** 8/6/14 **

Hello everyone!!! 

This is the last email from her mission!! She will be home Friday!!
Thank you all for your support for Kassi on her mission!

We are super excited to have her coming home, I can't wait!!! We are so very proud of her and all of the missionaries out there and the missionaries that email me, I love reading all the emails, they give me inspiration and help my testimony and spirit grow! 

Love,

Debi aka sorella Gillette's mom

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And so it ends...

MAYBE I started freaking out today in the grocery store asking if America had my fave scamorza cheese...or tortellini? I don't know! All I remember is processed snacks and basta! 

MAYBE I started feeling antsy sickness as I am reading the emails about home...

I've been rather calm and collected this whole time until about an hour ago.

Last night I talked to Sorella Bucco, Alessandro, new convert from Lodi who is visiting Sanremo and went to a fireside there last night and called me! He then passed the phone to Bucco and then the whole entire branch screamed hello to me. It was such a tender mercy. Also Presidente Bignami called me to say goodbye the other day. I almost cried. 

Last pday we went to Milano and I got to be with my Filippini from Navigli! We had lunch together at the Burger King of Duomo. Then when I was taking some last photos with 2 new converts I started to ball and I couldn't hold it back. Then randomly the Sorelle of Muggiò showed up and it helped me choke down the tears haha. And pretty much every sorella was at Duomo so we all randomly saw each other and hung out! It was so fun. 

Tomorrow the Young Women from Torino are taking a 2 hour train just to come say goodbye to me at the station!! I am super stoked. Not to mention most of my old compies are training my replacements! I called it! So I will be able to see most of them tomorrow! I wrote everyone cards of love and death haha. 

Also, I AM A GRANDMA NOW! Sorella Walch is training! And I knew she would have to come up from Firenze to spend the night near Milano to get there on time, so I called the APs and out of the kindness of Anziano Tanner's heart...WALCH IS COMING TONIGHT to sleep over before we go to Milano tomorrow! I am sooooo happy. I brought her into this world and now she is taking me out! 

MAYBE Sorella Carter bought party hats....

Freak man....what do I even say. I don't even know who reads this anyways haha. 

Shared my last testimony in Italian on Sunday. I didn't really have words. There are not words to describe the mission, or Italy or how divinely intricate this year and a half was. 

I would do it all over again in a heart beat, even longer if I could. It changed my entire life in every way. It is sacred and beautiful. Usually looking back on the memories, I feel bad that the mission hasn't been "super hard" for me. But lately I have reflected back to more difficult moments and I thought whoa. I did do hard things, there were big trials all the time what am I saying?! haha. But I don't think back on those negative things and I didn't realize it too much in the meantime because of all the good that happens! It outweighs by a long shot. Just like Elder Bott says in the district. #Shoutout

It really is the best 18 months-2 years. If you allow it to be. I am eternally grateful for this adventure and all of the blessings and experiences that came with it. Above all the lessons learned and how I have personally changed, my favorite part would probably be the relationships formed. Companions, friends in the field, members, investigators, my parents, my Savior and Heavenly Father. 

I am not leaving Italy, it will always be with me. :)

I love you all. More than you love me. That is doctrine. 

A presto. 

Sorella Gillette

(luckily that title will still work :))

That's my peace, that's my cents, that's my journal entry for this week.

J Hepworth. 

Read it.

name the reference and feel proud.