In which Sara has a baptism!!!!!!!

Ah! So, I found out Monday morning, the Capece couple told me about Elisabeth's call - awesome! That's perfect for Elisabeth - Utah + Spanish = basically her whole life. Hahaha. Awesome :)

And, I love all the little pictures of Tanner you send. Basically, I can't wait to come home and play with him! Ooh, Tanner man :) Haha.

Hahaha, and tell Isa, I know! I would LOVE to find Fabio eventually! I just have no idea where he's from... all I remember is the alps. And, I'm not near the Alps right now. Haha. That's awesome that everyone was there for her mission call! :) Did she cry? ;) Haha.

Thanks for the package! I haven't gotten it yet, but thanks in advance! :) Ha.

So, training is great :) My collega's name is Sorella Seare, she's from Idaho. Which means - yes! I still have a streak going of no companions from Utah (Idaho x2, NY, Wisconson, and FL)! Ha. Don't get me wrong, y'all know I love Utah, but there are just a lot of missionaries from UT, and the fact that I haven't had a comp. from there is pretty cool, I think! :) Ha.

Well, let's see. On our way home to Siena (after I had picked up S.lla Seare from Milano) we were on the train, and started talking to this lady on the train. She was awesome, I loved her. Her name was Simona, she's a contemporary dancer, and is basically the cutest person in the world. And, she spoke english! She went to school in the UK for a few years. We talked to her for a gooood long while, and eventually gave her a BOM (my comp. bought one at the MTC, and wanted to give it away on the plane, but never did) - the BOM was in English, but crazy enough, Simona spoke English - right timing, right everything. Awesome. Anyway, she had a lot of interesting thoughts about life, and about everything. She didn't accept everything that we talked to her about, but I think we at least sparked something, or planted a seed.

Then, our first night doing finding work we got 3 awesome potentials! 1 lady on the street, and 2 we found doing casa! And, one was an awesome girl who was rushing out the door, but told us to come in for a second, she had talked a little bit with the missionaries before, said she had to go to work, but we switched phone numbers, and she said (we didn't even ask) "I can't come to church this week, cause it's Easter Sunday, and I'll be with the fam., but I'll come to church next week." Ah! She's one of my favorite miracles, thus far :) Ha. And, we just have a lot of little miracles, lately. We talk to a lot of people who know of the church, or who have friends who are members. We talked to an awesome guy from Germany the other day who was only in Italy visiting a friend, and he said "But back home in Germany we were actually meaning to go to the Mormon church", because they have LDS friends, and the church is close to their house. And, he spoke english too. He was awesome. Anyway, so we just continue to see a bunch of little miracles everyday! :)

Also, the other day, a group of American girls stopped us and asked us for directions, and they were awesome. They're teaching English in Spain, but during the school break, they came to Italy! There were 2 girls from FL (one from Miami area) and one girl from JAX! We didn't get to talk a whole lot, but she was super nice :) And, one of them has LDS friends that she just loves and admires and thinks they're the greatest family in the world! They were awesome :)

Also, Elisabeth, remember this town/city for your mission - Ridgefield/Richfield (I don't know how it's spelled, I only heard it). Basically, that's where the Sr. Couple (Capece) are from! And, they go home in a few months! So, they'll be back at their home in Utah shortly! So, keep an eye out for them in the field! :) When is Elisabeth's departure date?

Also, you know the promise that there is about the BOM? How, if you read it (For 20 min?) in a specific language, then you'll learn that language. So, where did that promise come from? I can't find it anywhere. Did a Prophet say it? Could y'all do some research for me? Thanks! :)

Also, so we had the baptism of Chiara (the daughter of the fam. who just got baptized), and she's the BEST! I looove her to death. The baptism was basically the most beautiful thing ever, especially since her dad baptized her. And, it all went really well. I was talking to her afterwards, and she told me that she's going to start working on her own mission papers ASAP! Obviously she can't go yet, but she can put her availability date as when she's been a member 1+ year. She's the greatest! I loove her! I'll send some pictures of that :)

But, I gotta go. Y'all are the best! Be good! Happy Easter! Can you believe it's almost General Conference? My first Sunday in Italy was GC October 2012! 6 months have already gone by?! Woooow.

