Week 72

(Week 19 Rome)

Gratitude...

One of the highlights of the week was Wednesday! The assistants called
the other STL and I to help them give the new missionaries a tour of
Rome and help them talk with people while we went. I was SOOO
excited!!! There were a lot of new sisters so I took a group of six
and we just went to crazy on the metros talking to so many people!
They were so stellar!!! We were able to meet so so so many people and
seeing the solid courage and desire of these new missionaries was such
a boost for me. 

Sorella Taylor and I taking the newbies all around Rome!

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We also were able to stay for the dinner at the villa
with all them, the assistants and President and Sorella Pickerd. They
were all just firing off questions about my areas, companions, food,
language and it was so fun to see their excitement! Sorella Taylor and
I as we were watching them, we felt just an overwhelming feeling of
gratitude to be serving a mission. I feel like I was just that brand
new Sorella, but just looking back and seeing how many wonderful
people I've met and everything I've experienced made me just so happy
for these newbies and everything they will get to do.

Speaking of newbies. My dear trainees Sorella Cardullo and Sorella
Erickson were together while we were gone. They absolutely ROCKED
IT!!! They picked Sorella Taylor and I up and were telling all about
the lesson they taught and everything they did and I just wanted to
cry I was so darn proud of them! These sweet two Sorelle who hated to
do role plays, who hated every time I would correct them or only speak
in Italian are just so so so capable and incredible.

CULTURAL ACTIVITY!!!! I have to just tell this like play by play.
We had the most incredible activity that we have been inviting people
to for weeks. It was a cultural dance activity where each country
would do the typical dance. So, it's about to start and this man walks
it and is like, "Where is Sorella Nelson?" Finally I am located and I
recognized this man from the bus! I had been talking to him and
invited him to the activity and HE CAME!!! He is so so so cool and
named Giuseppe and is having lunch with a member soon... Anywho, this
activity starts and for the people who couldn't dance, they are
showing YouTube videos of typical dancing and basically tourism of
their country.

]These two are legit professional dancers who came to dance at the activity.

Carina is one of my favortie members!!  She danced a Peruvian dance at the activity..

The other missionaries and I are all dying because it
is so boring and so many investigators were there so we ask them to
stop showing tourism videos and just show the dances. So the activity
continues and we see some incredible incredible dances!!! Suddenly
Anziano Toronto tells me that they want the missionaries to dance and
so he and I discuss it and we know we can't be disobedient so we tell
the members we will sing instead. WE SANG THE NATIONAL ANTHEM AND IT
WAS TERRIBLE! Hahaha we literally put the country to shame! We hadn't
practiced and we all started off on the wrong key and I just was
laughing the entire time. The members LOVED it though! Afterwards
everyone kept saying "God bless America!" Hahaha the activity was a
huge huge huge success and so many nonmembers came!!

This week we were able to meet with Donnatella and the lesson went
soooo well!!! We were teaching her and then her doorbell rang and
walked in two of her friends all ready to be baptized. Haha jk, but
they are so cool. Sorella Cardullo and I looked at each other like
what should we do and I just whisper, let's teach the Restoration. The
spirit was incredibly strong!!! At the end of the lesson all three,
Donnatella, Alessandro and Palma all talked about the feeling they
felt inside. The room was so peaceful and it was one of those times
the spirit confirms to you over and over that this is true.
Miracles!!!

Week of gratitude! During studies we found that gratitude brings
miracles. When Christ needed to feed the 4 thousand He didn't ask for
more food but gave thanks and a miracle came! Let's give thanks!!!

Sorella Nelson
Matthew 15:36

I am becoming part of the art.  This is at a famous statue by Circo Massimo where they did chariot racing.

This man was so happy and telling her how to pose.

We have fun Pdays

Beautiful look outs of Rome.

Round 2.  I still made it out with a whole arm.

Cutest companion award.

Sono io

Chocolate running down gold walls.  The prettiest Gelateria called Venchi!!

More Italian piazzas.  Not sure about this ones story but we walk by it alllllll the time.  

Fall time!

Parks are turning so so so pretty!

