A Prayer on the Train

Ciao tutti!

So if you're wondering why you all just got two emails from me it's because last week I didn't even have time to finish writing my christmas email because our p-day was combined with christmas and it made everything kind of crazy! And now I'm writing rather prematurely for this week because Wednesday is New Years and our day got filled with lots of member appointments where we'll be eating, getting referrals, and teaching investigators! So basically we're doing all of our p-day stuff today instead. 

First of all, it was so great to get to talk to all of you on Wednesday!! It doesn't seem like that long ago and there's not actually a lot to update you on since then. The day ended up great. We had an Italian Christmas eve, a Brazilian Christmas day, and a Peruvian Christmas evening. I'm getting my share of cultural experiences! This Wednesday we're adding African into the mix! I'm excited about that one- I haven't had real African food before in the mission!

So besides all of the fun christmasy stuff we were able to have two scambios (exchanges) this week with the sorelle of Bergamo 1 and the sorelle of Verona 1. Both went super well. I've figured out that I've done a total of six scambios in Bergamo and will probably be doing more (if I don't get transferred!!). I feel like I practically serve there! On the way to the scambio we talked to this awesome guy on the train- well actually, I was sort of sitting across from him and noticed him eyeing me. I wasn't sure if he was doing it creepily or if he acutally wanted to talk about religion so to play it safe I pulled out a restoration pamphlet and started reading it. A few seconds later he spoke up and asked "Siete di Gesù?" (Are you from Jesus?) I told him who we were, that we were mormons, and then guess what? He pulled a Book of Mormon right out of his backpack! It looked like he had been carrying it around everywhere he went because it was all bendy and water-damaged, but hey, at least that meant that he had probably been reading it! It turns out he is one of the anziani's investigators in Bergamo and that he's known the church for about seven months now. We had a really good conversation where we read half of Alma 34 (rather, he read it to us), he told us he wanted to be baptized, and then at the end we said a prayer. I love saying prayers with random people because it helps you make a connection with them through the spirit and then that's usually what they remember most about the whole conversation. It's brought us a lot of success in our finding work! 

Speaking of finding work, we've been doing a lot of that lately. I feel like this transfer has been one of those transfers where we just find, find, and find some more. But the cool thing is I've been seeing just as many fruits from it and have been feeling about just as busy as any other point in my mission. I think it all has to do with the attitude- that you keep yourself busy because you want to have success and you make every activity a meaningful one. We may not always see the fruits but I do know that God is blessing us and answering our prayers in very real ways. That's what happens when you show faith and have a good attitude! 

Well, I hope you all have a very happy new year, and don't forget to make those new years resolutions! Vi voglio tanto tanto bene.

Love,

Sorella Lyman

Christmas #2

BUON NATALE!!!!!!

Hi everyone! I know I'll be talking with a lot of you all later, but that won't stop me from still sending out an email! This week has just been a blast! I am having so much fun in Verona. I can honestly say this is one of the best Christmases I've ever had- so full of happiness, Italian food (specifically pandoro), singing, violin playing, and wonderful Italian people!! Today we are headed over to two members' houses- one for Christmas lunch and the other later on this evening to do google chat and probably dinner too. And THEN last night all the missionaries got invited over to our ward mission leader's house with his wife and adorable baby girl for Christmas eve with their family. We had a delicious turkey dinner complete with pandoro and grilled pineapple and then sang songs together afterwards. Just like home! Sunday was pretty great too. Our ward did an awesome Christmas program where practically everyone in each of the auxiliaries was involved in a musical number. All the missionaries, including our senior couple, sang an a capella version of Joy to the world, which went pretty well. My favorite was Far, Far away on Judea's plain sung by the priesthood. They had half the men blasting out the walking bass line so that you could hardly hear anything else and they were singing it with such gusto! I was so pleased. And then on Friday we had an AMAZING Christmas ward activity which was basically a musical talent night. They asked me to play a number on the violin so I played O Holy Night with Sorella Reichert, and there was a lot of other great musical numbers done by missionaries and ward members alike. (It was Verona 1 and 2 combined) What was even better is that one of our investigators, the one that Mom also taught, came with her nephew!! She loved every minute of it. My favorite part was when they did a reenactment of La Befana with one of our cute ward members playing the part of La Befana along with a whole cast of characters. They even had the three kings with very elaborate costumes and a really cool soundtrack! It was definitely a cultural experience. 

Well, that's about all I'm going to right because I'll talk to most of yall later and I don't have much time at the computer this week! Vi voglio un sacco di bene e buone feste!

Love,

Sorella Lyman

Lake Garda, Christmas Caroling, and a Scambio with Sorella Reni

Ciao a tutti!!

Well, today I am kinda crunched for time because we went to lake garda and the bus going back to Verona was later than we thought it would be. So I'll try to condense an amazing week into poche parole. 

So yeah, this week was just so great! First of all, on Sunday we went Christmas caroling with out ward to a retirement home and it was SO FUN!!! Italians sure know how to party it up and celebrate Christmas. There was even a super cool acapella version of Jingle bell rock sung by a family in our ward who is basically thebomb.com, and it was SO GOOD!!! this ward is so musically talented. And then people started dancing around during all the songs and it was just one of those "I love being in Italy" moments. Espescially at Christmas time in this awesome ward in Verona!!! 

