"Of mine own self I can do nothing...I seek not to do my will but seek to do the will of my Father who sent me." John 5

Dear Family-

This has been a week of unbelievable ups and downs. I cannot even begin to express in an email "the smallest part which I feel" but I will tell you in person someday all that has happened. I will say a few things of the downs- so we can end in the highs. The projects area of Tallahassee are really bad and dark, and people and especially children have been through so much horror. it started to really break my heart to see how it is just a way of life for so many. it is hard for me to see kids "raising" kids. I say "raising" bc most of these children from ag 3 to 15 just roam the streets in packs together and raise each other.- they are just left to raise themselves in this world. I have cried myself to sleep a couple nights because of these kids. I know a lot of them by name now- everytime we come they flock to us and i hug EVERY ONE OF THEM!! we tell them about Jesus and that they are children of Him and they listen intently.  these children have stolen my heart!! I love them deeply. I have peace and hope knowing that they are all numbered and known to Christ and the Father- so I pray for them, knowing there are many others just like them- and am grateful they have a Savior just like me  I just pray people will teach them- I teach as many as i can find. 

There is always Hope in Christ. 

So family- count your blessings!! Rejoice in the Gospel!! I rejoice in sharing it and seeing it CHANGE LIVES AND SOFTEN HEARTS. We also saw many miracles- our investigator Izola came to all the sessions of stake conference we had, and afterwards she asked to receive a priesthood blessing just of her own free will we were stunned! She is an older black woman- she has read up to Mosiah now in the BOM and she is rapidly preparing for baptism on the 22nd of February. Teaching her is a blessing and a joy. She has great faith!! also we have seen a dramatic improvement in the ward helping and taking part in missionary work! they are getting the missionary spirit! also our investigator harmyni and cierra is going AMAZING- Cierra is teaching me SO MUCH. The worth and value of my mission is double what it would've been because I met her. they call us every week to schedule appointments :) it is hard to see  and hear the trials they are going through and have gone through in the past- Cierra cried for the first time the last time we taught her and she said, "The Spirit told me I can trust you so I do. You are my dearest friends- and I love the book of Mormon. and I love how nice the church people are. and i dont feel bitter anymore. I feel loved." she reads the book of mormon reader for kids- it is so dear- she is AMAZING she says profound things- i cannot even begin to express in this email. they are recorded in my journal though. I will never forget her and Harmyni.

 Stake conference was great! I want you all to know that I have learned a truth I thought I already knew- there is a way we can succeed in this life and never fail- that way is to seek the will of the Father- and do it. that scripture,"Of mine own self I can do nothing...I seek not to do my will but see k to do the will of my Father who sent me." John 5 I know this is true. I know it. I know it and I will never forget it. The gospel- its true and if we live it we will be able to live with God again and we need to share it with as many people as natural opportunity will permeate. we must just share it out of love :) I love you all! and Kristen! I got your letter!! ;D thank you it meant a lot to me!!!!!! I am writing you today 

Love you all so much

Love,

 sister Bertoldo

Investigators

Family-

This week a lot happened. First of all- our meeting we had with President about the paper went really well-we were in there for over an hour with him! He basically asked me to "give him the vision" first- so I did- and then he read it and went through it with his big red pen and analyzed and broke it down- and LOVED IT!! I changed and added a few things to the copy that I sent home to you- I will try and send you the final draft. But it was really cool- then after he said," So how are we gonna implement this and put it into action?" then he told us how- he wants us to break it down and then present it at Mission Leadership Conference to the whole mission so all the Zone Leaders and STL's can teach it to their zones and do it in their individual areas. And he is going to take it to all the Stake Presidents in Florida and present it to them so that it will be an adopted part of all the wards in Florida's mission plans! SO I was really happy and it was so amazing- but then he told us that we will be presenting it January 29...and I got a little, we bit,...stressed feeling. just because that isnt a lot of time to prepare, and it's really important, and we are really busy with all our other responsibilities- so I felt a little overwhelmed...its been a bit of a weight on me all week. BUT I have been praying a lot and I know that this is the Lord's work- so He will help me do it just like He has helped me thus far. So I finally had some time before studies to write and organize our presentation and I feel so much better now! it's a work in progress but we will work on it all week and I am confident and excited- because I know the Lord will help us and as long as the Spirit is there the message we share will be felt and carried to their hearts with power and authority. I am just doing everything I can to be worthy for the Spirit to be able to work through me- I need Him!!! haha

