homeward

last letter

Is this real life? My bags are packed. I bought myself pretty italian sandals today and walked along Lago di Garda with my new favorite person Georgia Mistura and her daughter Anna (9) and Elena (21). Obviously Slla. Gomez was there too.

It still doesn't feel real. But I think this will be the most bittersweet moment of my life. I can't imagine leaving and being done with this chapter but at the same time I feel like the time has come. I don't know. I'm really still not thinking about it. But I can't wait to hold you in my arms!

I'll try and get two SIMM cards when I'm in Milano Centro tomorrow. Do you care if it's Vodafone or Tim or Wind??

Well, I love you. it's been a beautiful week, like always. Verona is a dream. We have to come here together.  I love this city, it's too beautiful.

See you soooooon

xoxoxo

well, here we are...

...but this can't be real life can it?

I really feel at a loss for words these days. I'm feeling peaceful and I'm happy that I don't have to do anymore scabi, I'm in Verona my final week. Summer is finally coming, the rain is letting up and the sun is coming out. I finally feel like I really know my city and I feel like I know my ward and now they're taking me away. Not really fair that I only had one transfer. At Mission Counsel on Monday Sorella Forbes and Sorella Bunker told me they fell the same way.

President and Sister Wolfgramm and the Sister Training Leaders

But I guess I've been right where I need to be when I need to be. I've been thinking about my personal orbit lately; sometimes you feel like you're just spinning along and you don't really know why and then you open your eyes and realize that God has such a perfect plan for you.

Ian, God still has a perfect plan for you. It has to be hard, because it's the only way you really learn to rely on the Lord. But I guess something wasn't right about right now, so it's time for something else but I would say you need to keep preparing youself to one day, when it's the right day, be a full time servant of the Lord. Regardless of whether you're a full-time missionary or not, it's time for you to so everything possible to become the person God knows and wants you to become.

I just got back from another miracle filled scambio in Bergamo. So many peeps that I knew just walking down the street at the right time. God loves me. But I'm happy to be back home in Verona. I really love it here. And last night we taught our beautiful family. They are progressing so nicely and last night the husband told us the coolest thing.

Sorella Gomez.  One more week...

Two weeks ago we taught about obedience and prayer and scripture study, and after the lesson he came up to ask us what was prohibited, i.e. Word of Wisdom, so we explained everything in 30 seconds and then said we would explain the rest later.  Last night we told us he had switched to orzo, no more coffee, and whenever his friends go out to drink after work he gets NA beer. Yup, they're pretty elect.

In other news my new friend in Forlì Domenico made me this really cool bag that he just finished and I got from the mission office on Monday.

Grazie mille, Domenico

I love you all! I'm hoping things get figures out for the trip because it makes me want to cry that you wont be there Dad, for reals.

xoxoxo

Hey bimbi!

Okay, so I may or may not be writing you from Venezia.  Yup, Sorella Gomez and I feel like we're literally walking around in a dream, it is so freaky beautiful!

Ponte Pietra, across the Adige River.

It was beautiful to see you parentals on Sunday. You look good.

Quick thoughts about when we come to Italy. If we want to we could maybe when we finish up tuesday in siena then head that night to Forlì and sleep at the Jeffries, see peeps there then see Ravenna or something and then go straight up to Bergamo so the Capelli's don't have to push back their trip to the mare too far, then see Sorella Beutler and maybe Verona before heading up to Varese so we're their for church... just thoughts, anyway.

Real mission life. I am the happiest. I feel like I've found some reserve of energy and am not totally on the edge of death. I had an absolutely beautiful scambio last week in Pordenone with Sorella Lofley. It was by far the best scambio I've had because I felt like I had a specific purpose and knew what I should be doing.

Sorella Lofley. Reds unite!

We still feel kind of like crazy people trying to schedule our lives, we have pretty much no time to really do our job here in Verona this week, but I'm happy, plus everything is the easiest with Sorella Gomez...teaching, talking to peeps on the train, oh mamma, too bad I'm only really her companion half the time. Haha.

We met a super cool kid on the train coming back from Genova yesterday and I met a crazy dude I think from near Napoli who know lives in Brasil, who kissed my hand when he got off the train, ha. I love everything about riding trains.

We've also had some really beautiful lessons, by some I mean three, but we've got to start somewhere! I told you guys on Skype about the incredibly spiritually charged lesson we had with our family Friday night. Act II is that Sunday night SHE texted us saying how sorry she was they couldn't make it to church and then asked us what verses from the Book of Mormon to read and I about died of joy. She texted us Monday night too, whilst I was enjoying a pesto and grana pizza in Genova to tell us that we're all eating dinner together again Friday night before the lesson.

Piazza San Marco

Last night we had a beautiful lesson with a family that had a daughter who is fifteen and not baptized. It started of kind of normal, our plan was to just teach and get to know the family via the plan of salvation and then her dad starting asking really interesting questions that we realized quickly weren't really his questions but rather his daughters, asking about why we had to forget everything from the pre-mortal life and how to find a desire to know if what the church teaches is true. He told us at the end that she's at the point in her life where she's gotten answers she just didn't really recognize them and we could be the one's that make the difference for her right now, speriamo! She's beautiful.

Traghetto tradizionale, a dying breed.

Ian you sound great, fly fishing! Too cool. I feel like I'm living in the weird fake life, because I am not a real missionary but I am and my brain is just confused. It's like I have some kind of spiritual jetlag, I can't seem to figure out exactly where I am, but life is beautiful.

Sending a few pics of Verona and then Venezia, enjoy!

xoxoxoxoxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxoooooooooo

Sorella Bush!

be here now

Oh mamma, where do I begin? Life is the craziest!

Okay, first off, SUNDAY I will see your beautiful faces! Will Sarah be around? Our plan is to be on the computer at about 3:00 our time, I think that's 8:00 for you guys?  Bo, just open up when your svegli and I'll be calling. This is going to be weird because then I'll be seeing you in pretty much a month, dang. It's been a crazy week.

Second off, Verona is beautiful! So beautiful. Too bad we're not here all that often. We figured out for our grocery shopping this week we needed to buy lunck for two days, yeah, we're never here.

I was kind of stressing out, a ton the first few days, partly because we were just inside planning so much and I missed being outside doing real life missionary work. But after we had church, had time to go out and talk to people and then after we went to the Mission Council on Monday I felt so much more peace. My priority has to be the sorelle right now and then whenever I'm here I'll just do whatever I can for Verona.

President Wolfgramm promised us during our meeting with him last Thursday that the Lord would give us compensating blessings as we fulfil this funky new calling and it's true. There was a family in church on Sunday that came to see their friends' baby be blessed and we chatted it up with them. She's from Verona, he's from Albania (so I dropped the two Albanian phrases I know) and they have two beautiful children, 5 and 9. We're going to go teach them on Friday and we are praying our guts out for them.

Other than that it's been cool to see how everyone we talk to for the most part is listening to us. They may not want to meet with us, at the end but they're all willing to take a pass-along card or a pamphlet or something. We've also been finding referrals for everyone else, so one of these days we'll have new investigators too. Nel frattempo we're visiting tons of members, building relationships with them because that's really the only effective way to do missionary work. I feel kind of like I'm in Bergamo again. All these beautiful members.

