Some exciting news - May 13, 2015

Ciao, tutti!

Wow, it was super awesome getting to see you all last Sunday! I'm glad everything's going well! 

So, last Thursday, we had correlation with our WML (ward mission leader) and that night we taught his son again. It was fun, they are a really cool family. They taught me how to do the cup song, so now I'm basically a pro! 

"Allesandro, the little boy we're teaching, he kinda reminds me of Mas..."

 

Friday, we saw Stella again and it was a good lesson. We also got some gelato afterwards because she lives  close to a gelateria that's pretty good. It's called La Mela Stregata. 

Saturday, we had to do a lot of area book work, and since we were at home for that, we made a lasagna! Not quite as good as yours mom, but we're just beginners :) We'll just have to keep practicing! 

"We made lasagna!"

"More lasagna!  Don't worry, I didn't actually eat that whole piece!"

"My comp stole my camera!"

Sunday, we had church and a member invited us to go to a little Mother's Day lunch she was having with her family afterwards. She has some kids who aren't really active, so she wanted us to meet them. They were all really cool and sweet. It was a really fun time! We hope we'll be able to see them all again real soon. Then we got to do skype! It was super awesome and I'm really glad we all got to see each other. The anziani said that after meeting you guys for 2 minutes, they could tell that we're all from the same family, they thought you were all hilarious. 

Monday, we got to see Mira, her son's a member and lives in America so she knows some of the members in the ward here and they sent us to find her. She was super sweet. She has a super strong testimony in the Lord and is willing to meet with us again, so, we're really excited to start working with her. 

Tuesday, we went to see Stella again and it was a really good appointment, she has a lot of faith. That night we also had the English course and 2 nonmembers who we had invited showed up! So we were really excited about that! 

"So they have lots of odd shaped past here, so this one reminds me of Pleakly, the alien from Lilo and Stitch"

Today, we haven't done much yet, just spesa and cleaning, but we hope to go to Pisa this afternoon! 

Well, I love you guys and I'm so grateful for your support! I hope you have an amazing week! Love, Kim

 

P.S. Email

 

...some exciting news! We got the email today telling us we'll receive ipads next Monday! We're pretty stoked to use them in the work! 

 

I love you guys! Thanks for all of the email, love and support. Have a great week! 

MOTHER'S DAY SKYPE - May 10, 2015

We added Zach on to the Skype

 

Mason and Kim putting their arms around each other Skype style

I kinda got hit by a moped... - May 6, 2015

Buonasera! 

Hey, everyone! Hope you all had a fantastic week! Mine was pretty good!

So, last Wednesday, we had a ward FHE at 7 and it was pretty fun. We made an obstacle course out of the chairs and we had one girl try to navigate it blindfolded with all of us shouting misdirections, except for one person, who was the Holy Ghost and trying to actually lead her. It was a fun object lesson. 



Emails sent back and forth between Kim and Carrie
Kim:  "We found a random clock in the park, I tried to convince Sorella Kras to let us take it home,
 but she wasn't going for it."
Carrie:  "I love the clock!  Was it working?'
Kim:  "Actually, yeah it was.  I thought it was super pretty.  It was gone the next day :(

Thursday, we had lunch with members from the ward. That's so fun that they sent the picture to you! They are super awesome and we loved talking with them.

Some member from the Livorno ward sent this picture and a nice email to the Snow family

We had correlation with our WML (ward mission leader) also that day and then went to his house that night to teach his son the pre baptism lessons. It was really fun, they're an awesome family.

Friday, we got the chance to do some yard work for a sister in our ward who recently had a surgery. (I guess we were all gardening this week!) It was really fun and she and her sons are so sweet. We also brought them some brownies. 

Sunday, we had church, and it was a pretty crazy day. We had a lot of the less active people we're working with come, so we were really happy for that. We also had a lesson with our new convert, Azzura. She's super sweet.

Monday, we saw a referral in the morning, named Anna Rita. She's super cool. She was a simp in the past and she's super open to start meeting with us again. We have another appointment set with her and I can't wait to see how it goes! We also saw Azzura again and it was another good lesson.

Yesterday, we saw Sorella B. She's seriously super adorable, she always wants to offer us little treats and she just loves missionaries. We also had English class that night, which is fun. There are some really cool people who come to the English class. It's acutally big enough here that we have four different classes. 

Today, we had a lot of chore stuff that we had to do, so we still haven't gone anywhere super cool for p-day, but we hope next week! Also, on the way to do grocery shopping, I kinda got hit by a moped! But no worries I'm okay! It was kinda scary, but I just got right back on my bike and kept going! I remembered Dad telling me about how he got hit by a bus or something on his mission. 

Anyways, it's been a crazy week! I'm super excited to skype this Sunday! I love you all and hope you have a fabulous week! 

Love, Sorella Snow 

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