Cuneo - Transfer 9 - Week 2

December 28, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

I was so excited to get nearly 20 emails today, and then incredibly disappointed when the computer I am using wouldn't let me read more than the 1st paragraph of each.  I've used about 90% of my time trying to figure it out, and now I just have a few minutes to write.  Thank you so much for your love and care, letters and greetings!  I hope that next week I can find a computer that will let me read them!

This week has been one of the hardest weeks in my entire mission.  Not because we aren't seeing amazing miracles or anything like that.  We just decided at the beginning of the transfer to be 100% obedient, and really giving our all.  We're both always really tired, and we just fall into bed at the end of the night.  But it has been SO amazing!  We have met people every day who want to listen to us, and we are both just eating up the Book of Mormon, studying Isaiah a little together, and really working hard on teaching simply and with the Spirit. 

This weekend we will be having our 1st baptism together, and we have a few more scheduled throughout January. I have a fear that this might be a 1 transfer city, so we're trying to make the most of it together. 

It was fun to get a package from the young women in the ward!  If you could send my thanks to them, that would be so great!  They sent me a pillowcase with colorful messages from each person.  Very thoughtful.  Thank you!

Time to write letters seems to dimish each transfer. There are so many people to call, things to fix up, apartment to clean, etc. etc. etc.  But I love all of you, and I am so grateful for you all in my life! 

I know that our Heavenly Father loves us, and that Jesus Christ is our Savior.  Very simple truths, but not known by enough people.  It's so hard to talk to people who don't even believe that.  I'm really starting to understand how Alma felt when he wished that he were an angel and could 'declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redepmtion, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.'  But I also understand that everyone needs to be able to seek for the truth and exercise faith to learn the spiritual truths.  The most beautiful thing is the Spirit which is not a voice of thunder, but a still small voice.  Usually it only gently prompts us, and we must listen to and obey in order to understand.  I am in 3 Nephi 11 right now, and I loved it how the small voice testified to all the people, but they only heard and understood when the listened the 3rd time.  I have felt that peace and begun to understand that voice.  Sometimes it's harder than others, but when I truly open my ears, I know that He is speaking to me.

I hope that you all start off the year 2012 with lots of love and peace! 

Keep the faith!

Love always,

-Sorella Willey

--
Sorella Willey

elizabeth.willey@myldsmail.net

Sorella Elizabeth Willey

Missione Italiana di Milano

Via Gramsci, 13/4

20090 Opera MI

ITALIA

Cuneo - Transfer 9 - Week 1

December 19, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow!  What a crazy few days I've had!  I started working in Cuneo (which means wedge in Italian, maybe I already explained that last week), and now I'm back in Verona for my permesso di sogiorno... which means the little card that I have to have to be legal.  I got one last year, but I had to start renewing it before the end of the year.  We spent all afternoon on the train yesterday, and slept on the spare mattresses in the other room of my old apartment.  Today we went to my appointment, and then planned for the rest of the week.  We're taking a little pday time because we have zone conference tomorrow, so starting Wednesday we will have lost 2 full days of work in Cuneo.  

Sorella Oakes is WONDERFUL!  She's such a sweetheart, and we have seen SO many miracles already in just 3 days!  We're a little bummed to not be in our city finding right now, but we know that we'll be blessed if we continue to be obedient.  We met a few really cool people in the bus the other night, and one of them came to church the next morning!  He's almost too good to be true!  He actually had said that he couldn't come before, but after reading Alma 32, he called us to ask what time church was... The Book of Mormon works miracles for us!  We run to the 'edge of the wedge' every morning and shout, 'We made it to the edge of the wedge!!!'  It's a tradition to encourage us to keep working all the way to the end.

