It's Gonna Be a Good Year!!

Heyyyyyyy all.

We had a nice little week...some days more exciting then others but overall I am not complaining about anything! It is really beautiful because I just feel really happy right now. This is probably one of the happiest transfers I have ever had and I am not exactly sure why it is so happy! I know that my companion has a lot to do with it. We have really clicked these past few weeks and we just have so much fun together. I have honestly never laughed so much with a companion! It is great we just make jokes that are really dumb but we have the same sense of humor so we just die laughing and it just makes life so much more fun! Life is just better when it is enjoyed! We are just really choosing to find joy in the work and not get caught up in the disappointments or the grind of the work. It is neat because this 'joy' was the thing that I really wanted to have for my last transfer as a missionary. Going into this transfer I just prayed for a joyful experience where I didn't stress but rather got lost in the pure joy of serving the Lord. He has most definitely given me that experience and I could not be more grateful!

Finding JOY with Sorella Taylor

Last week for pday we went to a classy art museum of the famous painter, Monet. His art is on display for a limited time here in Torino so we had to go check it out. Apparently everyone and their dog had the same idea and we ended up waiting in line for quite a while but in the end it was worth it and I really enjoyed the beauty of his art. So many things in this world are so beautifully captured by talented humans putting paint on paper. It is incredible the talents that we have each been given!

The next day was New Year's Eve and we had to be home at 7. New Year's Eve was a wonderful day. it was one of those special days where there were just good vibes all around and we were especially happy! We talked with so many people and just had such a beautiful day. With our spare time at home we were able to get some work done with the area book and then after planning we had a really great time ringing in the New Year. It was beautifully simple, we just chatted about our feelings of the last year and really pondered and discussed the things that we felt like we learned. We talked about what we want to do with our new year, the clean slate, the new opportunity and it was just
really nice. I spent some time in studies that morning to really reflect on 2015, my full year as a missionary and the things I learned and the person I have become. It was a really moving and spiritual experience for me to think about the ways the Lord has shaped me and what things I still lack. I am determined to take control of this new year and not just make goals that are quickly forgotten. It is up to us. If we are really committed and have the right intentions...our goals will not be forgotten halfway through the year, but they will become a part of each day! To cap off our great little 2015 and ring in the new year, we stayed up til midnight and then went onto our porch to see the neighbor's fireworks. We got quite the show right in front of our house of huge fireworks and it was just really fun! Everyone was just out on their balconies wishing one another a good new year and it was just a good time!

As far as our investigators are concerned this week...we were not able to see L. at all, so that was really sad. She was busy with the holiday and what not, but we are seeing her today! We saw T. last week and gave her her baptismal calendar and laid out clearly the things she still needs to learn before she can be baptized. Apparently she got up in church on Sunday during fast and testimony meeting(we weren't there because we go to the other ward) and announced her baptism and invited everyone to come! Let's just say she is very excited. Hopefully she can continue to keep her commitments and understand the real reasons that she needs to do it! she is progressing though and we are happy! What a special person, oh T! Haha :)

We went to Milano this week for my last Mission Counsel meeting and that was pretty weird...just that it was the last one. It was great though, just as they always are. We got some new instruction about how we are supposed to do exchanges and some things will be changing with that. it was fun to see everyone, I will attach some photos. Tomorrow is our Zone Training and I will be giving my 'Commencement Testimony' normally it is called a dying testimony but president doesn't like that because we aren't dying, we are just beginning the rest of our lives...ha either way it is weird that it is my turn to do so.

Another really crazy thing happened to us this week, but I think that one is most definitely better of saved to be told in person! It is a great story, remind me to tell you!

That's about all I have for you all! I hope you have a great week and are having a happy new year!

It's gonna be a good year!
Love
Sorella Burt

Sorella Hawks...awhhhhh. I adore her.

All the missionaries from my group that were at Consigilo...
that's 4/9 Sorelle that are going home. 

 We took this one in honor of our dear ol' Presidente Dibb...his reaction was...
"Oh you look so happy, that is very cool." Ha

Life Pondering

Hello everyone!