The next day I had a scambio with Sorella Reni who is a new sister in the mission. We saw so many miracles and it was one of the best scambios I've had. She and Sorella Seare (my fellow violinist in the mission who also knows Jocelyn!!) came here to Verona, and we were able to have the entire day as opposed to just a limited amount of time which is unfortunately what tends to happen a lot on scambios. But anyway, later on in the evening we were out doing casa. We were getting towards the end when we knocked on this one door. A lady opened up and asked us if we had been out and about all day long doing this. We responded in the affirmative and then she said a missionary's favorite words: "Come in!" She made us herbal tea and set up a cute little table with biscotti, and we were able to talk to her and her son and have a beautiful lesson filled with the spirit. I'm so happy there are still people in the world who are openly generous care for everyone. She is true christian, and she's gonna get baptized! 

I love you SO much!! Have a very merry Christmas and I can't wait to see and talk to you next week!!

Love,

Sorella Lyman

Goosebumps

Buon giorno a tutti!!!!!

Wow, I am in awe at all the awesome things yall are doing. Especially the fact that Katherine is on the MIT Indian Dance team??! THAT IS SO COOL!!!! Indian dance is so fun. I'm very happy here in Italy because there's lots of Indian culture that pops up everywhere- to the extent where sometimes I feel like I'm in the Indian/the middle east instead of in Italy. I love it!

Well, this p-day has been super fun and interesting. First of all, this morning I was able to play the violin which was loaned to one of the senior couples by a member for me to use, which I'll be playing on for zone conference and the sacrament meeting before christmas. I found a pretty good arrangement of O Holy Night with the piano, and it was so fun to whip out the old instrument and play on it this morning! It's actually a pretty good violin too. I'm so grateful and excited to share my talents! I've been able to do it a lot more than I was ever expecting to. Later on, we got to go into the arena here in Verona, which is basically like the Colosseo in Rome. It was SO COOL!!!! I took a million pictures. We were able to get a really good view of the city including the beautiful piazza below with all the stands they have up for the christmas market going on right now. Speaking of the market, we spent about an hour and a half there just wandering around and found a lot of really cool Italian things! Verona is just so awesome and diverse. 

Besides all the wonderful sights and cultural experiences, we've also had a great week of missionary work! :) We saw some really cool miracles. Last Saturday, I think it was, we were doing some finding work in an area where we go pretty often. But this time we shook it up a little bit by carrying around a white board that had the question "What makes you happy at Christmastime?" on it. We got some pretty good results out of it and met people on all different sides of the spectrum. One experience in particular stood out among all the others. We were walking along on the sidewalk and decided to stop a lady who was walking past. We asked her the question that was on the board and her response was a little unexpected. She said that Christmas always makes her cry. It was never really clear why exactly that was, but we did discover that this woman had recently gone through a very trying physical experience and was really seeking the comfort of God in her life. We asked if we could offer a prayer with her and she readily agreed. As I was praying that she would be able to recover completely, regain her memory and her strength, etc. she continued to say "Amen" after every phrase. At the end she was in tears and we each gave her a huge hug. It was an experience never to forget. We were able to go see her again at her home yesterday, and I can say that I really feel true charity for her. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to offer my love and the love of God to people who are in need!  

Verona is just full of Christmas cheer. I say it at the beginning of all my journal entries and I'll say it again here. I feel pretty dang lucky to be able to spend two Christmases in Italy!! That experience that I related was one of many this week where we were able to come in contact with someone who is truly prepared for the gospel. On another occasion we were knocking on doors and a man opened up who, when we said we were missionaries, he stopped us, pointed to his arm which had goosebumps all over it, and basically said he had been waiting for us. All these experiences have reinforced to me that God answers prayers because at the beginning of last week I was praying so earnestly that we would be able to find someone in this city who needed the gospel in their lives and was prepared to receive it. And we found a sackful of them! (un sacco!) 

Vi voglio un SACCO di bene, tutti quanti. Continue finding the joy in life, especially during this Christmas season. :)

Buona settimana!

Love,

Sorella Lyman

 

 

Merry Christmas Italy!

Ciao tuttiiii!!!!

Merry Christmas!! I know it's early, but I just can't contain myself! I'm so excited to see all the miracles that will come from spreading Christmas cheer and remembering the true reason why we celebrate. We've already seen one this past week! 

So last Sunday we were out knocking on doors and getting lots of rejections. Halfway through ringing all the citofonos I remembered that it was December 1st, hence we could start talking about Christmas with everyone! I started saying we have a message about Christ and Christmas, and pretty soon someone opened up the gate for us. We weren't sure if they did it by accident because we couldn't really understand what they were saying through the speaker, but we went inside and managed to find their door. Up opened a beautiful couple- an older woman with blonde hair from Croatia and her husband who's Italian. We asked if we could share a Christmas message with them and they invited us right in! They had one of the most beautiful houses I've ever seen with elaborate paintings everywhere and even offered us some chocolate cake! We taught them a beautiful lesson about the restoration, gifted them a Book of Mormon at the end, and will be going back to see them this Sunday! The wife was smiling at us the entire time and both were so happy to hear our message and are genuinely curious to learn more. They are both widowers who married each other later in life and are so happy and optimistic about the future and life in general. I love them so much! I'm so grateful we were able to meet them, thanks to this wonderful time of year and sharing the Christmas spirit!

We were also able to have not one, but TWO thanksgiving dinners this week. First we had a lovely meal prepared for us by the senior couples in Verona, and then on the actual day of thanksgiving one of our investigators invited us over to her house to have a full out american thanksgiving with two other families from the ward. It was pretty impressive, seeing as how Italians don't really eat turkey like we do, nor pumpkin or apple pie. But they made it all, and it was delicious!! 

Verona's just so great, and I'm so excited to be here for the holiday season! Buon inizio di Dicembre e vi voglio bene! 

