happy happy happy

Buondì!!

I love Catania. I love Sicily. I love my companion. I love my

district. I love the gospel. I love being a missionary. And most

importantly I love my Savior. Just so happy right now.

Busy week! We spent Monday and Tuesday in Siracusa on scambio with the

sorelle there. I was with Sorella Ferre from Sandy Utah :) She reminds

me of Audrey haha so it felt like I was with my friends at home :) We

had a blast! We did about 7 hours of finding and it felt like we

talked to about the entire city of Siracusa but we got some great

potentials!!!

I met a crazy older man the other day on the bus (shocker). He made us

laugh pretty hard. EVERYONE tries to speak in English to us even if

they only know how to say "how are you" and then they switch into

Italian or dialect. Well this guy was about 6 inches from my face and

tried to convince me he is a dog hahaha. But the only word he knew in

English was "dog" hahaha. "Sono un dog." Over and over again hahaha.

He was barking at us and even lifted his leg and pretended to pee

hahahah. Can't say I've had that one before 😂 BUT, here's the cool

part. This had been going on for about 15 minutes and I was just dying

trying not to laugh. EVERYONE on the bus was overhearing this 50yr old

barking at 2 American girls and just dying laughing. So this guy in

his 20's was overhearing the "I'm a dog" conversation and came to the

rescue and started talking to us so the crazy guy couldn't. He was way

cool and we got his number for the elders. Thankful for that crazy guy

for getting the elders a new contact that is actually sane hahaha :)

We had Stake Conference so all the members from all of Sicily came to

Catania (including all 50 missionaries in Sicily). It was so awesome!

Elder Charles from England from the 70 came and spoke to us and my

companion and I got to talk to him for a few minutes afterwards. He

and his wife are awesome!

Zone Conference!!!!!!! Holy cow. I cannot believe we just had my 2nd

to last zone conference. I got my departure packet which kind of made

things feel more real. We talked about being "all in," our purpose as

missionaries, and our divine identity. It was amaaaazing. I loved it.

I just wish time would stop for a while :) We had a CRAZY weekend with

10 sisters in our apartment that should only be able to fit 3 or 4

hahaha and they're still with us today for a Zone pday so it's been

fun!

Last night we had a zone blitz and we all did finding together in

Centro. Some people were singing hymns, others were talking to people,

some were drawing with chalk and we had sooo much success from it!

Here are some of the cool stories:

I stopped this family and they responded to me in Spanish and told me

they're from the Dominican Republic. I called one of the new greenies

in our zone over who's from there too and it turns out they're FROM

THE SAME CITY. Sooo cool. We can understand Spanish pretty well

because it's so similar to Italian and they can understand us too so

it was really amazing! Anziano Sanchez was explaining the Book of

Mormon in Spanish and me in Italian but we could all communicate! The

Gift of Tongues is real! They promised us they will come to English

course tonight so hopefully we see some cool miracles from this

family!

I talked to another woman named Gabriella who has 2 kids and just told

me she feels like something is missing in her life. The other

missionaries were singing and she said as she walked by she just felt

so much peace. I got to talk to her for a good while and asked her if

she had ever prayed before and she said not since she was a young

child in catholic school. I explained to her that she can have a

personal relationship with God again and taught her how we pray in our

church. She said she would do it because she felt so "tranquil" while

talking to me :) The Spirit is so cool guys!!!! Hopefully we will be

able to meet with her again & follow up :)

This week I read the talk "What Lack I Yet" and have been trying to

focus on specific things I need to work on. I went through the

Christlike Attribute Challenge in chapter 6 of PMG and it helped me

think of some goals I want to work on :) It's a humbling experience

but definitely helps us strive to become more like the Savior. I

invite you guys to do it too! It's awesome. I love this quote by Elder

Bednar, “Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for

sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that

the Atonement is also for saints--for good men and women who are

obedient, worthy, and conscientious and who are striving to become

better.”

