He is Risen

Dear Family-

What a week this has been- this was an Easter I will never forget. The day before easter, we had an hour before our next few appointments, so we said a prayer that we would be inspired to know whom to see that needed us most at this exact time- then a family was immediately brought to our minds- the douglas family. We immediately went to see them- and when we got there the LA daughter answered the door- she told us that they had just gotten back from hospice, and that her mom, Donna had just passed. shcok. I was shocked. She invited us in and ran to get her dad- he is the most faithful man i think I have ever met. His wife Donna had a stroke years ago and has been in a vegetative state for years, but he has loved her and stood by her faithfully nonetheless. True love. the last time we came over he was feeding her and talking to  her like she was perfectly fine. well- he came out- and all he got out was , "Sisters" and then he started weeping...it was gut wrenching. he sat down on the couch beside me and started telling us of his last moments with her. then he  looked at me and said he thought of me (he loves music) and he asked me if i would sing at her funeral, her favorite song, "Peace Like a River". I started crying just seeing him in his heartache- and of course said yes- I just feel really humbled. its a beautiful song, she was an incredible woman, and he is a faithful man, their love is inspiring. How beautiful it was to be able to then testify to him of the resurrection! To testify that Christ lives and because of that the "sting of death is swallowed up in Christ" and he will see her again, and this time she will be glorified, and perfected, and she will be able to speak to him and run to him, like she hasnt done in years! He just wept and wept, the spirit was so strong! and all of this hope bc of Christ. We shared Mosiah 16:8-9 my favorite scripture of the ressurrection. I have a testimony of the Living Christ and the hope that comes from Him both in this life and the life to come!
We also had a lesson with Mark, (the one I asked you to pray for)Taylor's nonmember fiance- he cooked us dinner it was so fancy :) they came to churchthis sunday!!! Big deal...we introduced them to the people in the ward that we felt inspired to have them meet and they really hit it off!! Our investigator Rex came to church as well- he is on track to get baptized May 17th. We also gained a new investigator on Easter- her name is Marsha, she was at dinner with us at a members home, they are good friends- well i just loved her! after lots of laughs and conversation- we shared our message of Christ- we showed her an easter mormon message then read in John and Mosiah about the resurrection- her heart was pierced- she opened up to us about the death of her mother- we had a beautiful discussion...she now is open and wants to learn about the plan of Salvation. Oh how marvelous the Plan of our God! 

I have just been waking up happy lately. I wake up, and feel indescribable peace and gratitude. I love being a missionary. I love the call. I love the work. It's exhausting and utterly draining- but I cannot believe how much I am learning and how closely God is walking with me. I wake up in a state of peace and joy I have never experienced before in my life, or even on my mission until now. It's unearthly- this week we also got the position of Head Sister Training Leader organized, which has been a goal of mine- I can't leave this mission until I know its all organized and I have my part so that it will be organized that come for the sisters after us. And we did it :) its beautiful. It took a lot of phone calls and time, but God really helped it along and now all expectations are clearly laid out and full order is established :) I am at peace with it. We also had the opportunity of training 2 new Sister Training Leaders- what a joy teaching is to me and how much i always end up learning. I now know each of the 100plus sisters in our mission officially by name :) Sister Smith told asked us to prepare for teaching the sisters at an all sisters conference! What a joy to do especially at the end of my mission- she asked us to ponder what needs to be shared- and then teach it. We are meeting with her next week to discuss our ideas and coordinate all the logistics. I feel so blessed and humbled at all the Lord is teaching me and all the opportunities He is giving me to help me learn and grow. I rely solely on Him for everything- I cannot express that enough- I love Him and am more aware than ever at all He has done for me. 

I love you all very much. happy Easter!

Much Love-

Sister Bertoldo