I made it to Bologna, and it is Gorgeous!!

Cari Tutti!

I hope everyone is having a great December! Looks and sounds like it's

very cold and Christmasy! I love it :) Only 9 more days til Christmas!

Pretty crazy! But that means 9 more days of talking about the birth of

Christ with EVERYONE!!

So last Thursday was transfer day..... it's always pretty long and

exhausting. Especially when everyone you are traveling with has 3

suitcases... haha but tender mercy, the train station had elevators!

and when we didn't have elevators people were pretty nice to help us

carry the suitcases up the stairs.

So, I made it to Bologna without any problems!! Bologna is GORGEOUS!!!

Genova was pretty, but Bologna is just something else. It is veeeery

old, but very well kept so it's the beautiful antique look. It is also

very clean!! yay! For Christmas there are lights everywhere along the

streets and huge Christmas trees decorated in Centro and also some

other places. We get around on buses. The bus system will take me

awhile to figure out here. In Genova it was easy because it was a

line. Here it's a circle and the buses take weird routes that change

on different days. Crazy! So I get to keep doing bus finding!

Sometimes it's a little exhausting, but really it is a great way to

talk to people because they are already sitting and have nothing

 else to do. :) We have been talking about the E nato un

Salvatore video with about everyone so that's pretty fun!

My new companion is Sorella Russell, and she is from Canada. She is one

transfer ahead of me and speaks Italian really well. She is sweet.

Very quiet, but nice. We work really well together actually. I think

it will be a great transfer!

She had been here for 4 weeks so we are kind of learning the city

together. We have done a lot of passbys and finding. We had a neat

miracle on Saturday where we were doing some parco and saw a lady with

a very energetic dog that was pretty cute. We saw her as we were

making some calls and didn't get the chance to talk to her. But later

we were doing some casa and were at a gate to some apartment

buildings. Then she walked up because she was coming home and lived

there! We started talking to her. It was actually kind of funny

because we rang someone's house, and they just looked out the window and

said "che e?" after we said who we were, or probably after we got Gesu

Cristo out she said she wasn't interested and that we should leave if

we weren't looking for anyone in specific. We just rang other people

and then this lady with the dog came up. The lady at the window told

her to tell us to leave so she asked who we were here for and we just

said that we talk to everyone. She asked us if we were looking for

anyone specific and we said, no, but then she was curious as to who

we were, so invited us in the gate to talk and it actually turned out

really well. She's pretty interested in what we believe so we'll

hopefully get to see her again!

There is a university here in Bologna so we see students EVERYWHERE! I

love it :) It reminds me of college. We are actually doing emails in

the library right now. We have gotten to talk to some students so

that's fun. I'm not used to doing finding with so many people my age

or a little older.

The ward here is great, and I'm so excited to get to know them more and

work with them! Tonight we actually have correlation with our ward

mission leader! And he seems really great.

There are a few investigators here. One is Chiara. She is veeery

Catholic and has been investigating off and on for the last 10ish

years. She is super sweet and actually has great questions. So

hopefully we can clear things up that she has problems with and then

really help her recognize the spirito santo and gain a testimony for

herself. We were able to help her around her house yesterday and then

had a great lesson.

Well, I have to go! but Have a great week! And 9 days before Christmas!!

(Which translates into 9 MORE DAYS UNTIL WE GET TO SKYPE WITH OUR SAVANNIE!!!!)

Buon Natale and Vi voglio un MONDO di bene( translated---"I love you so much")

Sorella Dixon

"On the train"

Sorella Russell and Sorella Dixon in Bologna

A Christmas Market!

"The Duomo in Bologna. They only half finished it. 

They didn't get to put the Marble on the top part because apparently when it was being built

 the Vatican needed money so they had to stop the Duomo in Bologna."

"The Two Towers: a popular site in Centro Bologna"

"Pretty sites in Bologna"

Santa is sneaky!

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

"Isn't it Cute?"

Another view of the Church.

Goodbye Genova

Cari Tutti!

Saturday we got transfer calls and I will be going to Bologna!!

(pronounced bolo-ny-uh so kind of like the lunch meat but with "uh" at

the end haha) I'm pretty excited :) It is straight east from Genova

and that's all I really know about it. Although I have heard that it

is pretty and that the food is really good. So hopefully I learn lots

of great recipes!

