Rule 88: Just do it!

Can we talk about miracles for a sec.... I have been trying to count all the miracles that happened this past week, but I just can't count that high (at least not in Italian)!

I don't even know where to start. First off, Saturday Giovanni (one of the Anziani's investigators) got baptized!!!! All the excitement happened before the baptism though. The Anziani had to stay the night Friday night in Firenze so they could not travel up to baptism with Giovanni (p.s. we do all our baptism in Firenze). They called in the morning to check on him and he said he was having some doubts. They hung up prayed then called him back but he wouldn't answer. Uh oh. That's when we got a call from the anziani seeing if we could go over and talk to Giovanni. We read Joseph Smith History with him and his mom -- the part when Satan overcame Joseph right before the first vision. Right before we are about to make good choices Satan will try to stop us. Other investigators have been talking about temptations they have now that they didn't have before. Satan is real and is powerful, but God is always more powerful. The Spirit was so strong in that house as we read together. Before we left to go to the baptism we said a kneeling prayer together and Giovanni pulled out his knee pads (he never stops joking :P)! His baptism was absolutely beautiful. Just simple and perfect. President got to come to it too because our Stake had Stake Conference this weekend. Gabriella (Giovanni's mom) is telling everyone her baptismal date now. She is so excited. She asked me to baptize her.... so we had a lesson about the priesthood this week. I hope Giovanni baptizes her :)

Monday, in district meeting, the anziani challenged us to challenge Sara to baptism that day. Well Sorella Hastings and I were super pumped. We planned it all out and we were going to challenge her in the first 5 minutes. When we got there, however, before we even started, she hit us with some bad news. Well the lesson didn't go at all how like we planned and we were a little down. It was 5 minutes to 9:00 and I didn't know how to challenge her before we left. But I had to. So I just did it. We weren't talking about it at all but I just told her we wanted to set a baptismal date with her and she said "absolutely"! She said she already told her mom that she wanted to be baptized! I wish you all could have seen the smile on her face, it changed her whole attitude. She was so happy. I am never going to forget that smile. Her life is really hard but I see hope in her eyes now. THIS GOSPEL CHANGES LIVES. We also saw her yesterday and she asked us if she could serve a mission. Haha! We didn't see that one coming at all. She always knows how to surprise us.

To add to the story, Sorella Hoffman called that night and we told her that we set a baptism date. She said she wanted to set a baptism date the next day. We told her to call us when they did. Sure enough  the next day we got a call from the Pisa Sorelle. This is so great that we get to help challenge each other.

Another small miracle: one of my name tags got ran over by a car (don't ask me how). The pin broke but the name tag is perfectly perfect and I can just order a new pin. On Sunday we found it waiting outside our door. One of our neighbors must have found it outside and put it there.

We also had Stake Conference and that was amazing but I am running out of time :)

Last thing:  Sorella Hastings and I are starting this thing in December called 25 days of Christ. We are going to send a scripture about Christ to our investigators every day in December. My invitation this week to y'all is to send me your favorite scripture about Christ and tell me why you like it!

Remember Grazie a Lui we have this beautiful Gospel and we know we can return to live with Him again. We don't ever have to be alone because He knows how we feel. He knows our pains and only through Him can we be completely healed. I am honored to wear His name every day. I know He lives. Don't ever forget that He loves you.

I love you too!

Sorella Dani Hamblin

Rule 80: There is never enough email time

November 19, 2014

So much happened this week I hope I remember it all!

First off we had an amazing Zone Conference yesterday with Anziano Fingerle, an area 70. I loved it. One thing that stood out to me is how much we talked about the importance of prayer -- for us and for our investigators. It is easy for us to forget to make our prayers sincere at times. We talked about the importance of saying personal prayers aloud. I have such a testimony of this!  I know that prayers are powerful. I know if our investigators learn how to sincerely pray they will see miracles.