Okay. Vi voglio bene!

Sorella Willis

Me and Sorella Seare!

 

 

Chaira's baptism! And a bunch of wonderful people :)

In which Sara has a BABY!!!!! :)

"Avrò una bimba!"

Well, who knows where to start.... as you can all read in the subject, I'M HAVING A LITTLE BABY GIRL! I'm training! What?! Insane!

Honestly, I don't even know where to start this week! Okay, well, I'm basically on the edge of my seat, knowing that y'all will know about Elisabeth's call, probably tomorrow (?!) and I have to wait a whole week for it! Oooh man, good thing I'm patient. Basically, I guess Elisabeth goes to Ukraine or Albania :)

I looove the Abby stories! She's such a character, she makes me laugh :) Well, y'all are darling, and yeah.

 

Oh! Well firstly/secondly (I dunno where I am right now), thank you darlingest FLJAX institute for the letter! Y'all are the best! And, Courtney said it was Brother Lowrey's idea? That little rascal, tell him I said thanks a zillion! Y'all are the greatest, and I love you :) Seriously, I was so excited to just get a letter, then when I saw it was, I about died of happiness! :)

Well, let me just tell you, I'm a sucker for stripes and polka dots as of late (clothes/anything). I'm certain that's the first thing y'all wanted to hear. 

Oh, and I guess I can tell y'all about the BAPTISM that totally happened this past weekend! Oh, it was the wonderfulest! I've told y'all about the Gori family before, yeah? They're just the greatest family in the world, they've known the church for 10+ years, and they've been in and out of contact with it/members. But, when the Sorelle misisonaries got to Siena, they went through the area book, called up this wonderful family, and the rest is history! Cinzia and Sandro (the parents) were baptized this past Friday, and it was the most wonderful day of my life! Ah. Sorella Bush and I did a little musical number (agh!) - "Signore resta qui con me", I think it went pretty well :) Ha. There was a good bit of people there, it was great! Then also, the daughter Chiara (18) didn't get baptized yet, but she kinda did a slideshow/bore her testimony at the end, and talked about how one day she wants to be Sorella Gori AS A MISSIONARY! So, basically, she's geting baptized... this Friday! And, even better?! Her dad is baptizing her! Oooh, I may die of happiness. She asked me to give the talk on baptism, then I have to give another talk on Sunday on missionary work, put all this together with picking up my brand new daughter tomorrow, and I'm gonna have a pretty busy weekend! I don't know how I'm gonna do it/what I'm gonna do, but I'm gonna do it! Hahaha.

Well, I'm soo excited/a little nervous to train! I had been feeling like I would train this whole transfer, and S.lla Bush thought so too, and some of the Anz. in our district thought so, too (because, there's a large number of sorelle coming in this transfer - 12! So they need a lot of trainers), and there's only gonna be more and more with the age change! I wanted to train so bad, but now that I have the news, and I am training, I wonder what's gonna happen! Ha. Like, "What have I gotten myself into?" Hahaha. But, I'm no too worried. Mostly excited! :) I wonder so much who it's gonna be. Apparently the granddaughter of Anz. Holland is coming to the IMM mission, THIS TRANSFER. Also, the girlfriend of one of the Anziani is coming in. Also, some people have written me to wach out for friends of theirs coming in the mission, so this could be super interesting! Well, I hope y'all keep me in your prayers, cause I'm sure gonna need them! Hahaha.

Also, if you want to see something nice, search "Anna dei Capelli Rossi" - it's Anne of Green Gables, but anime, and in Italian. You're welcome :) Hahaha. One of our members showed us a snippet, because S.lla Bush made her think of Anne :) And, she dubbed me as the friend with dark hair, whose name escapes me at this moment! :)

Also, if you want to hear my favorite song as of late, go find "Savior, Redeemer of my Soul" (I have no idea if that's the actual title, but it's part of the lyrics!)

