Miracles in Genova

Cart Tutti!

Buongiorno! I hope everyone is doing great! Its hard to believe that July is almost over! Where is the time going? I've almost been in Italy 5 whole months! It seems like yesterday I was telling people, It's my first week here! haha 

This week we had so many miracles! I feel like I say that every week... but its true every time! So last Thursday we had 3 lessons planned, at 5:00, 6:30 and then at 7:00. Well the bus to go to the one at 5 was a lot longer than we thought.... so we thought that maybe we'd have to go a different time and just go straight back so we could make it to the one at 6:30 since the lady we were going to visit was in the hospital. So we planned on doing that, but then the bus to go back didn't come for another half hour! So we got to visit Ester anyway! And it was really good too. I think she really needed us to come see her. Then on the way back we were trying to call Sophya, the appointment at 6:30 to tell her we'd be late... or try to reschedule and it turns out that she could see us at 8:30 instead! It worked better for her and for us! 

So then at 7 we went to go see Elisabetta. She's the lady from Poland who has met with the missionaries for a long time. We invited a member (that in and of itself was a miracle. We wanted a member for Elisabetta but didn't know who... so we tried calling people who lived in Sampierdarena and the 2nd lady we called was home and said she could come!) So we walked with her all the way to Elisabetta's... when Elisabetta answered and said she had friends over.... so she couldn't see us. Crush. Bummer. That was a let down. I'm used to bidones, but it was hard since we had a member with us! We have another appointment with her tomorrow, so hopefully that one will work this time!

Friday we had a lesson with Gift. She is from Nigeria and was baptized last year sometime. She hasn't been coming to church lately so we have been trying to meet with her since the first day I got here but she always gets called into work or can't see us... so finally we got to see her! :D When we got there she was suuuuper tired and ... she wasn't really paying attention and was pretty impatient with her daughters. We talked about the Book of Mormon and she told us she always feels so much better when she reads it. She used to read it everyday and also would pick it up when she felt angry or impatient and it would help. But lately she hasn't been reading. So we committed her to read it so she can see those blessings in her life again and she also told us why she hasn't been coming to church a lately. So we got to help her with that! She couldn't come last week... but hopefully she'll come this week. We actually talked to a member this week who knows her and would be good to bring to lessons so we're hoping we can see Gift with her sometime! The change in Gift by the end was so amazing. She totally switched from being tired and upset, to being so grateful that we came and giving hugs all around! The spirit changes people. She just needed a little reminding of what the spirit can do!

Saturday morning we met with Ramiro. He's a guy who randomly came to English class a couple weeks ago, actually sat in a lesson we had with Neve and Chiara one day, and  who is now learning about the church! He was really interesting in learning the piano, so we said we would teach him for a little bit and then do a lesson afterward. We were kind of in a predicament because he's a single man and the Anziani are supposed to teach single men.... we technically can teach them in the church, but it's still good to have a woman there and we're supposed to pass them to the Anziani. It would've been fine just to have the Anziani teach him but he wanted to learn piano and they don't know piano... So we go Saturday morning to the church and he was there and had invited a friend! Who happened to be a woman and a really awesome member! It turns out that she told him about English class, so he told her about learning the piano! So that turned out great! He also knows a really strong member family because all of these people live in the same building! We figured everything out with the Anziani too. They are going to do the normal lessons with him, but we'll still do English and the piano lessons and just share a spiritual thought afterward. The one lesson that we did have with him was great! He really wants to know which church is true. 

That afternoon we had a lesson with Neve and Chiara and they surprised us by bringing a cousin and a friend! Neve's cousin is here only on vacation and can't really speak Italian or English... so i don't really know how much she got... but Chiara's friend was really interested! We're going to see them again tonight! It was so great because we had Sarah, a member, come. She got home from serving at Temple Square in April. She is so great! She loves to speak English with us and she has the most American accent I've heard any Italian have! She speaks English really well.

