. And during my mission, I have been presented with several situations and opportunities to step down off my high horse, and just be humble and teachable. There are some lessons that take more time to learn. But it's okay to fail. It's okay to be weak. It's not okay to give up. Fail a million times if you have to. Fall on your knees and say a thousand prayers asking God to help you change if you have to. I certainly will continue to do so. I know that I am weak. I know that I'm not perfect. I continue to discover and understand what are my exact weaknesses, and I know that with prayer and with time, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, my heart will be changed. 

Maserati!

I remember when I was at home, I looked at the missionaries and thought wow. They're perfect! They've got it all together. They are amazing. I want to be like them. Well, I'm a missionary now, and I can tell you that we aren't perfect. We don't always have it all together, and we aren't always amazing. But I do try every day to let go of my weaknesses and give them over to my Savior. I am walking this long road of conversion and discipleship. It is bumpy sometimes and it isn't always comfortable. But the bumps and discomfort come from my own obstacles that I put in the way. I know that God loves us. I know that Christ loves us. I know that Jesus Christ will clear our path of those bumps and obstacles in the way. We just have to open our heart enough to let Him in and get to work. 

The mission is the most incredible experience of my life. It is so hard and so wonderful and so unique. I can hardly believe how quickly the days go by. I would not give back this time or this experience for anything. 

Tonight we will have a festa for me and for Anziano Tolman who will also be transferred to the exact same city and ward as me. I will miss Sanremo so much. I have learned so much here. I have seen and experienced so much here. But I know that I will continue to grow and learn and enjoy my mission in Milano. 

I am grateful for my weaknesses. I know that, as it says in Ether twelve: twenty-seven (the numbers on this keyboard don't work), we are given weakness so that we may be humble and then when we go to Christ with those weaknesses, he can turn them into strengths. That's what I'm striving to do with my many weaknesses. I invite and challenge all of you to do the same. 

I love you all. 

Love, 

Sorella Tokarski

Week 35 in Italy

We had a great week. We missed about two days in our city because we had a scambio in another city. We took a four hour train there and then spent two nights. We got some really good work done and I had a great time with my little sister. (Sorella Gunnerson, "my mom" is training again so I got to go with my "little sister". We worked hard and rode bikes! I almost died. But it was so great!!!!!!!

Then when we returned on Saturday, we had the baptism of Adoni! He's 8 years old and his mom is less active. We have taught him every single lesson from the very beginning. He is so great. So many members came. It was beautiful!

We have done a lot of finding work this week. Every investigator that had a baptismal date, now does not have one. For various reasons, there will be many delays and re-sets of dates. It's heartbreaking. But I know that God has a time and a place for everything. I am realizing the incredible huge role that our free agency has in everything. I am grateful that we have free agency. We literally can choose our own salvation. We also can choose the opposite. It's an awfully beautiful situation.

We had a large change happen in our branch presidency! Our President Bignami was released after 11 years as branch president and President Cangialosi was called. President Bignami served faithfully and with all of his heart and we were so grateful for his service. President Cangialosi is an amazing returned missionary, young (28 years old), and has a fire that will help Sanremo continue to progress. Watching the change take place was very powerful last sunday. At the end of the meeting, all of the members went up and began to hug and kiss President Bignami to thank him and show him their love. They then proceeded to hug and kiss President Cangialosi to thank him and show him their love and support. It was so beautiful to watch. My companion and I cried as we witnessed such a special moment. I learned in that moment how vital it is to love, support, and sustain our leaders and fellow brothers and sisters. It is SO important to pray for them, to encourage them, and to respect them. Every single calling has it's own challenges and blessings, but we need to do all that we can to sustain those that serve us. A calling is an opportunity to serve, not to be praised. I am so grateful for all of the faithful leaders in the church and I know that who God calls, He qualifies. We have to trust Him and trust in who He calls.

I love all of you! I am so grateful for your love and support. We will be getting transfer calls this saturday so we will find out if I stay or go! I don't feel prepared to leave sanremo. But I don't know if anyone every really feels prepared to leave a city.

Anyway. I am so grateful for Jesus Christ and for what He has done for me and my family. I know that He lives and that He loves each and every one of us. Follow Him! It will bring peace and happiness.

