NAPOLI

Its true. Catania is far far away  in a whole other land. Its like a dream. It is so weird to leave a city. BUT IT IS SO GREAT. I feel so free and ready to conquer the world! Oh man. I have been on a such a high these last four days.

First of all. Last week I had my last pday in catania. You know what that means. MT ETNA (the famous volcano of Sicily) I finally made it there. Sorella Bair and I went with three italian men. It was great. We went crater jumping and stuff.

We had my last lesson with Luigi Sinatra. He gave me gifts of Italian cds, chocoaltes, a note written in italian with googled english translation, AND cannoli! YUM. It was a dream come true. Luigi is my bestie. He didnt accept our baptismal invite. BUT ONE DAY HE TOTALLY WILL.

I toook the 7 hour  train up to Naples with two Anziani. Best trip ever, I know. I LOVE Pozzuoli. I absolutely love it here. The people are SO open. We went finding the other day and have been able to do so on the metro and people are so willing to listen, its amazing. On our way to naples today, a man asked us if we were nuns on the train and we struck up a conversation...eventually turning into the Restoration. We (two little american girls) had three italians listening to recount the story of Joseph Smith. It was a cool moment.

Pozzuoli is right by the sea!! It is so cute and quaint. The apartment is like a house! There are only two sisters living there, so more time to focus on the work. Sorella Viazzo is like a dream come true companion. She loves missionary work. We have set some awesome goals and plans for this transfer. We are both so excited!

There is a branch here in Pozzuoli with..... italians....americans (because there is ANOTHER military base nearby)......AND AFRICANs. There have been a ton of african baptisms lately. There is a whole african community nearby, so we have all these african investigators. So we teach about half and half in english and italian. Its so weird. The AFricans are such GOOD, spiritual people. I am in AWE. HAha we have this new covert, Roselyn and she is the cutest most wonderful woman. We taught her the other day and I just kept thinking to myself "this is too good to be true". Whenever we ask the Africans if we meet with them they ALWAYS respond "yes. BY THE GRACE OF GOD"

So lots of english means LOTS OF TRANSLATION. It is a bit scary, but fun. Actually there is an american in the branch presidency hahah. He wanted to say something to president the other day, so I translated for them. Interesting!

Napoli is real and ghetto. And I just had a pie. yes a whole pie of the BEST pizza in the world. LIterally. There are not even words that can describe how beautiful the experience was. It is like this soupy mozzarella heaven in your mouth. WOW.

Naples is BEAUTIFUL! We have an awesome ward mission leader who is american and he gives amazing trainings...like blow your mind! WOW.

I have only been here for 4 days and I feel like it is really changing my mission and the way I view the Lords work. Wow! It is so so good! I am so grateful for Sorella Viazzo. I love that we are totally on the same page!

Matthew 10:39. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Love you all!

Sorella Clyde

GREATEST DISTRICT.
SASSIEST SICILIAN WOMAN
annnnnnd
GREATEST PIZZA IN THE WORLD. Literally. only in Naples.

NEWS

Sorella Bair and I awaited this day all week long...the dreaded-exciting TRANSFER CALL DAY. We had a lesson with Luigi Sinatra that morning. On the long beautiful walk there, (yes, beautiful. It is the middle of february and probably about 70 degrees and sunny out.) we realized we only had 1 bar of battery left on our phone. OH NO and we would be gone away from the house all day long with appointments! Such a nightmare.

We did the only thing we could...prayed and avoided all the phone calls we got from Sorella Amato. We met at Savia, the cutest little restaurant in Catania and took a seat with Luigi and Sorella Amato. We sat at a cute little restaurant table oustide the restaurant with the sun shining and the waiter asking for our orders. It felt just a like a scene out of movie (like that Inception scene, but with an italian feel). Well we were talking with them when we noticed a missed call from the mission presidents wife!!! Thats it. Thats the call. We focused our minds and waited the whole lesson to receive the news. I wasnt as anxious as Sorella BAir, because I was 99% positive that I would remain in Catania and she would be transferred. She has done 4 transfers, while I have only done 3 here.