Saturday night we also saw Cate. I don't know if I told you about her. She is South African. She married an Italian so that's why she's here. He died about 20 years ago but a couple months before he died he brought home a Book of Mormon and then Cate talked to the missionaries on the train. She tells us soooo many great stories. She's hilarious! She has all these great sayings. She's inactive because she can't walk. And she lives so far out that no one can take her to church... so we visit her and the Anziani have permission to take her the sacrament. She tells us all about her missionaries, her husband, and her crazy life. Her favorite color is green because she loves frogs! Her saying for FROG is Fully Rely On God.She's so cute! 

Sunday we met with Daniela again and this time with her husband Luigi! They didn't come to church because they "slept in".... but they know that that's not a good excuse.  Especially since they probably live the closest to the church out of all the members... We had a good lesson with them about the Book of Mormon. Apparently they have doubts about it and Joseph Smith, so we're going to help them gain a testimony! He mainly just doesn't think there's one true church because the work of men is imperfect. We brought them copies of the Book of Mormon because they don't have the ones they used to have anymore and they were pretty excited to have one again! They are super sweet and live in the cutest littlest apartment I've been in! It's adorable! 

Monday we had district meeting and holy camoly my district just cracks me up! The anziani are hilarious! But at the same time I learn so much from them! They are good missionaries. Its a great district! On our way to district meeting we tried to catch the 10:28 train but figured out there was no such thing so we had to wait another 15 minutes. As we were waiting I saw a lady sitting down, and so I went to go sit down kind of by her to try to start a conversation. As I talked to her she was responding just to be polite... but then we started talking about families. And then she was more open. We had a good conversation, and I told how much the gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families. We even prayed with her and she said we could come over and share more! That was a miracle! No wonder the train never came! We actually set up the appointment for Tuesday but when we went to her house her sister was at home and said she had to go to the doctors because she wasn't feeling well.... We called Paola later and she gave us another time to come see her. Usually with things like this where people bidone us and set up different times and such its because they aren't interested, but with her I don't think it's like this. At least I really hope not. I know the gospel can bless her and her family so much. 

Yesterday we visited a member, Susie, and her two girls! They are adorable! Then after that was when we tried to see Paola but she wasn't home... so we had to go with the backup plan and ended up seeing a less active and visited a guy who we talked to last week! His name is Osas and is from Nigeria. We met him when we were trying to do a less active passby and then ended up doing casa. He actually answered and was nice. We weren't able to go back when he said his wife would be home, so we tried yesterday. We taught him the Restoration, just at the door since his wife wasn't home... and he liked it. He said he had actually asked God which church was true once but still hasn't found it. We're going to see him and his wife Saturday.

Then later that day we were on our way out to see Mayra, a less active who is super sweet. When she texted us and cancelled.... now what...? That's when I decided to call Paola and make sure she was ok and then right after that Talia called. Talia is the lady who is meeting us with her mom who came to church last week, but they couldn't come this week because of work. She only has about 3 more days of work before she loses her job... then she has to search for a new one... Well, she called and told us she actually might not lose it!!! There's a chance someone in the hospital where she works will be leaving to a different hospital for something so she'll get to stay! She says she is hoping and praying! She said she opened the Book of Mormon and read 2 Nephi 9:20-21 and feels like those verses were written just for her. Beautiful! She'll find out Friday if she has a job or not, so we're praying! 

2 Nephi 9: 20-21:20 O how great the holiness of our God! For he knowethall things, and there is not anything save he knows it. 21 And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam.

Then yesterday night we saw the Chunga family. They are such a great family! They love the missionaries! Their daughter is on a mission right now in Africa! They are the ones who are friends with Ramiro, and he actually just randomly showed up when we were there! So that was great :) Fratello Chunga said it was a such a great surprise when he found out that Ramiro was learning about the church! He was super happy that he came to church Sunday and even gave him a tie to wear. :)

So ya, this week was great! Miracles pretty much just fall into our laps! The anziani were asking what we were doing differently and I actually think it's because we're trying really hard to do 3 popps a day. (Popp is where we use a scripture to teach a doctrine, ask a question, and bear testimony to each other. It helps us know the scriptures and be able to teach simple truths quickly and effectively. We're supposed to do it at least 3 times a day.)   It's something that President Dibb is really stressing at the moment. They work. They bring miracles! Probably because it keeps our minds focused and brings the spirit quickly. I also think it's because every morning we pray to find someone who will accept the invitation to be baptized. Seriously everyday that we do that we have met someone. Maybe they don't become a new investigator, but they are a really solid potential. 

