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
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
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.
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| Lungarno. Firenze. |
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.
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| 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
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
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
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
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
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.
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.
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.
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 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
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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Piazza Salimbeni |
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.
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
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
christmas!
It was so good to see you yesterday [via Skype]!
I really don't have much to say but I love you all so bad. It's crazy that I can be so excited to go serve in Siena with Sorella Nilson and at the same time feel like my heart is being ripped out and eat by some large carnivorous animal. I keep telling myself it's better to love people and leave bits of me with them and cry my face off when I leave than to be a cold unfeeling monster that cares abot nobody. Ha.
You're beautiful. Be good and take care of yourselves.
xoxo
sorella bush
p.s. We watched A Muppet Christmas Carol yesterday morning. So good. And then started it again in Italian while we waited for Luca to pick us up. Tooo funny.
I really don't have much to say but I love you all so bad. It's crazy that I can be so excited to go serve in Siena with Sorella Nilson and at the same time feel like my heart is being ripped out and eat by some large carnivorous animal. I keep telling myself it's better to love people and leave bits of me with them and cry my face off when I leave than to be a cold unfeeling monster that cares abot nobody. Ha.
You're beautiful. Be good and take care of yourselves.
xoxo
sorella bush
p.s. We watched A Muppet Christmas Carol yesterday morning. So good. And then started it again in Italian while we waited for Luca to pick us up. Tooo funny.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
forgiven
Hi family,
Forgiveness granted, your emails were lovely. And mom, I'm trying to send you a shiz ton of pics too so everyone should be happy.
First off, Christmas day. We're eating lunch at the Omer's. Our rough plan is for Sorella Beutler to call her fam around 3:30 our time and the tocca a me, so at the latest it will be 4:30 here or 9:30 for you guys. I would have everything on at least by 9:00, maybe earlier if you can wake yourselves up so I can call whenever the moment arrives. O mamma, Christmas?! How is it freaky Christmas!
Second item of business, Prez Wolfgramm didn't respond to my email, even though I threatened to throw up everywhere. Maybe I should have been more specific and said I'd throw up all over him. But we have zone conference tomorrow so I'll talk to him and figure it all out. My permesso di soggiorno doesn't even need to be renewed, so I'm legal here until the 29th of June I think. Not going anywhere.
Thanks for the present, not sure it will get here before I leave though. Word on the street is we have a sorella conference coming up, in some way or another Sorella Beutler will get it to me.
Guys, I'm just so happy these days. Seriously, I feel kind of like I'm in mid-stride, like I've figured out what I'm supposed to be doing and I know the Book of Mormon and I understand Italian and I freaky love these people. I love that I really do just feel like myself, but a much better version of me. I don't get the missionaries that lose who they are, and there are so many of them. Or they start teaching people and all of a sudden switch into missionary mode. Who wants to learn the gospel from them? I mean, it's not like jokes all of a sudden aren't funny now that we're missionaries. laughing isn't necessarily equal to irreverence.
In district meeting Monday this Anziano was talking about how when Christ was on the Earth it was still the Holy Ghost that ha colpito le persone, non Gesu' and before I knew what was happening, I said "Si, ma Gesu' non ha mai colpito nessuno, meno male." The native Anziani laughed. Ha.
I remember in Bergamo in my first two transfers with Sorella Jacobson, lamenting how I didn't feel like I had a personality in Italian. Don't worry folks, adesso basta e avanza. In missionary news Herlina is incredible! I taught her on scambio with Sorella Gomez two weeks ago and it was a beautiful first lesson, poi, last Thursday siamo tornate con Michele e abbiamo insegnato il piano di salvezza e era troppo bellllllo! This woman is elect. How do we know?
Sign Number 1: When we were talking about this life on earth, and the 5 steps Christ showed us we need to do, she said "hang on, what are they again, aspetta, voglio scrivere questo, and she went and grabbed a notebook to write the 5 steps down.
Sign Number 2: She started asking about her family members that are already dead and didn't get the chance to accept all this in this life. Told her not to worry, talked about missionary work in the spirit world and said we would explain more in the future. Basically I'm obsessed with her.
We went back last night with Luca and just read the BOM together and applied it. At the end she was telling us this great story about one of the old lady she works with who's anti anything not catholic and she was like guarda, soon enough you're going to have a Mormon in this house. Ha!
