Positivity, Desert Island, and filling church seats!

Well can I just start off with this quote from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland that completely rocked my world this week. Here goes, "God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future (that sounds pretty grim and stoic); He expects you to embrace and shape the future--to love it and rejoice in it and delight in your opportunities. God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can't if you don't pray, and He can't if you don't dream. In short, He can't if you don't believe." I truly loved that quote when I heard it. Isn't life always better when we look at it with an attitude of positivity? It's something that I have really been working on in the mission. I have really been trying to see my life, the mission, myself, my companion, the work, everything in a happy, positive light. Everything goes better when we can see potential and when we can enjoy even the moments that don't work out for us--at least not in the way that we think they're working out. It has been interesting but I have seen many blessings and have enjoyed many moments in the mission when I'm sure I could have otherwise complained or gotten frustrated or sad. I still have a lot of work to do in continually being positive, but I have a testimony of how beautiful life can be when we chose to look at it that way.So...Merry Christmas!! I hope everyone's Christmas was beautiful and happy and full of love! There's a family here (The Mannucci family) that always invites the missionaries over every Christmas Eve and they buy whatever food we want and WE make THEM Christmas Eve dinner--the way it's done in America. I was completely mentally prepared to laugh my face off about it because the Christmas Eve dinner that we do with my family isn't really...one that I would mass produce for people and stamp it as a classic American Christmas Eve meal. Because we just do it very simple--I adore it--but I would hardly claim Cheese enchiladas and oranges as an all-american Christmas eve meal. So we decided as a district to make what Sorella Skabelunds family eats for Christmas Eve. It was practically Thanksgiving. Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravey, carrotts, salad, rolls, the works. It was quite exciting actually. They put us in charge of the kitchen and it came at me like a dragonfly into a windshield how much of the kitchen vocab I do NOT know in the italian language. It's all good though. Language study. :) The branch here is great and I was amazed at how much love they showed us missionaries during the Christmas season. It was really touching that they got us presents and invited us into their homes at this time of year.What did the La Spezia missionaries do for the big day of Christmas? What a fantabulous question! We went to the church by 10 (yes, the elders had us all on a schedule) and we pretty much watched movies in the church---all day! Oh my stars! I kind of felt like I was living one of those desert island questions. You know, "if you could only bring 2 books on a desert island, which would they be?" Except our question was, "If you could only watch movies one day a year, what would you watch?" Granted we have some fairly strict rules on what we can watch so that kind of took a toll on our Desert island fun but alas, we ended up with goods like: Ratatouille, Life is Beautiful, The Polar Express, stuff like that. I decided by the end of the day two things: 1. It was kind of nice chillin' and watchin' some flicks. 2. There is not much that's fulfilling about watching films in large quantity. ha ha Seriously it was fun, but I also just wanted to run 5 miles after a day of Christmas laziness....and that feeling actually worked out in my favor because the buses weren't running so we got the priveledge of walking home! :) Merry Christmas to all eh!?I got a phonecall on Saturday night from Fratello Ricciardi letting me know that I would be giving a talk the following day in sacrament meeting...because they forgot to assign speakers. ha ha So I got to throw a talk together and it was actually kind of fun. At the beginning I kind of wanted to judo chop a cork board to let out my stupified..ness of not knowin what to talk about but I ended up talking about the importance of the commandments and that when we obey we're blessed. I got a little crazy with analogies to soccer and castles but I think it went pretty a-okay.BIG NEWS!! Sunday was the first time that the Acevedo family has ALL come to church! Oh Mamma Pajama was it a delight! We had a nice talk with Judy last week about how it she needed to get to church and apparently something worked because she was there with Arianna and Leo. Ah, it was a good feeling. ALSO the inactive member that I talked about last week...you know...she came to church this week!! WITH her 9 year-old-son. I love seeing the chairs of the church filled. It just makes me feel all chipper inside.Well we had a crazy cool day yesterday full of MIRACLES but I'm afraid I don't really have time to write about it. Maybe next week? Some kookster from the bus followed us into the internetpoint and was bugging me so I used up a bit too much of my time. Oh well! Pazienza! P.S. If you have not watched Life is Beautiful recently, put that on your lists because it was a winner! I laughed my face off and nearly cried my eyes out...okay that last part was thankfully false. It was really cool because I watched that movie before my mission but I obviously had to read the subtitles. This time I watched it without english or italian subtitles and it was a Christmas miracle noticing that I actually understood these wonderful italian people. And when I laughed, it was because I understood what they said and not what I read in english. AH, love it! Hope you had a holly jolly Christmas. Lots of La Spezian love, Sorella Hansen

