He died for us, Lets live for him.

Hi family, I love you all. Congrats to Abby and Ukiah, the thai food looked REAL good...and so did you ;) and good luck with finals to Zoe. Are finals soon? Did I already wish you good luck on them? Cant remember.

Well, the cammineto we planned was a big success...In a very humbling way. After spending hours on the slideshow we pulled it up on Giuseppes computer and the file type wouldnt read. Well, luckily I had saved all the pictures so then I threw them in Windows Movie Maker with the song and got it all exported just in time. When we watched it it almost made me cry even...I have it saved on my iPod so Ill have to take it public when I get back. Then everytime I pulled up a picture or a video it wouldnt go full screen (because I got put in charge of the technical directing) and Giuseppe would be in the background waving his hands trying to show me what I needed to do. Mamma mia, his computer did not run like the ones I am used to, I feel like I am going to have to relearn everything when I come back. And then, I had the Restoration movie queued up where it needed to be, but when I opened the other videos they replaced it. So I had to hurry and open it and find the right place and then...it was in English.

So Anz. Reyes begins translating. And I didnt know whether I wanted to die or just bust up laughing. And then we had a clip of Pres Monson and I paused it at the end, so that his picture would still be up there, but he had his mouth open kind of awkwardly and it was just a series of misfortune.

But at the end we got a few really sincere comments from people who really felt the spirit of the message. And that, is why we need the spirit when we are doing the Lords work, because we cannot trust in the arm of flesh...or technology to help us out.

And I sort of saw it coming, because I have yet to have a successful audiovisual production at any point in my life.

Sunday we had lunch with the bishops family. He is soooo hilarious. Theyre nephew Christian just left on a mission for Washington so they were asking us all about the MTC and McDonalds and making fun of him in an American accent. Saying, "Sono Anziano Mongelli, andiamo a McDonalds." and they are like, at least he knows the word for McDonalds. Bruttle, but funny for us. Also, Vescovo got a kick out of talking about Pres. Monsons last address where he said, "every temple performs the same functions, but the Rome temple..."

Also on Sunday Slla Spagnoletti started singing when she saw us, "Piccole! Piccole!" (essentially, "little ones!") She is the best.

Yesterday in English course we listened to the song There Can Be Miracles and talked about miracles and at first everyone was like, "it has to be surprising, supernatural, unexplainable" and then Frank goes, "it has to be something from God." and LinoPino (not his name really) said, I was reading in the Gospel and the part where Christ heals someone and forgives his sin, but the real miracle was that he healed the sins. It really hit me. And we had a really neat discussion about what a miracle really is.

Then this guy comes up to me after class and says, "Congratulations, really. This was my first time and there will be others because I enjoyed it." And this other guy who has an accent that can only be described as a British Valley Girl was new two. We keep getting new people and it is exciting.

Before that we had a hilarious corralation meeting where Fllo Curci said, "some members talk a lot, I cant think of any right now, but..." and we all stared at him.

Antonias baptisimal interview will be this weekend unless she goes out of town for Pasqua. We were going through the questions with her and she was like, "how about you just write down the answers for me" haha! We told her we cant write down the answers because they are all about how she feels and her testimony. She makes us laugh so much and always comes to church looking so sharp. All the members are in love with her and so are we. Her family doesnt support her all the much and thinks shes crazy but she is strong because she knows its true.

So tomorrow is Sacred Thursday and in these parts Easter is actually a week long, which is pretty exciting, apparently there are some crazy processions around here, but not so much in Bari itself. Friday we are having a display of Giuseppe (Sorella Jenkins Giuseppe) art he has done of Christ life and his final week. It should be really good. We hope people come. Pubblicita is not our wards strong spot.

HE Lives!! Christ is Risen and guides us today just like has in past days. He loves us.

I LOVE YOU ALL
BUONA PASQUA,

Sorella Laws

p.s.
for those of you who missed it...