I love you alllll. Sorry this was forever long--so much has happened

since last Monday! Hope you all have a great week :)

Con amore,

Sorella Hess

Via Genova 27

Catania 95127

Italia

Le foto:

Sorella Ferre aka my fav. Also Siracusa is beeeautiful

Pranzo with Dana and Agata and their cute kids

Reunited and it feels soo goooood. So fun seeing all our fav people at

stake conference!!!

Zone blitzes

Waiting at bus stops = serving in Catania.

Cutest zone ever

Another reason I love Catania. We run here every morning :) blesssssed

Zone frisbeeee today

La settimana piena di miracoli!!!

Hey mom and anyone else who reads these anymore hahaha

This week was straight INCREDIBLE. We saw so many miracles I can't

even begin to describe them all haha but I'll try to share a couple of

the coolest ones.

MONICA E MASSIMO: they are perfect you guys. Sorella Holmes and I were

on scambio Friday night and we had such an awesome lesson with them.

We had it at Stefania's house (a member here who is our mom away from

home). It was one of those lessons where you walk away and say to each

other, "wow that should've been filmed for the district 3." Haha it

was nothing WE did...they're just that amazing and are SO prepared for

the gospel. Yesterday in principi evangelici at church, Monica told us

that she was just so happy the other night after the lesson and she

said she just felt "that feeling she feels when we are all together in

church or a lesson or when she's reading the scriptures" and she

couldn't fall asleep because she was just so happy 😍😭 Those are the

moments on the mission that make it ALL worth it :)

Grazia, Sofia, e Silvia: We called this ex-investigator on Tuesday to

see if we could meet up with her sometime, and she goes, "yeah!! How

about tonight at 8??" What. Hahah that never happens. She's one of the

strongest people I've ever met you guys. She told us her whole story

and we just KNOW that this is the right time for her for this gospel.

She's been through a lot this past year and is still facing some

really really hard things but she has so much faith and is incredible.

Her little daughters came with her :) They're 9 and 10 and so stinkin

cute!

Sonya: As we were leaving the church after Zone Conference (missionary

Super Bowl) a couple weeks ago, we were super pumped up and ready to

hit the pavement and we saw this cute girl waiting at the bus stop.

I'd seen her before but we didn't get the chance to talk to her but

this time we took it as a sign that we needed to talk to her :) We

finally got to meet with her this week! Her name is Sonya and she's 22

and from Nigeria! We are excited to continue to work with her.

We've just been able to see so many miracles this week. We've been

really trying hard to work with the members and get them involved in

missionary work because we know that's the most effective way to do

it.

This week we felt super prompted to share the talk, "The Master

Healer," during two different lessons. We weren't planning on sharing

it but both times it ended up being exactly what that person needed to

hear. Then our RS lesson in church yesterday was on it too! As I've

been thinking and studying this week about it, I've just been so

thankful for our Savior and that He really is there for us. The

Atonement isn't just for those who have made mistakes. It's for each

and every one of us no matter what we are going through. "His love is

there for us whether we feel we deserve it or not."

I love you all and pray for you everyday :)

Con tanto amore,

Sorella Hess

Via Orazio Flacco 13/3

Bari, Italia

70100

Le foto:

Service Projects!

Closest I've been to the ocean for a while :)

MY FAVS :) L-R Me, Leonarda, Sorella B, Giuliana, e Monica 💕💕💕

Pranzo with la famiglia Cutrignelli yesterday ❤️

Il bello Lungomare di Bari with Sorella Holmes!

Zone Pday Beach Volleyball today

Conferenza, Bitonto, e Pallavolo!!

When members take pics of you during the lesson :)

Cari miei!

Another one of the best weeks of my mission! I say that all the time

but I really do mean it. The mission is just the greatest.

Sorella Bellomo and I are working our tails off and Bari is seeing so

many miracles!! We have a lot of potential investigators and this week

we're gonna work on turning them into actual progressing

investigators.

