I am going to the Island!

 Name that movie.

Picture of Beautiful Italy

Emilia and her daughter doing my hair. So cute.

Okay so I have news...the call came in and I'm out of Pescara. I'm getting called to SASSARI, SARDEGNA with Sorella FELICE (Felice means happy in Italian)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so excited. I LOVE Pescara and I've loved my time here and I'm going to be SO sad to leave my investigators...but I am SO excited. I just feel like my time here is done. I mean I've been here six months and I have worked A LOT. I could stay because I love these people so much, but when that call came, I just knew it was right. I'm way excited to go to the Island! I hear it's beautiful and there's lots of sheep and they have their own type of Italian language and I have no idea what to expect, but I'm excited! Everyone says Sorella Felice is so much fun so I'm excited to party up Christmas with her! 

 

 

Saying Goodbye to some great friends in Pescara

 

So in Pescara there were four sisters and two elders...well my companion, Sorella Mckenna, also got her transfer and she is going to Rome! So we are getting blown out! My good friend Sorella Patterson (we've practically been together our whole mission) is also going to Rome. So three sisters are leaving Pescara and two sisters are coming. It's kind of sad because we've made so great process with our investigators and now they're getting whole new people. But I'm sure they'll be fine. This weekend has been full of goodbyes. The ward is so upset to lose three sister missionaries (they love their sister missionaries here, we are their angels as they call us...no offense elders). The bishop is especially upset to have less missionaries because he's so into missionary work. 

 

 

 

 

 Saying some more Goodbyes to great friends in Pescara.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This cute old lady might be making us some "American" thanksgiving food Wednesday and then Thursday will be transfers so I'll be traveling all that day. Oh guess what...I have to take a plane to get to Sardegna. Haha so awesome that I have to take a plane to get to another area in my mission. And I can only bring one suitcase...so today I've been sorting all my stuff into things I need and things I could go without for a few months or who knows how long (usually the people who go out there are out there for a while because the plane is expensive). I'm not bothered at all, I really don't need all the stuff I have. 

 

Okay now I wanted to share a quick thought for everybody. Sometimes life is hard. It is way hard and sometimes God gives us things that we don't need or want. My favorite scripture, that I've really learned on my mission, is Ether 12:27. ...unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. . 

I love this scripture because it explains why we have hard things happen to us. Sometimes we get a little prideful or we get lazy in our prayers or scripture studies or we sin or something else. But God wants us to be better than that. So what does he do? He gives us experience to help us grow and to learn. God always knows what is best for us and he will always give us what is best for us, whether we like it or not. But he will never give us something that is harder than we can handle. We need to have this trust that God is trying to give us more faith and is trying to make us stronger so when we have trials--we shouldn't get discouraged but try our best to be strong and to use this experience to get closer with God. Sometimes that's hard to do and that's where we need to be humble and ask God for more help and he will certainly give us that help. "For my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves" And if we bear our burdens with faith and with trust, I know that God will bless us more than we can imagine and we will become stronger than we were before. So please don't get discouraged or sad when bad things happen to us--pray harder, read the scriptures, remember Christ and his grace, and move forward! When I'm having a hard time, I study patience...because EVERYTHING will pass with a little time. I love you all so much! I hope you have a great thanksgiving with lots of food! 

Guess what in exactly a month I get to talk to yall (my companion is from the south. yall comes out once in a while)! So be excited for that! Wow I can't believe all that is going on with the family; I am missing a lot. I'm glad dad is doing better and I hope everything continues to go well. Ah bridal shower for Chantel. I can't believe I had to miss that. But oh well. 

                                  Love you all!

The Rains came down and the floods came up!

Okay so this week has been great! Pescara flooded over. Seriously two feet of water was everything! I had to practically swim to get to English course and then we spent some time cleaning up member's houses this week. And now I'm a bit sick. But after what happened in the Philippians...I'm not going to complain at all! 

 

 

 

 

       The flooding and crazy rain in Pescara

 

 

 This week I went to Rome, again! But this time to do Exchanges with the lovely sisters in Roma 5 and that was a lot of fun.

