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!