We leave tomorrow. Sorella Goethals is also getting transferred and

will be going to Lugano! In switzerland. It was pretty funny because I

thought for sure she was staying here and I'd be leaving, but several

times she would say, "I just feel like I'm going to Lugano!" and she

didn't really want to because it will be cold there, and then we got

the transfer call, and when he said she would be going to Lugano we

both thought he was joking. Nope! We're getting white washed! So we

have been trying to make sure that everything is ready AND saying

goodbye to everyone this week! It has been crazy! I'm excited for the

new sorelle who are coming in though. It's Sorella Pulli (my MTC

comp!) And Sorella Jones (a sorella I've met before and who is super sweet

:) They will be great here and will love Genova!

So, last Wednesday before English class we had some extra time so we

decided to passby a certain member. She wasn't home, but her mom was.

She is the cutest old lady from Ecuador who doesn't speak Italian at

all. But she loves missionaries and had us come in. It was amazing

because even though she only spoke Spanish I was able to understand

most of it! She did speak slow for us, but it's pretty neat how

similar the two languages are. There have been a lot of times where

I've been able to understand at least the gist of what South Americans

are saying when they speak. Usually it's half Italian half Spanish

Thursday we were able to see Monica. We have really been trying to get

her to pray on her own throughout the week. She always says she will,

but then she chooses not to. We had a great lesson about prayer with her

and then on Monday when we asked her how the week went, and if she

prayed... she actually did! So we were happy about that :) We also saw

Edith and then had to rush to the FHE with the Alvarados. Those were

both so great like usual :)

On Friday we planned on seeing Mayra before she left for Ecuador, but

she wasn't home... so we ended up doing some parco and sharing "A

Savior is Born"with some people. I just love talking to people about

Christ. And it's so great during this time because a lot of people are

thinking about Christmas and Christ. Then we went back to try Mayra

one more time and she still wasn't home. But her sister who lives just

below her was! Kerly! We haven't been able to see her in awhile so

that was so great! She has been reading the Book of Mormon, and we were

able to answer a lot of her questions that she had from last time.

Saturday we got transfer calls :) We saw Denise, who we teach English

for the last time, and later that evening we visited Cate to tell her

the news. She was sad that Sorella Goethals was leaving because she's

dutch and Cate is part dutch. She speaks Afrikaans and they can

understand each other! When we went there she was setting up the table

all nice and she said that the Gintings were coming with pizzas... And

of course when they came up they made us eat pizzas with them! It's a

good thing they had a car so we could make it home in time!

Sunday was our last day in church. We went to Genova 2 and had a nice

fast and testimony meeting. We were planning on having lunch with

Sorella Serra, but she had to cancel because she was sick. But that's

ok! We were able to see Talia and Elizabeth and Chiara that night :)

We also saw Sorella Arcos! Who we  have't seen in a long time! We

were going to a girl who lives above them but she ended up not being

home so we just randomly decided to try Sorella Arcos and she was

home! Miracle! With Elizabeth and Chiara we had a really great lesson

and really tried to figure out what was blocking Elizabeth for

baptism. We have tried several times to set a bap date, but she

doesn't want to. She says she wants to get baptized, but is scared

about a bap date. She LOVES the temple and the idea of being sealed

with her family forever, but she just doesn't want to commit to

baptism yet. It has been kind of frustrating on our end because we

have talked to her about it and have mentioned so many things. But at

the same time, it has been amazing the see the progression she has had

so far. And I know that she is being prepared piano piano to take her

family to the temple some day. I'm sad I have to leave them and can't

see them progress more, but I know that the other Sorelle will take

care of them and will help her in the way she needs it.

Monday night we had an amazing FHE with the Chunga's (a member family)

and Edith and Robert! It was soo fun! Members are amazing! And I just

love the Chunga's! Mamma Mia! Fratello Chunga can be so spiritual and

serious but then right after he can play the biggest joke! After the

lesson he said he has a science experiment that he wanted to show us,

then he asked if he could use one of Sorella Goethals hairs. So he

took one, then filled a plate with water and put it on the table. Then

he had us all gather close to it as he put the hair on the water and

said to watch closely. Then all of a sudden he slapped the plate of

water with his hand and it sprayed all over our faces!! haha we were

all laughing so hard! So there ya go, there's a nice "science

experiment" you can show people ;)

Yesterday we were running around everywhere seeing people for the last

time and saying goodbyes. It was a full day. But it was good. I just

love so many people here!