So yeah- that is that- but that is only one piece of the pie- a lot of other stuff happened! Me and Sister Harris were asked to speak and present at a youth stake activity a "mini MTC" it was so fun I loved it!! I love teaching/working with youth and it was fun to do it at a stake level. Awesome youth. Also- i did a training exchange with campus sisters at FSU and it was amazing! I have never been a missionary on campus before but it was so cool- we actually found 2 new investigators! one woman named London had just gotten in a car accident- she was so receptive. and I was so drawn to her- there are tons of people on campus but the second we got near her I just felt that tug in my heart- so we  talked to her and it turned out great! she is an amazing woman. hopefully they will be able to start teaching her. I went with Sis. Bracey- she is an awesome sister I love her. she is from Alpine Utah.

Ok- now for OUR work in our area- wow. we found 5 new investigators this week!! We volunteer at a half-way house (men who just get out of jail/prison go here to help them get back into real life and stay clean, and do service) well- I told you about David- we had a really amazing talk with him and he went onto to mormon.org and is learning more. It is so cool seeing him do service and try to fight for good and resist falling back into his old ways- He has already come along way! He LOVES service and learning more about the Savior- he is just riveted by it all. Another man, Peter-Paul, has pretty much spent his whole life in jail. so sad- well he asked us all about who and what we are, he is catholic but open to learn more- again it is so cool to see these men who have been raised without parents and role models still have that light of Christ in them- I have really come to love all these felons haha its so funny! we love them!! the whole place is run by felons and ex-cons and they are all amazing and they are so repentant- its cool. I just read an article about how jail changes people- its true. Many of the people we serve there have nothing literally- no shoes, coats- I cannot express the joy I feel giving them food and groceries, talking to them, and seeing how happy it makes them. I really have come to love these people and i know most of the people who come by now and they all have a place in my heart. so speaking of jail- that brings me to our new investigator- Joe. He is amazing. His wife Jan is a less active from California. She came here because her husband was in jail- we have been working with her (I LOVE HER ) and more than anything she wants a Temple marriage- she loves her husband joseph SO MUCH. Well- he just got out of jail. He has been reading the Book of Mormon in jail- and we had our first lesson with him. it was amazing!! I love him, and them.- I want to see them sealed in the Temple. He is so humble, so prepared, so ready- he has had a very hard life- I wont say all here but believe me- it was enough to break our hearts to hear. He is so genuine- he said he knows everything in his life has led him to this point and he wants to change and be who God and his wife needs him to be- and this Sunday- He came to church! This man is 30 years old and yesterday was the first time he has ever set foot in a church. He is amazing. He was so nervous at first but by the end he loved it! WE are meeting with him again this week. I see his potential. I see them in white. I believe in them and teaching them fills me with deep joy!!

Our investigator Izola is progressing well- we are setting a baptismal date next week with her. We had a cool thing happen with our investigator Harmyni- she lost a necklace during our lesson- she was crying- we told her we would pray with her and promised her if she would have faith she would find it- we did- then we all looked- no luck. I said a silent prayer and asked God to please let us find it so that she would see that prayer works! well no sooner did I finished praying- than i felt prompted to look under the table in the corner- there lay the necklace! it was so cool- good faith building experience for her and for me.

met a 3 yr old little boy this week who didnt know who Jesus was, or heaven- all he knew was fighting, and swear words. It really broke my heart. He is from a very rough unsafe neighborhood.So I got out my picture flip book and showed him all these pictures of Jesus- he asked me where He lived- I told him heaven. He asked what heaven was- I told Him where God lives- and angels and its beautiful- He got so excited he said, "It's in the sky!" I told him Jesus Loved him and He is a son of God- he lit up like a tree...that little guy broke my heart I hated leaving him. He gave me a big hug and said he loved me. I just love these people- I am glad they are all known to our Savior and know that He will watch over them.

