Week 41 - The Amazing Technicolor Wedding

This week we were asked by an English Course student if we could help her with a bit of service We said of course, and the next day we met her at her house after pranzo. What we thought was a little service in her new house, was actually us helping her make decorations for her upcoming beach wedding. I've see a lot of different weddings from my pre-mission job, with color schemes from neon green and pink to literally all the shades of blue. But. This was the first wedding color scheme I've seen that included every truly color of the rainbow. It felt very much like Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, with decorations that were red and yellow and pink and green and blue. Fortunately, we were able to turn the service opportunity into a teaching opportunity and share a bit about what we believe with her son and his fiancée.

Another adventure of this week was meeting the woman who believed in everything. I've met some of the most interesting people here in Messina, and this woman I think has made the top ten list. This is about how the conversation went

Lady: yeah, I believe in a God who is our creator and has a physical body like ours

Us: yes! That's so gre

Lady: but after this life our souls become energy and go into space. It makes sense. I'm a big believer in understanding all the facts so we can know the truth

Me: Yes! We can give you the fullness of the truth!

Lady: so by understanding all of facts, we know that Jesus actually studied in China and India and fully understand their religious practices, and that's how he could heal people. The people killed him because he was more intelligent than them. These are facts girls, you should really read more about history. 

Alright....

Also we saw a full lunar eclipse this week! One year ago I got to see a full Solar Eclipse and now a full lunar eclipse. God is truly an artist. 

This week was filled with a lot of finding, but it's been good. I've been reflecting a lot about why I'm out here serving a mission. I've shared a lot of those reasons with you guys, but the one I've been thinking about this week is something that Sorella Pickerd said in our last zone conference. "They want to go home too." That phrase has just stuck with me. I am so grateful for the blessings of eternal families and for the knowledge that one day, I will be able to live with them and my Heavenly Father again. I want everyone to have the opportunity to come back home. There's a scripture in Alma 31 that says "O Lord, wilt thou grant unto us that we may have success in bringing them again unto thee in Christ. Behold, O Lord, their souls are precious … ; therefore, give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee”. I love thinking about that phrase "their souls are precious". It's true. Each person is a son or daughter of Heavenly Father, and their souls are so precious to him. They want to return home to Him too. 

I love you all!

Sorella Maxfield

Week 40 - the group emails get shorter and shorter

I'm so sorry, I'll just share a couple cool moments from this week. 

1. ZONE CONFERENCE - We buried our weapons of war and rebelion. Literally. The Zone Leaders dug a hole and we all went and buried oragmi swords with one thing we were going to sacrifice to become better missionaries. So we all gathered in a circle around this big hole, threw in our swords and watched while the Zone Leaders buried them. I'd really like to know what the neighbors were thinking. 

2. SCAMBIO IN CATANIA - Sorella Cattani and I had a great scambio. We did some video finding, and ran into some really cool people. And some really strange ones. But mostly ones who were so ready and willing to share their belief in Christ. 

3. PLAN OF SALVATION MEMBER LESSON - member lessons are such a blessing. Those of you who are members, I would invite you to go and participate in a missionary lesson. It's such a blessing for investigators to have friendships outside of just the missionaries. So we taught a lesson to our cute investigator about the plan of salvation, anf then the member's testimony just perfectly tied up the lesson. I loved it. 

4. IT IS HOTTER THAN AFRICA - seriously, the only thing that keeps me going is the AC that comes out of the doors of some shops on the street. I just try to linger there as we walk by to cool off a bit.

5. SPIRITUAL THOUGHT - We shared this with a member this week, and I think it is one of the more under appreciated stories in the Book of Mormon

"During a perilous period of war described in the Book of Mormon, an exchange of epistles occurred between Moroni, the captain of the Nephite armies, and Pahoran, the chief judge and governor of the land. Moroni, whose army was suffering because of inadequate support from the government, wrote to Pahoran “by the way of condemnation” and accused him and his fellow leaders of thoughtlessness, slothfulness, neglect, and even being traitors.

