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