Picture we found

We really enjoy reading about other missionaries' experiences from the Milan, Italy mission.

We found this picture in another blog and because Alison was in it I wanted to put it in her blog.  From left to right are:  Sorella Mancuso, Sorella Gomez (Alison's companion in Milan 2), Alison, and Sorella Willis (Alison's companion in the MTC).

E-mail from March 27, 2013

The Baptism for Jeremy is this Saturday. So we are really, really excited. The brother of Vivian accepted a baptism date for the 20th of April. We are are thrilled. Well we have been really blessed here in Milan. Where our investigators come from are members and less actives. I know we work hard, but we seem to be having wonderful blessings. For instance yesterday we got a new investigator from a members. He set up a appointment with his friends and told us to be there and so yeah. We have been receiving the majority of our investigators from our new converts. Obviously with Vivian we teach her mom and her brother. We have Carmen (she is a new convert) and we teach her sister. We have less actives we are working with and her sister is our investigator. We are teaching this Italian named Bibi, she became our investigator Saturday and we found her one day in the park (she is awesome), she hopes that this is what she needs. We are working with this woman named Maria (mom she is Spanish  and her family are members (her sisters, mom, etc..) but not her. Anyway we have a few more, but it is awesome. The major part of our lessons are further. We are still trying to find people to have the first lessons with. 

    Right now they opened up other areas. They opened up sister missionaries in the Como area, a city New Venezia and I cannot remember the other. And they made a new zone, the Genova Zone. The work here I believe will explode. :) So that was what I know about that. 

    Parker really wants to drive. The time that it says for us you sent it at is at 4:16 am. So I did not know what time it was there. 

    Dad, here in Milan the only thing that I stress about is not having enough time to see all our investigators, less actives and new converts. Sometimes I think there is so much to do that I am not capable of doing it all. But then at the end of the week everything worked out okay. I do not have anything to whine or complain about. I truly am doing great. I love you all and I will tell you if there is anything. Well I hope that you have a wonderful day. 

Love, 

Ali   

Alison (Sorella Hanson), Vivian (getting baptized), Sorella Eaton

E-mail from March 20, 2013

Hello family, 

Haha everything is fine on this end. So I will tell you the good news. Jeremy had her interview yesterday and she is getting baptized next weekend. :) She tried on the dress yesterday and picked out who will be doing the talks and baptizing her. She asked one of the Anziani, Anziano Bartholio. She asked Tina (the member who she is living with to say one of the talks) and she said if she is not coming she was going to drag her to her baptism. Haha it was funny because she did the actions to. Oh I never told you she is only 2 years older than Ashley. She has a 3 year old son in the Philippines, who is living with her mom and she said she wants him to grow in the gospel. So she is asking her mom to take him to the church for her and also to help her mom know about the church too. But I am so excited. Oh I am staying in Milan for another transfer, so I have this wonderful opportunity to see the baptism. This is really awesome because I had the chance to see the whole process. This is a wonderful blessing. Jeremy's wish was for Sorella Eaton and I to be able to be there. 

  We are still teaching Kevin , Vivian's brother and he still is reading and coming to church every Sunday. So everything with him is going well and also with his mother Clara. Their whole family are just wonder. I am sorry I keep forgetting to send you a picture of the baptism. But I will. 

  I had heard about that (about the pope). It was a big issue for a little while. Everyone has their own ideas as to why the pope is now Argentinian  I think Easter might be pretty big here, but I am not sure yet. The only thing that I have seen are all the kindle chocolate eggs. And the kit kat ones. Oh, when Jeremy gets the Holy Ghost will be Easter Sunday. AWESOME!! 

 Please tell daddy happy birthday for me. Or I can just say it now, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! 

Well I am glad that everything seems to be going well. And I hope that everything will become less stressful dad. I love you all and it looks like from the pictures that Conner had fun at the pinewood derby. Well hope you have a wonderful day and week. 

Love,

Ali  

E-mail from March 13, 2013

Hey Family,

Well yeah, we went to a Leonardo da Vinci museum and it had a lot of other inventions as well from other inventors. It was more of an all in one and it was, I think it had five floors. It was quite large.  It had a bunch of his paintings and the scientific discoveries he thought about. We spent a bit of time in there. Tell sister Sweety Martinez I say hello and give her a hug from me. 

   Stake Conference was at Farmagosta. It is only 20 or 25 minutes on the red line, it is not to far. But for others yes it does take a little longer. It went really well, there were so many people. People were standing up all along the sides (okay well not all of them but a few people). 

  Jeremy is a woman. She is great! And she said some awesome things at our lesson when we had it. She told us that she loves God more than Deo. She said that if they cannot get their marriage worked out in this life they will wait for the next. And she knows that this is a direct response from God to their prayers that they can now be separated and that she can get baptized. We actually today went over the baptism interview questions with her and her interview for baptism will be next Tuesday. Yes, she can be baptized. The government knows about them. because they have been talking to the embassy and they are trying to work on their situation. Jeremy and Deo are from the Filipinos.

