Easter Week

Dear Family and friends-

   This week was a little different than most. We had an emergency transfer last Monday- and Sister Johnson, who was my companion in the MTC, is now my companion again. So for the next week and a half (until April 3rd) I am in a trio!! Sis. Christian leaves home on the 3rd, so then it will just be me and Sis. Johnson again- needless to say it's been interesting and I've experienced a couple personal challenges with the change, but I cannot tell you how much I am learning and how much it's causing me to truly stretch beyond my comfort zone and grow. A  mission is hard because I am truly seeing how my life is not my own right now. This is good because I don't want to be stagnant- I want to to grow, I want to learn to truly put God's will first and learn how to trust in Him and I know that in doing this I will be forever changed and bettered for the rest of my life. I also know there are many more people here I still need to meet, teach, serve, love, and learn from. I really do love the people.

    Mary's baptism is this Saturday, and Tom and Cynthia are amazing and continue to progress. It's not about baptism though- I've learned that the greatest joy comes from watching peope fill with light, and love and knowledge. You can see the Spirit softening their eyes and their countenances change and you can feel the peace they're feeling. It's beautiful!! Sometimes I can't believe how blessed I am that I get to be a part of this change in people's lives...I'm 20..and yet they actually listen to what we say because they can feel the power of the Spirit witness the truthfulness of what we say to them. 

 We had a cool experience- Jim is an awesome guy we met walking around- he used to be a member but fell away after his divorce to a nonmember woman. He was working on his car, so we stopped to help him and just get to know him and he told us his whole story by the time we finished working on his old car!! What an amazing person he is. He then looked at us and said- "I'd like to come back Sisters. I just don't know how.' Such beautiful words to hear! Help him get back we will :) and before we left all covered with grease he said, "can we have a prayer before you leave?" It was awesome. 

 Also- at the nursing home this week one of the sweet ladies I paint nails for every week grabbed hold of my arm and said, "Sister B- I like you. What faith are you?" I told her I was a member odf the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aka Mormon, and she just stared at me, and laughed because she's a baptist! haha She said she still loved me, but it was funny. I love that crazy woman. After 2 open heart surgeries she is still full of attitude and life and has a boyfriend!! haha anyways- I hope all is well with you. I know you're all at Disneyland this week so have fun! Haley- enjoy Europe- and Ashley- keep staying strong and faithful in Provo!! I love you all so much and pray for you. I sang at Zone Conference so I will try to send the video to you, I am also singing two numbers on easter Sunday so I'm looking forward to that :) I love this gospel. I am so grateful for my Saviour and how He helps me change and become better. Oh!! and we saw Taylor Swift's beachouse!! I took a picture so I will send it soon :)

 

Love,

 Sister Bertoldo

Taylor Swift's beach house

4th Week in Paradise!

Dearest Friends and Family-

This week was one for the books. I'm just going to start right away with the great news bc you know I can't wait- our investigator Mary, who I told you about previously came to Church again this Sunday and informed us that she had decided to get BAPTIZED!!!! It was an emotional and tearful Sunday to say the least, but I can assure you they were tears of joy!! It will probably be this Saturday or next week. It will be a beautiful way for Sis. Christian to go home, she was with Mary from the beginning, so I feel a lot of joy for her. I am just grateful to have been a part of this and to have played a role in her journey in coming unto Christ. We love her a lot, and we are meeting withe her this Wednesday to plan it. I will send you pictures!! Also, I was asked to sing for Easter Sunday, and I am so excited! I am singing two numbers, That Easter Morn, followed by He is Risen so although you wont be there mom and dad, I will be singing for you too!