Another fun thing that happened was that I got to see Anziano Andersen from my MTC district at the transfer circle!  My dear Elders from my district became such good friends, and I hadn't seen him since April.  We only got to exchange a few words and a handshake, but it was good to see him happy and healthy.  I also saw Anziano Winward, who I haven't seen for a couple of months.  The only one from my original district (of Milano missionaries) that I didn't see was Anziano Osborn.  I'll be excited to see the other elders and sisters I knew from the MTC who are in Rome too.  It's amazing how close we got in just 9 weeks.  Serving together on a mission really creates strong friendships.  I was thinking about all of my former companions, and I really am so grateful for each one of them.  Each has taught me so much!

I can't believe Christmas is this week!  It's always been my favorite holiday, and I have never seen it creep up so quickly.  Today we were trying to plan for lessons, and we said, "OK, let's schedule this on Saturday, that on Sunday, etc, etc."  But then we realized it was Christmas and said, "Oh no!!! It's Christmas Eve and Christmas!"  Then we had a good laugh.  :)   Bah Humbug!  I guess Christmas will be coming just the same.  No, I'm actually very excited for Christmas here in Italy!  Slla Oakes loves to sing, so we've decided we'll be doing a lot of caroling to find activities.  

Right now we're working a lot with our branch here in Cuneo.  We've made Alma 32 our chapter for the transfer.  We're trying to help the members strengthen or nourish themselves so that they can get the missionary spirit and desire to share and strengthen others.  We drew a little picture of a tree with strong roots.  It shows the roots of the tree connecting to a smaller tree, which in turn makes both trees stronger.  The branch here is WONDERFUL!  This Friday we're having a Christmas concert where there will be over 30 non'members attending.  WOW!  It will be fun.  I don't actually know if I have a part in the program... which feels kind of ironic. But I'll probably end up getting to sing with some group or another.  One of the members teaches a bunch of violin students, and they're doing a little orchestra thingy.  No cellos.  Oh well.  :)

I miss my cello still, but I wouldn't trade this experience for any Stradavarius.  It was fun to watch the 1st Presidency Devotional.  I LOVED every second of it!   It was so fun to see so many friends and hear my favorite music sung and played by my favorite group, accompanied by 3 of my all-time favorite speakers!  I miss you all!!!!

Well, we're about to go do a 'blitz' with the Verona sisters.  I'm going to team up with Sorella Laratro (my former companion from Modena who replaced me in Verona) and my companion Sorella Oakes will be with my dear Sorella Hanks.  We plan to find tons of people tonight.  

Thank you all for your absolutely wonderful friendship, and for the support and prayers!  I know that this season is beautiful because of what and Who it truly represents, but the only way to truly enjoy the season is to follow His example and turn outward to people as He did, rather than worry about things.  It's the people you spend time with that will really make the difference in the joy and peace of the season.  Speaking of people, I love all you people! 

Have a wonderful and peaceful Christmas, and I'll be writing you all at least once more before the new year!

Love always,

-Sorella Willey

--
Sorella Willey

elizabeth.willey@myldsmail.net

Sorella Elizabeth Willey

Missione Italiana di Milano

Via Gramsci, 13/4

20090 Opera MI

ITALIA

Verona 1 - Transfer 8 - Week 6

December 14, 2011


Dear Family and Friends,

I am going to CUNEO!!!! For those of you who don't know, that means 'wedge' in Italian.  It's a tiny city up right next to France.  I guess I'll be pulling out some of my old French, maybe.  

My new companion will be Sorella Oaks (no relation to Dallin H.).  She will be starting her 3rd transfer, and her trainer was AMAZING!!!  Sorella Ryan is one of the dear sisters I lived with in Milano my 1st two transfers.  I've got some big shoes to fill.

I read some awesome scriptures this week in the New Testament.  I don't remember exactly where, because I was skipping around a lot.  We've found some really great people this week.  I've been really loving knocking on doors.  Yeah, I know. That sounds ridiculous, maybe.  But we've been just finding and finding.  After Unity's baptism, we started back at nearly zero.  Some of our investigators pushed back their baptismal dates and are traveling, so we had a lot of free time  to just go for it.  S.lla Hanks was feeling really good last week, and we probably taught lessons to 10 new people.  It was really fun!

