Some Pictures from back on the Island

With Little Roberta

Fratello Virdis , Roberta, Me

Check it out - our English class student has like 16 turtles chilling in her back yard!

This is the Espis Family. He is Branch President and AMAZIN!! And I'm with Sorella Bjarnson

Doing some house in Dolianova. It has random parts of town that are hilariously medieval.

Burr burr, Explosion in the bathroom (it's not what it seems), Progress with the Acevedos!‏

BUONGIORNO!! Hello my dears! I hope that you have all had a marvelous and enjoyable week. One of the main changes that I've noticed since being here in La Spezia would be...the weather. In Cagliari I was in short sleeved shirts and it was still pretty warm. Well, ever since I've arrived in La Spezia...are you ready for this?...WINTER COAT! ha ha So there's no snow or anything, but there mornings when it is burrilicious! But, it's okay. Lots of layers never hurt anyone.Another fun fact about life in La Spezia (and especially since my companion and I are new in the city together) is we're not only discovering the city, bus system, members, investigators, etc. but we're also trying to figure out our apartment. Now I know what you're thinking, "what is there to know about an apartment?" And before coming here I would have agreed with you ...but alas, I learned when we did our first load of wash that we might have needed an instruction manual for this glorious little place that I now call home. So to spare you details that don't matter, I was washing my feet in the bidet at night time and there was some hose stuck down the drain. I obviously pulled it out and forgot to put it back because I thought it was random. Well the next morning we went to do a load of wash and at a certain point during our weekly planning...we hear an explosion of spraying water in the bathroom! We ran into the bathroom and the hose where the water drains out of the washer....was the one that I had removed from the bidet. So we got the hose and put it in the bidet. After about 10 minutes it SHOT out again and was spraying all over the bathroom. Once again, though nearly doing the splits while sliding in there from the excitement and slippery floor, we got the hose back into the bidet. Is the story finished? Course not. When the washer finished, we could NOT open the door. There's no handle! It must have been riped off by a dear sister missionary that was a little upset about the hose in the bidet. So we saw a pile of wrenches on top of the washer. Can't be true right? After about 10 minutes we managed to get the wrench situated just right to open the washer. Ah. Just one of the many adventures that we have been enjoying here in our new little home. Good times indeed I say!So on to the important stuff: the work! Our dear Acevedo family are doing really well. We've started teaching them the commandments and so far they have accepted everything without problems. Love it when that happens! Leo, the father, is a rock. He knows that this is the true church and is the strong one about making sure that the family prays and reads the scriptures. We are also wanting to work with their son, Ariel. He hasn't really stayed with us for a lesson because he's either at work or he gets there as we're leaving. We managed to get him to come to the table for the lesson about commandments and it went really well. It's going to take some work but I can already see that we're cracking him and he's opening up. It's kind of sad because he doesn't really feel at home there so you can tell that he's awkward about joining us for lessons. But really all that he needed was an invitation...a loving, enthusiastic invitation, but that's all. His parents weren't going to ask him to come to the table. It's so important for everyone to feel included, invited, and welcome. Just like this young boy needs to feel at home and welcome with his family, I've seen the same principle in our branch here. There are a good amount of in-actives. How great it would be if everyone could look around for someone who's "not at the table" and give them a loving invitation. Everyone should feel welcome, comfortable, and loved. We've met with several inactive members this week and though their struggles are different, it would do nothing but help if we could all (not just the missionaries) do a little bit more to serve someone else and help someone else feel appreciated.We had Zone Conference in Florence yesterday and it was amazing. I'm so grateful for inspired leaders who help us learn how to improve as missionaries and be more effective. It was really cool to be back in Florence. I went about 2 years ago (I can't believe it's been so long!) back when I lived in Paris. We walked through the street market on the way to the train station and it was so fun to see that gorgeous city again. There was something so magical about it. I felt like I was in a movie. (Except instead of being with some dreamy chap, I was with my fellow 22 year-old, female, mid-calf skirted companion. ha ha) It's all good! I still manage to be woo'ed by the city, talk to some sweet street vendors, and enjoy my time gazing at all the marvelous things to be that...I don't need but...come on. I was in Florence. :)I'm so grateful for this opportunity to serve. I have so many things that I need to continue learning and improving, but I know that with the lords help that we can do it. We can do what He asks us to do. Satan is a complete idiot. (sorry for my juvenile name calling) but it really got to me this week the idea that Satan doesn't want us to believe in ourselves, in God, or in the fact that we CAN do ANYTHING that God asks us to do. period. Satan wants us to feel inadequate, scared, fill-in-the-blank with whichever miserable descriptive word that you want. I'm so grateful that I know that Heavenly Father wants me here. I know that He didn't tell me to come on a mission but...think that I wasn't ACTUALLY capable of accomplishing anything or doing any good. That's completely bogus and one hundred percent from the one man who has no bright future, hope, or anything worthwhile to offer anybody. Well I do. Not because I'm anything fabulous or remarkable, but because I'm a missionary for Jesus Christ. I have a message that changes lives and makes people feel happy, peace, love, and come to know the Savior. I have been called to this work from Heavenly Father himself. He wanted me here. He knows His children. He loves them so much. And He will help us do what He has asked us to be done. I'm so over any feelings or thoughts that take away from that fact. Heavenly Father will be there for us EVERY time. How wonderful and reliable is our ol' pal Satan? Er...yeah, check the facts. He has never been there for anyone. He's not reliable, he doesn't care about anybody, and doesn't deserve a second of our time. I am grateful for the opportunity to understand this. It's been a week that has really made me learn that I need to choose who to listen to. I'm grateful for the hard times in the mission. Yup, they happen. I'm grateful to know that I have a loving Heavenly Father who will always be there, will always love us, and wants so badly for us to see of our divine potential and worth. I love you guys. I pray that you're all doing well and are happy and enjoying each day, each member of the family, and even the little things in life that don't always go our way. See the good. Find joy, be happy. Have a good laugh. The church is true. You have a beautiful life. And you are all very important. Know that I love you and miss you. Sending lots and lots of lovable sista missionary love. Kisses! Sorella Hansen