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

Keeping the cinnamon roll tradition alive! I make them from scratch!

Our Christmas tree

Us half asleep on Christmas morning!

BUON NATALE A TUTTI‏

Hello Everyone!

This will probably be a quick one because we will SEE each other and have so much time to chat in like two days. Plus I don't have tonnnns of time or exciting things to say so I will probs just send a bunch of photos! This week was super great, everything is just going well. We have been having so much fun celebrating the Christmas season and enjoying the JOY that it brings. Being able to testify of Christ each and every day is literally the best way to spend a Christmas season...I recommend it to you all! The people here are much more open to talk to us about Christ during this time of year and it has yielded many wonderful miracles and experiences. We all have so many differences-religiously, culturally, physically, emotionally, family-wise, but at the end of the day we all have one thing in common and that is the fact that we have a Savior. He was born for ALL of us. I love that about this culture, they are for the most part Christians, so even if they are not super interested in learning about the Restoration, you can almost always have a really nice conversation about the Savior and what He means for us in our lives. It is interesting because as we talk with people, a lot of them don't have a really great grasp on the WHY behind the Savior or how He really helps us each and every day. This is why we are here, to invite people to discover the difference that He makes in our everyday lives, IF we truly let Him in and accept the gift that He has given us.

This week we went to a few Christmas parties and were able to go caroling down in centro and we have just been passing out the Christmas pass a long cards like CRAZY. We have soooo many and we really want to give them ALL out before Christmas. Both of the Torino wards had their Christmas parties this last Saturday and we went to a little bit of both of the parties! The luxuries of working in two wards :) The parties were really fun and at the one in Torino 2, there were a TON of non-members! It ruled, we were able to meet so many people and just had a really great time. The party was more of like a big talent show with TONS of food, so it was really entertaining! at the end, Santa came out with 6 big bags and they called the missionaries up to the front and gave us these huge bags full of food! It was super nice of them and we were laughing because in the bags it was literally ALL pasta, tomato sauce, olive oil, and cookies.....classics Italian. The other special Christmas moment we had this week was on Monday night. A sister in our ward had talked to us about a month ago about a little idea that she has been wanting to do for about 4 years now and she really wanted our help with it. She has been wanting to throw a little Christmas get together for all of the little old ladies and people that live in her apartment complex! So we helped her by practicing and performing a little Christmas concert where we sang spiritual and also fun Christmas songs with Santa hats and taking turns playing the piano. It was super fun and just a really great experience! I cannot really explain it super well but it was just really fun and all the people that came really enjoyed it! After the singing part we showed all of them E nato un Salvatore and we were able to bear our testimonies of the Savior and it was just really neat! They were all super impressed with how it all turned out and were really curious about who we were and why we are here! It was a really neat opportunity and just really brought the true Christmas spirit! I will send some photos!

That is about all I have for now! I am so excited to see all of your cute faces. Talk to you soon!

BUON NATALE A TUTTI!

Love,
Sorella Burt

A place called Eataly that we went to on Pday.

Us looking slightly crazy about all the food we received.

Sorella Taylor and I.

Us with the hostess of the party.

A little taco/crepe place downtown.

Christmas party.

Hello

HELLO
This week has been really crazy with transfers and everything we have had going on. Now that we are over both areas in Torino, our work has gotten very busy and we are just trying to stay on top of it all! But at least it is only 2 wards, not 12, like some missionaries have to do in the states, so I think we will be okay! We are learning the importance of really good and detailed planning and trying to stay on top of everything. Also it is important to try and discern from the spirit which people need this message at this point especially in their lives. So far things are going really well! It is fun to have new people to teach and to get to work in another area. The other side of Torino is much different then the area I have been working in. But both areas are good and fun for their own reasons and the Lord prepares people everywhere. We have been really good about not getting lost, thank goodness for Google maps and iPads! A miracle for us this week was that we were able to set a baptismal date with the girl I told you about last week, L.! She accepted a date for the 23rd of January and was exctied! She said that she would do her very best to be ready for that day. it was Sorella Nedelkov's last day and so it was a wonderful way for her to end her mission. She gave L. her CTR ring and L. was just SO excited and actually close to tears. She is so very prepared and is truly searching for the truth. She told us about how she had prayed during the week about the Book of Mormon and the church and she tried to explain to us this strange feeling that she had in her heart. We told her that it was the spirit and she told us another story of when she felt like that in her life. She is really starting to recognize the spirit and how it speaks to her specifically. She is wonderful and is making great progress!

