One Love

Dear Family-

 

So transfers are next week!! I am staying in Gulf Breeze and I will be training again! I am getting a new missionary straight out of the MTC and my beloved sister Treiber is being transferred to Panama City Beach to another experienced sister. I really love being a trainer. I love getting a sister who is nervous and unsure but also on fire to going to work and I love being the sister to introduce them to the work. It's really special to me- I am a officially a missionary "mom" haha I also always learn A LOT from them as well! I will miss sister treiber though- but I am grateful the Lord led us to each other because I know we will continue to be friends after the mission. I love her and I really learned a lot from her.

 

So this week was a litle different!! We had a worldwide sister training conference that all the sisters in Tallahassee had to attend (there are now 40 of us!) we went over the "sister culture" because we are all in charge of establishing that culture in this mission because we are all the first sisters in the area. What we do and how we obey and interact with the elders, and how we dress- that will set the tone for all the sisters to follow. So it is imperative that we set a good example and establish an obedient sister culture so we can be more effective and fruitful missionaries and be deserving for help from on high. 

Modesty is a big part of this. I heard this quote from Muhummad Ali, speaking to his daughter, when she came home from a date barely wearing anything. I really struck me: "Everything of great value is covered up. Diamonds are covered by thick layers of rock, pearls lie beneath deep layers of water. Surely you are more precious than diamonds and pearls- you should be covered up too." Being a missionary particularly in this mission where more sisters are being sent than anywhere else in the country (we are getting 13 new sisters next transfer) has deepened and solidified my testimony of modesty. And because of that I can now share that testimony with others. The young women here struggle with modesty- its hot here! they live on the beach!! No one wears clothes here in the coast of Florida haha but WE are going to have a firesite with the YW on modestly to help strengthen them (and they are all good friends with us. So I'm excited for that :) I love all the girls so much- they are amazing.

 

Also! we watched world wide leadership training last night, it was broadcasted from Provo, and I was moved and inspired by it beyond belief!! Me and sister Treiber bawled through the whole thing especially when President Monson spoke despite the recent loss of his wife. We met with bishop directly after the meeting to discuss our ward missionary plan again and discuss names. The running group is in the works!! We have 10 sisters and 3 yw in attendance :) I love it and so do they!! we go 2-5 miles once a week and me and sister Hernandeze ladies. We also came up with the idea of having a 4th of July breakfast and church tour! People are very patriotic out here so we are expecting a lot of nonmembers to be there. We are continually praying to be led to those people the Lord has prepared for us. WE have our baptism this saturday for Tavon Hernandez and I am so excited :) but saddened that sister Treiber can't be there. His father (who is a recent convert, the coolest guy ever I absolutely love him!) is preparing to receive the priesthood and baptize him- how overjoyed we are to see the spiritual growth and progression of that family! They are rocks. 

I love you guys- thank you for the package :) the music really helped with 4 hour drive we had to Tallahassee for the sisters conference!!! Thank you thank you. I  love you all so much. And I am stoked about you guys meeting with Dan Brown- share the gospel when you can!! Nothing is more importsant or powerful than member missionary work. check out the work of salvation link on lds.org to learn more about how to do it. I am so excited about the announcement they made in last night's broadcast- we are now getting internet access and our own facebook profiles to help us with the work!! We can now use videos talks and mormon messages to help us with the work. Its really gonna help!

This morning i finished reading the Book of Mosiah in the BOM and this verse really struck me when I applied to myself- apply it to yourself too! Mosiah 24:15-16 " now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Brooke were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen her that she could bear up he burdenns with ease and she did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the wil of the Lord.16 And it came to pass that so great was her faith and her patince that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you." A mission is hard. We all go through hard things and the Lord lets it happen but if we turn to him- though he may lighten or remove the load- He can strengthen us so that we are able to bear it and let it work for our benefit. I love you guys! I always pray for you. Enjoy New Hampshire! I wish I could be there with you but I am happy here at this beach too :)

Love,

 Sister Bertoldo

Sick Week

Dear Family-

 

This was quite the week. To make a long story short- I got really sick- bad fevers. some sort of viral menengitis and had to go to the mission Doc and get put on antibiotics and all this fun stuff. I wanted to keep going out and working of course- but then came my voice- gone completely! Gone. couldn't make a sound. I just woke up and it was gone! Kind of hard to teach and testify when you have no voice haha so that was hard- it lasted 3 days- but I learned a lot. Silence leaves a lot of time for personal prayer and listening to others. I'm doing lots better now- I even was able to sing in Church this sunday. So moving right along- what I really want to tell yall about is the people and lessons we had BEFORE i got slammed- they were powerful.