Have a great week!

Love,
Sorella Tokarski

Week 34 in Italy

Started off the week with a great p-day haircut. Well it was great. Until it started. I asked for a trim, and I got a chop. Ciao ciao 6 inches of precious hair... Dang it Italians... 

Anyway. It will grow. It will grow. 

We have had crazy weather in this past week! Floods and thunder and lightening. Several train routes were closed and canceled this past week. 

I've also heard crazy news that Ebola is back and is in several different countries and places now.... I'm TERRIFIED. Two of my biggest fears are ebola and world wars. Both of which are about to be taking over it sounds like.. Well, it's just proof to me that we are again living the Book of Mormon times and that Christ is literally about to come again. 

I unfortunately was sick again this week. I got a really bad cold and have sounded more like and Elder than a Sister in the past few days. My body might be weak, but I continue to feel the power and strength that come from obeying the commandments and truly doing my best to follow Christ. 

We did a lot of finding work this week and had several interesting experiences... One of which led to us committing to go to the home of this Jehovah's witness where she will have her other companions and church leaders waiting to speak with us... Pray for us! We are grateful for the opportunity to share the gospel with anyone and everyone. But sometimes, not every situation is ideal. And this particular situation is a little bit intimidating. But I know that as a called representative of Jesus Christ, we have authority and the spirit that no one else has. So there is no need to fear or worry! 

All three of our investigators that have baptismal dates have experienced some sort of major melt down this week. It is absolutely incredible to me how quickly the work goes from the top of the mountain, to the depths of the valley. It is so clear to me that as real as God is, there is also a very real negative influence. We can't acknowledge the existence of God without also acknowledging the existence of satan. He does everything that he can to throw people off of the right path. As soon as they start doing something right, he's right there to tempt and to torture and to distort. I know that God's power and wisdom are infinitely more grand, but it doesn't change the fact that the adversary will continue to try.  

I am so grateful for the love and support of you all. I felt it in an overwhelming way this week. Thank you for all that you do for me. 

Have a great week!!!!!

love, Sorella Tokarski 

Week 33 in Italy

Well, we had a lovely general conference weekend! We got to watch most of the sessions. The spirit I felt as I watched the prophets and apostles and leaders of the church speak to us, was so strong! I personally received several answers to questions that I had, and it was incredible to watch as others received their answers as well. We invited several people to come with questions prepared. One of our less active members came with a couple of specific questions. As we watched the women's conference together, her eyes filled with tears and she began to sob. She had almost immediately received two of the answers that she had been searching for. God truly does speak to us through his called and assigned servants. He loves His children and He will not leave us without a guide and a help. 

We had interviews with president and we had zone training. We lost a lot of time in our city this past week being on trains back and forth to Genova two different days. But it was great! We talked a lot about continuing to work well together in our cities and the importance and significance of our own personal proselyting areas. 

We also had the huge miracle of setting two baptismal dates this past week. A woman named Marlene from Peru accepted the invitation to be baptized on the 5th of October, as well as Marina who accepted the date of November 8th. Both are truly seeking and striving to follow and obey God's commandments. They are willing to sacrifice and change their lives to live in harmony with the teachings of the Savior. They inspire me! 

Alessandro has picked a new date of the 24th of October. He read the scriptures for the first time by himself this past week. MIRACLE. He has a real desire to do what's right. It's not easy. But it is absolutely possible and absolutely worth it. 

Yesterday was my companion's birthday and we worked hard every single second of it. We had appointments every hour of the day and we even had to do a split during the afternoon because we had to much work to do. It was great! And we also ate like a week's worth of food. I made her a special birthday breakfast, and then we went to a member's house for lunch: gigantic bowl of pasta, another gigantic plate of vegetables and an egg type thing, and then bread, and cake and a bowl full of straight cream. We almost died. Then we went to get gelato with a new convert. And then we had family home evening with a less active family who cooked us santo domingan food: potatoes, some yummy fried thing, fried banana stuff, SO MUCH RICE, chicken, and insalata russa. So. Much. Food. We still aren't really even hungry today... hahah. It was great. 