Love,

Sorella Lyman

Nov. 27th: Conceptions of God

Buon giorno!!

Hey everyone! Tomorrow's Thanksgiving!! Last year I celebrated thanksgiving Italian style at Fratelli la Bufola with Sorella Forbes. It was soooo good. This year I actually got to have a full out American thanksgiving thanks to the awesome senior couples in Verona! We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatos, green beans, fruit salad, cranberry sauce, and other delicious things that I can't remember. And then there was apple and pumpkin pie for desert and persimmon cheesecake! Has anyone ever heard of that? I never had until I got to Italy (it's called kaki here) but apparently it exists in America too. It was SO GOOD!!

Other things that happened this week... I don't know, I just think I've had some different realizations of how people actually conceive God. This past Monday we were having a lesson with a less active family in Bussolengo and a couple of their relatives were over. I was talking to one of them, testifying about how God knows and loves him personally. Right after I said that one of the ladies immediately disagreed with me saying that God doesn't love him personally because he hadn't done anything to show his love for Him. Well, that comment kind of shocked me. I couldn't really understand how someone could think that. I've grown up my whole life believing and knowing that God loves us personally, one, because there are plenty of scriptures to back it up (Alma 7:11-13), and two, because I've felt it for myself. So it kind of made me really sad to know that there are people who don't have that conception. It's now one of my goals to make sure I testify of that more often because that is the most fundamental principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! 

There's another less active that I really just love. Right now she is living in a special home and is having some health problems. Every time we go over to teach her I feel the spirit so strongly and the pure love of God. Part of it's because she has that love so strongly within herself. It's so special for me to be able to talk with people about the gospel and testify to them that God loves them! I left there on Sunday feeling pure joy because we were able to buoy her up through the gospel. It was a reminder to me that serving others will bring us more joy than anything else in this life! 

I hope you all have a deliciously wonderful thanksgiving and that you enjoy and share in all the love and goodness that's around you. :)

LOVE,

Sorella Lyman

My birthday with a sign that says 11-15!!!

Huge Christmas tree in Verona!

Fall greetings from Sorella Willis and Sorella Lyman! :)

Thanksgiving! I'm making a weird face. :P

Happy Birthday Sorella Lyman!!!!!

Buon Giorno a tutti!

Here we are again, another p-day, another email. They just keep coming and coming and I feel like I don't even know where all the days go. It's a good thing I got a journal because half the time I don't even remember what happened yesterday! But I'm happy to report that this last week has gone swimmingly (that's one of my favorite words, and I don't know why). 

First of all, Friday was my birthday! I woke up to Sorella Acerson making me banana pancakes with peanut butter, whipped cream, and Aunt Jemima syrupe. A little taste of home! Both Sorella Acerson and Sorella Gross made me a beautiful birthday crown out of a cereal box and there were two huge balloons that made the number 23. I'm a little sad not to be 22 anymore since I was on the mission for the entire time being that age! Best year of my life! I'm sure this one will be good too. :)

Sorella Willis and I have been busy this week helping out with two zone trainings here in Verona and in Bergamo. We were asked to give a presentation for each of the zones on a new little "adjusting to missionary life" booklet that they recently came out with. It went pretty well, I think. It was my first time, really, speaking in front of a large group of people (besides talks in sacrament meeting) and it went better than I thought. I actually rather enjoyed it! I'd better get used to it since I'll probably be doing it for the rest of my life. 

Also on Friday I had a scambio with Sorella Hallum from Bergamo. On that scambio we decided to pass by a less active who we had been going to pass by for quite some time. This is actually another person that Mom told me to track down from the list of people she knew here in Verona. Well, every time we had gone to this particular palazzo we rang the citofono twice but no one would ever answer. This time with Sorella Hallum we went through the same routine, rang it twice, and nothing. I wasn't sure what to do , and eventually we decided to write her a note and leave it in her mailbox. Meanwhile a postman guy came up and rang a citofono to deliver a package. I didn't pay attention to which one it was. Still nothing, so he pulled away to leave. But right as he was driving away an elderly lady walked out. He got pretty annoyed with her, saying she needed to answer the door when people rang it, gave her the package, and left. We were still standing there so she asked who she was looking for. I said the name and she said "that's me!" I was shocked! We talked with her for a little bit, got her number, and will hopefully going to see her again. For me it was a testimony that God answers prayers because right before going there I had said a little prayer in my heart that this time she would answer the door. And she did after about 10 minutes! :)

I love you all sooooo much. I hope you have a fantastic week and always count your blessings. :)

con tanto amore,

Sorella Lyman

Editor's Note: Sorella Lyman hasn't sent us pictures in awhile, so let's flashback to this one from January!

30 Years Later

Ciaoabunga!

Well, I have another amazing miracle for you all this week. As you all know, Mom served 30 years ago here in Verona. Well, when I first arrived here she sent me a list of all the contacts she had in her mission address book with a description of what she remembered of all of them. One of them we found on our records who we are still trying to contact. Another we were able to locate her address on the map and yesterday decided to go and see if she was still around. We pulled up to her house which is up a HUGE hill on the outskirts of Verona. The doorway itself definitely looked 30 years old. We went up to the citofono (intercom) and pretty quickly I spotted the name that we were looking for. We rung her up and a few moments later a lady picked up and said "chi è?" We explained who we were, she told us her floor and let us right up! I was pretty ecstatic. We went up to her door and discovered that it is the same lady that Mom knew and taught 30 years ago, and she remembers her very well! Since that time there has been another companionship of missionaries who came to teach her around 1995. She loves the church and the Book of Mormon and we had a beautiful lesson with her talking about the Plan of Salvation. All the words rang so true to all of us and she really wants to believe that it's all true. Especially now, since her husband has since passed away from when Mom was here in Verona. I am just so amazed at how blessed I am to serve in this same city and meet some of the same people who are now hopefully more prepared to receive and accept the gospel! 

