I'm loving the people here in Livorno - April 29, 2015

Hey, everyone! 

Okay, so answers to questions! We slept over in Florence on Monday night after the Bednar conference because it was going to be too long of a trip for us to try and get all the way home that night. The bikes are going good, and my skirt hasn't even been caught yet. Sorella Kras has holes in her skirts from all the times they've been caught. :) The buses aren't great here, so that's why we use the bikes, plus our area isn't that huge. It was the first ward conference here in Livorno because they were just barely organized into a ward before being a branch, so they're all pretty happy about it. So far, I've seen mostly Italians in the ward, a few South Americans, and there's a few Americans. 

So, last Wednesday, we didn't do much because Sorella Kras's bike was broken, we took it in to get fixed, but had to wait till the next morning to get it, so we walked A LOT. We had Ward Council that night also. 

Thursday, We picked up our bikes in the morning (man was I happy to have it back) and then we had lunch with a member in or ward. It was really fun, she's American but has lived in Italy a long time. Then we saw Sorella B again that afternoon, she's super cute! She showed us all her family pictures and made us take some chocolate home with us. Then we had FHE (which included a dinner). 

Friday, we had to do our shopping because we couldn't do it Wednesday without our bikes (yes, we do shopping on bikes, riding home we have huge shopping bags dangling from our handle bars and we're trying to not let them hit us :)) That afternoon we saw Azzura, a new convert. She's about our age and she's super sweet. She also loves Disney, so how could you not like her? 

Saturday, we were doing some preparations for leaving for the Conference and Area Book and weekly planning, basically things we hadn't had a chance to do yet, but that reaaally needed to be done. 

Sunday, we had church and afterwards went home to have lunch and grab our stuff for the conference because we had a train at 2:30. We were on a train until 7 that night when we arrived in Lodi! Sorella Yonk is there so I got to spend the night at her place, it was pretty fun to see her again! She's so awesome! 

Monday, so we traveled to Milano (my mission birthplace) and we finally had the conference! It was awesome! It was really cool to see Elder Bednar and the other area authorities. He taught us a lot of amazing stuff. It was kind of a Q&A type thing, so missionaries were asking questions and he was leading a discussion, it was really cool! We also received some guide books for when we receive the iPads. It was also amazing to see everyone! I saw all the people from my old districts, a lot of people from my MTC group (like Sorella Hawks!) and Sorella Mantz. It was awesome! That night we went to Firenze (aka Florence) and as you know, we got to see the Mathewses! It was super awesome to see them! We took a quick peek at the duomo there (it was gorgeous!) and had some dinner and talked a ton! I'm super glad we got the chance to meet up!

The duomo in Firenze (Florence)

Sorella Snow and Kras at restaurant (Thanks, Susan!)

"All of the tickets we've had to buy for the last few days.  We're poor now :)"

Tuesday, we finally went home (which was nice after a couple of days away) and that night we had English course and got to see some of the ward members again.

Well, that's our week! I'm loving the people here in Livorno. They're all so open and loving and the ward is great. Sounds like you guys had an awesome week too!

Thanks for the emails! You guys all rock and I love you! 

Hope you have an absolutely fantastic week! 

Love, Kim 

Livorno is BEAUTIFUL! - April 22, 2015

Buonasera! 

Hey, everyone! So another week has flown by! 

Okay, answers to questions! Sorella Kras actually speaks English super well (she learned it before her mission), so we speak English inside the apartment. But, she's also amazing in Italian and she speaks Spanish, so she's just super awesome. We've been getting along super well so far, so I'm happy! Livorno is BEAUTIFUL! The weather here has been pretty mild so far (probably because we're so close to the beach) so I'm glad for that, it was starting to heat up in Torino! We are in the Pisa Zone. We used to have Florence in our zone but unfortunately we don't anymore, so I can't go to Florence yet. But we also have La Spezia in our zone, which has Cinque Terre, which is supposed to be beautiful, so we'll probably go there soon! 

So, last Thursday, we had transfers! I went with Sorella Nilsen to Milano Centrale Train Station to go to transfer circle where there are 50 or so missionaries waiting for comps to show up. I got to see a ton of people, so it was fun!

"I met up with some people from my MTC group at transfer circles."

"And Sister Miller with a haircut!"

 Then I traveled with Sorella Welch (I went on a scambio with her once) to Pisa, where we met Sorella Kras and Sorella Welch's new comp.

"The train seats on the Freccia trains we took were assigned, so I was companionless for a few hours!"

