I LOVE beautiful Brescia!

Ciaooooo

This week was way cool!

     We met Stefania and Samuele who are investigators of about a year. They are getting married in December and then after Stefania will be getting baptized!!! Samuele isn't so sure for himself. But meeting with them we could really feel the spirit and I think we will be able to help him come to know for himself.

     We taught a guy named Elmi the restoration. It was a good lesson, but I have NEVER in my life heard someone talk so much hooolllllllllyyyyyyy mama it was a 3 hour long lesson in the sun! I was dying! Hopefully he understood our message. We are seeing him next week so we will see what happens.

     We had a dinner with a part member family this week and it was SO fun. I love Brescia because the members love the missionaries and want to feed us and have us over. We had such a good time with them and then I told them we wanted to share a little spiritual thought and I reached over to grab my ipad for the scripture we were going to share. Well I didn't realize how far away it was because I leaned leaned leaned and then my chair came completely out from underneath me and I went crashing to the floor and landed right in their cat's water bowl and knocked over their plant and sent cat food FLYING. Who knew I could cause such a disaster my word. I couldn't even get up either I was just stuck there. Oh my goodness I could barely stop laughing to have a spiritual thought. BUT we still taught even though i was wet and had soggy cat food stuck all over me. va bene.  

     We had nothing planned Saturday so it was pretty much finding all day long. We found an old pasticceria owned by a less active. We wandered in and she was not happy at all to see us. She was clear she wanted nothing of our spiritual nonsense. I wasn't pushing her for anything, simply just wanting to say hi and get to know her because we are new in the area. We managed to lighten her heart and by the end she gave us free orzo and a brioche. I don't think missionaries have seen this sister in years so I think her seeing us again threw her for a loop, but I could tell she was kind and loved her family very much. I was happy to have said hi and hope we made her afternoon a little happier. Who knows!!

     We also met a woman named Mara who believes in reincarnation. It was interesting talking about our similar beliefs and those that differ. As we were talking to her I kept expecting her to eventually shoo us away and leave because she was walking her dog that night and he would NOT stop barking and pulling the leash. In my head I kept thinking "oh my goodness it's been 15 minutes and she is still talking to us". I really felt guided to talk to her and eventually the three of us watched a beautiful video on my ipad called "grazie a lui" all about jesus christ and his atonement. I think it really softened her heart. She then opened up and told us her dad recently died and it has been extremely difficult on her. In that moment I KNEW why we were supposed to talk to her. It was not by coincidence in the least. I bore testimony of eternal families and that God never wants  us to feel lost or alone, that he has answers for us, that he loves us, and that her dad and her will be together again. It was such a beautiful little moment together. I really hope she takes action on the spirit I know she felt and continues meeting with us. 

     We met a less active family the Garatti's. We made 239485702938 brownies because I am not kidding they have 8 kids all under the age of 20. This may be common in Utah but completely unheard of here. I had to mentally prep myself for the chaos before going into their house haha. But Sorella Tullis and I were bubbly and just as loud as they all were which they loved. We ate brownies and played games and read scriptures together. They LOVED it. And good thing too because getting kids to enjoy having missionaries over is like half the battle. I told them I'm hungry and that it's their duty to make me good food if they are true Italians (just joking). So they accepted the challenge and we are making homemade pesto next time!!! VICTORY. what a win win situation am I right or am I right.

     Monday and Tuesday we had scambio and Sorella Montagnoli came to Brescia with me. We got on the 2 hour train ride to Edolo. All who is reading this, google Edolo right now. I absolutely died. It is a small little town in the middle of the Swiss alps. MOST GORGEOUS mountains I have ever seen. We met with a man named Vittorio. He apparently has been looking for religion and God in his and his girlfriend's lives. They have been looking online and came across mormon.org where they submitted their OWN information as a referral to be contacted by missionaries in his area. We are SO blessed to have the technology we do today!! A man in a tiny town in the Swiss alps where there are no missionaries was being hand delivered a copy of the book of Mormon by yours truly! Such a cool experience for me. He own a pizzeria in the city and is such a kind man. We taught him the whole restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and gave him the book of Mormon to start reading. The spirit was so strong as we taught him and I am SOOOOO hopeful. I really think God put him right into our hands. We will being seeing him soon again. 

     We went to an island on lago D'Iseo by ferry to meet these members from our church, Simona and Davide who are converts of less than a year and will be getting married in the temple in December!!! They are both 23 years old and sooo amazing. They own a bike rental shop on the island. It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen right at the base of the Alps. I feel so blessed I get to do God's work here!