We're living with the other sorelle here in Verona and it's too fun. Sorella Hoppe is from Germany, Dad, and I told her you love it. Last night she drained her pasta against the side of the sink and looked at me and was like "Kind of gross, I know," and I said, "Sorel, I am so not afraid of germs", and she said "I can see why your dad likes Germany."  Ha. Her companion Sorella Clawson is in her second transfer and is a darling. Our apartment is beautiful but about 30 minutes on bike from our area, so basically life is crazy.

In other news I keep thinking I can't get more tired, but that is a dirty lie.

I love you all, I'm excited to see you Sunday. Mom can you tell me how my bank account is these days?

vi voglio beeeeeeneeeee

okay, guys...life is CRAZY!

I am being transfered.

Yup, I'm opening a new coppia of Sorelle in the Verona ward that has only had Anziani for 6,000 years with Sorella Gomez, my favorite! God answers prayers.

But that's not all, we are going to be traveling Sorelle training eight coppie of Sorelle in our third of the mission. Sorella Forbes and Padula are doing the same thing down in Firenze, and Bunker and McNamara somewhere west. When I talked to President Wolfgramm he said he picked his six best trainers, and it's going to be nutzo, but I'm so excited to end my mission hard.

Other nutzo news, Sorella Montagnoli is training here and Sorella Beutler is whitewashing¹ and training in Vicenza, she'll be my neighbor!  And I will be a double grandma!² So proud, haha.

Ok, so I feel like I've gotten to the point where when I sit down to write you guys I'm like ormai I'll see you soon enough and just read you my diary and give you a play-by-play. But things here are picking up.

One of my favorite things is we've started working with a part-member family that the Anziani had tried to talk to but he never wanted to meet with them. They are beautiful. They have a little four month-old baby, and we taught them on Saturday and just got to know them. We had become friends with Paolo the week before when I taught Gospel Principles and it was just us and a few other investigators and we all just because friends.

Anyway, we teach them about modern prophets and the family and it was beautiful and I said, "Paolo, I have a real question for you...why aren't you baptized, do you want these blessings in your family and for your wife and son?" SO it was great, he's just scared (and curse the dominant Italian mothers who control their children's lives), but we're teaching them again Saturday. Well, not me, but the Sorelle are, I'll be gon-zo.

I was talking to his wife after church for minute, we're the same age and buds, and I told her I could just see them all in white at the temple and she was like sarebbe bello³ and I was like no, sarà bello⁴. Anyway, I love them, sent a pic.

Well, I'm going to go kick it with 11 year-old Agnese all day. My heart broke when I told her I was leaving and we both just started crying. Blerg. Told her I would be skyping her everyday when I get home and she's going to skip out on summer camp the day I come back to Forlì, ha.

Dad, send mail to Milano, I'll have plenty of contact with them, I feel...oh mamma.  Plus I'll see you all in like a week and a half on Mother's Day!!?? Where did that come from?

SO yeah, love you all just as much as I love Italy, you lucky dogs.

xoxo,

sorella bush (on a bike)

"Seat belts and helmets save lives."

p.s. the lilacs are blooming!

<sup>1. Whitewashing is opening a new area with a new companion -- i.e., starting from scratch.
2.  Double Grandma: when you get a new missionary, you're her mom and she's your baby. When your babies grow up and become trainers, you become a grandma.
3.  "That would be beautiful."
4.  "No, that will be beautiful."</sup>

okay -- super fast

Sorry to send off another baby letter, but Giudi and Luca are here and they're more important, ha!

But this week has been beautiful, starting with last pday where we went and kicked it with out bff Elena who taght us how to do this traditonal stamping stuff (sending pics).

But our work is finally starting to pick up. We've had some beautiful miracles with our less actives and finding new people to teach and our days are filling up so they are flying by. I feel like I could be leaving next week. Got my baby and my city ready and now I've got something else to do, we'll see... there are 17 new Sorelle coming in this next transfer...oofa!

Know that I love your guts, I love being a missionary and the weather is beautiful!

Excited about all our coops and beekeeping dad!!!!!  It must be you and me!

You are beautiful and there is nothing better than being a missionary.

S.lla B

and may the sunrise bring hope where it once was forgotten...

Guys, things are good.

The first few weeks here where a little rough, but I feel like I'm finally doing what Heavenly Father wants me to, I'm loving my baby companion and my city and my members and life is good. Plus it's sunny!!! Huzzah for summer! I know I'm going to hate being a hot sweaty mess in a matter of weeks, but right now it sure beats being rainy and cold and blah.

Ok, so I feel like I've already written a few emails and I'm running our of words, but I will tell you about a beautiful surprise conference I got to go to on Monday in Milano. I headed up with a Sorella from Rimini and we abbandoned our babies for the day on Forlì and headed north again.

It's always the weirdest to got to Milano after serving in Lombardia for a year. Elder Allen (who's an area seventy and heads the missionary department) spoke and it was awesome. We learned a lot about repentance and my mind was blown. He also told the sorelle that were there to calm down, we're too good at stressing ourselves out when this is a joyous work and we need to have fun. Good for me to hear from a higher source, ha.

Piazza Aurelio Saffi

PLUS I got to spend the whole day sitting by my Sorella Beutler. I was the happiest. When I see you in a bit I'll just give you the rundown and what we talked about, ha.

Agnese.

In other news my plan of bringing hope to our branch and our people is in affect and is working and it is great. My companion is starting to calm down about the fact that our numbers leave something to be desired because we're doing exactly what the Lord wants us to. There was a different spirit about church on sunday and we're visiting our people and they are smiling! Ha. I love it. It's really rewarding even if we're not getting people ready for baptism right now.

Laura's kitchen, my favorite place in Forlì.

I'm still obsessed with Laura and Alberto and family. We have a couple other peeps we've started teaching that are cool and I'm just trying to love every day because I don't know what will happen next transfer. With 15ish more sorelle coming in I could get another baby to train at the same time or go open another city, who knows.

Buon compleanno, Gloria!

Love you all dearly. these are some pics with Agnese, Laura's daughter, and a birthday party for Gloria, our only Young Woman who's a rock star.

xoxo

s. cespuglio

time keeps on slippin' slippin' slippin'

Steve Miller Band keeps running into my brain these days because time is the craziest.

I hate that I know that on Sunday I have two months until I'm home. Oh mammmmma. But I'm finding sollace in the fact that I will be heading right back here to hug all the freaky people I've had to just shake hands with. I've also fallen into apostasy and hardly use the Lei form with anyone anymore, haha.

Life is good. I feel like I have the ground finally under my feet. I know what God wants me to do here in Forlì, I got a beautiful blessing last week from Anziano Jeffries because I was just dragging and it was exactly what I needed. God loves me, did you know? haha. But I've really been feeling that.

Then conference blew my mind! Plus we had Laura and Alberto with us at one of the sessions, we watched in Rimini and I love watching conference with investigators and watching them get their answers. I can't tell you how much I love this family. They can't get baptized for a while, like over a year, waiting for divorces to go through so they can get married, but I am obsessed with them. When I sit in their home I feel like I am exactly where I need to be and there is such a spirit of love in their home. I think about them all the time. I'll tell you their whole story when I'm home but really, they're incredible. Credetemi.

Anyways, besides having them at conference with us, it was exactly what I needed and Whitney Clayton came out of nowhere and totally blew me away. Maybe my favorite talk. "Marriage is a gift from God and the quality of your marriage is a gift to God." Shoot. Loved it. There's just nothing better than living apostles and prophets.

