Week 45 Letter from Sorella Hills

Hey all! 

Ah! I loved the Snape trivia :) Some people think WAY too much about trivial things, but it makes good fun for the rest of us, right? Haha, I love how people's hard work becomes our enjoyment for a second or two... and that's all :) 

BY THE WAY, WHY DON'T YOU TELL ME ANYTHING?!? LIKE, KATIE SPENCER GOES ON A MISSION TO UTAH, AND IAN WEECH?!? AND THE SPENCERS MOVE TO MANCHESTER?! Well, I know I'm not important... that's fine :p And what's this about AFV with a cartoon? Have they gone mad? Also, anything on the presidential race/ do I even want to know who you voted for?! 

As for Halloween, we've celebrated it like 3 times already! People here are weird about it, especially since the Pope just came out with a statement that halloween is of the devil! So... people are weird about it. They are either creepy about it, rebelling, or super against it! It's real weird... so we'll see how tonight looks.

So, the week was sort of crazy! We had zone conference on Wednesday and Thursday, so we had to leave at 5:30 am to get to Taranto for 10:30ish.  It was a lot.  But, it was fun hanging out with the district! A total of 10 hours on the bus, all of zone conference, and pretty much all of the rest of the days, and today together.  It's been so fun, I'm pretty sure they'll blow us all out next transfer, we are all too good of friends :) 

We had a party on Friday, which was SO fun... and stressful :) But mostly fun :) No one came except like 2 members and English course people, and we invited EVERYONE! Ah well, che devo fare? 

Then, we thought we were going to Bari on Saturday and Sunday for stake conference, but we were told, Saturday morning might I add, that we were not allowed to go... so... we had to make up some stuff to do, and it was like, ah! I just want to do the plan! Ah well, che devo fare? So we watched it at the church instead... which was a crapy transmission that kept not working... and we couldn't understand a word. For 2 hours.  

But, our investigators are making progress.  We got to see them again this week, and they had read the Book of Mormon.  One though stopped, because she couldn't get over the Nephi killed Laban thing... but we (the other investigator, her husband and us) explained that it all comes down to context, and she seemed content, and promised to read and pray not only by herself, but with her kids! So awesome! Love those ladies :) 

You are awesome! Thank you for the silly stuff you send me during the week, it really brightens the day, love you all! 

Sorella Hills

Week 44 Letter from Sorella Hills

Ciao famiglia! 

Ahhh! This week was so crazy! I want to tell you all! But, it's going to take a bit, so buckle up buttercup ;P

Ok, it all starts with last Sunday! We went to go see this investigator who wasn't answering us, and she still didn't answer.  Se we decided to go see a less active, who also wasn't answering us. We took a different root, hoping for a short cut.  We go to turn down a street, and I see a bunch of men.  It's getting dark, it's a sketch part of town, and I had a feeling that we shouldn't take that street.  So on we walk to the next.  There are some women and some kids, so we are like, yes, this is safe :) Down we walk, and these ladies keep staring at us... I was like... stop! But my companion looks over, and is like, ciao, tutto bene? And they immediately start going off, like, Ahhhh! You are like angles!! You are so pretty!! You are carrying the word of God, right? We were pretty shocked. They never talked to missionaries before, but one had a Book of Mormon which was English, but magically turned to Italian, so she read quite a bit.  We shared "because of him", and the ladies were so funny.  They read every work out loud, and kept saying "o che bello", and "o, e verrò no?" So funny! We gave them some article of faith cards (which have Jesus and some children on the front, and one of the ladies made all the kids kiss the Jesus, so funny!) and got their numbers.  One of them put is in as "Gesù angeli", so every time we call, she knows that her angles are calling! Ah SO cool! 

Then, we called them.  One answered, and we had a lesson.  She was reading, and even had her son read! She thinks it is true, so we are going to ask her to be baptized next lesson.  Then, we called the other, and she was like, I'm sorry, my cousin died today, I have to go to the funeral.  But then we had to move the time, and she said she wanted to see us, so we saw her that day at the first lady's house.  She was like "the first time I met you guys, my life changed! I know you bring the word of God, I can feel something different! That day, I was feeling so bad, so down.  But after I saw you, I felt so much better, you left us with such a great spirit, my life will never be the same!" It was amazing! They are named Carmen and Renna.  They are SO prepared! And the whole family comes to listen when we talk to them, it's amazing! Never has this happened, and you can really see the hand of the Lord in the whole thing! Sooo amazing! 

Then, like I said, we went to Rome! Haha, Rome! It's so crazy to see the ENTIRE mission! And hear an apostle, the president of the seventy, and the president of the area seventy, and all their wives speak to us.  It was so profound.  The spirit was strong. And to end it all, we sang the mission hymn, it was unprecedented! The whole mission, united in one purpose :) so cool! 

