Love my zone & beach volleyball p-days

CIAO

     It was SO hot and then SO cold. I had to break out the good old thermal long johns again. I was not happy about it. 

     Saturday was cool. We played soccer just like every Saturday morning. It was exhausting. I was not on my A game. 76 year old Giovanni ran faster than me if that tells you anything. hahaha I was so tired. After the longest game ever we had a little picnic with Gaia. We talked a bunch and we taught her the gospel of Jesus Christ and invited her to baptism. How she feels right now is that she wants a new beginning, but feels like she cant start that yet as she still has negative feelings towards someone in her life who has truly destroyed her family. She wants to have a true second chance, not be baptized and then immediately feel the same about her old life as she does now. Which we completely understand and sympathize. We bore testimony of the power of Christ and that through Him we can do the difficult things. She needs to accept His help in this. The only way to close an old door is to open a new one. We receive His help when we follow his commandments. We left her with a talk to read called 'the healing ointment of forgiveness'. its so good. I love Gaia. 

     Church was really good and then Tina invited us to her place after which was so great. It was us and Christine who is my favorite young woman. Just the four of us making Pilipino food together, so fun. 

     We finally got into the house of a member family who is always SO busy working that we never have been able to visit them. They have two girls, one who is 18 and the other 16. Both have expressed that they have friends who ask gospel questions, they just don't always know how to answer. It was fun to talk about ways to explain things with them. Grace's boyfriend was there so we got to explain some of the principles of our church to him as well.

     Monday was the longest day of my life. We did 3452423 things, but we met this super cool lady named Donatella. She is a special ed teacher. I told her that I was a dancer and we used to do little programs for special ed kids all the time and that even now we are working with a family with a little down syndrome boy. She was SO sweet and I'm excited about meeting her. Art class was really fun and then we went to Mamma Repoyo's house. And yes, karaoke was had.

     We had a scambio with the San Remo sisters. Sorella Causse and I taught FHE.  We taught all about the two things faith cannot do 1) it cannot alter someone else's free agency and 2) it cannot change the will of God. We had a good discussion about that and then played the most intense game of Pictionary that has ever been played. And yes my team won. 

     Today the whole zone got together and rented out an indoor sand volleyball place and it was like Christmas. I love the people I serve with so much I just die laughing. Then we all got panzerotti and everyone was a happy camper. 

     We receive transfer calls this Saturday and I cannot believe how quick this transfer has gone by. Or that I have 7 weeks left on the mission. It's kind of a hard pill to swallow because I am genuinely happy here. I am reminded over and over again how grateful I am to have the opportunity to be a missionary. I love it.

     I just hope you all feel comfort and strength this week. I have loved Ether 12:27 lately.  

Love sorella Williams

Milano East Zone, Best zone Pday!!

Buona Pasqua from Milano

Buon P day finalmente! 

     It's been a crazy week. We had a couple scambi and 2 zone conferences. One in Milan, and one over the Genova and Torino zones. We are pooped. 

     BUONA PASQUA! I hope everyone had a great Easter. I've been reading Jesus the Christ which is  amazing. There's a part that says "Christ’s absolute spinelessness made Him eligible, His humility and willingness rendered Him acceptable to the Father, as the atoning sacrifice whereby propitiation could be made for the sins of all men." I love that because He was willing of the sacrifice. He did it by choice because He loves us. 

     Instead of going to dinner somewhere on Easter, all 6 of us missionaries made a feast! And we did secret Santa gifts. It was the bomb. It was a TREAT YO SELF holiday. I need everyone to know that a certain Anziano consumed, and I do not exaggerate, twelve deviled eggs. By his own free will, no one dared him. needless to say when we got to the castle for finding, he spent the majority of his time in the porta potty :)  We had planned the rest of the day to find and proselyte in the streets around the Duomo and the castle. I was excited because I loved last Easter in Siena last year when all we did for three days (since we couldn't get any appointments) was hand out the Easter biglietti and speak with people on the street. So I wanted to do the same again this year. There's no better excuse to talk to people about Jesus than on Easter Day. It was an awesome day! 

     The next day was Pasquetta so everyone still had work and school off and people actually called US to ask for more soccer during the week haha. Of course we said yes. So for the second time in one week we played soccer and had SUCH a big turn out of non members, less actives, and members. It was amazing. Not to mention the Peruvians showed up in their own jerseys and gave ME one so I played with them. I was on my A game. They would say "passala alla Sorella!!"  I Felt like a million bucks:) we were so excited because Gaia's sisters entire family came, including some of Gaia's other siblings. I can't explain how exciting that is. They all came to art class as well...and then to English and French class later that same week. MIRACLES ARE HAPPENING. We just pray they feel the spirit and have the desire to keep coming. We think that's already happened. I have a testimony that prepared people really just are plain prepared. You don't find answers to your questions anywhere else than the true church of Christ. And if you look elsewhere you will be unsatisfied. I love Gaia more than I love waffle fries and strawberries. She got us cute bracelets from her trip to Barcelona. 