As soon as the appoitment ended, we ran down beautiful Via Etnea to catch our bus in time to the Mirabellas, meanwhile calling Sister Waddoups back before the phone went dead. I went first, while Sorella Bair stood 20 feet behind me to avoid any ruined surprises. We joked about the phone dying in the middle of the call....well guess what happened. The phone died in the middle of my call. HAha

LUCKILY a miracle happeend and we could call her back. Well, looks like our predictions were TOTALLY wrong. I am MOVIN ON!!!! I am being tranferred to Pozzouli (a city right outside of Naples) I AM GOING TO NAPLES!! HAHA. I get to spread my wings and fly! I AM SO EXCITED!!

Napoli (NAples) is definitely a coveted spot to serve. Okay it is not exactly the center of NAples (because its too dangerous for sisters), but there are only 2 cities right outside of NAples for sisters to serve in. That means only 4 sisters serve there at a time. Also these two areas were JUST barely opened last spring.

Besides the fact that it known for being a dangerous area with a lot of theft, I am only heard GREAT things. Sorella Fossa  served there and how non-stop raved about the city, about the members. ABOUT THE PIZZA. Napoletana pizza is known for being the best in all of Italy. Hahah its like a dream.

Oh and the coolest thing is...my companion will be Sorella Viazzo! Rebecca Viazzo from my singles ward in Dublin, CA. HAhah we totally knew each other from before the mission. She is so cute and fun!

It was a great week. We had a lesson with Luigi earlier on in the week that went really well! We really think he is going to get baptized! He agreed to pray and specifically ask God, "God is this the way for me?" He is so golden and happy.

At english course that night, I gave the spiritual thought and so I shared Moroni 7:48. It ends the chapter, so the last word is Amen. As soon as I finished readin the scripture, EVERY student in the room agreed with their AMENs as well. HAhaha it was great.

We had a lesson with a man that loves Sorella Bair. I totally felt like a third wheel the whole appoitnment and whenever I tried to talk to him, he IGNORED me. When we asked him to pray to know if the book of mormon is true, he said "Oh I already know it is true." Hmmm. He was really happy though!

Friday night, the other sisters threw an AWESOME Ward Valentines Day party. It went so well! There was a cute photo booth, music, food. It was fun to have an excuse to listen to some American music :) The best part was, I bought a cake to bring to the party. These are famous cakes that are sold in a box. Well when we opened the box, we found a lovely bottle of WINE to go along with it. YEP. I bought alcohol, with no ID, as A MISSIONARY. Whoops.

Yesterday, I gave my parting testimony in Catania and Sigonella. Sorella Bair totally filmed my Catania italian one. (only in an italian ward, would that be okay) HAHA. I shared a scripture that I recently found that has really touched me and will definitely help me through life.

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."

Sorry for the disorganized email. I love and pray for all of you!

Love,
Sorella Clyde

pictures of the Rome temple being built!

lecca lecca

Terms of endearment:

Cara=dear
gioia=joy

I just had a life changing week. So many miracles! Wow!

Last week was zone conference so that meant all the cities needed to come into town (Catania) for interviews the day before. TEN SORELLE in the Catania household! Crazy. Enna is a small, beautiful city in our zone with NO WORK. It is not even a branch yet, so the elders there organized a Zone Blitz where the whole zone drove out there the day before interviews to basically swarm the city with the gospel! It was so cool! We did a couple exchanges and everyone just did finding all day long. It was the cutest, most typical little italian city I have seen. Oh man I loved it. In the afternoon I got paired with Sorella Price hahaha how cool! We finally were able to do real missionary work together...none of this fake mtc stuff. Haha we had a really sweet, miraculous experience. We were doing Casa (knocking doors/ringing citofonos) and not expecting much success (because I have NEVER had success when knocking doors). We only had 45 minutes or so til we needed to be back. We took turns ringing doorbells. AFter a little hilwe, I randomly decided to hit one in particular. This one did not have a citofono. It was just a doorbell, so the person would have direct eye contact with us (rather than just a voice box). Then it happened, we heard someone coming. BUTTERFLIES. "Someones coming!" I franticly whispered! Both of us, really nervous definitely not used to this. The door swung open.... "Buona sera. Siamo missionaire per la chiesa di Gesu Cristo. Abbiamo un messagio sulla fede per voi. Avete 5 minuti??" (the most basic door approach). Then it happened. Totally expecting rejection...the sweet middle aged woman responded, "Si." and the door opened for us to enter. WHHHHAAAT? Ok. WE GOT THIS.