Every temple is a house of God, filling the same functions and with identical blessings and ordinances. The Rome Italy Temple, uniquely, is being built in one of the most historic locations in the world, a city where the ancient Apostles Peter and Paul preached the gospel of Christ and where each was martyred.
Last October, as we gathered on a lovely pastoral site in the northeast corner of Rome, it was my opportunity to offer a prayer of dedication as we prepared to break the ground. I felt impressed to call upon Italian senator Lucio Malan and Rome’s vice-mayor Giuseppe Ciardi to be among the first to turn a shovelful of earth. Each had been a part of the decision to allow us to build a temple in their city.

The day was overcast but warm, and although rain threatened, not more than a drop or two fell. As the magnificent choir sang in Italian the beautiful strains of “The Spirit of God,” one felt as though heaven and earth were joined in a glorious hymn of praise and gratitude to Almighty God. Tears could not be restrained.

In a coming day, the faithful in this, the Eternal City, will receive ordinances eternal in nature in a holy house of God.

I express my undying gratitude to my Heavenly Father for the temple now being built in Rome and for all of our temples, wherever they are. Each one stands as a beacon to the world, an expression of our testimony that God, our Eternal Father, lives, that He desires to bless us and, indeed, to bless His sons and daughters of all generations. Each of our temples is an expression of our testimony that life beyond the grave is as real and as certain as is our life here on earth. I so testify.

My beloved brothers and sisters, may we make whatever sacrifices are necessary to attend the temple and to have the spirit of the temple in our hearts and in our homes. May we follow in the footsteps of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who made the ultimate sacrifice for us, that we might have eternal life and exaltation in our Heavenly Father’s kingdom. This is my sincere prayer, and I offer it in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord, amen.

I want to add my own testimony that God has a perfect plan for us in which we can make covenants with him that last not only for this life but on through the eternities. We promise to follow him and he endows us with his power. This is why we build temples and this is why we baptize. God needs us to do our part so he can bless us.

We are tired.

We celebrted Pasqua early with giant chocolate eggs.

I was excited, but then the prize in mine was super lame so I was less excited.

It was Slla Footes Birthday and her dad always buys her a red rose. I enlisted the help of the Anziani and they came up with this. My response was, ..Um, this is an entire forest.. to which they said, ..He asked us if we wanted normal or deluxe. And we said deluxe va bene..

Slla Foote was surprised and it all went well.

a pic of me and Slla Hashey who has the same jacket as me and happens to know two people I know.. Lynzie and Whitney Graham.

Okay, so yesterday during our prep day myldsmail was down so we couldnt email and we ate I watched Slla Foote sleep instead. And we have been living a hectic life lately. In a good way. There is just so. much. to. do. And we are SO tired. And now I only have pochissimi minuti to write you because I am making an INSANE slideshow and it has taken forever.

p.s. Thank you to Devin Graham, Amy Jo, Kelsie Moore, because I got permission to search online for pictures for this amazing fireside we are doing and...well, I stole your photographs. Even Mollys Ultrasounds are making an appearance if we can get them to work. The jist of the slideshow is that we have everything because God loves us so its all about nature and families and beautiful things.

example, yesterday evening we went to the church to do the prova. Bishop was supposed to help us, but he came late, so we spent some time cutting bunny noses out of felt with the Relief Society until he finally came. Then his computer didnt even end up working. but, on the bright side he had Mamma Mia music and we got to make fun of him for that. ..Mamma Mia? You have that on your iPod?.. No, Bishop, thats on YOUR computer. .. Oh, well, it is a great musical, Dancing Queen, that is a great song. Then after enlisting the help of five other people and lots of comments about how the Sisters cause us all kinds of problems (Anz. Reyes and Kafel are out of town and therefore not there to help) we finally used Giuseppes computer. Luckily near everyone was at the church because all the activities were that night. And its going to be good, but we havent finished the slideshow yet and its taking WAY more time than it should.