That experience is really the highlight of this week. We've managed to stay dry and are looking forward to some pretty amazing miracles coming up. I just want you all to know that I know without any shadow of changing in my heart or mind that this gospel is true. It's all really about the choice we make to choose the light through the great mediator (Christ), or to choose not to believe and follow the adversary. (2 Nephi 2:27) Once we choose to follow Christ in everything we do we will receive the knowledge, hope, and happiness that we all long for in this life. 

I love you all so much. Un baccione grande! 

con tanto tanto amore,

Sorella Lyman

What if Romeo and Juliet were Mormon?

Buon giorno tuttiii!!!

Wow, what a week. Actually, yesterday is sort of the climax of the whole thing. With bikes comes the added intensity of any wind or rain and yesterday there happened to be a HUGE storm right as we were out trying to get to an appointment on the other side of town. So in other words, WE GOT SOAKED!! Seriously, I've never been more wet in my life. Even with my rain coat which I discovered was no match at all for this storm. Bascially it's just really fun riding around on bikes come wind, rain, or shine as long as we're doing the Lord's work!! We showed up at our members house dripping head to toe and spent about 30 minutes drying off and changes into the clothes that they graciously gave us. :) The picture is attached. Yep, with purple crocks and all. 

So yesterday was definitely a day to remember. You really just never know what to expect. That's what makes life so fun, and a rollercoaster at the same time. Other highlights from the week are that this past weekend we had stake conference! There were a lot of members and missionaries that came from all over the area including Bergamo, Reggio Emilia, Bolzano, Mantova, and others. There were a lot of super strong testimonies, including a lot by the youth about temple attendance. It was espeically cool coming from this group of youth because the temple is about 6 hours away and in a completely different country. Their priorities are straight and tesitmonies rock solid. And practically the whole conference was about missionary work! Woohoo! There was also one talk that I particularly liked speculating what would have happened if Romeo and Juliet had grown up in homes focused on the temple. Very interesting and thought provoking! I love being able to develop new insights being in such a culturally abundant city! 

As far as the actualy work in Verona, I feel like it is going pretty well. We have a lot of investigators who we've found through families in the ward- a lot of them members of the family who haven't been baptized. We're slowly working with them, piano piano as the Italians would say, but I really do have faith that they will all be baptized! If there's one thing I've learned it's that it's all in the Lord's timing. I've met so many members in the wards that I've been in that have taken four or five years, if not more to decide to be baptized. And they are all some of the strongest and stalwart saints I have ever met! One of my favorite things is to learn about members conversion stories. They are always so inspiring! 

Do you know what else is really inspiring? Grab a friend, have them choose a number 1-531, flip to that page in the Book of Mormon and tell them pick a verse on that page. And then you have to apply it some way to their life and the gospel. It's something that Sorella Willis and I are trying in our finding work and in lessons and it's always an adventure to know just what we're going to get. And the cool thing is that there's always a way to apply it- that's the power of the Book of Mormon!

Have fun with all your adventures this week... there's a surprise around every corner!  ESPECIALLY this week! (buon Halloween! :) )

Lovelovelove,

Sorella Lyman

Juliet's balcony!

The colosseum

Rescued from a rainstorm

First Week in Verona

Ciao tutti!!

I am so excited to write to you all this week, since I am writing from a new city! Verona is so beautiful- it seems like there is something to look at practically everywhere we go! We live right close to centro which is where you find all the pretty Verona sights- ancient roman ruins, juliet's balcony, cute little shops and winding streets everywhere, churches, bridges, rivers, the whole deal! I just feel like I'm in heaven as I ride my bike down the street and thank my Heavenly Father that he sent me to such a beautiful country! 

So there are lots of exciting things about being transferred and lots of adjusting to do to! This is acutally my first time being transferred regularly with a companion who has previous experience with the area (besides going to my first city, Milano). It's pretty nice! My goal for this week is to just get myself oriented and keep everyone straight! One exciting thing is that we're on bikes! It's the first time on my whole mission that I've been on a bike and my legs are definitely feeling it! I can also see how the sisters before really helped this city. We are working with a beautiful family right now where the dad just got baptized a few weeks ago and we're continuing to work with the mother and the daughter. They have two kids total- the daughter is nine and the son is six. They are so cute! I love teaching families. 

The ward is also so great. I haven't gotten to know a lot of them yet but from what I can tell from Sunday and from what Sorella Willis has told me they are super on board with missionary work. We are doing a lot of member missionary work here and I have already gotten to know a few members who are so in gamba! (sorry, I don't really know how to translate that... on the ball?) --Including the ward mission leader. He is hilarious! 

I guess what I really want to talk about is how I've just felt so much love since I've been in Verona. It's been building up and building up my whole mission and now that I have a bit more experience and know what I'm doing (hopefully :) ) I hope that I can just shower it onto everybody. I love this country, I love this people, I love the gospel, I love being a missionary! I just feel liberated, like I know what I'm doing, and ready to go out and GEM this city! 