We then delivered a short message of the Restoration and Joseph Smith. She and her daughter just listened. They were so kind and sweet. Having never heard of the mormon church before, she was excited to learn more. It almost feels like a dream haha. It was jus this little Hansel and Gretel cottage styled apartment of the most typical ijtalian neighborhood you could ever imagine- that was tucked away in this little maze of apartment homes. As we were ringing bells, it seriouslyfelt like we were going deeper and deeper into the maze.

This woman and her daughter listened to the message of the restored gospel of Christ for the first time. There was definitely a special Spirit in the room that I will never forget. Wow. It was definitely a life changing experience to understand that God is preparing His children! They ARE out there, we just need to be prayerful and be looking. We gave her a book of mormon and she agreed to read. Sorella Price nd I left feeling like we were on cloud 9! This is real wonderful joyous missionary work!

I had an interview with President Waddoups last week and he challenged specifically me to teach the Joseph Smith story 10 more times before the end of the transfer (about 10 days). Ive got 7 more to go. One of the experiences was really special. As we were riding the buses to the center of the city, we exchanged buses at Piazza Sanzio and a woman I made eye contact. She asked how I was doing and where I was going. She then hopped on the same bus as me and asked me to sit near her. I definitely jumped at that opportunity! We started a conversation and then I asked her about her religious beliefs and was able to go into the Restoration. It was really cool. Her name is Lily and she is SO golden and interested. It was just a funny life experience. Sorella Bair sat in the back of the bus and noticed that there were two or three other women sitting nearby listening to me teach this woman. She said it was definitely a picture moment. Anyway, we are teaching her later this evening. The work is good and it is everywhere! We just need to pray for opportunities to come!

Sorella BAir and I went to the American base commisary grocery store this week. It was like heaven. Peanut Butter capn crunch and garden salsa sun chips, dont mind if I do:)


Love you all! Keep sharing the word and recognizing miracles!!

Sister Clyde

Happy st agata slash groundhogs day

We had a lesson with Luigi last week and it went really well. I was on splits with Sorella Rossell, so I was pretty much leading out on everything. We did a review of the Restoration. After explaining the last two paragraphs to the introduction to the Book of Mormon, sorella rossell asked "So do you believe that this book could be true?" He immediately answered with a big smile on his face, "Non lo so. Devi chiedere Dio" (he said pointing towards the ceiling) (I dont know. You have to ask God) YES, he got it. It was so perfect and Sorella Rossell and I gave each other "the look"...he is ready for the baptismal invite. I did it. My FIRST ONE. It went well. Well, he said no but he is excited to read the book and he agreed to pray to know the truth. He is so golden. He closed the lesson with a beautiful and sincere prayer. The Lord is preparing His children to hear the gospel. I know it! I know that it was not a coincidence that we found him at a bus stop that one day.

It is sometimes discouraging to not see success with our investigators or to have no progressing investigators for the week, but it is cool to think about later down the road when these people finally decide to take the step and be baptized. Sometimes (a lot of the time) it takes time. We dont know everything, but God does. God is placing us where we need to be! Missionaries, members, people. God comprehends all things.

The whole district was invited over a Filopinas house for lunch. She has recently been reactivated and she is so wonderful and kind. I was so impressed by her genuity and goodness as the elders taught her a beautiful lesson about the temple. There was a beautiful spirit in the room as her tear-filled eyes said all that she was feeling. Nana and Grandpa, every filopino I have met is so inherently happy and kind. How lucky you were able to serve with them!