     We met with some other cool people this week too. But it's all blurring together. 

     Wednesday we had conference which is always great to hear from the stake president and President and Sorella Allen. They spoke a lot about how the traditional methods of missionary work just aren't a thing anymore. They asked us 'experienced' missionaries in our months/years on the mission, how many have done casa and been let in more than 5 times, not one of us raised our hands. President said when he was in the mission, each day he was let into a house. He said it isn't because we aren't good missionaries or trying our best. He promised our generation of missionaries in the world are even stronger than those of his time, but that the world is changing. People can't trust two foreign strangers into their home and no one has time anymore. We are using our efforts in other ways now to invite others to hear the gospel. Not that we have given up on casa or traditional finding, we are just using our time in the most effective way we can. A lot of that comes from these activities we do with other members and using our talents for things. This is why we have been focusing so hard on soccer, FHE, corso d'inglese e Francese, art class, etc. And already they are proving to be much more effective. President really is inspired! 

     Thursday we woke up early to get to Alessandria for another conference that we had to do a training and role plays for. Part of that may or may not have involved us doing a sweet soccer reenactment and chest bumping in skirts. It was great. 

     Afterward we hopped in the car with President, Sorella Allen, and the APs. Just a happy family road trip back to Milan. It was so fun. When we got to their house Sorella Allen gave us a little tour of some of the things she's done with the mission home. She's the best. It was weird seeing the mission home again. I was having flashbacks to my first day in Italy. Afterward we just took the metro home.

     Today for pday we went and saw Da Vinci's last supper! It was WAY bigger than I thought it would be. It's painted on the wall of an old church in Milan. Crazy what they have done to try and preserve it since 1494. The church was bombed during WWII and the wall fell around it, but the painting was left standing by some miracle. 

     Do what the prophet told us to do in conference and read the Book of Mormon this week. He was specific, he said "everyday". Doesn't matter if you already have a testimony that it's true! It will continue to change your life if you allow it. Make time for the important things. 

Vi voglio bene! 

Sorella Williams

Easter

Cimiano District Easter Dinner

Milano Zone Conference

Genova and Torino Zone Conference

The Guastella family gave us giant eggs for Easter

Da Vinci's Last Supper!!!!!

Using Our Talents In Missionary Work

ciao tutti!

     This week will be a short one, but it was a great week! We did a bunch of scambi this week and I'm exhausted, but I have an emergency gelato waiting for me after I'm done typing this. 

     We met a couple of new people this week. One being Lucia, an older lady. She invited us up to her office which happened to be very nice and we sat opposite a very long conference table haha. It seemed very official. She is VERY catholic. In the end we just bore testimony of Christ and that there is modern revelation coming to us from living prophets.

     We had a fun picnic with Fernando and Eglayda (the weather is AMAZING right now, trying to enjoy it before I'm soon melting on the sidewalks). We talked about the importance of the Book of Mormon and how we need to center our lives on it. They are truly having a trial of faith waiting to hear back from a job interview. 

     This week was a lot of karaoke aka best week ever. We played with Tina and George after dinner and then with the Repoyo family. The Philippine people know how to party. We were just sitting there after we had eaten and George reaches in his backpack and pulls out this handy microphone and speakers and mobile karaoke device hahaha. I've never seen him without it. 

     We started an art class this week after President Allen challenged us to use our talents in different ways and it was so fun. Anziano Simkins is extremely talented so he teaches it. Some cool people showed up. We have gotten the word out about it and we think the class is just going to continue to grow. 

     We played soccer Saturday morning and let me tell you the word has gotten out. We had all kinds of people coming to play with us!! Which was the goal from the start so we were very happy about that. The game got so intense hahaha. I was covered in dirt by the end. 

     Gaia is amazing. A lot happened this week, but to sum it up, I know her sisters family is going to come back to church thanks to her studying the gospel. She's reading the scriptures and coming to realize what is the truth. She said to us the other day after speaking about the plan of salvation "Sorelle, I know this is true because the moment we all met I knew we were friends from before this life" She is basically our third companion we always joke. We are just three happy best friends and she is making progress. Of course we are praying for a baptism in the near future and doing our best to challenge her to that, but it will come and I have no doubt about it. It's just a matter of time. 

