Jan. 30

Ciao, mia cara famiglia!!

It's so great to hear from you all. I hope you're all staying warm with that 4 degree weather up there! Brrrr!!! Things are going great here in Milan. I just love it more every single week. At first I was a little overwhelmed to be in such a big city that I didn't know much about, but it becomes more like home every single day! This week is senior week, which means that Sorella Soh gets to step down and be junior companion while I take the lead in planning, navigating, calling, and everything else that goes into missionary work. It's a bit overwhelming at times, but I am learning so much. It helps now that I am more familiar with the city how to use the map, and how all the transportation works. It's definitely preparing me for when I will have to make these decisions as senior companion\trainer on a regular basis! 

There have been so many great experiences this week. Last Thursday I got to do a scambio with Sorella Mcnamarra who came here to Milan while Sorella Soh went to Bergamo with Sorella Harward. I always learn so much from scambios. It's such a great opportunity to see other people's ways of doing missionary work and how I can apply it to the ways I have grown accustomed to doing things. Right before our appointment at 5, we met a man who was waiting for his grandkids at the bus stop. He didn't speak a word of Italian because he was just visiting for a couple of months from Egypt, so could only speak to us in Arabic. I wish I just knew every language there was so that communication wouldn't be a problem! After a few minutes his grandkids got off the bus so and were able to translate what we were saying to their grandfather. They were all very nice, and we scheduled an appointment to see them on Monday at 6:00. When we headed over to the appointment the next Monday, I wasn't sure what quite would come of it since we had we had basically set it up through a seven year old. But when we got to their door, the entire family was there, the mom, dad, their three young kids, and the grandpa, and waiting to hear what we had to say! They are such a beautiful family and it was a very spiritual and powerful lesson about the restoration. I'm so excited to continue teaching them! It was a great lesson to me to always have faith in people... you never know what will come from a brief encounter from an elderly man at the bus stop! 

Well, my time's about up. I love you all so much and hope you are learning wonderful new things everyday, and just enjoying every moment! That's definitely something I have come learn is very important since being here. Have a wonderful week! 

Love,

Sorella Lyman :)

Finding Miracles

Ciao cara famiglia!

Wow, I love hearing about what you all are up to! I am so excited for Tom and Jocelyn!!! I guess he or she will be about 7 months old when I get back! :o It's -16 degrees in Rexburg right now?! That's ridiculous!! It's been a little warmer here for the past few days. The weather always seems to fluctuate. Sometimes it's super cold and other days it feels like springtime outside! 

This week is so packed! Right now we have three people who we've scheduled to see two times a week, plus we have other investigators to teach, less actives, and members! Every hour of the day is occupied. It's so great! On Sunday we went to see a new investigator from Peru for the first time who met with the missionaries back in september. He really likes the Book of Mormon and his native language is Kechua... I've never even heard of it! But the lesson went way better than we expected. We invited him to a baptismal date for the 23rd of February and he accepted!! That's never happened to me in the first lesson before! He is really accepting of everything and really wants to get baptized! 

Yesterday on the bus we had a cool experience. Our lesson for the afternoon had fallen through so we had a little finding time before our next lesson at six. We were standing next to a man who seemed to be very interested in our nametags. We started talking to him and it turns out he is from Brazil and has met with the missionaries before! We had a nice conversation with him, invited him to church, and gave him a pass along card. On next bus coming back, we started talking to another guy who was also staring at our nametags, and we found out that he's also from Brazil and has met with the missionaries! What a coincidence! We were able to get his number and will hopefully be going to see him and his family this weekend! It was a really cool experience. I love meeting new people every day who are interested in the gospel! 

Today is very exciting because we are doing a scambio with the Bergamo sorelle- Sorella McNamarra and Sorella Harward! I'll be with Sorella McNamarra here in Milano (which means I'm the navigator!) and Sorella Soh will be going to Bergamo with Sorella Harward. We're all going to spend p-day here and hopefully go to La Scala and inside the Duomo, plus get Panzerotti at Luini's! 

I have to tell you about zone training meeting on Friday! President Wolfgramm has been suggesting that Sorella Soh and I do something with my violin and her pink ukelele, which she got from a member in Torino. Sorella Soh had made an awesome rendition of the mission hymn on her ukelele, and we decided to try throwing in a violin part! It turned out really great- it was my first experience playing an improvisational violin part alongside a ukelele!

I'm reminded every day that the Lord really does work in mysterious ways and I just never know when to expect miracles! I feel so blessed to be a recipient of God's amazing blessings to His children every single day! Vi voglio un sacco di bene! Stay warm, and have a wonderful week!!

Love,

Sorella Lyman

Jan. 16: Busy Teaching

Hello Everyone!

