** EMAIL FROM 1/22/14 **

No time!


Sorry, not much time today yet again. Well lots of crazy miracles!!! We taught 28 LESSONS! 8 new investigators and 2 new bap dates this week with 7 people progressing. TRIO POWER. The standard is 15 lessons a week and I have never hit that. We smacked it out of the water. We are still in shock. We have so much fun doing work and seeing so many fruits from it! It seriously was a life changing week in this great city. I have never seen members like this in my life with a desire to grow their branch! 

The negative is that I have been the sickest I've been on the mish thus far. Me and Woods got sick but I got it the worst. It's been hard this week. But I don't want to stay in I want to work! Except I kinda scare people with my creepy high pitched smokers voice. lol. Well, let's hope for another week like this. 

Here are some photos from last week's pday!

Vi Voglio Bene! 

Sorella Gillette

** Email from 1/15/14 **

SAN REMO. LA TERRA DI MIRACOLI.


GANG. I cannot describe how b-e-a-utiful San Remo is. We see the ocean from our balconies. I am sooo blessed. Warning this will be a long letter.

 

Many thought, wow Gillette's in another trio? What are the odds...I was even questioning if I was the problem child. Well I am here to say my new comps are flippin legit! Sorella Woods is from American Fork and is super hilarious! She is the best at forever finding, more on that later. Sorella Van Alfen is from VEGAS! Still trying to figure out if we have mutual friends but let's face it, I'm the granny.

 

THE BRANCH. is. Amazing. I have never seen members have a desire to do missionary work like this. Ever. I didn't think it was possible. I can't even list just all the miracles I have seen this week. We had a member last night invite us over as she had a non member there, then her husband came home for a split second and gave us a list for the next month of dates for FHE nights and the friends he is inviting to each night! WTH! 

 

Our branch president is soooo funny. Presidente Bignami. He laughs at his own jokes and turns purple. They all do so much for the missionaries here and love sorelle! luckily! Sorelle have only been here for 2 transfers.

 

And Anziano Betchi is in my branch. Dieci Bonus! Also found out that I have met his comp at Dixie before and didn't even realize it haha. Small world! Also same story with another girl in the district! 

 

Okay so, in the past 3 days we have gotten 5 new investigators! One is already progressing, we got 2 within 15 minutes of street contacting. Since Friday we have taught 19 lessons alone! and 4 member visits. I have never seen people so open! And errybody wants to feed us! 50 pounds here i come!

 

We prayed with a new convert about her aunt because she said she needed help, few days later we are walking and see her and her aunt, start talking to them, teach them, drop a book of mormon, set up a return appt the next day at an fhe with a great fam in the branch, the aunt cooks empanadas which were heavenly, told us she is in the 3rd chapter of the bom already! miracle!

 

We contact people everywhere we go and I am so happy to do it! As cheesy as this sounds, my level of hope and faith has already skyrocketed. I was never one to have a ton of lessons but I feel in Torino we had a lot of people coming to church and progressing which is what this city needs, so we are going to combine our forces and make this branch a ward! 

 

I am so glad I am here, I feel like a new missionary. And I am slightly freaking out that I am hitting my year mark and then life as I know it will be over. I actually can't talk about it or else I get all sappy sad. 

 

Love you guys! Read Alma 26 because it changed my life today. 

 

Writing you from the beatiful Italian\French coast,

Sorella Gillette

** SAN REMO, ITALY **

 

 

** Email 1/8/14 **

I'm dippin out!


Going to the beach!! San Remo! Everyone I tell says ohhh how beautiful! It's a small beach town near France, with a tiny branch. The coppia of sorelle only opened 2 transfers ago. I hear the biggest music festival in Italy is in San Remo in Feb! Wooh hoo! Also, my friend Anz. Betchi is going down there with me and will be my district leader! Also heard that my good buddy Anziano Murphy is the new Zone Leader there. I am only a zone away from Torino, so if they do a conference I will see some of my old people. Oh and I am in a trio again! Super weird, maybe I am the problem child and completely unaware haha. Bottle breaking a girl that just finished getting trained and another girl is coming from another city. Both of them will be the youngest girls I have ever served with, I don't even really know people in their groups because they are 3-5 transfers behind me. Sucks getting old! But I am excited. Def bitter sweet to leave Torino. Especially because we have had so many miracles here! We have 4 new investigators in like 4 days, all of which are member referrals. We had a crazyyyy miracle with an older lady in our ward teaching her neighbor, then Francesca's mom! Then the aunt and cousin of a family in the ward! Also, my dear Palomino family who are pretty much reactivated now, their little girl is going to get baptized in like 3 weeks!!! I set the date and won't even be here! Last night Sorella Palomino and her son came to FHE and she told me and Astel how much she loved us and just like how she told me last time that we were a big help in their fam coming back to church and she cried! Mannn. I am always worried about me loving people way more than they love me, but I really feel the love from our members and investigators. I cried walking out of FHE with our whole gang. It was so sad. Bergamo flashbacks. Side note I was able to talk to Ylenia for a minute on the phone! It was sooo great. Oh I forgot to mention Astel is getting transferred too! A Milano! So little Gross is holding down the fort here. 

