** 6/25/14 **

Goodbye Venezia


Well well well look who is going on their 6th and final city!! Ravenna here I come. And guess what else? In another trio! That is 3 trios and 13 compies. 14 if you count Slla Montag twice.

Well not much time today. Tipo 15 minutes of internet. Sorry. Last transfer Pday. Some photos saying goodbye to investigators, and guess who came to visit me today? 

Sorella Hanson! Her family took us out to lunch in Venezia! Super nice. 

Love you all! 

Slla Gillette.

** 6/18/14 **

scambi, conferenza, e mini America

Well it's just been so eventful that I don't know what to include. Lot's of scambi have happened, I got to go to the American base again! Really not looking forward to Taco Bell anymore. It is overrated. 

We had zone conference with 3 zones and I got to see some old friends like my Woodsy! It was a really cool one this time, we all got to destroy a box with a wooden stick as part of a training the APs did. haha. 

We also had an activity last week, a BBQ with our english class with all american food. The anziani were so generous and gave us the BBQ sauce and ranch left over...I have been trying to spread the love to all food-trunky missionaries.

In the conference we had, Sorella Vardeu gave her dying testimony diciamo. I got really choked up thinking that the next one I hear will be mine and that that was my last zone conference. When we sang the mission hymn, I didn't even fist pump at the parts I usually do, I was holding back tears. 

I'm in the whole 'I only have 7 weeks to become a perfect missionary and save the world' bit. So many things I have always wanted to do or say or become, so it's scary that my time is so limited now. Transfers are next week, so fast! Idk if I will die here in Mestre. But I am happy with the fact that I am not bothered either way. I have figured out a bit of the life lessons I have learned. I am totally at ease knowing that I will go wherever He thinks is best. On our last scambio yesterday with the sorelle of Verona 1, Sorella Jones said something profound. Along the lines of how at the beginning she thought she didn't have faith, but in reality, of course she did! She came on a mission, was obedient, tried her best to do what she came here to do. And I feel like I felt the same way. God is a god of encouragement, not telling you what you aren't perfect at. 

I am only a STL so I can learn from all these other sorelle. They are all soooo gooood.

To add on to events, yesterday we went over to my favorite people in this city, our little Filipini couple! It was their anniversary and I forgot! But get this, they made me my favorite filipino food! and they bought peach juice just because they knew it was my favorite! Ahhh I just want to put them in my pocket!! 

So here's the real question: Can I just stay? haha. Or maybe just go home for a month and come right back? #alwaysbeenmissiontrunky

It's cool, Pres Monson will change it to 2 years after I am released haha. 

VVB. 

Read Alma 24. Figure out what your swords are that you need to bury! (learned this on scambio too.)

Some of the photos from the Milano mission blog

These are from after she arrived in Italy!

                                Leaders

                                Sister Training Leaders

                          Anziano and Sorella Leaders

** 6/11/14 **

l'estate è arrivata...moio.

Okay so it's super hot and I am cranky about it. So humid! Another downer is that I just found out my cat passed away...maybe it doesn't seem like a big deal to some but I feel like I just lost a family member. :( 

Also I got my customs letter and release information last week. The bad news continues. haha. 

But ya know we have scambied with Trieste and Verona and they were both very good. We have had a lot of scambi miracles happening. When I was here in Mestre with Slla Miller we taught 6 lessons by 4 pm and we were late to all of them and they still went through!

Riding the famous pink bike that Gross rocked around the Verona 2 area. Pretty cool.

Cool miracle from that: Waiting for a bus and we both smell some fresh baked goods. We blood-hounded the scent but just went in a circle of tristezza. Then I get tapped on the shoulder from a very tall woman. She acts like we have met, so I'm like uhhh ciao! She tells me she met missionaries on the bus a while back and has been reading the book of mormon that we gave her. She was in the hospital in Padova and saw the number of the anziani and gave them a call looking for us. I am shocked and explain to her we hadn't met yet, and asked her when she met the missionaries. She said 7 years ago! Jaw dropped and made an appointment with her and got all of her info. Then I ask what she thinks about the book of mormon and stuff. She's like "Well I would be Jehova's Witness, but I believe in Mormon." hahaha. THIS NEVER HAPPENS.