How are you all doing? Thanks for all the emails! Rexburg sounds so beautiful and cold! It's probably because I'm not around this year. It seems like wherever I go the winters are milder than they've been in the past... Mom, that's so crazy that you started training after just two months! I suspect that I'll probably start training pretty soon since there are so many new sorelle coming in within the next two transfers! Pretty soon we're going to have a total of 56 from the 28 we have now! Right now I'm noticing a little more how I'm struggling with the language because there will be a certain way I want to phrase something, but I don't know how to do it! I've found that the best way to cope is just to plow through even if the words and grammar aren't exactly right! Another hard thing is being able to comprehend what people are saying, especially on the phone, and then to be able to respond, but I think I am slowly improving! 

We are teaching so many great people right now. Last week I talked about the girl, Jennifer, who has been going to church with her Mom and isn't baptized yet. Well on Thursday she agreed to a baptismal date!! She is so ready to get baptized and really wants to understand everything she needs to do to prepare. It is so wonderful to teach her! On Saturday she went with us to a baptism in Lampugnano (Milano 1 area) so she could see what it was like. She is so great! This week we also started teaching a nine-year-old girl who isn't yet baptized along with her Mom who has been less active. She expressed her desire to get baptized to her Mom, who invited us to come over yesterday to start teaching her. It will be a great opportunity for her as well to relearn some things and become reactivated! We are so booked this week with appointments to members, new converts, less actives, and investigators! I'm so glad to be getting to know the ward better and involve them more in missionary work! 

Friday was pretty fun because we got to go to a members house, the Angiulis, for an evening appointment. We were going to teach them about missionary work, but then they had all of their non-member friends and family over so we had to change our plans! It was a great evening- we ate delicious panzerotti and were able to get a referral without even planning for one! We'll probably be having another lesson with them in the next couple of weeks. I just love everyone in the ward here so much and love being able to get to know them all better! On Sunday right after Sacrament meeting Sorella Villacorta asked me to play Happy Birthday on the piano because it was the bishop's birthday. I'm sure glad I figured out how to play it before my mission! It's come in pretty handy. :) 

Well I love you all so much and hope you're all doing well. Right now I am reading in the Book of Mormon at the end of Mosiah where the sons of Mosiah give up the throne to go preach to the Lamanites. What a great example of missionary work! There are so many amazing missionaries in the Book of Mormon. I learn so much every time I read it! Vi voglio tanto bene! Have a wonderful week!!

Love,

Sorella Lyman

Jan. 9th: Picture Time!

Buon Giorno!! Come state? :)

It sounds like everyone's back into the normal swing of things. This email probably won't be very long, because it turns out I only have five minutes left on my computer! :o This week has been full of great experiences. On Monday we taught a girl who has been going to church for four months with her mom, but isn't baptized yet! She knows a lot about the church and reads the Book of Mormon sometimes with her Mom, but didn't really know anything about Joseph Smith. It was so cool to introduce her to the restoration and see the profound impact it had on her. I feel so blessed to be able to have these kinds of experiences! I feel like I am just an observer in the great work the Lord has to do. Well sorry this is really short. I'm about to get booted off!! Hope you enjoy the picutres! Love you!!!!

Love,

Sorella Lyman

A New Transfer and Waiting for La Befana

Ciao, cara famiglia!

Thanks so much for all the emails! Sounds like you're all well and happy. And it sounds like Rexburg is just a winter wonderland right now! Sparkly snow and mist everywhere with the sun shining... it sounds magical! How was New Years/rest of the holiday season? The feste are still going full out here. Nothing is over until La Befana comes on the 6th! Thanks for bringing me up in the right way, Mom. :) And guess what? Everyone eats lentils on New Years! Mmm, they are so good. We had two lunch appointments on New Years day yesterday! They were both with two very sweet Filipino families- the Albellos and the Dulins. Lots of meat and spring rolls!

This has been an exciting week with my new companion, Sorella Soh! It seems like we have a lot in common. We both worked at Disney, and she also grew up in North Carolina! We've had lots of great experiences so far. We've discovered lots of new areas of Milano and have been doing lots of walking! On New years Eve we discovered a beautiful street alongside the Naviglio river canal that was Italian in pretty much every way possible. There was a guy playing accordian, an old, beautiful church, lots of cute palazzi, and lots of little Italian restaurants. It was a nice moment for me. :)

I am really excited for this upcoming transfer. We have so many beautiful people that I am so excited to teach and set baptismal dates with. The problem now is that everyone is in festa mode so it's been hard to set appointments. Everything will get back to normal after the 6th! We did get to see a man last Friday named Alberto who has a HUGE great dane dog. His wife was also there and it turns out that they had both met with missionaries before. I don't think it's per caso that he has ran into us twice in the park, along with missionaries in the past! There are so many people in Milano who are ready to hear the gospel, and it's just up to me to open my mouth and share with as many as possible! I have already encountered so many people that I know have been prepared by the Lord to receive this message! It is so exciting to be his instrument and see all the miracles that come with it. Love you all so much! Have a wonderful week! Vi voglio un sacco di bene!

Love,

Sorella Lyman