Ci Sarà Sempre

Ciao tutti! Well this was definitely a week full of ups and downs. Starting out with something good, last week for p day we went to Modena, which is a city smaller than Bologna about a 30 minute train ride away. We literally went there to eat. There's this restaurant buffet there called Caffe Concerto... Holy.... MI RACCOMANDO!! Guys Italian food is so good. Then we went to the best gelato place I have ever had in my life, La Romana. Mamma mia... it's terrible haha.

On Thursday we had a lesson with this old guy we met on the bus. It was probably the strangest lesson I have ever been to. We brought a recently reactivated member with us, and she left and was like, "I can't even imagine what your daily life is like." Because he kept going off about the matriarchy and all this weird feminist stuff. In his prayer he asked God to make sure that we are aware of our womanly powers basically.... But he came to the baptism on Saturday! So we will see.

Oh yeah we had a baptism here on Saturday! It was the STLs' investigator, but it was still awesome to go. Baptisms are the best. And speaking of investigators, we had to drop/got dropped by almost all of them this week. Even Ayisat who had a bap date coming up in the next few weeks. She has a different church now. :/ So that kinda stung. But we try to not let it get us down too much because there are still a lot of people out there who need help and want it! So we are just gonna keep finding.

The Church's Easter campaign is finally out people!! I recommend to all of you to go watch the video on lds.org. The theme of the video is "Peace in Christ." I've really only watched it in Italian, so some of my translations may be wrong haha sorry. But something they did is went around and asked people when they have felt Jesus Christ close to them, and people answered. For me, I think that I can feel Him close all of the time if I pay enough attention. Especially this week that was a little bit rough in terms of our missionary work, I have felt a lot of comfort and joy despite everything. I know that Christ lives! And He wants to help you in your life, if you will let Him. As the video says at the end (again my translation's probably not 100%), "He was there, He is still there, and He will always be there." Ti voglio tanto bene! You guys are amazing. (: Until next week!

Sorella Henderson

Modena Palazzo 

Modena Duomo

Modena Piazza 

Sorelle of Bologna Transfer 3

5 Months!

Ciao tutti! Well I hit my 5 month mark this week! Time is flying! This week has been super crazy and filled with bipolar weather, like always. To me right now it seems like Italian weather is even crazier than Utah weather... One day it's like 16 degrees Celsius and the next it's snowing. I don't really know what to think of it, but Italy is even more beautiful lightly frosted in snow.

As far as investigators go, this week we were only able to see Virginia and Arianna, our 2 university students here studying film. Virginia did a foreign exchange in Utah and was friends with someone in my MTC group, and that's how this all started. It has been very interesting meeting with them because it's a little awkward with them starting teaching because we are all the same age, but I think that they are pretty interested and have started reading the Book of Mormon. We will see what happens!

Ayisat, our investigator with a baptismal date for the 31st, failed to come to church again and so we have to push her date back. But we can't even see her because she got kicked out of her house. Last time I talked to her on the phone she said, "I'm running for my life," then hung up. But I saw her on a bus in Bologna yesterday and she was alive and still living here. So hopefully she finds a house and a job soon so that we can start meeting with her again and she can come to church. And Basirat and BJ we haven't seen in a while because they both got jobs now (which is good) and work on Sunday... I'm always happy when a refugee finds a job, but super sad when it conflicts with church! Something I never thought about when I got my call to Italy is how much I'd be working with refugees, and I love being able to. Even though it's insanely stressful.

Lately with the people we have been working with, we have been focusing a lot on the Book of Mormon. As a mission we've been doing this as well. It's been really cool to see how even reading a random verse somewhere, a person can find an answer to a question or something that helped them right then. My testimony of the Book of Mormon grows so much every day out here in the mission field. I know it's true and that everyone else can know that it's true as well if they read it and pray about it. There isn't a question he won't answer as long as we put in the effort and have the faith.

Vi vogliamo bene! Thanks for your emails and updates. Have a great week and don't forget to read the Book of Mormon. (: Ciao!