 

A sister from Rome 5 who I did an exchange with

Also, the famiglia Dintino is making great process, they all came to Institute and and loved what the bishop said about the BOM and now they're reading it more.

 

Also, guess what. I sang in church yesterday with the three other sisters. Who knew I could sing? Wow do missions change you. Okay I can't tell you how great the ward is here in Pescara! Yesterday in church all the talks were on missionary work; the second counselor talked about how the members need to do more work and they are seriously working on it. Everyone is stepping up and trying their best to expand this ward in Pescara. The Bishop here is incredible, I'm pretty sure that every night this week he has a dinner set up with investigators, meno attivi, or part member families. A few months ago we visited with this excommunicated sister and her companion and we weren't able to get them to come to church. But suddenly the bishop went to work and got them both to come to church yesterday! What a difference it makes when the ward is involve. I feel so lucky to be in the ward.

 

So this week I got the cutest little envelope filled with letters from our extended family so tell them all thanks for that!! I haven't got your Dear Elder package, I'm surprised you sent me another one haha! Well I'm sure I'll love it when it arrives...or don't send me packages and just send me money. Because guess what? I can buy yummy gelato and cute Italian jackets with that :). Yeah I didn't get to see Cheree, but my city and area is really big...

 

Oh poor dad! Is he going to be healed soon or what needs to be done? I will certainly pray for him. Ah wow I can't believe Becca's baby is almost here! Send me a MILLION and one photos.

Best Pizza Ever---Sorry Dad...

 

Making Brownies with Analia and her daughter

Well next week is transfers and who knows where I will go (Pescara again!) vediamo!

vi voglio bene!

P-day in Rome and Zone Conference

Our little ghosts

Pumpkin carving from Halloween

 
If I had a nickel for every time I was asked if I was a nun.
I'd be rich.

Seriously I get asked if I'm a nun all the time. "Do you live in the church?" "Can you get married?" "Do you pray all day?" Nope, I'm not a nun. Haha although to some creepy guys I just tell them straight up that I'm a nun and then they leave me alone :)

So this week was great! But there's not a lot to tell because we went to Rome 2 times and that took up a lot of time. We had Zone conference and Stake Conference which were both awesome! Also last P-day we got to spend in Rome so guess what...I saw the Coliseum and the Trive fountain (I have no idea how to spell those in English). And they were so awesome and beautiful!!! We had to go in the night...so the pictures aren't that great, but it was still fun! 

 

 

Also Italian apartments aren't that great...so guess who's bathroom got covered in mold! Whoo mine! So that was fun cleaning up. 

Okay so Zone conference was amazing.  We learned about the BOM and how important it is. We had some great lessons and enjoy learning more to help us all be better missionaries.  Here are some pictures from Zone Conference.

After Zone Conference I felt like that was the main thing our investigators need right now to help them progress is to read and have a testimony of the BOM! So that was our goal this week! We went over to Famiglia Dintino and taught them the Restoration (we've already taught it...but that was a few months ago) with the invite that they really need to read and pray about it. We've never been able to teach the mom before, but she happened to be there! She had a ton of questions and said how it's hard for her to believe in the BOM and Joseph Smith. I asked if she has ever read it. She said no. We told her how she needs to read it first before she can decide and we testified of the BOM and the spirit was seriously so strong when we talked about it! So the whole family committed to reading and praying about it! And they all want to go to institute this Thursday where our Bishop teaches about the BOM, which we are so excited about. It was one of the best lessons I've had in my mission, not because they all committed to be baptized, but just because we knew that no one can really be converted in the long time unless they read the BOM and I know that they're all going to read the BOM, have a testimony, and then remain strong in the church. This family is going slow and steady. I just know that they're all going to get baptized and be a great family in the church! 

Okay I wanted to share a quick thought about the BOM that one of our members shared with us. He was saying how he doesn't need to ever pray if the BOM is true, but he needs to pray if He is true to the BOM. The BOM will always be true, but it's us who stop reading it and stop believing it. The BOM is full of answers and information, but it's up to us to read it to find those answers. People who lose their testimonies, don't read the BOM. So read it tutti! Every day I am so amazed at everything I find in the BOM and all the answers I get! It is true. I know it! I love being a missionary! Love you all! 

