October 11th email

“I caught colpa d’aria”

Ciao!!
We had scambio (exchanges) this week! The Verona sorelle came to Bergamo, and I was with Sorella Richards. It was really fun! Because I am the one who knows Bergamo, I was in charge of getting us everywhere on buses, and we didn't get lost 😎 In the morning, we picked them up from the train station, then we came home and did planning studies as new companions, had lunch, then went up to Città Alta to do finding. For finding, we hand out bigliettini (pass-along cards) and try to talk to people, and this time we also handed out English class flyers. We got to talk to a lot of people, for example, a short Napolitano man (he was even much shorter than me) who slurred his words all together but somehow I was still able to have a conversation with him. I must say, the gift of tongues was real way back in the MTC and is still very real now.
This week Slla. Hoffman and I were waiting at a bus stop next to our apartment building to go to the church. We waited at the stop for like half an hour, and the bus never came. Then all of a sudden a bunch of policemen closed off our street and there were police cars driving down the street to make sure nobody was on it. Then a bike race came down the street right in front of us! There were hundreds of people riding on their bikes and tons of people on the sidewalks cheering. It was super cool haha.
At church on Sunday, a girl that neither of us recognized rode up to the church building on her bike. We greeted her in Italian, but then her eyes got all big and she said, "Do either of you sisters speak English? I don't know any Italian!" We found out she is from Utah and is here in Italy for a couple of months as a nanny, and she just moved to Bergamo a couple of weeks ago. We got to translate for her during church and she was really fun to talk to. She thought it was weird how the Italians say "Utah." 😂 (like ootah)
Also I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but Italians believe in a sickness called "colpa d'aria," which means "fault of the air." Basically what happens is if there is a breeze or any type of cold air or air conditioning, they believe it will cause a cold or worse sicknesses, especially if it touches your neck (this is why they always wear scarves!). Sometimes colpa d'aria even causes death, because whatever real condition they have actually gets credited to be colpa d'aria haha. For example, on Sunday this older lady walked into the church and said her heart was hurting really bad, so she said down on the couch. Then a couple of members came up and greeted her, and she told them her heart was hurting her and pointed to it. Their reponse: "It's just the cold! And the heart is on the right side!" Sorella Hoffman and I were like 😮 noooooo.
But of course after making fun of colpa d'aria, I am now sick... these pazzi Italiani might be on to something...
I was reading an old general conference talk this last week and it had a C.S. Lewis quote in it. The quote said, “I pray because I can’t help myself. … I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God. It changes me.” So good. And so true. God is there no matter what; we just have to go to Him. And He will always help us. Sometimes He helps us grow by letting things be hard, sometimes He eases our burdens, sometimes He comforts us, etc. Prayer is so simple yet so critical.
I took like no picures this week so I'm attaching a pic of me and the district on a hike we did a couple weeks ago, a couple sneaky pics of Giorgio on the bus (I'm not weird, I promise), and a picture of a nice car we saw last night after getting off at the wrong bus stop 😂

I hope you all have an ottima settimana ❤
Sorella Johnson

October 4th email

"La conferrrrenza generrrrale"

Ciao!!
This week has been really good. General conference was soooo good. We also got access to WhatsApp and our mission has smartphones now. Pretty crazy how much technology we're incorporating into the work.
One of our investigators told me this week that my accent is so adorable. She said not to change a thing. But I have never been able to roll my R's, which is just the worst. So I am currently on a personal quest to learn how to roll my R's. Whenever Slla. Hoffman and I are not at an appointment, I try it; usually I just sound like "Thhhhhh," but I will get it sooner or later haha.
For General Conference, the morning sessions were broadcasted on Saturday and Sunday night at the church building, so we invited several investigators and less-actives to come, who said they would. Sadly, none of them showed up. This is a pretty regular occurance. The perk, though, is that the other missionaries and I got to watch it in English-- because there was no one to watch it there in Italian-- and we brought snacks, like popcorn, brownies, etc. It was super fun and the talks were soooo awesome. If any of you did not get the chance to watch it, go to lds.org and watch it now! My favorite talks were by Joy Jones, all the ones by Uchtdorf, Holland, Hallstrom, Callister, and Ellis. Sometimes watching or reading talks can give us the best strength and encouragement we need, because life it tough.
This last week and a half or so has been a lot of running for the bus and long appointments and not returning to our apartment the entire day. Our area is so big that a good chunk of our time could be transportation. We don't have a car, so we ride the bus or tram, depending on where we have to go, and we have to time everything right. Also some people want to talk a lot more than we anticipate; which has happened a lot this week. If you can imagine us saying goodbye, "Ciao, buona giornata! Ciao ciao!" and then they close the door and we sprint down the stairs, out the apartment building, and down the street, that is pretty much exactly what happens.
For P-Day today, we traveled to Sorisole, which is a paesino (like a little town) about an hour away, but still in our ward boundaries. We decided to go on a hike which was very very uphill and at the top there would be waterfalls. So we go on this hike and it was really nice. It actually felt good for my lungs to be tired haha. It's several miles uphill and we get there and there are no waterfalls. So we talked to an Italian man on his hike with his little walking poles and he told us there were no waterfalls of any sort around there. Turns out Anziano Christensen ha sbagliato (he done messed up) and we ended up at the wrong place haha. But it was still really fun. We also saw a duomo on the way up and went inside. It's so amazing how many hidden gems there are here in Italy.
This morning I read D&C 58:2-4, and it says:
"2 For verily I say unto you, blessed is he that keepeth my commandments, whether in life or in death; and he that is faithful in tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven.
3 Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation.
4 For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand."
Sorry it's so long, but I thought this was important to share. I know that we go through hard things in life. Sorella Hoffman and I teach people whose families have been murdered, people who are going blind, people who have no money but still want to feed us, people who do not feel God's love because of all of the terrible things that have happened to them, or do not feel God's love because they are numb inside. But I know He loves us. We cannot even comprehend the immense blessings that He has for us if we just have faith through the hard times and remember Him through the good times. We just have to press forward.
I am attaching a couple pictures of the duomo we saw today and a picture that Sorella Hoffman and I took for our new WhatsApp profile, just in case any of you forgot what I look like haha. I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Vi voglio bene ❤
Sorella Johnson

