Transfer 10... whattt?!

Hi guys!!

So I'm staying in Bari and guess who my new comp is... Sorella

Bellomo!! We are sooo excited to be together! She was in my last zone

for the past 3 transfers so we know each other pretty well already.

She's from Vercelli Italy--up north kinda by Milano. We've been

speaking only Italian so it's been fun! My Italian will definitely

improve this transfer :) Sorella Sargeant went to... Caserta!!!!! That

lucky girl! My favorite place in the world! She's gonna love it and

they're gonna love her!!!

Monica and Massimo came to church again yesterday and are officially

moving in this Saturday so we are excited to work with them! They are

awesome and she's so ready for the gospel.

Several less-actives came to church yesterday which was a huge miracle! :)

Last district pic

Yesterday our Bishop's family had a visitor that I know from back

home! Brother Montagnoli from the Manila 7th ward!! We had lunch with

them and it was great to be able to see someone from home for the

first time on my mission haha. The world is small :)

ALSO, we heard that they put the angel Moroni on the Rome Temple

yesterday which is a huge step! We are so excited to be apart of this

hastening of the work.

Bye to Sorella Sarge💕

I'm loving my mission!! It's flying by faster than I would like but

I'm trying to savor every moment!! Sure love you guys! Have a

wonderful week 💕

Con amore,

Sorella Hess

Via Orazio Flacco 13/3

Bari, Italia

70100

Last district pic

Bye to Sorella Sarge💕

Bellomo in Bari today!!

With the crew yesterday at lunch :)

Bellomo in Bari today!!

With the crew yesterday at lunch :)

Scambi, Trani, Parrucchiera, etc.

Salve tutti (as they say in Bari hahaha)

Decorated the kitchen for Slla CB's birthday

I hope you guys are all doing well!! We had a busy week with 2 exchanges! I was with Sorella Groll from Preston Idaho on Tuesday. She's awesome. We had a ton of fun together and talked to lots of people. We added a new investigator named Filomena and were able to meet with her again the next night. She had met with the missionaries 3 years ago but lost contact with them and is so excited we met up again. 

Wednesday night I colored Sorella Sargeant's hair for the first time haha. It was really fun. She looks so good brunette! I'm thinking about doing it too!! Haha jk mom, don't freak out ;) Forever blonde :)

Sorella Sargeant and I hit our 1 year in Italy mark on Thursday. Pretty crazy to think that one year ago this week I was actually here in Bari. Throwback to how they put me on the wrong train my first day in the mission and I went to Bari instead of Taranto on accident and had to take a train by myself as a brand new greenie haha. Who knew that one year later I'd be back here again?? 😂

Our district's weekly language study sessions with Fabrizia :)

Friday and Saturday I was on exchange with Sorella Coz Becerra. She's Peruvian but has lived in Italy for a long time. She's maybe like 4'11" hahaha. I love her. She's the cutest thing ever. We did a lot of finding and visited a few of the nonne in the ward.

Yesterday we had Stake Conference and the Bern Switzerland Temple President and his wife came down. They're both Swiss but gave their talks in Italian even though they speak just a little. It was so sweet to feel their Spirit and hear their testimonies even though it was in simple Italian. The Spirit has no language! 

Today in Trani :

We get transfer calls tonight and we're excited to see what happens this next transfer. Transfer 10 here we go!! So crazy. We spent P-day today in this beautiful little beach town called Trani which is about 45 minutes from our area. There's a super cute lady in the ward who lives out there all alone so she showed us around today and we had lunch with her :) 

Sorella Sargeant made me get Kebab (pronounced Kay-bob...it's so gross).

There's an awesome talk Sorella Groll showed me called Trust in the Lord from October 1995 (before I was born hahaha) by Elder Richard G Scott. It's amazing guys! Go read it right now :) I really like the part where he says, "Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more. He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain." 

I know this is true and that if we want to learn and grow, we have to go through challenges at times. We are never alone though as we go through them. Our Savior is there with us and understands exactly how we are feeling. I love you guys :) Siete troppo bravi!

Con amore,

Sorella Hess

Via Orazio Flacco 13/3

Bari, Italia

70100

Le foto:

Decorated the kitchen for Slla CB's birthday

Our district's weekly language study sessions with Fabrizia :)

Today in Trani :)

Sorella Sargeant made me get Kebab (pronounced Kay-bob...it's so gross).

Visiting cute Sorella Calabrese :) and Gesù in the background ;) 

Visiting cute Sorella Calabrese :) and Gesù in the background ;) 

Le feste di Bari!!

Ciao tutti!

Another week! It's been great down here in Bari. This transfer is flying! Transfer calls are next P-day!

Friday was for sure the highlight of the week! We had a stake Relief Society activity for all the women in the Puglia Stake... so know what that means?? ALL the sisters from Taranto (my 1st area) came up to Bari for the evening 😊😍 It was easily one of the best nights of my mission. So much fun to see them all after almost a year and to actually be able to communicate with them now haha. I got to see a lady who was a Less-Active while I was there but then re-activated herself during my 3rd transfer. She told me that she just got a calling as a RS instructor!! I was soo happy to hear she's still doing well! Seriously such a powerful night. There were around 200 women there which is AMAZING for places outside of Utah haha 😉 I was blown away by how strong these members are. They truly are the pioneers of the church here in Italy since the church has only been here for about 40 years.