  I know I was happy it went through. She has been awesome helping us teach her family. You can tell she really wants this for her brother. She helps clarify things to her brother. And she helps him come to church too. They are just amazing. I have not seen whole families get up to bear testimonies. Maybe in the future. We will see.

  My companion Sorella Eaton knows the Anziano who you were talking about. She said she knew him when she was in Firenze And I have heard his name before. But I have never met him.

  Well this week has been interesting. They have given us a new goal to meet as a mission. Before we had this 20 lesson challenge (these lessons used to include members, nonmembers, less actives and new converts), but now they have asked us to go for 15 lessons. But these lessons can only include nonmember lessons. So it is interesting to watch the changes. And it is kind of fun to watch everyone strive to reach the goals that our region president gives us.

  So I have been forgetting to tell you about something, and if I have already told you about it I am so sorry that I sometimes repeat myself. So on our buses there are normally the people who check to make sure we have our tickets and if you do not you can get slapped with big fines. But the funny thing is they are called controllers and it makes me think of video games. And you know when they get on the buses, because sometimes people get off the bus. Anyway I just liked the name. I am trying to think of something else because I feel like I am forgetting something. Oh so, you want to know something pretty awesome. I was talking to Clara one day, this is the mom of Vivian and I have no idea how we got onto this subject, but she told my companion that apparently when I got here (to Milano) I could not speak that well. And then she was like but look at her now. Haha it is funny sometimes you do not notice the change because it comes small, but there. Well I hope you have a wonderful day. I love you all! And I will tell you my favorite scripture next time, do not worry I did not forget. I just need to pick tonight!!

Love,

Ali 

E-mail from March 6, 2013

Well here is the wonderful news. Vivian was baptized last Saturday and was confirmed on Sunday  So I guess in your words it did go well. Her mom and brother came to the baptism and her brother really wants to learn. We had a few people there and she was baptized by the husband of a sister in the ward that has gone with us to lessons at Vivian's house. It was cool, I had the chance to prepare one of the talks at the baptism on the holy spirit and it went well. I never asked her how the water was, her fear was that the water would be cold when she got baptized. He is 15. He came to church on Sunday and Vivian told us that he said the previous night "we need to get to bed on time we need to go to church." So we are going to try and see him this week. And we see Vivian and she was asking us about this Sunday, oh we are having stake conference so we need to go to a different church building and she does not really know how to get to the one on the Metro, so we will probably meet her and her brother at the metro by the church and go together. Oh there are now official four different lines. I am not sure if I have told you about that. 

We were doing area book a few weeks ago and came across a few people that we wanted to see. This past week we saw two of them and one of them had not seen the sister missionaries for 4 or 5 years and had only had two appointments with them. But they had made a significant impression on them that she was willing to see us. Then other one the sisters had let go about four months ago and when we called her she said that she was thinking about giving us a call. We saw her yesterday again with her sister and it was an amazing lesson. She is an amazing woman. Her family are pretty much members except her. Her sister and cousins are in our ward. So I am excited to continue to work with her. We will see a few first timers this week and I will tell you about how those go later. 

I am glad that you guys are keeping yourselves busy and mom I have seen a bit of the city, but when ever it is p day it rains. And some days we are a bit tired. But I like this city. Well Parker is almost done, that is good. Well I love you all and I hope that you will have a wonderful week. 

LOVE, 

ALI 

E-mail from February 27, 2013

Hello Family, 

I would like to tell you that everything is going great with Vivian. Vivian is excited and her whole family will be coming (well I think her mom, uncle, bother, aunt and sure how many cousins, but a bit). She will be baptized this weekend on March 2nd. :) Literally we are just estatic. It was funny when we asked her to be baptized all we said was will you and she said yes. Of course we finished with the question but she is awesome. I have never known someone who wanted this as badly as her. Our other investigators are doing good. One like I think I said earlier is still waiting to return back to the philopeans. But while she is still here we are finishes up with the lessons. She has a baptism date and was like even if I go home can I still be baptized in the philopeans on that date. This woman reads the book of mormon for two hours everyday and she loves reading the liahona. We are at the beginning with a few of our investigators, but I know that they are doing good. Do not worry I will tell you guys what is happening. It has just been a little struggle for us lately to find investigators, but the people we have been finding are just so elect. We feel blessed for them. 
  Movement exercises well let's hope that it helps. Haha mom will have fun with Zumba. Since it is something she loves to do. 
I am glad Parker continues to do that because he will have a bit of practice when he goes out on a mission. I cannot believe that he will be taking the ACT. I feel he is getting old. Quick question for Parker, are you going to go on your mission right after high school because now you can? Parker you are getting older. Oh, how tall are you know, past 6 feet? We have someone in our ward who we call all the time, but it is good to be reliable. 
  So yesterday and today there has been sun, but the four days before that it was snowing so much. It was interesting to do finding work in the snow again. But strangely in Milan (okay not strange) there was still a good number of people outside for us to talk to even if there is snow. 
Well that is pretty much what happened this week. I hope you all will continue to have an amazing week. I love you lots. 

Love, 

ALi