Misunderstanding with Roberto, Applying gospel principles to our lives, SNOW‏

"There are more runs in my nylons then days until Christmas" That was the quote of the day on Saturday when my last pair of nylons went to the wolves! BUT fear not. Thanks to my adorable italian boots and mid-calf skirt, mums the word about my secret count down til Christmas. Ah yes, truly the best of times.What a week! We had many experiences that I would love to tell you but I'll see how many I can do without boring your faces off. So lets start with the slight let down so we can end on a happy note. We have this friend at a Cartoleria (a paper shop) that we've stopped by a few times since we've been here and he's been warming up to us. We try to talk to him about the gosple but we always get to a certain point where he shuts us down. Well he's got an attitude. He's got a little bite to him but sometimes it's funny. So this last week we went to the Cartoleria and he had a friend there and Roberto (that's the mans name who works in the Cartoleria) started asking us lots of questions about us being missionaries. He asked us how much we get paid (yeah, we don't. Actually we pay.) While we're used to people admiring what we do after they learn this, Roberto instead said, "You are stupid. Why would you spend money or have your family spend money on sending you here where no one wants to listen to you." I couldn't believe it. It kind of hurt my feelings and amongst all of the words that I thought of to shoot his way what I decided on was, "Well Roberto, you obviously don't understand what we do or what this message is that we have." He went off again saying some other things that weren't complimentary, let's say and it was a bit of a doozey. I somehow managed to not cry like an infant (which is a big step for me. For some reason this whole mission thing has made me a little cry face, more often then my pride appreciates.) But somehow I walked away from the experience not thinking that he was right. I have no doubt that what I'm doing isn't stupid. It's not a waste of time. And there ARE people who want to listen. It's kind of like a spiritual treasure hunt. We've just got to do the finding. As much as it hurt to have someone that I thought was a friend say those things, it really just reinforced my feelings for the gospel. I have no doubt in my mind that this message changes lives. I have seen it first hand many times in the last year. No one can tell me that it doesn't. I have learned and seen and felt too much to allow anyone to tell me that this gospel is stupid. As hard as it is for me to have these things challenged sometimes I walk away at least feeling grateful for the opportunity to stand with Christ. To learn even the slightest bit of what it's like to stand up for what's right, like He did, even when it's hard. It strengthens my testimony and love for the Savior.So hows about a story of someone who's been receptive eh? I will not be complaining about having those people in my life! Nope nope. So we went over to this less-active members house. She's an amazing person. She's married in the temple, has a beautiful 9 year old son, but...none of them come to church. There were times in the lesson when it seemed that she didn't think that she needed to come to church every Sunday. I got a glimpse, however, of her acknowledgement that she needs to return to church weekly. So I listened to her as she told us of how many times she has made plans to come to church and then the next day: WHAMY something comes up! Like, what the heck is that about right? Like her sister will call and ask her if she can watch the kids, or her son will have a fever, etc. She said that it's not that she doesn't want to come to church, because she makes plans to do it, but then something just comes up.Well as she was saying all of this something came into my mind that I've been thinking a lot about and I felt like I could relate to her completely! I started talking to her about my companion and I. We have a companionship goal that we'll wake up at 5:55 a.m. We have our workout plan all set out and we've got it planned to the T! Whenever something doesn't work out, we readjust or find a way to avoid whatever it is that didn't work out. HOWEVER my companion and I have this little problem: there are always things that "come up" that make it difficult for us to accomplish our goals. Examples: We wake up and it's startlingly cold out of our beds. Why wouldn't we just want to stay all snuggled and warm? Or Dangit! my companion doesn't really feel like working out this morning. Am I going to step up and do it by myself or not? Or Drat! I am just so much more exhausted than I thought. It couldn't hurt to sleep until 6:30.Us not working out doesn't reflect our feelings toward exercising. It really IS something that we want to do. We really DO want to work out. But there's something human about hitting the wall between the things that we WANT to do and DESIRE to do, and then actually getting ourselves to overcome the obstacles to do them. Get over the excuses. Decide in your mind that it's what you really want and don't let anything stand in your way. YOU are the one that decides whether or not you accomplish the things that you want. But you'll never accomplish what you want if you don't get over that hump of complete decision and commitment. I told her that just as my companion and I will never changed if we don't start now, she will never be active in church unless she gets over the hump and starts now. Do it now. Why wait? If it's something that you want, then commit yourself. Do it! She was nodding while I was tellin her this and she understood and agreed. It was a really cool lesson. I think it's cool how much we can relate with the people that we're working with. Sometimes it could be easy to have the mindset of, "Man, what's the deal? Why don't they come to church?" Or "Come on, what's going on, why don't they read their scriptures?" It's been a loving wake up call for me that I have to apply the principles that I'm teaching in many aspects of my life. We all have our own challenges and difficulties but the principles are the same. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father helps me see how to relate to these people, and at the same time helping me see how to improve.Well my time has come to an end. I hope that you have a marvelous Christmas! Isn't Christmas the most beautiful time of year? I really just love it. I love looking at all of the decorations and the SNOW (P.S. it totally snowed this week! LIke a couple of inches. Apparently it hasn't snowed this much in La Spezia for like 17 years. Crazy sauce!)We had a member in the branch call us on Friday night and ask if my companion and I could do a musical number for the Christmas program. I had to whip out my dusty piano skills and play O Holy Night for my companion. It was kind of a crazy arrangement and it was kind of a bust on my part but ALAS, Christmas will still arrive and it is all good in the hood. I mean...La Spezia. Because of all of the snow, not many members showed up to church on Sunday. We had like 4 families. It was definitely the smallest little Christmas program I have ever seen but it meant the most to me than any of them in the past. So many hearts were touched and it was all so sincere. I just felt blessed to be a small part of it.Thanks for all of your love and support. I had presidents interviews yesterday and he came bearing gifts! Aka...mailtime. Thank you so much for your love. I feel very grateful and it really helps an awful lot. I can't even explain it to you. Merry Christmas guys! I hope the holiday is beautiful and happy! I love you as much as I love mistletoes....which I will not be partaking of this Christmas season. However, in e'mail form: Italian kisses! Sorella Hansen

