I got hit on my an Albanian man yesterday... He came up to me and
said, "You have a beautiful face structure... Kiss me" (all in
Italian) so I had no idea what he was saying so I just smiled and said
"Siamo missionarie per la chiesa di Gesù Cristo..." Needless to say,
he wasn't interested in our message about Jesus Christ.

More interesting facts about Italy:
You have to rotate the key for our apartment door 4x to lock or unlock
it so I'm pretty sure no one could ever break in through the door
Italians are pro parallel parkers and pro at riding their bikes
without their hands
There is a Kellogg cereal called EXTRA that I never saw before my
mission and it is SO good. I invite you to eat it.
Italy has these mosquitos called Tiger Mosquitos and yeah, they feel
exactly like their name and they are immune to the repellant that we
use
Public restrooms don't really exist in Italy and if you do find one,
you usually have to pay for it
I speak in a thicker Texan accent when I speak in Italian than when I
speak English

We had English class last Wednesday night and only one person showed
up. Her name is Francesca and she was super funny and nice. We ended
up just talking for an hour (in English). She was telling us about her
trip to Naples, Italy and she was like "I ate the pizza... And I
cried" haha so, apparently the pizza is really good in Naples.

@Wed July 27th 2016

I was laying on the bottom bunk and I kicked the top and there are wire things and I accidently stabbed my toe and it bled a lot. lol. don't kick beds

We met our Mission President and his wife and they are the CUTEST!!! I'm so stoked to be in Milan, serving the people there. We have 11 DAYS LEFT!!!!! WHAT IS THIS LIFE? I already love the people of Italy so much and I haven't even gotten there yet!!

The language is really coming along!! We learn a lot everyday and the lessons have really been improving! My companion and I are able to teach and bear testimony without writing every single word down :) progress!! ALSO, on Sunday, I was called up to give a 5 min talk to ITALIAN!!!! We have to prepare a talk every Sunday and so I prepared one, but I didn't find out until a little too late that it was supposed to be in Italian and not English!! (we don't do talks in Italian until our 4th week in the MTC) Luckily, I had my Italian scriptures and notes with me and the Spirit was able to guide me-- plus, the romanians in our zone didn't know what I was saying so hopefully they thought I was really good at Italian ;)

Also, Sister Duncan, a missionary that served in Dallas Texas, works at the MTC and came and SAW ME!!! Seeing her brought me to tears and I'm so thankful that she came at the time that she did. The Lord is very aware of what we are dealing with at all times and is constantly sending people our way to help and guide us.

Roast of the week: "You can do a wall sit for an hour but you can't pick up a box?!" that was to me by Anziano Wagstaff because I do wall sits during our breaks in class and one time I was sore and I couldn't pick up a box, so he seized the moment and roasted me.

Another sleep talking story, Sorella Huntzinger woke up when our other roommate came back from the bathroom and yelled "JACKPOT" and we asked her what she was talking about and she said, "Jackpot in the Safari" so yeah. the end.

Dio ci ama e Dio ha un piano per noi. Lui ci vole avere felicita in nostri vita. Noi abbiamo felicita tramite Gesu Cristo e l'espiazione. Sono grato per Il Libro di Mormon e questo vangelo. Io invito voi leggere Il Libro Di Mormon e pregarate sapere che e la parola di Dio. Io so che Dio la manda la risposta a voi preghiera tramite lo Spirito Santo. Tramite lo Spirito Santo, noi possiamo la verita di ogni cosa (Mosia 10:5)

God loves us and He has a plan for us. He wants us to have happiness in our lives. We can have that happiness through Jesus Christ and His Atonement. I am grateful for the Book of Mormon and this gospel. I invite y'all to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know that it is the word of God. I KNOW that God will answer you through the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, we can know the truth of all things (Mosiah 10:5)

Ti voglio bene!

Love,

Sorella Meager

look at the eternal perspective

stop worrying about yourself and GO TO WORK

What a week!!! 