This week we also went to Milano for Consiglio- and that is always an adventure! I love going to those meetings and just learning and basking in the beautiful spirit that is there. I learned so much and it was just really great to see old friends after a while. We then had our Christmas Zone Training meeting yesterday and we were in charge of a training on Christlike attributes. It went really well and we also had a section where we did Christmas celebration! There was a special musical number, we sang carols, and we acted out the Nativity scene! We asked President and Sorella Dibb to be Joseph and Mary and it was just super cute and fun. It was a great way to enjoy the Christmas season.

I don't really have anything else super exciting to report! Just trying to stay sane and not stress out about all of the things that there are to do. It is a beautiful time of year and I am just really trying to bask in the beauty of it. It really has been so wonderful to share the Savior is Born video with everyone and to just really be able to ponder on what that really means for me. The world without a Savior would be nothing. The birth of Christ for me is so significant. It means rebirth, for each of us. Not only when we are baptized or when we partake of the sacrament...but our Savior made it possible for us to repent and change and have a rebirth or a new start every moment of every day. Each day we can decide that we want to follow our Savior and do something a little bit more to align our life with His and to follow in His footsteps. He makes joy possible. He Is the reason for our hope.
I love you all! Have a great week!
Love,
Sorella Burt

Zone Conference

My BFF

Fun to see my MTC companion

A cute couple in our ward

I LOVE Sorella Nedelkov!!!

     

His Hand

Ciao tutti!
This week the miracle continues with L., the wonderful girl from Peru that I wrote about last week. This miracle was wonderful and truly strengthened my testimony of the power of our faith. So it was Wednesday and pday had just ended. We were at our house making some calls. Last week when we saw L., we had set up an appointment for Wednesday at 7 but during the week we had tried to contact her and she hadn't been responding to our messages or calls all week. We didn't know what was going on or if she was going to come to our appointment because we couldn't get a hold of her. We were trying to figure out if we should go all the way to the church when we didn't know if she would be there or if there would be a better way to spend our time. As we were sitting there, I kept thinking, maybe we should go to the church...but then just kept making phone calls. Finally I had the very distinct impression from the spirit that said "Go to the church." I immediately told my companion that we needed to go to the church and that L. was going to be there. We quickly went to the church and when we got there, she wasn't there, but for some reason I just had so much faith and I KNEW that she was going to come. It was weird, I guess but I just felt such a sure faith. Without a doubt she was going to be there. Not even five minutes after we got to the church, we hear the doors open and close and there was L.! SHE CAME! I was like jumping up and down with so much joy! It was a huge miracle. I couldn't believe it. She actually came. The Lord truly works miracles according to our faith! It is so real. I was amazed and I know that the Lord made that possible. It may not seem like a huge miracle but for me it really taught me LOT. It was a real life example of receiving promptings from the spirit, acting on them and then seeing the miracles that come to pass. We were able to teach her a beautiful lesson on the Plan of Salvation and she accepted a soft baptismal invite. We were just so joyful and I know that it was the will of the Lord! The Lord is so very good and His hand is in every detail.

Another little miracle story happened a couple days after Pday. We had some extra time in the morning before lunch without any appointments planned. During nightly planning the night before, my companion and I both thought of the same member lady that we thought could use a visit. We decided to give her a call and see if we could stop by. We tried calling her but she didn't answer. We decided that we would pass by anyways. Getting there that morning was a little bit slow because first, we got our transfer call and that was bit distracting, then we missed our stop on the bus and had to walk a long way. But in the end we make it to this lady's street. As we are about to turn onto her street, she walks right in front of us, leaving her house on the way to the market! The Lord literally made it possible so our paths would cross. We were able to talk with her there on the street and she shared with us some personal family problems she has been having and she just really needed comfort in that exact moment that we met her. She told us that she wasn't going to come to church for a little while just to let things calm down and we were able to talk with her about how going to church is the thing that will help her the very most in this moment! It was a beautiful moment that the Lord gave us and taught me that He truly cares about each one of His children. She told us that she had left the house earlier but decided to go back up to grab an umbrella and if she hadn't done that, we wouldn't have met! It was truly the hand of the Lord and He truly put this struggling sister in our path.