Also also, if you want to eat the yummiest food in the world, go find "fritelle". They're basically the yummiest friend rice/dough balls, covered in sugar, you'll ever eat! :)

Also, we had Sorelle Conference the other day! It was the greatest, all of the sorelle in the mission got together for a conference! :) Wooonderful!

Also, hey, I went to this place called Montepulciano last week (where they actually filmed Twilight, is what I heard), but I didn't really recognize anything..? I dunno. Well, I went threre! :) Haha.

Also! Quick question! If you could pick between a worm, an owl, a snail, a giraffe, a sea monster, or a giraffe, which would you pick? Haha. Long story short, I'm trying to pick my contrada (my team for the Palio), and I have no idea how to pick/have no way to learn about each contrada, and then pick (there are 17... I don't have time to learn about all 17), so y'all can pick! Or, you can look up all the contrade online, and tell me which you like most! I'm kinda leaning towards the owl, but I haven't decided yet. 

Well, this week has just been kinda crazy - we were gone at that Sorella Conference, then we had the baptism, then we got transfer calls (AGH!), and now we're all running around, going crazy, getting ready for transfers. S.lla Bush is going to pink wash a city (kick out the Anziani), and take over as she trains, too! She's going to Forlì. Fuuuun :)

Well, y'all are the best, keep me updated on Elisabeth's call! And anything/everything else! Give everyone in the world my love! Haha. Everyone can write me, via snail mail, or email now, too! :)

I don't think I have anything else to say, so... I'll talk to y'all next week! (with news of a mission call, AGH!). Be good!

Vi voglio bene,

Sorella Willis

PS: Anyone... advice on how to trian? Ha :)

Emptying the font!

The crew that helped us empty the font (Anz. and S.lla Capece, noi missionarie, Kellan, and Enrique)!

Us! :)

Sorella Bush showed me how to finish a transfer correctly - si chiama "cookie monster". Make a cookie cake, basically, cook if halfway, cover it in icecream, and eat until your sick :) Hahaha

On the verge of getting sick! ;)

In which Sara can now send emails to everyone!!!

Whaa?! Hello, first of all, I have no idea where to start!

Okay, we got an email that said the mission policy worldwide has been changed, and we can email family, friends, mission leaders, as long as they're not in the mission boundaries! So, whoever wants to email me, feel free to! (and even though we get an extra 30 minutes of email, there still never seems to be enough time. So, I will respond much better through written, snail mail, but if I get emails, I'll surely respond through email!)

 

>>>>>     sara.willis@myldsmail.net

 

Well, I have 60478329x things to say today! First of all, thanks y'all for the wonderful emails this week! They just made my day! Every couple minutes I'm gasping, or laughing, or smiling... y'all are the best! :) And thanks Lyndzie &  Matt Alvarez for the darling email! I love them :)

Okay, well lets get started. Actually dad, it's funny that you mentioned Ramirez in your email, I was just thinking about them the other day, and wanted you to tell them all hi for me! (both Ramirez families! I looove them!) :) How are they doing?

