Buon Natale

CIAO TUTTI,

Due to the fact that i will be seeing all of your beautiful faces via Skype TOMORROW and we will probs talk about lots of stuff then, I am not sure how great this email will be! But i will do my best to recap my week #sostoked

Christmas in Trieste!

My first full week in Trieste was a little bit of a roller coaster, that is for sure! We had great times, funny times, weird times, awkward times, hard times, sad times....just all the various different type of times! It is truly incredible to be spending this Holiday season in the beautiful country of Italy, i could not be more greatful. There is just something truly fulfilling about walking out the door each day and being able to bear your testimony of Jesus to random people on the street and on the bus.

This Christmas I feel as though I have truly been able to understand Christmas, not just enjoy it! It has indeed been special. I have learned that it is not enough to just think about Christ during this time, but we need to help other people to truly come unto Him and feel the joy that can be had through this gospel and through the miracle of His atonement. He has given us everything and we need to give something back to Him. I encourage you all to think of something you can give up, something you can improve...and give it to the Savior. That is what this is all about. It is about coming unto Him, walking in His path. Giving our will completely to the Father and striving each and every day to follow the example of our Savior. Truly understanding the WHY behind the celebrations is when we can fully ENJOY the beauty of it, the hope, and the JOY. I am just so happy. Man, it is hard to describe. It is so weird that you can have struggles and the work can be hard and it doesn't feel like you are getting anywhere...but somehow still feel so happy. I know that this joy comes from my Savior. Only through Him can we feel peace and hope in this life. It is not easy, by any means...but through Him it is POSSIBLE. and not just possible but incredible, fulfilling, JOYOUS.

One night this week, one of our appointments fell through so we decided to go to this BEAUTIFUL piazza in the middle of town and do some finding work. There were a lot of people gathered around so we had lots to work with! We started to just go around and ask people what their favorite part of Christmas and from there talk about Christ and the true meaning of the season. We were able to have LOTS of really neat conversations with people and truly understand their thoughts and feelings. There was this one man that was sitting down on a bench that we decided to talk to. He ended up being super BRAVO and we had a really Amazing conversation with him about what we believe and why we believe it. He asked US why we celebrate Christmas, and we were able to bear testimony of the Jesus Christ and the hope of His light. We invited Him to watch He Is The Gift, and he pulled out his tablet and we watched it right there on the Street. The spirit was so strong and he was very touched. It was a CHRISTMAS MIRACLE, indeed.

We have been struggling to get appointments set up with people this week because everyone is busy for the holidays and such. Today we are just going to try and pass by people and share a small Christmas message. We are hoping that after the Holidays things will be able to pick back up! But tomorrow we have somewhere to go for lunch and dinner, with some members, so it really should be a wonderful Christmas. I hope you all are happy and I AM JUST REALLY EXCITED TO SEE YOU ALL TOMORROW. ill probs just end this now because i don't really know what else to say and I can just tell you more TOMORROW.

Our Christmas decorations.

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve!!!
Love,
Sorella Burt

Buon Natale da Trieste!

Greetings from Trieste!!

Buon Natale da Trieste!

Ciao all! Lets just say that this week was completely insane! my entire mission life changed. It all started last Thursday...aka the longest day of my life! We woke up at 5 and took a train to Milano. Sorella Woods had to be there early to pick up her new baby. It was soooooo sad to say bye to her. like just the worst. I just love her so very much, but all good things must come to an end.

Goodbye "Momma" Woods!

I will see her again though in like 2 weeks because I have to back to Pavia for Permesso stuff (the thing that allows you to stay in the country, you start it in your first city and have to go back to finish it..huge pain).

But yeah, so i just had to wait at the train station in Milano for like 4 hours with a bunch of other missionaries, Transfer Circles, it is called. It is really fun because you just get to see tons of friends and missionaries and it is just a good time. Our train finally left around 12:30..we got to ride in a Freccia...a really super fast and nice train, just because we were traveling like clear across the country! I was with a bunch of Anziani the whole way there, which was interesting for sure, but at least i wasn't alone. It is a reallllllly long train ride and we had to get off and switch trains like 3 times and it was just crazy and exhausting. I was probably traveling for a total of 7 hours, yikes...the exhaustion struggle was so real!! But i made it.

My new companion, Sorella Nedelkov, was there at the train station to greet me...and her old companion, Sorella Carter, who got permission to do a delayed transfer because of the ward Christmas party. So we were in a trio for about 3 days.  But i LOVE my new companion, Sorella Nedelkov! She is from Ogden, she is 19, and is only 1 transfer ahead of me..so we are both definitely newbies. But she is here to follow the rules and to work hard, as am I, so we get along great!

Hello Sorella Nedelkov!

Trieste is a total dream...it seriously is SO BEAUTIFUL. i cannot handle it. It is right on the ocean but also has mountains. the Whole city is like built on Hills, and holy moly it is just gorgeous. It is hard to explain, but it really is just an incredible city! I got really lucky. The ward here is incredible as well! They are just so welcoming and kind and they really know how to work with the missionaries and do work!  It is nice here because everyone lives in Trieste and you can access anywhere on a bus, so it isn't hard to visit members or to bring them to lessons and such, SUPER nice.

Pictures don't do Trieste justice!

It is another bus city, unfortunately! I hope to someday serve in a biking city. It is just really hilly, so biking would be a terrrible struggle. I got here and we have like NOTHING to work with. like nothing. it was a little dissapointing, but it just means that we have a lot of work to do. We just don't really have many investigators or anything...BUT, we are going to change that. We have set a lot of goals and are really trying to just concecrate our work, 100%. It has just been a little bit of a rough start. The other day we went to try and find a potentials house and got SUPER lost. like incredbily lost. Trieste is just super confusing and Sorella Nedelkov has only been here for one transfer! We got lost the next day as well...we had an appointment with an ex investigator and we never found their house. It was just extremely frustrating and we just really didn't understand why we kept getting lost. We know that God has a reason and a plan for everything but we really didn't understand what He was wanting us to learn. Maybe He was seeing if we would keep working, if we would continue to talk to people and to try? Maybe He is just showing us that sometimes things are hard and you don't understand why, but you just keep going forward. I know that He has a plan. I know that people are being prepared here in Trieste and that miracles are on the horizon. We just need to continue to have faith and press forward, doing absolutely everything we can do. It is frustrating at times to not see outward success, but i know that if i continue to give it all I have and put my trust in Heavenly Father, the work will go forward!