Well have a great week! Always look for tiny miracles and tender mercies! 

vi voglio bene!

Sorella Dixon

"Pizza. Pizza. Pizza. Here you order one per person".

"Sorella Russell thought I was too stressed, 

so we finger painted with food".

"My district"

"The things they think of doing during district meetings"

Six Months in His Service!

Cari Tutti!

This week was a great week! I can't believe I have been out 6 months!! Where does the time go?!? Genova is going great. I'ts big, huge actually! But that keeps us busy! 

 Thursday we had a zone training and interviews with President Dibb. This was my first actual interview with him and I was super happy to actually get to talk to him one on one. It was so great! He is definitely a man called of God and is so inspired. I could feel his power and love just radiating from him as we talked.

Thursday afternoon we had a lesson with a lady named Andreea. We found her in the area book. We were supposed to meet with her outside the Aquarium so we went and waited for a bit. Next to us were seated 2 ladies who were talking. Sorella Russell was making some calls so I decided I would start talking to them. We ended up having a good conversation about life and what brings them hope in this life because they were saying how bad the world is. I asked if I could show them what brings hope in my life and then I showed them a short Mormon message about Christ. It was really good. One of the ladies said her mom was actually a member but died several years ago. Unfortunately I couldn't get her name or number or talk much longer because Andreea came, and I had to go. But I love those little interactions with people that help lift their day and mine!

We had a great lesson with Andreea, and she said she believes in the Book of Mormon and wants to come to church, but she as work... come sempre....So we're praying for her to be able to come to church somehow!

Friday night we met with a member family and it was so great! Two of the kids served a mission in Rome! And they are doing great missionary work. Members always bring such a great spirit and just rejuvenate me! I'ts great to visit people who just automatically love the missionaries and want to see us! We are trying to work with members more because the sister missionaries haven't done a lot with members here in the past... And we have 2 wards we're over, so that gives us a lot of work!

Saturday there were 2 baptisms! One in the morning for a guy in Genova 1 and then one in the evening for a couple in Genova 2! They were so great! Right before the baptism in the evening we had English class so we invited all of our English students to the baptism and a lot of them came! We are actually teaching 2 of our English students right now. Neve and Chiara. They are 20 and 21. They are Catholic, but open to learning about our church. Neve is from Albania and is sooo energetic, but she's fun! She loves to talk and asks great questions. Chiara is more quiet, but she is super nice. We had a great lesson with them before English class and then they got to see what a baptism is like! At the baptism there was a lady who I thought was just a member so I was talking to her and she was super sweet! Then another lady told me she hasn't been to church in a loooooong time. So we asked if we could visit her sometime! She said she would love that so we went and saw her Monday! Her name is Daniella and she is from Genova! She and her husband were baptized in the 1990's but became inactive to search out other churches. She said though that all along she knew this was the true church. She said that she just needs the right time to come back. She said she came to the baptism because she was invited but she also thinks it was a push from her brothers on the other side telling her it's time for her to go back so she can do their work. That was a special experience she shared with us. We are going to meet with her and her husband and help them become strong again! 

Sunday we had lunch with a member, Sorella Fava. She is the cutest older lady who lives alone in a beautiful house. She LOVES to talk and she told us so many great stories and experiences! It was a miracle I could understand her! She was talking so fast and constantly! Haha but she was adorable!!! Then that night we had dinner with a lady whose son isn't a member. He was meeting with the Anziani in the past but then something happened and now he says he's Athiest. So we talked about faith with them. It was a good lesson. Hopefully we can help him start to meet with the Anziani again! 