Sorella Henderson

1 Some of the best things in the world... Italian breakfast (coffee-free of course)

2 The snowy view from our kitchen balcony

3 Italian pigeons are the worst!!!! 

He Shall Prepare a Way

Ciao tutti! This week was sort of just like any other in Italy. We had zone conference yesterday (which is why my p day is Thursday this week), interviews on Friday, scambio (exchanges), and a lesson with Ayisat and some less-actives. Ayisat's progress wasn't as awesome this last lesson (she couldn't sit still and listen the whole time), but her husband finally stayed and participated for a lesson! So we are hoping to teach him too. The sad thing is, they are getting kicked out of their house and have nowhere to go, so we can only teach Ayisat in member's homes now, and the odds are that Akeem won't actually be there at those lessons. But hopefully they find a house soon... The problems with the refugees here are really serious right now and a lot are homeless and without work.

The weather outside has been so nice this week! Sorella Berrey and I did our studies outside during our scambio! Thank goodness the snow is finally gone...

I would say one of my highlights from this week was visiting a less-active member from Albania. We received an email from her daughter who lives in America asking to go see her because she had just moved to Italy and has a hard time getting to church due to health problems. Well we went, and it was one of the most interesting and spiritual lessons I have ever had. Her English is so-so, but she talked all about her overcoming breast cancer, and now has brain cancer. But she was soooo happy when she saw us that she started crying! She really is the sweetest old lady ever and has amazing faith.

I wanna share with you all a little spiritual thought that I learned in Zone Confence yesterday. I'm sure a lot of you know the scripture 1 Nefi 3:7, that says, "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandment unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."  Nephi had such amazing faith! I think sometimes this amount of faith seems unreachable in us "normal human beings." But there's another scripture a chapter back in 1 Nefi 2:16, that says, "wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behoold he did visit me, and did dsoften my heart that I did belive all th words which had been spoken by my father..." So we see here that Nefi's faith wasn't instantenous! He prayed for it, asked for it, and took some courage for him to believe it. But the Lord softened his heart, and he was able to do the hard things that he was asked to do. I know that if we will do the same thing, that we can have a similar experience! God will answer all of our prayers, and we can exercise the faith necessary to do anything that God asks of us because we know that He will prepare a way.

Okay so I didn't mean to go off on that long spiritual thought haha. But I love you guys! The Book of Mormon is awesome so keep reading and praying about it! That is something I'm trying to do every day. Vi voglio un sacco di bene! Ciao!

Sorella Henderson

zone conference March 2018

sorelle of Bologna (transfer 3)

Bologna district (March 2018)

SIMPS BAP DATES JOY AFRICANS

Ciao tutti!!!! It's been another AMAZING week in Italy! Sorella Frandsen and I are getting along so well as a companionship, and she's so good at talking to everybody! Presidente Allen has really been emphasizing the Book of Mormon in our missionary work and always carrying a copy around in our hands, and we have had some amazing experiences this week with people on the buses. We are seeing a girl from Ghana on Friday that we met through Book of Mormon bus finding! And another guy we met from the Virgin Islands has started reading the book! So that's so cool!

Well last night we had a lesson with Ayisat, our investigator. Maybe y'all don't really remember her because we hadn't seen her in about 3 weeks, but we saw her 2 times this week, and it was so great. The first lesson, we talked a lot about the Book of Mormon and she was not understanding anything we said. She is from Nigeria, and sometimes it is hard for them to understand. But today, the lesson was BOMB! We taught the Plan of Salvation, and it was amazing. She read the Book of Mormon and said now she understands about prophets and everything, which we explained like 4 times in the lesson before and she never got it. It was amazing!!!! I know the Spirit was helping so much. And she will be baptized March 31. It was seriously the best. Sorella Frandsen and I were whooping and hollering and praising Jesus the African way the whole mile run on the side of the dangerous highway to the train station! (We have to run because it's too dangerous to walk.)

We also saw Basirat and BJ this week, a husband and wife from Nigeria who are member referrals. We brought Friday, and it was so much better having another African there because they understood a ton more! And I think they are gonna get baptized April 7! They are still deciding on what date they want. The Lord has blessed us so much this week! It's been amazing! And I can see the blessings come as we have talked with more people, borne testimony, and exercised our faith. I love this work, and I have never had happier moments in my life than here on my mission! I know this Gospel changes lives, and I get to see it right before my eyes every day!

You people are great! Keep doing member missionary work and growing your personal testimonies! Allow the Gospel to change your life because it's so much better when you do. (: I love you all and I love to hear from you! Until next week!

Vi voglio bene,
Sorella Henderson

Pic 1: San Luca

Pic 2: when African children steal your phone

I was really bad at photos this week. Sorry folks!