It feels like we just talked and I just told you all about my life...oh wait we did do that! Man, that was just so great. We'll see if I can still whip out a few more details I didn't manage to include during our wonderful little skype call. Talking to you all just reminds me how incredibly blessed I am with a wonderful family. Thank you for all you do in your personal lives to make yourselves better people and in turn strengthen each member of the family. There is a reason that the family is the central unit and essential to the plan of God. We need each other, and the Lord knows that. He gives us the exact humans to call our family members that we need and that need us during the course of our lives and throughout eternity. If you think about it, it is a pretty amazing concept! But yeah anyways after that little missionary rant...I just mean that I love you.
SO yeahhhhh like everyone surely knows this week was Christmas! Yay for Christmas. I will be completely honest and say that I am not super sad that Christmas is over...(actually it is apparently not over until the new year...Italians still sing Christmas songs after Christmas and continue to say AUGURI to everyone they come in contact with) but I am kind of glad that all the parties and food appointments are over because I can say with complete honesty that I gained so much pasta weight this week it is ridiculous. I have never eaten so much food...but especially pasta...in one week in my entire existence. Every meal was huge and every meal consists of exactly what you would think...pasta, bread, oil, meat, cheese....in large amounts and prepared in every way you could possibly imagine. They always say...if you don't like it don't eat it...but then they continuously tell you, "There's more Sorella, EAT EAT!!!" And so it continues for about 2 hours and you start going into a small food coma. Italians take their holidays seriously in the food department. It is like straight eating. You think you are done and your stomach is satisfied and then they bring out a thousand more courses and you think that you are literally going to die. We learn what it means to Endure to the End for real in this mission. You just keep going and in the end it is satisfying because you get to stop. Ha plus I never threw up so that is a miracle.
Besides all the eating, our Christmas was quite a simple one. I was really striving to focus on the purpose and just concentrate my heart on that and this year I feel like I was really able to do that. It was a special Christmas for me and for that I will forever be grateful.
Our work is going well, it is a bit rough during the Christmas and New Year season because everyone is busy with all of their parties so it makes it a bit hard to see people. But we were able to see a few people and that was good! We saw L. a couple times this week and that was wonderful. She is doing great and is progressing beautifully.
I have been doing a lot of life pondering lately...seeing as it is that time of year. It is really neat for me to think about that the year 2015 will forever be the year that I was a missionary. It will forever be a very special year where I was able to just give myself to the Lord and see what comes of it. The blessings I have seen in my life this year are way to many to count and I just feel overwhelmed with the ways that the Lord has taught me, shaped me, and blessed me in every way. I feel like this is my biggest growing year I have ever had. I don't feel like the same person I was when I started the year...that is a lie, I am the same person just a refined version. I have realized that the mission truly helps you find yourself. you learn more about yourself..about your true character, personality, flaws, quirks, weaknesses, strengthens...then you ever could any other way. You learn who you want to be and how to trust in the Lord to help you get there. It is truly an amazing feeling and I will forever be grateful to the Lord for this beautiful year that I have spent in His service!
I invite you all to ponder your life and to see what you can see!
I love you all and I hope you have a very happy New Years!
Love,
Sorella Burt
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| Keeping the cinnamon roll tradition alive! I make them from scratch! |
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| Our Christmas tree |
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| Us half asleep on Christmas morning! |
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