Next week is Christmas!!! HOLLA. it is really an Amazing time to be a missionary. To go out everyday and to talk to people about why we celebrate Christmas and just bear my testimony to them. It is truly incredible and I could not be happier! I love just going out and talking to people about what i believe! nothing beats.  i am suuuuuper stoked to talk to you all next week!!! yipeeeee. i dont really know any details, on the skype thing...unfortunately, but i will have to let you know next week.

My new address is:
Via Largo Uno Mioni 9
34138 Trieste (TS)
Italiasend stuff here, because otherwise i will not get it for a super long time!!

I love you all and I am so grateful for each of you! remember the why for the season and make that your focus. I CANT WAIT TO SEE ALL OF YOUR FACES!!!!!!

SORELLA BURT
Isaiah 55:8
Alma 36:7

Loving Trieste so far!

Expect the Unexpected‏

To say it has been a crazy week would be quite the understatement. Sometimes things don't happen how you think they will and good things end way too fast.  Saturday was Transfer News day. We waited all morning for the call from President to tell us what would be going down. The wait was KILLER, we were just dying to hear what would be happening. We finally got the call at about 12:30 and President told Sorella Woods that she would be training again and would be a Sister Training Leader and the shocker part came when he said that she is staying in Pavia! She then handed the phone to me and President told me that I was being transferred to TRIESTE. I was completely SHOCKED. I was pretty much 100% sure that I would be staying in Pavia, and so was Sorella Woods. It is just SO uncommon to be transferred in your 3rd, so I was completely prepared to stay. Boy were we wrong!!

I am going to the very East that you can possibly go to this little place called Trieste. It is like a little piece of land that hangs off Italy and is surrounded by water. My new companion...I cannot remember her name...she is only one transfer ahead of me, so we are both newbies! I just still cannot believe that I am already leaving Pavia, it feels like I just got here!! It is my home, the members are my family! It is all I know of Italy, of missionary work! It is my birth city!!

Goodbye Pavia!

I am still just in shock that it is a real thing. I am sad to be leaving here but also excited for this new adventure! From what I have heard of Trieste, it is like FREEEEEEEZING cold. It is known for its dangerously strong winds...I guess that there is a rope that you have to hold onto when you walk down the street, just so you don't fly away!! But I have also heard from pretty much everyone that it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Everyone tells me that I am really lucky to be going there, so I am excited to see what my new city has in store!

This week has been crazy, trying to get ready to move...packing, cleaning, saying last goodbyes! It is just a sad thing! I am really going to miss Sorella Woods,,,SO much. It is insane how close we have become over these past 12 weeks, we are bestest of friends! I just cannot imagine missionary life without my momma! It breaks my heart to think that today is my very last day with her...but I guess that all good things have go come to an end. I cried like a little baby when I bore my testimony in Sacrament meeting on Sunday.

Sorella Woods and I in front of an old castle.

Pavia has been such a good ride, it was literally the best start of my mission that I could have ever asked for. I learned and grew SOOOO much, it is ridiculous. We saw miracles, laughed, cried, got soaking wet, ran after way too many buses, ate way too much foccaccia, talked to loads of people, and just did missionary work. It has been the biggest growing period for me...the beginning of a mission is rough, really rough. I struggled with things I never thought I would. But I have learned to rely on my Heavenly Father. I have learned that He knows everything and without Him, we know nothing. I have learned the importance of being bold talking to people. I have learned to embrace the hard and to be grateful for times of trial. I have learned soooooo much i could go on for DAYS. I have loved it so much...but I am really excited to find out why I am needed in Trieste...to learn and to grow and to just continue to serve my Heavenly Father and be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

As you all probably heard...I also lost my wallet this week...yipppppppe. It caused quiet the stress on me and was just a really unfortunate thing all around! I lost it on a random bus in a town far away from Pavia last Thursday and was very sad because it had cash and cards and just all the important stuff.....BUT let me tell you one thing....MIRACLES ARE REAL. I found it yesterday! We decided to call the bus company one more time yesterday and they told us that they had found it. A man drove it to us and everything was still in there!! AHHHHH. it was the coolest miracle ever...my cards are still canceled, but it doesn't matter because it was just a huge testimony builder to me that God hears and answers our prayers and our desperate pleas for help...ALWAYS...but it is in His timing and His way. I think that He was teaching me patience and faith...both of which have grown this week from this experience.

I am moving tomorrow, my whole mission life is about to change. But i am happy and i am excited to see what this new adventure has in store.
That is all I have for today...but I love you all! Keep it real.

ciao.
con amore,
sorella burt

I love the people in Pavia!

With the Elders.

My Christmas package arrived just in time!!

The Work Will go Forth...‏

It is CHRISTMAS time in full swing here in cute little Pavia. Christmas lights, trees, decorations, food...EVERYTHING. it is such a dream! They are even put in an ice skating rink in the center of town and have cotton candy and fried bread with nutella and a cute little market! AH. it is too much! It is such a happy time of year and a beautiful time to be in Italy! From what i hear, Christmas are just a dream in Italy! i am STOKED. I am not really sure what we will do on the actual day of Christmas. Of course we are gonna Skype home and hopefully have dinner with some members but who knows!

Modeling new dress from Mom!

We get transfer calls this coming Saturday, and it is pretty much a 99% guarantee that we are going to be spit up...SO SAD. It literally makes me sick just thinking about it. Generally the trainer leaves the trainee...that is what usually happens, but you never know! It is normally that the trainer leaves and then someone else comes and then one transfer later i would leave...that is the trend of our mission, but surprises always happen! So we don't really know! It  will be interesting to see what will happen. It will be weird to leave Sorella Woods...she and I have become SO close...she is all i know as far as missionary work goes, so it will be interesting to be with someone new! But i am excited, a chance to grow a new best friend.

This week was one of our best ones yet! It was seriously just sooooo good! I don't even fully know all the reasons why, it just ruled. We have really been trying to work reallllllly hard because the whole time we have been here in Pavia we haven't seen much progression in the work. We have seen miracles, for sure...but not much progression! But we have continued to work our very hardest no matter what. It is one of those things where you just keep going onward with faith, knowing that Heavenly Father will bless you in some way...just not always in the way you think or want!

We had a cool experience the other day when we were out doing some finding work...we were talking to people on the street and stuff and it got to the point that we really needed some direction as far as where we should go. We said a quick prayer and immediately after started talking to a lady on a bench nearby. She ended up being super awesome and actually became a new investigator! it was a huge miracle and an amazing testament of the real power of prayer. Heavenly Father is mindful of us out here, and He will help us to know who we need to talk to! We ended up finding one more investigator that day and talked to LOTS of people, and it was just a miracle day. We needed one of those!