Bari and Taranto Zone Sorelle

Also, Monica (that lady from last Sunday who showed up at church) came to the activity and they officially own a house in our ward and are moving in the first week of April! We are so excited to teach her :) She's golden!

Sabrina from Taranto

Other exciting events of this week: we were trying to pass by the home of a less active member. When we found the one we were looking for, we rang the citofono. Immediately after the "chi è" (who is it) and our "salve siamo le sorelle," (hi we are the sisters) we were buzzed in. We were pleasantly surprised and went up to the first floor. We rang the bell at the apartment and a woman asked who we were through the closed door. We explained that we were the missionaries, and she told us she couldn't open the door because she was just the badante (caregiver) and didn't have the keys. We were about to leave and come back in the morning, and I asked, "Ma, c'è Paola?" And the woman said, "Aspettate, vediamo se trovo le chiavi." (Wait a second, I'll see if I can find the keys) And she opened up the door and let us right in. Her name is Maria, and she told us that sadly the less active we were looking for died last year from cancer, and she is the badante (caregiver) for the mother of this woman. BUT Maria had met missionaries in the past and always wanted to be in contact with them again, but had no number or anything to contact them! We have been talking to her and are trying to meet with her again, we just have to find a time in her busy work schedule. Isn't that amazing?!

Guisi!!!

We had a party with our English course where we made British, American, and Canadian treats. It was really fun! There were lots of people there. Lots of potentials!

My Fav people

Cool graffiti

I gave a talk in church yesterday on why we need the restored church and as I've been studying it this past week, I've been able to reflect a lot on all of the blessings in my life thanks to the church. I invite you guys to sit down and make a list of all the ways the gospel has blessed you. It'll take a while, I promise haha but it's a pretty special experience. During 2nd and 3rd hour we got to watch the full Joseph Smith movie in English with our African Gospel Principles class. It's amazing watching it as a missionary because this is what we share with people every single day. I am thankful for the Restoration and that we have the priesthood again on the earth today. We're blessed guys!!! I love you all! Have a great week! 

Elisabeth--spelled like my middle name :)

Bari is good for a lot of things....but Pizza isn't one of them haha:)

Con amore,

Sorella Hess

Via Orazio Flacco 13/3

Bari, Italia

70100

Le foto:

Bari and Taranto Zone Sorelle

Sabrina from Taranto

Giusy!

My fav people :)

Elisabeth (spelled like my middle name) :)

Cool graffiti 

Bari is good for a lot of things but pizza isn't one of

them haha :) 

Digiuni, miracoli, funerali!(2)

Ciao guys, 

I swear we just had P-day 5 minutes ago haha. Time really needs to slow down. We had such a cool miracle yesterday so I'll start with that! 

"Shoot, we haven't taken any pics this week....smile guys"

Sorella Sargeant and I fasted yesterday so that we'd be able to find more truly interested investigators this week. No joke, right at the beginning of sacrament meeting this couple walks in. We didn't know who they were so I went and sat by them. Massimo--the husband--is a member from Taranto (my 1st area!!!) but has been living in L'aquila (up north of Rome) for 8 years and is inactive. His wife, Monica is from Uruguay but moved to Italy when she was 11. She's not a member (yet😉) but is seriously soo sweet and interested in the church. They're married and in the middle of adopting a baby and ARE MOVING TO OUR WARD IN A FEW WEEKS :) :) :) She texted US after church and said thank you so much for making her feel welcomed and that she's coming to the Relief Society activity this Saturday night. A random inactive man just shows up at our church and brings his non-member wife. That doesn't just randomly happen while we happen to be fasting for miracles. Fasting works guys!! Punto.

Saimo noi, la luce less'amore

Bishop asked me to play the piano for a funeral on Friday of an older man in the ward who passed away. It was such a spiritual day. His wife and daughters aren't members of the church and it was hard to watch them so heartbroken thinking they wouldn't be able to see their dad ever again. That morning we had taught a lesson to a new convert on the Plan of Salvation and then being at that funeral afterwards just confirmed my testimony of it even more. We are so blessed to know that death isn't the end!! I'm so thankful for the knowledge we have of where we came from, why we are here, where we are going, and how we can reach the highest kingdom of glory. The gospel brings so much peace and comfort in our lives! 

Visiting older ladies in the ward is the BESST!

New mattress today, we live in the old elder apartment so it was a necessity hahaha

Other than that, not much out of the usual happened. Getting creeped on, eating pasta, teaching English Course, preachin' the gospel...all that good stuff :) I love you guys! I love this church and all the blessings that come from being a missionary. You don't have to wear a name tag to be a missionary though ;) Pray for opportunities to share the gospel! Vi voglio un mondo di bene! 

Baci da Bari

Sorella Hess

Via Orazio Flacco 13/3
Bari, Italia
70100