We had an amazing lesson with Bishop and Antonia, she got SO excited when we said he was coming and was like, ..We have to move into the other room!!.. So we moved from our usual spot in the kitchen where we have sat many a time watching her sew into the dining room. It was a happy occassion. I told her what you said, mom, and she was so pleased. She said to say hi to you for her. I still dont have a picture with her, she said I had to wait til Sunday because then shell be all dressed up.

We ran into Chilotam this week. He asked us why we havent called and we told him it was because he said HE would call. He then turned to me and said, ..Hows your boyfriend, do you call him often?.. ..Um, no, we can only talk through letters.. ..Do you miss him.. ..Yeah, but its okay.. and then later Slla Foote goes, ..You have a boyfriend?.. I have NO idea where he got that one, but I just went with it. Then he asked what we were doing and when we told him he responded ..No. When you are talking to people you are not working.. So. I guess I should take back what I said, we havent been working at all lately.

We went to Bitonto Sunday and they love us there. Meanwhile, our ward was like why do you have to go to Bitonto!? We have been to Loseto twice and always have amazing adventures in the little town talking to everyone on the bus and making friends with people walking their dog and everyone who works at the two stores that are there.

I love you,

Sorella Laws

boun giorno!

Hello Family!!!

Well, another beautiful week has come and gone. Its going quickly.

Explanation for mom. So we are at a members house in Bitonto (not our zone, but we had to go anyway) and she goes, I cant let you leave with that thing on your face, I know how to get rid of them, I have done it tons of times before. And I was like, Alright. I trust them. So next thing I know I am laying on the couch and her husband gets a giant light and all the kids are watching. She used a lot of disinfectant, dont worry. But yeah, that would be the Italian version of professional surgery.

Last Friday we got to take a field trip to Brindisi
because the Anziani there are teaching a girl that just really loves the Sorelle and wanted to meet with us. It was sort of a miracle because we got the last bus to the train station before a strike started.


And we ended up accidentally getting on the nice EuroStar train because it turned out some of the trains were striking too. But we got there...and in style. The Anziani picked us up and we walked to their church, which is tucked away in a building with a bunch of other offices. Then they get a call that shes not coming. They were flipping out and telling us how she ALWAYS comes and they were so sorry we had to travel an hour, etc. etc.

And then she walks in laughing her head off.
And we decided right then and there that we were going to like her.
Her name is Sara and she is awesome. And then the Anziani bought us gelato because the train we were supposed to take back wasnt running. But we made it back )almost) in time and it was all well. Sorella Kelly called us that night (right as we were about to call to say we were running late) and told us
we were staying in BARI!!
So it was a good Friday.

Sunday morning we didnt have church because Conference wasnt going to play until Sunday afternoon so we went to the park to talk to people. And there was a marathon going on so there were people running all over the place warming up and then they sang the Italy national anthem--aka the greatest song ever--and started running. We talked to some interesting people and ran into Frank from English course who had run the marathon,
which in the end wasnt a real marathon but 9 miles.

Conference was awesome.
All through President Monsons talk about the temple we (all us missionaries who were in the basement watching it in English) were thinking,
talk about Rome! talk about Rome!
and then he did!!
At the very end.
So great.
It is going to be glorious!!

All the talks were great. I love how they emphasized overcoming trials and helping and serving one another.

Last night we had ward council which is always hialrious because our bishop is the coolest. He was like, Okay, what are we doing for Pasqua? A picnic? And he is making ward conference a weekend long affair with pre'conference and he was writing all these things down in his agenda and then goes,
And of course Panzarotti! (filled pastries)

Most of the day we walk around talking in English accents
making fun of the way the Italians speak English.
I promise we love them lots.

We are seeing lots of little miracles every day.
That is how life works after all. And this is a short email because the computers were down for 20 minutes and now we are mostly out of time because we are going to get FroYo with the Anziani


(Anz. Avesani is living us and we are oh so sad)
and this week just went by really fast.
But its sunny and nice out and things are going swimmingly.

I love you,

Sorella Laws

Where did March go?.......