Genova has been such a great place to serve. I have grown and learned

so much and I have met so many amazing people, member and non member.

But going to Bologna will be so great. I'm excited for a change and a

chance to see a new place and meet and work with new people!

Well, have a great week! Think about, talk about, and rejoice in Christ everyday!

Vi voglio bene!

Sorella dixon

Since Sorella Dixon didn't send photos this time, I thought I would share pictures from the day she received her endowment in the Bountiful Temple, December 13, 2014. It's almost been a year--a year of incredible blessings. Far too many to list.

A Savior is Born

Cari Tutti,

Happy December! Christmas is in the air! Wahoo! Today we were passing

the big piazza in Centro and they were putting up a HUGE Christmas

tree! I love it! There are lights getting put up everyday. So fun! 

The only thing missing is snow haha ;) It doesn't really feel like it

should be December yet, but time just flies! I am so ready for

Christmas though! The church has put out an amazing video that I'm

sure you have all seen, but if not, make sure you watch it and share

it with everyone! It's called "A Savior is Born". So beautiful. We have

been sharing it with everyone and I still can't get enough of it :)

So last Wednesday evening we had planned to see Edith before English

class. We were going to go to her house but as we were heading there

we knew that we wouldn't have time for a good lesson at her house and

then be on time for English class. And the Anziani wouldn't be there

for English class so we had to go. We tried to call her to see if she

could come to the church but she was in the middle of making dinner

and it wasn't working out. We decided to just go for a few minutes

anyway but I was praying in my head for a way to make everything work

and then all of a sudden she called and said she actually could come

to the church and would meet us there a half an hour before English.

YAY! Prayers answered! We had a great lesson with her! We were also

able to see her a few more times this week and she is doing great!

This last Sunday we had stake conference and she LOVED it! She took

notes and everything. She has loved everything that we have taught

her. A couple times ago she told us about the experience of her

brother being killed. She has 9 siblings and has lost 2 of them. About

2 years ago one of her brothers was killed by some men who worked

where he worked. She absolutely LOVED this brother and told us that he

was amazing. Everyone in the town loved him. He was close to God and

people loved to hear him preach. He served with all his heart and was

ready to do anything for anyone. Edith had such a hard time when she

found out what happened. She has a hard time forgiving those men. When

she first found out she wanted to take revenge on them and do the same

thing to them they did to her brother. Now she prays to be able to

forgive them. We had a great lesson with her about Christ and the

Atonement and I know that with the help of Christ she will be able to.

I know the burden and hurt will be lifted off of her. We could already

see a difference in the lesson. She was talking about the men and 

how horrible they are and she was just so angry and down. But then

Sorella Goethals asked her what would Donad, her brother, say to her

if he were here today. And she said "forgive them",and she was

completely different. She was happier and more peaceful. It's hard to

forgive others who have done such horrible things, but when we look to

Christ and think of Him and the Atonement, He

will help us and lift us.

Sorella Goethals, Edith, and Sorella Dixon

Last Thursday we talked to a lady, Lucia, at the bus stop. I actually

started the conversation by complimenting her on her ring. At first it

kind of turned into telling her about English class and she was so

excited to hear about a free English class, but then we got into the

gospel and gave her a Restoration pamphlet. She was interested and

invited us over to talk over coffee sometime... after the shock that

we don't drink coffee, or tea.. we all agreed to hot chocolate! We

were able to see her on Monday, without hot chocolate because she

wasn't able to buy some, haha, but with some really good chamomile. She

had read the pamphlet and had lots of great questions! I'm so excited

to see her again to teach her more! She is actually from Genova, so

that's pretty neat!

Friday we saw Georgina, Talia, and had a great Serata Familiare with

the Minan family! Georgina has agreed not to smoke for the whole week!

So we are praying for her and hope she can really do it!

So on Saturday we had English class and so many people came. Our

English class has been growing so much! We have a bunch of new ladies

that have been coming and they love the spiritual thoughts that we

give at the end of the lessons. Then on Saturday a bunch of them were

asking great questions after the class and then took a bunch of

pamphlets and stuff that we have on a table in the main area. It was

so great! I love English class here! It is such a great way for

missionary work!