The other day we also found another new investigator while we were waiting for the bus...her name is V. and ohhhhh man she rules. She was SO open and soooooo excited about us coming over! I called her the other day to set up an appointment and she was like SO STOKED that it was the sisters calling her! That has never happened before!! Hopefully she will continue to be amazing and we can start to teach her! We are seeing miracles here. The work goes forth! Slowly but surely...ha welcome to Italy! I know that if we continue forward with faith and diligence, we will always see blessings!! THE WORK OF THE LORD WILL NOT BE FRUSTRATED.

For Thanksgiving...we did nothing! it was def the saddest thanksgiving i have ever had...it just rained a lot and nothing went well, but it is okay! i thought a lot about being grateful not just for the things I have but also for hard times and trying situations! I am grateful for everything Heavenly Father gives me, good or bad. It all works together for my good and everything put together equals who i am! He knows everything, thank goodness! I am so grateful for that knowledge and for the chance I have to help others come to know of it too!

This week i got my first hair cut in Italy....by Sorella Woods! ha apparently that is the thing to do..you just cut each others hair! To save money? i dunno...Sorella Woods did a great job and only cut off a tiny bit...you cant even tell! I guess the Italians are a little crazy when it comes to cutting hair.

No need to worry about the fact that we don't eat dinner! it is just what you do here! we don't starve and we have plenty of money!! We just don't come home!! work work work...but we do eat a snack before bed...it was weird at first to not eat dinner, but now i am used to it!

That is about all i have for this week...sorry not the best email! But i am doing great and just loving life here in Italy! next week I will know the deets on transfers so that will be an exciting time! i love you all so much and hope you have a wonderful week!!

Love,
Sorella Burt

#timeismarchingon

hollla. waddup. ciao. hi therrrrrrrrre......(starting emails is always so awk...like um..yeah ha)

I got a request last week from mia padre for a rundown on what a typical day in the life of a missionary in Pavia looks like...so i suppose that i will start with that!! Welllllll, we wake up at 6:30 and every other day we go on a little 2 mile-ish jog right along the beautiful river. it is suuuuuuch a dream of a jog, i don't even hate it! The other days we just do abs and such indoors. After that we get ready, eat cereal, and then we study from 8-10...personal and then companion! after that we hit the road. depending on what we have scheduled that day we either hop on a train to go to a persons house or a bus. Most peeps live at train distance away so that is pretty fun to ride trains! the public transportation system is not very reliable though and they are almost always late!! We come home at 1 for pranzo..or lunch...for one hour. and after that we have lingua! We do this in the middle of the day because ALL Italians go home during pranzo time and no one is outside. All shops close, everything is dead during pranzo! then after that we go back to work...more trains or buses, depending on what is planned! If we don't have appointments we will do street contacting! we don't eat dinner, and get home at 9 at night! then we plan and get ready for bed! that is the normal day for us! but everyday is different and we always are having to adapt! but there ya goooooo....a typical day for us in Pavia!

On the streets of Italia.

This week was a suuuuuper great one! we worked really hard and nothing feels better than hard work. Last thursday we had our Zone Conference with Anziano Fingerle of the 70 and his wife. It was a really great experience and I saw a bunch of my friends from the MTC! it was super fun! The ipads are a no-go...unfortunately! It was all about how we can use social media in our work without having a device! It blew my mind a little...who knew that was possible! It was pretty much about just counseling with people and encouraging them to invite their friends via Facebook and share Mormon messages and stuff with those who are struggling! it was actually really cool. Speaking of which have you guys heard of the huge #sharethegift campaign going on for Christmas?? go to christmas.mormon.org...it is the coolest thing. Lets make Christ the center of our Christmas this year...eh? go watch the video and SHARE IT WITH ALLLLLL.

They also talked a lot about using more family history in our finding work...which is something that we have really been trying to put into practice this week! It is crazy how successful we have been! well maybe not successful..but it is amazing how many more people are willing to listen to you about families and ancestors!! it really does work, sooooo cool! and it all ties back to the Restoration and how we know that families can be together forever! Who knew...family history finding actually works. #wadddddup The other big thing that I got from the conference was the importance of 1% changes. We talked a lot about the small and simple things and how crucial they are! the small things are seriously what matters. they really encouraged us to look at how we do work and improve in every category by just one percent, every day. If we strive to just do a little better each day...we will eventually get where we wanna be! i really liked that and has been something that i am really trying to focus on. just the little areas i can improve on each day! i would encourage you all to do the same! #smallandsimple ohhhhh i also got to meet Sorella Yost!!!! Beccas cousin! it was such a dream, she is soooo cool and i was so happy to finally meet her there!! she was in Sorella Woods MTC group so they are really good friends.

Me with cute Sorella Yost.

Ever heard the hymn entitled...For the strength of the Hills? ummmm yeah, me neither. I had to play that in sacrament this week and i had practiced it a bunch but it is really hard and i had zero clue how it goes....i go to play it in sacrament and IT WAS SUCH A TRAIN WRECK. like yikes. i think it was my worst musical performance of my whole life....it was bad, i cannot even explain how terrible. lets just say that i cried too many tears and then the cute bishopric gave me a sweet note afterwards to try and help me feel better. yiiiiiiikes. talk about embarrassing!!

This week is the set aside...Week of Consecration, for the mission. We have really been focusing on consecrating ourselves in every way so that we can have more success and the work can move forth here in Italy. One way we have been doing this is just talking to more people. We are talking to everyone in our path, and it has been wonderful! the only way we will see miracles is if we are doing everything in our power! Just opening our mouths is so critical..and soooo important. Sadly many missionaries don't understand the importance of it!! We succeed when we invite! It is really been a huge testimony builder for me this week. Fear is of Satan and we cannot let him into this work! We can expect miracles only when we are doing all we can!

Life goes on in Italy...i hope some of you caught the reference of my email subject...time is marching on indeed! we only have like 2 more weeks of this transfer. it is nuts how quick the time flies! I am loving my mission and loving Pavia and being with Sorella Woods. It is going to be sooooooo sad to part! we have literally become so close and will def be friends forever! i am just in love with this country and these people and with being a missionary! it is the best thing EVER. I hope you all are doing well and that you have a good Thanksgiving! i really wish thanksgiving existed here...def not! we bought a candy bar to celebrate...ha. eat some turkey for meeeeeeee! I am so THANKFUL for my incredible family. you all mean the world to me!!!
have a good one!
love,
Sorella Kar

just posing with the pavia famous grafiti...fat boy qui.....

Everything is all decorated for Christmas and it makes me sooooo happy! Buone Feste errybodyyyyy!!

Our cute district....look how well we color coordinated! Not even on purpose. #preshhhhhhh

   

We Survived a Natural Disaster...‏

Ciao tutti! Come Stai??