Well, my moniter says I have just a couple of minutes.  I don't have my scriptures with me today, I left them on top of my suitcase.  But I would like to recommend the new movie "17 Miracles" that my president showed us last conference.  I don't know if I wrote about it already, but if you have a chance to see it, DO IT!!!

I love you all, and I am so grateful, as always, for your friendship and prayers!  Consider yourself hugged, and pretend I sent you a personal Christmas card.  I would if I could.  :)

Merry Christmas and take a moment to say a prayer of gratitude for the blessings you have today!

Love always,

-Sorella Willey

--
Sorella Willey

elizabeth.willey@myldsmail.net

Sorella Elizabeth Willey

Missione Italiana di Milano

Via Gramsci, 13/4

20090 Opera MI

ITALIA

Verona 1 - Transfer 8 - Week 5

December 7, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

What a week this has been!  My companion finally is feeling really well, and she's been such a trooper!  I love Sorella Hanks!  We had a great scambio (blitz, actually), and the sisters from Bergamo came to Verona.  I got to serve again with Sorella Pastano, and Sorella Hanks was with Sorella Jacobsen again.  We met so many people yesterday!  We had a lot of cancelled appointments, so we ended up doing 'finding work' all day.   It felt so good to be out of the house and really talking to people all day about the gospel!  I'm so grateful for our leaders here who help us to magnify our callings.  

I am so grateful to be here.  I am grateful for what I am learning, and I can't believe that we're getting to the end of another transfer.  Who knows, maybe I'll be off to Florence or Torino next week at this time!  I'd love to spend Christmas in Verona, but who knows?

The fun thing is that Unity is getting baptized this weekend.  He quit smoking, he has learned to read (!!!!!), and he reads from the Book of Mormon every day!  We found a bunch of new people yesterday that we're SO excited to visit!  It's amazing to see how God loves all of His children, and he also gives them agency.  I am really beginning to feel a love for the people here.  I mean, I loved them already, but I'm starting to feel like I will really miss them.  More than I ever thought possible.  Even the people I just meet once or twice I really care about.  I wish I could live everywhere at once.

The Italians REALLY know how to celebrate Christmas!  They were completely decorated by the 2nd of December, and everyone is SO festive!  There's a fun thing that I am just discovering.  Each area of Italy celebrates on different days.  They all have different traditions about which 'saint' brings the 'gifts for the kids.'  Here in Verona, they celebrate on December 12 and Santa Lucia brings the gifts.  In other places they celebrate on December 25th, January 6, November 1, and they have all sorts of different saints.  It's fun to see their traditions, but I like what our president and his wife have challenged us to do.

They asked us to pick a Christlike attribute and give a 'gift' to Christ each day in December so we can focus on becoming more Christlike.  I like it so much, that I'm going to make it a family tradition - in my future family - but at least for myself.  Of course I'll miss all of you at this wonderful time of year, but I am going to love this Christmas.  Maybe even more than last year in the MTC.  That was pretty special.

I have been finding lots of fun object lessons in the scriptures and in everyday life.  I'd like to recommend Alma 30:44 first.  I love this scripture, because it's so true!  In nearly every activity, in all of nature, in all the scriptures, there is some way to strengthen our testimony of Jesus Christ.  Today I wrote my testimony of Christ in my journal.  It has developed a lot, and I feel like I am really beginning to understand more of the Atonement.  I don't know if I'll ever really and truly comprehend it, but I am seeing so many blessings that I don't know if I ever really noticed before.  I used to believe that we had to have faith in things.  Faith that we'd be able to do something, faith that we could find something, etc.  But I'm starting to realize that we have to have faith that Jesus Christ, through His atonement (Moroni 7:41), can help us do all things, find things, realize our eternal potential, and be able to find that peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come.  And as we have this faith, we will do everything we can to obey Him so we can qualify for all the blessings that He already paid for and wants to give to us.

