Non posso parlare con le verdure in mano!

Alice, you are mine...

Hello my lovely family. I just love your e-mails like a motherless child.

Today's subject is from our sultry brasilian investigator Jessica. Mamma mia, lei mi fa ridere come non posso dire, but only when she's not around. Last time we were teaching her some dude called her, and she answered and was trying to explain why she couldn't talk and he wasn't listening. So she started lying about being at the supermaket and finally held the phone in front of her face and said non posso parlare con le verdure in mano!

I've had a wicked cold this week and my scruffy sick voice is perfect for imitating her and it looks like in my effort to ditch this American accent I've been adopting her Brasilian inflections. Oh well.

All is well in Bergamo, as always. We're off to citta' alta to meet the GANS, Italy's version of YSA so this will be super brief.

If you haven't sent my box of tricks I would send it to Milano, it will get there much faster I hear. Which reminds me, I feel I should say the mail here is piu o meno un casino. Of all the letters I got this week some were post marked from Feb 27 and some March 21 so moral of the story, Amelia, is sooner or later you'll get my responses, sometimes the post just has a mind of it's own.

Things are crazy here. We were in Milano yesterday for a sisters-only training so I've finally met all the sisters and got to see my MTC peeps. Friday night we're having a musical fireside organized by our bishop's wife (for missionary purposes) with all kinds of great music, mostly not churchy. We've been super involved in because Sorella Jacobson is an h-ing amazing piano player. We either talk to or see Sorella Botta every day, and it should be a fabulous evening with lots of potential peeps to contact and show that it's toats cool to be a real person and read the Book of Mormon too.

I've started reading the gospel of John in my effort to be more well versed in the Bible and he is the man. Obvi all the gospels are great because it's the story of Christ's life but he just has a way with words. And I can't remember of I already told you this, but we've been talking a bit about the end the book when Christ comes back and they've gone back to fishing because they just didn't know what else to do and I just feel like it is such a beautiful story and Christ tells them that when he asked them to leave their nets it wasn't just for awhile, it was forever. And I've been thinking about what that means for us as members. We've decided to follow Christ and it's not just for a while, for when it's easy, it's for ever. And the clock is almost out but the best way that Christ says we can love Him is to feed His sheep. It doesn't mean we need to convert everyone we know, but I feel like we need to be an example, not be afraid to talk.

Love you!!!!!

xoxoxoxo

sorella bush

Piu' o meno un casino = More or less a gamble

Citta' alta = lit. high city, Upper Bergamo

Lei mi fa ridere... = She makes me laugh more than I can say

Non posso parlare... = I can't talk to you with vegetables in my hands!

[nessun soggetto]

I loved your e-mails! Glad everything is healing on your end, Mom, and to answer your question I should be in Bergamo hopefully 2.5 more transfers. And Dad, I loved how I can actually understand when you write in Italian now. We drove by some little donkeys last week so don't worry, I have connections if the sacchi di bene become too much.

Last Pday we ended up driving over to San Pellegrino which (who new?) is a little frazione by Bergamo. No wonder I got addicted to buy bottle of San Pel this summer, I was preparing myself for Bergamo. But it was a beautiful drive through the mountains that made me think of Grandma Sandi and the Alpine loop. We had tried to go to the cemetary but of course it's closed Wednesday afternoons. So we ended up going on our nice little drive with Fratello Fichiera and his step daughter Nichole, who I am helping with her Math. He's one of the members who's teaching us Bergamasco and is just so cool. I'll send pics next week when we're at our normal internet point and can upload pictures.

It's been kind of a funny week and half. Lots of our investigators are out of town and we've been having trouble finding new peeps to teach, but we've been teaching tons of new converts and less actives, which is also important. And we've actually been having some good success getting people to come to church. One lady even came to an appoitment to teach with us.

We had a really great zone training with the Pres Wolfgramm last Friday and I am just so grateful to be here as a missionary. Even if there are days when no one really wants to listen to us or appointments fall through, I just know this is where I should be and I'll never have a time like this again, where my life is so simple but so focused, where the spirit is always with me because I'm working to bring happiness to others. I can't imagine my life without this time. I was talking with Nichole last night after a math session about prayer and knowing that Heavenly Father is always listening us without judgement and I was telling her about how neat it is that this is my job, to have conversations like this, to help people realize who they are and who they can become. I love it.

Spring is coming which I am super happy about. My companion loves basketball (barf) so I agreed we could play with the Elders today, but I'm just happy to be outside. It's easier to be happy out working when there's sun and the magnolia trees are blooming and when you're happy it's easier to stop people and start talking to them.

