Rollar Coaster

This week has been really good but also really sad. We had a funeral of someone in the ward's husband. We sang a musical number for her and she's a strong woman. It was a really good service though.

  

Here are 7 things I loved about the week:

 1. We watched the Joseph Smith movie with Gaia and it was so good. She really liked it and learned a lot from it! She even got to learn a little about Brigham Young since she will be going to BYU soon. The Spirit was strong after while we were talking about the movie and the different things we liked. She also gave me a copy of her testimony/conversion story that she wrote to a seminary class back in Utah. It was the first one she ever went to so the teacher wanted to share it with her students. It made me cry. I love her so much and I'm so grateful for her.

 2. Seeing Eglayda. Fernando left recently and it's been super hard for her. She's so happy for him and they are both doing it for the good of their family but I know they are both excited and anxious for the day that she can go join him in Paris. Grace has taken her first steps! She's gotten so big over these past few months!

 3. Seeing Chiara and Rosella. We were able to share a super good video with them that has a similar situation to what they are going through. We had something else planned but once we got there we had a feeling to throw it out the window because they needed something else.

 4. I got shut in the metro door. I booked it to catch it and hold the door for Sorella Fife. But it had zero mercy and I got shut in it until I wiggled myself out.  Usually if someone is standing in the doorway they won't shut. It was pretty funny anyways.

 5. We saved this man from falling down the escalator even if it was at the expense of Sorella Fife shoving her hand into a sweaty armpit.

 6. Sorella Suffardi has moved into a nicer nursing home. She likes it a lot more and it was good to see her. We hadn't seen her in a while. She's the little rebel in the nursing home and loves to run (that's what we will call it) past the food cart even though the elderly aren't allowed to pass it because it takes up a big chunk of the hall and could potentially be dangerous. She's so funny.

 7. We had some new people in church so I'm excited to get to know them and work with them!

 A thought I really liked from this week is from Alma 5:12-14 (it's probably my favorite chapter in the Book of Mormon).

 12 And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true.

 13 And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved.

 14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?

When you choose to follow Christ, you choose to be changed. Jesus Christ can do more for us than just changing our behavior, but He can change our nature. I'm grateful that I have had the opportunity to see this change become more apparent not only in myself, but in those around me. I think one of the biggest miracles I've seen on the mission is the change in people through the power of the Atonement.

I love you all and hope you have a good week!

Skull church

Graveyard

Sorelle from the Sorellanza

Sorella Fife, Smedley, Anderson and Perkins

Ran into Sorella Rosano at the church

Visitor at Church sent pic and email to my Mom: 

We met these two sisters at church in Milan today. 

A picture to show they are well and safe.

New Transfer

So Thursday was transfer day. That day was spent in the train station, last minute packing, and hard goodbyes. Sorella Fife got here safely! We got her a pass for the metro and we saw Blessing that night. Blessing had her surgery. She didn't even tell us! But she seems to be alright. I know that she has pain though so I wish she would call us so we could help more. 

Friday we did weekly planning and I had fun describing how great Cimiano is to Sorella Fife. Then we went to the duomo with Gaia to meet Sorella Williams' family. Patti brought me some peanut butter from America. Skippy brand and crunchy. I'm so grateful! It was so nice of her! It was fun to finally meet the family I've heard so much about! After that we had to go back to the area of our apartment because there was a strike so no buses, trains, metro, or airplanes were going. They had a short time from 3-6 where they went but after that or before that nothing. So then we did some pass bys and walked all over our neighborhood area to try and find people from our ward list. 

Saturday we played soccer. Everything normal. We had a Relief Society activity that afternoon where everyone brought a treat and they were encouraged to bring a friend as well. There were some new faces so that's always good! We talked about developing our talents. It was kind of funny because one lady was a complete savage. After half the people had gone around saying one of their talents, she was ready to say that none of the things that anyone has said were true talents because they weren't unique and anyone could learn. Haha. Relief Societies are the best. There's always someone. The activity was a success and it made me happy because the president had put a lot of work into it. Marilena came too! She came to the baptism of a little boy in the ward. It was so good for her and she seemed very touched. It reaffirmed to her that this is something she wants for herself. After being full of post-baptism pasta and even more dessert we went home. 

Sunday was normal. Gaia came to church of course. She's been so patient with us running around. She went to her Sunday school class without us because we were needed elsewhere. Sorella Fife met Tina and Mahesh because we ate with them after church. Then we saw the Lastra family that night. They are so cute. It's been awhile since we had seen them. 

Monday was filled with consiglio for the mission. I always love the different trainings. We talked about a wide range of things. 

