My companion arrived safely! Her name is Sorella Worsham and she is the best! She is from Orem, Utah and she is 19 !!!! She is just a go-with-the-flow, happy person. We get along great. It is weird being the person that someone looks up to, but good.
That first night there were 9 Sorelle in the apartment before the other Sorelle departed for their cities. And then the 5 of us remained in Catania. Sorella Ansted, Sorella Ghio, and Sorella Baker (Her goldens :) (editors note: You can't call them 'greenies' anymore) and me and Sorella Worsham. It was great! Sorella Worsham and I talked about it and said it was like a 2nd MTC where we could practice and learn. Kind of like having a practice city :) And then she got 2 trainers (Sorella Ansted and myself) for a few days.
We found out Monday that we were going to Cosenza, and leaving the next morning. We had to do permesso stuff (the documents to stay in Italy) by today. But Sorella Worsham was sent down with the documents for Messina and we could not get them for Catania! Rome and Milano worked tirelessly all day with us as their first priority (yep we are the problem child) with lots of calls from President Kelly. They decided to send us the next day. And to overnight our paperwork and our cell phone to the Anziani di Cosenza.
We arrived safely yesterday and I am so excited to be here. Mom you can do the YouTube tour of Cosenza (but it is small :)
We had so many MIRACLES while in Catania. We were supposed to stay. Our first day we went out to do finding by our house and we just walked along picked a bunch of palazzi and condominiums that looked promising. The third palazzo that we rang at someone answered. I was the one talking (Sorella Worsham is great at Citofono. She learned fast!) and just said who we were and that we had the BoM and asked if she had ever heard of this book. She said no and asked what it was!!! I said a little blurb and she connected that we were Mormons and she said "Wait, just come up, 3rd floor." And let us in!
Her name is Maria Scalia - she is 32 and the BEST: I do not think I have seen such a prepared person before on my mission. I just wanted to cry because it was so AWESOME. She let us in and told us about all of the religions that she has researched and learned about, but none of them sticked. She had so many questions. And after everything we said she paused and said " Yes, I believe that." We found out that she had seen missionaries and always wanted to stop the Anziani but never did. She did not even know that there were sister missionaries. She just listened and absorbed. When we explained the Great Apostasy - she just got it.
Somehow the Plan of Salvation came up and she asked a question about what is after this life. It felt right so I bore my testimony and taught very briefly that families are forever. She just started crying and I was confused. She told us that that VERY DAY was the anniversary of her father's death 3 years ago. She just wanted to know that he was okay and that he was close. I told her that it was NO coincidence that we came that day and that she let us in. That her father IS close and will always be her father! And that we were there to share the message that she had been searching for her whole life. We explained the BoM and how we know alot about what happens after this life because of the holy writing inside. She was so excited and wanted to read right then. We suggested Alma 40 and she read it that very night. When Sorella Ansted and Sorella Worsham went back to visit her they taught the whole Plan of Salvation and she again had many questions. Finally she asked, "What about baptism? How do you do it?" They invited her to be baptized - they had picked June 8th as the date before they came. She said she wanted to pray about it!!! SHE IS GOING TO BE BAPTIZED, I KNOW it!
I know that we had to stay in Catania just those 3 days because God needed us to find His daughter who was praying to Him and searching. We met on Saturday and Monday morning (when it was decided we were living.) Just barely enough time. OH HOW GLORIOUS ARE GOD's WAYS!!!
I am excited to open Cosenza. I feel like God has given me a beautiful wrapped gift. Inside are blessings and souls to save and all I have to do is unwrap it :)
I am excited to call you all on Sunday!! I am going to try to skype if we can find a member who has internet. Just stay close to computer and phone. I am going to call you right now and set it up. Which day works best, ect :)
Love you all!
Sorella Preston
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