We had a neat experience on the tram the other day (I kind of hate that I just used to phrase 'neat experience' but anyway...) We sat down in a seat with two seats facing us and both internally made the goal to talk with whomever sat across from us. A man sits down and starts talking on the phone in Arabic. We both assume that he'll be Muslim and not really have any interest but Sorella Jacobson starts talking to him anyway. Turns out he is Muslim and has no interest, but he's nice we finish talking to him and meanwhile a little in front of us there are 4 dudes sitting. They have cigarettes tucked behind their ears and just look kind of like hood rats.

One of them keeps looking at us, and gets up and sits in the 4th seat of our little spot and we both assume he's got some scherzo planned, but he instead asks Posso verdere quel libro? He starts flipping through the Book of Mormon and says how he heard us talking to this other guy and wanted to hear more. He's read the whole Bible but really isn't convinced by it and wanted to know how it was different than the Bible. I was so surpirsed I kind of babbled like an idiot, but we got the point across and gave him the book and got his number for the Anziani (we gave them at least 4 referrals last week, lucky dudes). It was kind of a perfect example of what Pres Wolfgramm says, of being in the way so we can get out of the way. If we're where we should be doing what we should be and we're in the way, that God can help us get out of the way and see what His real plan is for this moment.

Also I think I told you about Marisol last week, who we ended up teaching about the atonement. Well we say her again Sunday night and made sure her husband would be there and brought the Bishop and his wife. We were there for ever, like 2 hours, but it was an awesome lesson. I'm now best friends with their 6 year old daughter Alessia and we were able to read about Moroni and the Title of Liberty and talk about how the gospel gives us what we need to defend our families.

They got out a lot of their concerns and the Bottas were able to say all the right things to help them see how the gospel can help them. We invited them to start praying as a family, and they were a little worried, especially because their 18 year-old son has started doubting that there is a God, but we talked to her on the phone yesterday and followed up and she said they've been praying together and it's already made a world of difference.

Final funny story. There's a less active family we visit that's in the other ward but it's all women so it's hard for the Anziani to go see them. A mom, two daughters and the 8 year-old daughter of one of the daughters. Anyway, Claudia is the little one and she is so funny and is always so excited when we come and at the end of our lesson she wanted to read us a story from her Children's version of the Bible. So she was reading to us about when Moses got the 10 commandments and she starts reading the commandments...but the book changed them! The funniest was instead of keeping the Sabbath day holy, they wrote to celebrate religious holidays. We were all kind of confused for a minute and realized what it should have been and then started cracking up. Welcome to Italy where you only need to go to church on Easter and Christmas.

Ok, I'm singing Adele at a ward talent show Friday, what? So I gots to go practice.

Love you all! Thanks for everything and your prayers and being so great. I was cracking up reading Dad's e-mail and informed my companion that there is no doubt I'm in the right family.

So excited for Ian! Every week I hope to hear where he's off to.

xoxoxoxoxo
sorella bush

-----

Sacchi di bene = lit. "bags of good," colloquialism for lots of love. I told W. we were sending "bags of good" to her, maybe five or six, and that she might need a little donkey to carry them around.

Anziano/i = Elder/Elders

Frazione = township

Scherzo = joke, prank

Posso vedere quel libro? = Can I see that book?

belle ragazze, forza! forza! forrrrzzaaa!

That's what a nice man driving by said while we were running nice and early Monday morning and we've been laughing about it ever since.

I can't believe Canoecopia has come and gone. We were SO busy this last week (we taught 27 lessons), and this week, we really don't have time to see all the people we need to, so it wasn't until the night time when I was getting ready to sleep and I thought "Right now, hundreds of people whom I love are in the Alliant Energy Center, what?" It didn't seem real at all. I guess the other side of the world just feels kind of far away sometimes. Ha.


I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to make a disc of pics but I'll keep trying to send a few every week. Including pics for mom of our apartment, this week I send our bedroom pics. Also pic of our first cannoli break and my fav lego man.

ANYWAY...

Bergamo is so great. I think Spring may actually be here, no more back and forth warm and cold. And our ward is so solid. Today we're going to go have lunch and grab a kebab with one of the Young Women, 17, who is struggling a bit, and I'm going to help her with her math class (in Italian), we'll see how that goes.

We got to teach one of our investigators, Marisol, that we haven't seen in a bit because of work on Monday and she and her family are having some serious trials right now and we ended up scratching our original lesson plan and just talking about the atonement and I had this little moment of revelation and recounted the story of Ammon and Aaron out doing missionary work both of them ended up teaching kings how accepted their message and were willing to change, but Ammon's success came pretty quickly while Aaron was first imprisoned. Sometimes we have to wait in our version of prison before whatever is next, but there's always a way out. Hopefully that makes sense.