Yesterday morning we were just trying to do passbys because we didn't have an appointment and one of the ladies was actually home! She was too busy to see us, but we set up another appointment with her. Then we decided to try casa in the building! And this time 3 people actually answered their doors and were somewhat interested! Usually people say, "aw, non mi interessa." or just "no. no." and shut the door. Sometimes people don't even open the door. Always people yell from behind the door "Chi e?" or who is it before they open it. But this time we actually had people interested! 

Then later that evening we met with Dalia and her Mom. They are investigators who Sorella Russell met with her last companion. But this was only the second lesson with them. They actually came to church on Sunday! And loved it!! and then yesterday we set a baptism date with them for September 19! They are loving the Book of Mormon and what we teach them! They are from Cuba and are super sweet! Right now Dalia is looking for work since her work is going to end soon... But I know that the gospel will bless her life! 

That was my week! Also full of heat, humidity, heat, laughing, gelato,heat, walking up the hills of Genova, talking to crazy old Italians, heat, and seeing miracles!

I just love missionary work and I'm so grateful I can serve the people here in Italy! 

Vi voglio bene!!!

Sorella Dixon

Portofino

Straight from Sorella Dixon's camera!!

" Genova... holy camoly it is SOO hot and humid! But still not as hot as Milano! Crazy!

We ask people how they are and they always say bad. Because of the heat! People say it has been YEARS since it has been this hot.. great! I'm glad I get to be here to experience the hottest year in who knows how many years! ;) I constantly feel wet... and when I'm ready for bed I am still sweating. I have no idea how Jess survived in worse than this!! But I guess you just have to get used to it...and continue forward anyway! :)"

Sorella Dixon and Sorella Russell

"Just a building in Genova"

"Eating Focaccia. Delish!"

"The view from our balcony"

"Spending a day as a three-some"

From Milano--Giovanna and Gaia

From Milano--Nancy and the Ramos family

Missionary Work in Genova

Cari tutti,

  Well first off, I love Genova!!! It's gorgeous! And not as hot as Milan so that's way nice. We live in an apartment building on the 3rd floor right in the city so it seems like it's bigger than Milano since there I lived in a pretty calm area. There are always cars and sound. And we have a lovely guy who likes to yell along our street in the evening and mornings, but it hasn't really disturbed anything, so that's fine. :) but the view is gorgeous and the streets are so cute! The way we get around is buses and train. I don't mind buses because it's pretty easy to do finding and talk to people on the bus, but the train is pretty hard to do finding. In the station though there are a lot of stairs and sometimes we can help people carry strollers or bags up the stairs and that's a good way to serve and then start a conversation! The only thing about Genova is it stinks.... But that's ok, it always smells nice when we pass a nice paneteria or focacceria! Genova is known for its pesto and focaccia and I've tried focaccia! It is so good. Definitely different than the focaccia I had in Milan. It's soft, salty, oily goodness :)

Sorella Russell is super sweet. We have gotten along really well. She is from Illinois, so my first companion NOT from Utah! She is 20 and has been out about a year. She has been in Genova 3 transfers so this is her fourth here. She's pretty good at showing me around, but sometimes we're learning together. I was called to Genova 2 but the sisters are actually over Genova 1 and 2. So a lot bigger area than I had in Milano. It's all of Genova pretty much! 

We have already seen so many miracles! Mostly from people we talk to on the street we've has lots of good gospel conversations with people, and we have been able to teach well together. 

Saturday we had a really good lesson with a lady named Elisabetta. She is from Poland and has apparently investigated for over a year. She has gone off and on with the missionaries. We met with her and she said she has been reading the Book of Mormon.  We addressed some concerns she had and really committed her to read and pray and then we also set a baptism date for her! She said she would tell us when she felt ready to be baptized and when she got her response, but we told her we knew she could really know if she has a certain date, like a goal. We pulled out the calendar and she chose September 5. She even wrote it in! So we are praying for the best!