     Marilena was taught the word of wisdom this week and accepted it without a moments hesitation. She still needs to move out from her boyfriends house in order to be baptized and I'm honestly getting pretty nervous about that. I just have to trust in the Lord that everything will happen in its right timing. 

     I had an interesting experience this week. We were waiting at the metro in Garibaldi to go home at night and speaking to each other when this normal looking, nicely and trendy dressed, polite young guy (probably 23 or 24) walks up to us and asks in English where Centrale train station was. He seemed a little nervous and excited to find people who spoke English. We helped him out and I asked what his native language was, he said Arabic. I smiled and told him it was nice to meet him and have a good night, and that was that. I closed off as I usually do when I find out someone is Muslim. Especially a man. He walked away and Sorella Anderson and I continued with whatever it was we were talking about.  Only a couple of seconds later he came back to us and said "I'm sorry, but what is it exactly that you guys are doing here". We explained we were missionaries for the church of Jesus Christ and was bracing for whatever comment we usually get from Muslims. He told us he was a missionary too in Lebanon for an organization made by Mother Teresa. He looked at us looking at him and said "Yes! I am Christian too!" He looked like he came from money given how he was dressed and the fact that he spoke English so well. I asked him a little bit about his mission and asked if he was in Italy for a vacation. He looked at me and said no, that he was a refugee. I asked him where he was from and he said Syria. He could obviously see I was surprised (refugees usually look a lot different than he did). He said he is living in a camp in Torino and he's got to get back that night so he had somewhere to sleep. I asked him if his family was with him here in Italy and after a second he said "my family is gone now, I am all alone". My heart literally broke. He explained that he had been in Milan that day to attend an engineer design conference for different universities, as that had been what he had studied at  the university in Syria. He is hoping to do that here and start a life for himself. We talked for a little bit longer and I realized we were the first people he could freely speak to since he left his home. He was so grateful for meeting us and we gave him the missionaries numbers in Torino. 

     After he got off the train we both sat and I could not stop thinking about him. And I felt angry with myself. To protect myself from hurting so bad for them, I tend to de-humanize the refugees that I see here in these terrible situations. I avoid all and any Muslim interaction (which for most part is very important and is a mission rule) but I think I categorize them as different people than myself. Michael literally shocked me. I see the refugees with nothing, but dirty clothes and a back pack begging on the streets, and then there's Michael who probably came from a very normal family, in a normal home, went to school and was funny. He was just like us. His family had been killed and he had to run. I realized he had to have had no money at all because I noticed his cheap ticket just to get back to Torino that night was a fake. It hit so close to home for me in a way I had never felt before and I couldn't help but cry. I just felt so much love for him and sadness. No matter what we see going on in the world or the horrendous terrorist acts "in the name of religion" does not change the fact that these are innocent people who had families and lives and careers and were high schoolers and had moms and dads. We met another Syrian man this week who approached us, learned we were American and begged us to go home and tell our country to save them. To help them. That they need and want America's help to get away from their dictator and his armies coming against the innocent. 

     I just know God loves his children. There is no coincidence that in general conference, months ago, they spoke so much of these refugees. I truly, for the first time, had my heart fully open to them this week and looked at them as Gods children and just couldn't help but hurt for them and love them. I think God wanted me to learn that lesson to stop being so ignorant of their situation. I am so grateful for what I have and my family. And I also think where much is given, much is required. I also believe that if it is the desire to help those in need, to pray for opportunities to do so, and God will direct us how to. 

     I'm excited for Pasqua. I love my Savior!!

     Vi voglio bene! have a great Easter!!! watch the Easter videos. they are amazing,

                                 

          Sorella Williams

Art Class

Italy's Easter consists of massive chocolate eggs given to all the kids instead
of Easter baskets. So cool to see them make the chocolate eggs.

 

Marilena sets baptism date!!!

Wow

     Well something fantastic happened this week. We met with Marilena Thursday and had a lesson about the ten commandments. We got to "do not commit adultery" to which she said "well....we all know this is the one I'm not following" and we said "......yep. How do we change that?" We talked a while about it and she was saying how she has faith that God will provide the way for her to leave him or get another apartment and such. which honestly whenever people say stuff like that to me I just roll my eyes. I'm sorry, but its a load of crap. That's like me saying "I really want a gelato, I'm just going to sit here and wait for God to deliver that to me". Living the commandments, if you are not living them now, will never be a comfortable transition. It will be hard and maybe you don't even see the significance of it. But he doesn't have a set of commandments for me and a set for Sorella Anderson and a set for Marilena based on our needs and diverse situation. All of us have the same commandments for a reason and we are asked to live them. Her waiting until its comfortable to live them is an excuse. And we talked with her about that. We bore testimony that she is the one who makes the steps in this and that God will support and uplift her in all of it. She cried a bit which made me a little sad, but it needed to be said and its time for her to make the change because she desires it and wants true happiness in her life. 