I should also say a little about my companion, Sorella Willis! She is from Jacksonville, Florida and is one transfer ahead of me in the mission. It is amazing how similar we are. We both have that sort of calm temperament and are both very flexible. We get along so well! We were actually in the MTC together for three weeks before she left for Italy with the older group in October of last year, so it's pretty cool that we now get to be together! I'm so excited for all the adventures we're going to have. :) 

Well I think those are all the big things... Another thing is that we're living in an apartment of four. That's new for me too! The other two missionaries are Sorella Acerson and Sorella Gross, and they are so great! I'm basically just loving every minute of life and am so excited for the new opportunities and experiences ahead. I can truly say that I am the happiest I've ever been as a missionary. Of course there are the hard times and it can be very stressful but it doesn't even compare to the amazing blessings you get in return. I can't even begin to recount all the things I've learned and the experiences that have shaped me into who I am now. They are to many to count! 

Vi voglio beneee... alla prossima settimana. :) (hopefully with pictures)

Love,

Sorella Lyman

Transfered to Verona!

BUON GIORNO!!!!!

Well the transfer news is in and after six wonderful months in Collegno, I am getting transferred to Verona!!!! Yes, the city of Romeo and Juliet. :) My companion will be Sorella Willis who is one transfer older than me in the mission and I'm going to be a sister training leader! That means that I'll be doing exchanges with sisters every week in all the cities surrounding Verona. I AM SO EXCITED!!!!! And also very sad to leave Collegno. Yesterday we went around all day saying goodbye to all the members and will be doing the same thing today. It was very bittersweet. One of the less active members who I have grown very close to in these past six months hugged the stuffings out of me for about five minutes and made me cry!! Being transferred is definitely an emotional roller coaster. I've never been so excited to go to a new place (it's really only my second time going to a new city) and at the same time never been so sad to leave! I would love to stay here in Collegno for the rest of my mission, and for a little bit on Monday was thinking that I would at least stay for one more transfer. But then at 9:40 at night the phone rang as we were still planning and the name on the screen was President Dibb. My heart was hammering out of my chest! Week six is always the craziest week of the transfer because we never know until at least Monday what will be happening so it only gives us two days to say all our goodbyes.

The sister coming to take my place in Collegno (this part is even crazier) is Sorella Condie from Torino 2!! Sorella Hoffman and I were both shocked out of our minds because Torino is basically attached to Collegno and I don't think I've ever heard of someone getting transferred 20 minutes away from where they were before! :) Sorella Hoffman and Sorella Condie are so excited to be together though and it literally is the perfect thing to have her coming here at this time since she is pretty familiar with the city and knows what's going on. That's exactly what Collegno needs because we are at such a crucial point where the work has reached such a peak. It's so different from when I first got here with Sorella Haslem and we had practically nothing, had no idea where we were, who anyone was, or where we were going, to the point we are at now! Collegno is like my baby and there will always be a part of my heart that will remain. :) I'm so excited for the things that will happen here even if I won't be here to see it.

I've been thinking a lot about saying goodbyes and you all know how much of a sentimental person I am and that it's not my favorite thing in the world to do. But yesterday as I was saying goodbye to our ward mission leader and his wife, I just felt so much peace, that I had done my part here and that the people here have all appreciated and benefitted from it so much. My mind has been expanded so much about what my purpose and mission really is. I think this is just a little taste of what it's going to be like when I leave Italy all together, which I don't even want to think about. What it's basically done for me is renew my sense of purpose and excitement as a missionary- the same excitement I felt when I opened up my mission call. My motivation to go and do is out the roof and I am so excited for the remaining months ahead!!

Arrivederci alla mia bellissima, preziosa Collegno, and next week from the city of love!

con tanto amore,

Sorella Lyman

P.S. sorry this email is so cheesy. The Italians have really gotten to me.

Job Search

Buon giorno i miei carissimi!

How are you all? I heard that Disneyland was a blast and that you rode the Matterhorn three times?! Mamma mia! Che divertente! I'm glad you all had fun. Any pictures? :)

Well this week has been a spiritual overload a lot thanks to general conference and also to some other miracles on the side! I'll start with a miracle that happened last p-day, in fact, in the evening. We had met with a man four days before who we saw sitting on a bench and were able to talk with for ten minutes or so. He seemed pretty down, both in appearance and in spirit, because he was in search of a job and having no luck. We sympathized with him and told him a little about Joseph Smith, and how if he prayed we knew that God would answer and that he would see blessings in his life. He told us that if he prayed and was able to find a job, that he would come to our church. We offered a prayer right there, praying that he would be able to find work. Well, four days later we were walking down the same street where we had met him, after having all of our plans for the evening fall through so w decided to do some finding work on this particular street. As we were walking we felt impressed to call him, so I pulled out the phone and saw on the screen a missed call from an unknown number. I called it up and when the man on the other end picked up, we figured out that it was the very same man that we had wanted to call. He had called us because just the day before he had gone to a job agency where they had told him to come back the next day in a suit and tie. When he showed up the next day they hired him on the spot. He was so happy as he told us the story on the phone and Sorella Hoffman was throwing her pamphlets in the air for joy as I told her what happened. He told us that he knew it was God who had answered his prayer and helped him to find a job. We were actually able to meet up with him right then as he happened to be on the very same street. It was such a beautiful difference to see him then in comparison with the time before- a nice, clean suit with a smile on his face, business papers in hand, recognizing the hand of God in his life. We're still waiting for the second part of the miracle which is him coming to church, but that alone was a miracle enough for me! He said he considers us his angels. :)

Well, that was a really long story. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Of course I'm sure you all loved conference this weekend. I know I did! I can't even begin to talk about all the amazing things I learned, questions that were answered, and the beautiful spirit that I felt the whole time, as I'm sure you all did too. There are so many different ways we can feel the spirit... not just through feelings, but also through the things we learn from others and the thoughts that enter into our minds. I'm so grateful for this never-ending fount of knowledge that we receive every six months that helps us so much in our day to day lives. How blessed we are!