Sunday was a great day at church! We went to Genova 1 this week since one of our investigators said she was coming. They meet pretty much in an office building just the 2nd and 3rd floor or something like that. When you're in it it doesn't feel like an office building though! It just feels likes normal church. All of the members are sweet! And Lucia did eventually come! We had a good lesson with her after church. The sisters have only met with her twice I think but she loves everything. I think she would really progress the only thing is she has work every Sunday. So hopefully we can figure that out so she can come to church. She says beautiful prayers and loves the scriptures. She also really likes how Relief Society was more like a conversation where lots of people make comments and how we learn from each other.

Sunday night and Monday were really stressful. We had another sister with us who is serving in San Remo. She had to stay with us because her 2 companions were going to Pordenone to pick up one of the sisters permesso. It was stressful because none of our appointments worked out and we seriously could not figure out what to do. I didn't know the area at all so I didn't know of people we could try to passby or members we could visit and Sorella Russell didn't know of anyone either. So I didn't quite know what to do. Sunday night we did some finding and then did mapping so we could have less active passbys the next time we were in an area and the appointment fell through. Then Monday we ended up doing a bunch of those passbys since our appointments canceled. Fun stuff. I kind of felt bad just dragging Sorella Bowman all around Sestri but the streets are beautiful, so that was a plus. They are the tiny, hilly, colorful streets that you think of when you think of Italy! :) We did have a miracle with these passbys so it was all worth it. One of the ladies actually answered and let us in! We had a really good short lesson with her so now we know her and can visit her again! 

Later in the day Sorella Russell was kind of ahead of Sorella Bowman and me and we got stuck at a light. She didn't realize and kept going into the train station. When we got to the street across from the train station we could see a train that was just leaving. We both mentioned at the same time how we hoped she didn't just get on that.... Since it was probably our train... Well the light finally turned green and we went on the platform to no Sorella Russell. Oh dear... We tried calling her with a Payphone since she had the cellphone but it wouldn't take our money... So we just got on the next train praying she was just at our station. We got to the next stop and I saw her outside on a bench talking on the phone. We hopped off, went to her and the were able to get on the train to go to our stop. Phew! She was pretty stressed, but now we laugh about it! She couldn't believe she left me at a train station my first week in Genova! Good times in Genova! After Sorella Bowman left, Sorella Russell and I took a little breather with gelato. :)

Tuesday we met with a lady who had met with  missionaries in the past. She's from Panama and it was a good lesson. She said her only issue with our church is that we're polygamists... So we cleared that one! I think she'll be really good. She loves the Book of Mormon and she gave a great prayer. We actually didn't think her lesson was going to work out because we tried calling her Monday night and kind of got the area she wanted to meet at but then I guess she just hung up... So we didn't actually know if she was going to come. But the next morning we felt like we should still got to the piazza and then call her so we did that and she said she was super close and we had a great lesson! 

We also met with a less active and her husband who is not a member. That was a powerful lesson. We really addressed his needs. His main issue is coffee. Aaaah... they're not married. It's the document issue again. They're planning on getting married next year. I hope we can see him again. We actually just planned on seeing her since she's less active but he was home from work so that was a miracle! He usually works late, but I think we'll be able to work something out! They live in Rossiglione, a beautiful, calm, more country part by Genova. So different from the city. I loved it!

Today we went to Portofino!!! So beautiful! Sorella Russell was super excited to show me! I loved it! It was probably the most touristy place I've been in in Italy! I was hearing English everywhere! Weird! We were on the bus and it was really packed. We got talking to two couples, one from England and one from South Carolina. One of the ladies made comments about how there were too many people on the bus and how the ride wouldn't be so bad if the driver didn't accelerate between turns up the hill. I just had to laugh. Welcome to Italy! That is seriously how it is everywhere! Packed buses with barely even room to stand and crazy drivers! I guess I'm just used to it or something.

Anyway the work is moving and I'm falling more and more in love with Italy!  :) Have a great week!

Vi voglio bene! 

Sorella Dixon :)

(No pictures this week because Sorella Dixon didn't know the password for the computer. Let's cross our fingers and toes for photos next week.)

A Transfer Call..and Raw Eggs!!

