sono contenta

Hey err'body,

Here are all the reasons why I am ever so content.

1. I just bought a pair of wonderful birkenstocks that are now on my feet that I will be wearing quite regularly.

2. I am sipping some san pellegrino aranciata.

3. We are doing our e-mailing in the church so I'm playing some conference right now too.

To answer your question about General Conference, they broadcast it in the church, but we only got 3/4th of a session between Saturday and Sunday evening, which would have been the morning sessions, because of our various appointments. Dad, do you think you could fandangle a CD or something with conference talks, because reading them is nice but I missed listening.

4. Today we went to Lecco. There's a senior couple here in Bergamo that got here a week or two after me. They're in charge of checking apartment conditions in the area and loved Lecco and wanted to take us before Sorella Jacobson is transfered, so the got permission from the Prez and we had a little day trip. It was rainy and misty but I loved it. It reminded me of and made me miss England. Everything just barely turning green with granite mountain jutting into the lake with these tubling clouds. It was pretty majestic.

5. Yesterday we had an awesome first lesson with a man named Rohelio who's Filipino. We had a blitz last week, where two sisters from Milano came to work with us. The Sorella Jacobson and Maciel had a lesson fall through so they did some casa and found a small palazzo where they both felt pretty confidently that they would find someone. And ecco, here comes Rohelio. We taught in a funny mix of Italian and English but mamma mia he is so great. He told us about how he's been praying for more faith. We talked a bit about Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon and just tried to get an idea of where he was. He asked all kinds of great questions including if we believe people can really repent and be forgiven. When he said the closing prayer he thanked God that He had sent to him Sorella Bush and Jacobson. He wants to come to church and read the Book of Mormon and I'm excited to go and see him again.

6. We're going to go see Marisol tonight and have dinner with her and she is still just so awesome. She's progressing slowly, but she is for sure progressing.

In other news...The musical fireside that we had Friday went so well. Our pregnant less active/new convert Marlin came with her fiance which was so so good, because she's been kind of too embarassed to come to church, so we were happy to just get her in the building. We went to their new apartment yesterday and they're both way more receptive to have us come and talk with them and the made us lunch and we just talked for a while.

Giovanna came to conference with us Saturday. I taught her during the blitz and she opened up even more and told us about how she fears she isn't getting any answers to her prayers because she doesn't desire it enough. I'm so glad I'm not 14 anymore, but she really is in gamba. Since we've started teaching her even her Italian is getting better and the Spirit is working in her life. I asked her why she thaught we keep coming back to her house and she was like, uh I don't know, because you want me to know God? And I said Yes!! Pian piano.

One more great thing was Sunday evening we had a dinner with our three older ladies that come to English class every week and are so funny. Dinner was good except for this seafood salad thing at the beginning that had like whole baby octopuses in it. I felt like I was eating aliens and wanted to die. But we laughed so hard. We were at Virginia's house with Angela and Leonela. They made Leonela sit at the head of the table and she just kept accidently saying the funniest things and we would laugh so hard and then by the end of the night she would just look at us and start laughing.

She seems a little bitter about life but now she has a Book of Mormon and I'm hoping we'll be able to keep seeing her outside of English Class. Angela got into Buddhism somewhat recently and talked to us about that for a bit which was cool and Virginia has been taught the lessons before and is kind of a space cadet. Her house is full to the brim with books and I fear for her life everytime she drives anywhere.

Life in Bergamo continues to be crazy and great. The days are long but the months are short and whenever we have a hard day I just remember that I get to go home and go to bed at the end of it and that my time already feels like it's flying here. May 16th will be 6 months. Oh my h-face.

Lots of sacci of bene coming your way. Keeping you all in my prayers and going a little crazy that we still don't know about Ian's call. My guess is it will come today and I'll have to wait until next thursday to know because we have a conference in Verona wednesday.

xoxo

sorella bush