We also talked about how missionary work and family history work is the same great redemptive work --  they go together. He said we weren't called to be family history missionaries, but my brother is. I think it so cool that Derrek and I get to work on both sides of the veil. Our work goes hand in hand. 

If I had three more hours to write I still wouldn't be about to fit in everything I learned yesterday. 

We also set a baptism day with our investigator Gabriella. It is for January and it gives her 3 weeks to quit smoking. I know she can do it. She is making all the right choices to help her in her goal. 

I lost my bible a while back and didn't have one in Italian. Our sweet new convert surprised me the other day and gave me a mini bible. It was such a sweet little miracle.

Our primary program was on Sunday and was so cute. One of our investigators, Sara, came to church for the first time and she is going to Giovanni's baptism on Saturday! 

Sorry I ran out of time again this week! Just know things are great here. I love this work. I have never felt so much love in my life. I can feel all of yours prayers. I love you all! 

Sorella Dani Hamblin

Rule 73: It isn't a good P-day without bucket-loads of rain!

Ciao Tutti!

I can't believe another week has flown by! I got a new companion. Her name is Sorella Hastings and she is from Arizona! We both have names that Italians can't say because the H confuses them. so much. While I was waiting for her to come down from Milan on Thursday I got to work with the Firenze Sorelle. It was fun to work in another city for a day but I have to say I like my small towns in my area compared to the big city of Firenze. My new companion just served in Milan so she is getting used to this small town thing.

Halloween; Day of the Dead; and Day of the Saints were all this past weekend:  Also our branch president's daughter came home from her mission and one of our investigators had a birthday! It was quite a busy weekend! 

I had a really rough week and I was feeling super down, but it brought a super neat experience. One morning while I was praying I could literally picture all the people back home that are praying for me. I got so much strength from remembering how loved ones are cheering for me back home. It was one of the sweetest moments I had on my mission. After some good study and an inspired district meeting I am feeling completely back to normal. Not to mention, my companion is amazing! We compliment eachother's strengths so perfectly. I am excited for the upcoming weeks!

The work here is so great. We are teaching some truly amazing people. I love teaching. My favorite part of any day is teaching. It even tops gelatto ;) It is amazing to feel the Spirit teach through you. There is nothing like it in the world. Sometimes you don't have a clue what to say but as long as you try, you are always able to say something. Sorella Hastings and I are exhausted, but its that "I have used every second of every day to the best of my ability and I can't take another step" kind of exhausted. I feel so blessed to be serving in this branch. the new converts here are doing amazing. It's amazing to watch them continue to grow.

This work is amazing. God knows us. Dio ci ama. Tutti!

Sorella Dani Hamblin

Firenze Sorelle

Rule 72: American desserts always win

This week was by far one of my favorites on the mission. I have had some of the sweetest spiritual experiences this week with the people we are teaching. I have seen people open up. I have seen the gospel put light in people's eyes. One investigator broke up with her boyfriend because of the changes she is making in her life. But before she did, she taught him the plan of salvation. I have seen the Book of Mormon answer questions direction and have felt the spirit guide us directly where we need to go. The Lord has really opened up the hearts of people near the church and I believe we will keep seeing blessings from the church changing buildings. The anziani (elders) and us are both finding a lot more people close to our new church building. It's amazing to see the Lord's hand directly in our work.

My companion is going home this week and so is my trainer. The biggest thing they have taught me is not to  waste a single second. The time we have here is precious. I don't want to look back with any regrets.

This week in my personal study I started reading the war chapters in Alma. For some reason I kept applying the Lamanites to the Jehovah Witnesses (there are so many here!!!!) I felt bad for thinking this but I couldn't stop thinking about it the whole time I was reading. This went on all week. I even told my companion how guilty I felt about it. Then on Sunday we went to visit a recent convert and who did we find there? Jehovah Witnesses! Uh oh. It broke my heart. She said she has them over because she doesn't understand the Bible. We visited this convert again yesterday and she is really confused right now. Uh oh. I have no doubt that my personal study was actually a warning. I know where we need to focus our efforts. I have no doubt this new convert will be okay, but I know we have some work to do. 