Cari Tutti!

Well transfer calls came this week....and I'm going to GENOVA!!! (or

Genoa in English...) Woohoo! I'll be with Sorella Russell who will be

in her 9th transfer. Guess what's crazy? She was Sorella Griffin's last

companion! So that's pretty neat :) And Sorella Griffin has told me

ALL about Genova so now I know all the great things to see and do! I'm

pretty excited! It's by the ocean, so hopefully that means it will be

a little cooler... since it has been toasting here! Sorella Griffin is

staying here and will be training! yay! 

She'll be great! I'm leaving right when we have amazing investigators,

so that's really sad. But it will give the new missionary a great

start! :)

Wednesday night we had dinner and a lesson with Vicenzo and his wife

Flora. His wife is suuuper nice.  We had pizza, pulia style. So really thick and

huge. Vicenzo is a funny guy, but he's pretty great. We had another

lesson with him Saturday where we really talked about praying about

the church to see if it's true.

Thursday we had a great lesson with Karen, Alessandra, and Giuliana.

They wanted to watch the Restoration video so we did and they really

liked it. We became really good friends with Giuliana! Now we just

need to get Alessandra to feel more comfortable around us. They

accepted the soft baptismal invite, they just want to pray and really

know if this is the true church.

Then we had quite the interesting lesson with Nancy. There are 2

friends who live with them and one of them was home so we invited him

to join us. It started out really great and then he just started

telling us about lots of things but mostly about how dangerous Peru is,

or used to be. They both were telling experiences they have each had,

involving terrorists and crazy people. I had NO idea Nancy had to deal

with so many things. It's amazing how such young people are called as

missionaries to help people heal from experiences that we didn't even

know happened! 

Friday morning as we were getting food in the kitchen it kind of smelt

like fish... sometimes the umido smells really bad (that's the garbage

for the food like peelings and stuff since they don't have just normal

garbages here. You have to recycle everything.) So we decided we

needed to take that out that day. So later I pulled out the bag and

underneath were MAGGOTS!!! Yes alive crawly things at the bottom of

the container! gross gross gross! And it smelt even worse since I was

closer! I was almost gagging. Disgusting! We were trying to figure out

why in the world this time it was so bad since we took it out just 2

days earlier and then we realized that there was a bad egg yolk in

there that Sorella Griffin threw away Thursday.... I will never put

eggs in my umido again without taking it out that day! haha quite the

experience....

Saturday every. single. one. of our appointments and plans fell

through. Every one! It was crazy! That hadn't happened at all this

transfer! I guess there has to be one day... So we tried some

passbys, made calls, rode the metro (since it was cooler and that's

really the only place to do finding since no one is at the park or on

the streets in this weather!) Happy 4th of July to us! ;)

Luckily we were able to see Vicenzo that night. And I got to see Anita

one last time before I left! So it wasn't a day full of nothing :)

Anita has moved hospitals and is now doing therapy. She has read more

of the Book of Mormon and had great questions. We also taught her

about the Plan of Salvation. It was probably the best lesson we've had

with her! Pretty soon she'll get to go home and then she wants to come

to church!

Sunday was my last Sunday in Lampugnano! So many people were so nice

and were sad to say goodbye. I really feel like this is my ward! I

love them! I got to bear my testimony. It was crazy thinking about

just 4 months ago I was bearing my testimony because I was new here

and how I could barely say the basics and then this time I could

really share my feelings! I'm excited to see how much more my language

will continue to grow in each place! Sorella Griffin set up lots of

appointments with members and got two new investigators that she'll be

meeting with this week with her greenie!

Monday we had lunch with the Mosquiera's. They are from Peru. They

were in Florida for about a month so this was the first time Sorella

Griffin has met them. They are so great! And then we visited Giovanna

and Gaia. I've had a few lunch appointments with them with Sorella

Nedelkov. Giovanna is 70 and she was the first lady I spoke with on

the phone! We have been trying to have lunch with them this whole

transfer but they have had to move it probably about 10 times. So

we finally got to see them and I got to say goodbye!