"I saw the ocean again for the first time in forever!"

Turns out, Livorno is a biking city! I should've known that one biking scambio last transfer was preparing me for this! We had FHE that night and it was pretty fun! It looks like we have a lot of really cool members that we're working with here! 

Friday, we had weekly planning in the morning and then in the afternoon we saw Stefano (a member) and his friend Denise. Then we saw Sorella B. She was super cute and gave us gelato. Then we passed by a potential and she let us in! Her son married an ex missionary and moved to America, so she's just loved Sorelle Missionaries. Then we saw the ward mission leader's family that night. Their son is about to turn 8 and they want us to give him the lessons so he can understand the church doctrine better before he's baptized. 

Saturday, we did a lot of Area book and other organizing stuff. 

Sunday, we had church, and it was the ward's first ever ward conference, so that was pretty cool! Afterwards, we had a ward lunch! We are getting fed a TON here, so it's probably good that we have bikes!

Pizza!

Monday, we had district meeting and we saw a simpattizzante named Lucia. She was pretty cute. 

Tuesday, we unfortunately, had a few bidoni, but we also had English class (the members teach it here, so that's nice, we just show up and help!). And we were going to see the ward mission leader's family again after, but Sorella Kras's bike broke on the way and we had to get off and walk them. We also found an iPhone on the ground and picked it up and called a number inside to return it to it's owners. 

Today, we didn't do much. We tried to fix Sorella Kras's bike but we couldn't get the chain protector off, so we're going to have to take it in to be fixed. We'll probably do that after email. 





"The canal going through Livorno.  Livorno is beautiful!"

Anyways, Livorno is beautiful and the people here seem very open and friendly, so I'm happy to be here! Sorella Kras is super awesome and fun and we're both getting really excited for the Bednar conference next week!

"We went to McDonald's.  They're pretty classy here!"

I love you guys and I'm so grateful for everything you do! Have an awesome week! 

Love, Sorella Snow 

And the transfer news is... - April 15, 2015

"Look Mom!  We make Caprese too!"

Ciao, tutti! 

So, first, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEPH!!! I hope it was a seriously spectacular day! 

Second, transfer news! So, I'm being transferred to Livorno! I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty bummed at first and I'm still a little sad. I'm gonna miss Torino and I'm sad I only got one transfer here. I'm also gonna miss living in four and especially I'm gonna miss Sorella Mantz. We've seriously hit it off and I love her to pieces, and I know that we're going to be friends after the mission. We were pretty shocked, absolutely no one thought that I would be leaving. But, the Lord has other plans, so I'm going to Livorno tomorrow. My companion will be Sorella Kras, who is from Germany. Livorno is almost at the very south of the mission and it's in Tuscany and apparently on the coast, so it'll be beautiful! 

So, questions! Yeah, In bocca al lupo means it the mouth of the wolf and it's like good luck or break a leg. The response is Crepi! meaning Kill it! 

So, last week! On Thursday and Friday, Sorella Mantz got sick. Not with what I had, but a pretty bad sinus infection or something. She's much better now, but for those two days we stayed in mostly and took it easy. Thursday morning, we had zone training, so we had to go to that, and it was pretty good! Friday, I got permission to go out with Sorella Nilsen for a few hours to go to an appointment with Mariam. It was a pretty good lesson and it seems like she's really progressing! 

Sorelle Snow and Mantz with Nelly

Saturday, we got transfer news and we saw Susana. Sorella Nilsen is going to Piacenza and Sorella Stephens is staying here. Sorella Albos (from the Philippines) is coming to be with Sorella Mantz. The lesson with Susana was pretty good. She's really cool and I know that she'll join the church one day, even if it's not when Sorella Mantz or I are here.

Sunday, we had church of course! And that night we had a dinner appointment with Sara and her friend (who's not a member) Giuseppina. It was a really good lesson! Sorella Caggese has a beautiful testimony and a beautiful family! Her youngest son, Rafaele, is just about the cutest kid ever (besides my nieces of course!).

Maria and Sorella Snow

Monday morning, we went to a wedding! It was sooooo beatiful! It was for two of the anziani's simps, Joy and Godwin. They're Nigerian. It was so much fun! Africans really know how to party! We made some pretty beautiful brownies (they were super tacky) for the reception.

Throwing the bouquet

Beautiful brownies

Having fun at the reception

Then we had district meeting and we saw Susana again that night to say goodbye.

