Halfway Through Transfer Two

This week was pretty cool. We are going to be heading to Bari this weekend AGAIN for more things with Sorella Greco permesso. The transfer is already half over. They go by so fast!!! Even faster when you realize sisters only have around 11 transfers total.

We set up a 40 day fast in our branch. Basically for 40 days straight, there is a fast but it is one person each day. The fast is specifically for missionary work, and on the day that they are fasting, we ask them to think about people that they could introduce to us. It just started this last Sunday, and it is awesome.

At self defense class we learned about protecting ourselves against knives. The kind of stuff My Brother would like. Chris, the teacher and almost investigator read the chapters I gave him! We also gave him the talk by Jeffrey R. Holland, called "Io Credo" (in English...I think it's called "Lord I Believe").  It's a great talk about faith. At every class we start, and end with a prayer, and do a short lesson or spiritual thought. It's basically the coolest finding thing ever.

We also went to visit a sister in our ward, who was helping take care of her Father in law who fell. Also...we met this guy, and he is 100 years old. It was cool.

On Sunday, we had pranzo with another sister in our ward, and she invited some of the other sisters, and the Anziani. It was funny, because after a while they were talking about when each one of them has had us over for pranzo, and it started becoming like a competition. Hahaha. I think we are going to be invited over for pranzo even more (NO!!!!! sigh...).

I finally got to see the missionary broadcast! HOLY SMOKES! It was so cool! It had a lot of stuff we have been wanting to do, and now our branch is going to be on board. Woot.

On Monday we did finding by citofono. Basically they have a lot of apartment type housing here, so you ring the buzzer, they ask who you are, and then you go for it, introducing who you are and why you're there. Then someone hopefully lets you in. We were a little sneaky, because the door to this one apartment building was already open...so we just started from the top of one of the wings in the building, and worked our way down. One lady told us to come back the next day, because she didn't have time. We came back, and she had her daughter with her. They were actually really interested in what we were saying about The Book of Mormon. So cool! They said they would like to meet with us again, so as soon as we have a specific date set up, they are new investigators. Woot.

Last night before English class we were supposed to have a lesson with Chris (same Chris as above), but he came late. He had read the chapters we assigned him, and he told us his questions. It was so cool because almost every question he has been thinking about can be answered by the Plan of Salvation. We are excited to teach him this.   

I made THE BEST zucchini bread last week...so this week, we were stumped about one of our investigators, so I decided to make banana bread (IT IS SO GOOD). We are going to bring it to her tonight.

One of my other friends/students, Isabelle (Chris’ girlfriend), has been studying and stressing for her exams. She is at the point where she is taking her exit exams and her career basically depends on these. We are also going to bring her some banana bread and a spiritual thought to "help her study." :)

I LOVE YOU ALL! :)

EVERYONE: I hope this week is great for you! Make it count!

Love,

Sorella Worsham

Mostra (Miracle) Week

This week was pretty awesome. On Thursday, we did what is called a Mostra. Basically, we go somewhere, set up some signs that are made by the church about the Book of Mormon, and God, and then we basically do super finding. Our district works together, but splits up and each of us personally talks to people. Members come too, and they do finding as well. We made a survey, and it was really effective.

It was kind of scary to talk to people by myself, but also really exciting. I got five phone numbers. And two of the people I talked to are investigators now. One of them even came to church this Sunday! Mostra= miracle.

This week I have received some of the clearest answers to prayer I have ever received. Specifically regarding one of our potential investigators. It was really cool, I was sleeping, then I woke up and got the warm feeling that comes with the Spirit. Then, I had thoughts that were so clear about things I need to say to our potential investigator. I got the feeling that I needed to write them down, but it was dark, and I didn't want to wake up Sorella Greco. I reached to my right, and there was a pen. Then I reached again and my journal was there. I had some doubts about whether this would be effective, because it was pitch black, but I went for it and wrote down all of the promptings I was receiving. When I woke up in the morning, I was nervous to see the inside of my journal, but everything was written nicely and clearly. It was a miracle!  We are going to start teaching this potential investigator soon.