Sunday evening we had a great time with Chiara, Elizabetha, and

Davide. It was so cute because Davide prayed for us! This was the

first time! Well, for us at least! Elizabetha has said that he has

started saying the prayers and loves it. And he just knows how to. He

doesn't do the cross anymore, like they used to pray because that's

how Elizabetha always taught them. It was kind of a scattered lesson

because of the new kitchen and things everywhere... but it was still

good. Also on Sunday we had a great Stake conference and the stake

president gave two questions for everyone to think about that I want

to give you. He said to really ask these sincerely and prayerfully and

to keep asking them until there is no response:

"Heavenly Father, what do I need to stop doing that is not good?" and

"Heavenly Father what am I not doing that I need to start to do?"

Monday we had a great District meeting about teaching and I'm really

trying to improve my teaching skills. It's so amazing to be able to

feel the spirit direct you in a lesson and feel the spirit testify

through you. We have also been able to use the iPads better during

lessons and have had great lessons with pictures that we can show,

videos, scriptures, and quotes. We truly are blessed to have these

instruments to use!

Well, I hope everyone is enjoying this Christmas month and is getting

ready for Christmas! Enjoy this amazing time to think, talk, and

rejoice about Christ! He is our Savior, and he was born for an amazing

purpose.

Vi voglio un sacco di bene!

Love,

Working with Sofia, a recent convert. She helps the sorelle

do missionary work.

Sorella Dixon and Sorella Goethalshttps://www.mormon.org/christmas

God Shall Wipe Away All Tears!

Cari Tutti!

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving tomorrow! :D There's always

soooo much to be grateful for!

This week on Monday we were able to

have a Thanksgiving meal made by the Roses, the senior couple in our

area. And it was delicious!

Genova is going great! Last Thursday we saw Sorella Papallo. And that

was fun. She leaves next week for Brazil, so we're hoping we can see

her one last time before she leaves. She's going there for Christmas.

We also saw Monica, who is so cute. We had to have a pretty quick

lesson with her because we had to go to another appointment, so when

we said we had to go she looked worried and said she had made us a

pizza! She just hadn't cooked it yet... so asked if we could come back

later. So we figured out a time squeezed between appointments and

left. Well on our way to our next appointment, we called and she said

that she had forgotten and wasn't at home and set up another time. We

then had to decide to go back to Monica or try a few other people. We

decided to go passby a few people that we have been wanting to since

they were in that area. No one was home, but as we were walking away

from Francesca's house her mom, Veronica passed by us! So we went back

since she was going home and found her outside the apartment locked

out. No one was home and she didn't have a key. She didn't know when

they would be home, so we ended up reading the Book of Mormon with her

right there on the steps. That was a little miracle :) then the rest of

the family came home and we got to meet her husband. After that we

rushed to Monica to get the pizza then rushed to the Alvarado's for an

FHE. It was so great.

Friday we were able to see Georgina and had a great lesson with her.

She has now decided that she DOES want to quick smoking. And she has

been smoking less and less! The reason she has been smoking is because

she has used it as an out. She has had sooo many hard things in her

life. She has had a lot of hurt and has painful memories of the past.

So by smoking she has tried to escape that. We are trying to help her

to use the Atonement and Christ to help ease the pain, instead of

cigarettes. I know that Christ will be able to help and lift her if

she really applies it. This week as I was studying I came across a

beautiful scripture and we were able to send it to her. It's "And God

shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more

death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more

pain: for the former things are passed away." -Revelation 21:4

This week we had a powerful lesson with Elizabetha and Chiara. We were

able to get Sorella Moreschi to come as well and it was so great. When

I first started teaching them, it was mainly just for Chiara because

she was the one who was thinking about being baptized and wanted to go

to church and everything. Elizabetha just went to church because

Chiara asked if they could. Elizabetha would have us over thinking the

lesson were just for Chiara, but really they have been for both of

them all along. :)  Elizabetha told us the differences she feels in

"her husband's church" and "her church." That's how she would

distinguish the two to her kids. She loves how in ours it's like a

family. Everyone knows eachother and you feel the love. She said that

she doesn't really have the desire to go to her church anymore.. she

likes ours. Now whenever she says to her son "let's go to church" He

doesn't ask which one. He just automatically goes to ours! He's so

cute! He's five and is such a busy boy! But he is adorable and gives

the cutest hugs! And he loves coming to church! She also talked about

some of the hard things that have happened in her life--especially

when a dear friend passed away. God is so loving and so merciful and

has provided us with a knowledge of the Savior who can wipe away our

tears and comfort us. We are so fortunate to have the restored gospel

and know that we will see our loved ones again.