We are continuing to work hard and we're really trying to let the Lord guide His work here. It is so important in our lives and especially on the mission, that we can learn how to get out of The Lord's way. He is so much smarter, so much more capable, and so much better than we will ever be. When we can just turn ourselves over to Him and let Him work through us and truly guide every footstep, amazing things will happen! 

There is a lot of work to do in Sanremo. I am getting nervous that my time here might be coming to an end. Of course, nothing is final or decided yet, but I know that it's not very common for missionaries to stay in the same city for more than 6 months. This transfer makes 6 months of serving here in Sanremo. There is a lot left to do here and I'm not sure if I'll ever feel like I've done enough. But I am truly grateful for all of the growth and experience that I have gained thus far. 

God loves us. He guides us. He takes care of us. As we seek to do His will and just get out of the way, we will see miracles and we will feel His power and presence in our lives. 

Today marks my official halfway point in the mission... It is unreal to me that the time is going by so fast. I had a dream this week that I finished my mission and I went home. I saw my mom, and I ran to her to hug her. I cried with happiness. But after a second, I stepped away and said, Wait a minute... This isn't right... I need to be back in Italy! I need to still be a missionary! I don't want to be home! 

It was the strangest sensation... To know that it was over, and that I couldn't go back, but longing so badly to return and be a missionary again. It taught me the important lesson of just enjoying every moment that I have here. The mission is truly an incredible and life changing experience. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love it even when I hate it. It's the best thing that I have ever done. Prepare yourselves now for the various missions you will serve throughout your lives!!!!! Study Preach My Gospel. Follow the promptings of the spirit. Study the atonement. Do all that you can to share the gospel with those around you.

The restored gospel of Jesus Christ is true. It blesses families. It changes lives. I see it every single day. I love my Savior and I love my Heavenly Father. 

Make good choices! I love you all. 

Love, 

Sorella Tokarski 

Week 32 in Italy

Well well well. Found my first gray hair this week. Dang it. The mission truly ages you. Oh well. It happens.

This past week we went to a member's home who lives out in the boonies! It was gorgeous! We ate lunch and walked around their quaint little village. It was awesome and soooo beautiful. They also had this huge race car track thing. So we played with that for a bit...  

So Sunday night we still hadn't found a single investigator, and our goal was three for the week keeping in line with the zone vision. It was about 8:30. We were about to start some serious finding. We stopped to pray and asked to be lead and guided to where we needed to go. My companion said, "I think we need to go down this street." So we headed off! I see some people walking down the other side of the street, and I say, "Them! We need to talk to them!" So we cross quickly, and we head towards these three girls. We stop them and it turns out that we had already talked to one of them a month ago in a store one p-day. She has friends in the church down in Ecuador and was open to meeting with us, as well as her other two friends. So we taught them a quick lesson, said a prayer with them, and set an appointment to see them next week! It was incredible!!! MIRACLES.

  

We also had a great FHE with another family in the ward who had invited a less active family over. We ate, we talked, and we taught about patience. LA PAZIENZA. It was great. :) 

We also had a really powerful lesson this week with someone about forgiveness. When we don't forgive we hold on to a burden that desperately needs to be let go. It sinks deeper and deeper into our hearts and souls and it begins to destroy who we are. Physically, emotionally, spiritually. Every aspect of our lives becomes darker and more difficult. I have such a strong testimony that it is absolutely necessary for our happiness and for our SALVATION that we forgive others and ourselves. It is so hard. But God forgives us every single day for all of the things that we do wrong over and over and over again. Who are we to deny someone else forgiveness? By denying forgiveness to someone else, we render ourselves unworthy to receive forgiveness from God. Through prayer, through coming to know who Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father are, and in some cases through help from church leaders, we can become free from the burdens that weigh us down. We can let go of our grudges and our pride and we can truly move forward with our lives. Forgiveness is one of the most effective medicines in the world. 

It really has been a great week!. We had several cancellations, but we are working hard to make up for appointments that fall through. My companion is great! She has a great knowledge of the scriptures and it has been a wonderful start to the transfer together. Alessandro continues to struggle to quit smoking. We will have to push back his baptismal date a week. But we know that he can do it! We need to step it up with setting baptismal dates. That will be our focus this week. 