I have noticed a lot of cool tender mercies. One in particular, we visited with a member family for lunch and it felt like pulling teeth to get them to talk. So Sorella Strong and I weren't feeling very homey in that moment. Then we go visit dear old Sorella Rizz, she just made me feel like I am helping people. Idk if I have mentioned her, but she is an inactive that has schizophrenia that we visit weekly. It depends on the day how she is doing and she was having a bad day, we watched the ending half of the testaments with her and she was teared up. So was I, the spirit was really strong and she doesn't usually get overwhelmed by the spirit. Her mind was so clear. Then Strong played some piano and the famous duet, Sorella Rizz knew it and they played it together! It was so tender. She was smiling and laughing at my jokes. Then in her prayer she didn't say anything crazy, she thanked God that we came and made her feel better. Later on that day she called saying she wasn't doing well, I asked what I could do. She said "Well I know you love me."

This week we talked alot about what defines a miracle and how the word might be overused in the mission field. I don't care. I think anything where you can recognize the hand of the Lord, even in the little things, are miracles. Dumbing down the cool experiences you have, as small as they may be, is just lame.

I got my hair done today at a less active's house today. Me, Strong, her and her mother all got our hair done. It was really cool because the hairstylist was a childhood friend and recently started reading the book of mormon! Then we watched the mormon message "Mountains to Climb" with the less active that I loveee after everyone left. Then we had a very deep spiritual conversation and we all cried and got to the inner workings of her heart. I think she is really coming back.

Lastly to close the longest letter ever, I have used different aspects of my parents' story so much lately. About how God sends you sicknesses to whip you into shape, and we taught our dearrrr filipini last night the law of chastity and I used the example of my parents getting married when I was 20. 

I am just super grateful that so many people across the world need to hear their story to help them know anything is possible. There is so much hope in everything if we keep in mind who is really in charge here.

If you haven't noticed by now, I love you.
Sorella Gillette

foto: me and Caroline and Honor, new convert after Conference

poi me and Sorella Quinton at my fav ice cream shop Romana's. Haven't been there in a year! But they didn't have pesca ;( Side note, Quinton is buddies with Fish and Lyd. small world.

Kassi and anziano Murphy

Kassi and sorella Strong and skippy peanut butter!

This last picture was sent to me (Debi aka Mom)  by someone visiting Venice and she met Kassi and her companion there and sent me an email with this picture. I guess Kassi gave her my email address. So I thought I would include it.

** 6/4/14 **

Walk a little tight rope

When you hear a song from your life before, it just gets stuck in you head forever. 

Okay a few awesome miracles. This week was magic. 

New investigator from Germany, her husband is an inactive who decided to be Muslim...still believes in the Book of Mormon tho, very interesting lessons haha. We set a bap date with her!! Super cool scambio miracle! We have met with them twice and they are suchhhh chill hippies! She already started reading the Book of Mormon!

Also on Monday, we had a few extra minutes waiting for a bus by the station, so I decide to pass by another inactive, a cute little Filipina lady who is never home anyways, let's just call her E. so I felt like it would be pointless. We ring the citofono. Nada. Then a filipino man comes out and recognizes us and he is like "Oh yeah I am mormon too, just inactive." Haha long story short we set up an appointment with him and he has a non-member girlfriend and they all live with the other filipina. It's a goldmine Filipino party. 

We go upstairs to see if the original lady, E, is still home, we then meet the girlfriend, who I have meet before at the house. We confirm the appointment with her and guess who just so happens to have a Book of Mormon in Tagalog (the main Filipino language)? ME! Longer story of miracles short, we have met with them 3 times now! On the second visit (we will call the couple Kaleb and Jackie haha) E was there with another roommate who became an investigator before who I had only met with once, we all watch the Restoration video together. Kaleb gets teared up. E cries. We set bap dates with Jackie and the other investigator, let's call her A.

SO. yesterday we visit Kaleb and Jackie, Jackie read again! She wrote down a scripture that she randomly flipped to after she prayed before opening the Book of Mormon. She wrote it down word for word on a piece of paper and read it to us. I am pretty sure it was Jacob 5:7 se non mi sbaglio. She started crying of how her faith is unshakable! I even got teary. And she offered the opening prayer, "thank you for my Sisters, Strong and Gillette." I teared up too. #sapsesh

Well, lots of other awesome things have happened making this week miraculous. I feel like the water is about to boil here in Mestre!

So after the mission, remind me to tell you the story of the "Fog of the Peacock"...it's pretty funny secondo me. 

And ya, we bike ogni tanto...in the rain. I am a pansy.

Loves.

Slla G.