   We are continuing to teach JC, but this time Jared's little siste Taylor was there too (she's 16, same as JC but jared is 18) and Taylor brought her boyfriend! So me and Sister T got to teach 4 teenagers all at once!! awesome. We brought the Restoration video and then talked about Joseph Smith and the Restoration. I am always the most nervous to teach the Joseph Smith portion of the Restoration because I feel like that is the hardest for people to understand initially- however this was not the case. And in fact the more I teach it the more my own testimony of the Restoration particularly Joseph Smith is being strengthened- it is rapidly becoming my favorite to teach and testify of- second only to the Atonement of Christ and the Plan of Salvation.  

    Well after the video- they were all dead quiet. The Spirit was so strong in the room- we had a really good discussion about it after and then we asked JC what she thought of everything we had talked about- she said the coolest thing (She's a very quiet pretty girl so this was a big deal) She said, "At first I just was curious and I knew Jared wanted to share his beliefs with me so I did it for him, But now I'm starting to believe. I believe all on my own." Ah! that's what it's all about- teaching true principles, inviting the Spirit, and bringing others unto Christ-that's our purpose- then the rest is between them and God. She's starting to believe. How beautiful is that?

    We went to dinner with the W's, who father/husband is deployed right now. Sister W is incredible- humble. patient. faithful and full of love. She has 3 little girls, and one baby boy. She's on her own for the next 6 months. They have very little in the ways of the world but their home is so full of love- well they invited us over for a special dinner. We get there to find out that we had been invited over as a surprise for her oldest daughter Harley's 11th birthday- we were her surprise! I was so touched. When we pulled up the youngest girl who is 4 had been out there waitng for us for 30 minutes! I had no idea we were so loved by them- that we meant that much to those little girls. When I learned that we were Harley's birthday surprise for her dinner I got a huge lump in my throat. I was also really sick that day (it was the day before I really got slammed and lost my voice ENTIRELY) but I am SO GLAD we went to that appointment- I wouldn't have missed it for the world. We really wanted to do something special- her dad was gone, so I got to thinking what can we do to make her birthday special? I rememebered what we do at our house for birthdays so after dinner I told them all about it and invited them to all go around and say what they loved about Harley- they loved it!! We joined in too of course at the end and it was just so beautiful to see the power of simply speaking kind words. Speaking kind words brings the Spirit. Thats all we did, and it was so powerful. As we were walking out Harley came running out and gave us flowers- I have them pressed in my journal. I really love that sweet and humble little family- that strong mother- and all those litle girls.

    Missionary work really is about love- my prayer is now to be able to more fully forget myself and my needs so that I can more fully focus on the work and the people here and their needs. So join me in that prayer- help me forget myself. 

   we found a new family to teach- a marine and his wife- they are a young couple, they have 2 kids and the little boy calls us the "God talkers" isn't that cool? It's tricky because the dad is Agnostic- but he is so great- he wants to believe he's just had a rocky past. April on the otherhand is very receptive- she keeps saying she wants God in her life for her kids, but we asked her why does she want/need God in her life for herself? When we asked her that she went silent- she said she didn't know- then she started crying and said she had never asked herself that question! We told her to pray and ask that question to her Heavenly Father and get an answer herself- she committed to doing it and we have an appointment with them again next week! I love these people. So much. I love them more than myself...so that is what saves me from thinking of myself- their needs are truly becoming more important than mine- its a strange shift but its happened. I can only begin to imagine how Christ feels and loves us all...I'm starting to comprehend it. Ephesians 3:13-19 I love you all. I hope you're doing well!! Take care :) I thonk of you all everyday and pray for you

 

Love Sister Bertoldo

Priesthood Power. Personal Prayer.