Sacrament on Sunday was SO great! The Book of Mormon was the topic and our Branch President reminded us that "the Book of Mormon isn't just a nice thing to have". I love the Book of Mormon and I know that reading and studying it has blessed my life tremendously. I have gotten to know my Savior personally through the Book of Mormon and through prayer.

In class on Tuesday night, our teacher, Sorella Francom bore a simple testimony to us that I really needed:

"You, in your simple Italian, can have more power in your lesson than someone who can speak perfect Italian." That is because we have been set apart as missionaries. We wear Christ's name on our chest and we have the spirit with us 24/7. It is such an incredible feeling and I want to stay a missionary forever!! I love the people of Italy and I have not even set foot in the land yet (although I have met a few Italians). I cannot wait to get over there and bring them closer to Christ.

We haven't changed at all because of the name tag that is on our chest, I am still me, but wearing His name on our chest shows that we have devoted our lives to Him for these next 18 months and we will get to see miracles happen right before our eyes because of that. Being on a mission is a sacrifice, but I have given up so little to get so much and I am truly grateful for this opportunity.

I love my district so much and I'm glad I do because we spend 10+ hours a day with each other and it would be torture if I didn't like them. Last night we figured out who everyone was as a cartoon Character and here is the list in order from left to right of the picture:

Anziano Johnson= Flynn Rider (Tangled-- his looks)

Anziano Brown= Dash (The Incredibles-- his looks)

Anziano Jacobsen= Mr. Fredrickson (Up-- the way he acts with his comp)

Anziano Wagstaff= Russell (Up-- his enthusiasm and above statement)

Sorella Cloward= Ruby (Max and Ruby-- her looks)

Sorella Carter= Lilo (Lilo and Stitch-- he sassyness)

Sorella Huntzinger= Rapunzel (Tangled-- goes from crying to laughing like no one else)

Sorella Wilson= Sadness (Inside Out-- her looks)

Sorella Meager= Wheezy (Toy Story-- it's because of my laugh)

This week went by SO fast, I thought yesterday was P day, but here we are again: sitting in the laundry room and emailing. I know a lot of good things happened this week, but I can't quite remember what they were. BUT the general authorities are here right now and that is pretty legit, except we aren't allowed to go into the same building they are in, and if we see them we are not allowed to approach them. Our district keeps making jokes like:

"Do not approach General Authorities"

"They are more scared of you than you are of them"

"Do not tap on glass, it will scare them"

We got 710 new missionaries on Wednesday and I knew one of them! Katie Calderwood is now right across the hall from me!! Because of the general authorities and the increase of missionaries, we now eat in the gym and outside. BUT that means the food is way better because now it is catered or grilled :)

Devotional on Tuesday was SO GOOD. Elder Nielson talked about that success is not just measured on the amount of months there, because one convert can affect generations! He told a story about a guy that he taught in the pouring rain and he didn't think it would go anywhere. But, he was wrong, his one convert, Brother Ekland, made an incredible impact. 20 yrs after his mission: Brother Ekland became a Stake President. 35 yrs after the mission: Brother Ekland helped open up a temple in Finland. Last year: He met Brother Ekland's grandson, who is serving a mission.

You canNOT measure the amount of success you have as a missionary JUST based on the amount of time you spend there.

Reason for the title of the email: My roommate, Sorella Huntzinger talks in her sleep. One night, we were all laying in bed (not talking) and she blurts out, "It's not even morning yet!" and I automatically just told her to go back to sleep cause I knew she wasn't actually awake. Then 2 minutes later, she sits up and tells us a story about her dad and then lays back down. THEN 5 minutes later, she says, "Why does everyone keep saying it's morning??" We all busted out laughing. The end.

Smile at someone today!

Love y'all,

Sorella Meager

God doesn't give up on us and His work never stops.

No one is you and that is your power

Farewell Talk

Enduring to the End

We are told in the scriptures and by the prophets that we must “Endure to the End”, but what exactly does that mean? Keeping your faith through trials? Lifting others up who need help along the path? When I think of endurance, I often think of pushing through something hard to get to something better. But that’s not always the case. Enduring to the end is so much more.