Can you believe that its pretty much April?? We are waiting with anticipation for transfer calls this Saturday and once again I am really attached to the current city I am in and do not want to leave.
And now even more so if a package is coming for me :)

But it all works out in the end. And whereever I go next, whenever I go, I will also fall madly in love with so we will see. Feel free to cast your votes as to what will happen this transfer call. we did kinder egg predictions (where you open the kinder egg and interpret the toy inside) and I got a Beaver. Slla Foote got a dinosaur. So I was like, "I will be really busy? building dams..." to which we both thought, "so...stopping progress" haha. and i told her she was going to go extinct. p.s. if you were wondering our chocolate fast is over, ha. but our english fast went really well and we improved lots. only thing is we really should keep it up as we are already going down hill again.

It has been deliciously sunny lately (though the Italians will still yell at you for not wearing tights no matter how much the sun is shining). In fact, we just had gelato for lunch. Today was pretty great. We had an appointment and decided to go even though it was pday because it was the only time she could do it and she was really interested. Well, of course we go to Loseto (a bit outside Bari) and shes not there, doesnt answer the phone. So we knock on some doors and miracle of miracle, people opened their doors! One man wanted to let us in, but we couldnt because he was alone and we talked to another lady for a while, she has lots of health problems and was pretty sad, we told her God has a plan for her and loves her and she said, "is this his plan for me?" and gestured to her ceiling that was all exposed with wires and pipes and things. She let us in and we promised her that we could have hope, we talked to her about her kids and her nipoti and all her health problems (which is what all people like to talk about here, if they have them) and when we left she was happier than we came...and thats all I could ever ask for.

We just found an awesome guy in Loseto. We were friends with his wife because we had asked her for directions before and we went to give her a Book of Mormon and ended up talking to her husband. He told us he didnt have time to read another book. He told us how he studied to be a priest for 20 or so years and was 4 years short of becoming a priest when he decided not to. He said he wasnt sure why. We talked to him for probably 30 minutes about the Book of Mormon and how it answers questions. He said he doesnt understand why everyone interprets the Bible differently.Then he asked us questions like, "where are we going after this?" "why do bad things happen" so on and so forth and every question we were like, "its in this book." He said "are you sure?" and we said, "yes." I told him how I have complete confidence in why I am here and where I am going and that he could too if he would just read and pray. By the end he was much more interested in reading it and told us to stop by again.

Life is busy but amazing. Somehow we are so often in the right place at the right time. It comes with the title I suppose. We found out that a members husband had died and we happened to be right by the busstop that would take us to her house. So then we went and got flowers from the flowershop man that we are friends with and took them to her. Her family was there and they were so grateful. Her daughter has a boyfriend who now wants to meet with the missionaries.

A few days later we had a funeral-party and it was awesome. I love the members in this ward so much. We ate and talked and everyone was happy despite the sad ocassion. And Bishop was like, "We have really elegant sister missionaries these days" and me and Slla Foote were like, what? Because I, for one, have never felt less elegant in my life with my current wardrobe and little did he know that that evening I happened to be wearing tights with a HUGE run in the back that Slla Foote pointed out to me far too late. But the crazy thing is...everyone has been telling us how good looking we are lately. Okay, that sounded conceited. But random old ladies on the street and people on the bus and members etc. and of course the endless string of awkward men. but I dont know what will happen when the sun comes out and I cant wear cardigans anymore...

We made fliers that we have been passing out to people for conference. They say, "if there was a prophet on the earth, would you listen to him?" with the information. I AM SO EXCITED FOR CONFERENCE. Yep, I have become a Church-nerd. These are the things that excite me and I couldnt be happier about it. Everyone, God speaks to us today.
He has not forgotten us like so many people believe.

Now, if someone really loved me they would do me this favor...Download a bunch of conference talks in Italian, burn it to a disk, and mail it to me. That way I could practice my Italian better. Okay, I just discovered that these computers have itunes so maybe I could download them onto my iPod myself. I just told that to Slla Foote and she told me I sounded like a nerd. I said,
"thats exactly what i just wrote."

