We Can't Change the Wind

Buongiorno tutti!

It has been another wonderful week out here in the beautiful città di Trieste! Learning lots errrrrrryday. The week started out wonderfully, last Wednesday. We had a party for New Years at the church with the ward. Tons of members came and everyone made food and we just had the best potluck type dinner of my LIFE. man Italians really do know how to cook. The real miracle of the night was the fact that two of our investigators, J. and R, actually came to the party! We had invited them but we weren't sure if they were going to make it, but then they did and IT WAS SO GREAT. They came and also an ex-investigator that we found in the area book named M. (she came as well) Annnnnnnnd to top it all of one of our members brought a friend! It was just suuuuuch a miracle night for us! We were able to introduce them to a lot of ward members and just get to know them better! They had a wonderful time that night, talking with everyone and it was just a wonderful activity. J. is wonderful, she has a real desire to change her life but doesn't really want to take the actions necessary to do so. She is also very flaky when it comes to appointments, which has made teaching her very difficult. The party was actually the first time I met her! But she is great and I am really hoping that this good experience that she had at the party will spark her desire to truly make a change. It was just neat, i felt SO happy that night. It was one of the first times where i truly just felt like i was myself with the people! I was able to talk to them and carry on real conversations, and just really get to know a lot of people!! ah it was just so great, i cannot describe it. We have a wonderful ward! So many really amazing people.

A cool statue in Trieste.

The other day we were helping this super old lady in our ward go shopping for some groceries. She has a really hard time walking but insisted on going to like the farthest little market to buy like 3 things...haha she is quite interesting. She was holding on to me the entire time and we were doing SO well the whole time, taking it slow and easy....until we come to the curb riiiiiiight across the street from her house...she goes to step off the curb and even though I am holding onto her, somehow she completely FALLS and screams and is just flat on her back in the middle of the road! OH MAN, i felt so bad...and because she was holding onto me, i almost fell right on top of her as well! yikes. it was bad. She was just fine, and afterwards we had quite the laugh.

On friday we literally had a miracle day. I am not sure why but it was one of those days where everything just goes really smoothly and everything works out how you planned! That happens VERY rarely. but it was just wonderful. We had wonderful lessons and got places on time, and it was just so cool, we kept running into people all over! Like we ran into one of our less active ladies and were able to teach her a little lesson, we ran into a potential, and one of our members that was having a hard time! And that night we had some time for finding and so we went to a little piazza near our house and we were able to find this girl named C....she is 16 and had talked with missionaries before! We were able to have a really great talk with her about the plan of salvation and get her information. So many little miracles! It is amazing how many people we meet here that have heard about the church before or met with the missionaries in the past! it happens SO often! Like the other day we were on a bus and I had a feeling like i should talk to this certain lady. I kind of put it off for a second and then i realized that i was being dumb and then started talking with her. Turns out she used to go to our English class in the past and met the Elders a few weeks back! I was so glad that I talked to her, she said that she would start coming back to English class! I have really been realizing how each encounter that someone has with the missionaries or with the church is just another step in their conversion process! With a lot of converts it takes A LOT of different encounters with missionaries until they actually decide to listen or until they are ready. It is amazing how perfect the plan of our Heavenly Father is. Each person we talk to...we are just one more steop in their journey to the truth. I like thinking of it that way!

This week we had a really wonderful Zone Training in Pordenone. I love Zone meetings, they just get me super pumped to get out and to do things even better and work even harder. I love learning from older missionaries and hearing how they have seen success! One thing that I took out of the training this week has to do with this quote from President Monson, "you cant change the wind, but you can adjust the sails" As i have been thinking about this quote this week, i have learned quite a bit. My mission has been nothing like what i thought it would be. Nothing. There have been strong winds that i did not expect, experiences that I could not have predicted. But it has been exactly what I have needed. Heavenly Father controls the winds. He knows exactly what we need exactly when we need it. Sometimes the winds are strong, sometimes they are calm. The only way out of the wind is through it, and the only way through it is to adjust our sails. I have learned how the small adjustments according the His will, is what make the difference. Those little adjustments are what make the winds worthwile. I have learned to love the wind, to embrace it, and to learn from it. The winds come to all, but if we are not focused on our purpose and focused on our Savior, they may blow us off course. But with His help and with a clear mind to our purpose, the winds blow us closer to where we want to end up. We get pushed when things are hard, we are forced to grow and to see things in a new way...and i am so very greatful for every gust of wind that He has blessed me with.