It's been a really interesting experience figuring out what the heck to do with this city. I feel like I knew from the beginning but didn't trust myself and just got to work knocking on doors and doing what have you, and every time we went out to do finding I literally felt empty. It was weird. I could tell I wasn't in the right place but I didn't know what I needed to be doing.

Conference just flooded me with peace and I'm realized that I just need to teach and love these members for now. You have to plow the field before you can plant before you can harvest, and these people need love and joy, and that's why I'm here right now, so I better get to work.

Ian can't believe you saw Travis and Korey and didn't say anything! hahaha. Love your guts. Still waiting on someone to give me Ian's address...

Well, I'm sure I had 6,000 other thoughts to tell you but ormai sono vecchia e la testa è troppo piena. Life is good, even better for us because we have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Appunto!

Vi voglio beeeeennnnnnne. Statemi bene!

sorella cespuglio

pasqua

Hey guys. Love you.

This week's email is going to be short because really there's not much to report. I got sick last week and am still just kind of dragging. It'll be a miracle if my body lasts this last 2.5 months, haha. Thank heavens I'm not in it for 17 years. Oh mamma, Alma, you're a stud.

We had a beautiful Easter lunch, filled with way too many chocolate eggs, at the house of the Rossi's. He's Pres Wolfgramm's counselor and I actually met him when he came to Siena a few weeks ago, and they're so cool. They have a daughter who served in Temple Square (knows Laura Otto) and is now married with two little kids, and then they have a son who served in England. Without them the branch of Forlì could not exist.

It was nice to be in a home and then share our little lesson with them because we haven't been teaching as much as I like to and it just felt good to do my job.

Today we're just going to kick it here (we went and saw San Marino last week with the Jeffries) and tonight we're going to go teach Laura and her beautiful family. Her daughter Agnese, 11, soon to be 12 on June 3rd, is my new bff. Love her.

We've started working with some really beautiful less active Nigerian women that have solid testimonies but just don't come to church. We're teaching everyone the restoration and pushing them to read the BOM and then after a few lessons we're going to figure out what is going on with all of them. It seems like some of them have just felt pushed lately so we're going to work our Sorelle power and love the crap out of them and then invite them to get their act together because we want their salvation, not because I like telling people what to do.

You are all wonderful and I pray for you everyday. Be good!

xoxo

sorella b

oh mamma... forlì!

Oh hi family, life is the freaky craziest these days. I have so many thoughts! Where do I even begin?

Okay, so I'm training. Yup, and it is SO different than last time and I'm learning so much.

Sorella Montagnoli is from American Fork (so check that stretch of I-15 off my companion bingo card). Both parents served in Catania, late 80s, so she understands Italian pretty well. And she's younger than Ian, yeah I feel like a grandma, but so it goes.

And these days I live in tranquil little Forlì and I feel so good about being here. We've already made great plans about uniting and loving this little branch because they are in need. I'm starting to feel like a normal missionary again, the first few days I spent too much time doing through lists of lists and calling peeps and looking at maps and I feel like I have a rough outline of the city in my head, meno male because my baby never knows where we are.

We got her a new bike, one of the anziani bikes was totally shot, like had no breaks, so we're back biking again and yes my butt is sore and no I've never been happier. We've found some great parks that hopefully will be more full of people once the rain lets up. Did some rainy casa yesterday, the funniest. It wasn't rainy when we had left the house and we had gone to visit these great less actives from Nigeria, Veronica and Betty, and they insisted we take this huge funny not quite rain coat and I looked a right fool in giro, but hey, people are starting to learn who we are, the only two bikers wearing helmets and skirts that greet everyone as they pass. But Forlì is such a bike friendly city it's awesome. It doesn't feel all that like Italy sometimes, more like Madison in some areas.

Another cool thing I wanted to say, on our train down here last thursday I was talking to the woman sitting across from me, heading home down south now lives in VARESE! I was the happiest I was like "Wait really, I lived there for 6 months and LOVED it, seriously!" SO we chatted and I realized at the end that in the hustle of packing up my whole life again I had no pass along cards (cool move, Sorella Bush), so I had this little book where I had stamped in the sorelle info in Varese, so I wrote here this little note that had the church address, website and the sorelle's number and told her about English class and stuff, she was the nicest, I'm praying she does some how get in touch with them.

I'm sure I'll tell you all about Laura and Alberto in the future, this great family the anziani have been working with for awhile who are literally beautiful. There's supposedly one other solid investigator the anziani were working with but we can't see her til next week. But today I wanted to tell you about Serena and Francesco.

So here in Forlì I have another senior couple to take care of me, the Jeffries. He's Branch President, and they did a service project at the pharmacy with the anziani a while ago and met this beautiful couple. They're Italian, 25 and MARRIED* and beautiful. They had initially said they would be down for meeting with the missionaries but then changed their mind. Well last night we had dinner with them at the Jeffries, and at the end we had a little thought from the Book of Mormon, and then explained what it was. There was a beautiful spirit and somehow when I testified of the Book of Mormon it hit him (he even said, mi colpisce tanto) what I had said about not always being good at reading, it but something changing and now it's changed my life and we was like what changed, what happened to make you open the book,

We had a beautiful discussion and at the end, Sorella Montagnoli said that we wanted to keep seeing them to see the blessings that would be coming into their lives and they were like, "Yeah okay." They are the coolest. They remind me of italian speaking versions of some of my best friends. Love them.

Got the most beautfiul email from Chiara about her baptism, made my heart explode, about how she literally felt reborn and how she was so sad I wasn't there and how she's already preparing to serve a mission! This work is eternal, love it.

IAN! I'm excited for your baptisms coming up, it's the coolest to see people change and how that short moment of baptism determines eternity and just opens the flood gates.

Life is good. I feel like I drag through the first bit of a new transfer trying to not miss the chapter, or chapters I've already finished, but now that I feel like I have my feet under me and ADVENTURES and miracles are happening, time is starting to slip between my fingers.

BUT JUNE 18TH!!** MOM I am the happiest!!!!!!!  Okay, with out thinking too much about it I'll try and figure a bit of a plan. Forlì doesn't have much to see really so I bet we can spend a day here just to see everyone, organize an evening in church or something, and the Jeffries said we could stay in their apartment here. So yeah. Couple days in Siena, to see the city my peeps and especially the Gori's. Bergamo, hop over to Venice with the Capelli's if your down and Varese...bo...***

Love you all madly.

s.b.

Explanatory footnotes notes from the amanuensis:
*Italians never get married before their 30, and many are not getting married at all. 25 married couple is unheard of.
** Stephanie bought tickets for her and Whitney to fly back to Italy a few days after she gets home.
*** Not a typo. Bo (the vowel is a schwa sound) means something like "I dunno...we'll see...not really sure...not important right now..."

cor magis tibi sena pandit*

Oh mamma, guys... so much has happened since I last emailed, I don't even know where to begin!

• Baptism? 
• Transfers?
• Sorelle Conference?
• My crazy anything but normal life in Siena?

Hmmm maybs I'll tell you about...

Transfers.

I feel strangely calm about everything. As much as I LOVE LOVE LOVE Siena I really feel like I need to leave. If President Wolfgramm had told me I was staying another transfer I would have told him he was wrong. Even teaching the Gori's for the last time yesterday I just felt like I had done my part, it's someone else's turn.

