Week 28 - Rome, June 22, 2015

Well hello. Here are the highlights/thoughts of the week:
1. We found a new simpatizzante. She is awesome!! She was a contact of the old sorelle and we finally got a chance to meet with her. We went and taught her the plan of salvation because she recently lost her mother and afterwards she was just in awe and loved every bit of it. And then we gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon and she clutched it to her chest like it was a gift directly from God. It was so cool to see someone just hold a Book of Mormon like it was something precious. We called her later this week and asked her if she had read any of it and she said that she had and it was a little confusing but it was like opening a box of information and having things finally come together. WOWOWOW. That was basically the most beautiful thing I had heard in a while.  2. We got to talk to this really cool member in our branch who's like 90 years old. She's so awesome. We went to visit her and she went and got her handbag and pulled out her and her husbands missionary name tags that she had wrapped in handkerchiefs so they would be safe. She has been a member for 40 years and then she pulled out all these pictures of her husband and her at the temple and Of her husband making pastries for president hinckley :) it was just so cute and awesome to see someone who loves the gospel and is so strong. We had had a rough day that day so it really lifted my spirits. 3. Biggest miracle moment of the week. We were riding on the metro and sorella cano was teaching me how to sing how firm a foundation in Italian. There was this woman who was watching us and smiling and so I asked her how her day was and we started talking. Then we started talking more about what we do and about faith and all that good stuff and then she was just like I know I was supposed to meet you. There is a light in your eyes. You just have a light about you. And then she was reading our name tags and she stopped and just repeated of Latter Day Saints... And she got goosebumps and her eyes welled with tears and she said this is an answer to my prayers. I have felt this calling to become a saint but I didn't understand how or what that meant. This is what I have been searching for. And then we exchanged numbers and we're hoping to see her next week but it seriously was the most incredible thing. I was just boggled. What a blessing from the lord seriously.  So this week I think the thing that really hit me was how important it is to listen to the spirit and how much God is aware of us. There are so many times when we just had small thoughts enter into our minds of where to go and where to be and we met people and went to places that we would not have known had we not willing to just go. But also it was incredible because the lord knew where those people were  and where we are and it's just so amazing to recognize how close God and Christ is entwined and aware of the work. It really his work and we're just instruments for him!!

A humungous Gelato I ate:)!!

A friend from Battipaglia!

Group trip to Colleseum on Pday!

Last Photo with my first Companion - Sorella Argyle

Dear friends from Battipaglia!

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Week 27 - Rome, 6/15/2015

Well this week was pretty good.  Here are some of the highlights.  We had this really cool miracle. So about a week ago we had been doing like 2/3 hours of finding and we stopped and talked to this woman who was sitting by a bus stop.  We found out that she had only been in Italy for 2 weeks and she was from Bulgaria.  She doesn't speak very much Italian but we managed to convey that we were missionaries and she pulled her bible out of her bag.  We showed her the Book of Mormon and told her we wanted to give her a copy in her native language and we asked for her number but she couldn't remember it because it was brand new.  So we gave her ours and went on our way.  Then this week we were walking through a piazza and stopped to talk to English course student and then we saw this woman sitting by herself.  So we went over and said hello and it was her and she told us that she had stayed at the bus stop we met her at all morning hoping that we would pass by so that we could see her again.  Then, she had just come by chance to this piazza because this was in the evening.  We were baffled.  So she gave us her number cuz she had it then and then we talked her to the church which was nearby and showed her where it was so that she could come to our activity the next night!!! It was amazing.  The Lord just totally led us to her and her to us.  Also, we picked up this family from the other Sorelle that has a dad that is less active but the mom and kids are not members and we went and taught them the plan of salvation and afterwards we asked "where do you want to be after this life?" and everyone said "the celestial kingdom" and then the mom closed with a prayer and said "please bless my family that we can all make it back to you in the celestial kingdom"and i just wanted to jump up and down and do my happy dance.  It was so cool to see a family understand and desire for the plan of salvation. 