Er...cheese enchilads, Keeping attention, authority‏

Oh how I love my life.We had a slammin week this week. The elders weren't able to help us out with english class last minute so I had to teach advanced. Last time I "sub'd" advanced we played a riveting round of Jeopardy which kind of rocked those little Italians world. Apparently Italians are Jeopardy deprived. They didn't know what it was. So ANYWAY this week I hurried and threw together a lesson but they mostly wanted to talk. So one of the guys in the back of the class raised his hand and said, "What do you guys eat for Christmas?" I kind of stood there for a second because...we don't really have a second Thanksgiving and pull out a turkey or chicken or something. So, therefore, my response of, "Er...we actually have our meal on Christmas eve and in my family we sit on the floor, light candles, and have oranges and cheese enchiladas." After them expecting some fancy feast (coincidental reference to cat food) it was clear that my answer had kind of let them down. BUT whatever. I always went to sleep on the 24th completely pleased.So we went back to the ol' Acevedo home. Our last lesson with them was kind of a mild explosion...meaning...it was bust. We taught the importance of keeping the sabbath day holy and they were all so out of it and not paying attention and...I kind of wanted to teach the principles of the gospel while doing a mildy embarassing tap dance just to get them to focus. Though I somehow refrained. We even asked the elders (who had joined us for this appointment) a couple of questions and had them explain a couple of things and...nada. The family was zoned out. It was bizzare as could be. I selfishly felt a little better that they wouldn't listen to the elders either--that it wasn't just us. Terrible of me? Perhaps. SO Sorella Skabelund and I really prayed about what we needed to teach and somehow during companion study the lesson practically put itself together. We ended up teaching repentance. We used a nice visual which involved the father of the house holding a cup full of water to the ceiling using a broom handle. We had successfully obtained their attention. :) I tried doing some different things during the lesson that we hadn't planned just to see if I could really get their attention and if the message was really sinking in. It was cool. Lots of questions were asked, we said their names a lot, and we tried to help them see how obeying the rules of the gospel makes them feel good. In the end, instead of repentance seeming like a completely painful and rebuking experience, it's more of a way for us to use the atonement, replace our bad habits with ones that bring us joy and peace. Ah, sigh of relief. Also, we reset our baptismal dates with them. We have a good share of work to do with them but it thank goodness we don't do it all on our lonesome. My stars, what would we do without prayer, the scriptures, leaders, and personal revelation? Sad day indeed!We had an investigator show up at the end of church today and wanted to see us. Her name is Sameh. She's from Tunisia. And we haven't seen her in like a month! We really didn't have anything prepared for her in that moment (because we weren't expecting her) but we went into one of the rooms in the church and uh...were really praying in our hearts. First off, this girl is kind of incredible! She's very sensitive to spiritual things. In fact, before I got here, SHE had a really strong feeling inside that she needed to approach the elders and talk with them. Er...seriously? Come on! So I kind of feel a good amount of pressure to not mess this up. (Well, I feel that with everyone, but I recognize that there is something really special about her.) Somehow I just blurted out, "Let's read 3 Nephi 11". So...we started. We got to the part where Jesus gives his authority to the peeps in America. And I stopped and told her that we know that we have this authority. Then, (brace yourselves) she says, "So why is authority important anyway?" I think I almost choked and glanced around the room for hidden cameras! "Well, Sameh, that is a great question!" ha ha It was too perfect. Then my companion gave a really great comparison story that helps explain the importance of authority. It was crazy cool. We invited her to finish the chapter and pray to know if this church really does have the authority from God. My companion and I finished that lesson and looked at eachother and just thouht, "Well holy smokes! We totally got help with that lesson and P.S. she's fabulous!!" So we're more then just slightly excited for our next appointment on Sunday.Did you guys watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional? We went to the church to watch it and we had three of our members there: Fratello Carli, Tina, and Fratello Signorini. Oh man, they're all old and hilarious. I sat by Fratello Carli and one time after the MoTab choir sang he said, "I didn't understand a word, but that was beautiful." ha ha Oh man. Best of times.Have a marvelous week! I hope you're all happy and loving this time of year to be with fam and friends, and reflect on the significance of Christ's birth. Til next week! Behave yourselves!....Sorella Hansen