I am the saddest to miss Chiara's baptism friday. I could have pushed for it to be Wednesday but I felt like I shouldn't. Sorella Willis is training and it will be really good for her baby to see a baptism right off the bat.

As for me, well the nest 12 weeks are going to be an adventure. I'm being shipped off to Forlì.

There have been Anziani there forever so I'm headed in to take over, get this, while training a new Sorella. Oh mamma. Looks like the Lord has more fiducia in me than I do. The assistants and President Wolfgramm basically told me I need to go down and liven things up. It's a branch that hasn't grown, kind of like Siena, and that's kind of dangerous for everyone. So here I go!! haha we get bikes, so I'm the happiest, and I'll finally be able to see the sea. Funny things too is Anziano Lambert is there right now, finishing his first transfer. Small little world.

The baptism. 

It was beautiful. I don't even know what to tell you. Hopefully the pictures will help. But it was quite the adventure, filling and emptying that little font. We didn't get home until about 11 and we were both too wired to sleep even though we were so tired.

The most beautiful moment that I will never forget was when Cinzia came out of the font (we need to put one chair in and one chair out for climbing purposes) and as Sandro got it I put a bathrobe around Cinzia and put my arm around her and she just put her wet little face in my shoulder and started to cry. They are beautiful, and can't wait to meet you guys. They gave me a darling note when I left and then Chiara gave me a letter that totally made me cry on the train. Apparently all you have to do is tell me I've changed your life and the waterworks start.

Chiara, Sandro, Cinzia, Sor.s Bush and Willis

The Sorelle Conference.

The Sorelle Conference was beautiful. It felt good to be there all together and obviously good to see all my peeps. As of Friday I, along with Sorelle Bunker and Forbes will be the oldest sorelle. How the freak did that happen?? I mean really. I feel like I'm still running around like a crazy person making it up as I go.

I think I'm still waiting for it to sink in that I wont me going to church here any more, I wont be wandering into the campo anymore. I feel like I finally really know this city and I'm leaving it.

I'm sending you guys a little box. It was my winter coat in it, I decided I wanted to keep it for memory purposes but didn't want to lug it around, and there are some ties for E-man and a little something for both Mom and Dad.

Pics this week include out jaunt around Montepulciano last week, the Sorelle Conf. and the baptism and probs that's it.

Beutler and Bush, S.C.

Mom, totally down for going to the temple the 15th and as far as order of cities. I was thinking we should do Varese last, so maybe start south. It's rather convenient that my two sets of two cities are decently close. We could do Siena, Forlì, Bergamo, Varese? Or something like that.

Bo.

Love you all,

sorella boosh

*Siena opens to your heart wider than this gate.  Or something like that.

true or false: i'm leaving the dream

Guys, where do I even begin!!!!! Gah!

Siena is literally the talk of the mission because we are a living miracle. Remember when I got to Siena and we just knocked on doors all day everyday and now we don't have time to do everything we need to?

Le Sorelle Bush e Willis, Firenze

We'll start as always with the Gori's. Chiara has decided she wants to wait another week or two, she just doesn't feel quite ready. BUT THEN out of the woodwork, Sandro is getting baptized Friday night with Cinzia. He stopped smoking, didn't say anything to anyone and then went and said to Cinzia that he all of a sudden felt like he wanted to get baptized with her.

So P-day doesn't exist today really. We went and caught him up yesterday afternoon since he had missed a few commandments, and he is so ready. His answer to every question I asked was beautiful. We're heading out to see them again in a half hour with the Capece's and then Sandro will have his baptismal interview. As sad as I am that I probably wont be here fro Chiara's baptism, I don't think it could get better to have Sandro and Cinzia do this together. They are incredible (and they can't wait to meet you guys...)

Una passeggiata a Volterra

Thursday will be nutzo taking trains all over high heaven to go to Milano, and then Friday we get to figure out how to fill our little pop-up baptismal font, and then even more exciting, empty it! Oh mamma...

And have I told you about Rosanna? She's Bianka's best friend and doesn't actually live in our mission boundaries. She lives in Potenza I think? But she's still a student here in Siena so comes up for exams and stuff. She and Bianka used to be roommates here. Well we taught her once when she was here and she's awesome. She's three months older than me and beautiful and so elect. But lives way far away from the church down south and doesn't want to go by herself the first time so she's waiting for the next time Bianka comes down to visit, and in the mean time, we're teaching her on Skype. We did the plan of salvation with her Friday and Monday the gospel, and she's just the greatest and really thinking about baptism because she's seen the change in Bianka. Plus before the skype lesson monday night, we were at Bianka and Lorena's house and Rosanna was getting home late from work and we had some time so we all sat on the floor and read Jacob 4 together and talked about it and I could have just stayed there content, forever. I think I became friends with Lorena's husband too (praying my guts out for him to be ready for the gospel because they will be the most beautiful eternal family) but I won him over when I stuffed half a tomato in my mouth because we had to run to catch our ride home, ha.

Brain freeze, Piazza del Campo.

We have a new woman from Colombia named Diana, a referral from Enrique, a member we've started teaching more and she's super excited to learn the gospel.

Basically life is great and I'm enjoying my last week of it because I'm pretty much bound to be leaving next week. It'll be awful because Siena is home, I see the tower and the duomo in the skyline and I know I'm home, but at the same time I can kind of feel like I've done my job here.

Oh and I'm totally becoming even better friends with Luigi, my old man cheese dude, and Mario, my old man book-making dude. We saw both of them last night and Luigi loves us because I'm like "Tell me about this, tell me about this...I trust you and will totally try whatever." Last night we bought burrata and some pane pugliese. yummmmmmm...

 Okay, we're out to see the Gori's!!

xoxoxoxoxoxo

p.s. pics are from pday in Firenze last week (yes, I use a child's umbrella, it's totally is the best option) and a chocolate festival at the campo. Oh, and these great fresh pistacchio ravioli's we bought.

p.p.s. I learned that all people who work with chocolate are the happiest.

p.p.p.s. love you. be good.

formaggio!

Oh mamma, Ian you're letter was the best! You are incredible! I am just the happiest that you are loving the MTC, half way!  I was there for an eternity... 10 weeks of that milk, I always busted into the gluten and lactose free section and stole soy milk, ha. And man does that feel like a LIFETIME ago.

Life here is beautiful. As always. My right eye twitches pretty much all the time and I get at least one tired head ache a week, basically I'm learning why the mission doesn't last forever, my body would shut down. Is shutting down. Ha.

But really, this city is exploding with miracles. We're having a hard time finding time to see everyone we need to. A little different that the first few weeks of casa casa and more casa. The Lord loves these people, I can tell because he's given me just a fraction of His love for them and I feel like I'm going to explode.

Did I tell you about how at the beginning of this transfer I felt so clearly that we needed to be working with our members more? We've been going through and teaching everyone we can the restoration and realizing that there really isn't a single member here that does't need sostegno. So we're loving our peeps and in return there really seems to be a different energy around these parts. The members are giving us referrals, teaching with us more and befriending our new investigators we're bringing to church.

It was super cool because last week literally was beautiful, and then Saturday came and it was a really hard day. Don't really know why but there was just something really off. Then I had found out that that night Giudi, my friend from Varese that we started teaching English to and then started teaching the gospel, was getting baptized and Luca was baptizing her and I was sitting on this train going to Poggibonsi (funniest name of a city evs, am I right?) and I just felt the sickest and would have killed a man to be in Varese with the people that I love. But we made it through the night.