Oh yeah, we also had Susan's baptism on Saturday!!! It was beautiful. Simply beautiful. I have never seen her so happy. I saw her yesterday and she is still just floating on a cloud. She had waited a long time for this but I know this was the right time for her. The Lord knows us and what we need. He will not give us challenges we cannot handle. President Sotilli asked me to bear my testimony at the baptism and I don't think I have ever just felt so full of love and joy. It was amazing. I know there were missionaries all over Italy and America cheering for Susan on Saturday. The branch has also  been a great support to her and I am so thankful for that. Everyone brought desserts but of course those American chocolate chip cookies we brought were the first to go. Italians know food but Americans will always win with their desserts.

Remember God loves you, 

VVB

Sorella Dani Hamblin

Rule 70: Namaste' (yes, I mean yoga)!

October 22, 2014

Ciao Cari,

Last week I wrote about a woman who stopped us on the street Wednesday morning. We set an appointment with her that night. When we came by her daughter was there. They both had a lot of questions about our religion. They both said that they want us to keep coming and the daughter says she will be baptized if she finds out it is true. These two were definitely prepared. My favorite part of the miracle though is the reason Chetti (the mom) decided to stop us. She said that one of her really good friends is the lady that works at the Gelatteria that we always pass by on the way to the train station. We always make sure to say "hi" to her and we have had a chance to talk to her for a couple minutes. This lady told Chetti to talk to us because we were really nice. Months of saying "hi" to woman helped us find two people who were ready to listen. The Lord really does work in small and simple ways.

It's my last week with my dear Sorella Russell. She goes home next week and I am going to miss her a ton!  We are preparing for Susan's baptism on Saturday and we finally have a good teaching pool. I wish we could just stay together and work together for a few more weeks.

We just finished another scambio with Pisa. I got to be with the one and only Sorella Cassandra Hoffman again! Whoo Hoo! It was fun to be in Pisa again. I know the church is true because the Lord did not give me a bike area for my first area. I ran into a car... and a person. Let's just say my balance skills are zero. But there were no injuries so I would say that was a success. But really, I felt so bad, I think tourists try to get hit sometimes. We ended our scambio going to a yoga class taught by one of their investigators (see pics). I may or may not just have fallen in love with yoga. My body feels so much better. Okay Dad, I finally see the light. 

This week was another one filled with tender mercies. I love this work. I love my mission. Haha I am surrounded with so many good missionaries that are going home soon. All they tell me is not to take this time for granted! I am trying to enjoy every minute!

VVB

Sorella Dani Hamblin

Sorella Hoffman and Dani at Yoga Class

Rule 67: It's okay to get lost!

October 15, 2014

Last week was a rough week! I am pretty sure everyone we know canceled on us, people we didn't know canceled on us (appointment's set up by the anziani), and we even had two investigators cancel appointments that we didn't set. Let's just say our week was filled with a lot more finding activities than expected. But we had a HUGE miracle yesterday when we were making calls to set up appointments for this week. Everyone answered the phone! It was amazing. We were able to set up appointments with people we hadn't seen in weeks -- one lady I hadn't even met yet and we have been trying for 15 weeks to contact her again. We had scheduled 5 appointments for the afternoon, and even though 2 of them fell through, Sorella Russell and I felt a renewed sense of hope. 