District

Trying to throw flowers into the air

Saying good bye to Susana

Tuesday, there was the baptism of Godwin and Joy. It was honestly, probably the most beautiful baptism I've seen so far! They were both just so ready and they are so excited to be sealed in the temple in a year! After, we had a baptism reception and birthday party for the anziani's other new convert, Fiorenzo. It was lots of fun! We of course made more brownies (Italians love 'em!).

Sorella Mantz wearing an African dress to the baptism

Today, we didn't do much, I finished packing, and we just kinda hung out, since half of our apartment is leaving Torino.

At the market outside our house

Some chocolate I bought for the family (specifically for Mom).  You'll get those in a year!

The other sorelle always write "Snow White" on my cereal box

"What happened to my boots after the winter ended!"

Name tags on the bed

Well, that's about it for me this week! I don't have a ton of time because our normal internet points were all shut down today and we had to come use the church computer. 

I love you all so much and I'm so grateful for your support and love every week! I hope you have a fantastic week! Vi voglio un mondo di bene! 

Love, Sorella Snow 

Conference was amazing! - April 8, 2015

Hey, y'all!

Man, this was a crazy week!

So answers to questions! Conference was amazing! We saw the Women's session in Italian and we got to see the Sunday morning and Saturday morning sessions in English. I think we're going to try and download the ones we missed to watch them when we have time. But it was honestly amazing. One thing Sorella Mantz pointed out was that we were watching it at the same time as our families back home and singing with them and praying with them at the same time, so that was pretty cool!

So, this week has gone by pretty quickly again, I can't believe it's almost time for transfer calls! Last Thursday, we had a Scambio with our STL who is in Alessandria, this teeny little town that I think is down south of us. So, they have bikes in Alessandria and, I have to tell you, it is in fact possible to forget how to ride a bike. For one, I'm short so it was too tall for me. But, it was a good scambio, our STL, Sorella Jackman, is super cool, and you know back here in Torino, they got fed fish, so tender mercy that I missed that.

Friday, we exchanged back at lunch time and that night we went and saw a member named Maria. She was super cool. Then we once again had an adventure getting home, with all of the buses we needed being canceled. But what I'm realizing is that usually when that happens, there's someone we need to talk to. And sure enough we met this Albanian dude who was really cool and super interested in English. Plus, he helped us get to the metro safely.

Saturday, we did weekly planning in the morning and then had the Women's session at four and the Saturday morning session at 6, so that was super amazing! I love conference! We also dyed Easter eggs that night when we got home!

Sunday, in the morning we hid huge hollow chocolate Easter eggs that we'd bought for our comps and had an Easter egg hunt. We ate chocolate for breakfast.

We were invited to the Bishop's house for lunch and it was waaay fun! He had all the missionaries in the ward there and 20 members of his and his wife's family. They homemade literally everything, we ate for seriously 3 hours and we played Mafia! They play it the exact same here, so that was super fun!

The bishop's mother made these homemade noodles.  There were hundreds of them and they tasted so good!

The lunch table. 

This is just the first course...

This looks delicious!!!

Then we got to see the Sunday morning session of conference that night! We were sooo happy that we got to see Jeffrey R Holland's talk.

Monday, we saw A. It was a really good visit! At the moment she's going through some pretty rough stuff in her life, so usually she's really sad, but this time we were able to cheer her up and she was pretty happy.

Yesterday, I was sick all day, so that was rough. We had to  stay inside all day and Sorella Mantz was super productive and cleaned the entire apartment.

Today, I still feel kinda sick and now Sorella Mantz does too, so we stayed in and took it easy. But we're hoping that by tomorrow we'll be okay again, because we're going to have a zone training. We're super excited for it because we think they're gonna give us some more info on the Elder Bednar conference.

But, it's been a really good week! I'm so happy we had the chance to watch Conference and celebrate our Savior. I hope everything is fantastic for you all this week! Vi voglio un sacco di bene!

Love, Sorella Snow

Are you my mummy? - April 1, 2015

Buonasera, tutti!

Hey, everyone, it's been another crazy week over here!

Okay, so answers! Yeah, we hear about Italian operas and plays, we're allowed to go to cultural events, but pretty sparingly. Sorella Mantz and I might go see Romeo and Juliet next transfer if we're still together :).

Yeah, Maria Caci would be pronounced kah-chee with the emphasis on the first syllable. Giglia is a little tricky. The Gi would make the J sound like gem (so it's sound like Jee) and the gl makes a sound like the li in million, basically the l noise with kinda a y sounds after it. So, Jee-li-a with the emphasis probably on the li part. Hope that helped, I love talkin about Italian :).