Today we are going to Venice and then to Pavia! It is going to be a long day of travel but I AM STOKED. yeah, Italy is just the coolest place ever.

I love you all, you mean the world to me! keep on keeping on!

Til next time...keep it real.
Vi voglio bene,
Sorella Burt

Sorella Bringas...one of the best missionaries I have ever met!

From Rocks to Diamonds

Hello ALL.

Another week over and done. It will never cease to amaze me how quick the weeks fly out here! Literally they just go and go and go and before you know it they are gone! hahaha that sentence made like zero sense but whatev. the weeks go fast. ha

I still cannot really get over how wonderful it was to see and talk to you all last week on Christmas! ah. like it was too good. it just makes me happy thinking about it! Thank you for being the best fam ever. I could have talked to you for like 12 more hours and still had plenty to say...that's when  you know you have a pretty rockin family! thanks to each and every one of you.

This week was a bit on the hard side...for a lot of reasons. i can say that i have learned and grown a LOT this week and it really has turned out to be amazing. We are still just focusing on finding finding and finding. It has been really hard because we have gone out and talked to tonnnnns of people but not seen any real outward success, which gets hard at times.

And it has gotten to be FREEEEEEZING here, like hollllllly how it is insanely cold. The Bora is here....the super strong wind....and so that makes it like a thousand times colder. I am pretty sure that my ears no longer have any feeling! I am going to hopefully buy a warm hat and some gloves today so that will hopefully help!

Through all of this finding work, we have been able to talk to some pretty interesting people, which always keeps things fun. It is always fun to approach someone and have zero idea how they are going to react to you...some are super mean and some are surprisingly nice! The other day we were in our fav piazza doing some finding and we stopped this one lady and she RULED. she had such an amazing spirit and actually started crying while i was bearing my testimony about Jesus Christ. It was weird because one second she was crying and then the next second she just walked away...ha Italians are so interesting. We really tried to focus this week on our work through the members, with asking for referrals and what not and we were able to see some miracles come from that which has been great! I am confident that as we continue to trust in the Lord and press forward, giving it everything we've got, we will see blessings.

Yesterday I went to the city of Mestre for an exchange with the sister training leader there. it was SO great. holy cow she is in her last transfer and is literally the best missionary I have ever met! i learned SOOO much from her here that i am going to try and implement in my work here in Trieste. I have a lotttttt to learn. a lot. but that is okay! we are like rocks at the beginning of the mission, and Heavenly Father helps us become diamonds. Rocks do not become diamonds over night...it is a long process and takes patience and time! I know that as I continue to be patient, improve each day, and do the best work that I can, Heavenly Father will help me to become the diamond that I am meant to become. Only through Him can I reach my full potential!

I feel like before the scambio I was just in this weird slump...but now I have a renewal of fire to just go out there and do it! I am just super stoked to continue to work here and I just feel like I have tons of energy and just excitement to make magic happen..ha I know that Heavenly Father is a God of miracles. He always has been and He always will be. Today I read some great scriptures in Mormon 9:20-21 that helped me a lot. If we don't trust in the Lord with our whole heart and believe that miracles can happen, then they won't! We must believe and we must ACT on that belief. That is the only way to do this work...ACTION. We gotta be bold like lions, that's how this is gonna get done! (Prov. 28:1)

I feel lots of happy feelings right now and lots of gratitude to be here in Italy. I know that I have a lot to learn but thank goodness for Jesus Christ. He is there for me every step of the way! I am excited for this next week, its gonna be a week of miracles!

I love you all and I hope that you have a wonderful new year! it is crazy that it is 2015 now! It looks like the wedding was absolutely beautiful! I definitely thought about you all a lot that day! Thank you for making me a part of it. It was harder then i thought it would be to miss it, but i know that I am loved, and that is what matters!

Vi voglio bene,
Sorella Burt

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