Transfers are coming up soon, and President has informed me that I will most likely be training, so prayers are welcome! ha but I know with the Spirit as my teacher I can do all things. Sis. Christian has been a great trainer and taught me much. I will always love her! Also, we met with Scott and Starla, Scott is inactive but his daughter is going on a mission and when he heard he wanted to get back on track and become active again. His girlfriend Starla is also interested. The elders have been working with them, and they believe, but they have a few stumbling blocks keeping them from baptism that they're struggling with. I shared that story (as I remembered it) with them about the little girl and the fake pearl necklace. If you don't know it here it is, I just found it: 

"Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere--Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"

"Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess--the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She's my favorite."

"That's okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"

"Daddy, you know I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my babydoll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."

"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.

"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"

Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver,she finally said, "Here, Daddy. It's for you."

With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny.

He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure.

What are you hanging on to? Let go."

I explained we are that little girl and God is our Heavenly Father who has incredible blessings he WANTS to give us, but we have to give up our precious little "fake pearls" first. That kind of faith, love and trust will be rewarded. Scott, Starla, and Sis. Christian all had tears in their eyes. And Scott's a big tough guy!! The spirit had witnessed to them that this was the case with them. And they knew exactly what it was they needed to let go of. Scoot looked at Starla, Starla looked at him, crying, and She said, "I know I need to be baptized. I've always believed." And Scott looked at us and said, "It's time I let go." We are meeting with them again this Sunday but it was amazing to be there in the room as the Spirit touched and softened them right in front of our eyes!! I had chills the whole way home. They had both made immense progress that night and I knew. We both did.

 The Hoffers continue to progress. They want to come to Mary's baptism so that will be amazing for them to witness!! I truly know it won't be long for them, they are so in tune with the Sprit and continue to read the Book of Mormon. Thank you for your prayers for them. The work is truly beginning to take off here in Destin after a long time of nothing. We also found Karen, who we have tried many time with no luck, but this last time when we let her in she ( to her surprise and embarrassment) instantly started crying and said- "Oh sisters I've been waiting for you to come!" I have never had such a reception so it truly warmed my soul.We will beginteaching her this thurs. She is a bone cancer survivor who kept hearing things about the Church and wanted to learn more, she lives alone and said she feels "somthing is missing". Oh these people are amazing!! truly full of the light of Christ.

It's spring break here in Destin, so there are frat boys and drunk girls everywhere!! Wow. It's funny being here on a mission right now bc they're all my age haha. we decided we are going to go to the beach sometime and hand out pass along cards and books of Mormon to anyone who wants one!! Great idea right?! We will stick out like a sore thumb in our name tags and dresses in the midst of their bikinis haha. It's been so nice that we rode our bikes to the library for service instead of driving. I loved it!! But one problem- I have no bike shorts and my dress kept going Marilyn Monroe on me haha so mom- if you could send me this, black, knee length compression bike shorts that would be awesome!! 

I love you all so much. The closer I come unto Christ and learning of His nature, the more I see where I am doing well, but also where I lack and am unlike Him. Especially before my mission. I have been reading Jesus the Christ, and as I am I am struck at how He is a man without lusts. This is in human...this in and of itself PROVES His divinity..no man is without lust...I will strive to be more like Him in this regard. It reminds me of Ether 12:27- the closer we come to Christ the more we see our weakness, but then in turn the more we are humbled and then in turn these weaknesses are made into strengths. Mom- keep me updated on your passover dinner! I know it will be amazing. Send me a pic okay? I love you all so much- enjoy your spring brreak and thank you for all the letters and pictures, I love them so much theyre hanging up. Keep doing your part as disciples of Christ. Miss and love you all!! Hope all is well. Dad- the temple trip sounded AWESOME!!  You are a great bishop, leader and father, You don't know how great you are.

Love Sister Bertoldo

Pictures :) 

Baby bunnies we saw at a member's house for dinner! 

Brooke loovess little toadies....

