June 29, 2016

June 29, 2016

Salve amici!!

Our P-day got moved to Wednesday this week because our zone all had to
travel here to Taranto today so we can all go to Bari to meet our new
mission president tomorrow. We're so excited to meet them! So much has
happened since last Monday so I'll try to remember the most important
stuff!

We worked a ton with less-actives this week which was a blast! We hit
our goal for the week so we were pretty excited :)

The youth in our ward did the musical "Prince of Egypt" this week.
Somehow the missionaries got recruited and next thing you know Sorella
Flansberg and I were singing solos to "There Can Be Miracles" in
Italian. I wouldn't have sung a solo in a million years in America
haha but as missionaries we just do what we're asked to do😂

We had a ton of meal appointments this week which was awesome! I love
the members, less-actives, and investigators here so much! Seriously
like a second family to me:)

I promise I will never ever complain about it being hot in Utah again
when I get home. Haha I didn't even know the meaning of the word
"hot." Humidity is a beast!!

G and C are both doing so well!!! C texted us
yesterday and set up her own lesson with us for tomorrow night! She's
doing so well!! I'm so happy for her:) We had pranzo with her daughter
G out in San Giorgio on Monday which was a blast. It's weird to
think that just 6 months ago I had no idea how much I would love these
people in Italy and what a big part of my life they would be. Part of
my heart will always be here as cheesy as that sounds.

This transfer has flown by SO fast. Transfer calls are in a week and a
half!! I can't believe it. It'll be interesting to see what happens
and if I'm leaving Taranto or not!

Saturday was a little interesting. Every single one of our plans for
the day fell through at the last minute so we spent a lot of time
doing finding. It's not very effective to do finding when it's 98
degrees outside and 100% humidity haha. We were also fasting that day
for President & Sorella Waddoups and Pickerd so we couldn't even stop
and get a gelato to make it better. Haha it's ok though:) It's all
part of the refiner's fire! I studied a cool talk the next morning
that helped me realize how important is it to have a positive attitude
even when things aren't going your way (like on Saturday😊).
The quote says, "We can't direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails."

Well I've probably rambled on long enough, so have an awesome week
guys!! I'll email again on Monday :) Happy week of the 4th of July!!
Enjoy Tim McGraw at Stadium of Fire for me. I'll just get an extra
gelato to make up for missing it:)

Sorella Hess

Inviato da iPad

June 20, 2016

June 20, 2016

Buongiorno fratelli, sorelle, famiglia, amici, e vicini!! (I think
that about covers it)

Come state?? Another week down! Here are some highlights of the week:

-We spent Tuesday & Wednesday in Crotone for an exchange!! (Is there
another mission that has to travel 4 hours to see the closest sisters
in your zone?) I spent the day with Sorella Roberts getting their cute
10yr old investigator ready for her baptism on Saturday! Fun day for
sure😊

-English Course!! I didn't even know that it was a thing until I
actually got to the field but it's always one of the highlights of my
week. We've been trying to "SYL"--Speak Your Language--by only
speaking in English to them this week. I started off by saying "We are
few tonight!!" Sorella Flansberg just dies laughing and making fun of
me for how Italian that sounded. We always say "Siamo pochi stasera"
and I guess I thought it made sense to literally translate it to
English😂 Oops.

-Mamma Mia. It's gotten so hot this week. It was 94 degrees on
Saturday and it felt like 100% humidity haha. Everyone's telling me
this is nothing compared to how hot it'll be in August. Haha ready or
not, here we come!! You should see my shoes and watch tanlines.

-Remember how everyone told us not to drink the water here? Well one
of our cute less actives here made us this coconut drink the other
day. I asked her how she made it and she said you just put the coconut
concentrate in and then fill the pitcher of water up in the sink. "The
sink??" "Yes sisters, I'm sorry. I was out of bottled water but I
think it will be ok. The water doesn't make me sick anymore." (She's
lived here for 30+ years). Yep, you guessed it. We'd already each had
a full cup of it before she told us that. We've both been so sick
these past few days. They're not joking when they say the water is bad
hahaha. Take our word for it haha.