I also really love how when she talks about the things we've learned so far together she says it all makes her feel more sicura, best word choice. It breaks my heart a little bit that the first Sunday she'll be able to come to church will be the first Sunday I'm probs not here. I'll just have to visit her when I get back and then we can kick it in the celestial kingdom. We were talking last night about how crazy it is we met, because we were at a bus stop we hardly ever wait at and it was late at night, and she said that she never leaves the house at night, but she decided to run and grab some stuff from the store so we were waiting together. I get scared thinking about what if I hadn't started talking to her. O madonna. God is great.
My other new best friend is Onofrio, originally from Sicily, maybe I can tell you about him Christmas. Love that there's a cheese CSA!!! Guys, what if I just spend the rest of my days making cheese, I can't think of a happier life, ha.
Did you guys do a family Christmas card guy this year? send me one if you did, I carry last years in my scriptures for when peeps ask to see my family. Random thing, my Patagonia boats are awesome, kinda wearing down but have held up so well considering I wear them constantly in all weather. Could someone look and see if the Addie Riding Boot still exists, in a size 9, because I would love another pair, black or brown. They're the greatest.
Okay, well, see you Tuesday!! Have a lovely Christmas Eve, hope there's snow, salute the Andrew family for me. And the cool peeps in the university ward and obvioudly Sarah. I wish she wasn't heading west for the holidays like I assume she is so she could be part of the family skype, ha.
love yooooou!!!!!
sorella bush!
Forgiveness granted, your emails were lovely. And mom, I'm trying to send you a shiz ton of pics too so everyone should be happy.
First off, Christmas day. We're eating lunch at the Omer's. Our rough plan is for Sorella Beutler to call her fam around 3:30 our time and the tocca a me, so at the latest it will be 4:30 here or 9:30 for you guys. I would have everything on at least by 9:00, maybe earlier if you can wake yourselves up so I can call whenever the moment arrives. O mamma, Christmas?! How is it freaky Christmas!
Second item of business, Prez Wolfgramm didn't respond to my email, even though I threatened to throw up everywhere. Maybe I should have been more specific and said I'd throw up all over him. But we have zone conference tomorrow so I'll talk to him and figure it all out. My permesso di soggiorno doesn't even need to be renewed, so I'm legal here until the 29th of June I think. Not going anywhere.
Thanks for the present, not sure it will get here before I leave though. Word on the street is we have a sorella conference coming up, in some way or another Sorella Beutler will get it to me.
Guys, I'm just so happy these days. Seriously, I feel kind of like I'm in mid-stride, like I've figured out what I'm supposed to be doing and I know the Book of Mormon and I understand Italian and I freaky love these people. I love that I really do just feel like myself, but a much better version of me. I don't get the missionaries that lose who they are, and there are so many of them. Or they start teaching people and all of a sudden switch into missionary mode. Who wants to learn the gospel from them? I mean, it's not like jokes all of a sudden aren't funny now that we're missionaries. laughing isn't necessarily equal to irreverence.
In district meeting Monday this Anziano was talking about how when Christ was on the Earth it was still the Holy Ghost that ha colpito le persone, non Gesu' and before I knew what was happening, I said "Si, ma Gesu' non ha mai colpito nessuno, meno male." The native Anziani laughed. Ha.
I remember in Bergamo in my first two transfers with Sorella Jacobson, lamenting how I didn't feel like I had a personality in Italian. Don't worry folks, adesso basta e avanza. In missionary news Herlina is incredible! I taught her on scambio with Sorella Gomez two weeks ago and it was a beautiful first lesson, poi, last Thursday siamo tornate con Michele e abbiamo insegnato il piano di salvezza e era troppo bellllllo! This woman is elect. How do we know?
Sign Number 1: When we were talking about this life on earth, and the 5 steps Christ showed us we need to do, she said "hang on, what are they again, aspetta, voglio scrivere questo, and she went and grabbed a notebook to write the 5 steps down.
Sign Number 2: She started asking about her family members that are already dead and didn't get the chance to accept all this in this life. Told her not to worry, talked about missionary work in the spirit world and said we would explain more in the future. Basically I'm obsessed with her.
We went back last night with Luca and just read the BOM together and applied it. At the end she was telling us this great story about one of the old lady she works with who's anti anything not catholic and she was like guarda, soon enough you're going to have a Mormon in this house. Ha!
