Cari tutti,
I do not know where to begin so much has happened! Miracles, sword fights, giants, true love! Ok, so maybe only the first one, but this week was almost as good as a fairytale nonetheless. Dustin Schwartz was baptized this weekend and it was just beautiful. He was so ready for it, so teachable and willing to listen, so dedicated and so strong. It was an incredible thing to see. I only had the opportunity to teach him twice, but I feel blessed to have been able to watch him make such a change, such an important step that he was more than ready for. He is just a good person. His cute wife cried through almost the entire thing and so did Sister Herndon. The spirit was so amazing and now he can prepare to take his wife to the temple. It is one of the most beautiful miracles I have ever seen. Unforgettable is the glow that was on his face. It was something witnessed in the heavens. I love baptism! What a covenant!
Saturday morning Sorella Sloan had been complaining about how boring it was to teach the third lesson, the gospel, so I devised a clever little maze of life scenario for our investigator, Massimiliano. He was blindfolded and sent to find the DVD "finding faith in Christ" and then given a back pack which we filled with books whenever he was wrong. We took away the books to symbolize repentance, lead him under a table into the correct path, symbolizing baptism, and then lead him to the goal by voice like the holy ghost. It was hysterical! He was such a good sport about the whole thing and afterward we had a remarkable discussion about what he wants in life and eternal progression. One of the members showed up to help out and bore an incredible testimony about progressing in companionships forever and what a blessing it is. It was an awesome way to end the day. Sunday we had dinner with the Durazzani's who invited the Herndon's and our investigator, Mandy. Dinner was incredible, of course, Sister Durazzani is an amazing cook, and her husband is incredibly smart and funny, he is a writer and an amazing painter from Firenze, so we get along swimmingly. After dinner we taught Mandy the rest of the plan of salvation and the spirit was tangibly thick. She cried and we cried and everyone was teaching and talking together by the Spirit. It was one of the most special lessons of which I have ever been a part. Mandy is so special. So special. Everyone was focused on her and it was exactly what she needed. Monday night the Herndon's had their last FHE before they return home and Mandy told them that they may not be here for her baptism and maybe she wouldn't see them again here, but that she knew, thanks in part to them, that she could see them in the Celestial kingdom. Quindi. I take it she understood that lesson. She is AMAZING! I can't wait to see the day she is ready to take that step to follow Christ and be baptized. I feel like I found a forever friend in her. Our investigator Mariana is awesome. She loves coffee. Loves it. She grinds it at home in a special coffee grinder from her home country. We taught her the word of wisdom and she said from that moment on she would not drink coffee any more. She promised. I nearly fell off the sofa. I thought that would be a real hurdle. Apparently not. Some people are just that awesome. As you can see, cari amici, many miracles are happening here in little Pordenone. Apart from the cold of the last few days, la vita è davvero bella. It has been rather windy and yesterday while in bicicletta, my skirt kept blowing up around my hips. I am grateful for thick tights, but they were not thick enough apparently, because I could still see my undergarments. Which means most of Pordenone and Porcia did as well. Fun. I hope it was a good show. My amazing companion, Sorella Sloan, helped talk me through my struggles with balancing everything we need to do and always trying to improve and helped me realize something important: If I work out my life with the help of the Lord, always seeking to do what would serve him and his children, I am bound to change and I will be far happier. I won't have to worry about balancing what I need to do for me with what I can do for others because it will happen naturally. If my focus becomes his will and how I can help him in his work and glory, nothing in my life will be out of balance because the gospel teaches us to take care of both ourselves and others. We love others as ourselves. We lose our life and find it. We set personal goals to help build us so that in the end we can better serve Him, so that we as disciples, pupils, learners, can become like the Master. I love this gospel and this mission and I am infinitely grateful for this opportunity to grow by growing others. I love you all bunches! Do some good this week! Be a bit more like the savior. Give up what impedes your growth and let him build and change you. It is the only way. It is the best way to happiness.
Sorella Chandra Lloyd
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