Hello Everyone!
Thank you all for your emails. I loved to read them and hear about the family and what is going on. Dad thank you for always bearing your testimony in your emails to me. It truly fortifies me for the coming week.
NOW FOR THE BEST NEWS ... GIOVANNI WAS BAPTIZED!!!
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| S. Fuller, S. Preston, Giovanni, Fllo Petroni |
We spent the week calling members, inviting everyone to the baptism, and also assigning different tasks to each member coming, then they come :) Saturday we went and spent the whole afternoon filling up the font, because people told us it took at least 3 hours to fill up and the water came out scalding so it needed to cool. The water came out luke warm and filled in 2 hours :) so by the time of the baptism it was icy cold! But people got baptized in rivers with floating ice chunks so we decided that Giovanni and Raffaele Petroni could handle it.
Fllo Modugno showed up to direct the baptism and to represent the bishopric. Then Raffele showed up. And we were still waiting for GIOVANNI. Sorella Fuller and I were not breathing. But Giovanni came and he was only 10 minutes later than when he was expected. But those ten minutes were killer!
The baptism went beautifully. We took pictures before hand and it took us a good 20 minutes to get all the Italians to stop talking and to go to the chapel so we could start! We sang "Christ the Lord is King" and I played the piano. Sorella Diciolla spoke on baptism, and Fllo Valentini spoke on the gift of the Holy Ghost. They had to do the baptism twice because Giovanni is about 6ft and Fllo Petroni is maybe 5 ft and it was hard to get him all the way under. BUT IT worked!!
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| S. Preston, Giovanni, S. Fuller, S. Diciolla |
While Giovanni and Fllo Petroni changed, Sorella Fuller and I had a presentation. Sorella Fuller had this idea from a baptism they had in Arizona. We gave each person present a little piece of paper and asked them to write down their feelings and what they would like to tell Giovanni on this special day, even if they did not know him well yet. Then we will put them in a photo album with pictures of the baptism and give them to Giovanni as a keepsake!! It was wonderful and the Spirit was there as the guests wrote in silence. Sorella Fuller played some quiet hymns in the background. when everyone was almost done writing one of the investigator's 4 year old daughter went crazy and started screaming and trying to play the piano. Her mother just sat there and laughed saying, "That is my daughter! She is crazy!" Sorella Fuller, Sorella Wagoner, and Sorella Rosato tried to round her up but they did not want to touch her or hold her because that is against the rules. It was really funny and in the end all went well. :) Giovanni was so happy, he could not stop smiling.
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| Anz. Hurlburt, Anz. Reed, Giovanni, S. Preston, S. Fuller |
Giovanni came to church the next day and said that he had slept for the first time last night in months! What a blessing. He was confirmed during sacrament meeting and it was also beautiful. We met with him Tuesday and He said that he can feel the difference even if it is only slight. He said, "I feel like the air is different." He was just so happy and very hopeful. He also has a job opportunity being part of the police force. He is waiting ot hear back from them. We hope all goes well.
Thank you all for your prayers. Giovanni would not have been baptized without the help of those prayers and we definitely felt them.
It is strange having Giovanni get baptized, I was happy but just like every other day. I think, more than the actually act of baptism, I felt more joy when I saw him changing and coming to Christ the week before, or when he said that he had been able to sleep Saturday night. Baptism is a beautiful, wonderful covenant with God but before someone is baptized they need to change. Change starts it all!!
We had another miracle Saturday morning we were at the church for an appointment and there was a sister in the Bitonto branch. Her husband is an orchestra director and the orchestra meets at the church usually every saturday morning. We asked about one of the Meno attivi we have in our old schede. She informed us that the sister had passed away 3 years before. But she had a question for us. She shared that the sister-in-law's, brother's girlfriend was pregnant and they were thinking of having an abortion. His family wants them to keep the baby but the couple is worried because the brother does not have a job. She met this family last year by chance at the mortuary when each of them had a relative die. She explained this whole long story. She said that she and her husband were going to visit the family on Sunday and convince the couple to keep the baby. But she said, " When I saw you two I thought why not invite the missionaries to come and introduce this family to the gospel." We talked and she said that she and her husband would go on Sunday and try to convince them to keep the baby. And they would ask if they could come again and bring their friends.
They went on Sunday and it was wonderful. she said the Spirit was there. They bore testimony about the importance of life. Sorella Scarola cannot have children and during the evening her husband said that they would take the baby, if need be. They said, we will pay for the hospital, for the doctors, we will find you a job just keep the baby. The girlfriend said she would think about it. But they said yes to us coming on Sunday afternoon to visit them.
This sister was also there at English course last night and she received the phone call saying this girl was going to keep the baby!! We have been praying for them in these last few days. It was a miracle that all this happened. We will keep praying for this whole family. If you could keep them in your prayers that would be wonderful. I will let you know how everything goes this Sunday, in the next email.
I must leave but I want to thank you so much for your prayers and your support. I feel them every day. I know that I am supposed to be here. That I am doing the Lord's Work. I am blessed to see so many miracles everyday. I know that Christ lives and that God watches over his children. He is listening and He is talking to his children once again. The Heavens are open and HE is waiting to pour out blessings on us. People often say, "God does not hear my prayers! He does not bless me." He does. He sends the missionaries.
Thank you all for your prayers. Giovanni would not have been baptized without the help of those prayers and we definitely felt them.
It is strange having Giovanni get baptized, I was happy but just like every other day. I think, more than the actually act of baptism, I felt more joy when I saw him changing and coming to Christ the week before, or when he said that he had been able to sleep Saturday night. Baptism is a beautiful, wonderful covenant with God but before someone is baptized they need to change. Change starts it all!!
We had another miracle Saturday morning we were at the church for an appointment and there was a sister in the Bitonto branch. Her husband is an orchestra director and the orchestra meets at the church usually every saturday morning. We asked about one of the Meno attivi we have in our old schede. She informed us that the sister had passed away 3 years before. But she had a question for us. She shared that the sister-in-law's, brother's girlfriend was pregnant and they were thinking of having an abortion. His family wants them to keep the baby but the couple is worried because the brother does not have a job. She met this family last year by chance at the mortuary when each of them had a relative die. She explained this whole long story. She said that she and her husband were going to visit the family on Sunday and convince the couple to keep the baby. But she said, " When I saw you two I thought why not invite the missionaries to come and introduce this family to the gospel." We talked and she said that she and her husband would go on Sunday and try to convince them to keep the baby. And they would ask if they could come again and bring their friends.
They went on Sunday and it was wonderful. she said the Spirit was there. They bore testimony about the importance of life. Sorella Scarola cannot have children and during the evening her husband said that they would take the baby, if need be. They said, we will pay for the hospital, for the doctors, we will find you a job just keep the baby. The girlfriend said she would think about it. But they said yes to us coming on Sunday afternoon to visit them.
This sister was also there at English course last night and she received the phone call saying this girl was going to keep the baby!! We have been praying for them in these last few days. It was a miracle that all this happened. We will keep praying for this whole family. If you could keep them in your prayers that would be wonderful. I will let you know how everything goes this Sunday, in the next email.
I must leave but I want to thank you so much for your prayers and your support. I feel them every day. I know that I am supposed to be here. That I am doing the Lord's Work. I am blessed to see so many miracles everyday. I know that Christ lives and that God watches over his children. He is listening and He is talking to his children once again. The Heavens are open and HE is waiting to pour out blessings on us. People often say, "God does not hear my prayers! He does not bless me." He does. He sends the missionaries.
Lots of love,
Sorella Preston
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