     Today for pday us and the elders went back to the island (twice in two days whhhhaaattttt) and hiked to the very top of it where an old ancient church is. It was raining the whole time on us and the views were beautiful! my hair has grown 2 feet in width with all this humidity. I can say I've never looked this scary before. I definitely belong in dry climate that's all I can say mamma mia. 

     God has blessed us with so much work and I couldn't be happier. There are little miracles laced in our lives everyday and if we just stop and look at them for a minute, we will be able to see more fully how much God loves each and every one of us. These little miracles in my life aren't because I'm a missionary, they have always been apart of my life, its just that I'm noticing them more fully for the first time. 

I hope you all have a great week!!!! Vi voglio bene!

Sorella Williams

Sorella Williams on the ferry in lago D'Iseo

lago D'Iseo

Sorella Tullis & Sorella Williams on Pday

The Swiss Alps

The Elders & Sisters on Pday

I am in Brescia!

     Brescia is a beautiful city! It's big and I'm confused where I am 97% of the time, but beautiful nonetheless.

     Lugging my 3 suitcases on and off 5 different trains and 28282884 different metros and trams was an experience I will be happy to forget. I looked like such a weirdo. Bags were heavy, I was sweating, people were offering to help, only to turn around and ask for money (shout out to grandma's 5 dollar US bill in my birthday card that helped get a creepy guy AWAY from me). I was half tempted to spend my life savings on a taxi.

      We had to wake up at 5 am to get to the Milano chapel on time from Bergamo to pick up my greenie! President Allen spoke to us and told us just how hard he had sought the Lord's council as to who the trainers should be. I feel very humbled with my new calling! The new missionaries were excited and scared and jet lagged and I had dejavu because we were in the very same room where I had been assigned to MY trainer when I was new in the mission. My greenie is Sorella Tullis and I love her. She is the best and we get along great, but most importantly we have the same goals for our area and our people. She is hard working and is very determined with the language which I
think is great.

     We got right to work in Brescia! It's complicated when you're whitewashing because you have no idea where to begin really, but we have been diligent! We are over the ward and the branch and they are SO EXCITED to have the sisters back. Sunday was a blur of so many faces, names, smiles, hugs, kisses, and people telling me their life story and  how to navigate the city and who needs what WHEW. I was just overwhelmed. We have an actual church building after not having one in Siena for so long! You can 100% tell the difference of a ward where there are callings and organization.

      We had a lesson with a woman named Maria who was in tears as we talked about heavenly father's love for her. She has had an extremely difficult life, but her faith has never wavered. It's amazing. We met with a woman named Monica who is all alone in a little apartment. She is mostly blind so it's very difficult to read scriptures but she agreed to come to church with us Sunday, which is SO exciting! I hope it all works out. We met with two families yesterday, Rhena and her neighbor Divina. I LOVE them. We were able to really connect with them and teach them the plan of salvation. Rhena was fascinated and said she was finally able to start feeling God's love for her. It was incredible. She said "sometimes I feel God's love for me and sometimes I don't. Especially when I feel like I'm trying to do my best as a wife and mother, and I just can't win." I really really felt prompted to be more blunt with her and we were able to testify that the missionaries coming into her life right now was not a coincidence and that this is how God is helping her at this time, that the spirit she has now can be with her always  if she allows it, and that she must act on this blessing God has given her to know the gospel of Jesus Christ. INCREDIBLE! Such a strong spirit in that home. We had so many other random miracles along the way this week. We were talking in the streets with people at every opportunity and making ourselves very present in the community. The local grocer loves us and gave us free plums because we took the time to get to know him. We have been meeting great people here in Brescia and I feel so blessed. We have a couple of lessons later this week with women wanting to learn more of our church and I am so excited!

     Another amazing thing about Brescia is how willing the members are to come to lessons with us. They have seen this gospel touch their lives and they want to share it with others just as much as the missionaries do. I can't wait to build relationships with them and bring them to lessons with us and hopefully meet some of their friends as well.

     I was so scared to train because I thought I was too inadequate and too young in the mission. But if I've seen one thing this week it's that the lord absolutely qualifies us for this work. I will never be the perfect missionary, but I am not asked to be, only to put my faith forward and try my hardest. This is all Sorella Tullis  and I have been doing. We are SO exhausted at the end of the day and it's the best feeling in the world. Yesterday we were talking to this girl on the metro and this man couldn't stop staring at us. When we got off the train he approached us and said he's seen missionaries like us before and he was an absolute SWEET HEART. he's going through a hard time because his wife recently passed, but said that the missionaries who he has seen in Brescia in the past were always happy with a smile on their faces and it gave him a light as well. He bought us gelato and we talked about how we are all children of our Heavenly Father. I was so happy to have found this guy and am looking forward to getting the Anziani active in teaching him! Literally this man came up to US, what?!  I'm excited.