This is a man named Giuseppe who we met in the park.  He is a painter and asked to take pictures of me to paint....hahaha so funny!  I think it's because I'm blonde.

We met this man named Michele who took us to see these gardens and lookout.

This is Michele.  Is from Milan.  Teaches Math.  Didn't believe the Restoration happened.  Is still a son of God.

Week 71

(Week 18 Rome)
Another great week in the Italy Rome mission!
We've been super blessed with 2 new investigators this week! When I
first arrived here in Rome here were three investigators and two of
them didn't want to see us anymore and then we found out the third
one, Anastasia, had moved to Ukraine. Well...she is back!!! She is a
wonderful wonderful mother of a 1 and a half year old boy and she
wants to be baptized, but she has just never really felt ready. She is
so so wonderful and explained she had never really read much of the
BoM so we are sure as soon as she has and prayed about it she will be
READY!!

We did a scambio this week with the other Sorelle in the house and it
was so wonderful! Sorella Carver is a rockstar and we were able to see
some miracles! We met so many amazing people throughout the day that
we knew we were just touching lives everywhere we went! It was
amazing! We were able to teach a woman named Cristina who is just
amazed at the fact that we are out here trying to convert Catholics
that she realized our message must be pretty important! IT IS!!! We
are excited to see her again :)

Little tender mercy: we were sitting near a young man on the bus and I
told him I liked his glasses to try to get a conversation going and he
immediately says, "You aren't Italian. Nobody here smiles at strangers
on the bus like you do." SMILES WORK MIRACLES! We had such a wonderful
conversation with this young man and are hoping to see him again! We were
talking afterwards about how the people on the bus always say ciao to
us and smile back at us when we get off and we were just so grateful
to have the privilege to "Be" this message.

Gaetano sta bene. We taught this dear man literally in a tree. In our
favorite park there is a tree that just separates and you can stand
inside and branches surround you so when it was windy and cold we went to
talk in the tree! Strangest setting ever! He is so great though. His

Having a lesson in the famous tree in the park with Sorella Cardullo and Gaetano.  It was so windy so Gaetano said, Let's go to the tree!"

prayers have turned into some of my all time favorites. He talks to
Heavenly Father straight up and tells Him things he is struggling with
and what he promises to do. He even explained why he isn't baptized
yet. During one of our lessons this week without his family he just
went on about how grateful he is to have met the Sorelle and learned
all these wonderful things. Even if this dear man is never baptized it
feels good to have helped his faith grow.

We are excited for another week!!!! Sorella Cardullo and I are  just on fire
and ready to see the Lord's hand wherever we go!
D&C 123:17
Let us do everything in our power!
Sorella Nelson

P-day at the Roman Forum.

Last gelato run before Sorella Adamson goes home!

Sending "Happy Birthday"wishes.

Yes, we made this!!  Ragu!!

A dear Sorella from the ward named Sorella DeMatteis fed us pranzo!

This is Dario who was baptized into our ward!  We are currently teaching his mother Donnatella who is here in this picture.

Week 70

(Week 17 Rome)
I miei cari!!!!
 I just want to testify of Gods love!!!!! Mamma Mia! He literally
loves us so so so much!!! Sorella Cardullo and I last week were just
feeling a little stumped and not sure what to do with our work and we
had prayed and prayed and so we finally decided to get blessings of
council and mamma Mia! We just felt so FULL afterwards. I can't think
of a different word, but we just have been going crazy this week
having so much faith, seeing so many miracles and just loving every
minute of our wonderful time in the great city of Rome, Italy.

God guides us!!! We found THREE inactives randomly this week!!! The
first one came from the area book. We had seen her record as an
investigator and so we decided to go pass by her! Turns out she is a
member and hasn't had any contact with the church in three years! She
cried and cried and we three are all so so happy she has been found!
The second one is funny, she was actually a referral from a member who
had met her. We had set up an appointment thinking she was an
investigator and when we met her she tells us her son served a mission
and we turn to her and we just were like, how on earth are you not
baptized? She then tells us she is a member! Haha the other member had
no idea! Another lost sheep has been found!!! Turns out she has a
friends that wants to meet with us though!
The third, we were out and about and it started POURING rain so we hop
on the first bus we found and the first woman we start talking to says
she is a member! I was about to fall over I really couldn't believe
it! Sadly this third woman doesn't really want to come back, but at
least we got to testify to her that she is still loved!