Also, we did a Blitz in Firenze (Florence) last week, and it was so much fun :) Also also, we have the amazing member, named Enrique (from Colombia) who is the greatest missionary ever! He just goes around talking to his friends about the church, and he gave us this beautiful referral the other day, who is amazing! Iooove her! She has met with the missionaries before, too. And she said (we didn't even ask her) "Whenever I meet with you missionaries, and even the missionaries in the past, I always just feel peace in my heart..." Ah! I love her! She's from Colombia, too. The only thing is she works all the time, but she is hoping to come to our BAPTISM this weekend! Remember how we're having a baptism? Holy cannoli, I love this little family oodles. So, the mom, Cinzia, is the greatest person EVER! And, origionally it was just her and her daughter getting baptized, and their dad was just super busy, preoccupied with other things. He loves the church, but when we had talked to him, he wasn't ready, it wasn't his time. BUT, there has been a change! He was talking to Cinzia one day, and just up and said, "I feel like I need to get baptized too." AGHHHHH! Are you kidding?! My word! It's amazing, especially because that's what he was missing, the feeling. He knew it was all true, he just didn't feel like it was his time. Then, we stepped back, the Lord stepped in and did his part, and BOOM! So, we did a review of all the commandments the other day, and he is SO golden, so prepared, I just looove him! He used to smoke, but since he decided he wanted to get baptized, he hasn't smoked once. He doesn't have cigarettes in the house, anymore. He's just the best! BUT, Chiara (the daughter) changed her mind, and needs time. It's not that she doens't want to, she knows it's true, and says she will get baptized, but just not this weekend. We tried to talk to her about it, but it won't be this weekend. We don't know exactly why (she said she just had a feeling that she needed to wait), but if EVERYONE could keep Chiara in their prayers (also, the whole Gori family, to keep them strong during this week of the baptism, where satan's gonna try to do everything to stop them!) ...although, there's nothing in the world that could stop them, they're so wonderful! :) Basically, that's my giant schpeel of one of the greatest families in the world, getting baptized this Friday :) SO EXCITED!

Also, hey Coby Fabrizio, do you know a Capece family? They're serving here (a Senior couple) in Siena, and they're from Sandy, UT, and told me they know a Fabrizio family. Small world! Also, I ate a balsamic vinegar choclate the other day - holy cannoli, delish! There was a giant chocolate, I would say Festival/display/sale, in my favorite campo the other day. It was way cool, and delicious :) Haha.

Also, oh babbo, do you know a Brother Little? From Orlando? He works in the Orlando Temple? He came to church in Siena on Sunday! Him and his brother were just vacationing here in Italy with their wives, and they ended up here in Siena on Sunday! Then after we talked a bit, we figured out we were both from FL, & he was a temple worker! (I'm pretty sure I recognize him from when we  would go on Temple trips as youth, because he said he's been a temple worker for 9 years). Did you know him when you were a temple worker? He said he worked Saturdays. Well, they were super nice, and awesome :)

Oh, and we saw and taught this member the other day. His name's Luca. Dearest brothers, you would love him to bits and pieces. He's Italian Military, and this was actually the first time I had ever met him, cause he's always out on mission trips (i.e., running around forrests/mountains/whatevs, living in caves, surviving off of berries, and getting water from plants). Basically, he's a beast. At the end we asked him if there was something we could do for him, and said, "Well, if you want to clean my gun..." Hahahah! Oh, I love... everything! :)

Also, we stopped by our favorite cheese store again the other day (I love it, and the owner, Luigi! So great) and we bought this delish cheese called Burrata - it's like a creamy, delicious cheese covered in mozzarella! It was super yum! :)

Also, we taught my favorite person, ever, Rosanna the other day! On skype! I loooove her soo much, she loves the gospel already, we just need to figure out her living situation/where she should get baptized! And, her friends, Bianka and Lorena (the greatest members EVER), are just that... the greatest members ever. I loove them, so much! While we waited for Rosanna to get on skype, we read the scriptures together... sitting in a circle, on the floor. It was SO wonderful, I could have just stayed there all day.

Well, I'm running out of time.

I looove y'all! Be good! Keep the Gori's in your prayers!

Vi voglio bene!

Sorella Willis

PS: Happy Birthday Clay! AND KELSEY! And Katharine Fabrizio, coming up soon, too! :) Love you kids! :)

Our Blitz, in Firenze, with Sorella Beus and Sorella Santoro! :)

Simone, Davide, Cinzia & Tina! I loove them :)

Friday night activity in church! :)

Us with Emily (member from England) with melted chocolate :)

Chocolate festival thing!

We ran into the Anziani di Firenze! (From England, and from Australia! They're fun!)

In Italy, at Ponte Vecchio, in Firenze (Florence)

Noi :)