Antonia is getting baptized the 9th or 16th...probably the 16th and she had an amazing experience where she told her sister that she was done with problems and that she was going to become a new Antonia and that she didnt care what anyone said because she was happy and felt better than ever before and she had found 2 angels and the church of Christ. Her sister asked her what church it was because she could tell she was so much happier. And this is the same Antonia that we thought would never want to leave the Catholic church. But she read and prayed and came to church and she knows its true. Its so simple.

And now...everyone go watch this video. I love it. So the new year was like four months ago (feels like yesterday to me) but http://mormon.org/videos the one called "Look Not Behind You". Basically, I love New Yorkers.
And I just want to make movies for the Church.
Oh gosh, again with the Church nerd.
But, seriously, they are really improving their films.

Know that my love for you all is a never ending cascade like Niagra Falls (everyone here is obsessed with Niagra Falls and the Grand Canyon and I fail them as I havent seen either) that gushes endlessly but I will say it once more

I love you,

(and I love Bari, pray that I dont get transferred quite yet)

Sorella Laws

oh, ps.

Happy Birthday, Alex-baby!! Even though I havent heard a darn thing from you I assume you made it to 21. go on a mission.

Pictures:

Sorella Casaro who had us vacuum her books before we packed them up. Her husband was teaching Anz. Avesani martial arts during the funeral party.

Notice anything different about my face?

Yeah, that ugly thing is gone.

Don't worry I definitely had it professionally removed...

You Know You're a Missionary in Italy When..

Well, it was an exciting week. I am going to apologize now for how this email ends up because we have speaking only Italian this week* which means my English is going downhill fast. Its hard to think/speak in English. I am going to be one of those people when I get back...

*Of course as soon as you decide to speak only Italian you get an appointment with the one American lady in the ward. She was awesome and fed us chocolate chip cookies. But she is definitely ready to return to America. So, no worries mom, I think I'll hold to the promise I made about not marrying an Italian.

Well, life in Italy is magical. I am convinced that I see the same people all the time and we are pretty sure that Bari is actually the Truman show and that God is just playing one big joke on us. The other day on our way to Adelfia I talked to this lady on the bus who told me that we are all gods because the scriptures say god knows how many hairs are on our heads and only WE can know how many hairs are on our head to which I thought, I have no idea how many hairs are on my head. Anyway, she got off at a different stop...and then 30 minutes later when we are eating beans on the street (it happens) she walks by and waves and saltures me and then walks off.

And when we taught our favorite friend Francesca who is too afraid to leave her house but amazing at painting and stopped going to church when her mom died. She is always talking to us about this show "Misterio" that finally ended but where they use bible scriptures to prove that there are UFOs and other phenomenons like how people are going to have 120 microchips in them. At the end of the day Slla Foote said, "Well, she wont be in church tomorrow but meno male [at last] Misterio is over."

I gave a talk on Sunday. I think my Italian was awful but the members here are just gems and when I got back to my seat there was candy waiting for me...There is one Sorella. Sorella Valenti who always has candy and the Juan boys always go and ask her for it and Andres will say, "I dont know if he likes that kind" and walk all the way back to his brother Leo and then all the way back to Sorella and say, "No, he doesnt like that kind" It is so amusing to watch.

Our English Course students continue to entertain us as they argue about Italy and Japan and every other topic in broken English. Frank brought us foccaccia the other day even though...

Everyone thinks we are fat. The fat jokes never end. Whether its, "she can have more pasta because she is skinnier than you" or "you've eaten well lately" "you are fatter than you were last time" etc. etc. They are so blunt. It cracks me up. And yet they freak out when we say we only eat vegetables or a sandwich for lunch. the problem is that the pasta fat goes straight to your face. so even if my skirts are falling off I still look like the dough boy.

We talked to this other lady on the train and when we told her we know how to be happy she said, "is it a secret?" Once again everyone thinks we are running a secret church even though we put in all this effort to tell people about it.

