Week 76

(Week 23 Rome)

Donatella was baptized Saturday!!!!!!!! After many problems with the word of wisdom, coming to church, and not reading something clicked and it was seriously so easy to help her prepare for baptism! It was a beautiful ceremony. I was able to speak with our ward mission leader, President and Sorella Pickerd both came, and Donatella's new convert son was able to perform the ordinance for her! She is so fantastic and after receiving the Holy Ghost on Sunday she was glowing! No lie! During the sacrament I noticed she was crying so I just grabbed her hand and she leans over and tells me she was finally able to forgive someone who caused her a lot of pain. THE GOSPEL CHANGES LIVES.

This dear boy Dario, who was baptized a month ago, baptized his mother on Saturday.

Welcome Donatella to la Chiesa di Gesu Cristo dei Santi degli ultimi giorni!

A beautiful double baptism! 

I've waited my entire mission for the opportunity to see one of my investigators baptized and now I really understand that baptism is not at all the end goal. I kept waiting during the baptism to feel something incredible like a joy I'd never felt in my mission. I felt absolute happiness, but I realized that was the same happiness that I have felt for 18 months. It's the happiness that comes after testifying on a park bench. It's the same happiness when we see an investigator come to church or when a less active member finally receives a calling. 

If anything, I learned that missionaries sometimes go their whole missions looking for that baptism and the happiness and pure joy are missed. I'm grateful for the opportunity the Lord gave me to feel so full of love and happiness for the whole 18 months here in Rome, Italy working my hardest every day, every week, month and year! At the very, very, last week I was able to experience the joy of the gospel in another way.

I LOVE THIS GOSPEL. I've never felt so strong about anything and I know that this is the church of Christ. I know with my entire being that Joseph Smith saw our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and that today we have the absolute fullness of the gospel. I know that repentance is real. Never in my life have I repented so much and I know that true repentance brings happiness. I know that God has a plan for every one of us. I know He loves us in our weaknesses and moments of strength. Exact obedience brings exact blessings. I also know that if we give  everything  to the Lord, He will make us the people we are to become. I'm not the same Carrie Nelson, I'm now Sorella Nelson and I know that as this Gospel has transformed me into the missionary I am, it will continue to change my life.

IT WAS WORTH IT.

Sorella Nelson

D&C 6:13

Outside view of the mission office.

Labels of the building occupants where the mission office is located.

Scambio with dear Sorella Hills

The zone conference nativity starring my stuffed Boo dog as our baby Jesus. I was supposed to be there, but ended up going to a medical appointment with another Sister.

Last time in Piazza del Popolo.

Il Vaticano CHRISTMAS style.

Nativity outside the Vatican.

A group of missionaries in the Rome area had a fabulous opportunity to sing in a chapel on the same street as the Spanish steps in Rome.

Week 75

(Week 22 Rome)

CHRISTMAS in Peru, Feliz Navidad...

Random/funny moments 

1. We visited a new convert Brazilian couple who just moved into our ward and they were talking to us about the missionary work here verses there and they said, "everyone is waiting for the mormons to knock on their door in Brazil." Hahaha I know it's not like that, but it was a good laugh.
2. You can never plan to visit members or close investigators at home within two hours of lunch or dinner because they WILL FEED YOU even if you already ate. We ate way too much this week.
3. We sang "Feliz Navidad" as our closing hymn during a family home evening. #southamericatakesitaly

Sorella Cardullo and I are absolutely loving the Christmas spirit in the air and how our work is going for us right now. Donatella had a baptismal interview on Saturday and she is all set for this coming Saturday. We are hoping to see it through, but she just called and said she might have to be moving houses this week and so we are praying hard for her. She is so so so wonderful and watching her progress has been HUGE.

The most tender moment this week was with our older investigator Gaetano. I found him with Sorella Erickson during our first transfer here and it has been a very long haul with him almost being baptized and everything. He had gone to Florence for a month and we finally were able to see him out of the blue on the street one day! We said a prayer together and it was the sweetest prayer I have ever heard. He prayed to be able to read the Book of Mormon and eventually be baptized. He prayed for Donatella, they are friends, and that her baptism could happen. He prayed for me because I am leaving soon and asked that if we can't see each other again in this life then maybe in the celestial kingdom in the next. 

