22 December 2012

It's beginning to look a lot like...

CHRISTMAS!!!!
 
Hello everyone!!!!
 
Can you believe it's the last pday before Christmas??? I'm so excited I could throw up! I can't believe that I'm coming up on another Christmas in my mission. For some reason the other day the thought came into my head about how long I've been in the mission and how little time left I have and I though I was going to have a heart attack. I've thought about it before, but this was the first time it's ever given me anxiety to think about it! We're in week 5 of this transfer and I've only got two left after this. SCARY!!!!
 
Oh. My. Heavens. I am SOOOO excited to hear about Lauren Hafen's mission call!!! That is so awesome! And so spur of the moment! Super awesome. Also, it means that I will graduate from BYU before she does, and that gives me great comfort...for a while there I was thinking I wouldn't, and that's not good! :)
Well, I'm sure everyone is dying to know about how the live nativity went. To tell the truth, it was pretty good! Luckily Slla N and I both have some background experience in acting, however limited that may be, and since we were the main characters it ended up being pretty believable. And I'm sure it strengthened our companionship...I mean, it is a tender moment to pur your arm around your pregnant wife and guide her through the streets of Bethlehem. And most surprising of all is that I was actually a very convincing looking man! Slla N used some black eyeliner to thicken my eyebrows and draw a beard and mustache on me, and then I tried to hold my jaw differently. It was funny because the next day in church one of the sisters in the ward brought in pictures that she had printed of us and showed them to everyone. The people who weren't all the nativity all pointed to me as Giuseppe and were like "who is HE? Have I seen this guy before?" and there were pretty shocked when I raised me hand and was like "um, that would be me." Haha. I sent some of the pictures of it in a separate email (they were forwarded to me by Slla N), so hopefully you'll get a kick out of those. After we finished taking all the pictures, I looked at Slla N and said "Maria! Fammi un panino! Ho fame! / Mary! Make me a sandwich! I'm hungry!" and everyone laughed really hard. Of course in response Slla N fake slapped me in the face...
 
Monday was our Christmas Zone Conference! (aka the anniversary of our friendship, Slla Baker!) Fortunately, neither Slla N nor I was asked for an encore performance in the nativity we did, even though I was cast as an angel last year. Personally I think it's worth NOT being in the nativity just to see President Wolfgramm sing and dance as we sang "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". Last year the Wolfgramms gave everyone in the mission a tie (boys) or a scarf (girls). This year they gave us new ties and scarves, but they definitely beat last year's ties and scarves because - get this - they got the Kellys (the mission President in Rome and his wife) to give the SAME EXACT ties and scarves to all of their missionaries. The Wolfgramms give them to us to unite us, and now we are united with all of the Rome missionaries. I feel like I don't ever want to wear any other scarf. I don't know if it's happened in any other country in the entire world, but ITALY MISSIONARIES ARE UNITED. We're all working for the same cause, the same people, the same purpose. So very awesome.
 
I'm sad that I can't come with you to Hawaii for Christmas this year. I suppose I could say that I'd rather be here in Siena than in any other place in the world, but let's be real, who WOULDN'T want to spend Christmas with their entire family in Hawaii?? It's hard to beat. I will say, though, that if I can't be with the people I love the most for Christmas, being here in Siena is definitely where I would rather be. I love serving in Siena. I love being able to put on that black nametag every morning. Sometimes I look in the mirror and see my tag and I think "how in the heck did THAT get there?! And what is MY name doing on it???" and I can't believe anyone ever thought it was a good idea to let ME be a missionary. I love my companion! There really aren't words to describe how I feel about Sorella Nilson. We're like sisters in every way and I love her to death! I even told her "I can't wait to talk to your family on Christmas!" haha. I love being her companion. I love this city. It really is one of the most beautiful places on earth. I love that I now speak English with Italian grammar. I love this branch. I love that they ask us to do crazy things like be Mary and Joseph in their nativity and that they know that we'll actually do it. I love being able to serve the Lord. I love being able to get to the end of an entire street of 100% rejection and know that I'm doing exactly what the Lord wants, and do it without any kind of gratification. I love that I know that I am in the exact right place at the exact right time in my life. I love the gospel. I love that it's true and perfect. I love that no one can ever change that or take it from me. And also, I love YOU!!!!!!
 
I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! Dio vi benedica!!!!
 
Love, and lots of it, from
SORELLA SOH

12 December 2012

Hola Amigos!!


Hellooooooo everyone!