Pahoran easily might have resented Moroni and his inaccurate allegations, but he did not. He responded compassionately and described a rebellion against the government about which Moroni was not aware. And then Pahoran declared:

“Behold, I say unto you, Moroni, that I do not joy in your great afflictions, yea, it grieves my soul. …

“… In your epistle you have censured me, but it mattereth not; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the greatness of your heart.”

What do you think explains Pahoran’s measured reply to Moroni’s accusations?"

I love you all!

Week 39 - Keeping it short this week

I was planning on writing a nice long email about some reflections I've had on missionary life now that I've reached half way, but classic, it's 5:22 and we have to leave in ten minutes for a lesson... so this will be brief. 

Basically I just wanted to convey the message that Jesus Christ is our Savior. His gospel is perfect and unchanging and infinite. His Atonement covers everyone. Thanks to his Atonement, we have the opportunity to return to live with our Heavenly Father and our families for eternity. Think about that!! Because of Jesus Christ, as imperfect as we are, we can have an eternal and perfect happiness. I'm so grateful that I have had this opportunity as a missionary to share that message everyday. I'm sure I've already shared this quote, but it's too beautiful to not share again.

"The ultimate offering was that offered by the Savior Himself in giving His very life. It causes each of us to wonder, How many drops of blood were shed for me? I witness that Jesus is the Christ, the holy Son of God, the healer of our souls, our Savior and Redeemer of mankind." - James E. Faust [Opening the Windows of Heaven Oct. 1998]

This week has been full of miracles, this transfer is already full of incredible moments, and my mission has been full of lessons and experiences that I couldn't have had anywhere else. I'm so grateful for the time I have to be a missionary, and more importantly, I'm grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ.

I love you all!

Sorella Maxfield 

P.s.

More sorella Muçe quotes, cause they're just too fun. 

"Mamma mia, quanto pazienza ci vuole in questa vita"

"You know, my brain is very focused on missionary work, but my body is saying that it needs a nap"

Week 38 - Meeting Adriano Celentano

his week we had two really amazing mirackes with less actives: 

 The first was with a woman who we've tried calling her a bunch of times, but she never responds. However, the bishop and this woman's daughter both told us to go and find her. So, being the persistent missionaries that we are, we did just that. I like to call it "guilt trip" finding. You just show up to their house tired and sweaty, and usually they'll offer you a water and a seat for a minute. So we started wandering around Messina, trying to find this woman's street. We were pretty sure we were headed in the right direction, and as we were walking up the street, Sorella Muce said we should stop into a little pasticeria to drop off some bigliettini. As usually happens, we started talking with the lady at the cassa, and started explaining who we were, and how we were trying to find this Signora. While we were talking, another man walks into the Pasticeeria, and says "Hey. I'm a Mormon." WHAT. Turns out this man was baptized years ago, but once he married a catholic woman he stopped coming. He knew almost everyone in the church by name. (Interestingly enough, his name is Adriano Celentano, who is apperently the Italian Elvis. At least this is what Sorella Muce says.). So, we asked this man where this signora lived, and he gave us the perfect directions. We bought a cornetto from him (as incentive) and then headed in the way he pointed us. 

Miraculously enough, this sister was not only home, but she opened the door to us and let us in! However, it wasn't exactly the happiest of reunions. She started out by saying, "I want to be honest with you and tell you that I have been intentionally ignoring your calls, and there is absolutely no way I will ever come back to church." Wow. Rough start. But, Sorella Muce and I felt prompted to share a message about the Atonement. The spirit was so strong, and any sense of contention immediately went away. By the end of our spiritual thought, she agreed to let us continue coming over, and said she would love for us to call her every once in a while. That lesson really showed me what power the message of Jesus Christ has. It softens hardened hearst, mends friendships, and tears down barriers. His love is something that unites us. It's amazing.