We're technically the Sorelle assigned to the Bitonto branch as well

as Bari Libertà so this week we were able to go out with the Anziani

and do a bunch of finding out there! It was a lot different than doing

finding in Bari because it's a TINY little town haha but it was a lot

of fun!

MONICA e MASSIMO. Wow they are just amazing. They are officially moved

in here and so we are now officially teaching them! They came to

Conference yesterday and LOVED it. Vescovo gave them each a blessing

and it was one of the most special experiences I've had on my mission.

He said to them that as they continue to take these steps along this

path, they will one day be sealed in the temple as a family! So

powerful. They both told us how badly they want to raise this new baby

they're waiting to adopt in the Gospel ❤️ So thankful the Lord is

allowing me to be a small part of this.

Conferenza Generale: We haven't been able to see the Sunday afternoon

session yet but literally every single one of my questions I had

written down going into this weekend were answered. There were so many

amazing speakers and things they said that touched me. I loved how

much they talked about following God's plan for us, trusting Him, and

following the promptings of the Spirit. It also helped me recognize

those small things that we can do daily in order to have the Spirit

with us constantly. Such an amazing Conference!! We are so blessed :)

Also a happy birthday shout out to my dad yesterday :) 44 never looked

so good!! I love you all!! The church is true and this is the Lord's

work!!!

Con amore,

Sorella Hess

Via Orazio Flacco 13/3

Bari, Italia

70100

Le foto:

When members take pics of you during the lesson hahaha

Pic with Monica while waiting for the boys to be done with the

Priesthood session :)

Our cute street cuz my mom always asks for pics of what the city looks

like haha.

District gelato run after MLC.

PALLAVOLO TODAY 🏐 First time playing in more than a year hahahaha.

We're gonna be dying tomorrow😂

Pic with Monica while waiting for the boys to be done with the

Priesthood session :)

Our cute street cuz my mom always asks for pics of what the city looks

like haha.

District gelato run after MLC.

PALLAVOLO TODAY 🏐 First time playing in more than a year hahahaha.

We're gonna be dying tomorrow😂

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

Carnevale, Conferenza di Zona, e Casa in Casa

Hi family and friends 😊

We saw SO many miracles this week!! Monday night I was on a scambio with Sorella Manning from Tooele. She's been out in the field a grand total of 2 weeks!!! It is so fun being with new missionaries. We had a lesson with Angela and Carlo and were able to add them as investigators! They are in their mid twenties and are dating. They took us out to get focaccia and then we had an incredible lesson with them about prayer. They asked US if they could try praying right then and there. Some of the most powerful moments I've had on the mission are the first times that people pray. Then they asked us all about how our marriages work in the church so we went on to talk about temples and eternal families. Such a cool night! We are way excited to work with them!

The next morning we were out doing finding and met several interested people. One lady stopped us and said she had met with the elders in the past and that she still reads the BOM and loves the comfort it brings her! Whattt?! Her name is Irma and she's from Georgia (the country, not state lol) and has lived in Italy for 10yrs. She came to English Course on Thursday and brought her BOM with her. So cute! 

We've been doing a lot of finding this week! I've never really done a lot of house to house finding on the mission because it's really hard to get into apartment complexes here because you have to talk to them through an intercom and get buzzed in. President and Sorella Pickerd talked about it at Zone Conference and said that we shouldn't be scared of it and that they both saw a lot of success from it when they were serving here, so we did it for a few hours this week. We saw lots of "Go away Jehovah's Witnesses" stickers haha and we only got yelled at twice so SUCCESS. Nobody let us in, haha but we tried hard :) Piano piano.

Zone Conf was awesome. I love President and Sorella Pickerd. The Zone Leaders and I taught an addestramento on "we invite, they commit, we follow up." It's been really neat this week to see how much more effective our lessons are as we plan our lessons around the investigator's need...not just necessarily the next lesson on the progress record. Haha I know none of you back home care about that haha but we've been seeing lots of miracles from it.