God loves me and plopped a tender mercy right in my lap.  As we got off the train, this man asked me for help trying to buy a ticket to go to Modena on the little machines so we figured out the problem, helped with the ticket, and told him and his friend we were missionaries and give them pass along cards and started feeling so much better.

Then Sunday was awesome. First we picked up our casa miracle Marisa and brought her to all three hours and she became bff with half the branch. Then Emily came to all three hours of church. Then half way through Sunday School I see the face of Lucy, an inactive member that we work with who hasn't been to church since 2008 I think, pop in the door. Then Bruna, another woman we're working with that never really comes to church (and when she does comes for the last 10 minutes of sacrament meeting) came in as sacrament meeting was starting and was the first up to bare her testimony. Just so many little miracles.

We got home and Sorella Willis was like "Hey, remember how we just had an amazing week, then God threw in one tough day because it's only fair, and then blessed us with the most beautiful Sunday morning?" And I was like yeah, I remember.

We're teaching some really cool people these days and the baptismal interview for Chiara and Cinzia is on friday. Next week is going to be NUTZO because we're in Firenze Monday and just found out we're having a Sorelle conference next Thursday! Hip hip! So we're off to Milano and back in a day, ha. Then on Saturday, we'll be spending the whole day filling up our pop-up baptismal font for the baptism that night! And then it's transfer calls. Oh mamma, time is flying.

My other great news is my new bff. His name is Luigi. He owns a cheese shop called Forte Forte. He's from the province of Salerno and just sells southern cheese and sausage and bread. We walk by all the time and we finally made time to stop by last week. Told him I loved cheese and he told me it would be his pleasure to present all his cheeses to us. We bought one that had these amazing little olives tucked away in the middle. Yesterday we went back and got some mozzarella di bufala, because Sorella Willis had never had any (I know, I don't know what she's been doing since she got to Italy last October).  It was the best I think I've had. It was our dinner last night, I just ate these three little balls of cheese and was the happiest. It tasted a little like the way a good farm smells. Anyway, pian piano I plan on converting him to the gospel thanks to our common love of cheese.

There's also a fresh pasta place by my house and the woman who works there I think needs to be my next bff/ next new investigator. I think we're going to buy something from her this week. They have pistachio ravioli, I am beyond intrigued.

Can't believe it's Canoecopia! Give my love to all who deserve it.

APT! So excited.

Sorry for the word vomit.. my brain is literally the fullest these days. I need to get a pensieve subito.

Love you all madly, I am the happiest/luckiest!

sorella bush

si vede bene soltanto con il cuore; l'essenziale è invisibile agli occhi

Hello my beautifuls!

First off...IAN!!! Oh man I'm praying for you like a crazy lady. I am so excited for you! The first few days in the MTC feel like an eternity but be patient with yourself and just chug along and you will LOVE it.

Okay fam, I am exploding with joy. The Gori family is killing me I love them so much! Cinzia is in, getting baptized on March 16th. Chiara had me pick what day she's quiting smoking, March 1st, and tomorrow we're going to invite her to get baptized in the 16th too! I am literally dying. I count down the days to when we get to see or teach them and then I get home and Chiara texts us (she's way more open in writing) and I melt on the floor I'm so happy. They are pretty much all I think about these days because I know I came to Siena above all for Chiara. She has no idea how wonderful she is and who she can become but God has just given me magic X-ray vision and has filled me with His love for her and it just makes me explode. This is why we knocked on thousands of doors last transfer... to show God we were willing to do whatever it takes and then He just plopped this miracle down in our laps. 

Yesterday, thanks to the sweet tats sarah sent me I celebrated the birth of Copernicus yesterday by recreating the solar system on my back. Will try and send a pic soon, ha.

Finished the Book of Mormon in Italian again. This last time through I marked every time I saw the word heart, pretty sure I told you guys about my heart obsession. This time through I'm making remember and forget. Pretty cool.

Besides the Gori fam, our goal this transfer is to really get the branch excited about missionary work. We're teaching everyone the restoration to help everyone remember why we're members of the church and what it means and the incredible spirit that the Joseph Smith story brings. It just seems like the time has come, We need to get everyone on the same page and since we're having a baptism (!!!!!!!!) this transfer it will help get everyone excited and see that miracles happen, people can change, and everyone needs the gospel...so don't be scared.

I love it here. Siena is just magical. I really don't think I'll stay past the transfer so I'm just loving ths shiz out of my people. Have I told you about Bianka and Lorena, the two most beautiful Albanian girls who have ever lived? 25 and 23. The last peeps to get baptized in Siena. Lorena was baptized a year ago last November and then Bianka a year ago April.  Lorena is married, 25 and Bianka is finishing up school this fall and seriously considering going on a mission this fall. She's becoming good friends with Chiara and we've been having lessons with her lately too and I just love her like crazy. Reason number 2 I came to Siena?

Plus we have Emily. She's from England and was baptized a bit over a year ago in England, now lives here in Siena and we see her every week too and she is wonderful. Reason #3?

So yeah, life is beautiful. Plus Luca came down to kick it with us in Siena today, ha. Should be a party. It's a beautiful sunny day so I'm thinking maybe a trip up the tower at the campo. Love you allll! You're in my thoughts and prayers and I can't wait to add you to my Italy life and introduce you to my family here.

xoxo

la vostra missionaria contentissima,

sorella bush

questo mi garba

Family!!!  Man, do I love you.

It has been a nutzo week and I was so happy to see your names pop up in my email.

Guys, remember how I am the worst at change! Well I do. I've been rereading my journals to remember that I was the biggest shlaump ever every time that I've had to change companions, excluding Sorella Nilson, because we're the same person. It's been a tough week, getting used to pure little Sorella Willis and realizing that Sorella Nilson isn't even in the same country as me anymore and then realizing that I have NO idea what to do with Siena. I'm praying my guts out and I'm just at a loss where to go and what to do , so I walk in circles. Ha. But really meno male I have the Gori's and Luca coming to visit next p-day.

I really don't even know what to tell you guys right now, my brain is kind of exploding with everything and I've just been trying to feel peaceful because I've been so overwhelmed by everything that I just feel like I've forgotten how to be a missionary for a second which is the dumbest because the clock is ticking! I really don't think I have more than this transfer in Siena and everytime I see the tower in the Campo my heart skips a beat. It's so beautiful and I don't know if I've done nearly enough for this place. I've trying to remind and convince myself that lulls happen and God is patient.

As far as coming to Italy plans have you looked at flying in through somewhere random? When I went to England everyone payed about 1000 bucks but I went through dublin and it was like 600... aaanyway.

Mom I totally support the short hair, I've been silently voting for is for a while :)

Dad stop getting sick!

Ian, already sent you a message, still love your guts.

My hilarious English class students have been teaching me Sienese phrases and today I made pici for lunch. But I just walk around saying mi garba to everything. Piece is so 2012, ha!

Love you all so bad, kind of jealous I wasn't at the temple with you and all our freaky posterity, but I have all summer, temple road trips galore.

xoxoxoxo

s.b.

p.s. Sorella Willis, from Florida!  Niente di Utah questa volta.

so I have very little motivation to write this email today, sorrrrry

I'll try not to be too boring.

Life is great. Feels so surreal that Sorella Nilson (from Alpine, Mom) is going home. Blurg. We had way too much fun to be allowed more than one transfer together.