September 27th email

“Maggots and the Star Trek Enterprise”

Ciao tutti!
Last week we did a few hours of finding in Centro for our Family History Night we had on Thursday. The finding was fun. Funny stuff always happens. For example, this lady started speaking half-Italian/half-Spanish to me, and I was so confused. This happens so often; you'd think I would know more Spanish by now.
On Friday a senior couple from Vicenza came to check our apartment and make sure it was clean. They are serving as Military Relations missionaries on the military base in Vicenza, so they know a family that used to live in my home ward that now lives on that base. It was pretty cool. Also they gave us a whole pack of Nutter Butters because they get American food on the base and because our apartment was clean. 😛
On Sunday night we watched the General Women's Session of conference. The regular sessions are aired live here and translated immediately, so we will be watching them at the church on Saturday and Sunday nights with the members. I am excited for conference. They are always so many great things to hear and learn. To watch it this Saturday and Sunday, you can go to lds.org. 😁
A couple days ago, I saw a tiny dog with a puff jacket on. It was the cutest and weirdest thing I have ever seen. But it just reminded that Christmas is in less than 3 months. 🎄☃️
Last night we had a weird occurance. I grabbed a trash bag to take out from our back balcony (there are so many different types of trash that we have to sort here that we don't have room in our kitchen, so we put it all on our back balcony), called "indifferenza," so indifferent trash. Basically if you don't know what type it goes in, throw it in there. So I grabbed the bag and started walking to the front door and realized that there were maggots squirming around inside!! Nastttty. And then maggots got onto the floor in our apartment and on our balcony. It was the most horrifying experience ever.
This week I was so tired. Every week I am tired but this week I was especially tired. I had a hard time staying awake while studying. I even accidentally fell asleep while reading a talk called, "Are You Sleeping through the Restoration?" Haha go figure. Well it was a little frustrating because all I wanted to do when we were home was sleep instead of think about the work. I love this work. I feel like there is a lot of enduring that comes with it, though. Sometimes I get too caught up in how much time I have left rather than what I need to do or want to become before I finish my mission. It's easy to fall into the trap of laziness. But I don't want that. I was thinking about this the other night, and I looked up a scripture that randomly popped into my head (Omni 1:26), and it said, "Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end..." I'm still trying to figure this whole thing out, but at least I have the scriptures (and general conference this weekend!!) to help me.
Today for P-Day my district and I went on a hike next to Lago d'Iseo. It took like 2 hours to get there by public transportation, but once we got there it was so beautiful!! We had a great time just exploring and hanging out as a district. Then on the bus ride back we watched the super great hills, colorful houses, and castles on the mountains as we went by. Also side note: we were playing 20 questions on the bus, and I guessed Anz. Norton's thing, the Star Trek Enterprise, after 7 questions... I think I am more like my father than I realize. After we finished our hike, we went to a place we found that had American breakfast food, and I got waffles 😛
I am attaching a pic of our 9-year old inestigator, Nadine. She is the sweetest little girl I have ever met. Every time I see her she gives me a huge hug. 😊 I am also attaching some pictures I took from our hike today and a pic of my waffles 😀 I hope everyone has a wonderful week!
Vi voglio bene ❤
Sorella Johnson