With all the finding opportunities we have had lately Sorella Russell and I may or may not have gotten lost a couple times this past week. The amazing thing is every time we get lost we ended talking to someone who is actually interested, or we run into an investigator. Even this morning on the way here we had a little miracle. There is a women that I have seen around our little town a few times that always says "hi" to us before we say hi to her. That's HUGE. Italians don't do that. Last time we saw her I really felt like we needed to talk to her but she disappeared before we could. I told Sorella Russell the next we saw her I would talk to her. Well this morning we took a different way than usual and we saw her! I was walking up to talk to her but before I could even get out my "Buongiourno!" She comes up to us and says "Hi I would like to talk about your church. I'm Catholic but I am interested in learning about your church." What?!! My comp. and I were a little stunned I think. We somehow found the words to set up an appointment for tonight. Miracles :)

Also our church is moving to a different hotel in a different city. It's is a huge miracle for us missionaries because it will be so much easier to get our investigators there! A few of the members have to travel a lot further though and they may decide to go to the Firenze ward instead. If all of them decide to do that we would lose our Young Womens Leader and our Primary President and our Sunday School teacher (yes we only have one of each). I'm not sure if we would have enough people to cover all the callings but I trust this will work out. It just means we need more baptisms! 

Our sweet investigator who is getting baptized in two weeks thinks my name is Kimball. She has called me Kimball for two months now and I have no idea why. She keeps a notebook with the missionaries names in it. There is Sorella Lopez with Sorella Yost and Sorella Jarvis with Sorella Condie then there is Kimball (me) with Russell (who she added yesterday). She will look at my tag and will still say Kimball. It is pretty hilarious. We are so excited she is finally to be baptized! We have had our ups and downs with her and her family giving her permission but finally everything has worked out. Looking back we can really see how these struggles have strengthened her and helped her grow. 

The Anziani also have an investigator with a baptism date and he's amazing! He came to church for the first time and he already just fits right into the branch! We taught Gospel Principles and he knew all the answers. He is definitely ready. We were riding on the train home from church and all together and he wanted to have all four missionaries over for dinner. Its against mission rules but he was very persistent so we said maybe we could get permission for Christmas. Haha so we already have Christmas plans (even though none of us may be here for Christmas, don't worry we told him!). In fact Sorella Russell and I have appointment with him and his mom (who also has a baptismal date!) tonight. But I haven't even told you the best part... His name is Giovanni, He lives on via Giovanni del San Giovanni in our little city named San Giovanni. Yeah. 

Well I think that covers this week :) Tutto Posto in my little corner of Toscana.

VVB,

Sorella Dani Hamblin

Joust  in Arezzo

An older picture of Sorella Jarvis and Dani in Venezia (Venice)

Rule 56: General Conference = Missionary Christmas

October 8, 2014

Ciao Tutti!

I hope you all got to watch General Conference this weekend. From the missionary emails I've read I think that I can speak for most missionaries when I say that Conference weekend is like Christmas here on the mission. I was able to watch all except the last session in Firenze, because we weren't able to show it at the hotel our branch meets in. All the talks were absolutely amazing! I loved the temple focus of the women's conference. What amazing blessings temples are. Thanks to temples we are able to have such an eternal perspective that other religions are not able to have. We know we have a goal to work towards. We know we can be with our families forever and we know how we can! 

Another theme I loved from conference was that of personal revelation and personal responsibility. In the world today we have more responsibility to stand up for our beliefs and be a light to the world. I feel bad I don't know the name of the speaker, but I absolutely loved the talk that was in Spanish. We are planning to show his talk to a few of our investigators who speak Spanish. It will be nice to show them a talk that isn't translated. 

The work here is still moving. Some days all of appointments fall through, the next day we are running down the streets to make it to all of our appointments (I personally like these days more). We are really trying to find some more people to teach. In Zone Training on Monday I found out that Finding is the universal problem in missionary work. I think it is hard sometimes because it can be discouraging and sometimes it takes courage to talk to random people on the street. But I have such a testimony that God really does put people in our path and we will not find them if we do not open our mouths. 

I know this Gospel is true and I am thankful for every second I am out here doing this work. 

Vi voglio bene,

Sorella Dani Hamblin

P.S. SO random exciting news: I won a jar of peanut butter in zone training! Haha best day ever!  

The Italian's don't know what they are missing!  YUM!