I love you all!  You mean so much to me, and I know that you will continue to be blessed as you study the word of God and pray daily! I pray for you, and I feel your prayers!  Thank you!

Keep the faith!

Love always,

-Sorella Willey

--
Sorella Willey

elizabeth.willey@myldsmail.net

Sorella Elizabeth Willey

Missione Italiana di Milano

Via Gramsci, 13/4

20090 Opera MI

ITALIA

Verona 1 - Transfer 8 - Week 4

November 30, 2011


Dear Family and Friends,

Once again, not much time, but I wanted to share a beautiful miracle that we saw last week!  We have a great member family who hasn't come to church in a while.  They are friends of our family who's preparing for baptism.  We called them last week to set up an appointment, and then had to cancel last minute because my companion was feeling worse.  I felt inspired to invite them to church (even though I was planning on giving them a lesson first), and they CAME!!!!  When they walked in, I didn't even recognize them, but our investigator saw her and gave her a big hug!  It was SO good to see both of them so happy with each other in the house of the Lord.  :)  I hope that they continue this friendship.  It's great to have a friend to live the gospel with.  It's SO important to have friends that build you up.  

I've been so blessed to have great friends in the past, and now I'm enjoying spending time with wonderful companions! You all built me up before the mission. They build me up now.  Living here on Earth would be lonely if we didn't have someone helping us along the way.

I read a great article in an Ensign from 2006, I think.  It was a talk by Elder Ballard (I think) on the Light of Christ.  It was beautiful because EVERYONE is born with this Light of Christ, like a conscience, that helps us choose right from wrong.  As we act on these impressions, we are happier - automatically.  And as we are baptized and receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, we can have a constant companion or comforter to help us to feel peace in any situation (as long as we are living worthily).  It's all so simple, but I learn it more clearly every day.  I think I'm finally understanding how to recognize promptings, repent daily to be worthy of them, and then act when I'm prompted.  I'm far from perfect at it, and I have to keep working at it every minute to develop the capacity.  But I'm at least starting to understand how it works.

Yes, my companion has still been down this week, so I have read LOTS of Ensigns, Isaiah, New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants.  I just love the scriptures!  They're written for our day!  

We were teaching a lady last night who teaches catechism... I think that's how it's spelled in English.  She said, "You can interpret the Bible so many different ways... I just teach the kids to keep the commandments."  I wanted to say, "Well, that's why we need the Book of Mormon and living prophets," but we had almost used up the 5 minutes she gave us.  It was beautiful, though, to see the Spirit working on her.  As we left her with Alma 32, she said, "You know, if your church could join up with my church, we could really make the world a better place."  She was smiling, and you could tell she really felt the Spirit - even though she did most of the talking. I'm humbled by the mantle of my calling.  I am an imperfect servant, but the missionary mantle really does carry a Spirit that can light up people's lives.

Everyone has agency.  That's the hard thing.  But of course, that's also wonderful.  We can all CHOOSE eternal life and accept those little promptings that the Spirit gives us.  Following them, even little promptings, always makes us happier.

I love you all, and I continue to pray for you!

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

Verona 1 - Transfer 8 - Week 3

November 23, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

Ok, please don't hate me!  I have only 2 minutes left.  I just want to let you all know that I'm alive, well, happy, seeing miracles, and I just sent an awfully long letter to my president.  My poor companion is still sick, so I was updating him on everything.

I love you all, and I pray for you daily!

I'd recommend the talk on "Choosing Eternal Life" from this month's Ensign.  We got them a couple of days ago, and I absolutely LOVED being able to finally read the Sunday Afternoon session!  We don't get to watch that broadcast because it's too late.  

Anywho, I will send more next week.  I promise.

Happy Thanksgiving and keep the faith!