3rd Week

Dearest Family-

This has been quite a week. It seems each week is more profound than the previous one!! I will start with telling you of the Hoffer's. Wow!! We had our second lesson with them and the Spirit was there just as strongly. We showed them the Restoration video to help them recap and visualize what we taught them last time and gave them the BOM child's reader. It was incredible, the Spirit was so strong, even their 2 month old baby Claira sat up and watched with perfect silence. Afterwards Cynthia (the young mom who I love dearly!!) said she got goosebumps during the vision part of it and felt great peace. Tom, (the father) said that he was amazed at how he related to everything Joseph Smith had said. He said he also had the chills. It was so cool!! I always just want to cry, I can't help it it makes me soooo happy to see people feeling the truth of the gospel in their hearts for the first time. It's sacred. And it causes me to re examine my own testiminy of Jeseph Smith, which is burning brughter than ever now. We also invited the Barnett's, an adorable young couple in our branch, to accomany us because we want the Hoffer's to have some friends in the branch and they got along sooo well!! Afterwards as we were leaving, Cynthia cam running out and said, "Wait what about church?! We want to to come. we talked about it and we're ready. What time?" Ahhh!!!! I was ecstatic. This Sunday was branch conference so it was a good one!! How perfect...They came and sat with us and the Barnett's and it went beautifully!!! Thank you for your prayers about them dad, I can assure you they were answered!! They stayed all 3 hours and we took her and her adorable baby (who everyone loved!!) to Relief Society and Cynthia even signed up to feed us dinner in the Relief Society roster! haha she's already one of us...you would all love her. They are really progressing in learning the gospel. They want to come next sunday and learn more about the temple and gospel principles, Tom is so smart!! He really grasps concepts fast. I love them, I've never been happier. 

Also, our investigator Mary came to church! She has gone through a terrible tragedy, which I shouldn't share the deatils here, but we were able to be there with her and I am so proud of her for letting tragedy bring her closer to Christ, not farther. She is really progressing and has expressed desire to be baptized within the month!!! Oh how I love her...I will keep you updated.

Another story which I must share happened Saturday when we served in the nursing home. We were there painting all the ladies nails (they LOVE IT!! haha they pretend we're a beauty salon its so cute) but as we walked past a very old woman doing a puzzle (over 1000 pieces) I strongly felt the impression, "Brooke, you need to stop and talk to her." So we did. As we started chatting she told us how she was in pain, sha had just had foot surgery and it went poorly. We expressed are sympathies and kept talking. Then the nurse came. She told her she wouldn't be able to get her pain medications for another hour, she was sorry. The woman just put her head down and was silent. I was surprised at this...when she looked up her eyes were full of tears. They were already trickling down her wrinkled face. My eyes instantly filled with tears as well. She was REALLY in pain. She was suffering, now I could see. She then lifted her blanket, still spilling with tears, to show me her leg. Her foot was huge. infected. almost unrecognizable. Her leg was bandaged up, also swollen. Still crying, I knew she needed comfort so I gave her a hug and she hed me so tightly..I could trly feel her pain. She held me so tight she left marks in my arms from her nails. She wouldn't let go she just cried. We both did, and in that moment I could truly feel the Savior with me, with her, I felt His love for her and understood now why He had guided me to her. We never left her. We stayed with her until her medication came to help her through the pain. We made her laugh, we looked at all her pictures, we painted her nails. 

Then an hour later, the nurse came back smiling, with the pain medication. The puzzle woman (that's what everyone calls her there) started crying again. This time with relief. Then she looked at me, right into my eyes and thanked me for not leaving her. I hugged her again, and again she wouldn't let go. Sis. Christian offered to say a prayer, and the old woman just said, "Oh, she (pointing to me) already did." While I was hugging her i said a silent prayer, for her to feel strength and comfort and love from Chrsit, that He would stay with her after we left, but it was in my heart! She had some how perceived it and knew I had prayed. We said another one out loud though. After we finshed she was crying she said, "I love you sisters" then she held my hand and said, "I Love you and I love your Church."

That was the best moment of all. I love this gospel so much. I love the scriptures, the Book of Mormon. I love my Savior. I feel His love for these people, and that makes me feel closer to Him than ever before. I love missionary work. D&C 84:77-89. As we do His work we are His friends and He will stand by us. I love you all.