Week 26 - Rome, 6/8/2015

Hello!!! WHAT'S UP?? Well this week was pretty awesome!! We saw some really cool miracles! Okay first let me give you some down low on our area. So our area is the metro A line from Termini(which is like the main station in Rome where the trains come in and where you switch lines) all the way to the last stop Batistini. This includes a lot of famous things such as the Colessuem, the Trevi fountain, Piazza Del Populo, the Vatican, and other such things. It is pretty incredible. Last week for p-day we literally just like walked around that area in Rome and it was just so beautiful and so cool. It's super interesting because you would think with so many people visiting everywhere that it would feel like New York City or something with lots of hustle and bustle. But in reality it is full of people but maintains this tranquillity or sense of idk something different. Walking around downtown Rome you can really sense that there is some magic in the air. The more time I spend in Italy the more I see and feel Frau (hailey's grandma who passed away) here. Especially being here in Rome I couldn't tell you exactly what it is but there really is an energy here that is similar to her. And the more I talk to Italian people, especially ones that are relatively normal....The more I see how much Italian papa has in him. I wish that papa could speak Italian because I think he would really enjoy talking to the people here. He really is a true Italian at heart with his mannerisms, his thinking, and his gentileness and behaviors towards others. Well we had some cool moments this week. First we got to English course and there was a girl there who had asked for a copy of the Book of Mormon, so we gave an impromptu lesson about that and then later in the week we gave a spiritual thought from Moroni 7:40-48 where it talks about hope and she asked afterwards for the page number so that she could read it again at home, so that was super sick. We went up to a zone conference and when we came home......oh boy did we see some miracles. We had a lesson planned with this man and so we met him for the first time because it had been a while since the other sisters met with him and he came in with the plan of salvation pamphlet and recited the whole plan of salvation to us by memory. Then we talked abou the importance of prayer and coming to church and then we invited him to be baptized a month from now and he said YES. We literally have a real live baptism date!!! Then after the lesson he prayed and thanked God for his church, the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints... Annndddd he came to church on Sunday! So that was seriously the craziest cool thing ever.  Then on our way home from that lesson we were talking and we met this man on the bus who was like "are you from the church of Jesus Christ of latter dat saints?" And we were like  "ya". And he was like "where is the branch here I am new here and I was friends with the missionaries and they gave me a Book of Mormon and I was reading it".... And I was like "wait have you been baptized?" And he was like  "no... I had to move here two days before I was supposed to be baptized in my other country." And we were like ahhh!! He didn't have a phone here yet so we gave him our number and pray that he calls us one day.  Then we have this other investigator who is like this 80 year old man and he's like so cute and funny. And something really neat that I just love about being a missionary and I really noticed it when we taught him this week is that the Lord helps us feel the love that he has for others. It's incredible. I was just looking at him and felt this overwhelming sense of love for him and I just knew that Heavenly Father knows him and loves him specifically. It's incredible to be a part of a gospel where you can really find out that you have a father in heaven who knows you and loves you personally. 

Well those are the highlights :) 

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Week 25 -Rome, 6/1/2015

Well this week was pretty stinking nuts.... I must say. 

First I had to say goodbye to everyone and their mom in Battipaglia. It was the busiest we had been in a while... we literally ran everywhere. But the beautiful news is that I got to see everyone I wanted. I was really happy about that. Okay so then we packed up all my stuff and we literally RAN from our house.. which is 30 minutes away from the station to the station, while our friend Stefano brought all my stuff in his car.. we of course went out of Battipaglia by the skin of our teeth.. haha. 

Then i had to say goodbye to Sorella Argyle at the train station... it was terrible. In fact... i cried. I seriously am going to be her friend FOREVER. I want you guys to meet her soooo bad. Ugh. Shes so awesome. Then we got to Termini.. which is the big metro/train station in Rome. So we arrived with all my stuff and Sorella Cano came and picked me up. Then we had to drag all of my suitcases to my new house which is an hour and a half away from Termini via metro and bus. Okay so here in Rome 1 there are 4 Sorelle. So we live in a house of 4. I basically got blown in again because okay --  so there were two companionships. One of them got blown out and so then the other companionship split and they both got new companions. So Sorella Cano and I got put to the work of the Sorelle that got blown out. So we don't really know a lot of people.. well okay I know NOONE and Sorella Cano knows only a little bit about some people. So that's hard. 