Sorella Knudsen 

Operation...Get out the Catholic

So...this week...has been just a wee bit difficult. Pretty much all our plans fell through every day and usually that's fine because that means God has prepared another miracle for us to see and usually we fine some awesome person or something. But this week that didn't really happen. But that's okay, God was just teaching us something! But it was a great week and we did a fun pumpkin carving activity with the young women that went great--first time any of them did pumpkin carving! Halloween is not that big of a holiday here, especially compared to All Saints Day, November 1st, where they worship...all the saints ever. Most people hate Halloween, especially our bishop, but somehow we were able to do this activity and he actually loved it! Whoo!

So...Dintino...first off--HE QUIT SMOKING!!! We taught him the word of wisdom and he hasn't picked up another cigarette since! Instead every night he sits in his house and plays his accordion to keep himself from smoking so he could be baptized on the 7th. But for some reason he decided to go on vacation this weekend and didn't come to church...he has to come to church three times before baptism so now he actually can't get baptized. It's weird because he was so committed. Actually to tell you the truth Sorella Mckenna and I have been a bit confused about him and if this is the right time to get baptized. He believes everything, he has shown great signs of faith (stopped smoking, worked all night to come to church), but...we haven't even taught him all the lessons and I don't think he's reading everyday. Then it hit us--he's still catholic. Our ward mission leader explained this to us: Italians are LAZY when it comes to religion. To be catholic means to wear a cross and go to church once a year--no reading the scriptures, no going to church every week, no serving others (for the most part, not everyone is like this). So Dintino believes everything, is almost willing to act, but wants to be very lazy with the church. Sorella Mckenna and I have started "Operation: Get out the catholic" where we're going to move his date back a couple weeks and teach him the importanza of coming to church every week, reading the scriptures, acting, serving others, paying tithing. We want to help him realize how big of a blessing these things are and how blessed we will be when we do them. We feel really good about taking this extra time, because we don't want him to get baptized and then become inactive. Hopefully he'll stick with us though! Prayers!

Also yesterday we found a new investigator, named Cherry! She's from the Philippians (shout out to Ashley Mecham!) and the cutest thing ever. We taught a lesson yesterday...in ENGLISH! It was the easiest lesson I've ever taught. Man you should've heard me explain that apostasy, I described it so beautifully in English! Ohh Italian. Haha well I guess it's a good thing I have to learn a language to always keep me humble.

So today I'm heading on a bus to Rome to finish my Pday and for zone conference tomorrow! I'm so excited! Rome! We're going to the Coliseum!
Also no pictures today because this computer is old school and it won't work ahha. Also this week I celebrated my SIX MONTHS IN THE MISSION. How has time gone by that fast? One more year until I will be in your arms again! ahha. If you can get me out of Italy. I can't leave Italy yet. And the cheese (seriously who knew cheese was so good, you should see these stores here).
Vi volgio bene!
Sorela Knudsen!s

Popcorn popping on the apricot tree

These first few pictures are of my P-day in Ortona!

Valentina and her dog

 Ciao madre! Love the Halloween stuff and the family looks like they're doing good!

Okay great week! First we had a huge talent show in my ward and it was the best!!!!!!!!!!!! I love this ward so much. We had over 25 different talents and it took forever, but SO MANY people came! And guess what....I was in it! Yeah who knew I had a talent? Haha well actually first Sorella Mckenna played Popcorn popping on the apricot tree on the piano...then she came and sat down with all of us sister missionaries (there's Patterson, Worshum, Mckenna and I right now), and then we brought out all these water bottles and we played the song by blowing over the water bottles! It was so awesome and the ward LOVED it. Patterson acted like she couldn't play and by the end she pretended to be so frustrated that she crumbled up her bottle for her last note. I can't send you the video (too big) and I can't describe all of it...but just know it was really great. Also we made brownies for the cook off they did--and we totally won. Somehow my brownies tops all Italian food! We had a lot of investigators come and it made such a huge difference for them. For example, my lovely Dintino family! The son came, played the accordion (is that how you spell it?), rocked it, and won the whole talent show! The son is 14 years old right now and if he gets baptized now he could be prepared to go on a mission when he's 18 or 19 so we've been trying to focus more on him. He made a lot of friends at the talent show and he seemed so happy to win so I think that made a huge difference for him and the church! 

