November 23rd email

Happy Thanksgiving a tutti!!
Buongiorno tutti! E buon ringraziomento 🦃
The work is really picking up here and it is making me so happy. This week we started teaching a couple new investigators that are very open to the gospel. It is nice to teach people who want to progress and keep committments and are excited to come unto Christ! Also I seriously love Italy. The other day I saw a guy riding on his bike holding a pizza box in one hand and the bike handle with the other haha. Sometimes I still say to myself, "That is so Italian." 😂
Saturday was a busy day. We had a lot of appointments. We met with a young couple; the wife is less-ative and the husband is not a member, and they just moved here from South America. They came to church last Sunday and told us they wanted us to come over and start teaching them! They speak mostly Spanish but can understand Italian alright (thank goodness). The husband told us a story about what happened to them just the week before the appointment. He said they had been saying for years that they were going to church and just never got around to it. Then they moved to Italy, and he was in need of a job. So the Saturday before, he told his wife, "We are going to church, because I know if we go to church then I will be able to find a job." The next day, they went to church in our ward-- this was the Sunday we met them, only two Sundays ago. They came home after church and that same night, someone randomly called him and asked, "Do you have a job?" And he said, "no," so the guy on the other line said, "Ok, come work for me." And the next day he was at his new job. Super cool, amazing story. He showed the Lord his faith by acting on it and was very blessed.
On Sunday we had Primary Programs for each ward. It was so adorable. In Bergamo 3, the primary leaders and I had to sing with the children because there were only 4 of them, and Slla. Ringo played the piano. For Bergamo 1, there were about 10-15 kids. If you want to imagine it, just think of how adorable it is when the primary children in America sing up front, and then add a little more cuteness because it was in Italian haha.
A few weeks ago we were doing English class finding and we met a woman named Rachel that I talked about a few emails back. Well on Monday we had our first lesson with her (after weeks of playing phone tag and her being super busy). She asked us to come over and converse with her so she could practice her English. She speaks pretty good English and understands very well; she used to live in Canada, but she has lived in Italy for 15 years, so she has lost a bit of English. She told us she had no preference of what we talked about, so what better conversation than the Restoration, huh? 😉 As we spoke, we found out she is Orthodox and has a very strong testimony about God's love for her and that God answers her prayers. We taught her the whole Restoration in English, clarified points or translated words into Italian just in case she didn't understand, and committed her to read the Book of Mormon. Everything made sense to her. And she is so excited. It was amazing. She kept saying, "Thank you so much for coming! I am so glad you came! And next time you come I will make you a cheesecake!" And she told us that she is going to read every single day from the Book of Mormon until she finishes it. I am so happy and excited.
Yesterday we had our mission conference in Lampugnano (Milano) and Gary Sabin of the 70 and his wife came to speak. It was great! Also half the mission came to this conference (there will be another more south for the other missionaries) so I got to meet a lot of people and see a bunch of missionaries I already know here. If anyone would like to see my notes from the conference, let me know! 😊 And today for P-Day our whole zone got together in Verona and had blow-dart fights in the church building and then went to Steak 'n Shake 🤣 I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!!
"Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more. He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain. … This life is an experience in profound trust—trust in Jesus Christ." -Richard G. Scott
This quote comforted me a lot this week, so I thought I would share it with all of you.
So I took like no pictures again this week so here I am attaching more cool scenery pics that I have taken in weeks past, a picture from the Sabin conference, and a picture of my awesome mission president.
Vi voglio un sacco di bene ❤
Sorella Johnson