On the train back down, I learned how to solve a Rubix cube, and did so 3 times, still have to practice :) And I found someone who is as much of a nerd as I am when it comes to Doctor Who/ nerdy things :) It was so long, more then 8 hours, but so fun to just talk to and get to know the other missionaries in our district.  We have such a great district! Especially our city.  We have all been here at least 2 transfers, and we are SO close, it's just so fun! 

We also went to Cosenza.  The district of Calabria was closed, and incorporated into the stakes of Puglia and Palermo. So, we go to Bari for conference now, instead of Cosenza.  The difference is a 7/8 hour bus ride vs a 2 1/2 hour one... guess where we are going next Sunday! That's right, Bari! 

It was really hard for the members to have the district closed.  The point of the district was for it to become a stake of itself, and it didn't. It failed pretty miserably.  Not a lot of people came to the conference.  Of the 4 branches in the district, enough people came to make a small ward.  It was really rough.  But the speakers broke a lot of boxes.  For instance, one of the seventy, was like "keeping the sabbath doesn't mean coming to sacrament meeting, and leaving early to cook lunch".  Another nugget of gold was "People keep asking me when the temple will be ready, but what about when will you all be ready for the temple? It's been promised that the temple will be ready when the members are ready for it!" Ahh! So needed. But so not heard! Our rides decided to stop in Sila (the mountains) and get lunch from this restaurant on the way home! And told us about it! We had to take the train home... hat was the reference in the popcorn video.  We had to take 5 hours to get home instead on an hour drive in the car. Ugh.  Calabria! Please pray for Calabria, especially Crotone, they need it! 

This week was like night and day compared to last.  All is going well, and I am learning so much! I have a testimony that this is all the Lord's work, and nothing we do can change that.  We try and be the best we can, and hen the Lord works through us.  But it's all his time.  He might bless us immediately, or after a really long time.  But it is always his work.  Always his plan.  All we can do is our best.  Everyone has their agency, which we can't change, but, we can adjust our own decisions :) 

Love you all! Keep the faith! 

Sorella Hills

Week 43 Letter from Sorella Hills

Hey all!

Ok, for Jacks open when thing...

"Open when you feel like you want to go home

Here is what you do.  This is your emergency preparedness packet.  How to survive the seemingly unsurvivable transfer! 

1. Take a deep breath, a shower/bath, sit alone in the bathroom for a few minutes of silence/alone time

2. Define the problem.  All of the aspects, what is making you feel this way? Then, game plan. What can you change about the situation? Change it.  What can you not change? Change your attitude. Find the solutions to the problems, and work on putting them into action.

3. Need motivation? Think, why did I come out here? What did I want to do? Did I not pray to God and receive a witness that this is what He wants me to do? The Lord wants you here!  He'll support you!

4. Study the Atonement, and what it means to you.  Christ suffered all, He knows what you are going through, turn it over to Him! 

5. Adjusting to Missionary Life = Life vest 

6. If all of this doesn't work, call president.  He knows all :)

Remember kid, we are all praying for you.  Basically the entire Mormon world is praying for you. We love you, and know you can do it.  Take it one step at a time, hour by hour, day by day.  Soon, you'll be beyond the trial, and you'll be like, wait, when did that happen? You can do hard things!" 

This transfer has been, special.  I have learned what it means to truly rely on the Lord.  Honestly, I couldn't do it without Him.  I have had all of my weaknesses exposed, and it is painful.  I have truly been in the depths of dispare.  But, little by little, we move on.  We move forward.  I know that I couldn't do this without the Lord.  I have felt His spirit, the confirming witness that this is where I need to be.  So, I move on, and up. It's always a miracle :) 

Love you all! This week we'll go to Roma! I'll tell you about it when I get back :) 

Sorella Hills

Week 42 Letter from Sorella Hills

What did Issy get on her first SAT I'm glad she is thinking BYU.  She'll go to Provo, I just know it! 

As for Jack, did you know that his picture is on the LDS tools app now as one of the missionaries serving from our ward?!! He looks so cute! His suit looks a little big on him :) And his hair is a little short... Haha, so cute! 

I am feeling better, and so is my companion, meno male!!  Finally! And yes, we get to fly to Rome again! We have to take a train back, but it will be a Freccia Rossa! So cool, you should look them up.  It's like a bullet train! 

Ahh! You guys all watched High School Musical 3 as a family?  haha! Uncle Peter is my FAVORITE!!! 

You have 16 cords of wood split and stacked!?! Why?!? Like, we only need like 5 for the winter right? You guys are so funny with your wood :) Total preppers.

