"And I'm proud to be an Americannnnnn"

Hi guys,

Frustrated cuz I just had my entire group email typed up and somehow I deleted the entire thing :((( SOO, I'm typing as fast as I can trying to recount everything we've done this week that could possibly be fun for you guys to hear about haha.

We met a 26yr old girl from Germany the other day and helped her get away from a creepy man that had been following her for a few kilometers!! We had to tell him a little white lie that she was married and going to meet her husband haha. Oops. Arrivederci bro. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to get rid of the creepy men here haha. I repented, don't worry ;) We referred her to the missionaries in Germany so who knows what could happen because of that stalker man?! :) 

We went to Palermo on Sunday for ZONE CONFERENCE combined with Palermo and Catania zones and it was so much fun!! We got to see so many of our friends and the spirit was incredibly strong. President and Sorella Pickerd are incredible. I had my final departing 1hr interview with him Sunday night and it was so great. He helped me so much with everything and I feel a lot calmer about the next chapter now :) 

I got to share my testimony at zone conf in front of all 48 missionaries and I was the ONLY departing one. It was cool to be able to reflect back on all I've learned and how I've grown this past year and a half. 

I read an article in the new ensign this week that talks about enduring well instead of just enduring. They shared a quote about how our experiences and our trials polish us into exactly who our Heavenly Father wants us to be. I loved that!! It's so true. Everything we go through is for our benefit and we will come out stronger in the end if we rely on the Atonement of Christ. I love my mission and all the trials and experiences I've been through because they've shaped me into a better version of myself. I still have a LONG way to go haha but I'm on the right path :) 

Today we went as a district to Taormina which   UNREAL. We went up to the ancient amphitheater that looks out over the whole coast. It was like a scene of a movie. It was right up with there next to the Amalfi coast on my list of coolest Pdays. 

I love you guys and hope you have a great 4th!!! We're so blessed to be Americans and to live in a place where we are free! My Ecuadorian comp is probably getting sick of me singing "God bless the USA" all day long hahahah :) Love you guys!! Enjoy the Stadium of Fire for me and eat lots of food! We're on the way to the ward BBQ right now ❤️🇺🇸💙

Con amore,

Sorella Hess

Via Genova 27 

Catania 95127 

Italia

Le foto:

1-Catania and Palermo zones combined...idk why but the pic looks really fuzzy on here but it's actually a good pic haha.

2-Blondest district ever....and then there's Sorella Zapata 😂 President calls them the Catania towers hahaha. 

3-Sorella Pickerd ❤️❤️❤️

4-Today at Taormina!

5-hahaha idk...

6-car rides back from Palermo with the senior couple!

Tower of Terror...in real life

Buona Pasquetta!!

I love Easter in Italy! We've had such a fun week. Today we are having

Pasquetta at the church with the whole ward. We've been playing

volleyball, ping-pong, calcetto, soccer, Just Dance, etc. all day long

and it's been a blast! Bari knows how to party!

Sllllaa Bellomo

We've had a great and busy week--complete with 2 exchanges.

We took a train for an hour and a half to Foggia and spent a day with

them from Thursday to Friday. I was with Sorella Manning who's in her

2nd transfer. We had a lot of fun and were able to teach some cool

lessons. We came back Friday afternoon and went directly out to

Bitonto with the ZL's and did some finding and then we came back to

Bari for our Mexican Fiesta night with the GANS (YSA). Whooo!

Saturday Sorella Holmes (one of the Sorelle we live with) wasn't

feeling very well so her comp spent the morning/afternoon inside with

her and then I spent the evening in with her so Sorella CB could go

out and not go stir-crazy.

Yesterday we had pranzo with Giuliana and Pippo :) She's a recent-ish

convert! They spoiled us and treated us like family. I love them!!

Afterwards we had some meetings and then went to the senior couple's

house for a Nacho Party!!! Leftovers from the fiesta night. We

all piled into the elevator afterwards (...10 missionaries hahahaha)

and literally before the elevator doors had shut we started dropping

from the 5th floor. We were jam packed in that tiny elevator and all

screaming and sweating and freaking out hahahaha. Luckily Anziano

Fitzner was there and he was a fireman back in the day so he knew to

pry the door open and we all jumped out before it dropped all the way

to the very basement hahahha. Memories😂 Lesson learned, the weight

limit posted inside the elevator isn't just a suggestion.

Cute Sorella Manning in Foggia!

Easter eggs from members yesterday

I love this time of year and that we get to reflect on our Savior and

His Resurrection. This week I've been studying a lot and teaching a

lot about the purpose of life. We are here on the earth for a lot of

reasons but the biggest ones are so that we can have a body, to learn,

to grow, and to experience JOY! Our Heavenly Father wants us to be

happy!! When things aren't going our way, we shouldn't ask why it's

happening but what we are supposed to learn from that experience. We

are never alone! Our Savior has been through it all and understands us

perfectly!

Giuliana and Pippo!!

Vi voglio tanto bene! Grazie per il vostro amore e sostegno. Sono

davvero grata per voi!!

Con tanto amore,

Sorella Hess

Via Orazio Flacco 13/3

Bari, Italia

70100

Le foto:

Easter eggs from members yesterday

Giuliana and Pippo!!

Sllllaa Bellomo

Cute Sorella Manning in Foggia!