Adventures in Milan: #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