I have opened all the letters you gave me that said 'OPEN WHEN...' on the front.  I loved them! You should send some to Jack, too.  If you need me to write any, I totally can! 

Ok! This week was SO crazy! 

On Monday, we went to the beach, because it was the first day we could! We aren't allowed to go to the beach from April to October, and it was the first P.Day we could go, and we took advantage of it! So fun! 

Then from Tuesday to Thursday, we were in Cosenza... Transfers! So, the entire city got blown out, so 4 new missionaries who never served in Cosenza needed someone to be there to pick them up.  So on Tuesday, we went to help clean up the house, and get it ready for he blowout.  Then, Wednesday, we put one of the sisters on the train, and went home to finish cleaning and packing.  Then Thursday was the big day! 

It started out fine.  We got the sister on the train, and we decided to go get some breakfast while we wait for the new missionaries.  The first to arrive was supposed to be a greenie, so we wanted to get him something to eat, and be at the station before he arrived. So, Italian breakfast, and all of a sudden, we realize that our Italian breakfast has taken too long, and we had 5 minutes to get back to the station! So we run!!! We make it just as the train is pulling in.  So we walk down the train, and no missionaries.  We see some in the car, and we ask them about the greenie, and they were all like, which greenie? They told us to check further down, so we do... walking a bit faster now.  The missionaries in that car don't know either.  Then, the train pulls away. No greenie! We are freaking out! 

We run inside, and we talk to the lady at the ticket office, and she says the train we are looking for hasn't passed yet, and we are to wait an hour. So, we are like, ok, all is good! We just have to wait! So we wait.  Then, about 45 minutes in, we see a missionary on the platform! We run out, and it's the greenies trainer! He starts freaking out, because he had talked to the mission, who changed the greenies ticket.  He switched at Napoli, and he called the Napoli Anziani, and the greenie made it on the train.  But that train went straight to Cosenza, and didn't stop in the station we were in, Paola.  The missionaries told him to get of at Paola no matter what... So... we didn't know where he went.  And the train he was on passed an hour before! Ahhh!!! No one knew where the greenie was! It turned into this huge thing with the trainer getting on a train to Napoli, and Napoli down to Cosenza, each searching every stop, but no one found him.  

Then, the trainer was talking to an official, and the guy was like, hey, do you know an American who speaks no Italian, and the trainer was like, YES, WHERE IS HE!? The conductor was like, I just dropped his off at Paola! At this point, we are back in Cosenza, and the trainer was a couple stops beyond Paola, and we couldn't get to him for like 2 hours! In the meantime, the Sorelle came in, and we had to go to English course... so much stress! But in the end, all was well :) we still have no idea how he made it to Paola! 

This has been quite a week! I love Crotone! It has been such a refiners fire, but it has been so good! Love you all! 

Sorella Hills

Week 41 Letter from Sorella Hills

Ciao famiglia! 

Has Issy decided she's going to BYU?  Has she decided a major yet? Did she take the SATs twice? 

Oh man! Conference was the best! I never appreciated it as much as I do out here.  Honestly, you all need to get dressed in church clothes, have a pad of paper nearby, and take action points as to what you want to change as a result of the conference.  When we had the conference with Anziano Kearon a couple of weeks ago, he gave us the advice to do "action point notes", not notes on everything that was said. This way, the conference is not just a boost that shoots you up high, and then you slowly come back down, but you continue climbing until the next conference! Constant progression :D It has made it so much more meaningful and helpful. Also, before the Kearon Conference, we had to do a lot of work, reading a lot of things.  And then he broke all our boxes and was like "you need to quadruple you prep work when you listen to an apostle!" Ah! So, we did a lot of praying, and a lot of studying, and we came with questions, and I feel so ready to go! 

Also, going off that line of thought, WE ARE HAVING ANOTHER MISSION CONFERENCE OCTOBER 20!!! We are going up to Rome again, and the visiting authorities will be President Russell M. Nelson, of the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Donald L. Hallstrom, of the Presidency of the Seventy, Bishop Gerald Causse, Presiding Bishop, and Elder Patrick Kearon, Europe Area President!!! AHHHHHH!!! So excited! 

But back to conference, SO GOOD!!! So much inspiration :) Ah! 

The rest of the week was spent inside... I came down with the flu along with my companion.  We were both still sick! My poor companion! She got an ear infection, an allergic reaction to Italian Tylenol, and a  cough, with congestion :) It's pretty gross :) I just had the flu/cold.  I don't know what to call it because it was like a cold, but I had a fever... I'm better now, still have some congestion and a cough, but it's not bad anymore! Finally, we are out of the house! Two weeks! We went to the beach today, and it was so beautiful! No one on the beach except us, and it felt so good to be out, and to have the wind sand and water, ah! So nice! 