Dear Family-

 

 Got your letters mom and dad :) thank you thank you. You can't know how perfect their timing was- this week was great- we started strong, stayed busy and even found a new investigator, Cile Sorrell, who is an elderly woman that recently lost her husband to cancer. She is a peach- the cutuest southern accent you ever did hear! very proper. But then friday- I was SICK. I woke up with a raging fever. sore throat. couldnt sleep a wink from the pain. I was discouraged because we had so much work we wanted to do- why would I get sick like this? I never get sick! well- the fever was bad (101) - I couldnt get cleared to leave the apartment. I didnt know what to do so i prayed- and I knew I needed to get a blessing. I called the elders and they were sooooo amazing- they dropped what they were doing and came straight away. then I conked out until they got there. Elder parsons annointed me (his first time :) and Elder Sanders who has become a dear friend I respect and admire very much, gave me the blessing. 

  It was a beautiful blessing. The first words out of his mouth wa that this trial was given to me by the Lord to help me draw nearer to him in purposeful personal prayer, so I could learn to rely on His power. I was amazed by this- because through out the past couple weeks I have been noticing a disconnect in my PERSONAL prayers- the reason for this is because as a missionary I proabaly say about 12-15 verbal prayers a day in everyones home after appointments, for dinner, comp study- people ask us to pray all the time as missionaries and its great! but the problem was that then at the end of the day when it came time for my personal prayer- i would be too exhausted. i would feel like I had already talked to God all day so my personal prayers were lacking. I had noticed this the night before and it bothered me so I prayed and asked the Lord to help me with my personal prayers. Then I wake up feverish. Then I get that blessing. Then the mail comes right after I got the blessing and the Ensign came and guess what the talk was on written in bold letters on the front of it? "How to have Purposeful Personal Prayer." wow. Coincidence? I think not! ha. 

  So I read the article while sick in bed- from this experience this is what I learned:

to have truly effective personal prayer- we must spiritually prepare ourselves. We must have adequate time allotted so we can offer a heartfelt prayer without feeling rushed. We must have a specific question or focus in mind- if we havent taken the time to focus our thoughts enough to have a specific purpose or focus for our prayer, how can we expect to receive revelation and answers from God in return? We can't- and this is why my persoanl prayers were useless- I always said them so thoughtlessly because I was so tired at the end of the day- I offered the lord incomplete thoughts so He offerd me incomplete answers in return. I am so grateful the Lord gve me that trial so that I could slow down and re-focus and align my prayers. Prayer is how we communicate with got and get "feedback" so as a missionary prayer is everything- in life prayer is everything! It is our life line to God. and It is a free gift to all 24 hours a day. I also learned that God will give us temporary pysical or emotional trials if they will help us in the bigger scheme of things- namely our spiritualy progression. Our physical strength and temporal comfort is of far less importance to the lord when compared to our spiritual strength and progression. This makes me understand why faith in God has to includes faith in His timing. I'm not sick anymore and now my persoanl prayers are purposeful. The lord answered my initial prayer by giving me a trial! so cool.

I'm running out of time! so quick update- we met a girl at Smoothie King named Olivia, she's 21, and she recognized who we were. We got to talking and she wanted our number so we are going to start meeting with her! Our other investigator JC, who is 16 and dating one of the guys in our ward also came to church this sunday. It was a great week! Love you all

 

Love, Sister Bertoldo 

June in Gulf Breeze. A Week of Change.

Dear Family-

 

This week has really been one of change. We had our last zone conference with President and Sister Jensen- we get our new mission president in July, President and Sister Smith. It was really intense and amazing. The thing President taught me that I will never forget is how to be a Celestial missionary- not just good- valiant. Obedient. Hard working. Humble. He taught us how a mission is like a mini life, and therefore how you act and serve the Lord and His children while on the mission is a reflection of how you will follow and serve him throught your life. It will determine who you marry. It got me thinking about the kind of missionary I would want my future husband to be- I would want him to be Celstial! So now is my time to do the same and to prove myself to the Lord. 

