Week 50 - 10/19/2015

I just seriously cannot wait to bring you guys to Italy. This place is
amazing... And it's mine :) hehehe
Anyways this week was pretty good. We had this woman with a bap date
and then she called us again and told us like well... I just need to
think about all of this and everything... And all of this stuff. So we
backed off the baptism date and just told her to keep reading the Book
of Mormon. But she stopped responding a little. But
we're just praying and hanging in there. I got this cool blessing this
week where the anziano told me, that the Lord wanted me to know that
He knows I haven't seen numerical success on my mission but that my
job is to catering to the one. And I just thought that was so super
cool :) idk. But ya the mission's awesome. I really do love preaching
the gospel every day. I love telling people about it, even when they
don't listen or don't care, it makes me feel better and converts me
more and more everyday.
LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!

Sorella Kennedy 🇮🇹

Janet Harker gets a dinner with Hailey!!!

previously i have been numbering by weeks in Italy but am now numbering by weeks out in the field week 49 (on mission) - Rome, 10/12/2015

Hey guys!!
Okay first things first:
I called president and asked for permission to go to dinner with Janet
harker! He said yes, but it can only be for 1 hour because usually
that's all we have for dinner.
Okay now about my back.
I'm feeling much much better this week. But now it just
hurts when I wake up and sometimes when I stand or sit for extended
periods of time. I'm going to try and go back to the doctor this week.

Okay about the week!
Well this week the highlight was that we have a different baptismal
date! Haha the other woman hasn't responded to us for a week. Sooo...
Ya. But we have another one!! And the lesson where we invited her to
be baptized was incredible. So... She called us that morning(we hadn't
seen her for 2 weeks because she was taking care of her mother) and
says I finished first nephi! And the last 3 chapters were "stupendo" I
loved them!! They were just so beautiful! And we were just dying of
excitement. So we ask if we can see her that day and she says yes. So
we've been praying and working really hard to prepare to teach her the
word of wisdom because she smokes and drinks coffee and we felt like
that was the next thing we needed to teach to help her be ready to be
baptized. So we prepare this whole lesson and we go to see her and
she's standing outside and is like I wanted to say hello to you but
I'm just really tired I'm not sure I can do a lesson and we were like
okay but we have something really important we want to share with
you... And she was like oh really? Okay... So we go in and we have
this lesson and as were explaining it to her she's just like oh okay
okay. Ya I understand and the spirit is just so strong and in the end
she agrees to quit smoking and drinking coffee and then we invite her
to be baptized and she's like mm I'm not ready and we were like but
you can be ready when the time comes and she was like okay I will do
it!!!!!! And she agreed to a date!! Wooooo!!!!!!! She's seriously so
rad. She got the flu so she couldn't come to our other lesson on
Saturday but when she called us she was like okay what can I study at
home, and then she just did it. Yet another amazing example that I've
seen on the mission of the power of the Book of Mormon on people's
heart. She literally loves the Book of Mormon. She's like, it's very
harsh sometimes but it just is so beautiful. I love it! Ahh :))) so
we're really excited about her.
So ya!! Other than that we have just been doing a lot of talking to
people. We're trying to get 2 people's numbers every day and so far
we've done it!!! Which is super awesome. It has been really great to
have Sorella reber here. She works really hard and for me that is
great. But ya, other than that we had zone conference this week. I don't
know if you ever go on the mission blog.... But Sorella waddoups does
a blog for the mission and puts pictures of zone conference there, if
you type in like Rome Italy mission blog I think it will be there.
Anyways I love you guys so so much!!!

Sorella Kennedy 🇮🇹

Week 43 - Rome, 10/5/2015

Well hey!!
So this week... First week of transfers! Sorella reber has arrived and
Sorella cano has gone. I was sad to see Sorella cano go. I really do
care about her a lot. And she was so cute, she was so sad to leave me.
That was super neat and happy for me to hear. I felt like that was
part of my mission here in Rome over these last few months. Sorella
reber is awesome. She's really sweet. It's going to be a really good transfer I think. We had some really neat finding experiences already and Sorella reber just has
this way of finding people that want to talk to us haha so that's
awesome. She told me that I speak amazing Italian and that all of my
diligence has paid off in everything I do so that was cool.
The story of the week is that we were attacked by hard core Anti-mormon... Okay okay
let me explain. So we went to meet with this guy that had dropped us a
couple of transfers ago because he said we had solved his problem and
he didn't need God anymore. But then he called us and wanted to meet
so we said okay. So we go in and we start talking and we start in on
the spiritual thought and he stops us and is like I have something to
say, and we're like okay. And then he begins to tell us that he did his
research on then Mormons and found a 41 minute documentary on YouTube
about the Mormons and how all the leaders of the church are corrupt
and how Joseph smith was a terrible person. So he tells us I called
you here today so that you could come here today and uncover the truth
about what and who the Mormons are. And I know it will be hard for you
but you deserve to know the truth. And I've always listened to your
messages and now it's your turn to listen to me. And we were just
like... Are you serious right now?? So I'm sitting there and I'm just
getting angrier and angrier, cuz you know the feisty side of me is
coming out.. So then we bare
testimony of the reality that we know the church is real and how we
probably have already heard everything in the document before and that
we cannot watch the movie especially as missionaries, but that we know
the church is true and that the doctrine brings us the most happiness
in this life. And he's like ha!! I knew it, I knew you would say all
of this, you are confirming the documentary because it told me that
you would say exactly that if I tried to show it to you, you've been
brainwashed by your leaders!! Yada Yada... And so then he tells us
this and I'm just like oh my gosh. So then we just bare testimony
again about how we could not have come here with a single doubt that
what we have to say is true. We invite people to learn for themselves
to ask directly to God, not to the Internet or to other men, whether or
not the things we say are true. He was a little flustered because I
think that the meeting clearly went in a different direction then he
had anticipated... but then we go to close with a prayer and he
jumps up and is like I'll say it. In my head I was like oh boy.... So
he starts in like praying to a saint and to Christ and says please
help the sisters to uncover the error of their ways, please bless them
to one day realize the reality of what they are doing, and that their
eyes may be opened to the truth.... Ya. It was quite a prayer. So then
we left it at that. Now in the end, let me tell you, that I know that
this church is true. And people can say that "oh this and this happened"
and you know maybe it did or maybe we can't understand what happened
at the time, but I will tell you that I know this church is true
because of the fruits I see from it. The spirit that comes into your
life from the Book of Mormon, the priesthood has been restored on the
earth, or the happiness that the knowledge that you're a child of God
that he loves you and wants you to be happy, or that the family can be
together forever! Those are the doctrines that this church is made up
of that are good and true and correct. Idk overall it was a super
interesting experience. I felt bad for him in the end.
Anyways, conference was awesome!!! I loved Elder Nelsons talk about
being bold women! It was so good. I felt like it wasn't just another
we need women who serve.. Who take care.. Same old same old. But it
was like "we need you to speak up and speak out."  "Be bold and say the
impressions of your heart. Tell the world what you think because the
world needs it." It was just really good. Also anziano Hollands talk.
To compare mothers to the role of the Savior is the highest compliment
that can be given. It was really amazing.
Today we had to go to the doctor for my back. It's killing me. I don't
know what happened. We went to the chiropractor and it helped a little
but now I'm in tons of pain again.
Anyways I love you so so much!!!

