Justin's baptism & temple miracles!

Meet Justin. We just love her! She has a happy, magnetic personality, has a beautiful light about her, and makes such a great addition to our GANS (YSA) group in Napoli. She has known the Church for a long time, as her father and her brother were both baptized back in her home country of the Philippines. Justin started coming to YSA activities and institute a number of months ago when she moved here.

She started meeting with the missionaries shortly thereafter and decided to be baptized on the 20th of August. She is learning Italian, but is fluent in English - so her baptismal service was in English.

She asked me speak about baptism and to confirm her a member of the Church. It was such a special privilege.

The Josè family - Austin, Justin, Christine, and Julius

We just love this beautiful family; they are a gift to the Napoli ward!

As my wife would say, "Justin is lovely inside and out!" It feels like we have known her for years. We love all that she adds to our GANS program.

Justin is so loved & supported by our wonderful GANS (YSAs)

She is also loved by all of the missionaries in our zone. Justin was baptized on Wednesday, which is preparation day for the missionaries. This is the one day of the week they have to do personal errands, cleaning, wash, shopping and recreation. This Wednesday these wonderful missionaries all sacrificed this day to come and support other missionaries and our sweet friend Justin. We love to see this kind of missionary unity.

Our Napoli GANS group is growing each month.

It's always a special day when people gather for a baptism. We were blessed to be with missionaries, some of their friends, members of the Church, and our amazing GANS (YSAs). What made the day even more special was the fact that it was full on vacation time in Italy. While so many were at the beach or vacationing in some way, this devoted group came in the middle of the week, and during the sacred lunch hour, to be a part of this wonderful event.

We celebrated Austin's 13th birthday with Justin's baptism, and it was literally a feast! Her family brought the most delicious Filipino food. Our hearts and our stomachs were filled to overflowing!

Included in this group are the Castellanos, whom we often mention in our blog. They are not only a source of great friendship, but they are our GANS cheerleaders. Every week they check in to see what we have on our plate, then they tell us how they can help.

Our GANS love them! Sorella Castellano recently gave a talk in sacrament meeting, and Anna stood at the pulpit with her to translate it into Italian. They help us with the food we prepare every week and are a HUGE blessing in helping us do genealogical research for my dad's side of the family here in Italy. We have said more than one time - if we only came to Italy to meet this fine couple and learn how to find our Italian ancestors, then we would have had a successful mission. They have helped us uncover so many Italian lines, it makes our heads spin! We'll never be able to repay them for their service to us.

This is a season of miracles. Sometimes miracles are small, and we don't even recognize them - but they are there, if we watch and listen with our spiritual eyes and ears. The blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ are, to say the least, miraculous. We, as His disciples, should ask for and expect them in our daily lives. We must ask in faith and accept the blessings we are given, with faith.

A week after Justin's baptism we had the amazing opportunity to accompany her and Alessio, who was baptized 10 days prior, to the Rome Italy Temple to do temple work. It was the first time for both, so it was a very special occasion. When our GANS (YSAs) heard about the trip, they also wanted to attend to offer their love and support. Counting Rebecca (who was already at the temple), we had 10 GANS, plus the missionaries.

We had a Mission Conference starting the next day, so we came up to Rome early to get things situated in one of the mission apartments for the 10 elders we would be hosting. The timing was great, so we could have lunch ready for our GANS and missionaries as soon as they arrived at the Temple.

What a miracle it was to have these young people be willing to spend one of their last days of summer in the holy house of the Lord. Of all the things they could have chosen to do this day, they choose to support their new brother and sister in the Gospel and dedicate time in the temple doing vicarious work for the dead. 1 Corinthians 15: 29 "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?" We believe all have need of receiving the ordinance of baptism, following the example of the Savior Jesus Christ. This is why we do proxy work in the temple.

Going to the Temple for the first time is so special. As you walk onto the piazza, the feeling is so peaceful and sacred. The spirit testifies that this is a holy place; a house of God. Both Justin and Alessio had done some genealogical research, and they were able to do temple ordinances for their ancestors, as well as for some of mine. It is always so meaningful when you do temple proxy work for your family.

This was also Alessio's first time to the temple. We did a few ordinances for his family - which was very meaningful for him. Alessio actually stayed longer than the rest of the YSAs. He had just received the priesthood a few days before we left. I asked him the next morning if he would baptize me for four of my ancestors. He was nervous at first, since he had never done such a thing before. I'm much larger than he is, and he feared he would drown me. Hahah. All went well. I'm so grateful for his willingness to overcome his fear and assist me in performing these saving ordinances for my ancestors.

It was a powerful, bonding, beautiful quick trip for these young adults - back and forth from Napoli to Rome in the same day. They each had a personal, spiritual experience, and it was so good for our Napoli group. Literally, this all came about in a matter of two-three days... an unplanned miracle for sure! Everyone in our group is pictured, except for Rebecca - Roberta, Kekko, Justin, Isamar, Angy, Alessio, Anna, Paola, and Alexandra. We go regularly to the temple with our Campania GANS (YSAs), but to-date, this is the largest group from Napoli!

Written above in the cobblestone is, "God is love." We all felt that at the temple.

It is our prayer that each of these beautiful disciples of Jesus Christ feels the great love our Father in Heaven has for them. That love fuels our souls and connects us to a higher power. That connection is through the spirit, or the Holy Ghost. Those sacred impressions and feelings witness in our hearts that Jesus Christ is the son of God, that He atoned for our sins, and that because of Him, we can be purified through repentance and forgiveness and have the possibility of eternal life. Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ prepares us to become like our Savior and brings us peace and great blessings.

God loves all His children. In the winding up scenes on earth, as we prepare as a covenant people for the Savior's return, the most important thing on earth is the gathering of Israel. That's why we are serving a mission. All of God's children, those in heaven and on earth - will have the opportunity to make sacred covenants and receive temple ordinances.

The last miracle I'll share in this post is very personal and unplanned. It just so happens, that we have gone with our GANS to the temple 3 times between July 31st and August 30th. With their help, and the help of some of our family members in America, we have completed 191 temple ordinances for my deceased Italian family members in 31 days. We stand in reverent awe and are humbled by the greatest of God. We testify that He lives and has a plan for each of us.

In the name of Jesus, the Christ - amen.

Anziano Montagnoli

Cliff (and Martha)