Ciao tutti!! Come state voi? It's so exciting to hear everything that's happening back home! I can't believe Katherine's graduating!!! I wasn't sure if it was this week or next week. And then it's off to China! And that's awesome that Ceci got into that singing group! At least that's what 
it sounded like from the title. Auguri!! Well, news from this week. It's been another crazy one! First off, we moved apartments!! We got the news Monday after we had just gotten back from Genova for Sorella Stewart's permesso that we would be moving the very next day! So basically I've slept in different beds three nights in a row when you count the scambio we had yesterday with the Bergamo sorelle. The new apartment is really nice though! The best feature is that it has AC, which is very hard to find in Italy. Just in time for the hot summer months, which will be coming very soon! Yesterday was really great because we had a member of the 70 come, Ted R. Callister, to speak to all the missionaries in the mission. I learned so much! He talked in detail about the plan of salvation and how to become a consecrated missionary. It really boosted me up! I also got to play a musical number on the violin of I need thee every hour, which went great even though it was very last minute. Right after the conference we did another scambio with the Bergamo sorelle. This time I was with Sorella McNamarra in Bergamo. I love that city so much! The people there are so friendly. I forgot to tell you last time that on my last scambio with Sorella Gjika we did contacting on a road called Via Giovanni Battista Moroni! I wish I had taken a picture! This past weekend we got asked to play for a wedding for a family in our ward. It is an older couple named Silvana and Antonio. Sorella Friolo asked me to play a piece on the violin for when she enters, and then Sorella Stewart accompanied one of our members, Elvira, who sang a jazz song called "At Last." She has an AMAZING voice! I had no idea until this last weekend and I've been here four transfers! The wedding was really great though, and the newlyweds are so cute! Antonio just got baptized a month ago. Well, I think that's all the big news. We are having a lot of wonderful experiences with our investigator, Alberto. He has a baptismal date for May 11th, along with our nine-year-old, Anabella. I love seeing how he has changed from when we first met him in the park two months ago. He came to church because he felt the spirit as we were talking, and now he has come this far to really have the desire to be baptized and make changes in his life. It is so beautiful! The ward is helping us so much, too. Well, I love you all so much, and I know this gospel is true! Con tanto amore,Sorella Lyman P.S. Sorry this email is coming a day late. We had to move our P-day because of the conference with Ted R. Callister yesterday!

                                                                 Genova

These pictures are from when Sorella Stewart and I went to Genova this past Monday for her permesso. We walked to a higher point to get to this view where you can see the port with the lighthouse, and a lot of Genova from the mountainside. It was beautiful!!

Slow down for the little things

Ciao tutti!! 

Come state? This week has been packed so full of stuff, I don't even know where to start! I have come to the realization that I will be in a total of four cities this week. Genova, Milano, Bergamo, and Como! We started off heading to Genova, because Sorella Stewart had to go and pick up her permesso. We spent the night there and I was able to see little bits of the city and try some genovese focaccia which is the best there is! In the same day, we headed back to Milano and I then headed over to Bergamo to do a scambio with Sorella Gjika. Bergamo is so beautiful!! I absolutely loved it. I've really gotten to know Sorella Gjika a lot better. She is outstanding missionary! She is such a bold and powerful teacher and has picked up the language perfectly after only six weeks in Italy! 

So like I said, this week is pretty busy. One little fun highlight from my last scambio with Sorella Gjika was an old, Italian man we met as we were going down to the metro. He saw our nametags and yelled out to us and started talking to us a mile a minute about all his religious ideas, along with showing us a battle scar on his leg. He shook my hand for about 20 seconds and continued to salute us as we went on our way. Later that afternoon, we were back in the metro buying tickets, and lo and behold we saw the same crazy old man walking up to us from that morning! The first thing he asked me was if I knew what the pin meant on his hat and he proceeded to talk again a mile a minute. We had to escape again so we could go catch our metro. It was definitely one of the more interesting experiences I've had! 

Well, summer is well on its way here in Milano. It went from cold to warm in about two seconds. With the warm weather comes parks and streets completely packed with people. Here in Italy, the park is basically everyone's backyard since everyone lives in apartment buildings, and with the heat in the summer, it's better to stay outside where there's a least a breeze. We have definitely entered that season! 

I have comed to learn that amidst all the things we need to remember to do and check off of our daily to do lists, it is so much more important to just calm down and see, one, how others are helping you all the time, and also how you can help others in very simple ways. It's best to just be calm and enjoy life! I'm so grateful for all the experiences I have to bear my testimony to others and help them come closer to Christ. It's really through the simple truths we know about the gospel that we are really able to expand our knowledge more and have more happiness in this life! Vi voglio un sacco di bene! Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sorella Lyman

General Conference

Ciao carissima famiglia!!