Okay now onto the dad of the Dintino family. So he's getting baptized in a week and a half (speriamo) and he is really committed to that date. On Saturday I asked if he was going to come to church tomorrow and he said that he had to tune a piano by tomorrow afternoon so he didn't think he would have time. I told him how he needs to come to church three Sundays before he can get baptized so if he can't come tomorrow we'll have to move his date. So I didn't expect him to come to church...but he came! He told me he stayed up ALL night tuning that piano so that he could come to church and be baptized on the 7th! WHAT?!?! Che bravo. But there's another little problem...he smokes. Yesterday he promised to quit and if he doesn't smoke again then he can get baptized. We're praying really hard that he will have the strength to do it. But he is really committed to being baptized so I have full faith in him. 

That's all for this week. Vi voglio bene! 

Bracio! 

Sorella Knudsen

Investigators getting ready for baptism!

Morena is the cutest

Italian BROCCOLI. best monster looking vegetable ever.

 

 

 

 

WOW CHANTEL IS ENGAGED!!!! Ah I'm way upset and happy. Congrats Mckay! You just got the best girl ever! (Dad you keep an eye on Mckay.... haha jk). Wow I'm way happy for them! How is planning the wedding going? AH I WISH I WAS THERE. kasjdf. whatevs I'm doing something better. Keep me updated! I want to see more pictures of everything! AND MCKAY IS IN TROUBLE. HE NEVER WROTE ME FOR PERMISSION.  

 

Anyways...THIS WEEK...It was awesome! I'm so happy to be in Pescara again and I just love these people so much! Okay first off, Dintino family! The dad has a baptismal date on the 7th and he's working so hard to be ready and to quit smoking in time. Che bravo! This week I got to know the dad a little bit better and it's amazing how prepared he is. One he owes a music shop and has supplied ALL the churches in this part of Italy with pianos and gave the church a huge discount or something. He was telling us how his whole life he has been really upset and disappointed in the catholic church, he knows it's corrupted, and he was really sad that the truth has been lost. Then he started talking to Fratello Guisti (who happens to be our ward mission leader) about how he feels and Giusti was like..."uhh can I tell you about my church?!" And the rest is history. He believes everything and he loves everything about the church! He brought a friend to our last lesson and it was really cool because HE started teaching the lesson to his friend and testifying of it. Ah he's going to be the best member and bring so many other people to the truth. Our main goal right now is to get the whole family excited and baptized! The older son doesn't want anything to do with it, the 9 year old daughter doesn't quite understand and wants to go to the catholic church each week, but the 14 year old son seems kind of interested! 

 

Okay then there's Analia and her family! Analia is really progressing and reading the Book of Mormon. Although last time we went over there she read the story about Nefi killing Labano... (I forgot his his name in English) and then we had to answer all these questions about why God would do that, but at the end it ended up good and we talked a lot about the love of God. Also Saturday night she called us telling us that she was really sick, but feels like she needs to come to church anyway and asked if it would be okay if she came. She also said she talked to her companion and he wants to learn more about the church and wants to come to church too. We were like "WHAT?!" so surprised. But then the next day she decided that she was too sick to come so that didn't happen. But the miracle is that she WANTED to. Also, in church we had the singing primary program and it was the cutest thing ever and the spirit was so strong! So I'm sure Satan knew how great it would be and made her sick. Whatevers. 

There's two stories for this week! Now I got to go to Ortona to explore! Love you all! vi voglio bene!

-Sorella Knudsen

Hey here's my address for at least the next six weeks (and for google map stalking purposes) if it won't arrive in the next six weeks, don't send it to me here:

Via delle querce 4

65015 Montesilvano

Italia 

and here's the mission office: 

MISSIONE ITALIANA DI ROMA

Piazza Carnaro, 20

00141 Roma, Italia

No transfer at this point, staying in Pescara!