Remember the lady we met in the Kebab shop? Irma. We'll we go and teach her and her daughters, 14 and 18 every Saturday. Irma is usually a little distracted but wants to listen and has good comments. Giovanna is 14 and has never really gone to church. Irma's been here for a while but it was only 10 months ago that her daughters came over from Bolivia, and while they were there with Irma's sister they never really had any religion in their lives. The 18 year old, Faviola, is the most engaged I think. She's having a bit of a hard time moving to Italy and having all new friends and stuff so this week we're going to try and bring Nichole, who we're having lunch with today. But the point of this poorly told story is I feel like I finally got through to her this Saturday.



We were waiting for Irma, because she's kind of a space cadet, and I was asking her about music and we were talking about Rihanna and she started telling me how much she like Justin Bieber and started playing One Less Lonley Girl on her phone and I was singing along and then I started translating the lyrics for her a bit. They've been struggling to read the Book of Mormon so after that we read 1 Nephi 1 together, stopping and talking about what we were reading and why it would be important and when we committed them to read at the end of the lesson, she said she would right away, so quickly in fact that her Mom was surprised: Wait, what did you just say? I just have a good feeling about her and I'm glad I was able to show her that you can be a real person and listen to real music or whatever and have God be apart of your life. I feel like too often missionaries forget to be real people and make real connections, but people have to see that they can have a testimony of the gospel without being a cyborg.



I think that's all for now. Much love, obviously, especially for the alien in mom's foot. I'm excited to see your new boat dad, but I mean, if you want, go ahead and send me pictures of things besides boats.

Vi voglio un sacco di bene!

sorella bush

Ok, hi everyone, how are things? I loved your e-mails, sorry I usually forget to respond directly to your questions, but yes Mom, we go running in the mornings, it's a dream with this Spring weather we've been having.

Hooray for Kristina! Kiss her on the cheek for me, as we Italians do, you know. And Ian sounds so good, I am so glad! E, you will love being a missionary and you will be so much more prepared than I was. I guess I can wait a little longer to find out where you'll serve, ha. Also tell Emma that my soul is rejoicing that she's back where she should be doing the things she knows will make her happy. Tell her if she writes me a letter I'll write her.



Most exciting news would be the baptism we had on Saturday. Anna is a dream. She was so excited and so prepared and ready. When she came back and sat next to me after the actual baptism she said, "Sono nuova adesso!" And when she bore her testimony there was this confiedence and strength about her that I've never seen. She's grown so much in this time we've taught her and I'm so excited for her. Whenever I call her she says how happy she is to hear my voice and just says the cutest things.



Things are crazy here right now. We literally don't have time to see all the people we need to. Between new convert and less active lessons and the SIX families we're teaching and other people it's mad. I just wrote President Wolfgramm to ask for bikes because we waste so much time waiting for buses to go here or there. The Lord is seriously blessing our work right now.

We found a Yugoslavian family at a park last week who we went to see last night and we were kind of scared to go see them because they were kind of intense and the mom asked us for money a couple times because they're both out of work with three kids, but we went to see them and met their 10 year-old daughter and 7 year-old son. They were super engaged the whole time and really want to come to church. The parents were a little more distracted, I think mostly just because they're having a hard time right now, but I'm praying they come to church on Sunday and when we go back to teach them Sunday night the start to see how much the gospel can bless them. The mom loves that my name is Bush. When Sorella Jacobson called to see if we could come over yesterday she said "E Bush viene anche?" and Sorella said "Si, non riesco uscire la casa senza di lei." When we sat down she was joking about my name again and how honored she was to have the daughter of President Bush in her home. Ha.



Also, this is sort of premature, but I'm wondering if, when you start to think about the end of my mission and coming to Italy, what Sorella J is doing is going home and getting released and then flying back with her parents and one sibling two weeks later for three weeks in Italy. I know it would cost more, but if we start planning for me to come home first and get released, it really would make everything a lot easier, just ponder that.


Advice for my padawan/little bro. Prayer is so real and so powerful. Preparing for and then leaving on your mission, never feel like you need to do anything alone, the Lord is ready to help you with everything.

We had a lesson with the daughter of my favorite family who's less active this week, and I had a really cool experience where Italian all of a sudden was easy. The Holy Spirit was there and I was saying the things she needed and was ready to hear, about using the atonement to slowly, today, start becoming the people we want to be, and I didn't know all the words right away but as I talked my voice just smoothed out, like a real conversation. Teaching with the Spirit is everything, not just because we can't know exactly what a person needs to hear and he does, but because the Spirit can help us with something as little/huge as speaking in another lanuguage, so that someone can hear and learn the things that will help them.

We're off to hang with some members in the other ward for a bit. Happy P-day to me! We've gotten home late the last two nights and I'm exhausted and ready for a few stress free hours.

Much love to you all and everyone at Canoecopia, I can't think of anything witty for you to say to Kevin Callan so that's your job.

xoxo

Sorella Bush

Sono nuova adesso = "I am new again."

E Bush viene anche? = "Is Bush coming too?"

Si, non riesco... = "Yes, I can't seem to leave the apartment without her."