We miraculously had 5 people come to church this past sunday. It was AWESOME. There are a lot of great people in this city that are truly ready to accept the gospel. We just need to find them!! 

GENERAL CONFERENCE OH MY GOSH. I am so excited! We have the incredible opportunity to listen to the prophets and apostles and leaders of the church speak to us. They will give us counsel and advice and direction. I can hardly wait! I encourage all of you to prepare a few questions that you have in your lives right now. They will absolutely 100% be answered during general conference. 

I absolutely love being a missionary. It is the greatest thing that I have ever done in my life. It has changed me and continues to change me and how I see the world and how I picture my future. I absolutely love the gospel and I love my Savior Jesus Christ. He carries me every single day. He gives me the strength that I need when I have nothing left to give. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have of who I am and of the plan that God has for me. 

Heavenly Father answers prayers. He loves His children. He is a merciful. loving, and unchanging God. I know Him. And I love Him.

Be good! Make good choices! Love your brothers and sisters! 

Love, 

Sorella Tokarski 

Week 31 in Italy

So I picked up my new companion thursday in Milano! She is the coolest! I love her. Sorella Hibo and I get along great. She is such a gem. She is so smart and so wise.

Friday night, we had a great talent show! I sang, and Sorella Eghbert (who just finished her mission but also served here in sanremo) came with her parents. They had come to pick her up. They came to visit the cities she served in. They are from salt lake, but it turns out that they have a beach house right next to ours at roads end!!! Unreal!! Smallest world ever.

We also had a really great lesson with Alessandro and his family. They don't read the scriptures together and they don't come to church. There is always an excuse. So this week, we had a very honest and very intense lesson with them about how you can justify your way into Heaven and how God won't accept the excuses at the final moment. We taught a lot out of the scriptures, in specific Alma chapter 5. It was a lesson that the spirit guided completely, and it was awesome. We planned it out before, but the spirit gave us that extra boost duri

ng the lesson and we know they understood at the end.

Then on monday morning, i woke up feeling a little strange. My stomach didn't feel so good. Well, I ended up having a brutal case of influenza. I was in the bathroom more than twenty five times in the course of 6 hours. So yeah. I ended up losing 6 pounds that day. The poor mission presidents wife wanted to send me to the hospital to get re-hydrated

but instead, I couldn't leave the house so we called a doctor to come to us, and then one of the nurses from our branch came and ended up giving me some magic shot in my bum to make me stop throwing up. It was great! I'm still pretty dehydrated, but I'm doing a lot better. My companion is just a champ! She has just taken great care of me. So yeah! We started out the transfer a little rough, but we've been laughing the whole time. So that just means that it's going to get so much better from here! We have some great things lined up for the rest of the week! I look forward to getting back to work and continuing to serve here in Sanremo. I love this work so much. It is amazing.

I also have such a testimony of the priesthood. I am so grateful that God has given men just a little bit of His power to bless and serve the lives of everyone here on earth. I love it! 

Anyway. That's all for this week. Have a great one!!! Love you all. 

Love, 

Sorella Tokarski 

ps. when you're sick, the italians taught me that you have to only eat stuff that's white. hence the rice and potato mixture. that stuff works.

Week 30 in Italy

Well we got our transfer calls this week! It turns out that to my surprise and everyone eles's surprise, Sorella Bringas will be transferred away after just 6 short weeks and I will remain for my 4th transfer here in Sanremo! My new companion will be the sister that Sorella Bringas trained! She was born in Coast d'iviore, but she has lived in Rome for basically her whole life! Second native speaking companion! Here we go! (but she speaks english too, as well as arabic, german, french, and spanish, and a few others....) She will be going into her 4th transfer and I will be going into my 6th. So I will be senior companion for the first time. Weird! It will be a fun new adventure in a very familiar city and setting. We leave bright and early in the morning for Milano to make the trade! Transfers are great! I am so sad to be splitting with Sorella Bringas. She is an incredible missionary and she has taught me so much. I have really grown a lot this transfer with her. She exemplifies charity and is a pro at following the spirit. Plus we laugh together all the time. My Italian has improved a lot, and I have really learned a lot about how missionary work works. She was and is a great companion and will be a great sister training leader in Mestere. 