Also Friday and Saturday we had a scambio and I got to go to Savona

with Sorella Friedbaum! This was the first time Sorella Goethals would

have to lead the city without me.... and she did great! We all had a

great scambio! I love the sisters here! We ended up running a ways to

make it to the train. I have a strong testimony on running for trains.

Heavenly Father really helps us make it-- every time. :)

Last weekend we had "Meet the Mormon"showings in Italian and it was

also online on Youtube for free for a few days. We were able to watch

it with people and they loved it!  We also had a great Zone Conference

on Monday and learned sooo much! That's when we had the Thanksgiving

dinner :) We talked a lot about using our Ipads in finding, teaching,

and receiving referrals. We have been using them so much more and I

love it! They are such good teaching tools! I'm so grateful for the tips

and ideas they gave us. I love how they said that we can all find

people the conventional way, it still works. But God is hastening His

work, therefore we should, too. We have these tools for a reason and we

can use them to see miracles! After the conference we were on our way

to an appointment and I prayed for an opportunity to talk to someone

and use my iPad like I had just been taught. And I was able to talk to

a lady from Ecuador on the bus and share a scripture with her in

Spanish and then explain the Book of Mormon and Bible using a picture

we have been given. It was really neat!

Well, that's all I have time for today! So much more happened, but

there's never enough time!

Vi voglio un mondo di bene!

Love,

Sorella Dixon

Sorella Papallo

Georgina

Elizabetha

Christmas decorations!

"The baptismal font in the Savona Church"

Zone Conference

Zone Conference

At the train station

Chiara

Cobblestone crosswalk: the white stones are

not painted.

Christmas lights

Christmas lights with the sister training leaders

Scambio with Sorella Friedbaum

Look Up!

Cari Tutti!

This last week was a great week! It's getting closer to Christmas and

I love it! They are putting up Christmas decorations and lights

everywhere! They have yet to turn them on though... I'm just waiting!

It will be so magical and beautiful when they do :) Everyday there are

more!

This last week we had some great lessons with all the people we love!

Thursday we saw Cate and made crepes with her. And she loved them. She

has been craving them because she hasn't had them in awhile and we

were happy that she actually ate something since she doesn't eat a

whole lot. She told us all her usual Cate stories and occasionally we

hear a new one :) Then we saw Monica. She is Sorella Serra's daughter

and is so shy and sweet, but she is slowly opening up to us. And she

is progressing really well. She reads the Book of Mormon between every

visit and this week she actually came to church! Her mom was there

this last week and afterward we were walking her home because she

lives pretty close. We told her that Monica said she would come to

church and then she stopped and gave us huge hugs because she was sooo

happy! She has been praying for her kids so so much and finally her

daughter is learning with the missionaries again!

On Friday we saw Georgina! We are helping her quit smoking. We watched

a Mormon message with her called "he Hope of God's Light" (It's soo

good. Sorella Goethals showed it to me and I just love it!). She has

been smoking since she was 10. But she knows she'll be able to stop.

The only thing is really WANTING to stop. But lately she has been

thinking about if she really does like smoking or if she really can quit.

We have made a plan with her and really hope it will help.

Saturday night we saw Edith!! :D She is our miracle investigator we

started teaching last week. She got a new job where she works m

Mon-Fri, so we weren't able to see her during the week. But she has Saturdays

and Sundays off! So that's good! I was so happy when she said she

didn't have to work Sunday. Way too many times it has happened that we

get someone great to teach and then they get a new job and have to

work Sundays. And work is sooo hard to get here that they can't just

quit the job and get another one. Anyway we had dinner with her where

she made us rice and chicken and then had a great lesson with her and

her son. They are so great! They just love what we are teaching them

and are so excited to learn more! On Sunday they ended up talking

about the Plan of Salvation in Gospel Principles and she loved that!

She is so funny. During dinner she was telling us stories about Africa

and how much she is afraid of snakes!! She made us laugh so much!