There's this holiday here in Italy called Carnevale that they celebrate for an entire week. I don't really know what they actually celebrate but it's kinda like a Halloween I guess. They all dress up and just party. Haha the ward had a huge party Friday night and mamma mia, they get crazy in Bari! They had Just Dance playing on the projector in the chapel and Bishop and his wife and all these old couples in the ward were going crazy! Hahaha we were dying. Luckily for us, we had to be home at 9 so we didn't have to help clean up all the confetti and food and streamers ;) The party was just getting started by the time we left haha. Several of our friends from English Course came and lots of Less-Actives we work with!! 

Anywayyyy. All in all, it's been solid week. I love the mission and I love you all!! Keep reading the scriptures!! I promise it will bless you!! Thanks for your emails and letters :) I still appreciate them a lot :) 

Con affetto,

Sorella Hess

Via Orazio Flacco 13/3

Bari, Italia

70100

Le foto:

Le Sorelle di Bari at Zone Conference

Last night with part of the district 

Today in Alberobello! It's a city with all these little houses called "trulli." It's such a cute place!

Polignano!

Well this week didn't go exactly as planned haha but when does it ever?? :) I was still super sick from the food poisoning all week so we weren't able to go out very much. We made it to English Course and DDM but I was dying at home in bed other than that up until Friday. We went to the doctors office on Thursday night and they checked my blood pressure and it was at 78/57 hahaha. It's supposed to be 120/80. Oops. "Ma come stai in piedi bella?!" I couldn't keep anything down all week and was down 10lbs at one point haha. Don't worry mom, I gained it back from our lunch appointment yesterday haha ;) 

There is a super incredible new convert here in the ward named Valeria who was baptized on Christmas Eve. She reminds me so much of Veronica from Caserta. They both searched out the church on their own and were baptized within weeks. Such amazing stories!! We had a lesson with Valeria on Saturday afternoon and we watched the Mormon Message "Grazie a Lui" or "Because of Him". I've seen it hundreds and hundreds of times on the mission but this time was different. I felt the Spirit so strongly. Maybe I was just extra sensitive to the Spirit because we hadn't been able to teach much this week but I cried as they talked about how thanks to the Savior, we can have a new start, live again, we never have to be alone, and we can find true happiness! 

Later that night we were out as a district in centro doing finding for English Course. It was pouring rain, freezing cold, and people weren't really listening to us. I remember thinking to myself, "Who in their right mind would be out here doing this right now if they didn't know this church was true? We're advertising a free English Course we teach just so people might feel the spirit during the spiritual thought and want to learn more about our church." I looked around at my district of ten 18-21yr olds trying to share the gospel and felt so proud to be a member of this church. The reason we stand out in the freezing cold, leave our family, friends, school, work, etc. for 18 months-2 years and get rejected time after time is to find the lost sheep like Valeria and Veronica who are searching for the way back home. We sometimes have to go through the 99 lost sheep to find the 1 who is willing to listen to us. Sometimes it's more than 99! We know the blessings that come from this gospel and we want our brothers and sisters to feel that same joy. I love being a missionary. I love the joy that comes from the small things in this work! I love my Savior, being His representative, and being on His errand. I love you all!!! Spero che la vostra settimana sia bellissima!! 

Con amore,

Sorella Hess

Via Orazio Flacco 13/3

Bari, Italia

70100

P-day today :) Polignano!!! Troppo bello 😍

💕

Cari miei!

Lots of craziness this week and I don't have a lot of time, but here's some pics of this week with some of the highlights! 

Le foto:

Our bff Gaia❤

Deborah passed her Baptismal interview so things are good to go for this Saturday :)

Isn't she the sweetest?? 

Can't believe this crazy adventure started one year ago this week. I'm thankful for everything I'm learning and for how my testimony has grown. I'm so thankful for our Savior. No matter what we're going through, He is there and loves us perfectly. I'm thankful for the power of prayer and that we always have someone that's listening. Love you guys so much! Baci!