Rule 91: Be careful what you pray for!

December 3, 2014

First things first: Thanksgiving! Okay so it's not a holiday here but Sorella Hastings and I were super exited regardless. We decided to change our Finding for the day and go around asking people what they were thankful for. It was super fun. Most people talked about their families or God (both important in the gospel). We saw so many small miracles that day and even got an amazing new investigator named Benedetta (it means blessed... isn't that just too perfect!). It was fun to focus on the true meaning of the day. And don't worry we at least made turkey sandwiches to honor the day :)

We got another new investigator this week that we met on the bus. When I said I was a missionary she said her daughter was a missionary... for another church. We ended up getting off on the same stop and I thought that would be the end of it, but she told us to come visit her some day! We passed by the other day and she wasn't home. We passed again on Friday and she was so excited to see us. Turns out it was her birthday! Miracles! Well we haven't taught her a lot but she has a lot of interest in learning what our church is about.

One of the hardest things about this work for me is explaining to people why bad things happen to good people. It is hard for some of the people we have been teaching to understand that trials are a part of life and that through the Atonement of Christ all will be made right in the end. My heart aches for these people because of the trials they are going through I can scarcely imagine. I did not know what sacrifice was until I came to Italy. Sorella Hastings and I are trying to make our lessons even more Christ-centered. He is our Savior, He is our comfort. We have started sending out daily texts about the Savior. We have already seen miracles from doing this. Thank you to those who sent me their favorite scripture on Christ! I loved reading them and I have added a few to my list!

Lately we have been focusing on making our prayers more powerful. I have such a testimony of prayer. Sadly, yesterday one of prayers got answered in a way I didn't expect. In the morning I read a story about a missionary who prayed that their dinner appointment would take them out to eat. It turns out right before the missionaries came over for dinner the families oven broke. The story ended with a warning to be careful what you pray for. I didn't think much of it. That morning I prayed one of our new converts would call us because we hadn't seen her in a while. A few hours later sure enough... she calls. I answered the phone excited to talk to her when she told me her house was on fire. My heart sank. No, not her. She has been through so much. She just got baptised her life is supposed to be getting better not worse. I have to admit even I asked why. Sorella Hastings and I did our best to get to her as soon as we could but with trains and buses it took us 3 hours. On the train ride down, I was thinking about this question everyone we are talking to seems to be struggling with. Why? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why couldn't it have happened to me and not them? The truth is we don't always know why these things happen to us. We rarely know WHY. But that is okay, because God does. He doesn't put anything in our path that we cannot handle. He knows our capabilities better than we do. If we come to trust Him we can overcome anything. I know He has a plan for us. I have come to see the hand of the Lord really is in everything we do. I think that is why I am so obsessed with miracles. They happen everyday. God is with us. He loves us. My heart still aches for this woman but I am immensely impressed by her strength. She is overcoming this with so much hope. I am thankful for the support this small branch has offered her. I think every single member called her to offer help and support.

 

Have a great week! Find the miracles!

Sorella Dani Hamblin