Especially when she told us about the cobra that was in her house and

when she saw it she just started climbing whatever was there to

climb. She is just so cute and bubbly!

Sunday was a lovely morning in church! And then later that day things

just didn't go quite as planned, but we were still able to see people!

We had made an appointment with a lady who was an investigator a

couple of years ago so we went to the church. She didn't show up so we

tried calling her and she said she was on her way. So we waited and

waited.... and tried calling her again but this time it wasn't

available.... so that was lovely... We decided to head to the other

church for another appointment and got stuck in the bus because there

was an accident that happened in the road! Eventually cars could pass,

but the buses weren't let through. They eventually opened the doors to

the bus and we decided to get off and take a train. On the way back we

couldn't take the bus because 11 buses were backed up because of the accident... 

... just lovely.

But then we were able to see Ester and then Catherina that night!

Monday night we saw Talia and she is doing great! This weekend she

went to Rome for some document thing and said she was with her friend

and he started to smoke but she didn't! She said it was hard, but she

did it! This week we'll be helping her with her house a bit. She is

moving to Sampierdarena, so she'll actually live closer to us now!

Yesterday we had a great lesson with Chiara and Elisabetha! Elisabetha

had a rough day and almost called us to tell us not to come because

she was just so upset, but we were able to help them and bring a

little love :) They made us delicious Peruvian food and then we read

the Book of Mormon together. Chiara is so cute! She always wants to

keep reading more! She loves it! And this Sunday neither Elisabetha

nor her husband could got to church because of work, but Chiara still

wanted to, so she was able to go with a member. She is such a strong 9

year old! Children are amazing examples. We had a great conversation

about baptism too and Elisabetha actually accepted the invitation. It

was a straight YES! Since we have started teaching her there has been

so much growth in her. She is still scared to pray about the Book of

Mormon... but we're slowly helping her along! She is like another mom

to me. I love her sooo much. Yesterday we were in the kitchen and she

was showing me how to make the special sauce they use and we were

talking about how I'll probably be transferred in December and she

started tearing up! That wasn't good because then that almost made me

cry! I'm not even sure if I'm leaving yet and it's still 3 weeks away,

but when I do leave it will be pretty tough. I love the people here so

much!

This week in District Meeting we talked about setting personal goals

and I just want to leave this one thought that Elder Kearon said to us

when he was here: "However good you were yesterday is not good enough

for tomorrow". I know this is a gospel of change of progression. I

have seen it in other people and I have been able to see the growth in

myself. If we really utilize the Atonement we can become better

everyday and grow to be more like our Savior. We just need to remember

to always look UP!Llook up at our potential and UP to our Father in

Heaven who is always there to help us. Italy is definitely the place I

have learned to look up. Because that is truly where all the beauty is

physically--all the beautiful buildings, structures, and colors. And I

have learned to look up and rely and the one who is above in Everything.

Vi voglio un sacco di bene!

Sorella Dixon

Tender Mercies are Real

Cari Tutti!

We had a great week this week! :D Let me tell you about some of my

favorite things that happened!

So Thursday night we had an FHE with the Alvarado family. They are a

family from Ecuador and have been less active for awhile. Except one

daughter who is 17 who comes every week. When I first got to Genova

the Anziani were working with them and would see them every once in

awhile. Well, about a month ago they asked us if we would try to see

them since they live closer to us and they have only been able to see

them when they passby. So we tried passing by one night and had a

really good conversation/lesson with the mom. We then set up an FHE

for every Thursday with them. So now every thursday we see them. The

first two they kind of forgot we were coming but we were still able to

do it, but this week they remembered and were preparing pizza when we

came! We had a little lesson in the kitchen while the pizzas cooked

and talked about the Restoration. It was great. And then afterward we

were talking and laughing a ton! It was one of the funnest nights I've

had! We talked about them coming to church and they actually said they

would! If we came in the morning. So that's what we did. Sunday

morning at 7:30 we went to their house as a wake up call. The dad let

us in and told us to sing while he went and woke everyone up. So we

sat in the living room singing hymns for about 45 minutes while they

woke up and got ready! They all got ready and we barely made it on the

bus! They came to church and it was great! I think the members were

really happy to see them there too because so many of them were

talking to them. :)