I also really love how when she talks about the things we've learned so far together she says it all makes her feel more sicura, best word choice. It breaks my heart a little bit that the first Sunday she'll be able to come to church will be the first Sunday I'm probs not here. I'll just have to visit her when I get back and then we can kick it in the celestial kingdom. We were talking last night about how crazy it is we met, because we were at a bus stop we hardly ever wait at and it was late at night, and she said that she never leaves the house at night, but she decided to run and grab some stuff from the store so we were waiting together. I get scared thinking about what if I hadn't started talking to her. O madonna. God is great.
My other new best friend is Onofrio, originally from Sicily, maybe I can tell you about him Christmas. Love that there's a cheese CSA!!! Guys, what if I just spend the rest of my days making cheese, I can't think of a happier life, ha.
Did you guys do a family Christmas card guy this year? send me one if you did, I carry last years in my scriptures for when peeps ask to see my family. Random thing, my Patagonia boats are awesome, kinda wearing down but have held up so well considering I wear them constantly in all weather. Could someone look and see if the Addie Riding Boot still exists, in a size 9, because I would love another pair, black or brown. They're the greatest.
Okay, well, see you Tuesday!! Have a lovely Christmas Eve, hope there's snow, salute the Andrew family for me. And the cool peeps in the university ward and obvioudly Sarah. I wish she wasn't heading west for the holidays like I assume she is so she could be part of the family skype, ha.
love yooooou!!!!!
sorella bush!
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
okay, you guys are all grounded
I feel like it's been ages since I've gotten a real email from you jokers, so this will be short. Also because we're about to catch the train to Milano to see the Last Supper and then scambi with the Milano 3 sorelle.
It's actually been kind of a slow week. Sorella Beutler has been sick again so lots of time at home, I've read the first 200 pages of the Old Testament (how do people get by without the Book of Mormon? No idea.)
I did have one super amazing lesson on scambi last Wednesday night. We taught this woman we had found named Herlinda and it went so well. She accepted the baptismal invite, said the prayer at the end, there was just an incredible spirit and teaching with Sorella Gomez I felt like I was back with Sorella Simkins, because all we did was teach those main preach my gospel lessons all the time. We haven't had tons of progressing investigators here in Varese so it just felt good to feel like I was really working.
I love Sorella Beutler and I had a baby moment of revelation Monday that helping her grow was a big chunk of what I was supposed to do here in Varese. And back to Herlinda we realized that she's the cousin of a less active Ermila that we work with. Small world.
But someone has got to tell me your Christmas day plans so we can figure out when I need to call. Can't wait to see you pretty faces.
Also I'm talking with prez to get my release date sorted out. May 3rd means I don't go over the 18 months and June I go over 17 days or something. He has the power to extend people 30 days past so I'm hoping we'll get it sorted out. I told him the idea of having just three transfers left makes me want to throw up. Exact quote. Ha.
So excited about Ian's papers!!!!!! sos os os os os os sosooososososososossssssssooooooo
Okay...off to catch the train.
Love you all, be good!
xoxo
sorella bush
It's actually been kind of a slow week. Sorella Beutler has been sick again so lots of time at home, I've read the first 200 pages of the Old Testament (how do people get by without the Book of Mormon? No idea.)
I did have one super amazing lesson on scambi last Wednesday night. We taught this woman we had found named Herlinda and it went so well. She accepted the baptismal invite, said the prayer at the end, there was just an incredible spirit and teaching with Sorella Gomez I felt like I was back with Sorella Simkins, because all we did was teach those main preach my gospel lessons all the time. We haven't had tons of progressing investigators here in Varese so it just felt good to feel like I was really working.
I love Sorella Beutler and I had a baby moment of revelation Monday that helping her grow was a big chunk of what I was supposed to do here in Varese. And back to Herlinda we realized that she's the cousin of a less active Ermila that we work with. Small world.
But someone has got to tell me your Christmas day plans so we can figure out when I need to call. Can't wait to see you pretty faces.
Also I'm talking with prez to get my release date sorted out. May 3rd means I don't go over the 18 months and June I go over 17 days or something. He has the power to extend people 30 days past so I'm hoping we'll get it sorted out. I told him the idea of having just three transfers left makes me want to throw up. Exact quote. Ha.
So excited about Ian's papers!!!!!! sos os os os os os sosooososososososossssssssooooooo
Okay...off to catch the train.
Love you all, be good!
xoxo
sorella bush
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