Sister Brooke Bertoldo: "A patient willingness to defer dividends is a hallmark of individual maturity." Neal A. Maxwell

Dearest family-

Dad...Happy Father's day! I got your letter. I love you so much. The more knowledge God teaches me and the closer i come to Christ, the more i learn just how wise and Christlike you are. i mean it. Other than the gospel and the scriptures you and mom have been the greatest stabilizing rocks of my life.

This week- Cora is STEADFAST AND ON TRACK for her baptism this saturday. she even brought her husband to church this sunday! she reads the scriptures and conference talks faithfully and when we asked her how she has come to gain a testimnoy of the scriptures and of the prophet Thomas S. Monson she said, " everytime I read their words and the books you give me to read, my room fills with light. That's how i know they are true." wow. I was blown away by that response!!!!!!!! then as she was saying the closing prayer after we finished reviewing her baptismal interview questions in her prayer she said, "I feel you here." then she was silent for some time, then immediately after feeling the spirit, with deep emotion she said, "father forgive me!" and started weeping- the spirit flooded the room- she cried on then said, "father I know you forgive me. I know you know I want to be baptized. i feel you. and I feel your forgiveness and love." She then struggled in the spirit for a while before closing. I am in awe of her faith and sincerity in repenting so whole heartedly. I was overcome. I knew we had just witnessed a woman going before her father in complete penitence and then received the miracle of forgiveness- and we witnessed it before our eyes. After she just wept and wept, with joy and relief, you could feel it. this woman has been through VERY hard dark things in her life- so to feel the Spirit sweeping away her guilt and healing her- i will never forget that. She is so ready for baptism. As i hugged her she clung to me and cried on my shoulder and said, "thank you. thank you for teaching me. Thank you." I will never forget that. i told her how proud and inspired i was by her- and proud i knew Her Heavenly father was.

there is something i want to share with you guys- i have been studying Neal A. Maxwell's talk entitled "Patience". In it he says, "Patience is willingness to watch the unfolding process of God with a sense of wonder and awe rather than pacing up and down within the cell of our circumstance." that used to be me. I used to be resltess and impatient and anxious for the next thing, and for the fulfillment of my desires, and for the next phase of my life to come. but now? can i tell you- when i read that it hit me that now? I know longer feel that. In fact, now i fell EXACTLY what he describes as a willingness to watch the unfolding purposes of God with a sense of wonder and awe. I fell COMPLETE PEACE. that is a MIRACLE. that is a change in my very NATURE. but i do- i feel complete peace- my mission has been perfectly and painstakingly designed to help me cultivate this attribute of patience i so badly lacked before. this caused me to reflect- what caused this change in me? trust in God and learning to sumbit. humility. love for others. those are all the small lessons I have learned that added together have bred this new attribute of patience to be part of my nature. Every time we endure discomfort and suffering well, being motivated by a higher purpose to bless others rather than to gratify our own needs- everytime i have done this on my mission- set aside my own comfort for someone else's- my capacity to endure suffering without becoming anxious and frustrated has grown a little bit- and over and over again I have seen how God answers prayers and has a purpose to all things, even if they take awhile to unfold- so i have learned over the course of these 18 months and my 21 years on earth to truly trust the Lord. true faith must be tried and tried and tried again! then it is true faith if it still stands. "Patience permits us to detoxify our disappointments. How much we can take often determines how much we can GIVE." it is a miracle. he has changed me. he has changed my very nature, and truly, through His longsuffering towards me and christ's perfect love for me, some of my greatest weaknesses have been transformed into some of my greatest strengths! I am in AWE of God's workings with us as His children. Trust, humilty and love are all predecessors of patience- truly patience is faith at its finest, and a heavely attribute. I know I still have much to learn. But i am at peace. I am not in a hurry for the "next phase" or for my "blessings to be received and desires fulfilled." God is PERFECTLY aware of our needs- blessings wil come in their own due time when he sees fit. our job is to do well the task set closest to us, and to watch in wonder and awe as His purposes are fulfilled.

Had my last zone training which was great- I loved it. loved teaching. Many things have happened in the work but for the sake of time i will stop there. Please keep praying for cora, violet and marsha! I love you all cant wait to see you soon!

Much love <3

Sister Bertoldo