Sorella Kennedy 🇮🇹

week 42 - Rome, 9/28/2015

Well hello family!!!
So you are never going to guess what happened to me for transfer
calls. So I'm staying here.... But guess who is coming to be my
companion. Sorella reber!  (my companion from the MTC)
Anyways. Sorry we don't have a ton of time today. Today is the last
day of Sorella Nagliati. So we've been like all over doing the things
for her to have a good last day and she asked us to walk her to the
mission home again. So we don't have a lot of time.
On the investigator side, Marie Ester came to church this week!!! It
was awesome! :)) I don't know what we're going to do because all of
our investigators speak Spanish..... Haha it'll be an adventure.
I love you!!!!! Sorry I can't write more!!!

Sorella Kennedy 🇮🇹

Week 41 - Rome, 9/21/2015

Well family!! Hello :)
This week was pretty rad. Let me tell you about a new/old investigator
that we found this week.
So when sorella cano and I first got here we met this woman who was an
old contact of the sisters and we called her and taught her the plan
of salvation and gave her a Book of Mormon and she was golden.
Literally just loved everything we said and clutched the Book of
Mormon like it was truly heaven sent... And then... We didn't hear
from her for 3 months because she started working in a home for an old
woman and wasn't allowed to leave. So literally we tried calling and
she never answered... Then about 2 weeks ago I was messing around with
the phone and I was like we should try calling her... So I just on a
spiritual whim called her and she answered!!! And said she could meet
with Us next week! And we were like oh my gosh crazy. So then we meet
with her, and she told us that in the house she was working she never
got reception, only if she was standing out on the balcony she could
receive calls and when I called she happened to be standing outside so
she got the call!! Miracle. So then we start talking to her and I have
to recount a little of her history with the missionaries. So she is
from Paraguay, and there her sister is a member. She was a single mom
of a brand new baby and she needed money so the elders there paid her
to wash their shirts and to clean, and then they also would buy the
baby milk for her son which was to expensive for her to afford. She
she has all of these amazing interactions with Mormons and so we start
explaining the restoration and she tells us I am searching for the
truth like Joseph smith and that's why I like the Mormons because
everything that comes from them has always been truth. So then we
finish and we invite her to be baptized and she gets tears in her eyes
and she says yes! And we set a baptismal date with her and she
accepted!! And then after she was even like okay so now what do I have
to do to be ready for the date... And she just is such a miracle!!!!
We are hoping she can find new work that will allow her to continue to
meet with us. Annddddd she has a friend who she wants to introduce us
to who also wants to become Mormon!! Super awesome.
Other than that something really cool was we had an activity in church
on Saturday and it was a cultural night for italy! So they danced the
tarantella and we all ate like the classic homemade Italian food and
it was so fun! It was really neat to see the members so excited about
Italy haha they sang the national anthem and everything.
Anyways yup! I have a stomach bug... Spent all day yesterday and last
night throwing up... "One flu away from my goal weight" :) haha okay
talk to you soon!!

Sorella Kennedy 🇮🇹
REGARDING AN EXCHANGE SHE WENT ON:
That's pretty much how I feel. It was really neat for me to get
to go on the exchange. So many neat things happened. 
The other girl was super timid and such....
But I was feeling super bold and so we talked to a lot of people
and got some numbers and gave out 3 book of Mormons. And then we had
this lesson with an investigator of theirs and I just felt very led by
the Lord like I could feel the Lord telling me what to say and how to
say it and everything and he listened to me and then afterwards she
said to me, wow, thank you for all you did for him, he never listens
and just is all over the place but you brought the spirit and helped
him a lot, can you come back every week?? Haha and then she was like I
really needed to see all the miracles we saw. And I was just so happy
I felt like "oh hey I do know what I'm doing!! Would you look at that
haha" 

love,

Sorella Kennedy 🇮🇹