November 16th email

P-Day (Preparation Day) is Thursday this week and next, because of training, so Abby’s email arrived today...
Verona, Lizzola, e Bolivia?
Ciao tutti!
This week was an interesting week. We did a lot of things that were out-of-the-ordinary.
We have stopped our English class until January, because there was barely anyone coming and not much coming out of it. We plan to do a bunch of finding for it in the next couple of months, improve our curriculum (which we have to make ourselves), and start it up again with hopefuly more success. For that reason, we help people with their English as a service when they ask us. This week we got to help a member with her English because she is going on a trip at the beginning of December. It was super fun helping her one-on-one with English and teaching it in Italian. Also Italians can't really say their "th"'s so it was super fun trying to get her to say "Thursday" and laughing together 🤣
We did scambio in Verona last Thursday, and it was fun! I got to be companions with Slla. Kopischke-- she's from Frankfurt, Germany-- and we had a couple really good appointments together and also got to feed some homeless people breakfast for a service project. I'm attaching a pic of us getting our scambio gelato!
On Saturday four of us went up to Lizzola, which is in the northern part of our area, to go visit an African refugee camp. There are about 50 Africans at this camp and many of them have interest in the gospel (the only problem is getting them to church or bringing church to them because their bus doesn't go on Sundays). We had to take the tram to the top of the line, take one bus for half an hour north, and then another bus north for an hour and a half. So in all, the trip up to Lizzola took about 2.5 hours one way. We got up there and I saw the most beautiful views I have probably ever seen in my entire life. I will attach some pictures. 😍 So we got all the way up to Lizzola and the one man we made the appointment with told us that he didn't know we were coming, so no one was ready to be taught (we tried calling him days before and the whole way up there but he didn't respond until we got to Lizzola). Haha. So we left him with like 10 copies of the Book of Mormon and a stack of pamphlets, told him to give them out to his friends, have them read them all, and that we would be back in two weeks.
My high school Spanish has been serving me well lately. There are a tonnn of Bolivians in Bergamo. I have met a lot of people here, members and not, who want to talk about the gospel and can speak Italian well, but speak and understand Spanish better. I just love these people so much that I want them to be able to hear the message of the gospel in their native tongue, because it is so powerful that way. I am called to speak Italian, and it is going very well, but I think I am going to start studying Spanish again (even though it feels so wrong in my mouth now haha :)). We also have a golden Ukrainian potential who knows very little Italian and only a bit more of English, so maybe I will try and milk the gift of tongues for all it's worth and learn a little bit of that, too... somehow haha...
"As we travel along that strait and narrow path, the Spirit continually challenges us to be better and to climb higher. The Holy Ghost makes an ideal traveling companion. If we are humble and teachable, He will take us by the hand and lead us home." This quote is from the talk "What Lack I Yet?" from October 2015. I really like this talk. God will always help us become better, and the Spirit will always help us know in what ways we can improve and grow. As we climb higher and higher, we can eventually reach our goal of becoming like God Himself.
Thank you everyone for your support! I am attaching a picture of me and Slla. Kopischke with our gelato, a picture of the mountains in Lizzola (view out the bus window on our way up), a picture I took last pday of a pretty hill up on Città Alta, and a picture of a cool confession booth inside a duomo in Bergamo! Super cool!
Buona settimana a tutti!
Sorella Johnson

November 8th email

Le tenere misericordie della settimana ☺
Ciao tutti!
A lot of great things happened this week. I will tell you about a few of them!
We were doing finding in Città Alta and I had a huge stack of bigliettini (this is what we call pass-along cards), and I was determined to hand all of them out. At the end of the finding activity, we were speed-walking (like dignified missionaries haha) for the bus, and I still had like 7 bigliettini left. Once we actually got on the bus, I had 2 left, and I thought, "oh man, I wanted to hand the rest of these out..." and then I noticed a woman sitting behind us on the bus that I wanted to hand one to. I told her about how we are missionaries and pointed to the web address on the back where she could find a video about Jesus Christ. Then I said to the other missionaries, "Only one left, and I didn't do it!" Then the same woman tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I had another one that she could give to her friend. It was a perfect little miracle.
Also earlier this week we were calling old potential investigators-- people that missionaries have met and wanted to teach but have not been able to. We called one woman who told us that she is too busy all the time to see us and that she would tell us when she is free. This is a pretty typical response, so I asked if there was anything we could do for her and wished her a good evening, and said goodbye. We didn't expect a call from her, but the next day she called us. She was like, "I just wanted to call and say hello because you are always so sweet and say hello to me so I wanted to call you this time." It was so sweet 😭 I have hope for this woman. I love when little miracles happen throughout the week.
Saturday lunch to Sunday lunch, we fasted to find people that we could teach, among other things. On Saturday night, I felt so hangry 😅 and was considering breaking my fast becaue I'm a weakling, but I was like "no I shouldn't because I know something really good will come out of this fast if I am this tempted to break it." So I didn't break my fast early, and we went to church the next day. We received a referral for a family that wants to be taught and baptized, an engaged couple that just moved into the area from Ukraine that is already familiar with the church, and the news that we could start seeing an old investigator again (who we had to stop seeing for a bit because of home problems). Basically we got 3 golden referrals. And I know with certainty that it was because of our fast. That was another miracle that happened this week.
We visited an inactive that we see once a week, and she was watching Little House on the Prairie in Italian. My love for her grew probably one million times what it was before.
The end of this week was hard for me. This work is really emotionally exhausting, and sometimes I get down when things don't seem to work out, such as people not answering our contact attempts for days, weeks, or even months, or when it feels like the people we teach aren't progressing, etc. I have been praying a lot lately. And I have been blessed with the ability to see the tender mercies of the Lord more easily. People still don't answer their phones, but I am happier when I realize that the Lord's hand is truly in His work. David A. Bednar once said, "Sometimes we may ask God for success, and He gives us physical and mental stamina. We might plead for prosperity, and we receive enlarged perspective and increased patience, or we petition for growth and are blessed with the gift of grace. He may bestow upon us conviction and confidence as we strive to achieve worthy goals. And when we plead for relief from physical, mental, and spiritual difficulties, He may increase our resolve and resilience." God gives us so many opportunities to grow, but He never gives us anything we can't handle.
I am attaching a pic of the inside of a duomo at Città Alta and downtown.
Vi voglio bene!
Sorella Johnson ❤