Much love-

sis. Bertoldo

Revelation

Dear family,

Well this was quite the week! First to start with the work- Our investigator Cierra is progressing nicely. She is truly one of the most humble, endearing people I have ever known. She is so excited for her baptism and has been faithfully reading her Book of Mormon reader- we just ordered her the BOM reader to help her with understanding and she was so happy!! Also- we found a new investigator named Izola who is so prepared. This woman is so prepared!! she is older, and just so lovely- soft spoken and gentle. She has come to church every Sunday since we have met her and we taught her the Restoration in full this week and i think that is one of the best Restoration Lesson experiences I have ever had on my mission- the Spirit was really strong and I got to recite the first vision portion and for some reason I just felt like I was going to cry- she was just so believing I just felt my own testimony deepen. There is no other way to explain it but to say that the Spirit was in that room. And coolest of all? in just 1 week she has read the first 2 books of Nephi!! She will be baptized soon- she has great questions at church too. We are going to set a date for her next transfer. Also our investigator Peggy is doing well- our lesson with her this week was the word of wisdom, but it was cool because she gave the opening prayer and in her prayer she said, "please help me and my son Tank to know if we need to be baptized." haha! me and my comp were stoked when she said that- we almost fell off the couch!! She too has been reading the BOM but she struggles coming to church. Heard some sad heart wrenching experiences from a recent convert, it was hard to hear- but really opened my eyes and caused me to appreciate the blessings in my life and gave me a testimony of how important education is. She is illiterate and has suffered many terrible abuses, and injustices because of it. Its sad to hear, but unfortunately that is the world we live in. She however is dear to me and  she is listening to the BOM online. We are excited to be able to teach her husband.

OK- now for some big personal news- this week I went to my first Missionary Leadership Conference with the AP's and the ZL's and STL's and of course President. Tomorrow me and Sister Harris will be teaching to our whole zone the things we learned at MLC- its my first time teaching at a Zone Conference so i am excited! its also cool because our new mission theme is, "Missionaries of Uncommon Valor". I love it. Something I really want to live up to. we are teaching on the importance of Church attendance and how to help resolve obstacles holding our investigators back. I have out of the blue, randomly received a ton of very specific personal revelation, concerning my future, as well as revelation for our mission concerning member involvement. 

This week my comp got really sick with tonsilitis then I got the flu :( it was horrible we kept working through it anyways but I will be honest it was agonizing for us both. By the end of the day (9pm) we both had raging fevers and were ordered to stay home the next day. its really hard for my  comp. not to work, just like me, and she just got even sicker with a sinus infection. I got a migraine. horrible. any drop of light killed me!! well in that time period- I received some intense revelation that woke me up bolt in bed and i felt directly, "write it down". so i did. I wrote down 4 pages full of scriptures, quotes, and Preach my Gospel excerpts that talk about how to help members catch the "Missionary Spirit" so that it is us helping them with THEIR work, not the other way around! I included my own experiences and training in Gulf Breeze- I wrote out a 4 step plan for how all missionaries can implement it in the wards in which they serve. It can be spread throughout the mission! The next day I typed it up into 2 concise pages. It's called, "Every member a Missionary: A Higher Law". We have a meeting with President to present it to him- I am so excited! He said this may be something he wants me to spread across the mission and travel throughout the mission presenting it! It was straight revelation. The Lord just wrote it through me. I couldn't rest until it was done.I have included it to this email so you can read it.

Well family- I love you. I loved your letters and mom I am excited to hear you are going to be teaching! You are one of the best teachers I know- let me know which topic you choose :) and Ash I want to hear from you! Love you a ll so much. I cant believe I only have 3 transfers left....all the more motivation to do as much good as possible while I am set apart to find, teach, baptize! you all are in my prayers.

