Settimana cinque! More than half-way through the MTC!: Week Five

Carissimi tutti, (Dear all)

This week, as always, has been incredibly full. I must sum up as best I can for time is short, but every experience here teaches so much. Last week we played a game of Jeopardy in Italian and talked about having confidence in what we are doing because we do our best and trust in the Lord. I am trying so much to work on that. The Lord truly does bless us when we do our best to follow Him and we need not fear in anything. Consider the lilies. He will take care of us. He loves His family. We talked so much of Italy on Thursday and Friday I can hardly stand it waiting. I love Italy in a way I cannot completely understand. I feel like I am heading home in four weeks, not to a foreign country. I started to cry in class because I was just so full of joy over it. It is truly indescribable how I can love a place I have never been and a people I have never met as much as I do. It is the absolute perfect place for me, a place I have been waiting my whole life to go. What a blessing it is I can go there in the service of the Lord.

Sorella Smith and I spent five hours at an off-campus doctor on Friday. We found out she has a herniated disc and they gave her an immense cortisone shot at the nerve center in her tailbone. It was so huge and nasty and I watched the entire time. We had to wait for them to give her the shot for nigh unto half and hour so she had me sing to her to help calm her down. I think I was as nervous as she was because I was sitting there looking at the shot. At least she was facing the other way. She was in a lot of pain the rest of the day, but we made it through. It was tiring, but there are always things we can find funny to make it amusing. She had a bandage on her bum. That is funny enough when there is little else to amuse us here. She asked Anziano Bailey to annoint her and Anziano Meldrum to give her a blessing on Friday night. It was absolutely beautiful! I cannot describe the power and how intimately our Father in Heaven knows us and knows exactly what we need.

Saturday was kind of rough because I was frustrated with myself, but I am learning that it is okay to have a bad day once in a while and in the end I learned a lot, so it was worth it. I need to trust the Lord and believe in myself always. Most days I remember that and I am always happy here.

Sunday I sang in our little branch's sacrament meeting. I sang Where Love Is" in Italian accompanied by Sorella Dall. I messed up momentarily but it didn't seem to matter. President Lamoureax spoke after I sang and said he could just listen to me all day. Anziano Hymas said that the moment I started to sing he got a huge grin on his face and couldn't stop smiling and Anziano Strong said that people were always talking about how beautiful the Italian language was but he didn't understand it until I sang it. President Johnston, our branch president, said he loved it and that I should teach the district "give said the little stream" in Italian which is funny because I have been singing it for days because it is adorable and my absolute favorite in Italian. He had me sing some of it in our district meeting. He just loved it when I sang. This might sound bratty, but I like being complimented once in a while. Though, I know I would not have this gift without the Lord and I am so grateful to HIm for it. The fireside Sunday night was on repentance and was absolutely moving. He talked about joying in repentance. It really changed my life. Afterward, we watched "The Testaments" in Italian. I was so moved. I kept thinking how blessed I am to be taking the gospel to the people in Italy who likely have been waiting their entire lives to know their Savior. They are the reason I was called. The Lord wants me with them and that is exactly where I want to be.

Monday Sorella Smith was in too much pain to walk so we borrowed a wheelchair from the health center and they sent us off campus again to get an MRI. I tried to make it fun by running while pushing her in the chair, but the chair would not cooperate.  We went back to our room and she rested. I pulled her in our desk chair, which does not have wheels  into the bathroom a couple of times. It was as hysterical as it was tragic. Yesterday we went back to the off campus doctor and he was puzzled, so we just felt stressed and overwhelmed, but she was able to call her grandpa who is her regular doctor and he is helping out and praying about it. We both felt overwhelmingly at peace after she talked with him and we know everything will be okay. She is up and walking around today and things are looking up!

The Lord is always teaching me how much I need Him at every moment and I am so grateful for that. I love Him so much and it is through Him that I can wake up every morning filled with the sweetest peace and happiness. I love you all! Sorella Lloyd