This week was another good one here in the wonderful world of Pavia. I love it here, more and more. Every day i fall more and more in love with this beautiful country. I am so lucky to be here, AH i cannot get over it!

I love living in Italy!

Sooooooo...yes, as some might have heard there haas been a ridiculous amount of flooding going on in Italy lately, and even in Pavia. We have a river that runs right through our town and this week it got SUPER high because of the ridiculous amount of rain. There are a bunch of paths that run by the river that were completely covered and it was just crazy! The river even started overflowing and flooding some of the houses near by. We luckily dont live super close to the river, so we were safe...but we like to joke that we survived a natural disaster!!! #hurrrrrrrah they had tons of people working to try and fix the problem and then somehow the river has gone done a huge amount the last few days! We were lucky that the water didn't really come into our streets and stuff, it was a lot worse in other places, we hear!

River waters getting high!

So the Zone conference is actually not until tomorrow so we don't know yet if we are for sure getting ipads...but we are pretty sure it has something to do with that! We will find out tomorrow. I am super stoked to go to Milano for the conference it should be a great time and I am really looking forward to learning things from a member of the 70 that we can put into practice in our work here in Pavia.

This week we had a ward party...or a Festa della Zucca...or a Pumpkin party! It was pretty much just a Halloween party, just a few weeks late...ha that is Italians for ya! All the little kids dressed up and they had tons of fun little games for them to play and then they fed us Pizza...naturally! It was a blast and one of our investigators, P., actually came! We were so stoked and it was a rad night and made me feel like i was in america for a sec, which ruled. love those american moments!

We had a cool miracle this week with this lady named A. We actually found her a few weeks back...probably like a month ago, just sulla strada. We have been trying to meet with her since we met her but it finally happened this week! We went over to her house and taught her the Restoration. She was super interested and involved and asked us all sorts of questions. The spirit was very strong and we were really able to testify of the magnitude of this beautiful message. She was so sincere and when we invited her to baptism, she accepted and said...but i have to read this book first!!! haha we were like..uhhh, yeah. ha that would be a good idea! please do that!! She just rules. And we both left her house just really happy and feeling like she has been prepared by the Lord. It was an amazing miracle and we are excited to have someone new to teach!

We were also able to have a similar situation with a woman named G. She was also so sincere and prepared and we actually able to set a baptism date with her! It ruled and we are really excited about these things and the miracles that God is providing us! I know that hard work and diligence pays offfffffffff!

So this week on Monday, I had probs one of the worst days of my mission so far. I am not even 100 percent sure why...it was just not good at all. Everything fell through, it was cold and rainy and miserable, and it was just one of those days where your heart just isn't in it, sadly enough. We were both just having a rough day and nothing went well. I came home that night feeling awful...knowing that i did not do all that i could have done to be a good missionary. I felt guilty and that i had let a lot of people down but especially The Lord. I prayed a lot that night for forgiveness and that i would be able to get back my drive and desire. The next day i woke up determined to just make it a good day, no matter what. To literally just go hard and not hold anything back. That is exactly what we did and yesterday was literally one of the best days of my mission! Everything went great and we saw lots of miracles! We talked to tons of people and just were a thousand times happier! I know that Heavenly Father allowed me to have that bad day so that i would snap out of it and work harder. There is opposition in all things and i truly learned the importance of that. i am grateful that each day I can improve and do better and I know that Heavenly Father is with me every step of the way! I am SOOOOO grateful to be here. Sometimes days are hard and things just don't go well, but you just keep going and doing it anyways. When I actually do what i am here to do i am a thousand times happier!! This gospel is completely incredible. It has changed my life and I don't know where i would be without it!

Well that is about all that i have for this week! I am doing great and just LOVING my mission. I love the good, the bad...all of it! This is the greatest journey i have ever embarked on and I am so grateful to have the support of the greatest humans ever backing me up and cheering me on along the way! never stop that. SO MUCH LOVE.

do ALL things that lie in your power.

have a great week!

sorellllllllllllla kar

#justdoit‏

okkkkkkkkkay, so to start off....we actually did not end up getting a new companion this week! We went like 2 days thinking that we were getting a third and then President called us again and said that we would not be anymore.  Everything is just staying normal, so i guess that is good! It sounds like everyone is doing really well and life is going on, as usual...so that is a relief! We had a really good week as well, being a missionary is just the best thing! I am so happy.

The big thing that happened this week was that we had a scambio...or exchange, i guess. Our sister training leader is training which means that she is a solo STL. We have to do a scambio with a STL every transfer, so we have to do two so that we each get a chance to be with her...if that makes any sense? Anywayyyyyz, for this scambio they decided that it would be a good idea to put both of the trainees together...so Sorella Woods went to Milano with Sorella Smart, and Sorella Skinner came here with me. Sorella Skinner is only in her 2nd week in Italy, so I was the one in charge! I was realllllly nervous for this beforehand! Having to be in charge of the phone and getting around and teaching the lessons for an entire day!! Pretty intimidating. But I prayed a lot and I had a LOT of faith that Heavenly Father would help us out and everything would be okay!!!

We had a really cool miracle right off the bat. We were trying to find the house of this lady that we had found on the street the other day to give her a Book of Mormon. We got a little lost, but after a little bit of time, found the house. We didn't know which ci telefono was hers so we just started trying all of them, and none were her. We tried the last one and were just about to leave, and the lady that we had been looking for just walked right out the door of the apartment!!! I just got supppper excited and started talking to her and she remembered us and I gave her the book. unfortunately she was in a hurry, but she told us when we can come back! It was such a HUGE miracle and just really pumped me up for the rest of the night! I know that happened only because Heavenly Father made it happen. He blesses us soooooo much when we have faith, people!! don't forget it! Anyways, we had like 3 other lessons that night and they all went really well! It was so weird to be the one talking the most and leading and stuff. I really shouldn't have been able to say half the things i said, but i can truly testify that the spirit was with me and Heavenly Father truly did guide my words!! The power of the gift of tongues is so real and I cannot even believe it.

We were even able to find two really awesome ladies on the street and teach them lessons. Oh man, it was just SOOOOO good. It was the exact confidence booster i needed. I can do this work, I know more than i ever give myself credit for, but the only way is because of faith and because Heavenly Father magnified my abilities! It was the coolest experience ever and it taught be SO much.