     Today we went to Bergamo for pday with the other missionaries and it was really fun. We saw an old castle and went to the duomo on top of the mountain. We live in such a beautiful country I am so lucky.

     I am happy being a missionary. The days are long and sooooooo hot and hard and frustrating sometimes, but I really would hate to be anywhere else. I am seeing how this gospel truly can change people's lives and I feel so blessed that the lord has let me come and experience this! I hope you all take time and think how the gospel has changed your life, how you can feel God's love for you, and ask him what more you can do. He will bring you true happiness I know this with my whole heart!

Have a great week vi voglio bene!

Sorella Williams


Sorella Tullis' first gelato in Italy




The Anzianis and Sorellas in Brescia


Pday in Bergamo




Pday in Bergamo

Ciao Siena!

Ciao tutti!

     This week has been absolutely crazy. Saturday we received transfer news!! President called me and told me I will be training a new missionary and opening the sisters back up in a city called Brescia, meaning me and my greenie are both fresh in the city without anyone there to help us know what the flip is going on. Brescia is way up
north so I'm literally moving across the country. After president told me the news, I had to sit down right then on the side walk and process everything. I'm excited for a new experience, but I am also way nervous! For starters, I'm only going into my 5th transfer and do not feel ready with the language to lead all lessons, talk with everyone
without much help from my companion, have meetings with bishop and ward leaders, open the Sorelle in Brescia, etc. I've never even been senior companion before, much less a trainer! But at the same time it's a cool feeling knowing the Lord has confidence in me to do this with a new born baby fetus missionary! All I know about Brescia is that it's a big city at the foot of the Alps and it has a ward!! With a real ward mission leader and real family home evening and everything! I'm traveling ALLLLL the way to Bergamo to stay the night tonight and then
traveling to Milan tomorrow to get my new companion and then we go off to Brescia. AH. I'm so nervous.

     The rest of this week has just been a lot of hard goodbyes. The people in Siena will FOREVER be in my heart. I lived and served here for over 6 months and truly fell in love with this place. I was grateful to my branch president who let me speak to everyone in sacrament Sunday so I could tell them how much I love them and how much I will miss them. The experiences I've had here have forever changed my life!

     My last day, yesterday, I had a HUGE lunch with all the people I love in Roccastrada; Adriano, Eunice, their kids, Doris, Luciano, and Danielle. I could not have asked for a better day. That was the most difficult goodbye. When I think back at how far these people have come with the missionaries I am so happy and feel like we truly made a difference for them. No one tells you the hardest part about serving a mission is saying goodbye. I had been frustrated because I prayed so hard to see Eunice and everyone again one last time and Heavenly Father didn't answer it the first time I went and I almost had a melt down in the middle in the road when I found out she wasn't home. But he answered it in the best way possible. A whole afternoon with all of us eating and laughing together. Oh my gosh I am literally crying writing this I love them so much. I love Siena. I think it's interesting how sometimes we pray and pray and pray for something to happen and if it doesn't we are upset and say why God? But I'm learning that his goal is not to make us suffer like we sometimes believe, he is just trying to answer our prayers in the way that will make us MOST happy and sometimes he takes plan C when in our head we only had plan A and B. I'm learning to trust him a lot more because when I do I see his plan was far better for me than the plan I had on my own. We need to trust him and have faith he never leaves us, it makes his job of answering our prayers far easier when he knows we recognize it was him helping us the whole time. 

     Thank you for all your emails and support as I go into this next crazy phase. I have that feeling that I've had only a few times in my life where I'm on the brink of something either big or just really different and scary. I'm about to grow a lot these next two transfers. I'm hoping God qualifies me for this calling because I can't speak Italian for the both of us yet at all. There is nothing I can do, but submit myself to His will! I'm so scared. I think about how much I've grown in Siena and I literally cry everytime. I cannot imagine not being here anymore.

     I'm excited for new experiences in Brescia. Hopefully it's a little cooler there and not as many dumb pigeons.

Vi voglio bene!

Sorella Williams


Some of the great people in the Siena branch on Lindsay's last Sunday


Last Sunday in Siena


The District


Eunice & Lindsay on her last day

PALIO!!