I have been reading the Liahona loads lately. Its SO good. Turns out the prophets tell us exactly what we need to do...I just never really listened before. I feel like every day I have a Homer Simpson "DOH" moment when I realize that life is so easy. We are the ones who make it complicated. We could be so much happier if we just let ourselves be happy.

The church is true. I have holes in all my tights. I broke my watch and all our umbrellas. And we are loving, serving, and teaching our hearts out here in Bari.

Because it is the best.

Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory 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 mercy, 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

LOVE

Sorella Laws

Pictures

We went to a city called Alberobello...




and it was really windy as you can see.


There were tons of little houses called Trulli.


The story is that back in the day you wouldnt be taxed if your house didnt have a roof so they built houses where they could remove the roof if they needed to to avoid paying taxes. Typical.

And a group shot of all the Sisters in Bari. We had an activity about the Relief Society, it was, of course, delightful. I love them all.

So we went upstairs to our neighbor because the Sorelle from Taranto had stolen our phone and we see this lady making homemade pasta. And we were in awe. It was our favorite kind too. Orecchio. She was so cute and nice.

Sorella Footes bag: Panchetta (bacon) and a Book of Mormon.

The same day that we went upstairs and saw our neighbor making homemade pasta we turned down a street and saw a group of people cooking a GIANT pot of beans...In the middle of the street.


And of course they made us eat some.


It was a day where we really felt like we were in Italy
(not to mention later that day when we had a lesson in a pizzeria)


I forgot to mention lovely Sorella Magno.
I have mentioned her before and how she is made of legitimacy.
Even without hair.

Another (P)Day, Another Destiny

Seems that no matter how many hymns and EFY songs I listen to, Les Miserable still manages to get stuck in my head now and again. Somethings are just ingrained that deep. ;)

Right now we are with the sorelle from Taranto and going to a little city for some sight-seeing we had an amazing conference yesterday that changed my life. Sunday we went to visit the branch in Bitonto. They loved us and fed us a great lunch. Friday we went to find these less actives and all their addresses were printed wrong, but I felt like FBI or something because I would be like, "this says 15, I bet they meant 5." and then we found it. Or one didnt have the street, but we asked people until someone knew where it was. There is no hiding from the Sorelle! ha.

And we met this man on the bus who was talking about all the things he believed and I said, "yes, because God loves us" and he goes "GOD LOVES US!! YES!!" I almost fell off my seat. It was the best reaction Ive gotten to that simple statement of truth.

Pictures

I may or may not have hopped the fence so we could
get flowers to give people.


Sorella Foote told me I looked like a giraffe and I was like, "what are you talking about?" upon seeing the picture it makes more sense.

Our ward mission leader and his wife. They are both delightful.

Anziano Reyes offered to pull the granny cart for us. They are good to us. (and he was tired of seeing it flip over
every time I pulled it off the curb, ha)


the last picture is us helping a member pack. That is really what her entryway looks like.

What more really is there to say than I love you.
Heavenly Father loves you.
He loves me. He loves the people here in Bari
and he just wants immense happiness for all of us.
And I love the people here in Bari.

Its so easy to get caught up in selfishness. We worry about the things we need, about what we are going to eat for lunch, about whether we will get off on the right busstop or not and then if you take two seconds you realize that, that old lady needs help climbing onto the bus. And the sixteen year old sitting next to you licking her used bus ticket so that she can restamp (because she had one for her, but not for her crazy friend) is struggling to find happiness in her troubled life. Or the many foreigners that have no jobs, but are still happier than they were in their homeland.

Or when you knock on a door and they cant talk to you because they are busy taking care of their husband who can no longer bathe himself, or a young mother answers the door with a half eaten banana in hand and a child clinging to each leg. Or the grandmother whose house is covered in toys and forts. Or when you buy a foccaccia and you discover that everyone that works there is a family and they
have recently lost their father.

How many people do you see each day? How many stories go untold, unnoticed? Just because we never ask.