Well okay let me tell you about Sorella Cano... Sorella Cano is from Columbia but has lived in Milan for 18 years.. so she is basically Italian. She does not speak basically any english.. so thats interesting. I have to speak Italian ALL THE TIME. However it is really going to improve my itlaian so that will be cool. She told me i speak well for only being here for 6 months which made me so happy because I was terrified that I was just going to drive her crazy with my italian because she has basically only had companions that speak Italian as their native language or they are super old in the mission so they speak well. Okay so Sunday I met the ward (yes that is correct I said ward) before I was in a branch of like 25 includingus (ward members) and now I am in a ward of like 80 with a real chapel building and everything. Its NUTS. I was like oh my gosh... what do i do.. haha but the people seem nice and i am excited to know them. I don't know why but i really feel like part of the reason i am here is to friend the ward. One woman told me i sounded like i was Italian... i was like your joking.. maybe you thought i was Sorella Cano... haha but it was still cool all the same. 

I think that this area is going to wear me out. Rome is a tiring city physically because it is so big. I also think more than anything, mentally im going to be exhausted. Speaking in Italian all the time is really tiring. So that will be an adventure. But i must say that Rome is BEAUTIFUL and so different than Battipaglia. I am so excited to bring you guys to come and see it. I can't wait to walk around as a tourist.. haha not as a missionary. Fun fact... we are gettting Ipads this week!!!! So next week i will be emailing you from an Ipad!!! How sick is that!!  Also spiritual story for you. We had been praying to find a family to teach because we want more simps, so we prayed and prayed and then went out to do finding. So we went out and walked  around this park for about an hour and nobody really was super interested or didn't want to see us again. So we finally talked to this woman and she was SO excited. Literally, there are not people like that in Battipaglia. So she said we could come over and do a family home evening with her 2 sons. AHH. I am super excited about that. 

LOVE YOU

Week 24 - Battipaglia, 5/25/201

Well to go out with a bang this week I though I'd catch the stomach flu from Sorella Argyle... so we did not get to do as much work as we would have liked. We were stuck in the house for 4 days while I puked everything inside out. However we had some really neat experiences. We were helping a less active, and so she had taken us out to Eboli with her while she was fixing her car. So we were in this back alley mechanic shop road with fields all around and we were just talking about our time here in Battipaglia and wondering about the people we have talked to here. Then sorella Argyle yells look, its Zeezrom. (okay side story: we met this man on a train probably 2 months ago who was a lawyer and did not believe in God but was friendly and ended up talking to us for a while about the church and about God. he gave sorella Argyle his business card. we nicknamed him Zeezrom but obviously thats not his real name.) Okay so he comes just randomly strolling down this street and looks at us and double takes and gets the biggest smile on his face and says Ciao Ciao!!! and shakes our hands super vigorously and we were like do you remember us? and he was like Come No? Come No? and was just smiling and then he told his lived at the end of this street and that he would love for us to come visit some time and then just said he was so happy he saw us and kept walking down the street. Sorella Argyle and I were just baffled. Seriously. What are the chances that we would meet this man... who we haven't seen in 2 months... on the side streets of Eboli on this random morning. I'll tell you there was no chance about it. It was really really cool. 

Then we got transfer calls... I will write you a dissertation via letter of my feelings and like what happened person to person while I left but lets just say that I love the people here and turns out... they love me too. :) Sorella argyle told me i was the sunshine of Battipaglia and that I have a way of making anyone feel important and loved. That was pretty neat. Some cool news is that letters to and from will be much more regular and reliable in Rome so I can send you a letter every week with much more info than these emails haha. This morning we went to Gerardos house in the mmoutnains of Italy! Itwas incredible! Here is a picture. The other pictures is with pasquale (standing next to me) and stefano the other man. They are seriously two of my favorite individuals. We are super short on time today but i am going to write you a letter with info on all of this anddddd i m going to try and print out pictures and send them to you so you can see them all. :) 

