When cares attack and life seems black...

...how sweet it is to pot a yak.

Oh hi...no bid deal, this is just my last real p-day in the MTC, ah what?

My brain is struggling to process that a week from now I'll be in Italy. Let us focus on the present though...

To begin, I'm sending home my box of mail today. On top of the sweater I'm sending is also a letter for Ms. Margaret and the 4th years from girl's camp that I tried to send her December 14th and I got back yesterday, not sure what went wrong there. And under the envelope is, for your viewing pleasure, a cliche' picture of me and the map pointing to Italy, and then a not so cliche' pic of me and some other Sorelle and the map. I also ordered a CD today of all my pics thus far that I will send you right before I leave. Let me know when you get them and make sure the pics really are there, and then I'll delete them off my camera and make room for Ye Olde Italia.

Craziest news of the week was the shock I revieced in the cafeteria on Sunday during lunch. I was just minding my own business navigating over to the soup through herds of people with scary looking roast beef when I see none other than my friend Tom Bell. To help jog your memory Mom, he's the one Carol Ann and I were always teaching how to cook. He's now is 27 and graduated the summer before me. He told me he had been approved to serve another mission and I said non ci credo, and he was like for reals. I guess the story is, in summary, he came home a year early when he was 20 from his mission in Vegas because of health problems that he needed surgery for. At the time he felt like he should just recover and move on to school and whatever was next in his life. But now after graduating and working for a bit and thinking about grad school he really felt like he should finish his mission. He talked to his bishop in Seattle and no one really knew if he'd be able to. Then two Fridays ago he gets a call and the ask him to come to the MTC the next Wednesday and he's now here getting ready to serve in San Diego for a year. I seriously felt like I was living in a dream when I saw him and he told me this story. Our Sunday temple walks were at the same time so we had a nice little chat, but it was still so surreal. Don't worry Carol Ann, I'm sending you our awkward missionary pic soon. It's really great how much a part of our lives the Lord can be when we let Him, He's not going to let us royally screw up if we're trying to do the right things.

Mom, you wanted some more details about Tuesday. I land in Chicago at 12:09 and I don't take off for Frankfurt until 3:50. So when in that first chunk should I call who where? I wrote this in a snail mail letter you may have already. I think I can buy a calling card in the book store here to use at a pay phone. Is that enough info for you to write back with when I should call and stuff? Also. I've been told that if I get real mail that arrives here after I've left they'll probs forward it on to my mission home, but dear elders just get thrown away, so at the latest, I wouldn't send any dear elders after Sunday, maybe even earlier. It's a convenient system, just not very well organized and they come late a lot. But anything sent on the weekend I should get Monday before I leave.

In the TRC this monday Sorella Bunker and I taught two cousins form Messina who were delightful. They are married and live here now but it was so great to talk to real italians AND understand them when they talked! They were so happy and enthused that I just couldn't wait to be in Italy and just get going. I know it's going to be a bit of a slap in the face to transition into the field vs. MTC mentality and be surrounded my real Italians speaking so fast and having to take to strangers (gross) but I know that it'll be okay. I've been called to do this. God doesn't give us anything we can't handle, and the harder the struggle the more we usually learn if we don't resist. Our devotional last night was really good for departing missionaries. It talked a lot about how sorrow is not the same as discouragment, the importance of happiness and joy in your work and to just LOVE people. Talking with our Sicily ladies just reminded me how lucky I am to go to such a loving and living culture.

I think I'm going to cut it short so I can send E-Dude a birthday note. Much love to everyone, as always. Thanks for the thoughts, prayers and notes. Be good.

Sorella Bush

• Non ci credo - I don't believe it.

Two weeks from now...

Oh hey guys,

So two weeks from now and I'll be in Italy. nbd.

But I loved the buisness tool e-mail!* During a gym gossip sesh this week (in which we ran around that stupid track 45 times --I was proud -- Ero fiera!) I was telling Sorella Bunker all about the magical singles ward back home and then I got to hear from all of those lovely ladies! And I had a pleasant surprise from Lissa just saying hi.

I've been extra baffled again recently about how I managed to always have such excellent people in my life. It's kind of out of control. The Elder who's companions with the District Leader (and therefore goes to get the mail with him everyday) said that I get the most mail out of the eight peeps in our district. It warmed the cockles of my heart. I love keeping up on everyone's lives and remembering how many people do care about me, even if there are moments where I feel distant and lonely and foggy, but don't worry, that's not very often. Moral of the story, the Elders finally understand that I'm kind of a big deal.

I'm really not sure what to tell you. These next two weeks are going to be like the last eight only I feel this pressure to really use every minute well. I finished the Book Of Mormon a few weeks early from my personal goal this past Sunday and have started the New Testament and the B. O. M. again in Italian.