This week, I was kind of sneaky, and I decided to record an alarm tone on our phone while Sorella Greco was in the shower. I did the rap from Sons of Provo "Diddly Wack Mack Mormon Daddy". It was really funny. When the alarm went off the next morning to wake up, we heard, " I was born in the church, just like my daddy was yo," etc, and it was really funny. The unfortunate side of this story is that one day, we were going to take a nap during lunch, so Sorella Greco set the alarm. Then one of our investigators wanted to see us right then, but we forgot to turn off the phone. During our lesson, right after Sorella Greco said, "We are here as representative of Jesus Christ," the alarm went off. Oh bother.

Anyway, everyone keep up the awesome stuff!

I love you all!!

My Address

Some of you have been asking for a mailing address. This is the mission home address:

Sorella Hayley Worsham

Piazza Camaro, 20

00141 Roma (RM) Italia

Adventures in Cosenza

Holy smokes it is hot in Cosenza. This week is the start of a very hot summer. I am wondering what August is going to be like. Aw well. I might just be sweating gelato for the next few months.

I get to give a referral to Oklahoma this week because the guy who was sitting next to me on the plane ride to Italy and he emailed me saying he would be interested in having a Book of Mormon. :) Wooo!

This week we had lunch with one of our English course students, Mila. She also invited two friends. When her two friends saw us, they kept telling us how beautiful we were and that we had the glory of God with us. Then Mila, said that having us over was like having Jesus over for lunch. It was a bit of an exaggeration. Then a really funny ironic thing happened. Lenora, (one of the friends) was talking to Sorella Greco, and then she said, "You don't talk much, do you?...I'm going to talk to her," and she started talking to me. Hahahaha. If only she knew. Then she was raving to me about my blonde hair, and asked a bunch of questions, like how to say "blonde" in English. It was crazy. The rest of the lunch was really funny gossip by the three Italian ladies. We gave a spiritual thought about "The Ten Rules of Happiness" by David O. Mckay. Look it up!!!! It's good. They loved it. Then, somehow the topic changed to temples, and they had all heard crazy things about it. They kept saying things like, "Yeah, I heard they have great huge parties in there!" Hahaha. We had to set them straight that is is more sacred. Long story short, lunch with them was REALLY entertaining.

Later that night, we had a fireside. We were supposed to invite investigators and other people, because it was supposed to be about the Book of Mormon. It turned out to be SUPER deep ideas about the book of mormon...that weren't actual doctrines. Sigh. It was really confusing, and luckily not a lot of investigators came. I think Heavenly Father knew that certain people wouldn't be able to handle it, so they couldn't come. Phew.

On Monday, we had a lunch with one of the members who lives kind of far away, so we have to take a Pulman. I talked to some people on the bus, and one named Francesca was interested. She wanted to give me her number, so she called our number, and since Sorella Greco had the phone, I didn't know that the call didn't go through. So we don't have her number. Most people we see more than once though, so I'm sure she will either call us, or we will run into her on the bus or streets. :)

Yesterday was really cool. For English course, we did an activity that was like Speed Dating, to practice conversation skills. They had one or two minutes to have a conversation with someone, and then the timer went off, and they had to switch. The students really liked that activity. Then, originally we were going to do a spiritual thought about how the gospel has blessed us. However, one of our students asked a question, which led us to talk about the restoration. We basically did a Restoration lesson at English Course. It was so cool. I felt like one of the missionaries in the Book of Mormon, testifying to the people of the truthfulness of this gospel.

After English Course was over, I talked to my good old pal Claudio (the one who teaches the self defense class, and tells me little Italian language tips). I really want to start teaching him and his girlfriend Illaria (the one who was teaching us Italian disney songs) the lessons. Last night I talked to him to see where he was at. He has a Book of Mormon, that he reads sometimes. I asked him what he thought about it, and he said, that there was something he disagreed with in our spiritual thought. I asked about it, and he said that he thinks that there isn't just one right way to God, or one true religion because God is infinite. He told me that he is searching for truth, but he isn't sure if God exists. After he said that he didn't think there was one "right" religion, the Holy Ghost took over, and I knew exactly what to do and say.

