Modena 2 - Transfer 4 - Week 1

May 25, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

It's quite a different story being the 'Senior Companion.'  I thought I was busy and tired before, but now I know what it means to really have the world (or at least the southern half of Modena) on my shoulders.  But luckily, Sorella Laratro loves to laugh.  We have lots of fun biking around on our new bikes... and by new, I mean very very very very old and broken down.  I had to give up the nice bike that I put so much money into when the new sorella arrived from Utah last week.  Somehow, even though we live in the same apartment, everything is transferred over.  Even bikes and kitchen shelves.  Oh well.  Nonna or 'Grandmother' (the name of my little green and brown bike) gets around ok.  I just have to pedal 10x's as many times, and my feet hit the ground constantly, and my seat causes molto dolore e rumore (pain and squeaking).  But I think I'm getting stronger, and I've lost 2 kili already!  That's 4.4 lbs, for those of you Americans who don't know kilograms... ;)

But aside from that, I am loving my new investigators and getting to know the ward pretty well.  Charity, a 9 year old from Ghana, just set a baptismal date!  She was taught by other sisters a few months ago, but said she wanted to finish Catholic school before she decided whether or not to get baptized.  Well, she finished Catholic school, and now she's going to get baptized in June!  Her sister and uncle were baptized a couple of months ago, so they'll be able to take her to church.  She speaks better Italian than I do, but somehow the Spirit helps us understand each other. :)

We are working with lots of other people, and it is different working on the other side of the city, but my Italian is getting much better, and I think I'm even getting some of the culture down!  We have had lots of meetings with lots of missionaries lately, and for the next 3 weeks we have 'training' with the combined zones.  It's amazing to feel the Spirit so strong as we discuss 'The Doctrine of Christ' and how we can better help people come unto Christ.  I have realized that I am becoming more and more 'Sorella Willey' and less and less 'Liz' or 'Elizabeth,' and I think I'm getting to the point that I never want to go home.  Of course, one day I will be happy to be home.  Luckily I have all of you to come home to, or I would probably try to extend my whole life.  Of course, maybe I'll get really really tired and have to come home if I'm senior companion for the next 12 months or so.  Eeeek! 

Anyway, I was happy to get mail (for the 1st time in 6 weeks), and I have to thank you all for your many letters!  It'll probably take me a couple of weeks to even read all of them!  But thank you, and consider yourself hugged.

Speaking of time, I've reached the allowed amount, and I must sign off if I want to be obedient.  So, I love you all, wish you all the best, and I know that God will bless you! He always does.  (See Mosiah Chapters 2-4)

Keep the faith!

-Sorella Willey

P.S.  Photos:

1. Sorella Laratro, Sorella Willey, Sorella Bowman, e Sorella Snodgrass

2. Sorella Snodgrass and I always end up matching!  So we took a picture.  Something about Italy's Angels..... I don't know.  I didn't get it.
--
Sorella Willey

elizabeth.willey@myldsmail.net

Sorella Elizabeth Willey

Missione Italiana di Milano

Via Gramsci, 13/4

20090 Opera MI

ITALIA

Modena - Transfer 3 - Week 6

May 18, 2011

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm being transfered again!  But to the other side of Modena.  I'll actually be living in the same apartment, but sleeping in a different room.  It's kind of funny, actually.  My new companion is ITALIAN!!!!  Sorella Laratro from Puglia is 25, and I'm going to be the SENIOR COMPANION!!! EEEKS!!!  But this will be her 2nd transfer and my 4th in the mission, so I guess it works out.  And actually, it won't be long before I turn 25 anyway... Hmmm...

The music fireside went quite well, actually!  We had at least 10 investigators there, 5 less-actives, and probably about 1/2 the ward.  An elder who was serving in Montova came down and played piano, and the cello didn't squeak too many times...  ;)  It was fun.  One investigator who came had never come to church, and this week he came to church for the first time! YAY!! 

Let's see, Bouba, our investigator from Guinea (Africa) set a baptismal date, and then his family kicked him out of the house.  Now he's looking for work and a place to live.  But he still believes, and still wants to get baptized!  Wow!  He has so much faith!  Manjola, the woman from Albania, also set a date is very susceptible to the Spirit.  She came to church for the first time this week, and she LOVED it!  Yesterday was my last day teaching her, so it was bittersweet.  It's hard to leave investigators, even though it's just to another part of the city.  I'll see them in church, but I don't get to be there for all their lessons, etc.  But the important thing is that I learned so much from each one of them, and thanks to the Spirit, somehow I was able to communicate to them my testimony and make a difference in their lives. 

I have had so many confirmations that this is the right place for me to be right now.  God really does know everything about us, and if we trust Him, He will make our lives even better than we could have possibly imagined!  I probably say that a lot, but every day that is more and more real to me.  We "taught" a couple of lessons this week to some members.  It's amazing how the Spirit will teach everyone when everyone is bearing testimony. 

Letizia, a woman from Ghana, was baptized about 15 years ago when she moved to Italy.  She shared with us how important it was for her to feel the Spirit in her life, and how after she joined the chruch, she knew that she was never alone because she could ALWAYS have the companionship of the Spirit. She bears her testimony to everyone, and whenever she can, comes to appointments with the missionaries.  She is such a great example to me of LIVING the Gospel. 

I hope someday when I grow up and am back in the "normal" world, that I can live the Gospel, and be a missionary senza tag for my whole life like she does.

Thank you all for your support, love and friendship!  I love you all!