We had an interesting experience at one of our investigators houses this week....she gave us some cake, that was fine but then after that she poured us up a nice glass of wine......we were like, uhhh. and she was like oh don't worry it is wine for the Saints! Only a tiny bit of alcohol. We were like...um no thanks we don't drink alcohol (we obviously haven't made it to the word of wisdom yet...) but she was SOOO insistent that we drink it...we said no like a thousand times and it finally just kind of died away...but that was def a first for me!! STAND UP FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE. also, don't drink wine....ha

So our cute little investigator with what we thought was a for sure baptism date, is no longer for sure...sadly enough. The last few times we have been over there, he has not really been very interested and hasn't been reading the Book of Mormon. We just don't want to push him into it, because it needs to be his decision. He doesn't seem all that excited about all of this anymore, so we are sad about that! But we are going to keep trying and help him to understand the importance of all of this, and hopefully he will understand!

This coming Sunday is our ward's primary program and i am the pianist for it! Horrayyyyyy. it should be very interesting! Our primary is so great but literally the loudest primary in probs the whole world! I love them though and am really excited to be able to play the piano for it! hopefully i do alright!

We are doing really well here in Pavia and are finding people and having really good experiences with our current investigators! This cute little couple, H. and V., have been investigating the church for 15 years and this week THEY FINALLY READ!!!!!! Holy cow, it was the biggest miracle and we are hoping that we can help them progress. They are from Peru and gave us the BEST RICE EVAAAAAAA. yum yum.

Things are moving a long and it is a wonderful time to be a missionary!! We have a big zone conference this week with someone from the 70 and the rumor is that we are gonna be getting ipads soon, but who knows! it should be a really good conference though, I am very excited!

I wanna share a quote with you all from President Gordan B. Hinckley...It will be a great day when our people not only pray for the missionaries throughout the world, but ask The Lord to help them to assist the missionaries who are laboring in their own ward....

I want to challenge you all to do this! get involved BE MEMBER MISSIONARIES. this work does not work without the members and we alllllll need to be involved! Pray for opportunities and they WILL BE GIVEN, I am not kidding,. do it! you will be so much happier! it is scary, yes...but the blessings and happiness far outweigh the fear and the awkwardness. Just DO it. i promise you will be blessed!

Have a wonderful week! THANKS FOR BEING THE BEST PEOPLE EVER.
lovveeeee forever and EVER.
Sorella Burt

Miracles Are Real

CIAO MIA FAMILIGA!

Another wonderful week over and done here in Pavia! I am loving my life and just SO happy to be a missionary! It is literally the best thing ever. Everyone needs to try it sometime!!! We had the most incredible miracle ever this week. The story is a little long, so i will try and condense it...but you gotta know all the deets and it is def worth hearing!!

At the train station....where it seems like we always are!

So the other day we were on a train headed to a little town to visit one of our less actives. This girl next to us all the sudden just started asking what train she was on in a panic...we told her and she was very flustered because she had gotten on the wrong train and had to be in Voghera in about an hour and a half. (she spoke English and Italian...she is from Texas but has lived in Europe most of her life). We had her get off the train with us so we could help her figure out how to get back to the city she needed to go to. There was not another train for about an hour so, and Sorella Woods had the impression to invite her with us to our lesson. She agreed, and as we were walking there, she just let us in on ALL of her life, pretty much. Her name is L., and it turns out that her Dad is LDS and her grandma, she was pretty much raised by her grandma but she is not a member. She has a lot of tie to the church, which was pretty crazy! She is going through a hard divorce and has a lot of things going on in her life. She needed to get to Voghera to pick up some paperwork. We got to the members house and she was not there but her husband was. He was so kind and made a bunch of phone calls to find a way to get this poor lady to Voghera in time to pick up her paperwork. Finally he just decided to have his son drive him on their little scooter. L. had a big bag, so we told her that we would take it and she could come and pick it up in Pavia later. It was crazy, and I did not do a very good job at explaining it...but yeah.

We were really grateful that Heavenly Father placed her in our path and that we were able to help her make it to her appointment on time. BUT it does not end there! We were sitting on the train home and Sorella Woods and I both had the impression that we needed to put a Book of Mormon in her bag, we thought that might be a little weird but hey, we are missionaries and everything we do is pretty weird! And you cannot ignore a prompting! So we wrote a heartfelt note in a Book of Mormon and slipped it in her bag. That night we went to meet her at the train station and she was soooo kind and said that she wants to keep in contact with us and that she was SO grateful. We were hoping that she would find the BOM and that she wouldn't hate us! We didn't hear anything from her until the next morning when she sent us the most incredible text that i have probably ever received in my WHOLE life. i wish i could write it word for word...ahhhh it just gives me the chills every time i think about it! She said that morning she had opened up her bag and found the Book of Mormon along with our note. She said she cried many happy tears and had very many emotions of gratitude to Heavenly Father for placing us two very special young ladies in the right place at the right time...she said that she has never taken the wrong train, ever and that she knew it was for a reason. She said that she looks forward to continuing on her path to find her purpose and keeping in contact with us...the best part is, she said...My grandma always told me when I was small that I would be the wife of a prophet...who knows!

Ahhhhhhhh it was the most amazing miracle ever. It had absolutely nothing to do with us. It really taught me how much we are simply instruments in Gods hands in this work! (Mosiah 23:10) He makes it all happen. There were so many things that happened that day that were just perfect so that we would meet her and that this could happen. I know that God placed her in our path for a reason and I am SO grateful that we were in tune enough with the spirit to follow its promptings and to be able to change someones life! This work is the most amazing thing ever and I am so incredibly blessed to be a part of it. I know that people are being prepared and that this work WILL GO FORWARD.

We also had another cool miracle..we were able to get a BAP DATE. holla. It is with the son of one of our less actives, J...well she is not less acitve anymore...HOLLA! anyways...he is 10 years old and his name is N. He RULES. He loves coming to church, singing in primary, and reading and praying! He is really excited about his baptism and we are really excited about helping him prepare!

We got a new bishop in our ward this week! Which was crazy and unexpected! It made me think a lot about you guys though.The new one will do a wonderful job!!

We are in Italy and we do LOVE gelato!

Halloween...well it doesn't really exist in Italy...unfortunately! But we sure celebrated it....well kind of! We wore black and orange and took pictures with pumpkin cookies...and that is all! I have never missed American candy so much in my entire life! You all are lucky! the candy here just is not the same!

Our Halloween celebration!

We just barely like 20 minutes ago got a call from President that we are going to be getting a new sister in our companionship...i don't know her name or much of the details but apparently she has to be closer to Milano...she is coming on Friday, so that will be interesting!

Our last spoonful of peanut butter!

I am doing really well! I LOVE IT HERE. Italy is a dream and we are being blessed! I am really trying to focus on putting my ENTIRE heart into this work and truly becoming consecrated! I love you all and I hope that things continue to go well!! It is a crazy time, it sounds like for you all and i am very happy for you all! I love you all and I hope you continue to remember what is important!