Ciao!

     Well this week has been all about America and not just because of the fourth! It seemed like every person I talked to this week was an American tourist! But I had many cool experiences because of it. 

     It's weird going back and forth talking about the gospel in Italian and then in English. When I talk about the gospel in Italian I feel like Sorella Williams. When I talk about it in English I feel like Lindsay. It's super strange for me,  but it's cool feeling like I can help those who are only in Italy for a little while and maybe when they go home something good will come from it. 

     There is a study abroad girl here who is our friend named Emily. She invited us to do a Q&A in front of her study abroad class. They are studying anthropology and wanted to learn about Siena from a missionary's point of view. I had no idea what to expect, but we agreed! Most all of the students were from Notre Dame and had a lot of great questions for us. I had to be on my A game. I had a feeling before we got there that the conversation would quickly go from "Siena" to "what the heck is a missionary and what do you do here all day" haha. Well that's exactly what happened. I had the chance to explain our church, our purpose here, share some of our basic principles, explain common ground with other religions, and then even bore testimony. I was really grateful for Emily giving us that opportunity. 

     The REAL big event of this week though was the PALIO!!!!!!!! Holy smokes I've never seen a city more alive in my life. It's especially been cool for me since I have lived here for 6 months. I have seen how they carefully prepare all year long for a 90 second horse race. Our friends Emily and Rose saved us spots in the Piazza starting at 9 in the morning. We did some work that morning and then headed over by noon. The entire city was shut down. We had a front row space at the gate right next to the starting line. At the Palio you can either pay thousands for a seat on the side or scram in the middle of the piazza with thousands of sweaty Italians for free. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen. We waited all day in the hot sun until the big parade started at about 5 where all the contradas come out and present their flags, horses, and jockeys. It felt like you had stepped back in time because everyone was wearing medieval clothing with big suits of armor and swords just like how they would have done it centuries ago. Already the people were going crazy. Then they announced what order the horses were in for the line up. The jockeys were so savage!!! They would hit each other, whip each other with the horse whips, try to pull each other off the horse, all before the race even started!! It's so strategic and they were also speaking with one another and trying to make bets and bribes to lose or win. crazy stuff. Then it finally started and in the first lap 3 jockeys were thrown from their horses and one was trampled. In the end my contrada the LUPA WON. I couldn't believe it!! They haven't won in 17 years. When it ended we grabbed our bags and ran for the middle to get away from the people stampeding the track. In the middle I saw members of Istrice (porcupine) absolutely bawling over the loss. People were either crying of happiness or crying of sadness it seemed there was no in between. Such a crazy experience!! I was so glad I got to be there. The partying has not stopped since Saturday for Lupa. 

     Monday was the fourth of July and we had to wake up at 5 am  to take an early train to make it to Florence in time to meet our new mission president, President Allen. I am excited to serve with him and his wife! They were so funny, kind, and smart. I felt the spirit strong as they spoke and you could really feel these two were called of God for this mission at this time. That night before I got into bed I started hearing all these fireworks going off! I thought IT'S A FOURTH OF JULY MIRACLE and ran to the window. The Lupa contrada was having a late party, but I pretended it was for America and our incredible independence day haha! I felt sad to be away from my country on the fourth, and it was especially weird for me to spend it with a British girl haha, but I am so beyond grateful to be an American. It's a great country and I love it with my whole heart. 

     I had great lessons this week with lots of different people. One being Michele. He is the boyfriend of a branch member. I taught him in gospel principles class while Barlow translated for gospel doctrines class. A member of the stake presidency Fratello Ianni joined me in the lesson. I absolutely love Fratello Ianni, he is brilliant and teaches so simply. One of the many things I love about the Italian people is their giving nature. This man is the definition of someone who gives their all for the gospel. He has not had an easy life. His wife is currently fighting cancer. And he still drives two hours down from Prato just to make sure the Siena people know he cares about them. The spirit was strong while him and I taught this man the restoration. You could feel Gods love for Michele. I'm excited to see him again. 

     Saturday is transfer calls and I'm excited and nervous. There is a huge possibility that I will be leaving Siena since I have been here for so long. This is all I know so it will feel like a whole new mission when I go to a different city. I have had so many wonderful experiences and met amazing people here. Siena will forever have a HUGE part of my heart! 

Have a great week!

Love Sorella Williams

The Lupa Contrada horse that won!

Lupa

Palio

The Tuscana zone with our new Mission President.  I LOVE Pres. & Sis. Allen