But it's more than that- now I am seeing that its not about just "proving myself" and then done- its about CHANGE. Inner change. The kind that lasts forever and you are never the same again because you have progressed. We had stake conference this Sunday as well and an area authority came down to speak to us, Elder Gibbens, and what he said really resonnated with me. He said, "The Lord can't drive a parked car." We first have to give the lord something to work with by stepping out in faith even when we may not know where we're going, like Nephi "not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." Then the Lord can lead and take us down roads we didnt know existed- that's how we become like Him and change! Progression. Also I love this quote, "The hollowing preceeds the HALLOWING." 

This has been a week of change for me because after 4 months- I don't know what it is- but something inside me has changed. My thoughts are different. I feel different inside. I've been studying Christ and how he carried himself while on the earth and I'm learning how truly little thought he gave to things based on perception or appearances to others. He obeyed his Father's will even when others despised him for it. He let His physical body be weak sometimes simply so that He could rely solely on the strength of the Spirit and let God work through Him. I think about that- a lot- how much i cared pre-mission about how I may come across to people and be viewed and perceived- whatever! I am starting to understand that when the Lord says, "My grace is sufficient for you."(2 Cor. 12, talking to the apostle paul who was facing a "thorn in the flesh") He MEANS IT. We have mortal, physical, temporal failings and weaknesses and flaws for a reason. We have to learn to accept certain things and let them go and focus on what we CAN do and CAN offer people. The rest we must let go and leave to the Lord because truly, His grace is sufficient for each of us.

 

Ok so now weekly update :) Last night we had an AMAZING lesson with a family who is investigating the Church! They are young, in the airforce and have 2 little daughters- they were a referral from the Mellars family in our ward and sister Mellars invited them over for dinner and then afterwards we had the Restoration lesson. It was so amazing though because they just wanted to learn more and more the mom (Holly is her name) had so many questions, so we ended up getting out the white board and drew out the entire plan of salvation lesson too!! It was really intense- she asked the hard questions, like "what were we before this life? Why do some people never know the truth and what happens to them? Is God a person or a spirit?" We loved it! Together with the Spirit we were able to have answers to all her questions and it was proabably one of the most challenging and intense lessons I have ever given and therefore also one of the most precious and choice. At the end- we TESTIFIED. I bore my testimony of Christ, that He lives, of God's plan for us, of Joseph Smith, all those things that I have had to ask and learn to know for myself in prayer and as I did I felt the Spirit fill the room and my own testimony grew 10x bigger. Me and sister Treiber have also decided that we are going to be the "singing sisters" and at the end of every lesson we sing a hymn! so in closing we sang "I know that My Redeemer Lives". The Spirit was so strong afterwards time felt frozen! They want to learn more. We gave them a Book of Mormon and set up an appointment with them next week. 

  I want you to know how powerful members are in missionary work. The Mellars met them at a school field trip and talked about the gospel with them and invited them to dinner and look what happened?? People are ready for truth. People are searching. People need to hear God's Plan for them. INVITE INVITE INVITE! Also- I got permission from President to start a running and crossfit group with the sisters here! Many women here are alone with their husbands in Iraq or deployed elsewhere to the purpose of the running group is for all the sisters to be able to come together and bond and support each other! We are also telling them to invite nonmember friends and many less active sisters are interested as well so it is a missionary effort that all the ward women and young women and their nonmember boyfriends can be involved in!! I am so excited and on fire about it :)))) Today me and Sister T did crossfit on the beach and ran 2 miles with all the Laurels (they are all pretty excited to have sisters here, as many of them want to serve missions themselves!) they are truly incredible young women. We plan to do it every monday! Sisiter T hates running but she is such a peach- she does it and I love her for it! At the end 5 dolphins swam about 30 feet from shore where we were and started doing flips and jumps!! I have never seen wild dolphins like that and especially never seen them jumping and flipping so I was ecstatic! We were all excited and felt like it was the perfect end to our workout :) anyways family dear, I love you. I hope you all are well. Write soon so I know how you're doing. Love you all!!

 

<3 Sister Bertoldo

Ariana one of the young women :)

saying goodbye to president and sister jensen

this is a "green egg" it is a big thing here in the south to grill everything in one of these smokers haha