The scriptures use the term endure to mean “to last,” “to continue,” or “to remain,” rather than “to suffer.”

To me, this means that we need to remain faithful until the end, and when I say remain faithful, I mean striving to keep the covenants that we have made. To do this we must first enter into the covenant by being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and then, remaining faithful to the covenants we have made. We are promised several times throughout the scriptures that if we are “obedient to the commandments, and endure to the end, [we] shall be saved at the last day.” (2 Nephi 22:31).

L. Tom Perry gave a talk and named 5 steps on How To Endure to the End. I am going to read and elaborate on them

1. First, it requires the Savior’s redemptive power. “No unclean thing can dwell with God”. Christ HAD to come to Earth and atone for our sins otherwise we would not be able to return to live with our father in Heaven. Going along with that, we have to actually apply the Atonement to our lives through the process of repentance. Every Sunday, we partake of the sacrament to renew our baptismal covenants.

See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not of the sacrament of Christ unworthily; but see that ye do all things in worthiness, and do it in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God; and if ye do this, and endure to the end, ye will in nowise be cast out. (Mormon 9:29)

2. Second, enduring to the end requires the Holy Ghost. This, I feel like is pretty self explanatory. The Holy Ghost is there to lead and guide us in the right direction. Without the guidance of the Spirit, we would be lost. One of the most important things for me, is that I am always worthy to have the companionship of the Spirit.

“The gift [of the Holy Ghost] can come only after proper and authorized baptism, and is conferred by the laying on of hands. … The gift of the Holy Ghost is the right to have, whenever one is worthy, the companionship of the Holy Ghost” (Bible Dictionary, “Holy Ghost”, 704).

3. Third, we must be an integral part of a community of Saints. When we are baptized, we symbolically become part of the body of Christ and physically become part of a ward/ stake family. We each play a sacred role in that family, either as a Relief Society President, or Sunday School teacher, or a Pianist. Each cell in an organism counts and we each matter. “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 18:10).

4. Fourth, we must share the gospel with others. Our role as missionaries is to:

"Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end."

As member missionaries we are asked to share the gospel with our friends and invite them to activities. A couple years ago, the Texas Dallas mission president, Devin G. Durrant, gave us a challenge to invite others to come unto Christ. I want to re-challenge that challenge. It doesn’t have to be a huge gesture, you don’t have to invite them to be baptized, but you can do simple things. For example, you can invite them over for dinner and happen to have the missionaries over for dinner the same night. Or you can share your favorite talk from General Conference on Facebook.

And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father (D&C 18:15).

5. Finally, we must always maintain faith and hope in Christ. This I think is one of the most important steps.

"The words for faith, faithful, and faithfulness all come from the Hebrew ‘aman, which means “to be firm or reliable” and implies primarily qualities of loyalty and determination. Thus, being faithful means that we can be trusted to keep our commitments" (Enduring to the End, Stephen E. Robinson).

Besides keeping the commandments, other ways we can show our faith include:

• Looking unto Christ (see 3 Ne. 15:9)
• Taking upon us the name of Christ (see 3 Ne. 27:6)
• Feasting upon the words of Christ and pressing forward in steadfastness, hope, and love (see 2 Ne. 31:20)
• Offering our whole souls to Christ and continuing in fasting and prayer (see Omni 1:26)
• Following the example of Christ (see 2 Ne. 31:16)
• Worshipping the Father in the name of Christ (see D&C 20:29)
• Seeking to bring forth Zion (see 1 Ne. 13:37)
• Being patient in afflictions and humble in repentance (see Alma 32:15; D&C 24:8)

Links to sources for this talk:

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1993/10/enduring-to-the-end?lang=eng

https://www.lds.org/youth/article/how-to-endure-to-the-end?lang=eng

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1998/04/behold-we-count-them-happy-which-endure?lang=eng

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1985/10/lessons-from-the-atonement-that-help-us-to-endure-to-the-end?lang=eng&_r=1

Link to full talk:

Farewell Talk