This week was quite interesting because we spent most of it without a phone! When we went to bed on Friday night, we plugged in our working phone and then when we woke up on Saturday it was no longer working. Doesn't even turn on, nothing...just a black screen. So yeahhhhh we have been phone-less for quite a few days which makes missionary work quite difficult. We have been having to borrow the other Sorelle's phone when they are home but during the day we are just out of luck. It is making me really grateful for technology and also I am learning the importance of keeping our records updated! Because now that our phone is gone so are all of our numbers! It has made life interesting, that is for sure.

In other news...we got our transfer call this week! Let's just say that I was a bit surprised but I also kind of thought it would happen. Due to the lack of new sisters coming into the mission and the large amount of sisters going home this transfer, the mission had to close three companionships of sisters. One of these three companionships is the other Torino ward. So they took away that companionship and now I will be with Sorella Taylor, one of the sisters that was serving in the other ward. The other sister in the closed companionship is going to another city and Sorella Nedelkov is headed home. So that means that Sorella Taylor and I will be over both wards, which is going to make things a little bit crazy! We are going to focus more on the work here in our ward because there are 4 other anziani in the other ward but we will still work with all of their investigators and less actives and do some member work. It should make things quite exciting and busy but I am excited for the change! It is the exact thing I needed for my last transfer, I think. Just like that little drive and push and a little bit of a change! It will be good and I am excited to see how it will all work out!

That is about all I have for today! You are all the greatest and wish you the happiest week during this beautiful Christmas season!
love,
Sorella Burt

yaaaaaaaaay for Christmas!! #ènatounSalvatore

Hi

FAMILY I LOVE.
Thanks for being the greatest. I love you allllllllll. This week was good! it was a little bit super busy with scambios, zone conference, stake conference and what not! We spent a lot of time on trains going to scambio but it was still really good! It is freezing cold now but don't worry i now wear two coats so i am nice and warm. I still need to find some gloves though!

This week, our greatest miracle was with a new Investigator named L.! She is actually the friend of a member. This member has been bringing her friend to church on and off for a little bit now but L. has been a little bit too timid to meet with us until now. We were finally able to set up an appointment with her. Unfortunately, her friend moved back to Peru, but she still met with us! We were able to teach a wonderful Restoration lesson to L. and really get to know her and her story. It turns out that since she was little she has been in contact with many members of the church-missionaries and also just friends of hers that have been members-in Peru and also here in Italy. We were amazed as she told us about all of the friends and encounters she has had with members because she has literally been prepared, step by step, little by little over the years! One of her Mormon friends told her to meet with us and so now she feels like she is ready! She is amazing and honestly has a real desire to learn. She told us that she really wanted a copy of the Book of Mormon and begged her friends for like 2 months before they finally gave her one! She had already started reading by the time we met with her but she wants to start over from the beginning now that she knows the story of the Restoration. She is 19 years old and really searching for the truth. She has a firm belief in God and in the fact that He will answer her prayers. It was a beautiful miracle to find someone that prepared. We were very excited and hope that all goes well! We have started doing the publicity for the new Christmas film #ÈnatounSalvatore and that has been really fun! we got the cute new pass along cards that i just love and have so far already seen some good success in the past few days. I am so excited to just go crazy this Christmas season and truly help everything JOY in the birth of our Savior.