I just bought our fast train tickets to get up to Milano tomorrow morning and I'll see Sorella Beutler at the station, kiss her face, and then find Sorella Willis, my new companion. I know zero about her, just that she's coming from Collegno near Torino (where Sorella Beutler is headed off to) and came in the group after Sorella Beutler. The one thing I've heard is that she's crazy patient so her trainer told me on scambio a few weeks ago she's destined to always have hard companions because she just loves them comunque, and now she has me, ha! Life here is beautiful, as always.

Dad I read your letter to the Gori's and they loved it and said they loved you guys too and were ready to adopt me. Ha. We're going back tonight and hopefully getting ourselves organized for them to set a more realistic baptismal date (that's before I leave Italy) and a plan for Sandro and Chiara to quit smoking. I feel like tonight is going to be magical; best last night as a missionary Sorella Nilson could probs ask for. They called last night, Cinzia called, and was like we have a plan. We'll have our lesson, you guys will chat it up with chiara alone for a bit then, we're going to have dinner with the Rotelli's! And Sandro and Tina have a request and have made me the mouth of the message, but you could you please bring.... 300 cinnamon rolls! ha! It's going to be great.

Um, Mexico looked freaky amazing. Like really guys, we're going back next January right? So excited for IAN!!!!!AHH! Temple, miss it. I would recommend sending him off with a flash drive to keep his pics on too, I think I'm going to try and buy one because my camera is full up.

Canoecopia! So soon!

These next few months are going to flash by and I'm freaking out and every now and then I tumble into that am I a good enough missionary? Have I done all that I'm supposed to? And then I feel like Heavenly Father wants me to keep being better but not keep beating myself up because he's proud of me. That's the phrase that keeps running through my head/heart. He's proud of us.

We spent language study on Monday just sitting in the Campo in the sun waiting for our appointment there and I feel like it is a moment I will never forget. This place is magical. For lunch that day we went out with the Capece's so we just stuck around in centro but I had had pici with cacio and pepe, mmmmmm.

We had a funny dinner appointment with potentials this this weekend that involved going to Grandma and Grandpa's in the campagna and touring they're huge mostly closed up house over looking Siena and too many funny things that someday I'll tell you all about. I love strangers.

Dad I think I'm going to go Istrice. not sure why.*

Love you all, sorry this is all over the place. I have a few ties I bought in Firenze for Ian I hope to send off sooner rather than later. I've started trying to buy presents for people, man is that expensive business, maybs I'm done being a good friend. Does Ian have a brown suit? One tie is the pretty teal that has a little stripe of brown in it so hopefully he's not all black. Oh well. Any thoughts about the program for coming back to Italy?

xoxoxoxoxoxox

another week

O Mamma! Time is the weirdest these days. I've actually had an awful cold these past few days. Sorella Nilson tells me the same thing happened to her and Sorella Soh after a month of being in Siena, brought on by complete exhaustion. But I've been drinking plenty of tea so I'm sure I'll be fine soon enough; I'm still convinced herbal tea will solve any problem I ever have. Ha.

Highlight of the week: Man the Gori family, I'm obsessed with them. We had a beautiful restoration lesson with them on Wednesday and gave Chiara, the beautiful 18 year old her own copy of the Book of Mormon. Then we had a pizza making activity in church Friday night and she went to chef school and we had a pizza war between her and Giacomo, another one of my fav peeps, he's a mostly active less active we're trying to get to quit smoking so he can move up in the priesthood because we have NO priesthood outside of one family pretty much.

Anyway. It was beautiful, everyone just welcomed Chiara in with open arms and we ate lots of pizza. In all we had 7 investigators there, pretty awesome, just need to get them to progress. Anyway, continuing on with Chiara. I asked her for her digits Friday night and told her I was going to start calling her everyday and told her we want to try and organize something just the three of us sometime. She couldn't come to church because of ride issues so we text her Sunday afternoon just to remind her she's awesome, we missed her and we hoped she had read something lovely in the Book of Mormon.

A few hours later in the midst of an afternoon of casa we get the most beautiful text from her. In a nut shell she said she was sorry she couldn't come to church and she missed us too and she was grateful that the Lord had brought us all together and for all we and the church are doing for her family.

AND THEN, (this is the highlight) she tells us the book is stupendo and since we gave her the book Wednesday night she was already in 2 Nephi! We were beyond happy. I love this girl! She just has no idea how wonderful she is. I think that's one of the most beautiful things about the gospel is we know who we are and who we can become. Hooray for the young women values... individual worth, divine nature, hello. Then we went and saw the, again monday night for a surprise birthday shindig for Sandro, the dad. It was just them, the members they're besties with, us and the Capece's. I felt a little like death but I love being in their home, they are such good people. Can't wait for them to realize that they're more ready than they realize for baptism.

Tonight I'm off to scambi with a sorella in Firenze. Sorella Nilson and I were joking that we should cancel on them because we have limited time before she goes home and we can't stand to be apart, ha. But I'm actually excited, it's always good to leave your city for a moment and come back with a new prospective. And the Sorelle there are both kind of young and Firenze is kind of like Siena, it's really hard, and we're pretty sure they blame themselves for how slow the work is going, so we're going to try and help them see that numbers are not everything and it's okay to have fun, and the Lord is still proud of their work, so be happy for goodness sakes.

Dad, here's a torre pic for you, and a few other odds and ends, including the pizza face off and birthday party.

Can't believe you're off to Mexico, lucky things. Pretty sure our basement apartment is never warm, ha. Can't wait to see pics, and maybe get a post card, hint hint. Oh yeah, which reminds me, everyone I know is grounded. I have gotten zero letters in my Siena mail since I've been here (did you send of the christmas card??) I hear I have a little stack collecting up in Varese that I should get next week but still, wanted everyone to know, grounded for life.

Dad I'm down for light blue and pale yellow, sounds pretty. And mom I am SO down for lots of temple road trips this summer.

Have a beautiful trip in Mexico, eat lots of fresh fruits for me and fish tacos! yummmmm. Well I think that's all for now, sure I forgot something, but I love you like crazy.

Dad want to run a marathon with me?  [the answer is no - amanuensis]

xoxo

sorella bush

ian! mission! gah!!!!!!!

JNçKJDBAKçBJLSDçLABLSJBNCASJN!!!!!!!!!!!!!LKJBDSFJDASCN_çS IAN!!!!!!!

I am so excited!!!!!!!!!! Ian!!!!!  You got your mission call!!!!

The senior couple here called me up Saturday night. Our cell phone doesn't work in our house at all so I was practically hanging out the window and I was immediately so happy! It's perfect! How beautiful to know you are going exactly where you need to EXACTLY when you need to. GAH! God is so good.  Now you have 2 years to go find the people that desperately need YOU and no one else. And you're so good at loving people you will be an excellent missionary. When we see each other in February 2015 it will be a very very good day...See Alma 17: 1-4...meno male our missions don't last 17 years, I already feel like I'm dying a little bit...get ready to be tired!

Okay, so where are we? Well guys, it is freezing in this here church and my arms are literally shaking, so I might keep this a little short. BUT man, is life good. We have been working so hard and praying even harder and miracles are happening. Highlights include the Gori family and Anna. Lemme splain.