Read D&C 88:41-86
Psalms 40:8

Have a wonderful week! i love you all so very much!!

con amore,
Sorella Burt

Transfer one...over and done!

HELLO ALL.

Grettings from Pavia! I hope you are all doing well and that you had another killer week! I surely did. This week was full of much goodness and joy and I am so STOKED to tell ya allllll about it!
First off, we got transfer calls on Saturday....drumroll please.....Sorella Woods and I are staying in PAVIA! HOLLA. Not really any surprise there, but it still made me really excited! I love Pavia and I love my wonderous trainer!

Sorella Woods and I in beautiful Pavia!

It is crazy that one transfer is already over. Crazy I tell you! That was literally the fastest 6 weeks of my whole life! We are stoked for the next 6 and are really just gonna KILL it. We are getting a brand new greenie in our district though, so that is exciting! I am just excited to not be the youngest anymore, it will be weird but i am excited to hopefully know more than someone for once! haha This week was what they call Senior Companion Week...that means that the junior comp becomes the senior comp...which pretty much just means that I was in charge of the phone and making calls and kind of deciding what to do and where to go. I was terrified for it at first, but it actually was not as bad as I thought it would be! I made loads of phone calls and was just like a pro...ha only like 4 people hung up on me...meno male!

Sorella Schoenhals is in our district with Sorella Gillespie.

Yesterday we hit our goal of 70 people which means that WE GET GELATO TODAY. I am so excited i cannot even explain. We figured that we haven't eaten Gelato for a whole 2 weeks and we are dying...i am pretty sure that it is a mission-wide record! It is pretty neat that in 11 days we had 70 conversations with new people about the Restored gospel and about Jesus Christ! Not many accepted, but we did our job. All we can do is invite, thanks to our agency! It was a really great experience though and I am definitely coming out of my shell as far as talking to people goes! It is so great and I feel so much better when I just talk to someone rather then when I don't!

We had a really hard time getting a hold of people this week...like for someone reason NO ONE will answer our phone calls or call us back...which makes setting up appointments a little bit difficult. This means that we had lots of finding time this week, which was actually really great! We were able to see some pretty amazing miracles. One of them was the other day when we were out doing some finding. We take turns being the leader and deciding where would be the best place to go. This particular day was my turn. I was praying a lot to try and figure out how to discern the promptings of the spirit while finding and how to know where the Lord needed us to go. I had a thought of a specific path on the other side of Centro, so we started walking in that direction. We got on the path and there were hardly any people on it. As we got to the end of the path, there was one lady and her dog. We stopped her and started talking to her, her name was Y. and it turns out that she is a member of the church!!! She is less active and hasn't been to church since she moved to Pavia from Ecuador. OH MAN, it was SO cool. We just found a less active on the street, no biggie! There is NO WAY we would have been able to find her if it wasn't for the spirit! Oh man it was just a really neat miracle for me to see how understanding and following promptings of the spirit works. I know that Heavenly Fathers hand is in this work and that He will help us know where to go.

There is a LOT of less-active work here. If everyone in our ward was active, it would be double the size! Lots of work to do! Another cool miracle was a different night when we were finding. We walked past this lady sitting on a bench and by the time we got to the corner, Sorella Woods and I turned to each other and both said...yup we need to go talk to her. We went over and started talking to her...and oh man, she was SO nice and SO prepared. She was so accepting of what we were teaching and wanted to learn more and receive a Book of Mormon! The spirit was so strong and it just felt so natural and comfortable! I even felt comfortable with my Italian! oh man, it was just the coolest experience to find someone who was so prepared. We got her info and set up another appointment, her name is A., and we are just really excited about that! It was such an amazing miracle for us!

Italy is so beautiful!

So there is this really awesome New Convert family in our ward...the D. family. We went and visited them this week at their bar...bars are different in Italy. They are more just like small restaurants. They are just the coolest and they are actually trying to sell their bar because they are moving to Utah! They want to go and start a restaurant there! It is pretty crazy, and they are 100% serious about it. They are just leaving everything and moving to Utah! I really hope that it all works out for them, they are just going for their dreams, which rules.

This week we also went to Milano for Stake Conference on Saturday and Sunday! It was really great...well for what i actually understood! We go to Milano quite often for various conferences and stuff. I like going there, but we go a looooot.

I just feel like really super happy! This week was really good for me and I am truly just very happy to be here! I love it actually. One scripture that I wanted to share with you all is in Mosiah 8:18...go read it! I just love it so much. I know that our Heavenly Father has prepared a way for each and everyone of us to make a difference....and to work miracles through our faith! We can ALL be a benefit to our fellow men. I would encourage each of you to strive to do this, to have the faith and to ask God how he needs YOU to help those around you. I know that if we do this, we will ALL be able to work miracles. There is a work for us to do, in every aspect of our lives. It may be that you are supposed to be there for a friend, or just be a good example! If we strive to find what our work is, Heavenly Father will make us instruments in His hands. We are different because of this gospel! Own that, and be an example to those around you! Make them wonder why you are different and then TELL them what makes you the way that you are and why you are so happy! The Lord will bless you so much. We have to share what we have with others!

Add caption

I love you all so very much! I hope that you have a very happy Halloween and eat lots of yummy american candy for me and carve me a pumpkin or something! You all mean the world to me and I hope that you know that! Thanks for everything!
Till next time!
Sorella Burt

Uhh??

70 Peeps = 1 Gelato

Ciao Ciao Ciao Ciao.

WAADDDDUP. hi like it is always Wednesday i feel. Always time to do this weekly email. Like the time is just FLYIN on by i cannot even believe it. I am mad because I forgot my little sticky note of all the things I wanted to tell you all this week...but its okay I have a pretty stellar memory! Also we had to go to a semi-sketchy internet point for emailing today so I am going to err on the side of caution by not plugging my little picture thing into the computer...i dont want no virus! I am sorry but no pics this week, which is too bad because i have some pretttttty good ones, i guess you will all just have to wait til next week, i know it will be hard but sometiems life is that way!! haha

So i have gotten a few questions in the emails the last few times so I figured that i would start by answering them! So our home is just this largish apartment building sort of near the train station. It is like the ugliest building on the outside, but the view is really nice and our actual apartment is pretty cute! It is pretty small, we just have a kitchen and a bed room and a bathroom and a desk-room...like where our desks are...so pretty much just your basic rooms! it is nice though and it feels like home now. ha i do really miss carpet though. you gotta allllllways wear socks or your feet just freeze to death in like one second.