We had another week full of miracles! We started teaching a husband and wife that were ex investigators. They have already received their answer and want to be married in the temple so that they can have an eternal family. Baptism is a little bit scary for them. But we are going to just continue to pray for them and that their hearts can be at peace! Deborah and Daniele are truly so ready! 

Alessandro is working so hard! I know that he can be ready for his baptismal date of the 11th of october! Breaking the addiction of smoking cigarettes is one of the hardest things I'm sure he's had to do. But he is striving with all of his strength to break it. I am so proud of him and I know that the Lord is too. We had a great lesson and dinner with them in this past week. Alessandro made some sort of pastry thing and it was so yummy! I was really full after just a couple and they kept saying that I needed to eat more! My sweet companion said, "No she can't she has to prepare to get married after her mission!!" And Alessandro paused for a second and said, "Is there a date picked for your future wedding?" and I said "NO!! OF COURSE NOT!" And he and his wife both were like, "E ALLORA! MANGIA!!!!!!" (well okay then!!! EAT!!!) We were all just busting up laughing. And Nadia brought out her wedding dress that is now way too big for her. She has lost some weight since her wedding. She said, "Look. When it's time for you to get married, just come and get my dress! It will fit you for sure no matter how fat you get!!!" And we all just were dying. It was great. 

Roberto is doing well. He is starting to understand a little bit better the story of The Book of Mormon. We have found that teaching him through things that he can see and watch works really well! 

I just love this work so much. 

We have been running in the mornings! I've been getting up a few minutes early so that by 6:30 I'm ready to hit the pavement. I don't even know who I am anymore. 

I am also so grateful for the Atonement. It changes us. It makes us into who God wants us to be. I am so grateful for Christ and what he did for me. There is a line in a song that I really like that says, "Mistakes of the past don't define you, they refine you." It's through the power of the atonement that the refining process takes place. I love my Savior and I am so grateful for him and what he has done for me. 

Have a great week everyone!!!! I love you all!! 

Love, 

sorella tokarski

Week 29 in Italy

Well famiglia mia e cari miei,

It has been an incredible week. Truly miraculous. First I will start out with the brief version of the story of Evalina and Claudio that I promised last week. These two are truly the elect of the elect. It all started one sunday morning when claudio felt the need for a bible. He and his wife were here on vacation for a month and a half with their children. They felt the need to read some good old fashined bible! So they went to a couple of churches and asked, but no one had the bible. So as they were about to give up and go to Conad to do some grocery shopping, they saw our little church sign that says La Chiesa Di Gesù Cristo dei santi degli ultimi giorni. Claudio saw the name Gesù and felt that they needed to go inside. They entered and president Bignami scooped them up, sat them in his office and came running to the relief society room to snag us. We were a little bit confused, but we went to go and meet these strangers. They asked us for a bible, and instead we gave them a Book of Mormon! (We didn't have a bible to give out.) President Bignami willingly gave Claudio his own personal copy of the bible after our brief meeting. We explained a little bit about the Book of Mormon and the restoration. They were really intrigued and wanted to know more. We planned a date for our next meeting. Over the course of two weeks, we ended up teaching them about the restoration, the plan of salvation, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and read parts of the Book of Mormon with them. They felt the spirit so strongly in every single lesson. Their faith was incredible. We talked to them about baptism and they both knew that they wanted to be baptized. They asked God in prayer if the Book of Mormon was true and if Joseph Smith was a prophet. They both received priesthood blessings and wept with joy and happiness. They knew that they had found what they were searching for. Their vacation ended and they had to return back to Naples. We sent in all of their information to the office so that they could send missionaries in naples immediately. We received a text from the office last night saying that THEY BOTH ACCEPTED BAPTISMAL DATES FOR THE 27TH OF SEPTEMBER! My heart is just so full of joy for them. I am so excited for them. I will never forget the two of them and the incredible peace and spirit that we felt with them. They truly are one of the biggest miracles that I have seen on my mission. 