We take buses pretty much everywhere we go, so we did bus finding on the way to one of our appointments. It was so awesome to see four us of sisters at work in a huge crowded bus. I found a woman who spoke english. It was definitely a relief to be able to express personality. She was so kind and interested and agreed to meet with us. Another man asked what the story of Mormons was, so I went into the Restoration. I even went into the First Vision, which I realized halfway through probably wasnt the best idea since we were on a loud crouded bus. He totally began chuckling halfway through. NO SHAME. I finished teaching him proudly and confidently.

Sometimes I think...why am I here in Italy? Why not in the US? Why am I called to speak italian? when I could be connecting with people of the same language and culture as my own? Its because we stand out! MAN DO WE STAND OUT HERE!?? People are intrigued by us and why our families would let us come here. Thus, they have the desire to hear our message and ask questions like "What is the story of Mormons?" to a random stranger! How cool. Yes, I dont speak fluently nor do I have a perfect accent, but people are still eager to listen. Its really cool.

I totally lost my voice these last three days. Ugh, you dont even want to know. I sound like a man. We went to a lesson on Friday with a less active family. When I began to speak, im pretty sure they didnt even listen to a word I said. They even offered that I say it in english and sorella bair translate for me (hahah as if that will make it any better!) Italians are so funny. Im not sure if I ever mentioned this, but italians health is dependant on the weather. YES, its true. If its raining outside, half the ward doesnt come to church because they have influenza. I cant tell you how many lessons have been cancelled because someone had influenza or a fever. Anyway, one of the girls suggested that I buy cough drops because "la tua voce e bruttissima!!!" HAhha (your voice is VERY UGLY!) HAhaha well the direct translation in english is that. She was really just saying "Your voice sounds really bad". I love italian honesty.

A common conversation: 

Italian: I have a fever. I cant come today.

missionary: OHhhhh no. BEcause of the rain?

Italian: Certo (certainly)

Today is Saint Agatas day (THE saint of Catania) and it was the craziest day ever. Sorella Amato offered slash forced us to go with her. She is so crazy and funny. All she told us was that there were going to be thousands of people and a huge fire... so we said "we are in." Indeed there were thousands of people, people marching around with shrines or something, there was a carriage pulled by horses. There were candy stands galore. ITalian music being played throughout the streets. I just kept thinking, "I am in a movie. Where am I??" Sorella Amato was very sure to keep an eye on all of us. She pretty much was babysitting us the whole day. It was a good day. AFter lunch, I carried our leftovers in a plastic bag as we continued to walk throughout the streets. As soon as she noticed she said, "Sorella, what are you doing!?? Put that plastic bag in your purse! It looks like you are carrying garbage around!"

2 Nephi 32. Search and understand knowledge. Immerse yourself in the scriptures. and ponder still in your hearts!

"Only by much searching and mining, are gold and diamonds obtained, and man can find every truth connected with his being,if he will dig deep into the mind of his soul" (dad, that one is for you from As a Mind Thinketh)  I have been studying the gift of pondering. So fascinating and necessary to connect our minds with our hearts in receiving personal revelation.

Love you all. 6 more weeks of winter or what? What did Puxatoney Phil say?

love,
sister sam

Elephant

Hey all you people. Hey all you people (spongebob reference-thats for you Lynz, Phil, Hen, Jane)

It has definitely been a week of nothing and everything. Sorella Bair was sick for a lot of the week, so there was a lot of staying in. We were finally able to get out to work on Friday again. It is AMAZING the difference in happiness level when you are doing the Lords work. The work is so happy!

Since Sorella Bair was sick we had to cancel our appointment with Luigi. Sorella Amato was furious since this was the third time cancelling (not our faults totally), so she called to express her opinions. Well I happened to answer the phone and I had an italian woman yell in my ear for 13 minutes. There were several times that I had to hold the phone away from my ear (in the meantime thinking to myself...."Where am I? What is happening??") On top of that, she speaks like a million miles an hour, so Sorella Bair would feed me lines to say. It was probably the scariest thing I have ever encountered. I felt like I had had a heart attack or something. OOh and it was in the middle of personal study, so I immediately turned to 3 Nephi 17 to help boost myself following the phonecall. Phew. 

