Alessandra...

Ciao Tutti!!

This week has been a total roller coaster! For the last three weeks the work in Foggia has been really slow! Since the holidays it has been kinda rough and can be extremely frustrating! There are times when we will be walking around all day trying to contact and find people and no one will want to talk to us. Or the only people we see are between the ages 99 and 120 or they are gypsies! Also none of our investigators, less actives, or potentials were taking any of our calls! So to say the least.. frustration was very high! However this week some exciting things started to happen...

As you might recall we have been spending time with two teenage girls,(they are new converts of about a year) they were kinda struggling and so we felt like we should just spend some time being their friend! We go to there house a lot and just talk, and spend time with them and their mom and little brother. Their mom, Alessandra is a single mom and is not baptized! She has taken the discussions with her daughters by the Elders in the past but once the girls got baptized they stopped meeting with her! She hasn't been totally open to the church. This last week My companion and I were reading in Alma 32 together and we both had the strongest feeling that NOW was the time for Alessandra! She was ready for baptism! We knew her, she trusted us, and her daughters love us. When we had the "first  official" lesson with her we asked if she wanted to take the lessons again to prepare for baptism. She cheerfully said yes! While we were teaching the lesson her two daughters were present.. I was looking at them while my trainer was talking Alessandra and they had the BIGGEST smiles on their face! They were so happy! The sweetest spirit was there! Throughout the lesson the girls were able to testify to their mom of the truthfulness of the gospel! That week at church she came and everyone in the ward was so happy to see her! She was glowing and so were the girls! One daughter, Patrizia told us that every night she reads the Book of Mormon and they talk about it as a family together! She told us that already their family is so much happier! 

I feel so blessed to have to opportunity to teach this family! It is amazing to see how much just simply reading the scriptures together as a family can and does change the spirit of a home! I can really say that I love them, and I love Foggia! I love working with the people here and seeing literal miracles take place! Continue to pray for Alessandra, that she will come to really know the truth! There is nothing I want more then for their family to be complete in the gospel! What an amazing blessing that would be!! 

Transfer calls are coming this week. I am pretty sure that my trainer, Sorella Price, will leave me here in Foggia. But you never know! I could leave, she could stay, we could both leave, or both stay! I really want to stay to teach Alessandra, but I have to have faith that wherever I go it will be the right place with the right people! If Sorella Price and I do get separated I will be very nervous to not have my trainer taking care of me all the time but it will be a big growing period! So I think i am ready! 

love you all! Today for p day we are going to a beautiful city called polignano! It looks amazing! It will take us two hours to get there by train BUT we are all really excited! Pretty much our entire zone is going so it should be really fun! xoxoxoxo 

Sorella Fuller 

Snow, Gelato, War Zone and Mini-Miracles

What a week!!! 

First off... it snowed it Foggia!! Actually it snowed everywhere in Italy but it snowed a lot in Foggia! In our apartment we have these "black out" blinds and we keep them closed so that the heat stays trapped in the house. So in the morning we were studying and we look at our phone and have tons of text messages from the Elders in our district freaking out about the snow. We didn't believe them but then we opened the blinds and it was like being in a snow globe! It was very exciting! That night after our English course class we all made a snowman named "FOJA" (the American way of saying Foggia) and had a snowball fight! It was really fun but so cold!!  

Then came NEW YEARS!! So, here in Foggia we probably hear about 5 to 6 bombs go off everyday! Most of the time they are bombs set off by teenagers but also there bombs that are so loud they shake buildings! Those bombs are Mafia bombs! As the new year got closer we started hearing more and more bombs and people would tell us that it was not safe to be out of the house after 6 o'clock on New Years eve! But... on New Years eve we were walking to the church from a members house at around 7:30 pm. And there was NO ONE anywhere to be seen! We just heard bombs going off constantly! We tried to count but we there was way too many to keep track of! We were thinking... if it is only 7:30 what is it going to be like at midnight!?! At midnight we were woken up by a the loudest firework/bomb sounds EVER!! I literally felt like i was in a war zone! They continued for the next three hours!! Totally crazy!! 

So this week we also went to Bari (which is about an hour and a half away) to do a split with the other sister missionaries in our zone! It was really fun and kinda scary! I was paired up with another greenie! Her name is Sorella Chandler. We had to teach a lesson, and talk to some less actives, and do some English course finding! I was really scared to be with another greenie, in a new city, but it actually was really great! I loved it because we worked more in unison! Because we both are new to the language and teaching it really pushed us! We didn't have our trainers to just do everything for us! We had to hand out a huge stack of english course pass along cards and talk to people... at first we were like "how are we going to do this... we both don't exactly know what is going on!" But we did it! I kept running out and would take some of hers! Sorella Chandler and myself were so proud of the day! Mini miracle! 

After the day we rewarded ourselves with gelato and pizza! classic! The pizza was a  pistacchio pizza... pretty much the best thing ever... it was a white pizza with cheese, olive oil, and pistacchi! So amazing! the gelato was ricotta and dark chocolate! and the gelato cone with filled with melted dark chocolate! I probs gained like 15 lbs just looking at it! BUT it was so amazing! 

Also yesterday at church I was talking to Patrizia.. ( she is a 15 year old girl who is kinda a punk but was baptized less then a year ago. We are total buds! and her single mom, Alessandra, has taken the lessons twice and still isn't baptized) I asked her why her mom isnt baptized and she said she has no faith. I told her that their family would be much happier if they were all members. Patrizia agreed and wants to help us teach her mom the lessons! It was really exciting that A) the convo was really beneficial and B) I could communicate with her! MIRACLE! We are  starting the mother/daughter lessons tomorrow! Pray that they will go well! We really think that Alessandra is ready

I love you all!! I hope you all have a happy new year! Make some good new year's resolutions! I was really excited for this year because it is the only time in my whole life that for an entire calender year I will be a missionary!! So exciting!! lots of love xoxo

sorella karin fuller