November 1st email

Ciao tutti!
Your emails do not go unnoticed! I love hearing from all of you!! This week was a little slow, but overall it ended up being good. I hope everyone had a great Halloween :)
We didn't get to do a lot this week because Slla. Ringo was sick, but on Sunday, when we had to miss Stake Conference, we did something even more fun than sitting in hard chairs for two hours. We got to unclog our kitchen sink!! 😀 Garbage disposal doesn't exist in Italy so if any food gets in the kitchen sink it can clog it. So we spent a bit unclogging the kitchen sink pipes, and it was only a little bit less disgusting than the times that I have had to unclog wet, soapy hair from shower drains. So it was pretty disgusting. But I have got to say: I am becoming quite the handyman on the mission.
On Monday night we had a super fun FHE with a couple of our investigators at a member's house. First we had a lesson, and then we ate dinner together, and then we played games. This is the type of thing that just makes my week ten times better. It's so comforting to have people here that I can have fun with even though I am so far away from Oregon!
Last night for English class, we had a Halloween party, because even though Halloween isn't that important to Italians, it is very important to us Americans. So my whole district dressed up and brought candy and we played games. It was super fun! I have not laughed so hard on my mission as I laughed when we played the blind-folded "Bobbing for Donuts" game haha.
I was studying President Uchtdorf's talk from last conference, entitled "A Yearning for Home," for a lesson with an inactive that we had this week. The lesson didn't go great because she is one tough cookie, so I figured I would share a bit with all of you. In the talk, President Uchtdorf said, "No, following the Savior will not remove all of your trials. However, it will remove the barriers between you and the help your Heavenly Father wants to give you. God will be with you. He will direct your steps. He will walk beside you and even carry you when your need is greatest." I love this quote. It is so true. It is us that lets God in! We have to let Him in! It is so so important. We will find more peace and comfort in the trials when face when we let God be a big part of our lives.
I'm attaching a couple pictures of different sunsets that I saw this week (they have been soooo beautiful here lately!), me dressed up as a pirate (dressing up for Halloween is hard when you're a missionary haha), and the essentials during study time.
Buona settimana,
Sorella Johnson