-Ok I saved the best for last. MIRACLE NEW INVESTIGATOR!! So there's a
girl in our ward who's probably in her 30's. She's been inactive for
20 years, but just decided to start coming to church again about 3
weeks ago. Her name is G and she's so stinking cute you guys.
Seriously the happiest person ever. I know we were friends in heaven
haha. Well she's been bringing her mom to church with her who isn't a
member. We had a lesson with her on Friday and she is SO prepared for
the gospel. She told us she's never felt so happy or peaceful in her
life as she does when she's at our church. She keeps talking about
"when she gets baptized" and how she can't wait to be a member of this
church. She already refers to it as "her church." I've been praying so
hard for someone like her who is just so ready for the gospel!!
Heavenly Father answers our prayers!!! There are so many people out
there like C and we just have to find them😊

Yesterday in Società di Soccorso (Relief Society) a recently
re-activated woman said something that I've been thinking about a lot.
She said when she was inactive, there was a lady in the ward who would
always text her and call her to see how she was doing. She said she
wasn't always the nicest back to her because she thought it was just
to get her to come to church, but over time she realized that this
woman truly loved her. She was a consistent friend and eventually this
woman came back to church. I encourage you all to reach out to someone
who you've lost contact with and be that consistent friend. You never
know the impact it could have.

I could go on an on about all the little miracles we see everyday.
Sure, there are difficult/frustrating moments but they are nothing in
comparison to the good ones. I love you guys & miss you all but I know
this is where I'm supposed to be right now. I hope you're all having a
great summer!! Light some fireworks for me!! We've been singing, "I'm
proud to be an American" all week🇺🇸  Have a great week & know that
I'm praying for you!!

Abbracci & Baci,

Sorella Hess

June 13, 2016

Helloooo everyone! How are you guys doing? What a great time to be a
missionary:) I'm absolutely loving it.

We had Specialized Training (mini zone conference) on Tuesday and it
was our last time seeing Presidente & Sorella Waddoups because they go
home in 2 weeks. They're so awesome and we'll definitely miss them but
we've heard great things about our new President so we're excited to
meet them. (The whole Taranto zone gets to go to Bari to meet the new
president in 2 weeks so we're also really excited for that😊.) I felt
the Spirit so strongly at during our Specialized Training. I really
liked a training that we had where they went through the each position
on a football team and their role, and then talked about how we as
missionaries each have a role. There is a quarterback who stands tall,
knows the playbook-the gospel/scriptures/PMG, and knows his purpose.
We have running backs who are diligent. They get the ball and they run
hard. They may only get a few yards at a time but over time it adds
up. Then we have our wide receivers. They run far, take a chance,
sacrifice looking silly and missing a pass, but are bold and fearless.
These are just some that I can remember off the top of my head. Zone
Conference is a spiritual recharge and I always leave feeling fired up
and ready to preach the gospel to everyone!! :)

On Thursday we had a lunch appointment and she made us fish. Sorella
Flansberg doesn't like fish at all haha but she was a champ and ate as
much as she could. When the member walked out of the room for a
second, I shoveled as much of her food as I could down my throat and
finished off the plate for her. That's comp unity if I've ever seen
it😂👊🏼 I told her she owes me a gelato for that one😉

On Saturday night we added a new investigator. Her name is L!
She's 73 and her husband passed away in October. She's super cute and
LOVES having us over. We taught the Restoration and mentioned that we
had to get going soon if we were going to catch the bus and be home by
9. She invited us to sleepover but we had to tell her we couldn't. She
invited us to come back for pranzo the next day so she set her own
return appointment! :) Whoo! And she has already read a little bit of
the BOM in the past 2 days!

We had a bunch of lessons and appointments set up for later in the
week but unfortunately got several "bidones" (cancelled appointments
at the last minute). Ma succede (but it happens). One of our lessons
fell through so we went to go stop by the house of one of our other
investigators. We haven't been able to get in contact with her for
over a month, but abbiamo citofonato (we rang her apartment) and she
was home!! Miracle!! She said she'd love to meet up for gelato and do
a lesson with us this next week so we're excited! :) Sometimes when
things don't go according to plan and one door closes, we just need to
trust that the Lord has something else in mind.

I've been reading in the New Testament for the past few weeks and this
morning I read the Parable of the Prodigal Son. I read a talk by Elder
Holland after that I loved. It's from 2002 and it's called "The Other
Prodigal." He said: "The tender image of this boy's anxious, faithful
father running to meet him and showering him with kisses is one of the
most moving and compassionate scenes in all of holy writ. It tells
every child of God, wayward or otherwise, how much God wants us back
in the protection of His arms."

The parable also teaches us about what the Savior does for us when we
repent and return to Him. Through the Atonement, He welcomes us home
and doesn't make us make the trek of repentance alone. :)

Vi voglio bene!! Have a great week!!

Sorella Hess