The Gori Family is incredible. When the sorelle got here they called about every old investigator in the book and the last time the Gori's were meeting with the missionaries was about five years ago. They're a referral from the amazing family that pretty much runs the branch. The wife Tina is my new favorite person and cracks me up. It's like I've won a treasure hunt whenever I find someone sarcastic in Italy.

So the sorelle call the Gori's and tell them of course they can come over. Meanwhile that same week they reconnect with the family of members they know at a shopping center somewhere for the first time in about five years. Now they're all besties again. The Sorelle were only able to really go and teach once before I came but they've come to church and and come to all our activities and I finally got to meet them at a movie dinner party thing we had in church on Friday. Mom, Dad and daughter Chiara who's 18. They are beautiful. Cinzia the mom is so ready and talks about getting baptized and wants it. The rest of the family isn't quite as ready but we're finally going to go teach the restoration tonight and help them catch the vision of how their lives can change and how beautiful the gospel is. They have a son who died ages ago when he was little who was a little older than chiara and they just need to be an eternal family so h-ing bad.  Which reminds me parents, we have to go down to the temple before we fly back to Italy after I'm released, I miss it like whoa.  So yeah, I'm sure you'll be hearing lots about them, ormai they're part of the branch.

Lungarno. Firenze.

Anna. Oh mamma.  This is a miracle of freaky miracles. Anna was a referral from the Rome mission. All we got was her name and number so I call her up about a week ago.  She said "Wait, who are you?" I had no idea where she would have met the missionaries and what they could have told her, so I told her "we're the ones with the Book of Mormon," and she was like "OH!!! Yes!!! Of course, I'm so glad you called, come over!" She had just gotten back from le feste a Napoli so she had to get life straightened out but we set up an appointment for Monday morn. She lives about 30 minutes from Siena on bus and she met us at the main stop and we start walking to her house and asking her how she met the missionaries.

Man alive she is beautiful. First she tells us how the anziani in Napoli had found her nephew, and that in itself was a beautiful miracle, and then they came over to teach when she was there. She told us also how she hadn't been south in at least two years but this year really felt the desire to go. She said she's just looking for the right path in her life, she feels like she's missing something, she's studied with every religion under the sun and the missionaries in Napoli told her she would find what she was looking for in the Book of Mormon. As we taught her the restoration it was like she was drinking in everything we said just staring into our eyes so intently and listening to every word and asking, "Okay, what do I need to do to know?" and asking about how to pray and coming to church and seeing us again. She said when she got her answer she would be baptized.

She has three beautiful children, the oldest daughter who's 26 didn't really want to say anything but wanted to listen to everything and will be there when we go back Friday afternoon. The son barely woke up while we were there, and the little 14 year old was so sad that we were coming when she was at school, so we're coming back Friday afternoon and Anna promised us some napolitana pizza, ha. More on this beautiful family to come; I've never been more sure of something in my life.

Yesterday we had a conference with Presidente Wolfgramm and since it's Sorella Nilson's last transfer she gave her last testimony and man was that rough. All of a sudden I feel so mission-mortal and realize how LITTLE time I have left here in Italy as a full-time missionary and it is seriously freaking me out. Your guys are lucky my visa and permesso expire otherwise I might accidentally not make it on the plane home. Good thing I love you guys a lot and miss my flannel shirt and NPR enough to make an appearance state side.

Ponte Vecchio, Firenze

But really I feel like Italy is my home and I feel like it has been for ages; it's like I've felt it calling to me since I was 6. I remember sitting in Primary and thinking about Italy. Good night. Sometimes I freak out a little thinking at how unknown my future is, I was talking it over with the Lord the other night and I was like I know I don't need to really worry yet and I know you've never let me down but man I would love a sliver of light to help me figure out where I should be going. But my hope is stronger than any of my fears, life is too dang good to live any other way.

My Christmas present made it to Varese but Sorella Beutler wasn't allowed to pick it up since she's not me, so I had to make a copy of my permesso that I sent up to her and she should get at their conference tomorrow and she can pick it up and some how get it down to me, probably in a few weeks still. Hopefully you didn't send cheese this time.

Right, I'm a popsicle so I'm peacing out. The Capece's are going to take us out driving around the area and we'll probs pop by San Gimignano.

Love you all!!!  Dad, don't hurt your pancreas and don't work too hard, I worry about you. Also, I'm sending off tomorrow a CD with all my pics up to to now. When you get it and upload err'thing on the computer let me now and I'll cancellare.

xoxoxoxo

sorella bush

a room with a view

Early morning email because we're off to catch a train to Firenze. O mamma, am I excited. Plus, not sure if I told you, but Sorella Nilson did the BYU program in Siena so she knows the area and tells me all sorts of history as we giro around. She'll just be my personal tour guide as we explore today. This week has been beautiful, but first, a few thoughts.

Dad I was literally just talking to Sorella N yesterday about kayaks and remembered for the first time in ages how much I don't love my Vela anymore and wondered what my kayak status was, so your email was perfetto. Color wise, I'm not sure. NO sparkles. Maybe tell me a few of your color combos and I'll tell you what I like best. I do love the turquoisey blues but I know that's not always the wisest open water choice.

Okay, so missionary work in Siena is hard. But we are so happy and so hopeful always. And I haven't laughed so much in awhile. There are times when it's a good thing people don't answer their doors because neither of us are breathing we're laughing so hard. We're talking days and days of 9 hours of finding. That is a lot of finding and you realize how nice it is to teach, not just because that's why we're here and it's fun and people are great, but because it's 30-60 minutes that you can sit down...ha.

But the miracles have started flooding in. Like crazy. After my first week I really felt like I had finally learned what it meant to work hard and how to pray because I know that I can make nothing happen here in Siena, it has to be the Lord, so I pray and pray and then I work and work. And we've already trippled the number of phone numbers the Sorelle got last transfer. When I got here the sorelle had been here about 1.5 transfers and they spent days cleaning out the nasty apartment and doing all kinds of prep work. The way sorella nilson put it they couldn't even plant any seeds for awhile they were busy weeding and plowing the field. And now we're finding people that want to listen to us. A couple cool peeps:

1. Luca and Claudia. Here is the simplified version of how we meet Luca. Everyday we pretty much pick a new place to do casa from 5-8 so we're out in this little funny town full of CRAZY people. Seriously, the weirdest casa I've ever done, including kids messing with us on the citofono, large dogs wanting to eat us, a man with a scary pointy tooth BETWEEN his front two teeth, and old man who talked about and inch away from my face (who wants a Book of Mormon..) yeah, just tons of crazy.

People are starting to eat dinner so we make our way to the bus stop and this car stops and asks if we're Sorelle and offers a ride to Siena. So obviously we get in this stranger's car and a few minutes into the ride realize they're Jehovah's Witnesses. Have a pretty funny conversation, they were actually much less aggressive than usual, and drop us somewhere I've never been outside the city walls. Sorella Nilson thinks she knows where we are and we start walking up the shoulder of this highway road on the other side of the metal thing that runs between the traffic and the four people that probably walk that road once a year. But there ahead of us is a couple so we stop and talk to them and he is the nicest so excited to talk to us subito gives us his digits and we have an appointment to see at least him, maybe also the woman in church tomorrow.

2. Grazia. We had planned to do casa in a couple places where the Anziani had potentials two years ago and we get to this palazzo with no last name, so we just start ringing names trying to get in. I'm on window watch to see if anyone calls down to us and then this woman appears with her keys and Sorella Nilson tells her who we are and how we have a message we want to share with the peeps here and she said, "Sure I'll let you in."

