Transfer 2 Done!

Dear Family, 

The good news for the week is that I'm staying in one area for two transfers in a row! Sorella Hanson and I were both glad to offically hear that we're staying put because we've both been moved around quite a bit the past couple transfers. I'm excited to finally have the same companion and city for more than six weeks! We'll still have some adjusting to do when Sorella Bringas returns from the MTC in a week, but we're excited! 

The big wave of new Sorelle has really slowed down. I think there's only 5 new sisters this transfer. That plus a new president means that the mission is staying pretty stable without the large changes that the last few transfers have brought. 

This week we've been busy traveling. Now that we're knowing Savona better and are feeling more established we're starting to travel out of the city more to visit the less-actives that live in little towns around the area. Our branch is still without a president so we're working hard to strengthen our members. 

It's fun to hear that you're passing out pass-a-long cards, whatever language they're in! We'll occasionally run into people who don't speak Italian or English so we give them a card, point out the internet site and try to tell them they can change the language. I'm learning more and more about the importance of member missionary work every day. We have one member in the branch who is really gungho about missionary work. One week in church she told us that she had invited a random person on the street to come to church, he couldn't but she got his address so that evening we dropped by for a visit. He turned out to be really angry with God and religion and was not interested in hearing anything about the church. But as we left Bruna just smiled and said that maybe he'll be more open next time. Then a few weeks ago she found an amazing lady! We've taught her three times and she's always over at Bruna's discussing the scriptures. This last lesson we planned on teaching her the Plan of Salvation. When she started showing us some scriptures she had read we spotted a small paper with the plan already drawn out! It turns out that they had discussed it the night before. Bruna invited her to the baptism of an eight year old in the ward last week and she came! It was a wonderful experience. 

Speaking of that baptism, our branch doesn't have an actual font but a big pvc pipe font in the YM's room. When they drain the water they can't get the final inch of water off the bottom. We found out the day before the baptism that the missionaries always took care of cleaning and filling the font. The problem was that no one had cleaned it out since the last baptism three or four months ago. So that last inch of water had just sat there collecting dirt, grime, and dead flies. It turned out to be a good thing we didn't end up going to Firenze with Sorella Bringas so we could dedicate a couple hours to scooping out water, scrubbing the grime, and filling the font. By the end the water was beautiful and clear. A member told us that it was the cleanest the water had been for a long time. Neadless to say, we took the time the next day to fully empty out the water. 

Vi Vogliamo Bene! 

Sorella Pace

Siamo In Tre!!!

Dear Family, 

Well, this week has been pretty crazy! Friday morning we were doing weekly planning as usual when we received a call from the Assistents! We were a little confused about why they were calling, but Sorella Hanson joked, ''maybe there's a random sorella in need of a companion and we're going to be in three.'' We laughed, BUT....

They were calling to tell us to catch a train to Milano the next day to pick up our new companion!!! We were completely shocked! Especially as we learned a few more details. Sorella Bringas (MY THIRD COMPANION!) is originally from Peru but has lived in Florence for the past ten years or so. She was called to the Italy Milan Mission which is crazy rare since it's the mission she lives in! She was actually supposed to head to the Madrid, Spain MTC this week but because of visa and permesso problems couldn't. So she left her home in Firenze Saturday morning, took a train to Milan and we picked her up that afternoon! Tomorrow we're headed to Firenze to get her permesso and drop her off with the sorelle there so she can fly to Madrid the next day and spend ten days in the MTC before returning. We're sad to see her go, but Sorella Hanson and I are feeling pretty confident that neither of us will be transfered next week (based on what Presidente Dibb said last Saturday) so in a couple weeks we'll have our third companion again! 

Being in three is a little different, but it's wonderful. Sorella Bringas is full of the spirit and one of the niceest people I've ever met. I really am going to miss her the next ten days. 

In other news, this week has been pretty normal. We find, we teach, and we do it all again. I was reading in the scriptures this morning about having an eye single to God and truly being dedicated to the work, to God's work, to the work of salvation. I just love that phrase, the work of salvation and feel so blessed that I get to play my little part in it. This work truly is a work of joy. 

Vi voglio bene!

Sorella Pace

A New President!

Caro Famiglia, 

Another week has flown by and I'm not sure where. I'm past halfway through my second transfer in Italy! 

The biggest news of the week is that we met Presidente e Sorella Dibb yesterday! They are amazing and I can't wait to work with them for the next 16 months. 

Life is crazy. Most days it seems like we need another five or six hours in the day to get everything done. Then there are the days when all our plans fall through and the day never ends, but those are getting pretty rare. We work hard to fill up our days with lessons and passbys, and then our nights are crazy full of appointments. We're building up quite a collection of people who can only see us at 7 in the evening, which makes scheduling a little tricky, but we've been eatting a lot! We had three nights in a row where we were fed. 

Last week we called Zorba's family to try and set up an appointment and she invited us to a barbeque! So we hopped on a train to the city where they live and went out to their land outside of town. They had a wonderful garden  with chickens, veggies, fruit trees, and a giant rosemary bush that would make Mom jealous! They had a huge outdoor oven where they cooked the chicken (with fresh rosemary). It was delicious!! We had a really fun time getting to know them better. Cinzia wasn't there that time, but the dad was there along with his brother and sister-in-law who had lots of questions about the church! 

Thanks for the letters! I recieved a package from the 31st Ward Laurels yesterday that I loved! Grazie! (Julie- I know you won't be home for a while to convey my thanks, but when you return let them know how grateful I am!)

Vi voglio bene!

Sorella Pace

Savona

Caro Famiglia,

Well, I keep on hearing about this missionary fireside, but I kind of haven't seen it and don't know what it was about, but it sounds like it was good! Sorella Hauck printed off an article from Deseret News about how missionaries were going to start using more technology such as Facebook soon, but it didn't give many details. Speaking of the Haucks, they had a family emergency and had to quickly end their mission and fly home last week. We were very sad to see them go, but understand that they're needed at home. We were able to have a wonderful last P-day with them where we visited Cinque Terre again for a little. The crazy thing is that Anziano Hauck had just been put in as Branch President and didn't even have counselors yet, so for now we're have a member of the Stake Presidency leading our branch. It's kind of crazy. 

On Sunday we had lunch with a member of the ward and she made us a fresh garden salad! I was very happy since Mom's letter from last week was all about the lettuce they're eating from the garden at home. This sister's garden is an hour away on bus! But  the salad was delicious!!! By the way, her son Mauro Loritz served in the Rome Mission at the same time as David and was in Sardegna for about 9 months! David- do you know him??

In other big news, I have a new mission president!!!! Presidente e Sorella Dibb arrived last week. We're sad to see Presidente and Sorella Wolfgramm go, but are excited to have the Dibbs. We'll get to meet them and have interviews next week. 

We were able to get a copy of the Conference Ensign at the last zone conference a couple weeks ago and I love being able to read it. I really loved President Monson's talk from the Priesthood session and am working harder to apply it in my work. 

Vi voglio bene!! Good luck with everything!! And thanks for the letters!

I think you're heading to Europe soon right?

Love, 

Sorella Pace

Here's me with the Haucks in Cinque Terre!