Letter #13 and Pictures from Bari, Italy

Dear Family and Friends,

This has been such a wonderful week and I am so excited for Christmas. It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Bari. This saturday I got my transfer call, and me and Sorella Mikesell are staying together in BARI :) I am so excited! I love a good Barese Christmas. We really wanted to stay together but I did not think it would happen. TADA! Dreams DO COME TRUE!  

Me and Mikesell along Lungomare in the rain with Città vecchia in the background

For those of you who know me, you will be well aware that I have been listening to Christmas music my whole mission and wanted to put up lights the beginning of November. Me and Mikesell are going to deck our halls :) 


I feel very blessed that I get to stay in Bari. But Sorella Mikesell has been planning some good things to keep our missionary fire. For those of you who have served missions you will know that it is easy to become complacent especially when you have been with the same companion or in the same city for a while. Every morning I have been praying that I will continue to feel gratitude for the miracles that happen and keep pushing myself to do better. 

Earlier in the week during Ward executive committee meeting, the 1st one with our new bishop, all of the fratelli expressed how much they would like to come to lessons. I realized that we had been slacking on getting members at our lessons. We put a new emphasis on calling them and inviting them to come. We had a lot more member present lessons this week. Some fell through, but I hope the members feel more involved. Their comments helped remind me that the Hastening of the Work is not just for the members to step up, but also the missionaries. We need to help the members come out of their comfort zones. I need to help them grow and strengthen their testimonies so that they will feel confident and prepared to share the gospel. We have had such great lessons this week BECAUSE the members came. It makes such a difference. WHY? Because missionaries are weird, and we don't speak Italian!

Just last night during gospel principles class, the teacher was able to help a new convert, Gaetano, so much more than I could have. This new convert asked me earlier that week a question in the Bible and my answer was very generic. The teacher was able to go in depth and find the root of his problem, which was he did not know if He should date non-members. The teacher was able to share personal stories of when he had the same problem. He had made a goal to be married in the temple and he went to YSA conferences all over Italy until he found a girl who he liked and was worthy. I never could have related to Gaetano's problem. I know this is an odd example, but while I was sitting in the class it really stood out to me.

This week we had scambis with the Foggia Sorelle in Foggia. Me and Sorella Mitsvotai had a really funny experience. We were going to go stop by one of their investigators, Luigi and his wife Anna Rita. When we were approaching the palazzo I saw a hurst and a priest all decked out in his finest robes. I thought it was strange. Then I walked over to the portone and they had Manifestos for the deceased, Anna Rita. I said, "Hey, Sorella Mitsvotai - wasn't that the name of your investigator's wife?" Indeed it was! She had died the day before and it was her funeral, hence the hurst! I know it was bad taste, but I had to stop myself from laughing!! What are the odds! Seriously, the same day we go to visit them is her funeral. I think it is really funny. We were going to talk about the Plan of Salvation and focus on the Resurrection. It was not by chance that we were there. We wanted to go and give our condolences, but there were a lot of people so we decided that the Sorelle will call him in a few days. 

Tomorrow we have an English Thanksgiving party and their graduation!! They are all bringing food and we are going to have a few Thanksgiving foods for them to try. I volunteered to make apple pies (note the title of the email) I bought all the ingredients today. And got to work. After the first pie baked I opened the cupboard and realized,... We only have 1 pie pan. How can I make 5 pies? I freaked out. All of my problem solving skills went out the window. I tried to put it in tall cake pan with a Frankenstein crust and this is when Sorella Mikesell arrived. She calmed me down, and explained that a deep dish apple pie will not work well. We decided on a 9x13 with double the recipe. I will have to do it later tonight! Thank goodness for Sorella Mikesell! 

I love you all so much and I am praying for you!

Love, Sorella Preston

Our district!! Left: Me, Slla Mikesell, Anziani Barrow, Line, Kunz, Juhasz, Carr, Peachey

Letter #12 and Pictures from Bari, Italy

Dear Family and Friends,


VI VOGLIO BENE!!!