Love always,

-Sorella Willey

Verona 1 - Transfer 8 - Week 2

November 16, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

I got a TON of letters this week!  WOW!!!  How fun!  Sorella Hanks and I have had a pretty down week... She was REALLY sick, and we literally would leave the house, teach a lesson, then come back so she could rest more, then not leave the house again until we had another lesson.  So on Sunday at church, when Capo Distretto brought us our HUGE stack of mail, we were pretty excited!  Thank you all for your love and letters!  I hope I can respond to you all... may take a while. :)  But it was great, and not too distracting. ;)

This week we saw a fun miracle.  We were pretty much stuck indoors, Slla Hanks was sleeping, and I was studying.  I kept getting random phonecalls from people I didn't know.  They'd say, "Who is this?"  I'd introduce myself, and ask if they wanted to learn more about the Church of Jesus Christ, and they'd say, "Sure, but how did you get this phone?"  One girl called back about 6 times that day, and kept saying, "Sorry, I meant to call someone else."  I thought it was kind of strange, but was happy for the referrals.  Then Charles, one of our new converts said, "All of my friends tried to call me on Thursday, and somehow they were automatically transfered to you!"  Apparently when everyone talked to him the next day, they asked him why Sister Willey had his phone.  It was so funny!  I told him that it's a sign, and he needs to bring all of them to church.  :)  

Another sad thing that happened this week... a new convert has stopped reading the Book of Mormon every day.  Ok, that sounds like maybe a little thing, right?  But 3 weeks ago we asked him, "Could you ever lose your testimony?" And he said, "That's impossible!  I know it's all true!  I so much love reading the Book of Mormon!"  And this week he missed church and told us he stopped reading the Book of Mormon every day.  He seemed really sad, almost like a different person, and had a lot of questions about doctrine that he had understood before.  He also said that he felt his testimony was strong in that moment, but during the week he had a lot of questions.  He said, "All the churches are true."  And when we said, "Ok, they all have truth, but which church has a true and living prophet who speaks for Jesus Christ?"  He said, "The Bible says that lots of false prophets will rise up in the last days."  It made me realize just how tender and precious is a testimony!  Obviously when someone is new in the church, it's even more tender.  But as we talked to him, the only thing that really changed was that he wasn't reading the Book of Mormon every day.  He wouldn't even commit to reading every day.  He said he would if he felt like it.  AHHH!!!!  We came home practically in tears.

So, what do we need to do to keep our testimonies strong?  Well, Alma said that we have to nourish it.  If we let it alone, it will die.  I have been giving everyone Alma 32 this week to read, and I'd also recommend it to all of you.  I used to think of it as mostly a chapter for those who want to start a testimony.  But now I realize that it's just as important to nourish a testimony that is already grown.  If we stop reading, stop praying, stop coming to church, attending the temple, etc, etc, then our testimony won't be getting that important nourishment that it needs daily and weekly.  Just like if we have a yummy tomato plant or fruit tree that we stop allowing sunshine, watering, and weeding.  

The other chapter that came to mind, was the 1 Nephi 8, tree of life vision of Lehi.  If we are not holding to the rod of iron (the word of God), we will never be able to enjoy the fruit (peace, joy, happiness - fruits of the love of God).  And in 1 Nephi 11:22-23, Nephi explains that it is the most desirable and sweet above all the other fruits.  These are such simple doctrines, but so powerful!  I always knew and understood that these things were important, but now I am seeing just HOW important, and how delicate our testimony actually can be.

I keep learning so much, and I hope that I can retain it all!  I am so grateful to be here at this time!

Take care of yourselves, and thank you for your prayers, support, and everything!

Keep the faith!

Love always,

-Sorella Willey

--
Sorella Willey

elizabeth.willey@myldsmail.net

Sorella Elizabeth Willey

Missione Italiana di Milano

Via Gramsci, 13/4

20090 Opera MI

ITALIA