October 25th email

email from my missionary...
Ciao tutti!!
So much to tell. Transfers happened, and Slla. Hoffman left me. My new companion's name is Sorella Ringo! She is from Indiana and plays the oboe. She is ready to learn and is very loving. Being a trainer is tiring, but honestly, I really like it. I like making the calls and helping Sorella Ringo with her Italian. I like having to converse with the members and others because I am the one who knows more Italian. I can already tell the Lord is helping me so much, because I am able to converse with people at a level so much higher than I was even a week ago. My trainer, Slla. Hoffman, prepared me very well ☺ and the gift of tongues is sooo real.
So they apparently call some type of Oreo-like cookie here a "ringo," so any time Slla. Ringo introduces herself to someone new, they always say, "Oh, like the cookie!"
For some reason we have had an odd number of strange old people give us candy this week. One time I helped this lady pick up her groceries when she accidentally dropped them. Then she thanked me and pulled out some candy and gave it to us. It was pretty good haha. Then today Slla. Ringo and I were at the post office and this old man asked if he could go in front of us because he was in a hurry. I said yes sure go ahead, then once he finished, he walked over to us and slipped a piece of candy in my hand 😂 Sadly it was coffee flavored, so maybe I'll just keep it as a souvenir haha.
This week there were a few cool things that happened. Friday night, we went English class finding in Centro. We have done this a few times in the past but we pass out hundreds of flyers and no one new comes to our English class. This time we got out a white board and walked around with it so we could draw more attention to ourselves. A woman came up to us and wants us to come over to her house and help her with her English, and she even said she was willing to listen to what we do as missionaries. She gave us her number, and I am super excited to see what comes of it. Also on Sunday night we were invited to go to an FHE with a couple of members, and they unexpectedly invited their non-member friend, and that non-member friend agreed to meet with us again in a week! I am so excited!
“You need to know that the Lord hasn’t called you because of anything you have done. In your case, it is probably in spite of what you have done. The Lord has called you for what He needs to do through you, and that will happen only if you do it His way.” -Dale G. Renlund's brother
I am attaching a couple pictures of me and Slla. Ringo on the day I picked her up in Milano, a picture of a pretty church that is on our walk to a member's house, and a (blurry-- sorry, I cannot take a tablet selfie with one hand) picture of me and Slla. Ringo when she got her first gelato!! 😀
Vi voglio un sacco di bene! Ciao ciao,
Sorella Johnson

October 18th email

It's a girl! 👶🎉
(email from my missionary)
Ciao tutti!!
Big news! Today is my last day being trained! Bigger news!! Tomorrow I will become a trainer. Aka I am having a baby haha (hence the subject line). On my MTC group's first day in Italy, someone asked my mission president, President Allen, when he expected us to be ready to train. He told us, "By the time you're done being trained." Never thought it would happen to me haha. I am actually on my way to Milano right now and then I will be staying the night with some sorelle there and then I will pick up my daughter the next morning. Wish me luck 😅
This will be an interesting 3 months... but I am super excited. My trainer, Sorella Hoffman, is leaving and just finished her 8th transfer (1 transfer = 6 weeks), and I will stay in Bergamo-- I just finished my 2nd transfer-- and train a new missionary. A couple things I am most nervous for are the legalities (such as going to government offices and applying for a permesso for her) and not starving. Also I can barely even pronounce addestratrice in Italian and I still can't roll my R's... When we told one of the less-actives we visit each week, she started laughing hysterically 😅😅 Also our bishop was like 🤤 Hahaha. But the Lord will help me through this!
This week was a bunch of cramming in appointments and cramming information into my brain so I know how to get to peoples' houses and everything. So if you all want to know what I did this week, just imagine me sitting at a desk looking at schedules and making lists of things to remember and studying more Italian. Then today for P-Day we got lunch as a district (some yummy pizza) and then played volleyball and other stuff together at the church. It has been super moderate temperatures lately, like mid-70s, but after today it's supposed to get colder and rainier. I am excited. 😁
So considering the upcoming slap in the face (becoming senior companion and feeling like I literally know nothing and having to talk to people on the phone in a language I started learning 4 months ago, etc etc), I have been thinking a lot about how God is all-powerful and all-knowing. I figure a lot of the things I learn in the next few months will serve me well in the rest of my life. This does not mean that I am not still wigging out of my mind, because I am. But it DOES mean that I plan to trust in God in literally everything I do in the next couple months, kind of like a trust fall. He will carry me when I need it.
Gordon B. Hinckley said, "Believe in yourself. Believe in your capacity to do great and good things. Believe that no mountain is so high that you cannot climb it. Believe that no storm is so great that you cannot weather it. … You are a child of God, of infinite capacity." We are all children of God, and He can help us through anything we face.
I am attaching a pic of me and Slla. Hoffman when she sat on me, a member present at one of our lessons, our district right before doing English class finding in Centro, and a cool random church we found on a hike.
I hope everyone has an awesome week!
Con amore,
Sorella Johnson