My beautiful trainer, Sorella Woods is wonderful! She is my mom, as they call it in the mission. Your trainer is your mom. ha She and I still get along very well and we work really hard, well this week we tried really hard to work harder. We kind of were going through this weird slump time where we could have been doing better and we realized that and were like, kay this is dumb, we gotta GO HARD. sooooooo then we made some goals and are just going really hard because guess what? that is why we are here, believe it or not! We are here to talk and to teach and to just give it everything we have. We have this thing where we come up with a hashtag of the day that will like push us...for example some of them have been #wesharebecausewecare #talktilyoudrop #dontthinkjustspeak#findtheone...and so on. it is silly but it is fun and keeps us motivated! Sorella woods is really good at giving me opportunities to talk and really pushing me. This has helped my lang skills for sure, and she is really good about correcting my grammar and such with love and just really builds me up with words of encouragement, which is great because i really need that!

One of our goals we set was we have to talk to 70 people before we can get gelato again. And its not just saying hi to someone it is actually having a real gospel convo with them! It is a lot of people before gelato and we reallllllllly want gelato so it is a good motivation to just be a forever finder and talk to ALL. it has really helped me in getting over my fear of opening my mouth and just not caring about what people are going to think or say! Goals are the bomb. they really help you stay focused and have something to push you! otherwise you are just wandering around without much purpose.

The work here is really slow, as far as we don't have very many investigators that we are teaching...which has been a little hard! But we are trying to talk and find and have the faith that Heavenly Father is preparing someone here for us to find! I REALLY feel like He is, i actually know that He is, we just gotta be patient! This week was a good one as far as just re-committing ourselves to our purpose and just doing what we came here to do. There was one day where I was like just thinking about alllllll of the things that I do not know, it is soooo much! there is just so much to learn and to do as a missionary, i really had no idea! It is crazy and overwhelming at times but then I read the classic scripture about line upon line, small and simple things...and i realized that i just gotta chill out a bit. I have been here for almost one transfer and I have lots more to go! I have plenty of time to learn! As long as i am focused and really trying to improve each day...i will eventually become the missionary that Heavenly Father knows I can be. I know that. We cannot expect to climb Mount Everest in one hour! it takes time. Its a struggle, but we NEED to learn to embrace and be grateful for the struggle. It has been the craziest whirlwind time, this first transfer! but holy cow i have already learned and grown so much. I know that this is exactly where i am needed, and I am going to do all i can with my portion of The Lords vineyard that he has entrusted me!

BIG NEWS. I had my first real life Italian, homemade lasagna and pizza this week and HOLY COW. i cannot even tell you, it was the most amazing experience ever. LIKE IT WAS SO GOOD. i have never tasted anything so delish...sorry mom, it was better than your lasagna! We went to a members house for the first time to eat and it just ruled. They are The Durante family and they are just the best. They love us sooooo much and have a daughter serving in Paris. They told us that we are coming to their house for Christmas, so that was great! They are wonderful people! The dad i cannot remember his name but his only goal is pretty much to get me fat...haha he was just trying to make me eat more and more and wants me to be a...big ball...as he called it. HA Italians are so funny.

We had a really cool thing happen this week! Our investigator, O., set us up with a really cool service opportunity. It is pretty much just like a soup kitchen place for homeless people and they serve dinner every night! It is sooooo cool. It is through a Catholic church and the people that volunteer there are all super nice! We went there and it was just really cool because everyone was super welcoming and kind to us and we even had some chances to talk about our church. They were all just curious why we were there and asked us lots of questions! So yeah, it is a really neat opportunity and we are really stoked about it!

This week was all around a really good one! We are working really hard and really trying to just keep the faith and continue forward! Press onward and upward, one day at a time! i love you all so much and I am so grateful for all the love and support! KEEP IT UP AND REMEMBER WHAT IS IMPORTANT IN LIFE.

Buona Settimana!
Ti Voglio Bene!
Sorella Burt

Jus livin the life...‏

CIAO MIA FAMIGLIA!!!!!

I just want to start out by saying that this week was 100X beter than last week. Like seriously, i am very sorry for all the whiny emails that I sent last week. It was just a rough time. Sometimes things are hard and you just have to let it all out on email! But i guess now you know that i will tell you exactly what I am feeling and exactly how things are going, so that is good i guess! after i finished emailing i was like...kay that was dumb! i am a missionary and i am stronger than this! i can handle this, snap out of it! haha so yeah after i cried a little, i just decided that I was being really dumb and i needed to quit it!

My artistic side.

I just really learned so much this week, it is hard to explain it all. First and foremost I learned that this is not about me. Last week I really realized that I was just way too focused on myself. I dont know the language. I miss my family. I dont know how to be a missionary. I, I, I....that was all i could think about, myself! But guess what, this is not about me at all! This week i just really tried to focus myself outwards and on the needs of others, and just tried to refocus myself on my purpose here! I am here to help others. I read this really bomb talk in an oldish Ensign entitled, Called of Him to Declare His Word..it is by Randy D. Funk, and it was the exact thing i needed to read this week, an exact answer to my prayers! It just talks a lot about how if we prepare ourselves the very best we can by being humble, obedient, and giving ourselves to the service of others, The Lord will magnify our efforts! I just loved that. If i do my part to be obedient and constantly seek to be humble and submit to the will of The Father, he will magnify my abilities! I have so many weaknesses, but this week as i tried to not focus on those weeknesses, but rather on the needs of others, i felt much happier! I know that through my faith and my obedience, The Lord will make my weaknesses into strengths. He knows exactly what i need and He will help to magnify my abilities to bless others!

On top of the Duomo!

I also realllllly love Mosiah 8:18, it talks about how God has provided a way that through faith we can work miracles and be a benefit to those around us! last week i was feeling a lot like I am not really being of help to anyone, how can just one little person make a difference? but this scripture really brought me comfort. I know that God has prepared a way for me to make a difference, through my talents and ablilites! i know that to be true, and as i have been really trying to focus on taking it one day at a time and turning my thoughts outward, i know that i will fulfill my purpose here. Oh man, i am just so grateful for the things i am learning here!

The Duomo in Milan.

It is crazy that tomorrow i will have been here for 4 weeks, pretty much exactly one month! I am loving it even more and more every day.

This week was the first week that I actually was able to see my improvement in Italian. I was actually able to see that i am learning and I am making improvement! That is a really big step for me because this whole time i have just been really down on myself and not feeling like i am making improvement, but this week i really feel like i am, and that is such a blessing! i had several Italians tell me that my Italian is really good for only being here for 3 weeks, ah that felt soooooo good and just boosted my confidence SO much. i really am getting better and I can see that The Lord is helping me. This week i finally understood what the Gift of Tongues is...i have always heard that but not really understood what it meant, but this week i have truly seen it work in my abilities. As I strive to do my part, The Lord gives me divine power to learn and to communicate. It is truly incredible.