We had a really interesting devotional last night with Elder Nelson and he talked a lot about the scattering and gathering of Israel and referenced a lot of Old Test scrips that talk specifically about the latter days, and call them the latter days. It was cool to remember how wise and intellectually stellar the 12 Apostles are, but how they all have such different teaching styles. But he made me want to read the Old Testament. I wish I had seven sets of eyes because I've also been wanting to make my way through the Doctrine and Covenants. And I'm sure a few more sets would be useful to study irregular subjunctive verbs.

Good news is my teacher told me that for where I am, having been in the MTC for 8 weeks, I speak Italian very well. So that was encouraging. I feel like right now I'm just trying to do everything I can to help my first weeks in Italy be a bit less stressful. You guys can start placing bets in my first city.

There are times when it still doesn't feel real at all that I will be in Italy and only Italy for the next 16-ish months. Whoa. To get ready for our departure we're going to have a week of only Italian, starting this Friday after dinner going until the next Friday before dinner. As the two Italian districts that are leaving we are going to only speak in Italian, to everyone, I'm guessing it'll be about 95% of the time, things happen. But it has been getting easier I think, even though it's hard to gauge your own personal progress err'day.

Sorry I'm kind of boring today, I really just have been spending my time with about 7 open books on my desk. Sometimes I visit the Ukrainians, who are my fav sisters.

Thanks for all those rad quotes Dad, we had a group reading last night and I shared them with some Sorelle and my friend Eliza who's going to Bulgaria.

I'm thinking I'm probs going to send home most of the mail from the MTC? I don't know, I'm thinking about it, I just have limited space so I think I'm going to take a few choice ones with me and send the rest to you guys to hide away from me, or if you want, Mom, you can sit and read them all and weep, but I'm sure there are more productive things you could be doing with your time.

Is anyone ever going to tell me about Ian's sleep study? I had an interview this Sunday and the guy from our branch prez asked "So how's the family?" and I said I DON'T KNOW! But really they're okay. But really guys, tell me! Lately I've been trying to think about where Ian will get called and I'm voting Canada, Toronto or B.C. Just an idea.

But really things are going well. I've been thinking about the power I've been given to succeed in doing this calling and how I need to make sure I never think that I can do this on my own, because that is all wrong. I need to be grateful and worthy to have the help of the Spirit in learning the language and teaching and being brave enough to talk to peeps. I still just feel lucky to know that I'm doing what I should be at the right time and in the right place. The reason I'm so excited to go to Italy is because it has felt so right since the moment I opened my call and I've some how known my whole life this was coming.

Hope school is okay Mom, both teaching and learning. Have you started planning your Masters adventure this summer? Dad when do you come to Utah? Is Ian doing more temp work now? Has anyone had a baby besides Beyonce?

OOOOH I remember!!!! Can you send the Patagonia shoes that I ordered that were too big? One of the sisters going to Rome wants to buy them. I've been meaning to ask for ages.

Well I'm officially out of time, by one minute and 6 seconds, now 9, oh no. I'm just trying to remember at least ONE funny thing that happened this week! Goooooooo. I sware we're laughing at something all the time. I did cast our district in the Lion King one night whilst running this week. I could tell you who everyone is but it would't be as funny since you don't know them. But I was the hyena voiced by Whoopi Goldberg and Sorella Bunker was Rafiki. And we cast the other district in Hercules and it was perfect because one of their Elders one day was pretending to be an investigator while the teacher did a sample lesson and the teacher was asking him for back story and why they were meeting and he said, "Well, you saw me walking out of the gym and noticed my strength." Ha!

Okay--officially logging off. You're all in my thoughts and prayers often!

Oh, and one more thing. I found my fav mormon message video this week, that takes place in a diner in NYC and they talk about Lot's wife and I just want to reiterate that there's no reason to think the future won't be better than the past. And we can't live in the past so we might as well go forward and live the best we can. No regrets twenty12!

Vi voglio bene.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Sorella Bush

*The Amanuensis passed his Android tablet (a.k.a. The Business Tool) around in church last week so a lot of people could write little messages for the sorella.

Okayokayokay...

Ciao ciao! Buon anno!

It's twenty12? What? My life is flying by. Literally. Well, it's not that bad I guess. But while we're talking about time and how it makes my brain explode, I live here in less than three weeks! Three weeks from this moment I will be in Italy and I will know where I will be serving first! Mamma freaking mia! I have two more p-days, two more temple trips and then I'm in Italy. Whoa. I'm getting so excited. I feel like my Italian really does keep getting better. I can listen to conference talks in Italian and read along in italian now, not English, and understand so much. Hello, gift of tongues. I'm just grateful I've always loved to learn so studying isn't so bad.

