For With God Nothing Shall Be Impossible: Letter #4 And Pictures from Bari, Italy

I am almost done with my first transfer, I cant believe it :) I love it here and I am glad because the mission president hinted that me and my trainer will stay together this next transfer!!! This week has been so amazing but first i will do business:

3) Can you email me some recipes? We are having a thanksgiving dinner here as a ward activity and we want to make American food(?) or try too using italian ingredients :) The recipes i owuld like is Apple pie ( with HOney in it), meatloaf, cranberry sauce, and stuffing,

The chocolate here is so good, even Kit Kats taste better here !! It is amazing :) This week has been so wonderful and i have really seen the miracles God has worked in my life. After the Halloween party, Slla Comollo and I felt as if we have spent too much time on the party so we decided to buckle down but all our plans kept falling through. But during those times we did get to talk with a group of Muslims outside their Mosque :) That was such a cool experience but one I wont repeat :) We went because our contact Mohammed invited us but I thought it would be like America. I think in America it is more common for people to visit churches to see what they are like. All the people were very suspicious of us and why we wanted to be there so we decided not to go in. I realized it would be different now because I am a missionary and I embody change, which no one really likes :)

During planning we talked about why the first week had been so great and then we had not had as much success. I realized that i needed to change my attitude and to really believe and strive to meet our goals. We decided this and then went out to do finding. We went to this very rundown area right by our church. We were not really finding any people but we had felt we needed to go here and we had just made our goals to have 21 lessons and work diligently the whole week. As we continued down the street I knocked on a door and the lady answered and was super kind. After I said the initial approach, "SIiamo qui come sorelle missionarie per la chiesa di Gesù Cristo e questo è un bigliettino con l'indirizzo della nostra chiesa" she had not shut the door yet! I went on sharing more of our message and I asked her how she prays. She responded that she only prays to God and not to any of the saints!! After which she shrugged and said, "I know weird for a catholic". I wanted to scream for joy! It is so hard to pass that hurdle of not venerating saints and here was someone who didn't do it!!! :) She wants us to come back this Sunday!! It's so cool.

Then we went on the next door also let us in. It was a big family and they all stopped and listened to us and our message. The mother was focused intently on our message and invited us to come back. I had never seen such hunger for what we were saying before on someones face. It was miraculous!! and it grew my testimony of how miracles come after the trials of our faith. THEY are the last two doors we knock. THEY are the people we find at 8:30 right before we go home. And that is why we can never stop. It is not hard to be positive here because the people are so loving and even if they are not interested they say it nicely. I love finding because even if know one listens, I know I was working and I was trying and I love that feeling. Whenever we are doing finding i always feel so much joy and have so much fun it almost surprises me :) But i know it is because I know that my Heavenly Father is PROUD of me and of what i am doing.

We also have seen alot of miracles this week in Giovanni. He did not keep his baptismal date and we did not want to fall into the same cycle. But he is changing. We stressed how he must keep his promises. He has come to all our meetings. He has been coming to church, making friends with people in the ward. I can see his countenance change he is confident and happy. He make comments in our lessons and likes to tell us what he learned from the scriptures that day. He talks about enduring to the end and how that is what he wants to work on. His prayers have become more reverent and sincere. I can see his heart being changed. It is soo cool!!

This last sunday we had 3 investigators at church, we were so busy. Mike came and Giovanni and Mike's uncle Shaz. His name is Charles but he was drunk when we met im so we could not understand what his name was so we just call him Shaz :) It is really cool we met Shaz seperate from Mike while we were waiting for Mike to arrive for our lesson. We talked with Shaz and was super nice even though he was drunk! When Mike came they started talking and Mike was smiling. I was so confused. Then Mike expained that is was his uncle. Mike then explained and shared the Book of Mormon with his uncle. It was soo cool. I did not understand what they were saying because they were speaking Twi but that was okay!!

Also this last Sunday we watched a beautiful film in Relief Society that you all must see. I wish i could see it with you but I will just make you watch it again when I get home. It is called, "The Butterfly Circus" and it is by an American Evangelist. The messages are so profound and the film is really well done. The acting is not very cheesy and the filming beautiful! It is based during the Great Depression in America and you need to see. I don't want to ruin it by telling you the story but it is about this man and his friend who go to visit the circus and they enter the side show house. They are walking past the Siamese twins, the bearded lady, and then they see the great attraction, "The limbless man". After this introduction the film goes on and the characters are developed. But it is beautiful!!

I was able to go visit Slla Bellomo this week and see how she was doing. She is recovering well and she is so sweet, She always calls me "sorellina" and I always feel so pretty when I talk with her. She was talking about her conversion story which is just amazing. She told me about Slla Fazio and her daughter Santa. I was wondering is that the Santa I met in Utah. I don't know :) Her conversion story is that she and her friend Slla Fazio were investigating at the same time and they did not know if they should be baptized. They were talking on the phone one day and they decided that they would pray together. They hung up the phone and simultaneously went to go pray in their bedroom. Slla Bellomo said she felt someone there. And when she asked she felt this feeling or power (my Italian not so good) cover her starting from her head and going to her toes. When her husband came home she shared the story and he could not tell her no because he saw how happy she was. He was baptized in 1978 when they went to visti friends in Utah but he is inactive now. They have the sweetest marriage ever. She was talking about how blessed she is in her spouse to us. She said, "He is my doctor, best friend, and husband" I love how strong a response she got to her prayer. I believe it was because she had a work to do here in Italy. Almost EVERYONE In our ward has joined the church because of her!! And there children are active and their grandchildren!! It is soo cool. She invited us for lunch tomorrow. The members here are too good. And they tried to feed us too much!:)

I love you all I am going to attach some pictures and then end this email. I marvel at how much Heavenly Father loves His children, It is amazing!

Love Sorella Preston

Me, Sorella Gallone (wife of ward mission leader), Anziano Hulburt, Anziano Larson, Fllo Gallone (ward mission leader)

Mozzarella and swiss cheese and then baked in the oven and topped with cheese, arugula, and prosciutto crudo (Letty I know you are jealous. Also this Sunday I had homemade cheese!! Sooo good!