Yep, I'm happy.

So last week I said that we got 2 bap dates...but unfortunately that family that we have been visiting don't actually live in our area! it was a huge bummer and a little embarassing when we found out that we had been going out of our area! haha no one told us!! haha but yeah so we had to pass them onto some other missionaries that we are really hoping will be able to work with them and get them baptized! We did have a cool thing happen this week...we found this lady named O. in the Area book that is an ex-simp and we went and had a visit with her. she is SOOO kind and very open and willing! We taught her the restoration, it was actually our first real time teaching the full restoration to an investigator, and it went really well! I was able to remember things and the spirit was really strong. We are really hoping that that will go somewhere!

OHHHHHH man, hi this week i made the BEST PUMPKIN BREAD EVER. it was with fresh pumpkin and Italian chocolate...ooooooo. SO good. i cannot even explain. We ate way tooo much, but oh well! It was BALLER.

It rained A TON this week! like crazy amounts! luckily I have un umbrella and a rain coat! Sorella woods let me borrow some extra boots, so it was all good, but seriously crazy storms this week!
It was overall just a really great week and we have some solid goals for making next week even better! the main one is jsut talking to more people....that is my biggest struggle!i just get scared, but i am really trying to get over that, it is just hard! but its the biggest part of this, that is why we are here to talk to people! i just think to much and it is just a strugg, but that is my goal for this week!
I love you all very much and i hope that you all have a wonderful week! you are all in myprayers! i am really sorry if i dont have time to write you all individually but i am really grateful for your emails!! they mean the world. i sent yall a letter in the mail last week, so be looking for that! Have another good week and never forget that I LOVE YOU!!!!

Ti Voglio Bene,
Sorella Burt

The view from our apartment.

Our desks and study area.

Week Threeeeeeeeee‏

heeeeey allllllll!

Week three is over and done out here in Pavia! It has been a pretty interesting week and I have learned a lot of very valuable lessons, not really in the ways that I thought I would! The work here is hard. Our first two weeks were relatively easy as far as work goes, but these last couple days everything has definitely gotten a lot harder. We are just struggling getting any appointments with our investigators and everyone keeps cancelling which has been hard. But I guess that is what pink washing is all about! Also it seems like nobody will listen to us and we have just gotten a ton of rejection, which is of course a huge part of missionary work, but this is the first week that the rejection and the hardness of this work has hit us full force. We are staying positive though and still trying to work very hard to find new people to teach and to try and help the investigators that we do have make some progress.

Everyone in our ward went to the temple this week too, so that has been kind of hard as far as not really having any opportunity to get referrals or meet with the members. We are still kind of in the newbie stage where we are just trying to figure out who everyone is and what we have to work with! It is hard but it is okkkkkay! President challenged us to have a 21 lesson week this week, which we are really trying to do-it just might be difficult if no one will let us visit them! haha

Buuuuut, on a good note, we set two baptism dates this week! So that is super exciting! It was with that cute family that I talked about before, B. and her son D. We taught them the restoration and invited them to be baptized on November 15th and the accepted! It was really neat and they are just really sweet. It is a little hard to figure our how much they understand what we are teaching though. They speak English but for some reason they have a hard time understand our English! We are going to have to take it very slow, just to make sure they understand what we are teaching! That family is a definite miracle though, I really hope that they continue to progress. They are going to come to church on Sunday, so that should be really great!

So probably the worst day of this week was Conference Sunday...sad, I know. Conference was just a really big struggle, and I will tell you why! So we went to Milano on Saturday night to watch the Saturday morning session and everything went great with that, I loved it SO much. like it was ridiculous I never wanted it to end! but the people in Milano told us that they were only showing one of the sessions on Sunday. So on Sunday Sorella Woods and I were able watch the Womens session at the church but when we went back to the church to try and watch the next session we could not watch it because the members were using the computer! so then we were going to catch a train to watch it in a different town but all of the trains were like 3 hours late so then we just went back to the church and watched it but the internet is suuuuuuuper terrible and so it paused like every 2 minutes. and then we missed our bus and had to walk home! It was a really hard day and we only ended up being able to watch 2 of the sessions..buuuuuuuut i did learn that i am really grateful for America and how easy it is to watch conference there! I did love the sessions that I was able to watch though.

I had prepared a few questions that I really wanted to receive answers to and I really felt like so many of the talks were direct answers to my questions. The overall reaching thing that learned was what It means and the importance of becoming more Christlike. This was a really hard week for me in many aspects, but I learned how much i just really need to forget myself and serve as Christ served. This is His work and I am His servant. I learned a lot of ways that I can do this and I am really excited to put them into practice. I know that this is where I am supposed to be and I know that even though it is really hard right now and I really miss home and I really don't know anything about what it means to be a good missionary...I know that My Heavenly Father LOVES me individually and that he will never leave me alone. He knows my desires and he knows that I am trying. I really did love the things that I got out of conference and I really hope that we get to see the other sessions sometime! be grateful for your television everybody :)

Two months in!

My companion Sorella Woods is the actual best human. I love her so very much and she is the perfect companion for me! She just supports and helps me in all aspects of this missionary life and I am so very grateful to her! Last pday we went Milano and went on top of the Duomo so that was super fun! I will send you all some pics! This week I hit my 2 month mark in the mission so that was pretty exciting! it is crazy that i only have 16 left! time is gonna flyyyyyy! I am really grateful to be here though! I love this place more and more every single day! also it has been raining a lot lately, so that has been wonderful!! I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and has a wonderful plan for me! I hope that you are all doing well and I continue to pray for you every day! sorry that this email is kind of sucky, but it kind of reflects my week! haha i am happy though so don't worry at all! have a good one! Buon Giorno!

Sorella Burt

Arrival In Italy (pics from the Mission Blog)

Here are some fun pictures from the mission office of the new missionaries arriving in Italy.

Collecting baggage at the airport after arrival.

All the new missionaries that arrived in September.

Hurrah for Italy (and Israel)!

First day finding on the train.

Giving his information to the missionaries.

Leaving the train station to do more contacting in the plaza.

7 of the 9 new sisters ready to go.

Finding in the plaza.

The 9 new sorelle at the Duomo with Sorella Dibb.

At the subway station.

The September 2014 group.

Dinner at last...tired but hungry!

The trainees and trainers waiting with anticipation to see who they're companions will be.

Instruction with trainers and trainees now together.

A few weeks after arriving the new missionaries and their trainers got back together for some more training.

Sorella Burt telling about her new companion.

11 of the new missionaries and their trainers.