Let me now begin my telling you about my great new year. I was a little sad to hear there were no pizzas, but I didn't eat pizza either so at least we were consistent. We celebrated at 4:00 because that was midnight in Italy. Sorella Forbe's mom ha mandato un pacco con molte cose per festiggiare. E tutte le cose erano italiane. Then Sorella Bunker and I decided to just keep wearing our party hats the rest of the day, because 2011 only dies once. But people kept telling us happy birthday as we passed and I never really knew what to say. I usually settled on "Thank you," but in my brain I wanted to say "Are you stupid? Do you know what today is?"

After class that night we headed back to the dorms, I took a shower, but my party hat back on for a bit, and then crawled into my super bed, read a chapter of Jesus the Christ and was no sad at all that it was only 10:30. On Sunday we had an extra long meeting with err'body since it was fast Sunday and I decided it was the perfect time to write down a review of my year, month by month. The beginning was a bit rough with nothing to job my memory, but it came along nicely and I once again settled into the conclusion, that my life is fantastico. Sicuramente.

As far as missionary related thoughts, here is your tidbit of the week: the parable of the talents. We hear a devotionaly last night that touched in it and went along so nicely with your last letter, babbo. I was reminded of a lot of good thing. Everything I'm going right now isn't for me. All my studying all my practice, all my whatever, it's for the people in Italy that need to hear our message, the people God has been preparing to hear me teach them the full and restored gospel, which will, I have no doubt, bless their lives forever.

I liked thinking about the parable of the talents and my mission and how I can look at the things I left with, the talents I already had, and now my goal is to use them to serve and come back with more. God knows exactly what I can become, as long as I faccio le cose giuste, e sempre volgio migliorare mi stessa, e servire and I'll be ok. But Dad, I really liked what you said about the people to fire yesterday, I think the character I'm most likely to adapt at times is the know-it-all, especially since here the fact of the matter is I do know a lot more about a lot of things than some of these elders that have never left home, or studied things on their own time. What makes the difference now I guess is what I do with the things I know.

Other highlight, I saw my lovely friend Dani, the one who lived in NYC for a spell, yesterday. Her mom works in the Cafeteria so she came and found me and handed me a cold bottle of diet Dr. Pepper. There was a multitude of angels singing praises, I am sure. She is so wonderful it just made me so happy to see her and remember how I love everything about her and that when I get home, there will be a lot of excellent things waiting for me and the rest of my life, mosrly because of the fabulous people I already know. My life won't stop being great when I get home just because my mission has changed, espesh if I have anything to say about it.

I really love teaching. I think we've been getting better in that realm too. I feel like for me these are the keys:

1) Prepare: studying the scriptures and the doctrine and praying like whoa, so that when I'm teaching the Spirit can help me remember the things I've studied, and know what my simpatizanti need to hear.

2) Love the people I'm teaching, remember what they've said before about their lives or their questions, and show that you remember, and be happy to see them and happy about what we're teaching.

3) Ask good questions, make it a discussion, keep them engaged.

I guess that's my advice for you Ian. Study, love, and learn to ask insightful questions, not "How does that scripture make you feel?" To which I say, "Well, it's a scripture so I feel fine, idiot."

Thanks for all your letters! Including the many movements of Lady McFluff around the house. And Mom, I did remember that that was your fav scripture, but not until I was rereading that story here a few weeks ago, I think you told me that when I was 12-14 but it was nice to hear what you had to say about it. Hooray for cetaceans!

What's the latest on Doug Clark? He's wandered into my thoughts now and then. It's still hard for me to grasp how much time is passing out side of the MTC as well as in it. Lauren's married (which means to all you people that were there I expect pics asap). I saw Meagan Ricks this week and the Em and Chuck had their baby. Whoawhoa.

Oh and finally, in the next few weeks, Mom, could you maybe tell Anchor Bank not to be bad when I leave the country for 17 months, and if someone could tell me monies status, that would be rad. The first thing I'm going to have to do there is buy a real coat so I don't freeze. Babbo, we got the blankets yesterday. Thanks! We love them.

Oh! And a note to the masses, go out and buy a sheet of international stamps, and stick it on your fridge or something and then writing me letters in Italy will not be hard, because with the power of God nothing shall be impossible, including you staying my friend every couple months, or whenevs. Read: I love all your letters, I love hearing about your lives and knowing that you remember me and all your wise words.

And I've almost finished my first journal, mostly I wanted Katy to see that. It's been a lovely 122 pages, taking it along with me and having people drool over how beautiful it is. I'm hoping that by starting off strong it will be easier for me to keep up on my journal writing. I want to remember! I've been thinkng about about how much the Book of Mormon talks about remembering, makes me think it's a bit important.

Life here is still great. Still love it all. Only real compaint is I didn't bring more of my dresses. Somedays putting on more than once item of clothing is just too much for me to handle.

LOVE LOVE LOVE to you all!!! keep me updated on the sleep study and whatever else is going down.

xoxoxoxoxoxox

Sorella Bush