La Spezia, Cinque Terre, Teachin' a family!‏

(This is the Cinque Terre)

Hey guys~What a crazy week! (I know, I say that every e-mail right?) There was a grundle of traveling to get to this beautiful city of La Spezia. 4 hour train ride to get to the boat, overnight boat ride, one hour train to Rome...wait for my companion to arrive in Rome, and then a four hour train ride to La Spezia. And my word how have I acquired so much stuff?! I had to go to a little Chinese store to buy a little suitcase because there was just magically not the room that I was hoping for. ha ha I don't know if I mentioned last e-mail but I got "Blown In" to this city. That just means that both of the sisters that were here before me...left. So my companion and I are brand new here. We don't know the city, the investigators, the members...you name it. Thank goodness we speak the right language eh? There's only one elder in our district that has been here in the past so we ask him all kinds of questions like, "Hey, how do we get to our apartment?" ha ha When we got off the train, they had to bring us to our apartment because...well...we'd never been there before. It's been kind of stressful, but mostly I think it's a pretty sweet adventure. I like it. It puts more pressure on us to quickly gain good relationships with our investigators and members...everything. I'm really enjoying it so far.We've had two lessons with investigators. One was with a woman named Miriam. She's great. We taught her about baptism and she's a rock. She has a pretty rough family situation but she's keeping everything together and ...yeah...she's a tough woman. I like her a lot.Our other lesson that we had was with a FAMILY...yup!...family. I was so excited that we were teaching a whole fam. They're adorable. They're from the Dominican Republic and yeah...they're great. We also taught them about baptism and...asked them to be baptized. I know, right? Our first time meeting these people and we asked them to be baptized. Welp, the lesson mustn't have gone too bad because they said yes! Seriously, how much do I love blessings? Oh yeah, kind of like a lot! AND...my companion and I forgot to fast on Sunday, so we fasted on Monday instead and had just broken our fast before that appointment with them. It was way cool.Church was a completely different experience then I'm used to. We went to Relief Society and there were 2 members there...besides us and the teacher. Crazy stuff right?! I've never been in a relief society that small. In Rome there were like 25 women in relief society...in Cagliari about 10-15. But what was cool was I met all of the members and could probably tell you all of their names. ha ha That's kind of nice! I think there were people that were missing though so I'll be meeting more of the branch this Sunday. The members here are amazing. They're so strong in the church and I just love them already. There's so much work to do here though. We're trying to keep finding new people to teach and there's plenty of inactive work to do.We went on the most AMAZING hike today. We went to the "Cinque Terre". Oh mylanta it was beautiful! It's like a 5 hour hike that you walk along a mountain...along the coast, and there are five different cities that are just built into the mountain. It was breathtaking. These cute little towns were exactly how I'd always pictured Italy in my head. It was like a movie. Ah. I'll send pictures. :)We have a new contact. My companion and I were on the bus going home and (Well, I try to be really nice and smile and be friendly...because...it's not like we blend in with our attire that we're rockin'.) I smiled at the people on the bus and this one guy made eye contact with me and he got off at the same stop as us. I was kind of worried because I didn't know if I should be worrying about his intentions. I was kind of getting creeper vibes. BUT, he stopped us to talk to us about the gospel. he's talked to an elder in the past and he wants to know what the true church is. His father is Muslim and his mother is Christian. Anyway, he has a lot of questions. We gave his number to the elders and helped them with the first lesson and it was pretty cool. I've never taught someone whose not very familiar with God and has a different religious base. It was a cool experience though.Well I have written too much as usual. I'll tell you a bit about my companion next week. She's great. Sorella Skabelund from Mesa, Arizona. She finishes the mission in February. Love her. She's fabulous. Well I love you guys so much. Please be safe, say your prayers, smile a lot, be happy, and have some ice cream...even though it's not as good as Italian gelato. ha ha Okay sorry, that was mean. Italian Kisses! Sorella Mallory Hansen