IM GOING TO ROME!!!!!!! 

okay so rome is divided into 6 zones. My zone is called Rome 1. This is like legitmate Rome. My area has the Vatican in it! annnddd what's even crazier is that is the only other area Sorella Argyle has served in. She was there before she came here with me to Battipaglia! Seriously its so crazy. Then my new companion's name is Sorella Cano. She is from Columbia but has lived in Italy for alot of her life. She doesn't speak english..... soooo i will be really improving my Italian haha. I dont leave Battipaglia Until Thursday!! So these days i am just trying to say goodbye to everyone I want to talk to and taking pictures and packing! Its really hard to say goodbye to the people. I cannot wait to bring you guys here. I seroiusly LOVE the people here. They are incredible. I'm so excited!! Its so hard to leave but it feels right and I am ready for something new. It is really sad to leave Sorella Argyle too...but ahh!!!! I cant wait for you to meet the people here. YOu will LOVE Them. 

Week 23 - Battipaglia, 5/18/2015

Well... This week was pretty great! We went on a scambio and Sorella Argyle left me here in Battipaglia by myself! AHH. Well i mean i got my other companion but I had to run Battipaglia because she didn't know this area! i was scared but we managed to make it through unscathed. :) Then okay we have this male investigator. He is AWESOME. He's in his 70s and comes to English Course every week because he lived in London for 20 years and so he likes talking to us because it helps him maintain his english. so we picked him up about 2 months ago. He had been taught by the Sorelle about a year ago but through a series of unfortunate circumstances stopped being interested in the Church. So we became good friends with him and then im not really sure like when we started legitamately teaching him but we did. It has been amazing to see him grow. (He is one of the few Italians that actually listens and thinks about what we have to say... most of them do not.) We found out that a year ago he didn't even believe in God he was literally atheist and now he says the most beautiful prayers and prays every day. He's also reading the Book of Mormon and has such a sincere desire to find the truth.However it is coming piece by piece. I tried to teach an atheist English course student that there is a God and that the Book of Mormon is true. This was haha pretty interesting. I am good friends with this student and so I felt like i should ask him there other night if he felt like the Book of Mormon could be scripture after we talked about the Book of Mormon in English Course. So we start talking and I start testifying and trying to teach more about the Restoration and then he's like I don't believe in God and I was like oh... okay. Well why? and he was like there's no need. So I testified to him that there is a God and that that knowledge changes our lives for ever and has blessed me in so many ways and he essentially told me that praying and receiving answers is all a psychological effect and that I only think there is a God because others have told me it and because I want to believe it and so I feel that it is true. I didn't really have a way to respond to that so in the End I just told him that I knew that God was real and that he could know it to and that i'm not here to convince him that there is a God but because I am his friend and God is important to me so I want to share my knowledge with him. Haha it was a very interesting conversation and if anything it made me so grateful for my knowledge of the Savior and of our Heavenly Father. I could not imagine living without believing that there was something bigger out there. One last really cool story. So our friends who are a couple call themselves our Italian parents and so because the woman doesn't have any kids I thought it would be cool to do something for her for Mothers Day. So Sorella argyle came up with idea to Heart Attack her so we wrote out a big note and 20 characteristics of her and then walked out to their house and heart attacked their door. We were super nervous because we were pretty sure they were home while we did it and we didn't want them to come out or to hear us. So we sneakily did it and then ran haha. About 2 hours later during one of our lessons we got this text from her that said she had walked outside to go to work and had stopped and saw the door and started to cry. She LOVED it. She was just dying over it. And they had been home the whole time but we were so sneaky they didn't even hear us! :) So we went to the yogurt shop later cuz she was working and she saw us and just lovingly shook her head and then hugged us super big and just kept talking about how amazing and how happy it made her and how she will never ever forget us. It was seriously one of the best feelings I have had on the mission. I think that she really needed that and that it will be something she remembers for the rest of forever. Its really cool to see that you can share God's love for people not necessarily by preaching but by just loving them on a person to person level. I think Heavenly Father knew that would be really neat for her and so he helped us figure out what to do for her.