Anywho, so, last Friday, all of our lessons unfortunately canceled on us, so we did a lot of work in our area book and some finding, woohoo! But, yeah, it was good cause we got more organized.

Saturday, we once again had a day full of lessons cancel on us, but we were able to arrange some last minute ones and we saw some cool people. One was a potential named Verdi. She's super cool and speaks English really well, so it was really fun!

Sunday, Mariam, our new simp from last week came and we were super happy to have her! We also went to an African party later that day. It was a birthday party for a little boy, so we thought it would be pretty tame, but it was crazy. We were walking up to the building and we could hear super loud music and were like wow, the neighbors are having a crazy party, then we realized it was actually the one we were going to. We got out pretty quick, but we got some super yummy African food!


African food handouts

Oh! Also we met some American tourists in Church, which was a little strange, not really used to speaking so much English :)

Monday, we had a district meeting, and for the training, the ZLs talked about the importance of members and getting them to come to lessons. We then did a "real play" (get it, like role play) and each coppia called some members to try and set up a lesson. We (Sorella Mantz and I) were having a really hard time getting anyone to commit to come with us, so we were all sitting in a circle making calls for an hour trying to set up one member present lesson. It was kinda funny how ridicuosly hard it was to get that one member present. We finally got it! But then the simp didn't show up to it the next day. So, that was pretty ironic. But that day we also had a really good lesson with the sister and mother of a man who got baptized this week. The sister wanted to know more about the church because she said she could see how much it had changed her brother's life. She was really cool and we're going to see them again next week!

Tuesday, we saw Angela and then we went to a baptism (for the man whose sister we'd taught). It was really cool. It was a man the anziani had been working with for a while and when they first met him, he smoked two 24 packs of cigarrettes a day. Now, he hasn't for a couple of weeks. It was really cool.

Today, we went to the Egyptian museum! Torino has a pretty famous Egyptian museum and it reopened after renovations and was free today! It was really cool. Lots of mummys :)

Are you my mummy?

Anyways, it's been a good week here and I hope everything's going well with you guys as well! I'm so excited to celebrete the Resurrection of our Savior this Sunday and to hear the words of the living prophet we're so lucky to have today. I love you guys! Have a great week!

Love, Sorella Snow

Vi voglio bene! (I love you!) - March 26, 2015

Hey, Everyone! 

So, answers. Sorella Mantz's friends who came to visit us were simps she's had in Genova. We're allowed to keep in contact with people from past areas through letters, so I've already written a letter to M back in Milano :). Yeah, we can listen to conference live here, but we still have to be home on time. Sorella Mantz said what usually happens is that you'll watch both morning sessions and the Saturday afternoon session sometime on Sunday, but that we probably won't get the chance to watch the Sunday afternoon session. Since there are so many Africans here who speak English, we'll hopefully be  able to watch Conference in English :)

So, last Thursday morning, we had to run to the Post Office and while we were waiting there, we met and talked to a super cute lady named L. We had a prayer with her and got her contact info, so hopefully we'll be able to see her again sometime this week! We also saw D that night. She's in a rough place in her life right now and she's starting to really see how the gospel could bless her life. She's willing to be baptized, but she doesn't want to set a date because in the past she had a bap date and missed it, so she doesn't want to set one this time until she fells certain she'll make it. But she has a ton of potenial, so we're excited to continue to work with her. 

Last Friday, we met our landlords who are a super cute old couple and helped us understand a phone message that we were having trouble with because the person spoke Italian too fast. They were really cute and said they wanted to take us out for coffee some time, so maybe we'll have a lesson with them...about the word of wisdom :). Then we saw A. She's really sweet.

The next day, we went out in the morning to try and do some pass bys of ex simps and less active people. We unfortunately didn't find any of them, but we met some new people and had lessons with them and also ran into a member, so that was fortuitous. It's cool to see that even though our plans don't work out the way we'd thought they would, our hearts were still in the right places and the Lord guided us and put people in our paths with whom we could speak. That night we also went out on splits with some young women from the ward. It was cool to see them so willing to go out and do missionary work on a Saturday night. 

Sunday, we had church (of course) and that night there was a party for a returned missionary. The ward asked us to sing a song, so we did Army of Helaman. The RM said she'd be willing to go out with us sometime, so that's pretty cool. She just got back from the Lisbon Portugal mission (maybe she knew Lauren :)).

Monday, we saw a really cool member family. The little boy was super cute, he kept on saying "I'm going to serve a mission, I'm leaving soon and I'm going to Peru." That was really cool. He's super young (I think5 or 6) but he's already a really good example for his other siblings. 