I went to the chalkboard, and wrote the names of a bunch of different churches. Then we talked about what each church believed. I then pointed out that all of these churches have not only different beliefs, but opposite, contradicting beliefs about God. The conclusion after that is that they can't all be right if they say things that disagree with each other. He sat for a minute in silence, looking at the board, and then the lightbulb came and he said, "Whoa...you are so right. I had never thought about that before." We had a great discussion, and he said that Anziano Burley (the one who just left) would give him Book of Mormon chapters to read, and then he would write down  questions. He asked if I could help him answer his questions. I of course, agreed.  Then I told him to read some of my favorite Book of Mormon chapters, and he agreed.

This week was just so cool. I love being a missionary!!! :D

Oh, here is one more funny story. Sorella Greco and I got asked out by a guy on the street while we were doing finding. It was SUPER random. Hahaha.

Still Happy in Cosenza

I can't believe I have already been in Italy for a transfer. Weird.. If all transfers go as fast as this one....Man.

Here is the verdict for transfers:

Anziano Cortez , Sorella Greco, and I are staying in Cosenza! We are getting a greenie anziano!

My brother, Anziano Burley is leaving for Rome. :( But, he is going to be Anziano Bradford's companion! :)

Yesterday I had to go to a three hour Integration Course that is now required to receive a permesso. The idea is that immigrants will be able to ease into the country better with this class. Basically it was a whole bunch of stuff about the Italian Constitution, and a bunch of immigration processes I had already gone through.

Last night we did a fun activity, that we called "Pancake Pow-wow" where it was basically a big party where we ate pancakes. It was awesome! We had a lot of ward members come, and a lot of people from our English Course came, so it was an awesome opportunity for them to mix and mingle. All the Italians were really excited to try pancakes for the first time. They all loved it. We had a really good team work thing going with the Anziani. Sorella Greco made the batter, I filled the pans with the batter, and Anziano Bradford flipped the pancakes. The day before, Sorella Greco and I made maple syrup and peach syrup and peanut butter. Then of course we had nutellla, bananas, panna, and other yummy things. I think Dad would be proud. :)

This week we had zone conference, and district conference. It was so cool to get together with the missionaries in the Taranto and Bari zone. Ooooh. I had my first panserotto in Bari. It was so good. It's basically like an Italian pizza, that they fold in half, and fry. It tastes better than it sounds.

On the way up to Bari, we got picked up by the AP's to go there. It was us, the AP's and the rest were Italians. Long story short, all of us rocked out to Italian disney music.

At zone conference they have all the new missionaries and leaving missionaries bear their testimonies.  It was a really cool experience to bear my testimony to a bunch of missionaries in Italian.

This last Sunday  Sorella Greco and I had lunch with a nun named Sister Mia. Apparently there is a type of nun that wears normal clothes, and not the habit. We met her at the questura a few weeks ago, and we wanted to invite her to the activity, but she instead invited us to her house. We talked about the Godhead, but she is SUPER SUPER attached to Mother Mary. It was a really cool experience. I learned a lot about what Catholics actually believe.

This week has been great, and I am really excited to be staying in Cosenza.

First Days in Italy!

This has been the craziest, but best week of my life. First I got to the Mission home, which is gorgeous, by the way. Apparently it was built by order of Mussolini for one of his daughters, so it is seriously kind of palace like. Originally, I was assigned to be one of the first sisters in a city called Messina, located in Sicily, but our apartment did not come through.

We stayed with the sisters in Catania and served there until we heard that we were going to be moved. It was fun to serve in Catania, but it was hard because we knew we were going to be moved to Messina. Messina still was not up and running, so we got a call saying that we were going to re-open a city for sisters called Cosenza. Two days later, here we are, in Cosenza, the first sisters here in a long time, with a new, working, clean apartment. Phew. I am glad we get to re-open, because we get a fresh start with members and investigators. We get to start the Area Book!

My Dad was right, in a way. He guessed I would serve in Sicily and did serve in Sicily for a week, but now I am back on the mainland in the toe area.

My trainer is named Sorella Greco , and she is great. She is from Missouri, and she has been serving in Italy for about 8 months. And no, she is not native Italian. Maybe someday.

The way to get from Sicily to the mainland is kind of crazy. From Rome to Catania was about a ten hour train ride. Then, you might be asking, how does the train get to Sicily with the ocean in between? The train disconnects itself, and they put the pieces of the train on a ferry. Then the ferry arrives. So really, you never get off the train. If you do get off the train, then you are on a boat. It is kind of a crazy thing, and I got to do it twice this week. It was interesting.