Friday, Saturday and Sunday were awesome. Friday, we went with some of the women from the American sigonella branch to Annas house to learn how to make REAL italian pizza. It was so fun. It was definitely one of those nights where you lose track of time heh heh. (yeah, definitely didnt make that 930 curfew) BUT, we had the senior couple, the Clarks with us so it was totally justified. I havent mentioned the Clarks yet. They are so wonderful, they are like our little grandparents. They say "I love you" at the end of EVERY phone call. I never thought I would be saying that on phone call on my mission. Sometimes I feel weird saying it to them, but what the hay. Yolo. Hah Sorella Bair and I get a kick out of it. 

The night went so well with Anna. She is italian, speaks english really well. Elder Clark offered and gave a blessing on their house. Anna and her husband were so touched. In fact, her husband hugged Elder Clark afterwards! (not the typical european cheek kisses) but a real genuine american hug. It was so touching. The Spirit was so powerful throughout the blessing, especially as Sorella Bair translated into italian for Annas husband. We plan to teach them this week. They are golden!

Saturday we visited the Alonzos. (they are a less active family) and we brought Pina along with us. We taught about the Restoration and how we got an answer that the church was true. Pina shared her conversion story (which was within the last 2 yrs). Man, was it powerful! She said how she read part of the Book of Mormon and then was asked to be baptized. She did not feel ready, she felt like she really needed to know and read everything to make that decision. One day she was reading in the Book of Mormon and it had said something about how we dont need to know everything to know that something is true. She said how the words were so personalized to her and were an exact answer to her prayer. She claims that to this day, she cant find where that is written in the Book of Mormon. She knows that it was an answer from God. It was so powerful and it was a testimony to me that the Book of Mormon really is from God. It is a beautiful, true book and we can become closer to God everytime we read it. It is a book of 531 pgs and yet there are 1000s of revelations that can be found within it. 

I love the Book of Mormon. For my personal study lately I have been starting my study with a question ie. How can I be a better missionary? How can I involve the Spirit more in my teaching?) It is almost humorous that I am quickly given the answers to my questions within that chapter. I am always guided to read the right chapter and find the guidance that I am seeking. Now I just need the whole world to understand this concept:)


Sunday was such a miracle! Wesley (the military guy we met on the bus) came to church! Haha. He had a good time, he fit in with the branch members, he enjoyed himself at the linger longer while playing beautiful piano background music for us all, AND he wants to come back next week! As we were leaving I went to say goodbye, while asking him how he liked church. "Yeah. I liked it." and without me even mentioning anything he said, "I think I will come next week too". HOW COOL. We hope to teach him this week.

ps.We totally had real live brick oven pizza at a members house last week. They OWN a brick oven. Haha where am I?

Love,
Sorella Sam

Do you want a knuckle sandwich?

Missionaries in my district have fun with english course students and their english phrases. Hurry, give me some good ideas?? Kenna, I know youve got some good ones up your sleeve. This week it was "Do you want a knuckle sandwich?" and "Whats shakin bacon?" Haha we heart english course.

Just had a rollercoaster of emotions kind of a week. Definitely probably the hardest week of my mission so far. It is so amazing to see the Lords hand in your life and to see your relationship grow even stronger when you are dealing with really hard, lonely times. I have been so grateful to see His tender mercies. I was walking with my companion and we were lost and I was just feeling really crumby, when Luigi Sinatra called us to cancel our appointment. He asked how I was doing and then he said in his broken english, "YOU, TOO. MUCH. HAPPY." He probably said it three times to me. It was such a small little thing, but it was so sweet. 

The other day we were on the bus when an interesting woman appraoched asking for help with her phone. Turns out she was from Russia. YES. Time to use my russian skills of 2 vocabulary words (come on liv. gimme more). Priviet and DA. Haha I had her speak some russian for me and I told her about you liv! Later that night while doing finding, we met two girls who spoke english (one from Brazil and the other from China). I told them about Steve and Kenna serving missions there as well. It was a really cool moment. The Chinese girl said, "wow small world". Although it seems like a cheesy coindicence, it meant a lot to me and I felt like the Lord was really watching out to me to show me that He knows us. He will never forget us. 

