Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Christmas 2013- Skype


It was so wonderful to Skype today with Alison!!! Here are some pictures I took. She is very happy and LOVES Italy!




Alison and Sorella Andrea Heupel her companion



Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Email from December 18, 2013

Hello family,

I want to begin by telling you a miracle that happened this morning. Two weeks ago we were doing finding work (well we do at least a couple hours of finding work everyday, but this day was all day) and ran into a Filipino woman and who we thought was her daughter (turns out it was her cousin). The lady who we thought was the mom said that she is married to a mormon and he is in the Philippines. I think my companion and I just about died to hear those words. She kept on calling us sisters. Like okay sisters, see you later sisters. It was really cute. Well we had the privilege to see her this morning for the first time. She told us that 3 years ago she married this mormon and that her kids recently were baptized mormon, that her sister in law is the relief society president in the Philippines and her brother in law is the bishop. And she told us that everyone had been telling her to go to the church to find peace, etc. And then we randomly meet her on the street. Her cousin was like it was so sudden. We laughed and she told us that now she was ready to know about the church. We talked about the restoration and invited her to be baptized and she accepted and said she knew it was true already and she could feel the spirit with us today. So in about a month she will be baptized!! My companion and I have been having a hard time finding people and at least I was starting to be really discouraged and then at my point of weakness God brought us a miracle. A miracle that I cannot express how excited I am for her. You should have seen how happy she was. 

By the way I got your package last week I forgot to tell you. Do not worry. I am excited to see how the ward has grown (our ward here in Florida has grown a lot). That is so funny how much things have changed. Yes I remember her, that is crazy she is in the ward. 

OH BY THE WAY THIS IS IMPORTANT. I WILL BE SKYPING YOU AT 4 O'CLOCK MY TIME WHICH WOULD BE  10 O'CLOCK YOUR TIME. ALRIGHTY DO NOT FORGET, I AM EXCITED TO SKYPE YOU ALL AND SEE YOU. I LOVE YOU!!! 

So today we were walking around Duomo. Duomo is always packed, especially around Christmas time it just looks like a mob of people and you can never get anywhere. But the point is more people think I am Italian. Man talking about the gospel in english is hard. I say the weirdest things. Sounds like I am not american and cannot speak english. We have been finding a lot of people who speak english and I have been apologizing for my english. 


Anyways I will talk to you next week I love you all. Buon Natale. 

Vi voglio bene,

Ali 

Alrighty I thought that this would be funny. Here in Italy these are our water fountains. So this is my attempt at drinking water out of them. As you can tell I still have not mastered it and my companion loves making fun of it. Heeeehehe




The Navigli

At the Park

This was inside the stairs at the duomo. Those stairs took five years to get down. 

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Email from December 11, 2013

Hello family, 

This week has been so amazing. I want to tell you this amazing story that we had the other day. It was on Sunday. So we went to the train station to check train times. After we had checked our train times we went to take the bus back to do some finding work. As we were waiting for the bus there was a woman who came with her daughter. She (meaning the little girl) had a balloon that said happy birthday in English, so I said happy birthday to her, the little girl, and asked for her name and how old she was. Then I started talking to the mom. We talked about the importance of family and then she asked us if we were mormons and I said yes. Then she told us that she is a mormon. I think I just put on the biggest smile. Then she told us how she had come over to Italy many years ago and has not gone to church since. We all got on the bus and continued to talk and we set up an appointment to go see her the very next day. And we did see her and we are going to help her come back. Because she is awesome. 

You asked me the last time how does Milan look like and I guess I just did not know how to describe it. You see it just depends on what part of Milan. Some of it looks very modern and others parts very old. Because there are churches around every corner and I mean every corner. You can hear the church bells every morning. And so the buildings are a bit tall.

Giulia does not know where she is going yet. She hopes to receive it this week or the next. 

All I have to say now is I love the people we are working with and I am just really lucky to be where I am. 

Love, 

Ali 






Thursday, December 5, 2013

Email from December 4, 2013

Hey Family,

Alrighty I am ready to tell you about our week. My companion and I were working on Faith and Hope last week. I think that it was an appropriate week. We had three baptism dates and we lost them all. 

That less active we reactivated and his girlfriend, they decided that after they get married she will get baptized, but she is still going to Ecuador in January to get a divorce. Even if I am not here for the baptism I know without a doubt that she will get baptized. She wants it with all her heart. I will be happy whenever that day arrives. I messed up the other time when I said that man who stopped us was from Ecuador he is from El Salvador and yes we are teaching him, but we are going to pass him to the elders because we are not allowed to teach single men. But I know he will get baptized and he is coming to church this Sunday. We have been having the lessons with Bishop with him. And Bishop has helped him a lot. All the hard work that we have been doing to finally get our ward missionary leader to do work has pulled off. This past Sunday he held a meeting with the ward missionaries to tell them that they have to start teaching the new converts and following less actives (I was the one that told him he needed to do that and the role of ward missionaries, so I was happy). We have now officially ward missionaries and we have taken at least four of them out with us. Our activity that Sorella Heupel and I am in charge of is happening this weekend and we are so excited. We have been working so hard to get everything going so I will tell you how it goes. 

I remember N, mom you would talk about her all the time. How you wanted her to come to church or at least an activity. I am so excited. Look you guys are being awesome missionaries. The missionaries asked me what you guys (as in mom and dad) could do to be more effective missionaries? Well let me think, you guys said that you are going out with the missionaries. Continue inviting your friends who are not members to church. Oh the first thing is not to be afraid. I know a lot of members are just scared to ask because they might lose their friendship, but do not be afraid. Fear comes from Satan and not from God. So do not be afraid.
I might not be having the same kind of success on my mission but the thing that keeps me going even when it seems like no one else is listening, is when we are knocking down doors, talking to people on the street, it is the knowledge that truly each and everyone of the people I have talked to is a child of God and I just keep talking to each and everyone even if they do not care. My companion likes to say she was paired up with me because she does not like to talk to people and I thrive at it. I would just tell each and everyone of you to not give up. Not everyone will listen but they can feel. Try to bear testimony to your friends. Christmas is the perfect time. You guys were always my example and what you guys could do to that will help you become more effective missionaries is to become a disciple of  Christ. Not that it is easy. That is what our mission is trying to do. A theme we have is the scripture 3 Nefi 5:13 each and every missionary knows it by heart here, but it means just so much more. 

I love you all. Each and everyone of you are amazing. 

Ali