My apologies

I just want to apologize to you and to Mallory for the lack of pictures. She has sent them dilligently and I have slacked off due to my lack of a scanner and the technical difficulties of the one I ususally use. Forgive me, I am working on getting them up, so you can all share in the fabulousness that is our Sorella Mallory!
~Aubry

Zone Conference, Ramblings of Staying Strong, Christmas Tree Joke‏

BUONGIORNO!! How have y'all been doing this delightful week in December?! P.S. How completely bizarre is it that it's already December?! I am officially weirded out by the idea personally.We had Zone Conference in Florence this week and it went really well. We received some really amazing training and it was fabulous. It's so crazy to me that I was here in Italy for the last Christmas Zone Conference. Yup, coming up on the year mark of me being in Italy. Permission to be nauseous? Yipes! It really makes me think a lot about where I was last year, the kinds of things that I was experiencing, my attitude, and the missionary that I want to be now and in the future. Lots of reflection I suppose. What's that about, right? We have been doing a grundle of inactive work. It is amazing how much I have been learning as we work with these amazing people who for one reason or another are keeping themselves from enjoying the full blessings of the gospel. In so many ways it has reconfirmed my testimony and reminded me of how important it is to be always strengthening my testimony of the gospel. I've seen the choices that some of these people have made and there have been several times that I've thougth to myself, "I could see myself making that decision...like 2 years ago." I don't really know how to express this and I hope it comes out appropriately but I just feel very grateful for this time as a missionary. I'm not the most amazing missionary...negative. But I have seen things, met people, and watched things happen that have forever changed the way that I see the role that the gospel should have in our lives. Did you guys know that this is THE restored gospel of Jesus Christ? Have I told you that lately? It is THE only church that has the fullness of the gospel. It is THE only church that makes it possible for us to live with our families forever. It is THE only church that has the correct ordinances and covenants required to make progress and live again with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We can have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost---here, In this church. Through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we can be made clean every Sunday when worthily partaking of the sacrament. We know how to communicate with God. We have scriptures that teach us Oodles! Man I love reading the scriptures and having that wonderful reassuring feeling that it's all true. THIS church has the authority from God. Living the principles of the gospel in THIS church make us truly happy. THIS is the church of our Savior Jesus Christ. No trial, person, or argument will ever change that. It is the hardest thing to go to peoples homes, amazing people who have for one reason or another decided to do without the gospel, and you can see in their eyes that they miss it. That they long for it. Please always go to church no matter what trial that jerkface satan puts in your path. Please always say your prayers even if satan tries to make you think that you're not worthy to or that God doesn't care. Please live the gospel. You cannot replace the joy that comes from truly living and being obedient to the gospel. Well the guy at the internet point said that I only have a couple of minutes so I gots to go. I'll write more next week. I hope that you're all doing so great. I hope that you're loving the Christmas season. This city is really beautiful at Christmas time. There are christmas light hanging between the cute little Italian streets and they put up a massive christmas tree in front of this big catholic church that kind of looks like a UFO. I'll send pictures. It's a doozey. By-the-by HOW is it possible that Italy, that is known for some killer art, is kind of...creatively challenged? I'll tell you what they have this amazing beautiful tree and the lights look hilariously lame. I kind of want to offer to help but...we kind of have other things to do ya know? I'll try to send pictures some time when it's lit up. It kind of makes me laugh inside everytime. Thank goodness for little moments like that eh? I appreciate them existing in my life. That's for darn skippy! Any whoodle, gots to scadaddle! Happy December 9th.,..slash...the days that follow! So...awkward...ha ha LOVES YA, Sorella Hansen