I have so many photos this week it's impossible. So many goodbyes and from our zone meeting and pday last week! I will try to send some good ones. 

Well, love you guys! 

Time moves pretty fast, if you don't stop to smell the roses once in a while, you could miss it. (name the movie).

Slla Gillette

** EMAIL FROM 1/1/14 **

Managee. Buon Anno!


Eccomi qua. So many things so little time. Allora, Holidays were splendiforous. Super stoked I was able to rock it in Torino in a trio for the feste. Last night we had a small new years party. AKA Peruvian dancing fiesta. Some missionaries are like, 'idk if we can dance', and I'm like 'Salsa yeah!' So it was super fun. Picked up some sweet moves. Scherzo. Then the Italians and fireworks is like me late at night on an energy rush. I kept hearing booming and I was like that's it I gotta see it! So we went outside and there were big suckers RIGHT outside our house haha, a tree almost caught on fire. IT. WAS. EPIC.

 

Had some phenomenal lessons with 3 of our investigators who all prayed for baptism specifically. They are so close I can smell the chlorine! One of them, our little Ettore, has been feeling really lonely around the holidays. Super sad. At the end of the lesson I was asking him to pray in specific for the baptism date, because he was so wishy washy and has a hard time focusing so I was pretty adamant, as you can imagine. He lightly laughed and nodded and was like 'I need to write your prophet and tell him Sorella Gillette is the best missionary ever. I'm serious.' Haha it was really sweet, he prayed for it tho! 

 

I just love our people soooo much. I just want to stay and see everyone get baptized! Hermis knows I might leave and gave me a cool Peruvian keychain. Getting showed a lot of love lately from our peeps! 

The Palomino family has been pretty active the past couple weeks!!! Miracles! We were sitting in front of them on Sunday and the Dad passed us and his family the sacrament! Holy Horchata I got glossy eyed. 

 

Watched the Resto vid in Spanish twice in one day, lately I feel like I am serving in Peru, and I am okay with that! They have this egg\potato caserole thing that is just like egg or potato salad. With some veggies and tuna. MANGO it is so good. 

 

50 lbs here I come! Side note, idk if I mentioned that my companions bleached my hair and some chunks were pretty jacked, so I have been rockin beanies lately, well they fixed it up! Dude I am so blonde now haha. 

 

I LOVE THE MISSION!!!! Menomale. 

VVB.

Sorella Gillette

** EMAIL FROM 12/26/13 **

Buon Natale!


Well I actually get to send home photos this week, yippee! I have taken a lot recently so I am stoked! 

 

So much has happened this week but now that I am here I can't remember. Got to skype the folks which was amazing! TEMPIO here we come! I don't even know who my parents are anymore. 

 

We at yesterday afternoon at the Epicoco's, then at night at the Dallon's. Good food! HashtagGetFatQuick. Then today we are going to another member's for lunch and then dinner. Today is Santo Stefano, quindi a holiday for a saint the day after Christmas. 

 

I got to watch Anastasia Christmas Eve on our ghetto small dvd player at the house, it went by too fast. Then we went to midnight mass! It was sickkk. There was a little organ player, felt like Phantom of the Opera, too bad I haven't seen that tho.

 

I am glad I stayed in Torino for the holidays. Love my companions. Had a great Christmas party on Saturday and there were so many less actives and investigators of ours that even tho we are in 3 and split up there wasn't enough of us to cover everyone! MIRACOLI. 

 

Hope you all had a splendiforous Natale and thanks so much for being so great. Eat an onion bagel for me. 

Vi voglio un sacco di bene. 

Ciaozies, 

Slla Gillette