The scriptures tell us, ask and ye shall receive. As I and also my companion have pondered and discussed this we have come to the conclusion that this is an eternal principle that applies no only to God but to others. Ask if you can help and you receive a friendship.

This is the best time of my life because I dont have to think about all the things the rest of you are thinking about. Instead, I get to spend day after day serving, teaching, and loving. In short, following the example of our Savior. Its not easy, we are rejected, just like he was. But I promise you there is nothing more satisfying than stepping up and taking your place with the greatest life this world has ever known.

People are always asking us how we are doing, if we are teaching, if its hard. They tell us that Bari is tough and the people are cold. But the thing is...It is not true. I have a testimony that this Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of God on the earth. And you know why? Because people say yes. People tell us that this is what they have been looking for all their lives.

They are teaching me. I have never known what its like to not know that I have a loving Heavenly Father who created a plan for me. I have always know that there was a Savior Jesus Christ who loves me. But there are people who wander through life without these. Alone. Without the comfort of the Holy Spirit guiding their lives. Or people who once knew, but have forgotten. And they are just kept from the truth because they dont know where to find it. Theres a reason the church sends out
50,000 missionaries at a time.

"Along your pathway of life you will observe that you are not the only traveler. There are others who need your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save." -President Thomas S. Monson

This work is not just for full-time missionaries. There are far too many blessings to go around than we can handle. Yesterday at a Specialized Training Meeting we were invited to write down two or three things each day that we did to make the world a better place.
I invite all of you to do the same.

I love you, it sounds like you are all doing quite amazingly
and that many of you are in love (gross)

I promise as you take the small moments each day, to let someone cut in line or to smile at a stranger, you will come to find that you are happier and that your soul is fuller. Not to mention the lives of those you will touch will be blessed as well.

Sorella Laws

ps.

tomorrow is Italy Independence Day

we sang the national anthem on Sunday

Italia chiamò!!

The rain cant stop us now

So I just found out that my trainer who went home in December is already married. What the?? Also heard it from an anziano who heard it from another anziano so who knows how reliable that is, but if its true,
all I have to say is, I told you so.
And I hope that its not that one guy.

I have to say how much I LOVE all of you.
Seriously, were ever more beautiful people created than the ones that have been put in my life? I am the luckiest.

a few shout-outs because the mail system is unreliable
and who knows what is getting through:

COURTNEY--got both your emails and i love you times a million and i did write you a couple weeks ago, but to your LA address. so lets hope it somehow gets to you because it was a good letter full of wedding inspiration and drama and all the things you wanted. but i will send another soon.

KELS,BABZ,JEN -- those valentines day photos. made. my. life. i have one of the ones we took last year in my album that I show everyone and they are like, you are crazy, but awesome. and i say, i know. and someone tell the Jordans that both their capstone projects sound legit.

Okay, moving on.

This week, was like usual, full of adventure. Its been raining, snowing (snowing would mean there are 20 snowflakes in the air) After I emailed you last week we got lost in Carbonara (which is a part of Bari) for a few hours (well, not really that long). We even asked a policeman and he pulled out the official city map because no one knew where the tiny street was and the member we were trying to visit wouldnt answer her phone and no one else who might know answered the phone. But we met a guy in a flowershop who used to have friends who were Mormon and American and he gave us directions and we talked to him and he told us to come back and visit him sometime, so we are going to tonight. He said, "my name is Michele...Fratello Michele."

Another Chilotam line (sadly we probably arent going to teach him anymore because he is sort of homeless and dealing with a lot of things) but on the phone he told us, "Make sure you are doing it for God and not that man Mormon" and afterwards Sorella Foote goes, "Obviously he didnt understand any of that lesson" But we still love him loads. He is in our prayers.

Sunday...oh my gosh. We ate SO much. We went and ate at this family with two hilarious boys. They are huge. Their dad is from Mexico and their mom is Italian and they just fed us so much. But guess what. They made guacamole!! IT WAS SOOOOO GOOD. We were freaking out. And it was fast Sunday so we were really hungry anyway. And then we had guacamole and tortillas and one of the boys, Leo was like, "I have a diary and I write all my secrets in it." and then they were showing us their lego firestation and it was hilarious because he was explaining every part and when I would ask questions he would just ignore me and keep going.