I hope last week was wonderful for you all because it was amazing for us :) Today we are celebrating Thanksgiving with the Foggia Sorelle! It is going to be great. We have mashed potatoes, apple pie, chicken, vegetables, home-made bread. It is going to be so wonderful!!  Next week expect pictures!


Thanksgiving, Sorella Mikesell, Sorella Mitsvotai, Sorella Rossell

We have been listening to tons of Christmas music.  Sorella Mikesell has a Barbara Streisand Christmas CD. It is so funny! I love it :) Mom and Dad, I got your package. I love the CD it is great. It has been so long since I have heard musicals so as soon as "The Impossible Dream" came on I freaked out :)

This week has been miraculously. I felt like exclaiming like Ammon and praising God.

"And now, these are the words of Ammon to his brethren, which say thus: My brothers and my brethren, behold I say unto you, how great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we started from the land of Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such great blessings?

"Blessed be the name of our God; let us sing to his praise, yea, let us give thanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever.

"I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God.

 "12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."

(Alma 26: 1,8, 11-12)

So many miracles have happened:

Last week I wrote you and I told you about all the miracles that Marina experienced. This week it just continued. We met with her last Tuesday. Not only does she keep her impegni, but she teaches us. We don’t teach her. We asked her to read 1 Nefi 3. She read it and came prepared. We asked her what she thought. Her answer was that "Each of us has a mission in this life, but God will help us. And He will send angels to protect us. Nothing is impossible with God."

Sorella Mikesell and I just sat flabbergasted! Eventually I responded and said "Exactly." She then explained how, when you read the scriptures, you must apply them or nothing will come of reading them. 

We asked her how she feels about the Book of Mormon. She feels that it is true. "Otherwise you would not be here in Italy telling me about it!" She wants to know more about Joseph smith and we asked her to pray about him and to read 1 nefi 1. 

Whenever I see Marina she glows now. She came to church again this Sunday and she loved it. After gospel principles she pulled me aside and said that she prayed and she wants to tell us her answer but there were too many people. So after sacrament meeting we went to one of the primary classrooms to talk. She said that she prayed and felt peace. She still will not accept a baptismal date but she knows that this is the right path for her.

She then took us outside and introduced us to her husband. He was super nice and clearly he knows she is meeting with us. We were worried about how he would react but he seems super chill. We want to teach them together! 

The miracles just kept coming this week. Another one of our investigators, Cecilia has a baptismal date and she came for 2 Sundays now, to all 3 hours of church. 

When I first saw her per strada I thought she was crazy. She was walking in a group with us with dread locks and bright yellow pants. But then something told me to go and talk with her and I really did not want to. But it would not go away, so as we were passing I smiled and said hello.  She immediately stopped us and explained that she has friends who are members of the church, a few of our African members. She wanted to talk with us, but did not know how to contact us. 

As we started teaching her, she started to introduce us to all of her friends and the Restoration just clicked. She told us this week that she had been looking for the way God wanted her to take. She prayed about Joseph smith and she felt this warmth and light! She wants to get baptized. She is so funny. And she has been one of the biggest surprises of my mission.

Another miracle was Marjana .The Poggiofranco Sorelle, before they left, met an ex-investigator again. We finally got a hold of her and went to go see her and now she has a baptismal date as well. She loves the Book of Mormon and the church. She has a sister who is a member in Albania, and she is from Macedonia (COOL!  AM I RIGHT!?) She is ex-military and works as port portral so she is very intense, but she means what she says. And she loves this message. 

These are just a few of the miracles. Not to mention all the investigators we finally contacted from the Poggiorfranco Sorelle. Including a new investigator who has a baptismal date for 4th of January, and many more. I know we still have a lot of work to do with these people, but Bari is exploding! I know that God is doing a great work here among these people! And it humbles me. But I am so excited for all of them. I love you all and I wish you a happy early Thanksgiving.