We saw mama with the other missionaries this week. It was a lot of fun. We sang karaoke and mama seemed like she had fun. We saw another less active who has a friend who needs help to learn Italian. Hopefully we can help her out because we are always looking for service opportunities. 

That's a brief recap of everything that happened this past week. 

Also you all should go look up one of my favorite Mormon messages. It's called New Year's: Look Not Behind Thee.

My little thought for this week is a quote I came across as I've been studying the Book of Mormon with the student manual.

 “We must be careful, as we seek to become more and more godlike, that we do not become discouraged and lose hope. Becoming Christlike is a lifetime pursuit and very often involves growth and change that is slow, almost imperceptible. The scriptures record remarkable accounts of men whose lives changed dramatically, in an instant, as it were: Alma the Younger, Paul on the road to Damascus, Enos praying far into the night, King Lamoni. Such astonishing examples of the power to change even those steeped in sin give confidence that the Atonement can reach even those deepest in despair.

​​​​“But we must be cautious as we discuss these remarkable examples. Though they are real and powerful, they are the exception more than the rule. For every Paul, for every Enos, and for every King Lamoni, there are hundreds and thousands of people who find the process of repentance much more subtle, much more imperceptible. Day by day they move closer to the Lord, little realizing they are building a godlike life. They live quiet lives of goodness, service, and commitment. They are like the Lamanites, who the Lord said ‘were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, ​and they knew it not.​'"

Progress is happens without us ever realizing it. As we continue to look to Christ, have an earnest desire to change, and act on that desire we can find the power of the Holy Ghost in our lives. 

I love you all!

Last Goodbye! Sorella Williams

Gaia Got Baptized!

First of all, of course, I will be staying in Cimiano. Thank goodness, I couldn't handle saying goodbye. But Sorella Fife will come and replace Sorella Williams! I'm so excited! She was in my MTC group and I love her!

Last Pday La Scala was amazing! We saw La Boheme. It was amazing. I understood some of it but I had to hurry and read the line in English first. They have a little screen in front of your seat that has the translation in English. The language is different though in Italian. It's older and the sentences are phrased differently so they can fit the music. It was so much fun! The Navigli Sorelle came with us. We also met an awesome guy named Jonathan. He was so nice. He's a member and was baptized a long time ago but only goes to church every so often. He is gay and it was cool to see how someone who could easily be offended by the church chose not to be. He didn't let his feelings turn into feelings of hate and keeps his testimony. 

We have been meeting with Chiara, the daughter of Rosella. She even came to church and she really liked it! She told us that she wants to start learning more about the church. It was such a miracle for us and we are so happy because we know how much it will help her with the changes she will be making in her life soon. She is a little doll and I love that Family so much!

Marilena is doing well. We had a couple of lessons with her that all went well. She was so sad to say goodbye to Sorella Williams. It was so sad! She is doing well. She has a desire to get baptized so we went over the steps that she needs to take to get baptized. 

We saw Fernando and Eglayda. Fernando left for Paris and so it was our last time seeing him but we will still go visit Eglayda. There were a lot of goodbyes for Sorella Williams this week. 

Monday was Sorella Williams birthday! I'm so grateful for everything that everyone did for her to make it special! We celebrated it with Tina. Then again with Gaia, Kevin, Erin, and the Anziani. Gaia even made her a cheesecake from scratch. I was just so relieved because it can be hard to have surprises for a companion. You are with them every single second. But she was surprised by what the other people did so it turned out to be a great day! 

The best part of my week was Saturday! Gaia got baptized! It was so beautiful. I think that everyone got a little emotional. I know I did. I was so proud of her and that day was so special for her. I know it will be a day that I'll never forget. At the end of it she went to the pulpit to say a few things and I was so choked up. It was hard not to. Seeing how far she's come. While she was up there she was just glowing. She was so happy and you could tell she was at peace. Before the baptism she was anxious (As anyone would be). After, everything was just immediately lifted from her. Ah! It was just so amazing. I wish I could tell you guys everything about it but I know it wouldn't do it justice with the things I would write. 

Mosiah 4:3

3 And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them.

This is a scripture from the Book of Mormon. The part I really like is that through their faith in Jesus Christ they were able to have a peace of conscience. Everyone needs peace. I know that I personally have found my peace through my faith in Christ. It doesn't come easily but it comes with the steps we take every day to become closer to Him. Faith has to be fed by these actions. Right now, I've never had so much peace in my life. I still have normal worries but at the end of the day the faith brings me this peace of conscience. I know that Christ lives and that He came so we could have peace knowing that He has paid for our sins and completely understands us. 

I love you all so much! 

Gaia Got Baptized!

Marilena

La Scala was amazing! We saw La Boheme

You can see Jonathan in this picture lol.

Soccer