So we go in and I ask her if she has a few minutes we could come up and tell her what we believe and she's like "Sure thing." She's this beautiful girl, maybe late 20s from Taranto studying to be a judge and it was incredible to teach someone who just understood everything we were teaching. At the end we asked if she thought it could be true, and she said "yes," and we asked if she wanted to read the Book of Mormon and she said "yes."

We left her house so dazed, it was too perfect and incredible. I had this moment while we were teaching her and I just looked at her and saw how beautiful she was, and how much God just loves her and I felt SO inadequate that I have this responsibility to give her the gospel, to teach with the spirit and simply so that she is given a real opportunity to accept it and change her life for the better. How crazy it is that God trusts us with His children.

3. Dimintri and Claudia. Sorelle found them a few weeks ago and we finally got to go back and teach them, kind of...it was kind of a crazy lesson because they had forgotten. Dimitri is 23 and Claudia is his mom and they are the funnies, and you can see in his face that Dimitri is a good kid and gets what we're saying we just need to organize ourselves to see them more.

4. Cesar. Found him last week, came to our second appointment in the church on time and came to church on Sunday. just got here from Peru two months ago, meno male I pretty much understand Spanish.

Running low on time. Things are beautiful here, time is freaking me out. I still can't get over this city, old red buildings and green shutters everywhere. Not only can a camera not really capture it, but I feel like my eyes can't open wide enough to let it all in.

love you all!!!

be good!

sorella cespuglio

true or false: i now live in siena

Uh, true. Crazy town.

It's been a funny week. I am seriously baffled by the number of feelings I can have all at the same freaky time! So happy and so sad and so excited and so heartbroken and so so happy and then so sick. Man, it's been crazy.

Piazza  del Duomo

But I am so grateful for this transfer for so many reasons. I knew I had to leave Varese not just because it had been four transfers, but because I almost didn't feel like a missionary there anymore, I felt like I was at home.

But I know I am exactly where I should be right now, and how did I get so lucky that where I'm meant to be is Siena! Bo?  Seriously...Bergamo, Varese and now Siena. I must have done something right in the preexistence. I was talking to some of the Sorelle at transfers and Sorella Gomez said "I wanted that! I wanted to go to Siena and I've been trying to be so obedient the last few weeks." I laughed so hard and said "Well, obedience is certainly not how you get there." Guys I'm trying, I promise!!

I just had my face plastered to the car window as we drove to Firenze for district meeting with the senior couple who's the branch prez here. And our first giro through the city I was just spinning in circles trying to take it all in.

And I am so so so grateful I am with Sorella Nilson. It is a dream! We already kind of knew each other and she's so fun and she just loves being a missionary.  So we're kind of the same person.  We were walking up to the grocery store on Saturday and she said "Here we are!!" and I said "Sunset and Camden," (Singing in the Rain style). She stopped dead in her tracks and looked at me and said "I always say that, and Sorella [  ] would always make fun of me, and this time I thought 'I'll just say it in my head' but then you said it!"

So yeah.  BFF.

It's been nice also because we are having so much fun that it doesn't leave too much space in my brain to think about Varese, because boy does it try and sneak in my brain all the time. Church was rough for a bit because I was thinking about everyone I love back in Varese and how Herlinda finally was coming to church and I was here with a bunch of strangers. But boy do I love those strangers! It's kind of incredible. And our branch is so small. We're talking ten peeps, but are they ever beautiful.

Work here is kind of hard. Lucky I'm used to hard after some pretty dry spells in Varese, but we haven't taught a lesson together yet. Lots of casa, lots of finding, walked about twelve miles, mostly up hill on Sunday. Felt sort of like I had been hit by a train, but I'll get used to it soon enough. It really feels like this city is just oozing with potential, all these almost miracles. And now that I'm at the point in my mission where I don't care a bit about any kind of numbers, it's beautiful to just enjoy it all and want to baptize for the sole reason that this people need it and deserve it. I will do everything I can for them.

Piazza del Campo e il Torre del Mangia.

New Years Eve was pretty funny. We had root beer floats, made an incredible lasagna, and counted down to 10:44, ringing in the new year with some San Pellegrino aranciata, amara. Yum yum yum!

New Years Day we did a lot of cleaning, as directed, then sat down to write in our journals (which is pretty difficult because we always end up talking to each other), and after a few minutes ended up just chatting it up, for ages, about life and family, about the mission, how we ended up where we are and how great God is and how well He knows us.

We talked a ton about the Lord guiding our lives. A ton. And I told her about all my crazy God plopping in my lap the perfect plans and I just thought about how I was so confused when I was twenty-one and the mission wasn't right, and how I was kind of angry, even though I knew God had to have something better in store.  Sometimes it's just hard to have faith in the future you can't see, even when you want to. But not even including the miraculous things that have happened in my life in those final years at BYU, just looking at how perfect my mission has been for me. If I had come at any other time I would't have had any of my companions, I wouldn't have had the Wolfgramms (good night) and Varese and Siena weren't open to Sorelle. I mean, I'm the third sorella to set foot in the city of Siena as a missionary.

Piazza Salimbeni

Plus looking back at the peeps that I've seen baptized, all of them have had contact with the church through friends or family for years, it just wasn't time yet. I mean look at Luca, I literally got to Varese at the exact perfect time. Seriously. I am the luckiest. Thank heavens H[eavenly] F[ather] knows just what He is doing and just what I need.

And then I started thinking about be at twenty-one and how I was so not ready for a mission. I think I was ready for an adventure, but now I just get it. And the gospel has never meant more to me, especially since I've met so many people who are literally fighting to keep living the gospel and I think that sometimes we take for granted all that we have.

I started trying to make a list of the things I think I've learned as a missionary, here's what I have so far:

• I think I've learned what prayer is, really, and why it is so crucial. 
• How to really talk to God and recognize all that I could never do without Him. 
• I think I've learned how to feast on the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon, oh mamma do I love that book and what everyone I love to read it.
• I think I've learned how to really love, to look for and take care of people's needs, how to want nothing but good for them and wanting to do everything I can for them. I don't want anyone to ever doubt that I love them which means I need to act like I love them and tell them. 
• I think I've learned better what eternity means. How things can last forever and how we can never know the full consequences of our efforts. How we have an eternity to keep striving for knowledge and perfection and the fact that right now I am so small and so weak and so often wrong isn't the point so much as the fact that I'm trying. 

Guys, I freaky love being a missionary and I love how much I learn and live everyday and I don't ever want to go back to being the person I was before, which is something I totally didn't get before. I feel like no matter how much people talk about missions you have no idea what it means til you're there in the middle of it and you tired and weak and the happiest you've ever been. I look back at peeps I knew who came back from their missions and were the same and I was always glad, like thank goodness they didn't get all weirdy and stuff. But now I'm like, what the h did you do for two years? I feel like my brain just rotated half a degree and now things line up and make so much more sense.

I tried to make goals for the new year, ha. They're either SUPER vague, branching from living deliberately and filling my life with meaningful activities to keeping up on Italian and developing the art of cheesemaking, to funny specific things like running a marathon and finding a job. Twenty13, here we are. It's going to be good, because I won't settle for anything less.

Well, hope that's enough weekly word vomit for you. Enjoy the pics.

New addy:

Via Mameli 49
53100 Siena
Italy

Love you all!

sorella cespuglio