Saturday was another great day! That morning we saw Edith. Let me tell

you about her. About 3 weeks ago we had scambio and during that

scambio I talked to Edith on the bus. I found out she was a Jehovah's

Witness, but we were still able to switch numbers. So we had her

number in the phone and it wasn't until last week that I thought to

call her. We were actually at a bus station when I got the random

thought to try calling her so we did and set up an appointment. We

decided to meet at a certain bus stop in Sestri. We went there

Saturday morning and waited a few minutes before she came walking

around the corner. It turns out that she had decided to take a

different bus to go downtown unless she saw us. Well, we walked by her

bus and she saw us. She didn't want to get off because she already had

a seat and everything but something told her to get off. And then she

came rushing up the street to where we were. We were able to meet with

her in the church and give her a church tour and then we had a great

lesson about the restoration. She told us how she had been so confused

her whole life about religion because she has had sooooo many

different religions in her life. Her dad being JW, her mom Catholic I

think, and then a bunch of her family different religions, most of

them different ones in Africa. She's from Nigeria and speaks English,

Italian, and a little french. She is baptized Jehovah's Witness but

doesn't really practice. She only goes to go church every so often and

that's usually a Catholic church but she never fully likes it.

She is so cute! We were talking about the spirit and asked her how she

felt when she was with us and in the church and she said tranquil,

relaxed, peaceful and we told that was the spirit and she was like "It

IS?!" and was so happy. And then she was excited when we gave her a

Book of Mormon. We invited her to church the next day, and guess what?

SHE CAME!! :D We introduced her to a bunch of members and she just

loved it! She said she's going to bring her son next time and her

husband when he gets home in January. I'm so excited to keep teaching

her!

Later that day we saw Denise who we're teaching English and slowly

introducing the gospel to. She is so fun! We've been able to laugh a

lot together and have a good time. This time we gave her a Book of

Mormon and she said she would read it. She even had a few questions

about our church so that was great!

After our normal English class that day Maria Jose was like, "I don't

know what to do now. I'm just at home alone." So we were like "you can

come with us if you want!" and she did! We had a lesson with Talia

that evening so she was able to come with us! It was so fun! Maria

Jose is just adorable! I love her! I think she thinks we're crazy...

but we make her laugh. We had a great lesson with Talia about faith

and the word of wisdom and Maria Jose was able to bear great

testimony. Talia had started smoking again after 7 years because of

all the stress she has right now--no job and looking for one and

having to move. But she wants to stop and said she really will. She's

done good so far! And she came to church the next day!! :D

That night Maria Jose sent us the cutest text. She said: "Grazie a

voi, per portarmi sempre pace, luce e felicita. Siete speciali e

troppo PAZZE ed anche divertenti!!!! Grazie per tutto cio che fatte.

Vi voglio un sacco di bene. Grazie mile e buona notte!!" or Thank You

for always bringing me peace, light and happiness. You are both

special and too crazy and also fun!!!! Thanks for all that you do. I

love you a bunch. Thanks so much and good night!

So Sunday was a great day! We were able to do a musical number in

church which was great and so many people came to church! Not only the

Alvarado family, Talia, and Edith, but also Chiara, Elizabetha, and

Georgina! We were able to see Georgina last week and then Saturday

night she asked if she could come to church with us! We were in Genova

2 this week which is the one furthest away from her house, but she

still came! She is in contact with an elder who made a huge difference

in her life this past year and he has been a huge influence in her

wanting to meet with us again and coming to church. I hope I'll be

able to stay in contact with those I love here so I can continue to

help them after my mission!

Well, those are some of the great experiences I had this week :) I just

want to end with one thought:

"Surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of

being merciful, especially to those who don’t expect it and often feel

they don’t deserve it." -Jeffrey R. Holland

Throughout the Book of Mormon a HUGE theme is how merciful the Lord is

to the people. That's what it is really--it starts out with Nephi

saying that he will show how the tender mercies of the Lord are over

all his people. It has been such a special experience to really see

that in the Book of Mormon as I have studied about Christ. And I can

see His tender mercies in my life more and know that He is always

there. I know that he leads and guides us. This is truly HIS work and

I'm so grateful I an be a part of it. I know He is preparing people

and we get to be the instruments in His hands who helps these people

really know the truth.

Vi voglio un mondo di bene!!

Love,

Sorella Dixon