I know this gospel is true and I love each and every one of you sosososo much!!

Buona settimana!

con amore,

Sorella Lyman

A Wonderful Baptism! And lots of pictures!

Buon giornoooo!!

Come state? Io sto benissimo!! The baptism on Saturday was so wonderful! We had six investigators come and our invstigator who was getting baptized brought her friend who also came to church next day for the confirmation! She gave her a beautiful white rose with lace around it and wrote her a really nice note. What a great friend! After the ceremony, our investigator gave the most beautiful testimony I've ever heard. It brought tears to my eyes! She talked about the time we first met, two months ago now, and how two angels came and knocked on her door. She understood every single word we said to her, thanks to the spirit and truth of our message and soaked it all up like a sponge! I'll never forget that day. After she finished with her testimony the bishop got up and asked us to come up to the podium. He said he didn't know what angels looked like but said that there were definitely people who could resemble them, and then gestured to us. We just stood there smiling our ears off and feeling embarrased as he complimented us in front of the whole congregation. I just feel so blessed to have crossed paths with such a beautiful person so prepared to hear the gospel and am so immensely happy for her!

Another cool experience happened to us just last night as we were walking around doing some passbys of less active members and trying to find new people to teach. We had just rung the citofono of a person who was not interested at all and were trying to decide what to do to make the best use of our time. We had planned to pass by two or three less actives in that area. All of the sudden I remembered another less active member that I had tried to pass by back in May who I hadn't really considered passing by before. We decided to do the passby, even if it was a little far away and I wasn't sure how interesed she actually was. When we got to the house we rung the citofono and and gate opened right up. We were rather surprised because that usually doesn't happen unless they're expecting someone else. It turned out to be the case when the son came out and was very surprised to see us. Nevertheless he went in to get his Mom who came out a few seconds later. When we started talking to her we actually found out that she was American! she was shocked when she realized that we had walked all that way just to see her and invited us in immediately. We ended up having a good twenty minute chat with her and found out the she has lived in Italy for the past 30 years after having grown up in the US but hasn't had a lot of contact with the church here. We were able to tell her about the Rome temple which she hadn't heard anything about and how much the church has grown in Italy since 30 years ago. I know we came to see her at the exact right time when she had need of some support and encouragement. God is looking out for all of his children! It's always so refreshing, and a little strange, to meet someone from your own country and to actually talk to them in English. It makes me realize how much I've improved in my teaching on that level as well!

Well that's about it for this week. I hope you all are doing wonderfully, and those of you going to Disneyland on Thursday or whenever it is, give it a HUGE hello and kiss from me!!!!

Lovelovelove,

Sorella Lyman

This is Sorella Lyman eating kebab, a delicious Turkish sandwich that has become something of an Italian fast food. 

Sorella Lyman says: These are some delicious grapes that taste like strawberries that grow on a vine outside of one of our members houses in Rivoli. BUONISSIMO!

This is Sorella Lyman with her companion Sister Hoffmann in front of a medieval castle in Torino.

A 7-Course Meal and Sacrifices for High Fashion

Ciao carissimi!!

Come state? As for me, I am feeling quite full as we have had two HUGE meals this past week which will basically last me until Saturday. Yep, everyone just loves us here. It's so great!

So speaking of huge meals on Monday we went over to our baptismal date's house first for lunch and then with her to one of our member's houses for them to give her a blessing before her baptism. First she served us salami and a tomato salad, then a whole plateful of ravioli with ragu sauce, some beef stew and bread, and then three whole servings of fruit- two bunches of grapes and a whole apple, and THEN a huge bowl of chocolate\cherry pudding! I was just willing my stomach to expand. Everything was BUONISSIMO, by the way. She just loves us so much and shows it by feeding us like her own daughters. :) I have so many moms here in Italy. She also told us about how she is so happy with the gospel now in her life. There are so many precious truths that we have that so many people haven't heard anything about before. It was a joy to teach her about things like the temple and geneology and tell her that she could do the work for her relatives and give them the opportunity to accept the gospel as well. She truly appreciates and understands everything. She told us that her whole life she had thrived on the word of God, but never did she feel like it was quite enough until she met us. Now all the puzzle pieces are connected and she has the power to cope with life's challenges. We notice it, she notices it, and her friends definitely notice it too. It is all the work and blessings of God! Che meraviglia, as she would say. We are expecting big turn out on Saturday for her baptism!

I would also like to talk about a funny little story that happened this Sunday. Our new convert who got baptized about two months ago now was finally scheduled to receive the Aaronic priesthood. So in honor of the event he went to a nice, Italian store, the rinascente, and got a beautiful tailored suit. After they had fit it to size he asked them how much it cost. "300 euro," they said. And he responded, "COME??!?!!" (Italian for "WHAT?!!) Knowing our dear new convert, he bit the bullet and payed the bill and needless to say he looked very snappy in his new suit on Sunday. The funniest part of the story is that he said the word "come" with almost a New York accent, and it makes me wonder where that accent actually comes from... I just love Italians.

Well those are just some highlights from this week. We are still working hard and trying to maintain the high number of lessons we've gotten for the past few weeks. This week has had a few more challenges that we couldn't really foresee- whereas the week when we got thirteen lessons with members everything just worked out perfectly with no kinks and miracles on the side. But we just keep plugging away and are just so excited for the baptism on Saturday. This is the work of the Lord and nothing can stop it from moving forward! I'm going to cry buckets when I have to leave Collegno. It is a city of miracles and a city of love.