The second was found by a very similar experience. There was another woman we hadn't heard from in a while, so we decided one morning to pay her a spontaneous visit. We took a bus over to the top of Messina and started searching for her house. When we finally found it, we heard lots of voices coming from inside so we rang the doorbell and waited. Nothing. So we rang again. Nothing. Then this small little italian woman pops out of nowhere, makes some strange sign language, and then just starts banging on the door until they answer. We looked awkwardly at the woman who answered, she looked awkwardly at us, and this random tiny old italian woman just walked away. After a minute of uncomfortable silence, Maria lets us in, and we were able to share a brief message about the Atonement. Half way through our message, one of Maria's daughters just started crying. After a couple seconds, she told us "I know you said that you just decided to come over here randomly, but I want to tell you that this message is for me. You came here for me. Thank you." It felt so good to know that we were really being guided that day. It's rare that we ever get a firm, verbal recognition like that, and for me, it was an answer to prayer. I jnow that was Heavenly Father telling me that the work I'm doing here is effecting people. That people really are looking for Christ, and that our efforts count.

This email is getting nice and long, so I'll leave you with my testimony that Christ lives. He's our Savior, and he loves us unconditionally. If you're doubting it, go read Romans 8. 

I love you guys!

Sorella Maxfield 

P.S. Some Sorella Muçe quotes and other fun moments of the week:

"You americans are so impressionable"

"Well. We could pray about it. Or we could dance about it."

"In my dialect we say 'go chase a rat' if someone is making fun of you." (Va a ciapar i rat, if anyone is curious)"

*every time we eat* "buon appetito, piatto pulito"

*everytime I open the door for her* "wow. Thanks bro."

Basically she's the most adorable companion ever.

Also I ran into my MTC teacher Sorella Clark today. Tender mercies people. They're real.

Week 37 - Way down south

Way south. Wayyyyyy down south. I want you all to open up a map. Find Tunisia, head east and a little north until you've almost reached Italy's toe. Congratulations, you've found Messina, my third area. I've been transfered down to Sicily, where the people are shorter, the food is cheaper, the culture is more intense and we're closer to Africa than we are to Rome. La bella Sicilia. 

   This transfer week was more than a little exciting. We recieved our call monday night, and were really surprised to find out I would be leavint after just two transfers, and Sorella Nelson would be staying in Rome 3 for a fourth. After giving us our assignments, they informed us that we were also moving apartments, and if we would be so kind as to box and clean everything. By wednesday night. The day before transfers. So we spent tuesday hunting for boxes at various stores (even tried the italin "Home Depot", called OBI. but get this; €2.50 for one box! ) we even ended up trying to pull some out a recycling bin before calling our senior couple at the Friendship Center if they had any. Miraculously, they had recieved boxes of donations that day, so we carried twenty cardboard boxes from the center of rome to our house. 

   In between packing, we had some time to say goodbye to some members and investigators. Leaving an area is my least favorite part about the mission. I felt so close to the people in Rome 3, and leaving them was so hard. I'm so grateful for technology though, I know that we can still keep in touch some how. 

   The train ride down from Rome to Sicily takes 8 hours. We made a stop in Napoli (unfortunately, none of the pizzerias were open yet so the STL couldn't bring me a pizza. Tears may or may not have been shed), Battipaglia, Sapri, Paola, and lot's of other cities down the west coast. THEN. Our train split in half and drove on to a boat, that then ferried us across the straight to Messina. It reminded me of Green Eggs and Ham, where Sam I am is offering the green eggs and ham on a train on a boat. Something like that. 

    My new companion is Sorella Muçe. Born in Albania, raised in Italy, speaks perfect Italian, English, Albanian, French, and German. Now no one can say they don't understand us as an excuse for not talking to us. She's a little italian fireball of energy, who says things like "holy flipping cow" when she accidentally drops something, and "that little stinker" when the bus doesn't stop for us.

    I haven't had much time in Messina, but I can already tell I'm going to love the city and the people. We've had a couple opportunities to teach together, and our best thus far has been with our newest Investigator. She was a referral from the sisters in Bologna, but she's down here looking for work now. We were able to go over to teach her the Plan of Salvation, and it was really powerful. When we talked about the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the spirit was almost tangible. It was so beautiful to feel the spirit testifying of the reality and importance of His Atonement. Without Him, we could never return back to Heavenly Father. Without Him, we'd just drift farther and farther away. Without Him, we could never experience the fullness of joy Heavenly Father has prepared for us. So my invite for you all this week is to thank Heavenly Father for his Son. Thank him in prayer or in thought or in action. We are so blessed to have a Savior. I know that He lives.

    I love you guys!!

Sorella Maxfield