Then we went and taught this lady we have been trying to go by for ages but she is always gone she was like, "I want to come to church and bring my sister. And we said, okay. And Sorella Foote goes, "I have a map!" and she pulls it out and we show her exactly how to get to church,haha.

We also have a lovely youngerster Valentina who really wants to get baptized but her parents wont let her and I was like, why wouldnt you want her to grow up religious with all these programs to help her grow up well?? So we told her she just has to prove to her parents that she is serious by reading and praying everyday
and bearing her testimony to them.

Yesterday was Feste delle Donne (So Auguri to all the women out there) and we took everyone these yellow flowers, as is tradition here, and they happen to grow on a tree right behind the church
so we conveniently were able to grab a bunch.

Then we are on a street corner and we hear the Anziani yell at us
(they were about to buy some flowers at a stand nearby)
and they were like, "Who gave you those?"
And instead of telling them they were from all our boyfriends
we told them we got them from the church and that we were taking them to people. It worked well. Turns out if you want people to like you you just have to carry flowers around. It makes them happy. Two ladies on the street were like, "you two are just beautiful" the thing is,
they dont realize that its not our good looks,
its the spirit of the Lord we take with us eveywhere.

These magical flowers also got us into the house of a lady we have been trying to see for a long time. But she is moving away. Its sad because she is really sad and doesnt know where to go to be happier. We know, however, but she didnt have time to talk for long.

It was also Carnivale and one of our investigators told us that the ragazzacci (fun word to say, means essentially mean boys) throw eggs at people. I was like, "oh great, we are missioanries, we are prime targets for egg throwing!" So we wore ugly jackets from the death closet all day, but never got hit by anything. Anticlimatic.

We went and visited this one lady, Sorella Pepe, and guess what...Her son is a filmmaker in Rome. She was showing us all her stuff that he had left in the house and I wanted to steal it all. 8mm cameras and all these books and this one huge old camera. She was just like, "I dont know what this is" and "this is some other thing". And I wanted to be like, can I borrow this? Ha. It made me a little homesick, Ill be honest. She is also crazy good at knitting and can knit a sweater in two days.

I have to tell you that I love our mission president. I was on the phone with Sorella Kelly and she goes, I am going to pass you to President and he goes, "I just heard Sorella Kelly talking to you and I thought I want to get in on the fun!!" He is the nicest and somehow manages to take care of 100 missionairies and make us all feel loved and important at the same time. All the members tell us how much they love him all the time.

Also we decided to give up chocolate for lent. I know, this is huge. that includes nutella. You are probably wondering why Mormon Missionaries are celebrating lent...I dont know, the Italians are wearing off on us (not that any of them are celebrating Lent as far as I can tell) the other day in district meeting I was talking about general conference and I said, "Its the simple things, the apostles are always like read your prayers" instead of read the scriptures and pray and everyone laughed. We also had all the anziani in our district falling out of their chairs as we reinacted our lesson with Chilotam. We are...really funny. Cant help it.

Have you been to lds.org lately? Its amazing.

“The greatest good we can do in helping others become what they can become will be to lead them to the Savior.”

D. Todd Christofferson

It is so not about us. I have realized that missionary work is just as affective when you cant say much at all, because you take them to the scriptures...to their Savior. Read the scriptures. Pray to Him. Listen to the prophet and apostles. Then do what they say. Do you all realize that we can become better than we are everyday? That our potential is absolutely limitless? lately I have been thinking about how often I have settled for mediocracy because it was easier. But easier is not better. Heavenly Father has given us all these tools so that we can know our Savior and become like Him. So lets do it. Day by day we can be a little kinder a little more dedicated to serving a little more repentent.

I love you all. For realz.

Love,

Sorella Laws