Primary program drama, Ariel, Best Referral Ever‏

Well what a slammin' week! We had the Primary program on Sunday and we showed up to church with a bit of a surprise...no electricity in the church. And...all of the pianos in the church are plug-in so naturally the Primary presidency was in disarray (spelling? whatevs!). BUT, get ready for our rad member who will not cease to rock your socks. Fratello Mandile, our blind member who plays the piano, oh don't even worry about it. He just went home during Sunday school and came back with some sort of hand-held keyboard that you blow into and play at the same time (some sort of flutey..keyboard) and WHAMY..music! He kind of saved the primary program. I'm telling you, he's a champ. The primary program was much different from the ones I remember at home. There were 5 children. But alas, it was still a romping success.So we had several pleasant surprises with the Acevedo family this week. For one, we were there for an appointment and a guy that sells them food showed up to their house. He came in and kind of made himself comfortable. He was hilarious and me and my missionary mind went crazy with how fabulous of a contribution he'd be to the ward. Young men's counselor? ha ha Is it sublimely awkward that I think this way? Unknown. ANYWHO, we started talking with him about the church and we were able to talk to him about the restoration. It was pretty sweet. He had some very interesting questions and beliefs. He invited us to go out to his house and talk with him. What's possibly more fabulous then that is when Judy woops out her ol' testimony on him. It was crazy! She was telling him that she feels like this is the most sincere church and that he should listen to us. That a girl eh!? So we're planning on just "casually" being there when he goes back to deliver food.Other news on the Acevedo front: We're getting in with their son Ariel. He's 17. Up until this point he's ALWAYS been working and...it didn't help that he didn't live at home. But he was there for our lesson about the restoration and we did all visual so it would keep their attention. And he was totally digging that there's a living prophet. The way that our little presentation went was super effective because he made a priceless reaction when we talked about the restoration and the fact that there's a living prophet today. (All thanks so S.lla Skabelund and teaching the restoration with cups.) :) Then we invited Ariel to come to the YM/YW activity that was last night and he CAME! It was really cool. So I'm excited to keep working with him and hopefully he can be a good example and help his family progress.We tried a little something on Sunday that was cool! I read something about "The Best Referral Ever". It's this idea that if you're gonna get a member referral, get it from the best member--you know, God. So Sunday night my companion and I said a prayer. We were going to do some finding. We wanted to do some house so we prayed to know where to go--where people wouldn't be busy, or where they'd be in a state of mind to listen to us. So we said a prayer and said, "we're going to do house at 7:30" and asked who would be ready at that time, and where. We then got the ol' map of the city out and my companion made a list of ten streets, and then we each made our list of 4 that hit us. So...to be honest we didn't get any in common the first time. My companion said, "Well, maybe I didn't get the right street when I wrote the list of ten. You do it." So I wrote a list of 10 and then we each wrote a list of 4 that hit us. We had two in common. We went out with a new confidence because we knew that there was someone on those streets that was prepared and ready. After all, it was a referral form, I'd say, a pretty reliable source! Well we got 2 pass backs on the first street and we were running out of time but the first building on the second street we met a guy in the stairwell. He talked to us and wanted to hear about the church. We couldn't enter without a woman, so he opened the door to his apartment, and we stood in the entryway and talked for like 15 minutes. It was really cool. His name's Antonio and we'll be going back to see him again later this week.It was a really good experience to remind me that doing the work without the Lords help or without the spirit is like tying your shoe laces with your elbows. We could go out and do house all day every day, but if we didn't ask God where to go or when...then to some extent it's silly. He knows which of His children are looking for the gospel. We just need to ask for the referral. Well...and then go get it, which is the part that makes you test your faith. It was a really cool experience.I got my hair cut last week. How's that for the excitement in my life? It's the first time I've cut it since I've been in Italy. I've been scared!! But we went to one of the elders contacts and he was super cool. My hair looks less dreadlocky, which is pleasing.Well, I will officially wrap up this letter since I have reached an all-time low of telling you about my haircut. I hope you're having a splendid start of DECEMBER! My stars, I can't even believe it's already December. I hope you have a grand week and I'll talk to you shortly. Lots of La Spezian love, Sorella Hansen