Sorella Preston

Letter #11 From Bari, Italy

Dear family and Friends,

 

I hope that you are all doing well and that your preparations for Thanksgiving are not too strenuous. I know that it is not Thanksgiving yet but I have seen so many miracles this week that I just wanted to express my gratitude by telling you all about them!

Miracle #1
Marina is one of our English Course students. When she started coming she seemed very serious and she was going to the class taught by Anziano Barrow. For weeks Sorella Mikesell just kept telling me, "I feel that I should teach intermediate! I want to teach Marina. I think we need to teach the class that Marina is in..." Well, finally we organized it for Sorella Mikesell to teach Intermediate and for Anz Barrow and Anz Carr to teach 2 basic classes.

 

Our first class together we talked about health. Sorella Mikesell and I took the opportunity to explain the Word of Wisdom and why we folllow this Law of Health from God. Afterwards, Marina came up to me beaming and she thanked us for everything we do ESPECIALLY the spiritual part at the end. I asked her if she would like to meet with us and she said yes. She then came to the Halloween Party and afterwards. We thought to invite her to come to Church 2 sundays ago. And she CAME! We then set up an appt to see her Tuesday. We just planned to have a lesson zero and get to know her and her relationship with God.

 

As we sat down together after some chatting and getting to know and after the prayer. Sorella Mikesell asked her, "Who is God for you in your life?" She answered that He is her father. And that is why she always prays to him. She went on to share with us how important prayer is for her and how she prays like we do. She said, "It does not matter whether I tell God foolish things, or if I share little boring things from the day, He wants to hear from me." After this comment Sorella Mikesell and I just turned to each other with the same thought - "Let's move on to the Restoration." We then went on to explain the Restoration lesson all based off of prayer. It was a different way I have ever explained it and when we got to the 1st vision, the spirit was so strong. I FELT THE Holy Ghost the strongest I have felt IN ANY RESTORATION LESSON before on my mission. And as I shared the 1st vision I had to fight back tears! It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. Afterwards she accepted a Book of Mormon and agreed to read the introduction and pray about the book. 

 

When we saw her Thursday for class again. She told me that she had been reading and had read the intro and all the testimonies in the beginning. She especially liked the personal account by Joseph Smith about how he got the plates. She said that it is impossible for someone to know if Joseph smith was a prophet unless they read his words and understand his own experiences. I invited her to keep reading and start 1 nefi. 

 

She came to Sacrament meeting again this sunday. She is SOO READY it blows my mind. We are going to see her tomorrow and invite her to baptism. She is such a sweet soul. She is educated, kind, and already lives the gospel. We asked her what she thought the purpose of life is and her answer: to love and serve others! We don't teach her anything. She teaches me!! 

 

Miracle #2

The other day one of our members ran into our investigator that we had an appointment set for Friday. Afterwards, he called us and VOLUNTEERED to come to the lesson if we would like! I accepted quite eagerly! He was great in the lesson. He came to our lesson during his dinner break after working all day and afterwards he went back to work until 1 or 2 am. It amazed me the sacrifice he made to help missionary work. It was a wondeful miracle and a blessing to me.

 

Miracle #3

Another one of our investigators came to church this Sunday for the first time! Oh happy day! 

 

These are just a few of the miracles. Not to mention, one of our new converts brought a friend to church on Sunday, and one of our members invited us to come with him to visit the inactive family he home teaches. We found out he has been going for 25 years and they still do not want to come to church but he still goes. 

And this Sunday at Pranzo we were inspired to help a family catch the missionary fire. On our way there the thought came to me to share my Dad's conversion story. We arrived and we had great discussions during lunch about all that they are doing for their non-member relatives and their coworkers. Then the father asked us why it was so important for members to help. I was able to explain and their newly returned missionary daughter also explained.