General Conference all in Italian, Leaving Cagliari....‏

Hey guys! How's everything going back at home? Hopefully splendid beyond belief. Things are going swell here.This week we went to visit Pino and Clara. Clara texted us about a week ago and said that Pino has a prostate tumor. We've been praying for them and we went by this past week. They were so excited to see us. It amazes me how giving they are. We went, thinking that we were going to be doing a little service for them. Nothing massive, we'd made some cookies during our lunch hour and brought them a card and...yeah...nothing huge. But Clara thought that we were going to come that night--instead of in the morning--and she was making a cake for when we would come that night! Can you believe that? We were going to see them and see how Pino was doing but instead she was making a cake for when we came. Unbelievable. On top of that, she was so excited that we came in the morning that she insisted that we stay for lunch. We ended up having lunch with her, Pino, and their son Marco. I just felt so amazed by them. They're going through a trial right now and yet they are always thinking of others and serving other people. They are amazing people. I love them so very much. They will be amazing members some day. They're pretty much dry members anyway. They're amazing examples to me of people who serve and love--regardless of what they're going through.General Conference was this weekend! Did you all love it?! Oh my dear, I love General Conference. I tried to listen to all of it in Italian. I had two different thoughts come and go in my mind during conference (concerning the language) 1. "Holy smokes. I'm listening to general conference in Italian. I know what they're saying. So cool!!" But other times invisible option 2 came into my mind "What in the world? Are they still speaking Italian? Oh mamma, the translater is speaking fast. Yipes!" So...I think what I learned is that I need to be appreciative for how much I understand and how much I've been blessed to understand and speak the language. The other thing that I learned is that I really need to keep working and improving. There is so much more that I need to be able to understand and communicate. My language skills can still greatly improve. It was cool. By-the-way can we just take a second to talk about the wonder that is President Uchtdorf and his talk about love? I didn't understand every word of the sessions that I saw, but his talk was 230% Wonderful! Also, in the Sunday Afternoon Session I did NOT have sore feelings about listening to President Monsons talk. My word, what an amazing, loving, wonderful, inspired man! When his talk was over I looked over at Adele (Oh, by-the-way, Adele came to conference! Let's take a second to have a "woot" and then I'll get back to my letter....woot woot! Wow, I surprised myself with two...okay I'm stopping. I've been writing in parenthesis for too long) so I looked over at Adele after his talk and she pounded her chest with her fist a couple of times and said how much it touched her. Ah, let's just all love and be grateful for a living prophet and his apostles.We had another lesson with Susan this past week. She wasn't able to come to general conference because her son was sick. (But we did have 3 investigators who were able to make it!--Roberta, Marisa, and Adele. Keeping the parenthesis to a minimal...) But yesterday we were able to finish the second lesson and dare I say that it was a romping success? Allow me to explain. I love going to Susan's house but it also freaks me out a little bit because there are always elements of surprise. Kids running around crazy and throwing things, her husband is in and out of the lesson (yes, we invite him to stay, but he's not quite commited yet), she's trying to cook lunch at the same time (we've asked if we can come at another time but she said that's the best time for her), her baby is crying, etc. I say these things not to complain or make anybody look bad--they're an amazing family. I just frequently have thoughts run through my head like, "Wow, where does preach my gospel say how to handle ...fill in the blank" It's interesting to see how to keep the spirit but take control of situations and see how we can better help the investigator feel of the spirit and understand what we're teaching. Also...Susan is still on track for her baptism which will be this next transfer. I'm really excited for her!Welp, we heard about transfers last night after English class. All of our students stayed afterwards to hear who was staying and who was going. It turns out ...I have officially been voted off the island. I'm going to a city called La Spezia! I've heard so many amazing things about La Spezia! I've heard that it's incredibly beautiful and the ward there is amazing! So...how's a girl to complain? I can't and I won't! And my new companion will be Sorella Skabelund! I'm really excited to serve with her. We served in the same district my first two transfers in the mission. So she slept over once a week so that we could go to our district meeting every Monday morning. She's wonderful and I know it's going to be an amazing transfer. I'm sad to leave, but I really felt like it was time. I've learned so much here, and I will always be in love with this city because I have changed and grown and learned tons within the five months that I've been here. But there's more to learn--as always. I'm seriously so excited to get to La Spezia. BAH! I leave on the train in a couple of hours and then we take a boat all night and will arrive on the mainland Thursday morning. Then I'll go to Rome, get my new companion, and be off to my new city.Sorella Nelson and I have had a great transfer together. We laugh so hard together and have done some good work. She has a great companion that's coming to be with her and I know they'll be able to take over the work and everything will be okay.I love you all. Have a great week. Read your scriptures. Go to church. Love you very much. Italian love, Sorella hansen

Some Google Images results for La Spezia - Not too shabby!