We taught Enzo in a cafe last week. As we were teaching, I noticed a sweet looking lady peering in and listening to us as we taught. She was specifically watching me. She then came over to ask about what we were teaching as she was very interested. She told me that I had light in my eyes and she wanted to know more. The Lord is placing us where He needs us. He is in the details of our lives. 


Last week we also taught Agata. It was a very short and interesting lesson. She was complaining about something that had happened with her niece. I began the lesson with a prayer and as I prayed for her niece, she intervened with the nieces name (which I repeated) and then she added exactly what was wrong with her. Having not remembered what she said, I agreed and finished the prayer. But as soon as I finished, agata was angry that I didnt say the exact words. Sorella Rossell (I was on an exchange) then said, "Dio sa tutto". (God knows all). Hahaha it was a funny moment. 

I translated for a girl in Young Womens and sunday school. It was really cool. The language is definitely coming along! I am excited for our work here this transfer! Catania is so beautiful! 

We visited Sorella Maiori last week and taught a powerful lesson on the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Spirit was so strong throughout the room. It was so clear that the Spirit was there. As I was sitting there, feeling so happy and filled with the Spirit, I had the realization (while in the midst of a hard week), THIS is why I am here. I am here to bring this Spirit, the good word of God to all people. I love the mission. I love the Lords work with all my heart. 

Love and pray for you all!

Sister Clyde

ps. I have no idea what is going on with the olympics, but you should look out for Kate Hansen in the luge. (she was definitely my visiting teaching companion freshman year) haha

Italian Foosball

Picture this: You are having a nice conversation with your companion during planning one night when BAM! next thing you know you are in mid air-not knowing which ways up and which ways down (feeling that Tower of Terror stomach-just-dropped-40 feet- life- flashed-before-your-eyes feeling! Therefore, causing you to scream out and crash to the floor! Yep, my rolling chair is missing a wheel:) The worst.

So we teach an english course twice a week! It is so rewarding!! At the beginning of my mission, I felt like it was the only place where I felt I was of use (barely knowing the language). The students are SO fun! I love it. At the end of the lesson, we always share a spiritual thought. We have gotten investigators to come of it. ITs really cool because we are able to develop a friendship and trust with them and then they are willing to listen to our message of the gospel! Oh funny story, last week after english course, Sorella Bair and I played foosball with two our students. It was so ridiculous. Michael was getting really hyped up and shocked refferring to Sorella Bair: "Wow! In church you are this reverent, prayerful girl, but now NO. Now you are like this beast!" (Hahaha referring to how excited and competetive she was getting during the game). HAhaha definitely a memorable mission moment!

I recently read a fantastic talk by Elder Ballard from last general conference titled "Put Your Trust in the Lord". Its definitely a must read. At the end he quotes Clayton Christensen, "Every time you take someone figuratively by the hand and introduc him or her to Jesus Christ, you will feel how deeply our Savior loves you and loves the person whose hand is in yours." Such true, beautifully said words. I am so grateful to be a part of this work at this time. EVERYone can be a part of this work right now. It is so good. I am so excited to hear about the familys experiences! You will never forget them! 

I went on splits with Sorella Fossa last week. Did I mention that we now live with an Italian sister misisonary. SHe is a hoot! Its fun because it forces us to speak the langauge at all times. She is so hilarious and crazy and fun! Anyway, it was definitely AN experience. It actually went really well and I could communicate with her for the most part. Haha

We took a bus to the military base and found a guy who is part of the military (and speaks english). We talked with him the whole ride down and he agreed t ocome to church next week. It was funny. As he jumped off the bus, I said okay we will see you in church and he says, "Yeah. Call me!!" It was really cool. Its cool to see that people really are open to learning. Although they may not be ready to accept the gospel yet, there are so many people who are willing to hear it. 

I love the mission. It is the craziest rollercoaster I have ever been on, but I love it. I wouldnt trade it for anything. 

Love you all!!

Love, sister clyde