Yesterday i had a beautiful moment when we were out doing some finding. I was on scambio with a sister from Argentina and we were with a 15 year old member that is just amazing and wants to serve a mission. We were talking to a Romanian lady named O. that was sitting on a bench. We had showed her the new video and i had born my testimony of the Savior and who He is for me. I turned to Sorella Sirena and as i listened to her bear her powerful and simple testimony and then as G. did the same thing, the spirit hit me with such a great and simple power. In that moment i felt the joy of what we are doing. I felt so much peace and i was just in awe at the fact that we testify of our Savior all day everyday. I realized that every moment is precious and the spirit witnessed to me that our little part is making a difference. O. felt the spirit yesterday and in that moment i felt a renewed sense of just absolute love for my Savior and for the opportunity that i have to take part in this marvelous work. It was a simple but very special moment for me. Each moment is precious and i feel so much gratitude for each one i have as a representative of the Lord.

Thanksgiving Day Zone Conference

I love you all! we had a nice Thanksgiving, all is going well! We are just continuing to push forth and trust 100% in the Lord. Have a great week!
Love,
Sorella Burt

Another Week

Hello ALL!
Well we had another week. man it is amazing to me how we just keep having more pdays and more pdays! they just sneak right up on us and they just keep passing. We had a pretty good week this week, nothing super exciting or new happened...i feel like i say that every week...i guess that's just how it is! But i feel currently really content with things. it was another pretty up and down week and we had our fair share of strange days for a large variety of reasons, but the Lord is comforting us and giving us the strength to move forward. This week i was pondering quite a bit on what it is that motivates me to continue to go outside day after day and try to talk to people...because if you think about it for a second it is pretty strange that we just keep doing the same thing day after day, day after day...without seeing tons of success from it. What motivates me? what is it that keeps me going? I have decided that it is a few things and also those things change from day to day. Some days it is a sense of Duty...to the Lord, to my family, to myself. I go out because i know i need to. Because it is what i have committed myself to do. Other days it is out of pure desire to help someone in need. Other days it is out of a desire to share with someone something i read in studies or maybe it is the pure hope and faith i have that one day we will find someone that is searching for the truth. It is a lot of things put together i guess. But in the end, i know why i am here and overall my love for my Savior is the thing that keeps me going. It is that simple. He is the reason i am here and the reason i continue in faith each and every day. Trusting that my small part truly is making a difference.

One experience i want to share from this week happened on scambio. We have been trying to do more work with members and there is this super cute member from Ecuador that has a huge desire to come out and do finding work with us once a week. I was with Sorella Taylor, who had never done finding with members before so it was a great opportunity for her to see how beautiful it is! We went out for about an hour and this member is just a great little missionary with a great faith and fire burning to bring the gospel to the world! During the hour, our goal was to find three people that we could teach and we reached hour goal right as the hour ended! We found people that, although they weren't particularly interested in our message in this moment, we found them in their time of need. One old man had just dropped his keys into the sewer and was really worried and needed a comforting word that we were able to give. Another two ladies were visiting from Sicilia and were stressed with documents and things and they were worried about their children that they left behind. We were able to leave them smiling in their moment of need as well. It was just a wonderful experience to be able to help God's children in a very literal way. I have a testimony of member work and also of the fact that the Lord places His children in need into our path. I say that over and over
again, but my testimony keeps being strengthened of it! The Lord puts the people in our path.

We are really focusing on increasing our faith that the field really is white, already to harvest. These past few weeks have been rough and i think that we have been able to see our faith diminishing. We realized it this week and are going to make steps to increase it again. I know that the Lord has a plan for His work here and i know that if we continue to do our part, He will ALWAYS do His. I am learning that instead of stressing out that we aren't doing enough, we just need to do our part, and leave room for Him to do the rest. I am the type of missionary that just really has to do do do do and if i am not doing everything or if i forget something, i feel bad and i feel like i am not doing enough. But i realized that if i go crazy and stress myself out to do too much, then i am not leaving space for the the Lord to His part. I cannot do it all. I cannot do anything on my own. We need to figure out what our small part is and then worry about that, not about doing everything at once.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we are blessed to be able to spend it at Zone Conference with our wonderful mission president and His wife! they are cooking us an american Thanksgiving feast! i am excited, it should be a very well-timed much needed conference and i am very excited to see what they will teach us.

I am grateful for all of the people i love out there in the world! thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you do and have done for me. You are in my heart forever!

Love,
Sorella Burt