I had some really cool experiences while in Sicily. My first day, Sorella Greco and I went finding, so we rang different cittofoni for apartments. After about the third one, this girl named Loria wanted to know more, so she rang us up. We talked to her, and she is one of those investigators that God definitely prepared for us to find. Then, once we found her, our mission in Catania was done. I was able to go back on exchanges to introduce her to her new missionaries, and say goodbye. I was also able to invite her to baptism, and she is praying about a date. It was such a cool experience.

I kind of stick out here in Southern Italy. I am two things that most people are not...tall, and blonde. A lot of people like to come up to us and ask where I am from. One woman said that I was biondissimo (very blonde).

The first thing I thought when I was Catania was how much it reminded me of how I pictured the Dominican Republic, where my Dad served his mission. It was kind of a city, but not really in the American sense. I am pretty sure that Catania was one of the last places dinosaurs lived. The plants were realllly big and random. It was kind of a combination between a jungle and a residential area. It was cool.

Cosenza is a lot more city-ish. Or at least we live in a part where there are stores and businesses everywhere.

In Catania, there were enough members for there to be a ward. When we went to church on Sunday, the whole ward wanted to talk to us, and it is true in Italy, the kiss on each cheek greeting is very common. So I pretty much got that greeting from every female in the ward. It was cool. In Catania, they also have an American Naval Base, and we were able to go to that. It was refreshing to have people speaking English.

Speaking of which, my Italian is coming along. I understand a lot of Italian, but my speaking is not that great yet. It depends I guess. It will come though! Basically, Italy is great. I love it! Everyday something crazy happens, and I just sort of laugh to myself and say, "gotta love it".

Also, the food...In Sicily, they have this food called Arancini. It is like a ball of rice with cheese and other things in the middle, and then it has a breading type thing on the outside. Now that I am not in Sicily anymore, I can't find them. Darn.

Okay, so the biggest difference between Catania/Messina, and qui in Cosenza was that Catania had more of an island feel, and I could see the ocean from my apartment. Cosenza is a lot more what I am used to, because it is kind of a valley like area with mountains around. Both are beautiful. I just love it here in Italy, and I especially love the people.

*Names have been changed for safety reasons.

First Days in the MTC

Well, life at the MTC is pretty great. We didn't get P-day for OVER a week, so that was a bummer (I got to the MTC last Wednesday, and there wasn't a P-day until the NEXT Thursday). My companion is Sorella H. My district is made of 3 sets of sorelle and 2 sets of anziani (in other words, our district has more sisters than elders, and we are all under the age of 21). My district is the coolest! It is going to be heartbreaking to leave them. All of the sorelle are going to Rome, and all of the anziani are going to Milan except for one.

It has surprised me how normal it feels in the MTC. I thought it would feel weird, but I have adjusted really fast. I've seen SO many people that I know. It is really cool. My teacher's name is Fratello Cena, and he is actually a native Italian. I LOVE HIM!  ("Cena" in Italian actually means dinner. Fun fact.)

I never comprehended how much time missionaries don't have. I finally understand! NO TIME. We also have a lot of stairs to climb, because we live on the top floor. I'm singing in the MTC choir, which is a good break from no music. In the MTC, we aren't allowed to use our music players. That will be a good thing when we leave for the field.

The Italian is going well. In my district, we have people who have never taken Italian before, and people who have taken varying levels. There are two anziani who have taken Italian before (one was in my Italian class at BYU), and one other Sorella besides myself. I get asked a lot of questions about Italian by everybody, but I like that. It helps my Italian to help other people. Fratello Cena told me that I was pretty advanced, so he challenged me to speak Italian as much as possible. I do, and my Italian is getting better. I had to say a prayer in Italian in a zone meeting, and a Sorella that I didn't know came up to me afterwards and asked if I was fluent. It was a cool experience. I still have a lot to learn, but a lot of people have told me that they would be so happy if they got to my level by the time they left the MTC. I am so grateful I took Italian at BYU, because I would have had a harder time just jumping into the language. I have progressed a lot since then, though. It's funny though, because when I switch from Italian to English, it is hard for me to get back to an English accent.

I love being here on a mission. I know that I am supposed to be here, and it is completely awesome so far!

Volere e` potere!

Love, Sorella Worsham