 The following pictures were taken on our P-day: 

Thanks for sharing the ward news! Wow non ci credo that friends from my grade are already coming home! So weird.  Wow what a week! Okay first--we taught famiglia Dintino finally!!! You all probably don't remember them--but we first taught them my second week in Italy. They are friends of our ward mission leader and we had some really great lessons with them! Then our ward mission leader went to America for two months and this family wanted to wait for them to return so we haven't seen them for this whole time. But they've always been on our investigator's list and we've been praying for them every day--well those prayers worked!! The mission leader, named Fratello Guisti, is a huge music guy (he's actually pretty famous and does a ton of stuff for the church (side note: looks like the temple will not be finished while I'm here, but Guisti will be the choir director and he said I can come back and be in the choir!!!). Anyways Massimo Dintino (the dad) owns a music shop and really looks up to Guisti and that's why he started taking the lessons in the first place. Our bishop came over and talked to him about how he should learn more about the church to get closer to Christ, not fratello Guisti. Massimo understood that and how he's really into the lessons and accepted to be baptized Nov 7!!!! Also the wife has always been the one who seems really unsure, but now she seems a lot more open and wants us to come over more. Also two of their kids were way into our lesson. Man I am so excited for this family!! 

This week we've also been teaching this other family that I talked about last week--Analia and her children. We've gone over a few times to teach English and then the gospel. We watched the Restoration and the whole time she kept saying how his question was her question; we explained so many things about the church and she agreed and loved everything! After we left, she looked all over LDS.org, watched almost all of general conference with her kids, and even found some great polygamy stuff that I had to explain the next day hahaha. AND she came to all three hours of church!!!!! Ah I just love this family! Every lesson with them goes by so fast! Okay the other day I was helping the little (9 years old) learn English with using some of the techniques I learned from China (okay I never would've thought I would be teaching English this much in my life!) and I was drawing with her helping her learn some words, when she drew a picture of me and wrote "my friend" over it. Her mom told us how she won't stop talking about us. Ah best feeling ever! 

Okay another story: one night Slla Mckenna and I were looking for this inactive named Katia Maccione and we were looking for the longest time but I kept messing all the streets up (which is weird because usually I'm good with this stuff) and finally we found her house but it was getting late so we were unsure if we should try but we decided to anyway. We couldn't find her room so we did casa in casa and ended up talking to this really strange guy--when Katia and her daughter walked by. They invited us in and we talked for a little bit. Katia wants us to come back and she also said she would like us to come back and teach her daughter the lessons. If we didn't get lost or talk to crazy men (haha) then we would have been there too early and never would have met her. So even if sometimes everything seems to go wrong--there's a reason!! God knows all and this is his work and we just need to do our best and follow him!

Wow so this week has been crazy busy and filled with miracles--more people came to church this week then this whole transfer combined, we also found this other cute couple who wants to hear our message, and we suddenly got all these referrals! It's crazy!! My whole mission I've wanted to teach a whole family--and now we have four families! We haven't been doing anything so I don't know why the Lord is blessing us, but I am sure grateful! This ward is so great! Seriously the Bishop and our ward mission leader are seriously overzealous in doing missionary work--in the best way possible! Well the bishop was a mission president two times so what can you expect? Yesterday the ward had a meeting on how the members can do missionary work better. Seriously I can't believe all the things and sacrifices everyone is making. 

Okay so you're probably wondering about transfers...well you can imagine how I felt after a week like this. We got the call Saturday and all Friday night I couldn't sleep at all because I was way sad that I might have to leave these people. Feeling such great love for other people is the best part of this mission. Anyway waiting for the call Saturday was the worst--especially since everyone else got their call in the morning and we never got ours...finally I was just sick of waiting so I called the assistants at the end of the day and they told me...I'm staying in Pescara!!!!!!!! With Sorella Mckenna again!!!! I was sooooooooooo happy! There has been times that I wanted to leave, but I am so grateful to have another transfer here! Sorella Mckenna is really great so I'm excited to have the best transfer ever! 

Till next week! 

Love you all!!!

Love sorella Knudsen!!