For With God Nothing Shall Be Impossible: Letter #10 and Pictures from Cosenza, Italy

Dear family and friends,

I want to thank you for everything you have done for me and for all your birthday wishes. My birthday was great. We had a district meeting that morning and Sorella Waddoups and President Waddoups called me!! I got to hear their voices and they sound wonderful, I cannot wait to meet them!! Then we had lunch with a member, Karin Spizzirri. She is German and very intense, but I love her. She made me a desert, Profittero (I think that is how you spell it). It is a ton of Bignets (or cream puffs) that they fill with cream and Panna and then they drown in melted chocolate!!!!!! Then you put it in the fridge to harden a little.

Me and Sorella Spizzirri and Proffittero

All us missionaries!! And Proffittero

She also gave Sorella Worsham and me these cute little white things to put over our hair buns, I felt like I looked ridiculous but it was very sweet.

Sorella Worsham also made me an ice-cream cake. IT WAS GOOD!

Sorella Worsham's Cake

My Sunflower

That night we had a branch activity, a night at the cinema. They were all going to watch the 'Lake House.' Imagine our ward mission leader's shock when we told him we could not watch the Lake House!! :) He was mystified. He said, "But - it is a GOOD movie..." I replied that we know that it is a great movie but as missionaries we cannot watch it! :) He resigned himself to this and all was well. We still came early to help and for the spiritual thought.

When we arrived we saw Fratello Lopez on the phone. When he got off the phone he came running to us and told us, excitedly, "I just got off the phone with the Mission President and you can watch the movie that the kid's watch!!!" He was so proud of himself. Fratello Lopez is determined so I am not surprised that he talked Presidente Waddoups into it.

I got there and all of these members had found out it was my birthday, and they kept saying, "why didn't you tell us?" But they were very nice. And after the spiritual thought the Branch surprised me with a sunflower. I thought I was going up to bear my testimony and Fllo Gardi whips out from behind the pulpit a flower. It was sooo nice!. Then we left and watched "Ratatouille" with all the kids and ate popcorn. It was great!!

I am still waiting for a few conversion stories. Specifically: Letty, Richard, David, Algot, Alisha, Joe, and James. Late entries are accepted :)

For my email today I wanted to share with you my conversion story with what time I have left to write:

My conversion to the Lord has been gradually over my whole life, as almost all of yours. But I can map it with key pillar moments over my life.

I grew up loving the scriptures. Because my parents loved the scriptures and shared this love with me. I loved to read the Book of Mormon and the Bible and I loved Seminary. I always knew that they contained God's words and that they were meant specifically to help us and to guide us in this life. At about age 13 I decided to read the Book of Mormon every day. I have continued to do this until today. There have been some holes, some days missed, or sometimes when I read the Bible or Doctrine and Covenants instead of the Book of Mormon (because that is what we were studying in Seminary). I know that God has given us scriptures for our own benefit and to teach us of Him. They teach us about His plan of happiness that He has for all His children and they teach us what we must do to return home to live with Him.

I have always known that my Savior loved me and all of God's children ever since a young age. Growing up I always had nightmares, my sisters Letty and Ann can attest to this seeing as we shared a room. I would always pray every night that instead of a nightmare I would have a dream about Jesus. (An idea I had learned in Church.) When I was about 5 (the exact age I do not remember) God answered my prayer. Instead of the usual nightmare, I had a dream that Jesus was seated and calling all of the children to Him. He called me and lifted me up onto His lap. He hugged me and told me how much He loved me and that I never needed to be afraid.

To this day I remember that dream and because of it and other experiences in my life I know that God knows us and loves us. I know that He answers prayers. Even the simplest and most seemingly insignificant requests, if they are in accordance with His will.

All during high school and middle school I did what was expected of me. And my testimony grew by doing little things. My testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet grew when I went on a trip with other youth in the church to go visit Church History sites. We went to Kirtland, Ohio and ended in Palmyra, New York. Standing in the Sacred Grove where Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus Christ was not the part that grew my testimony. Instead it was a testimony meeting we had in the basement of the Palmyra Visitor's Center, surrounded by dummies and props from the Hill Cumorah Pageant. It was there, hearing the testimony of the other girls and sharing my own, that I realized that I believe that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ and that he translated the Book of Mormon through the divine power of the Holy Ghost.

Another pillar of my conversion was when I was 17 years old. I believed the Book of Mormon was true but I wanted a stronger testimony of it. The idea came to me that one way to strengthen my testimony would be to give a copy to someone else. That action would signify that I knew this book was true. So I did just that. I picked 2 friends and I wrote my testimony in a Book of Mormon and gave them each one. Through the experiences that followed I was given the opportunity to bear my testimony of the truthfulness of that Book and felt inside of me the realization that I DID KNOW with CERTAINTY that it was a true book.

I then went off to college and continued on with my little things. And with continual promptings and answers to my prayers my testimony has grown. I have been converted by the tender mercies I saw everyday. By every exam that I did not fail and by every roommate and friend I have made and learned from.

I still have a lot more to learn and my testimony and conversion must grow. But there I some things that I know.

Being on my mission I have felt my testimony grow exponentially and I have felt myself being converted to the Lord. I have felt the presence of the Holy ghost and I have felt the presence of my Father in Heaven. As I have prayed I have felt His literal presence and His closeness and I know that He is listening. I have seen the power of the priesthood. I have been actually physically healed and strengthened. I may feel horrible but as soon as we start a lesson, my nose stops running and I can think clearly; and as soon as the lesson is over I feel sick again!

I have seen people change, I have seen the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that there are no coincidences, especially in missionary work. You meet who you are supposed to meet. To quote the prophet, Thomas S. Monson, "The Lord is in the details." I have felt the Lord use me to say His words, and do His deeds, even though I am not a perfect tool.

I am so grateful for all of you specifically my siblings and parents! For everything you have taught me and how each of you have grown my testimony by your example. I am grateful for God's plan and that we can be with our families forever. I am grateful for the temple, where we can go and make promises with our Heavenly Father and we can go be endowed with power. This is what God wants for every single human being and we need to share it with them.

I Love you all!

Love,
Sorella Rose preston