Can you believe it's Wednesday again? And apparently it's BYU's finals week...YIKES! I looked at our transfer calendar yesterday and almost had a heart attack. I told Slla N "We only have TWO pdays before Christmas!!! Ahhh!!!". We have our Christmas zone conference next week, the next week is Christmas (AND it's transfer week!) and then it's new year's!!! Hokey smokes.

Shout out to Nurse Judy (an axe-murderer friend...yeah, try explaining what THAT means to your companion!). I got your Christmas card in the mail yesterday and I'm rather jealous of your Disney Cruise! Usually when I tell people here that I worked at Disney World they stare at me with wonder and amazement and say something like "wow! That's so cool!".

I have an announcement: Our branch is putting on a live nativity (but with no real animals...not even any Primary kids). One of the sisters in the branch here has been working really hard to put it all together. Her husband isn't a member, but he's been helping build a little manger and set stuff up in the chapel for it. Unfortunately we don't really have anyone that can participate because we just don't have that many people in our branch...which means...yep...that Slla N and I have been cast as leads in our live nativity. Slla Nilson will be starring in the role of Mary!!! And. Well. Yeah. So. Um. I also have a leading role. And...I will be taking on the role of...Joseph. Yes. I am Joseph. Slla Nilson is Mary and I am Joseph. Yeah. We had a practice rehearsal last Friday and I felt really bad because we could NOT stop laughing, and when I say "we", I mean everyone who was there...except this great sister who is wanting to put it all together. I don't know how we're going to pull it off. I told everyone that to prepare for the role of Joseph, I just wouldn't shave. Unfortunately I've inherited my father's (and my mother's) inability to grow a beard...so we're looking for a plan B. But really, I've been thinking a lot about how I'm going to not look like a woman. The only thing I have been able to think of is to wrap up my torso Mulan-style and put on a fake beard - it's the shape of my body and the shape of my face that really make me NOT look like a man. Sigh. We're having a semi dress rehearsal tomorrow night, so we'll see how it goes. The real "show" is going to be this Saturday evening. I want people to come and support this sister in our branch, but at the same time I kinda don't want anyone to come because then people might actually see me dressed up as Joseph...

I had my scambio with Slla Beus last week! I went back to be with her in Firenze on Thursday. Slla Beus also has the same first name and me and Slla N, so that's kinda weird. She is from Farmington! She's also a twin! And no, her twin is NOT a tooth and a spinal cord that was removed from a lump on her neck. Anyway, we had a really good scambio. She is in her 3rd transfer and was trained by the incredible Slla Padula. She told me that she's heard all about me from Slla Padula (we were in the same district my first transfer in Milano) and was really nervous about our scambio because she was a little, I dunno, I guess intimidated or something because Slla P just raved about me and how if she could be like any other sister in the mission it would be me. Yikes. No pressure, right? I told Slla B right off the bat "look, don't be surprised if I'm not as good as you think I am!". But our scambio went really well and we talked a lot and learned a lot. I swear these new missionaries just keep getting better and better! Hastening the work!

Well, we still don't have any progressing investigators, despite our best efforts. We hardly have any investigators at all, for that matter. We've been tracting door to door so much. We've met some really cool people, but just haven't been able to move past the "I'm kind of interested, but really busy" stage, which is a bummer. We're trying to be patient and diligent and keep working and knocking on doors and talking to people. The hardest thing, I think, is trying to keep your spirits up when NOTHING goes your way - your plans fall through, the bus never comes, and door after door is a no, sometimes a BIG "no way josé!" kind of no (but meaner). So, the work is...well...we're working, so I guess the Lord's purposes are being fulfilled. There's still a lot Slla N and I have to work on, but it's line upon line, I guess.

Slla N's dad is her Stake President, and he told her that he just released one of the Anziani that was serving in our mission. I guess this Anziano told her dad that "Slla Soh and Slla Nilson are the face of sister missionary work in the Milano mission" and that "everyone was surprised when they got put together" hahaha. Just a fun fact! By the way, mom, have you ever talked to Slla N's parents? I think you and her mom would get along and I think her dad and my dad would be best friends.

Anyway, I would email you all some pictures, but I don't have any. You shouldn't be surprised. BUT! I love you all very much! Keep reading your scriptures! I started the BoM again last week in Italian and now I'm in 2 Nephi 20 or so. So! Read up, Buttercup!!!