Our pal Gaetano is back!!

Last story: we received an online referral and were having some troubles with contacting her so we ended up walking a whole bunch, trying to use different phones, and confirming the address till we found this wonderful Diana! She is incredible! She is an older woman who is just desperate for light in her life. Sorella Cardullo was an amazing teacher during our lesson and as she bore testimony of the love our Heavenly Father has for Diana, the spirit literally became tangible. Diana in thirty minutes went from longing to feel wanted to being overflowing with peace and love.

I'm grateful for every week that I have to "Be a Light" and touching lives in different ways. I'm grateful for every person I've been able to see take steps closer to Christ. I'm grateful for this Christmas season and the true sense of Christmas. Last of all I'm grateful for delicious Italian hot chocolate!

Tante belle cose

Sorella Carrie Nelson

D&C 58:4

The district.

Our friend Anziano Martinez.  We sometimes don't get along. HaHaHa

Elf is still hanging around.

Sunday selfie.

Fantastic " investigators" and where to find them.

Week 74

(Week 21 Rome)

Craziest up  and down week with our investigator Donatella. Monday evening we saw her and she pulls out her agenda and picks the 10th as a baptism date and then on Thursday morning she tells us to forget the whole thing. So we start fasting for her that afternoon and that same evening she says she just had a bad day and still wants to be baptized. #blessingsoffasting. Anywho, we had her baptism interview on Saturday and turns out she didn't tell us she had drunk coffee on Friday. So... she will have to wait till the 17th. We all fasted with her on Sunday so she is doing good so far! FORZA DONATELLA!

A week of service.

For some reason, in my mission it has been so hard to find service opportunities so this week when an old investigator Rosella called us for help we were so excited! She had completely redone her apartment. When we and the anziani walked in there was literally a mountain of her things in the middle of one room and dust EVERYWHERE!!!! We swept, swept, swept, wiped everything down, moved things into rooms, ate some pizza and wiped more dust off of everything! It really was so much fun! Sweet Rosella could not have done it without us and it felt super good to finally do some service. 

Service!

We joke that the four of us are a family.  This was during a morning of service.  Anziano Martinez and I were fighting and the whole thing seemed like a family road trip.

During church... I've realized church is very unrelaxing as a missionary. During sacrament meeting I was able to lead the wonderful congregation in all our Christmas hymns, Sunday school I was teaching the lesson, and during Relief Society I was translating for all our visiting guests.

The best part of it all is that the blessings of the sacrament are still so real!!! I feel so so so recharged after church! It is so insane and I know it is literally only because of the blessings we receive. It's also been amazing to see our investigators change as well after the sacrament. We just had one investigator in church this week (Donatella) but she was just glowing afterwards!!! Church is true!

Funny Pday... Sorella Cardullo and I checked out a very very famous antique cafe Greco and we ate very very fancy cake. Then, we take a nice detour and find a man selling beautiful watercolors! We end up buying one and then this sweet artist grabs my hand and in Italian says, "Ti ho preso" which means, I got you. Hahaha I wriggle my hand out and then he grabs my dear Sorella Cardullo's hand and kisses it and then grabs her head and kisses the top of it! Hahaha good good times. I promise we try to avoid the men!

We've had the chance to do a lot of work with one of our ward missionaries, Martin, this week. He is absolutely incredible and we were talking on our way to an appointment and he said this, " A successful missionary is one who overcomes that which was hard for them personally." He talked to us about how every missionary faces different trials during their mission and you can never look at the outward successes, but you should look at how they have changed. I know missionary work isn't and never will be easy, but I know that it is worth it with all my heart. I'm privileged to serve our Lord with His name with mine for 18 months and I only hope to continue to overcome the difficulty because it is worth it!

Che Dio vi benedica!

Sorella Carrie Nelson

Helaman 10:5

CHRISTMAS is coming!!!!

We love the bus rides!

We went to a super famous super expensive cafe called Caffe Greco.

It has begun...my elf returned this week.