Vi voglio TANTO bene e sono fiera di tutte le cose che fate. Siete bravissimi. Siate sempre allegri!

Love,

Sorella Lyman

P.S. Who's excited for CONFERENCE in just 10 days?!?!!!! 

Families Coming Together

Buon giorno tutti!

The miracles never cease in Collegno, or in Italy for that matter. I can't believe it's been an entire year and that we are already getting close to the holiday season. The time goes too fast! Like i say all the time P-day always just sneaks up on me and here I am writing my email home once again. i also can't believe that I've been in Collegno for almost four transfers. That's six months! Thinking back to my very first day with Sorella Haslem seems like forever ago- a whole lifetime ago. But that's just how the mission is. The MTC seemed like a lifetime, my time in Milano seemed like a lifetime, and now here in Collegno seems like a lifetime, yet it's all gone by so fast. I've grown here in different ways than I did in Milano. It's hard to explain how, I just know that Collegno will always have a very special place in my heart because of all the amazing relationships I have made with people and the experiences I've had. I wouldn't trade them for anything.

One of those relationships that I love and treasure is that of our investigator who we met at the beginning of last transfer who is now getting ready to be baptized on the 28th of September. The miracles that we have seen with her and her family have been unbelievable. She is such a great example for me of her unwavering faith in God and especially the power of prayer. We basically just teach her like she's a member because she has been so prepared to receive this message her whole life,  and now is just the right time. Along with helping her come into the gospel we have also helped to reactivate her son who now lives in Torino and has been less active since he joined the church back in the 90s. Ever since he moved out of his mom's house to Torino he always asked her if there was anyone from the church who had come looking for him since he wasn't able to go to church anymore. It wasn't until we rang her citofono 2 months ago that he finally got back in contact with the church after years of waiting for someone to come along. There really are lost sheep out there that we need to gather back into the fold! That is why this work is so important because we never know when our influence and effort is going to have an impact. Now he is coming back to church, his brother is beginning to open his heart to the gospel, and the mother is getting ready to be baptized. E bellissimo!

Besides that, we are still having a surge of lessons and people to teach. Last night we actually ran into one of our investigators who we hadn't seen in about a month because he had gone to Salerno to be with family for a while. Well yesterday we ran into him and his brother while walking back with one of our members from an appointment we had just had and we ended up having a lesson and being able to explain more about the gospel to his brother who is genuinely interested and open. It was such a blessing because this investigator is so enthusiastic about sharing the gospel and we wanted so badly that his family know about it to. And then we just happened to run into him and his brother with one of our awesome members. The miracles never cease!

We are just busy little bees here in Collegno and we are determined to keep it that way and hopefully get some anziani here in the next transfer. There is nothing better than being axiously engaged in a good cause! D&C 58:26-28.

Vi voglio un mondo di bene. Tanti tanti bacci e abbracci :) (hugs and kisses)

con tanto amore,

Sorella Lyman

Happy News from Milano

CIAO!!!!

Ok, I don't even know where to start this week. There have been so many amazing, mind-blowing things that have happened, it's gonna be hard fit it all into one email. First let me say that I love you all and I'm happy for all the wonderful things you all are doing with your lives.

Let me start by saying that just barely today, I found out that one of my dear investivators in Milano made the decision to be baptized after many many years of thinking about it. It was the most amazing news I have ever received in my mission. I love that family so much and to think of them now, all baptized and members of the church makes my heart "overflow with joy" and brings tears to my eyes. I have never felt so happy about anyone or anything. It is kind of indescribable how I feel right now. Let me just quote Ammon: 

"Therefore, let us ^aglory, yea, we will ^bglory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his ^cmercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel." Alma 26:16

That basically sums it up. Apart from that, we have seen so many amazing things in Collegno this week. Remember how in the month of August everyone goes away on vacation and everything just shuts down? Well, because of that we had a lot of people waiting on the back burner who would all be coming back in September. Now with the start of this month we are really seeing the fruits of our labors. The past two weeks we have gotten sixteen lessons and this week we're on track for twenty! Along with that we have gotten 14 new investigators this transfer and we're hopeful of getting more this week. It is amazing to see how the work has picked up in Collegno! Like Sorella Hoffman said at the beginning of the transfer, "Collegno is on fire!" I am so excited to stay here with her for the transfer to come!

It is amazing to see how the wave of new missionaries has affected the entire mission. Everywhere people are seeing success and the fire that is within these new missionaries is unquenchable. It is truly a force to be reckoned with! I'm so excited to be a part of it. There is nothing more exciting, exhilariting, and fulfilling that being a missionary of the Lord Jesus Christ and being so intricately involved in his work! And what is so beautiful is that the things I learn on my mission I will be able to keep with me for the rest of my life to help me remember where true happiness lies. It is in serving others, having true charity, and forgetting yourself! 

Vi voglio un sacco di bene!! Continuate con fede!!

Love,

Sorella Lyman

Mamma mia!

Buon giorno la mia cara famiglia e amici!!

I am so happy that Katherine's going to Harvard!! That is so exciting. And Carolyn looks sooo darling. You all just look so happy and beautiful!

What a wonderful week it has been! We ventured a little farther out of our city this week to go make some stops in Pinerolo, a city about 40 minutes away on the train. We had lunch with a member family who the dad is actually from Idaho and served his mission here in Italy, and they made us sloppy joes! It was so fun, and a little strange to be talking in English and eating American food! Later in the day we actually ran into a family at the train station who were visiting from Utah and were there in the Pinerolo area doing geneology! It was so crazy to run into them since that was our first time really ever being in that area. I basically just felt like I was in America all day long! The other part to that story is that the anziani in our distrect ran into the same family the very next day in the metro in Torino! What a crazy coincedence!