Also! this week me and Sister Christian were attacked by a snake while tracting this week!! She almost stepped on it but it moved before she did but it was hilarious bc it surprised me so I went sprinting down the road screaming and she just stood there hahaha we laughed the rest of the day about it. We are also teaching a woman who works for Justin Bieber!! How cool is that?! no wonder she is so rich..haha we love her though, she is becoming more active and continues meeting with us, feeding us, and giving us goodies from her botique :)

Love Sis. Bertoldo

2nd Week in Destin

Dearest Family

 

What a week. I have incredible news: I have officially found my first investigator!!!!!!!!!! I now know the joy of watching someone receive and hear the gospel for the first time and actually seeing the change in the countenace when the Spirit witnesses truth to their heart. Remember the text we got from the church head quarters? we saw those people. Their names are Steve and Cynthia Hoffer, they have a 2 month old baby girl, Claira, and they just moved to the area. They have 0 religious background. They said they are "blank slates" and that this is the first church they have felt any genuine interest in and desire to know more.They told us how they've been reading the Book of Mormon they found, so we gave them the lesson on the Restoration. The whole time...they never took their eyes of us. This was also my first time giving an actual full lesson so I was praying nonstop for help from the Spirit!!! when we got to the part about Joseph Smith- I couldn't believe it, but I got choked up. I recited the first vision and then paused bc the Sprit was so strong I literally couldn't speak. I felt the Spirit so strongly my own personal testimony grew in that moment, and as I listened to Sis. Christian bear her testimony of the Savior and His atonement, my testimony literally deepened and I got choked up. I was praying that they felt what I was feeling. The dad looked straight into our eyes and said, "it makes sense." Simple as that. I told them how good this was for them to find this when their daughter was young so she could be raised in it. They both just looked at each other with tears in their eyes and said they wanted to know more. "can we come to church?" They actually asked us before we even invited them. 

It was amaziing to see how the Lord had been working with them long before we got there. The Lord loves His children. I felt and feel such love for them, I can hardly believe it. We are teaching them again this Friday. Amazing, these people are amazing. The mother, Cynthia then asked me what to do about her piercings (she has several) and clothes, she was concerned that she looked different from other "Mormons" and she was scared she couldn't come to church bc of her piercings. I was floored by her humility. We explained the rule about piercings because our body is a temple and sacred and she said she understood. We assured her that she would not be looked down upon though; she was not accountable or aware of things until now. She asked where to buy modest clothes, so we are taking her shopping next week for church clothes!! my heart could burst with love for her. They are struggling to understand the Book of Mormon language so we also are bringing them a children's reader next lesson to help them see the storyline but Steven said "I love reading about Nephi. He is clearly a good man, I want to be like that."

It was a life changing experience for me. A great blessing after so many doors in my face and people not showing up for appointments, the Lord reminded me that yes there are people here that need you and are ready. What a blessing. After the lesson my heart felt 6x bigger. I have truly never felt such joy and peace. Also, 2 of the less active members we are teaching came to church yesterday!! One of them, Diane Gill, came and sat by me and I bore my testimony and after I sat down, she went up and shared hers!! once again, my heart swelled and spilled out my eyes as tears and I felt God's love for her. Her name is Diane Gill and she is elderly, her husband and son are both dead. 

I have hard times, and struggle with severe fatigue and headaches, but the Lord helps me through it. Getting letters this week really raised my Spirits :) thank you for the package and thank you for the letter Mommy!!!!!!!!! and thank you daddy!!!!! mom i cried when i got your package and letter, I needed it so bad...thank you. Keep the letters coming. I love you all so much. I pray for you all. thank you for your prayers, I soooooooooo need them, some days are really hard. Write me :) you are all the best, I am so glad God gave me you.

 

Love, Sister Bertoldo