Til next week,

-Sorella Willey

P.S.  A couple of funny things that happened to us this transfer:

The other day someone called the Polizia on us for knocking on doors.  They looked at our documents and escorted us out of the apartment.  They asked some questions about the church, then said we were fine, just not to go back to that apartment anyway.  As they were getting in the car, I gave one of them an invite to the music fireside.  Haha... they didn't come, but it was funny anyway.

Twice this past transfer Sorella Snodgrass and I have gotten stuck inside the gates of an apartment complex...  We couldn't find the button to open the gate, so we climbed out.  Yes, in our skirts.  No, we didn't get caught.  Yes, it was really exciting... probably too much fun. ;)

Yesterday we rang a citofano (like a doorbell outside the gate), and we said (in Italian), "We're the sister missionaries."  Immediately a lady opened the gate and said, "YES!!"  Turned out, she was Jehovah's Witness and thought we were too.  It's not very common that someone is excited to see us during casa, or that a J.W. will let us in at the citofano.  Haha.  Then she said, oh, woops.. in so many words, and sent us on our way.

Last week during casa, we met a man who said, "Actually, I just want to go to 'inferno,' and Sorella Snodgrass said, "I'm sorry, have a nice day."  You can probably guess what inferno translates to in English.

There were tons more funny things, but I can't think of any right now.  Have a nice day!

--
Sorella Willey

elizabeth.willey@myldsmail.net

Sorella Elizabeth Willey

Missione Italiana di Milano

Via Gramsci, 13/4

20090 Opera MI

ITALIA

Photos 3

May 11, 2011

1. Paolo, Sofia and Paola- my new converts in Milano

2. Modena on the bike

3. S.lla Snodgrass, Modugno and Williams- Scambi in Firenze

4. Rosa, Sabrina and Katy- New convert and family in Milano

--
Sorella Willey

elizabeth.willey@myldsmail.net

Sorella Elizabeth Willey

Missione Italiana di Milano

Via Gramsci, 13/4

20090 Opera MI

ITALIA

Photos 2

May 11, 2011

1. I got an Easter egg the size of my head...

2. I took to it with a knife

3. Another picture with Sorella Snodgrass

4. With Sorella Baranova (scambi in Bergamo)

--
Sorella Willey

elizabeth.willey@myldsmail.net

Sorella Elizabeth Willey

Missione Italiana di Milano

Via Gramsci, 13/4

20090 Opera MI

ITALIA

Modena - Transfer 3 - Week 5

May 11, 2011

Dear Friends and Family,

Because a picture is worth 1000 words...

1. Sorella Noteware and I got chocolate bunnies for Easter from a member

2. Gasman, Cristina, Dillan, Noemi, and Giada (family I was teaching in Milano)
3. With my trainer, Sorella Noteware, in Milano

4. With Sorella Snodgrass in Modena

5. On the bike in Modena

More to come in a few minutes!

Love,

-Sorella Willey
--
Sorella Willey

elizabeth.willey@myldsmail.net

Sorella Elizabeth Willey

Missione Italiana di Milano

Via Gramsci, 13/4

20090 Opera MI

ITALIA

Modena - Transfer 3 - Week 4

May 4, 2011

Dear Friends and Family,

 

Mamma mia!!!  How time flies!  I'm realizing that next week I'll have been in Italy for 4 months!  I'm in Firenze (Florence) on scambio right now.  I scambied with Sorella Modugno from Rome, and my companion (Sorella Snodgrass) was with Sorella Williams in Modena.  S.lla Williams was in the district just above me in the MTC, so it was fun to see her again.  But Firenze was amazing!  We're catching the train in 30 minutes back to Modena, but I saw so many miracles in just one day!  It is really incredible to see all the people that the Lord can put in your way in such a short amount of time.

 

I feel like I'm at home!   Even before I decided to go on a mission, I had a feeling that one day I would be in Florence.  And when I decided to go on a mission, I hoped I could go to Rome (because Florence was in that mission).  But it was right at that time that Florence was moved to the Milano mission!  And I don't know why it was exactly, but now that I'm here, I almost don't want to go back to Modena. 

 

But my people are in Modena now.  I love them, and I don't even want to think about leaving Modena anytime soon.  Lorella needs your prayers.  We don't know what is up exactly, but if any and all of you could pray for her, that would be wonderful. 

 

Unfortunately, I don't have nearly as much time this week because of Scambi (there's always a reason... :)  But we're doing a music fireside in Modena this weekend!  It should be fun.  An Anziano from Montova is training down to play piano, we have a family, some missinaries and members singing, and I'm renting a €240 cello (for €40)... which translated into English means it's a pretty awful cello.  But it'll do.  It's been a while, but we're playing church music, so my a-little-out-of-practice-fingers will be ok.  Hopefully.  ;)

 

But, that's the latest!  Thank you all again for your love and support!  I really will (someday) get around to writing and sending mail.  I've written a few letters that got lost, so I'm pretty sad about that.  Especially because we're only able to write letters on P-day, and so sometimes I'll have letters half-finished get lost during the week.  Anyway, needless to say, I love you all, and one day I'll see you all in person again!  Thank you for your letters!  I love hearing from you, and I feel bad I can't respond to all the emails, but know that I love you!

 

Keep the faith, pray for Lorella, and remember that trials make us better people.  I read a great scripture this morning that summed it up for me. 

 

James 1:2-4

 

I don't have time to write it out now, but I'd highly recommend looking it up.  Someone told me last week that God allows us to have trials so that we can turn to Him and let Him carry them for us.

 

Keep the faith!

-Sorella Willey

--
Sorella Willey

elizabeth.willey@myldsmail.net

Sorella Elizabeth Willey

Missione Italiana di Milano

Via Gramsci, 13/4

20090 Opera MI

ITALIA