<3 Sister Bertoldo 

Fried Food

Dear family-

 Well first off thanks are in order- thank you so much for the christmas package!! Mom I got your object lesson too and dad i got your letter :) We are using that lesson for tonight! and also I got the gift card thank you so much :)

 okay so yeah- yes i am in the south...here is the menu line up of what I have been served all week for dinner:

collard greens with lard and ham hawk 

deep fried okra

deep fried chicken

grits with cheese and butter

corn bread in a skillet with lard

dumplings

hush puppies

deep fried catfish ;(((

Haha it's hard to get used to! 

This week we did 2 trade-off training exchanges- so it was a busy week needless to say! Miracles always happen on exchange days. It is always so inspired and I am amazed at how the Lord guides us or works it out so that we are paired with the right sister, on the right day, in the right place- its amazing. The more leadership experiences I have the more I come to know how fully I rely on the Lord and the less i want and can do on my own. its incredible- I'm just so much better with Him so I would rather just do things His way because He knows SO much better than little me- little me would crash and BURN under these responsibilities and demands! But little me with Him? We can work miracles. and we have. 

I also have an amazing companion who understands how to rely on the Lord and then work hard as well. She is amazing I love her. I was put in a position on one of the exchanges this week where all of the campus sisters (there are 4 companionships) met together for a meeting to coordinate their work and divy it up. It was their first time having such a meeting- I just happened to be there bc of the exchange- and the sisters were overjoyed that I was there! It really humbled me and almost overwhelmed me...i almost felt inadequate because some of these sisters are AMAZING, incredible sisters with strong skills, gifts and leadership qualities themselves, so to see all of them kind of looking to me for leadership, direction, approval and the last word so to speak- was a wee bit overwhelming initially. I felt like- these sisters are looking at me so expectantly! Will I be able to say what they need me to say? fulfill their expectations, ect so what did I do? I prayed. I thought- the Lord orchestrated this and put me in this position for a reason- anyways its not about Him its about Him and what He can do- all I have to do is tap into that and then put it into words for these sisters. Well! it was amazing- basically a problem arose in their discussion- they were stumped and confused (keep in mind i am not in their area so I didnt know all the details of their problem, so again, i had to totally go off of the Lord and revelation) so sure enough they all looked to me- "Sister Bertoldo- what do you think we should do?" and they all just looked at me concerned, expectantly and waiting for me to resolve their problem- well resolve their problem we did! I (the Spirit) was able to come up to a solution that was surprisingly simple, we divided up the names and boom the problem was resolved and they had a game plan of how to move forward with the work for next transfer. It was so cool! the spirit was so strong in that room- they are truly a select group of sisters and I felt humbled and grateful to be able to serve them in that capacity- it was a great leadership and learning opportunity for me. I loved it. This week we have Mission Leadership Conference and us the Ap's and all the sisters and ZL's are meeting with President and missionary leadership Board and area 70 to receive training so we can carry out that training throughout the mission and move the work forward. I'm excited!

Now for the work!! our investigator Cierra is getting baptized January 25th and she is so amazing I love her so much- we taught her and her nieces the plan of salvation. We taught our investigator Mahogany the Plan too and it was amazing because at the beginning of the lesson she had really regressed spiritually and was questioning everything, but as we talked and taught, and listened- the spirit bore testimony to her that it was true- all her questions were answered one by one, and by the end she was a different girl! no more tears, or fears, she was such a mess before and by the end she had a peace that she said,"I haven't felt like this since I were a girl". It was pretty cool. We taught another less active woman who have always had strong feelings for, really open up to us about her family struggles after we watched the Restoration and the loving nature of God. I felt really strongly to invite her to invite her daughter and her husband to receive the lessons from us, and that doing so would change them from the inside out, which would save their marriage and bring them closer together with their young children. The spirit was so strong! she accepted. we are following up with her this week. Still havent found LaShawn pray for us please! I have faith we will find her. 

The gospel changes lives- its because its true. its christ's gospel. I love you all.

sis B