Then that night we had a really good lesson with Nancy at the

Ramos's! They are so great! Sorella Ramos has a really strong

testimony and was explaining things really well. I love lessons with

members there! Nancy didn't come to church Sunday because she said

they were out late Saturday night and she didn't wake up in time.... We

were reading in 1 Nephi 3 and we talked about how God always provides

a way to keep the commandments when we got to verse 7. We talked about

church. And how important it is to go every Sunday. Mckenzie is super

cute! She's such a busy baby, but so adorable. I was giving the

closing prayer and she decided that that was the perfect time to come

and try to use to me to stand up. :) 

Today is my last pday in Lampugnano! CRAZY! Sorella Griffin had me

try Focaccia here because Focaccia is AMAZING in Genova and she wants

me to see the difference. Focaccia is really good bread that I'll just

have to take a picture of when I get to Genova so you can see what it

looks like. It started in Genova so everyone says it's the best there,

so I guess I'll get to see! :) Tonight is FHE at the church and I've

invited pretty much everyone so I can see them at least one last time!

Tomorrow I'm leaving for Genova! Woot woot! i'm pretty excited! And a

little sad. I love Milano and all the people here. It's been great.

I'm super excited to see more of beautiful Italy though and meet more wonderful people!! :D

Have a great week!

Vi Voglio bene!

Sorella Dixon :)

Happy 4th of July... ;) 

Just one American flag that we saw and had to take a picture with! 

A little information on Genoa:

Genoa is the 6th largest city in Italy. Over 1.5 million people live in the Genoa Metropolitan Area. Genoa is one of Europe's largest cities on the Mediterranean Sea and the largest seaport in Italy.

Genoa has been nicknamed la Superba ("the Proud one") due to its glorious past and impressive landmarks.  It is the birthplace of Christopher Columbus. 

Images of Genoa from Google.

 It will be fun to see images from Sorella Dixon!!

Everyone Needs to Know They're Loved...!

Cari Tutti!

I hope everyone has had a great week! I heard it has been pretty hot

in Utah... It"s about the same here in Italy! At least in Milano! For

awhile it was pretty cool with a little rain every once in a while,

but summer has started to decide it wants to be hot again, so here we

go! This weekend there are transfer calls!! Crazy! I can't believe

this transfer is almost over!! It went WAY too fast! We're thinking

that I'll be leaving and Sorella Griffin will stay here. I think she's

going to train!  Lampugnano is a training place for sure.

This week was great! Thursday was a pretty intense day. We went to 

see Elda and when we got to her apartment building she was actually

coming out the door and Sorella Griffin said Buongiorno! Then Elda

said "Buongiorno?! Its not good!...." and then told us how bad her day has been.

 How bad her life is and how bad the

people in her apartment are. It was actually really scary. She was

really angry. Sorella Griffin took control of the situation and we

ended up having a really good conversation with her once we got the

spirit there. Pretty much we're not seeing her for awhile. There are a

lot of things in this situation. It wasn't just because she was

yelling. At least we helped her that day, and hopefully someday we'll be

able to come back and actually teach her... And we also left her with

the numbers of members who live by who can give her a ride to church

if she wants.

Later that day we had a really good lesson with a girl named Karen.

She is from El Salvador and is about 21. We found her in the area

book! We were making calls of people who met with missionaries years

ago and she was one of them. She remembers the missionaries and she

even said there's a difference in her life without reading and praying.

She wants to meet with us about 2-3 times a week and said her Mom 

wants to start meeting with the missionaries again! She has work

everyday except Sat and Sun, so we're going to try to teach her then!

We had another lesson with her Monday and this time her 2 younger

sisters, 6 and 9, were there! It was sooo different teaching kids. But

I liked it because it forced us to be simple. And everyone needs it to

be simple, especially at the beginning! It's pretty cool. Their

lessons are pretty much exactly how we had them in the MTC. Usually

with Italians they talk and talk, and its hard to get a word in. The kids

just let us teach and we can ask questions without being afraid of

them talking and talking. Also, she asked really good

questions! They are a miracle family!