Un sacco d'amore,
Sorella Soh

a few things I forgot - 1. Happy Belated Birthday to my beloved Slla Walton. Mammina! I love you! I thought about you on your special day, even if I kept forgetting to email home about it

2. Happy Birthday to my Dad on Tuesday! Yeah! I love you Papa Bear!!!!

3. MY half birthday is on Saturday!!! And yes, YOU SHOULD feel old when you find out that I will be 23 1/2.

4. I bought boots last week from the Chinese store. 22 euro. Not coming home with me.

5. I also bought myself a Christmas present...it's a Swatch. It's so cool and I love it. And yes, I really, really DID need it. I NEEDED it. Really. (At least Sarah H. will be proud of me!)

05 December 2012

Ralph Chunk Barf


Hi.

Wednesday again. Yikes. Shout out to Lori Diamond and family this week who sent me a card. Thanks! It was much appreciated. Also, I think the mailman here only works part-time because I feel like mail takes twice as long to get to me here than it did when I was in Milano. Weird.

Well it was inevitable considering the circumstances, but Slla Nilson and I worked ourselves sick last week. Really. Slla Nilson spent all week with a sore throat and sinus congestion. I was okay at first, but then I started to feel like barf. And then once Slla N started to get over her sore throat, SHE started to feel like barf. So we spent almost all week shuffling around our apartment feeling unhealthy. It did give Slla N a chance to use her favorite word, though, telling me every so often: "I feel like a loaf." (Her favorite word is loaf.) We slept a lot of it off and Slla Nilson had about half a pharmacy of medicine in her, so hopefully the sickness is mostly over. We're still feeling the remaining effects, but I feel better about the rest of the week. When I have eaten, I've eaten mostly saltine crackers and whatever else doesn't make me want to throw up just by looking at it. We've wised up, though, and yesterday we went and bought bus passes so we don't have to walk everywhere all the time. Hopefully that will help us to not run ourselves into the ground. 

Oh. My. Rain. It has rained almost non stop for the past week. I was glad we were sick and had to stay inside because if not, we would've gotten sick because we would've had to come home soaked to the bone every night. And good thing today is pday because my left boot finally had had enough, and so now the zipper officially doesn't work anymore. I have part of it zipped and the other part of it connected with a safety pin, but obviously that's not gonna last me the rest of the winter, especially with the rain. So, Merry Christmas to me, I suppose, because today we're going to go buy me new boots. But hopefully that means I won't have to come home with soggy socks at night.  As we were getting on the bus to come do our email today Slla Nilson looked at me, pointed to her semi-broken umbrella and said "oh man, if my mom could see the state we're in, she'd throw a fit. Our umbrellas, boots, gloves, hair!!!..." and we just laughed. Sure it'd be nice to buy new everything, but who has time for that?? We both go home sooner than we think (even though we don't like to talk about it), so at this point we both have a "oh well, it's going in the trash anyway" attitude about most things, haha.

We're doing a scambio (exchange) with the Firenze sisters tomorrow! I am going up to Firenze to be companions with Slla Beus, (from Kaysville/Farmington!) and her companion, Slla Eaton, is coming to Siena to be with Slla Nilson. They are both pretty young in the mission, but then again I suppose everyone is young in the mission compared to us moldy oldies! It's nice to have other sisters nearby. Siena is so far from Milano!

Before Slla N admitted that she was sick, we were out knocking on doors, as we are sometimes wont to do. This was last Wednesday night. So we get to this door and ring the doorbell and no one answers even though I could hear a high-pitched voice from inside. So we ring again and then knock. A little girl answered the door and before I could ask her if her parents were home (and chastise her for opening to a stranger!) her dad popped out from behind the door. We told him who we were and he didn't seem to understand, so he called his wife over. They are a Peruvian family, so I guess she was the only one who spoke Italian. So we to her who we were and she said, "well, we're not really interested in religious stuff, but he is!" and then handed us over to another guy. But then the woman said "he doesn't speak Italian, but he understands if you talk slow!" So we start talking to this Peruvian man who had only been in Italy for 10 days. And wouldn't you know it, that gift of tongues just never fails and I just started speaking to him in Spanish. We ended up being able to talk to each other without any misunderstandings and even set up a return appointment with him in the church (which unfortunately he didn't show up to). But it was just really cool. As we walked away Slla Nilson was like "Sorel, you totally just did that whole thing in Spanish!" and being awkward at accepting compliments I said something like "Those three transfers in Milano weren't for nothin'!" Anyway, it was just cool.

Well, another short email this week, but this room is freezing and it's slowing my fingers down. I love you all and miss you and hope you have a fantastic week!

Love from Siena,
Sorella Soh