That whole day was really just a miracle because everything worked exactly according to plan and we taught some really great lessons. It's so wonderful when things actually work out the way you planned for them to! I had another "I'm in Italy" moment this weekend as we were in Rivoli teaching one of our investigators. She is basically the most Italian you can get. The first thing that happened was that she looked down and noticed the shoes I was wearing (the sole is pretty much halfway off). She would have none of that and had me try on two of her pairs of shoes, both of which fit perfectly and she insisted that I keep them. Afterwards she fed us a humungous meal because she also insisted that we each fatten up and sent us home with a pandoro from easter time and leftovers from the meal. Mamma mia! How I love Italians.

Something that I've been learning a lot about this week is being sincere with people. Sometimes I feel like I sound like a broken record and the words aren't always coming from the heart. I was able to notice this contrast in a lesson we had on Saturday with a member, to a lesson we were having the next day with a new investigator. The second lesson went so much better than the first, not because we had prepared better or anything like that but because we had really focused on his needs and the committment we wanted to leave him with- that of helping him have the desire to read the Book of Mormon. It was a little different than any first lesson I've had with an investigator because we made sure to take a step back and address his needs. And in so doing we were able to bear powerful testimony that came staight from the heart!

Well about time to sign off. I love you all so much! If you want a really good pick me up, go read Dieter F. Uchdorf's talk to the general relief society from the November 2011 conference entitled "Forget me not." It's amazing!! Vi voglio tanto tanto tanto bene!

Love,

Sorella Lyman

P.S. A picture of the elect detector- a nameless book of mormon in our house that helps us find all the elect people! 

Companion Twins

Buon giorno a tutti!!

Another week come and gone! I can't believe how fast they all go. The months go by even faster! Almost a month ago today I was picking up my companion, Sorella Hoffman in Milano to start her first trasfer in Italy. The time has really flown by, and it's because so many great things have happened! We are both determined to "keep the Collegno fire burning" as Sorella Hoffman likes to say. I can really tell that we are related on the Lyman side. One guy on the bus even asked us if we were twins! We don't really look alike, just the same eyes, but anyway it started a conversation!

Well, onto some miracles. This week we've been having to deal a lot with things pertaining to Sorella Hoffman's permesso, and on Friday we had to go back to Torino (we're there everyday, practically) to provide some more documentation. We went a little grudgingly, considering the circumstances, but as always the Lord was able to reveal a bigger, more important purpose for being there. As we were walking to the questura I saw three people who I was pretty sure were from Peru walking in front of us. I thought it would be so great if we could talk to them. As we were walking into the questura, they popped up in front of us again! Fancy that! After we sat down to wait for our number I noticed that they were sitting down directly behind us- I knew right then that we needed to talk to them. So we got up, made our way nonchalantly over to where they were and sat down next to them. Immediately they noticed our nametags and asked if we were mormon. It turns out one of them is a less active who was baptized in Peru many years ago, another is a non-member who's entire family is Mormon, and the other is an ex-investigator that the sisters had been teaching a year ago in Milano but he had to stop the lessons because he moved to Torino. But he had read the entire Book of Mormon and loved it. Needless to say, it was definitely not a coincidence that we had to go back to the questura on that day!! Even better, they all live in our zone! I will keep you updated on all of them. :)

Friday, the day we went to the questura, was probably the best day of the week, in fact. We got so many people's contact information, many of them for Torino, and it just seemed like everyone wanted to talk to us! As we were going to get lunch at a Kebap place (it's a really good Turkish food-they have it everywhere in Italy) we sat down at the table and Sorella Hoffman had laid out all of her pamphlets and things on the table to organize them better. A guy got up from the other table and asked if he could have one to read! A couple of minutes later, he got up and asked for another one! We will definitely be making our pamphlets more visible from now on. :) It was such a great day. We'd acutally like to attribute to the "elect detector", a Book of Mormon in our apartment without any title on the cover, but with all the words and everything still inside. Apparantly it works best for Torino.

 Another amazing, wonderful blessing right now is our investigator who we recently found through a less active pass-by that I told you about last week. It is a miracle how we found her, and it is a miracle to teach her. She is really, truly one of those elect people. If I'm here for anyone in collegno, it's her! I love it when I meet people in my mission that I knew I came here to Italy specifically to meet. This is definitely one of those experiences. As we hav begun to teach her, her less active son who she loves dearly has expressed so much excitement and enthusiasm about us coming and is now meeting with the missionaries in Torino, hopefully to become reactivated! Her other son has been a little more opposed to religion, and she has been praying so hard for his heart to be softened. In our last lesson she told us that her prayer had been answered. About a week ago her son was over at her house and started asking about the lessons she was having with us. Then he started reading the pamphlets that she had laying out on the table and the Book of Mormon. What a beautiful, and quick answer to a prayer from Heavenly Father. It has been one of the most amazing things for me to witness in my mission, seeing how the gospel can reunite a family and bring them closer together.

I love you all soooo much!! I am so so grateful for all that you do and for all the support you give me! Here's a little thought from Sister Beck, the former relief society president: "You're doing better than you think you are, but you can do better." That's so important to remember! It's comforting, but pushing at the same time! Vi voglio TANTO bene. Have a grrrreat week!!! :)

Love,

Sorella Lyman