Next miracle. We are working with the semerraro family. I love them more than my words can describe. Roberto is freshly baptized, Nadia is trying to come back, and Alessandro is progressing beautifully towards baptism. Both parents are working really hard to stop smoking. We taught a lesson about the word of wisdom this past week. President Bignami accompanied us. The lesson was powerful and at the end, both Nadia and Alessandro recieved priesthood blessings for help. They are both so determined and committed to obey the word of wisdom. They truly inspire me. My heart is so full of gratitude that Heavenly Father has given me the opportunity to work with them and feel a small portion of His love for them.

Next miracle. A couple of weeks ago, we taught a couple. The woman was really interested. They went on vacation the day after our lesson, but while she was on vacation, she read over 300 pages of the Book of Mormon! She really likes it. She is just incredible and her desire to learn is amazing. We look forward to working with her more in the future.

Basically I'm just feeling so much gratitude and joy. It's incredible how at our moments of difficulty and trial, there are always miracles that are about to explode! I know that God loves us and that He has a perfect plan for us. I know that this is the church of Jesus Christ. It's not just a religion. It's not something new. It is the church of Christ exactly how He established it when He was on  the earth. I am so grateful to know that we have a living prophet and that we are lead and guided by him and by the 12 apostles. It is so incredible to me that we have 12 apostles of Jesus Christ in these days. It is just so cool to think about. God is real. Priesthood power is real.

I also know that although we can't always choose our circumstances, we can always choose our attitudes! Choose wisely!

I just love the gospel so much. I love being a missionary so much. It is the best thing that I have ever done in my life.

Today for p-day, we're going to try to get to the border of France! Wish us luck! I love you all. Be good. Don't be lazy. Have good attitudes! God is a God of miracles and He can do all things! 

Love, 

Sorella Tokarski 

the picture is of us with a sweet sister and her daughter who moved out of the branch this past week to spain! I will miss them tons!

Week 28 in Italy

Wow. What a week. We had a good weekend and then left monday night for Savonna. We stayed the night in Savonna with the sisters there, and then headed up to Alessandria yesterday morning bright and early for zone conference. It was great! It was our zone and the Torino zone combined. We talked a lot about discipleship and about how we can better apply the principles of the gospel to our investigators needs. It was great! I love conferences. I love being with all of the missionaries. There is such a special spirit with all of them.

Roberto gave me like an entire bagful of little stuffed animal presents... He was like "Sorella Tokarski, Mi mancherai!!!!!!!" which means I will miss you. 

I'M NOT LEAVING YET NOOO! 

It's strange to have the occasional reminder that life goes on at home even while I'm gone. The time flies and I'm so caught up in the work. (That's how it should be.) People get engaged, people get mission calls, siblings change and change and change some more, things happen without you. But that's the beautiful thing about life. There is a time and a place for all things. I know with all of my heart that this is my time and my place right now here in Sanremo, Italy serving the Lord. I am grateful to know that God has personalized plans for each and every one of us, and as we live out those plans, we have so much joy and happiness. 

Studying on the train to zone conference

It's hard to watch laziness get in the way. Laziness is one of the biggest problems that I have seen on my mission. People come up with excuses saying that they don't have time, or they're just too busy and had too much going on to read their scriptures, or to say their prayers. I repeat the words that my ever so wise father always said to me: If you have time to send your text messages, update your facebook, and whatever else you're doing with technology, you have time to read your scriptures and say your prayers.

Missionaries in my zone

IT'S NOT THAT HARD. It is an absolute necessity for our souls. I think about all of the time that I have wasted in my life. I regret a lot of it. How much stronger would I be right now if I had taken more time to study the gospel, to do service, or to participate in church related activities? Doing the basic things and not allowing laziness to get in the way is VITAL in our lives. Please. Just do it. The blessings will come.

I love being a missionary and I love having the opportunity to repent every single day. I am not perfect. I am not any better than any other person with whom I serve or with whom I find or teach. I know with my whole heart that daily repentance is necessary. We need it. God expects it.

We all have weaknesses and challenges. They are necessary for our progression. That's what we have the atonement for. Use it. 

I love you all. Thank you for your support and prayers. 

love, 

Sorella Tokarski 

The story of Evalina and Claudio will come next week. MIRACLES. They are the couple that we are with in this picture.