Thursday night we had a really good lesson with Nancy. She told us

more of her situation and things she's had to go through in her life.

Her life has not been easy. So we figured out that for them to get

married its a lot harder than we thought.... they'll probably have to

get married in Peru. Now we just have to help her understand living

separately. That will be hard for her. Especially since they have a

daughter and not a ton of money to just buy another apartment. This is

going to take a lot of faith and prayer.

Friday we had a little miracle! We were out in the park and Ermes came

by! He's the guy from my VERY first day in Italy who spoke English to

us! We have seen him around every once in awhile but I hadn't seen him

this whole transfer. Well on Friday we did! And we were able to talk

to him about the plan of salvation a little more. He just wants to

know so badly how everything started.  When we were

talking to him about it he said that our faces just have a light, and

we are confident in what we say, that we know for sure. That

was pretty neat. I love how people can see that light! We told him he

can know, too!

Saturday we had a really good lesson with Nancy. We felt like we should

really focus on the love of God and how He's there to help her with

anything. It was probably our best lesson we've had with her. Everyone

needs to know they're loved! And when they feel that love they come to

love God more which helps them do what is right.

Then later that day we were just doing some passbys. Part of the time, we

were kind of wandering around as I was trying to figure our where the

street was... but we eventually found it! Later we decided to go visit

Lydia and there are several ways to get to her. At this one stop we

could take a little tram and walk down a street, or take a bigger tram

and it would take us all the way there just in a more roundabout way.

I was thinking of taking the bigger tram, but at the last second as

the little tram was coming up I decided to take that and walk down the

street, so we did that and I remembered as we were walking there was a

street with really cool paintings that Sorella Griffin would probably

like, so we went down it. As we were walking down the street and

looking at the paintings a man on a bike stopped and said, "do you

speak English?" We said yes! And then he couldn't really say anything

else haha... so we talked to him in Italian! We ended up talking to

him for awhile and didn't even end up going to see Lydia! It turns out

that he had talked to missionaries 20 years ago and he still remembers

one of their names and what state they are from! And he has a Book of

Mormon! We set up an appointment with him and his wife and also told

him about church. He said he probably couldn't come to church because

he doesn't have a car and it would be too much of a hassle, but then

at the end he said, "Well maybe, it wouldn't be too hard". We prayed with

him and Sorella Griffin prayed for his son who was in the hospital. He

really liked that prayer. He told us when he called us later that

night. He called us 2 times after we left him.  Once to invite us

to get a pizza (which was only like 10 minutes after we saw him) and a

little bit later to pretty much say he'd see us Wednesday, and that he

liked the prayer. His name is Vincent (in English). Well Sunday

morning came and he surprised us by coming to sacrament meeting! :D We

introduced him to lots of people and got him another Book of Mormon

because he lost his other one. We have an appointment with him and his

wife tonight! So hopefully it goes well!

Sunday was Sorella Griffin's birthday!!! :D Woohoo! We celebrated by

having lunch with the Lauriola's. They were super nice and even got

her a gelato cake! Then later that night we had dinner with Nancy,

Nelson, Mckenzie, Gladys, and Giulia!! Sorella Griffin thought we were

just going there for a lesson, but then Nancy came out all dressed up

and had dinner prepared for her birthday!! yay! It was so cute!

Monday and Tuesday we had lessons with Karen, Nancy, and Anita. We

also had FHE with the Ramos family and they had a friend over who

wasn't a member but who pretty much only spoke Spanish, so we watched

the Restoration in Spanish. It was great! The work is going well and we

are seeing miracles everyday!

Next week my p-day will be Tuesday because transfers will be Wednesday

this time. So we'll see if I'll be leaving! 

Well, have a great week! :D

Vi voglio bene!

Sorella Dixon :)

With McKenzie

Sorella Dixon, McKenzie, Nancy

Working in Como

P-day in Como

"We made it to the lighthouse"

Sorella Griffin's birthday!

"Just for You"