     We saw her the next day and followed up on what we had said the day before. We bore testimony that there is no coincidence in her meeting the missionaries at this time in her life and with scripture reading, praying, coming to church, and actively living the commandments, she will be ready for baptism. We invited her for baptism April 29th which was a date we had previously prayed for and felt good about. The spirit hit all of us like a wall and Marilena just began to cry and hug me and she knew it was the right thing to do. She said yes! We are so excited for her. 

     Afterward Sorella Anderson and I were just running through the streets and metro like "SHE SAID YES! SHE SAID YES" hahahaha. We hope she has the courage to take the steps she needs to before the baptism so that she can really be baptized on that date. It has been a special experience for me to have been able to meet her, literally find her on the metro, teach her and have her potentially baptized all in the time that I have been here in Cimiano with her. its a big blessing. 

     We met a WAY normal couple who have a normal house and a normal dog and normal life and they are married and have the cutest little down syndrome boy named Tommaso. We have been to their very normal house twice now and Sorella Anderson and I are just like "you want us to come back?....what's wrong with you...what's the catch.." hahahah. It's just not usual for us to not get denied 4334523 times and then have to low key stalk people in order to get some interest in our message. WHOOT

     Gaia played soccer with us Saturday morning again with the other members. Unfortunately, me being good at soccer was just a one day thing. I was not on my A game. It didn't help that there was a funeral going on inside the church and we had to whisper play. BUT she asked if she could speak with us privately before we all went back to the church to watch conference. She wanted to explain to us her situation. I didn't realize how bad it really was. She felt like she owed us an explanation about having said  she wanted to take it slow. She wanted us to know that it was for a reason. I won't include every detail, but basically she comes from a torn apart home and has been through things I couldn't even believe. It was one of the strongest times on my whole mission were I felt so strongly directed in what needed to be said to her. Both Sorella Anderson and I figured out some solutions to some of her problems. But moreover we just told her how amazing and great and special she is and how much we love her and more importantly how much heavenly father loves her. she told us no one has ever told  her that before. We told her this gospel gives her the second chance she needs. A new beginning, starting with baptism. She said that was exactly how she has been thinking. She wants so badly to start again. We told her we know that this is that start and that she (with learning with us, church, scriptures, and prayer) can be ready for baptism in May. She didn't say yes and she didn't say no. But she felt the spirit very strong because it was undeniable. It was such a good conversation. 

     The next day (Sunday) Gia had a rugby game and said she wouldn't be able to come to conference with us. But then in the afternoon she surprised us by coming anyway right after her game ended. She was sweaty and in her rugby clothes and came anyway. It was the best. I love that girl so much. I am just so hoping she takes these steps and is baptized. It would bless her life. 

     In other news, we got the number of some guy who makes good Papusas and it basically felt like a drug deal hahaha. We had a meet up spot and we had no description of what each other looked like, so Anderson and I were just standing there and  finally this el salvadorian pulls up on his motorcycle with the papusas strapped in on the back. We gave him the money he gave us the food and we were off running through the metro with the biggest bag of papusas for district meeting hahahaha. The guy was SO confused about how we had gotten his number because he lives out of Milan and makes them with his family in his house so when two american girls show up on the sidewalk to get them..needless to say he was confused. Don't worry we are working on converting his family. 

     I would say some cool things about conference...but we haven't had much time to truly watch it. We watched two sessions in Chinese for this cute girl who just walked into church saying in the little Italian that she  knew, that she was Christian. It was a whole good 2 hours communicating solely through google translate haha. It was obvious we have the gift of tongues.....for one language (Italian).  We watched the other sessions in Italian, which were of course great, but we were running around dealing with problems and there was just so much to do!  But I'm excited to read them in English. I feel like I will get a deeper meaning out of it. I hope you all had a chance to watch and feel inspired in some questions or help you might have or need. 

vi voglio bene!

Sorella Williams

Right after Marilena agreed to be baptized!

While watching conference I turned around and saw this bunny! He was just trying to listen and be spiritually uplifted

A picnic and volleyball in the Milano Castle park for Pday!