Tuesday, we saw a potential simp in the morning, M. She's from Africa. She has a little boy and she's really cool! She speaks English pretty well (usually with Africans you have to use an "African voice" which is super stacatto or they won't understand you) we set a bap date with her! That was super exciting. She's come to church twice already, that was how we found her, she's the friend of one of the anziani's simps. So we're really excited to be working with her!! That night we saw S again. She's really cool. We read the scriptures a little and talked. She totally agrees with all of the church's teaching and believes the Book of Mormon and everything, she's just hesitant about being baptized becuase she was already baptized when she was a baby. But, she's a super awesome person and we love seeing her. 

Yesterday was Sorella Nilsen's halfway mark in the mission, so we celebrated by setting up a little gravestone for her with her name and geting a little round cake shaped like a hill and telling her she was over the hill. Typing it out, it sounds kinda mean, but it was just an inside joke and she loved it. We say that when you go home from the mission, you're dying. But there is life after death.

That afternoon, we went to the University to help out a member couple who were doing a presentation on our church, it was super interesting, but kinda weird. We're just not used to teaching in a lecture style. luckily, there were a ton of missionaries there, so I didn't have too talk to much. Also, at the end, when it was all finished, Sorella Mantz and I totally started bowing our heads to end in  prayer. We forgot in wasn't a normal lesson and it was super weird. :)

But yeah, that was our week. Whew. Also, don't know if you guys already know this, but there will be a series of short films coming out starting this Saturday about Easter and Christ. I think it's called Because He Lived in English. It's supposed to be super good, so y'all should check it out! 

Anywho, It's been a great week. I'm super grateful I get to be here and I'm grateful for everyone's love and support! Have an amazing week! Vi voglio bene! 

Love, Sorella Snow 

So vediamo (So let's see) - March 18, 2015

Buonasera!

Hey, y'all! So, it's been a crazy week with lots of exciting things happening!

 

Last Thursday, we had a zone training with about 20 missionaries there, and we got some pretty exciting news! The Italy Milan Mission will be receiving iPads to use in our missionary work!!! Elder Bednar will be doing a training on how to use them while he's here with us in April and then we'll receive them sometime after that conference! But we're all super excited for the chance. We were told that we are 1 of 15 missions who are getting the chance to try this, so we can't wait! After zone training, we saw a simpatizzante named J. She's from Africa (there's actually a TON of Africans in Torino and there's several in the ward) so we teach her in English. She's seems really cool and we're hoping to meet with her again later this week.

 

Mmmm!  That looks delicious! 

 

Friday, we went in the morning with one of our less active people, A, to the doctor and then had lunch with her. She's really cool and has a really strong testimony of the church. That night we saw another simp, D, whom I think has realized that she could really use the church in her life but is kinda dragging her feet on putting it into to practice, but we think she's starting to have the desire to come, so vediamo!

 

Saturday, we saw another simp named s, she seems like a really awesome person but she hasn't been coming to church lately because her friend's in the hospital and she's been going to see her Sundays.

 

Sunday, some of Sorella Mantz's friends from Genova came to find her in Torino, so we saw them and it was really fun. They were super awesome, they gave us a bajillion presents.

 

Friends from Genova

 

Monday, we saw A, another member, and we stayed with her for lunch and then watched Finding Faith in Christ with her, and I kinda accidently fell asleep, but the lights were out and I was tired, so don't judge! :) Anywho, after we went to find another African lady who is less active, named J. She was really cool, but she only had five minutes, so we had to keep it really short.

 

Tuesday, we unfortunately got a bidoni (when you get to someone's house for a set up appointment and they aren't there) so we had to do finding in the rain for an hour or so. That was a little rough. It rained a ton the last few days here. It makes finding kinda hard. But we had another appointment that night and then ward counsel, which was a little crazy.

 

"I found the Tangled flower!"

 

Today, we took it easy. Sorella Mantz had a Skype interview for college stuff, so we just stayed close to home all day and relaxed.

 

Questions: Yeah, St Patrick's Day is recognized here, it seems like they have a party every single day here! Someone at Ward Counsel did try to pinch us, but we narrowly escaped.

 

I seriously love Torino! I was sad at first to leave Milano, but it's really cool here! There are so many things to go do and see and I love living in four and Sorella Mantz rocks! So, I'm super happy!

 

I love you guys! Thanks for the letters! Hope you all have a fantastic week!

 

Love, Sorella Snow