This week so many random people have come out of the woodwork as well!
Ex investigators just showing up at church and we are just feeling so
blessed. My dear Sorella Cardullo is killing it! We both just feel
like there is something waiting for us and we are just trying to work
so hard to find what the Lord's plan is! I'm grateful for all my
companions energy and enthusiasm as a new missionary for this work.
She is keeping me on my toes and it's the best!!!

I just really love missionary work and know that when we feel a little
lost we can always find help and guidance through our dear Padre
Celeste!
Sorella Carrie Nelson
Jacob 5:72
The Lord is working with us in this wonderful vineyard!!!

An English course student Nivea made us little bags/purses.

Off to see the biggest catacombs in Rome!

Our favorite Gelateria and our pals in the background.

Sometimes as we are walking we pick the fruit hanging over the road to snack on.

Grapes are the BEST!!

Gaetano's wife, Maria Rosa, measuring us for skirts!

Week 69

(Week 16 Rome)

Happy Halloween! No, Italy doesn't really do much for Halloween. I
honestly kinda forgot it. I'm right now wearing Christmas socks...
priorities...
this week has been superb!
Funny moment: going to a lesson a member Martin was talking to us and
so to make conversation I asked him what his favorite car was. He
thinks for a minute and then replies with a minivan. Sorella Cardullo
and I are then thinking like oh maybe he wants a big family one day or
something but then he says, "this way we can bring more people to
church!" Hahaha we were NOT expecting that answer but he is literally
the best and brings everyone to church!

Gaetano's family!!! So in this moment Gaetano has hit quite the
plateau. BUT, his family is absolutely wonderful and actually
progressing! This week we were able to see the fam twice at his house.
His sweet wife is sewing skirts for us and we've been able to read the
Book of Mormon with them all together! I just want to testify how much
spirit the BoM brings! Literally the atmosphere changes when we start
reading the words! Gaetano's daughter in law and his grandson also
joined us. Best part of all: MARIA ROSA (the wife) SAID THE CLOSING
PRAYER!!! Who knows, maybe she will end up being the key to helping
Gaetano be baptized.

Donnatella! She is a "referral" from  the Anziani. They are teaching
her son Dario and he is getting baptized Saturday! She is a single mom
with quite a story. She wanted to have a son for years and years and
years and he is literally just her world and she is so so so happy
about this choice he is making! Our first lesson with her we sat down
and just asked her how she felt about Dario getting baptized and she
just straight up asked how she can do it for herself. I was like...
what!?!? Anywho, she wants to be baptized with "calm" is how you would
say it in Italian. She is a superstar and the best is that she lives
in the same building as Gaetano!!! Fun little "coincidence"!

EARTHQUAKE! We felt smaller earthquakes this week and we sure felt the
6.5 earthquake Sunday morning! A lot of people actually weren't able
to come to church sadly because the metro closed. We were studying and
had to get in the doorways. This is real second coming stuff
happening! On Sunday we had an area of the seventy come to our ward
and speak. He talked a lot about these earthquakes and that the Lord
is sending the people of Italy a warning. I was literally dumbfounded!
He continued to talk about making sure we have sure foundations so
when these things happen we know we won't fall. He talked about
driving our foundations as deep as possible. I'm so grateful for
living prophets today who help warn us and guide us in these last
days! I challenge you all to dig your foundation a little deeper this
week!

Helaman 5:12
Sorella Carrie Nelson

Dinner with the Aranda family!  HAHA we noticed the leftover plate in the picture after it was too late!

Selfie

Only in Italy is the pope the example for picture sizes...

Played "calcio" as all Rome Sorelle for pday!!

The Anziani always do this every transfer and this is the typical pose they do.  We decided to  make it a Sorella thing too!  Soccer in Italia!!

Forza Italia!

Number 9 because....idk....

Azzurro blue!!!