Come state tutti voi? Come va la settimana? How did you all like CONFERENCE?!?! I know for me, I was definitely geeking out more than I ever have before my mission. Remembering how powerful conference was for me in the MTC, and especially how I felt that everything they said directly affected what I was doing, I was practically jumping out of my skin for this weekend! I felt the spirit so strongly, was taking notes furiously (since we won't get written copies until next month!), and overall just felt more strongly than ever that everything they were saying was true, and that we really do have a living prophet on the earth today who speaks directly from God! I really liked Dean R. Davies' talk about building on a firm foundation (using one of my favorite spriptures, Hel. 5:12), and how the sacrament is a vital part of that foundation. I could go on and on about all the talks... what were some of your favorites? We were able to see the first and the third live, at 6:00 Italy time, and it was cool to think that I was watching it at exactly the same time as you! One thing that saddens me is that we weren't able to see the fourth session, which I guess is when Jeffrey R. Holland spoke. How was it? 

Other things from the week... apart from conference things have been going along pretty normally and smoothly. Actually, a lot more normally and smoothly then I was expecting they would be at the start of the transfer. A lot of that is thanks to Sorella Stewart who is the biggest G.E.M. (stands for Grow Every Missionary- our mission battle cry!). It has been really cool to see how much we have really worked together, and how much we truly need to rely on each other in order to be effective servants in the Lord's hands! We've really seen a lot of miracles and blessings. I am also extremely grateful to my two trainers, Sorella Forbes and Sorella Soh (who I know is reading this ;) who could not have given me a better foundation upon which to base the rest of my mission. There are so many decisions that have to be made about knowing how to help investigators progress, helping them resolve their concerns and come closer to Christ, know how to work with members and gain their trust, and knowing how to use your time to the fullest. I guess it's all just really good prep for when I will have a family and be raising my own children in this exact same way! 

One really great thing yesterday was zone conference, where both the zones from Milano met and got instructed by the mission president and Sorella Wolfgramm, receiving even more spiritual instruction apart from conference! And I got to run into one of the one anziano I haven't seen from my MTC district (in the Milan mission that is), Anziano Locklear! There are so many great memories from the MTC that I will never forget. :) Well, about time to wrap up. I love you all so much and hope you have a wonderful week ahead! I know that this gospel is true!!

Love,

Sorella Lyman 

Easter Rain

Hi Everyone!!

Mom, thanks so much for sending me the addresses and info of all those people in Milan! I've copied them all down and will see if I can track any of them down! I didn't recognize any of there names when I read them... hopefully they're still around! It would be so cool to meet some of them. Thanks so much for all the pictures (especially of Jocelyn!!!). You're all so cute!!!

The highlight from this week was probably Pasqua (Easter) on sunday, and also Pasquetta the next day which is also a holiday here in Italy. At first we didn't have any plans to go see members and so were hoping that maybe in church that day we would get an invite. If not our plan was just to go back and feast on the HUGE chocolate egg that we got from our ward mission leader. :) It turns out that right when we got to church Sorella Angiuli came up to us and upon discovering that we didn't have any plans, arranged for us straight away to go with Sorella Angioni to her house after church. So we got to spend the afternoon with her and her family (there were nine of us total) and participate in a real, traditional Italian Easter meal! There was a LOT of fish, some yummy little bread appetizers, a delicious Russian salad, and of course lamb, which is a traditional Italian dish for Easter. It was soooo good!! Then the next day for Pasquetta, one of our investigators, Alberto, had arranged with a member in church to meet up at their house to cook a delicious lunch, and invited us along (Alberto has expressed to us multiple times how much he loves to cook). There was once again a LOT of fish, including octupus, shrimp, and one entire silver-looking fish (don't remember what it was called), eyes and all, for each of us to eat. It was delicious! It felt so nice to be with members celebrating such a wonderful holiday and also being able to see our investigator fellowshipping so well with the ward! I really love the Easter traditions in Italy. :) OH, and we got THREE colombas from the bishopbric! I don't know how we're going to eat all of it. They're sooo good, though!

A little miracle from the week happened on Saturday after we were going to pass by some members after a lesson with one of our investigators from Bolivia. It had been raining ALLL day long, in fact every day that week, and at the moment there just seemed to be a lot of things weighing on my mind. As we were crossing the street we both looked to the left and saw the biggest, most colorful rainbow I have ever seen in my entire life! My first Italian rainbow! It was so beautiful and cheered me up in an instant. Sometimes the simple beauties of nature are enough to be a wonderful reminder that God is always aware and watching over us, and there are so many things we have to be grateful for.

There are so many great things happening here in Milan. I love being with Sorella Stewart- she brings out my goofy side! I love you all SO much and was so happy to read the letters you sent me, which got to me today! Keep being your amazing, wonderful selves. :) Vi voglio bene!

Love,

DaNece