 

I was also able to share some things that Letty emailed me about her and Richard's family mission plan. At their Stake Conference the mission president advised them not to ask themselves who is ready to take the lessons, but who can they help come closer to Christ and how. Maybe our friends are not ready to meet with the missionaries, but we can help them take a step closer to Christ. So that someday they will be ready. After lunch I shared my Dad's Conversion story and how because of his choices he has blessed hundreds of lives including mine. It was an amazing experience! 

 

I love you all so much and I miss you. 

 

P.S. I will not be sending Christmas presents because instead I am just going to bring them home with me. It saves postage and I can see your faces when you open them! 

 

Love you lots,

Sorella Preston

P-day in Ostuni, Italy (The White City)

Last p-day we went to Ostuni the White City. It was gorgeous!!

 A view from Ostuni

 

 Random bathrobe and door

 Sorella Mikesell with other cute scenery

 Me in front of a super cute door

Sorella Mikesell walking down a white alley way

We love Ostuni!!

 

 

Letter #10 and Pictures from Bari, Italy

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope that you are all doing well. This past week we have seen so many miracles and we have been working a lot with our members. We also have a lot of ideas in the works. Sorella Mikesell has a lot of really good ideas. 

This past week the YW in both Bari Libertà and Bari Poggiofranco wards planned a Halloween Party. There was a great turn out. Over 150 People came, 50-60 of these were children. Members invited tons of friends and a lot of inactives and English course students came. I will attach some fotos (those that I have).


This is the horde of kids at the party - and more came later!

Sorella Petroni with her Frankenstein cake that was delicious!!! It was a carrot cake but it tasted like pumpkin with chocolate chips inside!! Sorella Mikesell is in the background with her cute home-made witch hat (we both made witch hats).

Me with Elisabetta and her daughter Chiara (a.ka. Minnie Mouse)

Everyone had a lot of fun and they got to learn more about our church and they got to meet the missionaries. One of our English Course students, Marina, that has showed a lot of interest in our message came to the party. One English course we were talking about health and vocabulary regarding health in English. For our spiritual thought we explained the Word of Wisdom, God's law of health for us. Afterwards she came up to us, and thanked us for the message and that we always share spiritual thoughts. We asked her if she would like to meet with us and she said yes!!! We had a not had an opportunity to meet with her. But she came to the Halloween Party and loved it. We later called her and invited her to come to church on Sunday. She came!!! And she stayed for Gospel Principles and most of Sacrament meeting. She is amazing!!

Another miracle is a less-active family. They have always come to activities and now they come to English course and the wife always brings friends. They just do not come to church or spiritual activities. When we asked her why, she said that she did not want to be a hypocrite. She has a few commandments that she and her family do not keep but she does not want to change. But their family is great and she is a great member missionary. Our ward council has been focusing on this family for a long time. And recently many miracles have happened which has started to help  them realize that they need to  have the gospel more in their lives. Their daughter is 7 years old and they have not been sealed in the temple- We keep praying for them. But they accepted to come to our ward FHE tonight- The activity is called "Ricordi?" We asked a few specific members to share their conversion stories and it will be like a little testimony meeting all together. And then Vescovo will have a closing thought on service and 'acting now.'
 

Vescovo Valentini asked her to share her conversion story and they are bringing their usual group of friends. Also, tonight the wife has asked for a priesthood blessing of comfort and healing because of the trials she is facing right now. God is truly moving in the lives of this family right now.

These are just a few of the amazing experiences we have had this past week and this week we will have even more. I know that there are many people here in Bari who are waiting to hear the gospel. All we have to do is be be open to the spirit and be willing to do God's will.  

I love you all so much. I feel blessed to have you in my life. 

This week I read some great verses in 2 Corinthians 6:3-10. I invite you all to read them. When I read them I thought about the strength we have as disciples of Christ. People notice the light we have and we must live worthy of this discipleship. And when people sometimes spread rumors about us and about the Church of God we do not need to worry if we are truly following Him and if our hearts are in the right place. Because in the end all that matters is what God thinks of us not what others think. This was my thought this week.

I love you guys,

Sorella Rose Preston