I love you all! Stay awesome!
Sorella Hills

When I was sick, I drank this 'tea' made with water, apple cider vinegar, and honey.  Watch my face!

This beautiful baby!!

Week 40 Letter from Sorella Hills

Ciao famiglia! 

That's pretty intense, a combined yw/ym camp out! How did you swing that? Sounds like it might be *cough* inappropriate:).  Was the camp out to help with the Eagle project? Was Charlie a help or a hindrance? How has he been?! Have you gotten him to heel yet :)

Why did mom get a shot of cortisone? What's wrong with her shoulder? Or is it for her neck? 

As to answer your question Issy, yes, I know EXACTLY how you feel.  Except times that by 100, and add the fact that you are dealing with real people's lives, physically and spiritually.  I'm losing hair... I'll go bald before the end! Well, I won't go bald :) But, I am losing hair.

Well, this week was SO uneventful that I will have a hard time coming up with things to tell you.  Monday, we emailed most of the day. But we found this street market near our house and decided to by some fruit and veggies.  Just to know, the stuff in the stores are over priced and over ripe.  Always! In general, if you want good stuff for cheaper, you go to the specialized stores like a panificio for bread, gelateria for ice cream, and a out door fruit and veggies market for the fruits and veggies.  This one we found was huge! As we walked through, someone yelled over to us "Au! Sorelle!" We look up, and walk over to this stand, and we start talking to this vendor and his wife.  Apparently, missionaries have been going to this market for years, but none of us knew about it.  Everyone was like, "hey, where have you guys been!" That's was pretty cool, being recognized and remembered :) 

Then we had a scambio on Tuesday in Cosenza, with was so fun! My companion is like my favorite person ever! 

Thursday, everyone gave us bidone (canceled on us), Friday, we were supposed to have an apartment inspection at 2, but they didn't come until 6!!  So, we stayed in the house all day waiting.  But, when they came, they brought my companion a new mattress! Saturday, she came down with the flu that's been taking everyone out here.  And she has been sick ever since.  We left the house on Sunday to take the sacrament, and this morning to buy food for the week.  Yeah.... it's been a long one :) 

But, we have conference this week!!! We watch a session on Saturday night, then 3 on Sunday.  It'll be a marathon of conference, I'm so excited! 

Love you all! 

Week 39 Letter from Sorella Hills

Hey everyone! 

Ahhh!! I can't believe that Jack is gone! I'm going to write him next :) 

Tell mom to not puncture her toe with a safety pin! Yes, one can do bathroom surgery, but should they? That stinks about the trees... I'd love to help out, I miss the DQ trips! DID I EVER TELL DAD HAPPY BIRTHDAY?!? I can't remember... I think I did :) But I'm glad he got to use his present to do some good.  Is it really that much faster than the log splitter? Why do we even use the log splitter then? 

I want you to know how amazing it is and how much of a change comes when members and the missionaries can work together. We spend a lot of time working with members here.  One, because a lot of them are newly baptized and two, because we want to build a relationship with them.  When you have a relationship, it is so much easier to trust each other.

I'm glad you had a great dance! And it's nice that Jenna went to it.  

My Italian is really coming along.  I can communicate without too much difficulty.  Understanding, NO problem, I can understand everything.  I just let the words flow in, the ones I do not understand get sort of filtered out and I can learn their meaning from context.  There are less and less words getting filtered out at his point, so it's nice.  As for talking, I can say anything I want.  I can at least work around a word I don't know so that they'll give me the word I'm looking for :). I have a lot of work to do, but it's getting there.  Food wise, it's always good! I can make a good lasagna, melanzane, a good sugo, carbonara, and some other more simple pasta dishes.  I am not a great Italian cook, but I can make some things now :) 

Ok, for the week! 

So, surprise! We went to ROMA! We had a conference with President Kearon, and they brought everyone (except for Sicilia) up to ROMA! It was so cool, we got to fly! SO much fun, I got to see SO many people, and the conference was SO good! I got to stay the night in Ostia one night, and in Roma the other night- so much fun!  Then, we thought that we would make it down to Crotone in a timely manner.  We did not count on rain or Italian technical difficulties.  So, we missed our connecting train, and had to go to Cosenza instead, and leave at 5:00 the next morning! 3 solid days outside of our area :D SO FUN!!! 

The rest of the week was full of cancellations and no appointments-ugh.  So...the fun was the Kearon conference! It is amazing how many people you meet on the mission.  How many friendships you can make with people, Italians and English! I love it so much, I love being able to talk to people, in English and Italian, and make friends! They are just all so awesome! 

Love you all :) 

Sorella Hills

My companion made me a camel pancake for my half way mark 'hump day'.  haha!