Letter # 8 - 11/6/13

Hi Mom and Dad! So another week has come and gone here in Italia. On Saturday we moved to our new apartment in San Giovanni, so we are not living in Firenze anymore.  San Giovanni is a lot different. haha A lot. It is kind of a depressing city but we are trying really hard to make the best of it. Our apartment is really nice but it is about a 20 minute walk from the train station so we definitely get our workout in each day walking back and forth and back and forth. haha  Sometimes we have to run, like this morning, haha, which is also fun. Pretty sure the people think we are crazy when they see two American girls booking it down the road. haha  Its funny, gives us something to laugh about. Dad, I used my debit card the other day for you. I bought toothpaste, haha, and it worked! I am buying something today so I will use my credit card to make sure they both work in Italy. The thing here is to get your scriptures leather-bound in Florence. And they look super awesome. Florence is one of the only places I think you can do it here that I’ve heard of.  So I dropped my Italian scriptures off there two weeks ago and we are picking them up today, I will send a picture next week.

Yesterday we had Zone conference and Elder Texiera came and spoke with us. It was a really good conference and we learned a lot. He was really nice and he told lots of stories. I didn’t get your package so maybe in the next couple weeks it will come. They bring mail whenever we have a meeting or conference and someone has been to Milano. So they will come soon I’m sure. As far as Christmas goes, the only thing I can really think of is maybe some slippers, Mom. They don’t believe in carpet here, it’s all tile. So I have been using my snow boots in the morning and at night as slippers, haha it’s kind of funny. Oh and maybe the Vocal Point CD. I am obsessed with it. I think it is called "lead thou me on".  It’s really good, Sister Lopez has it. My clothes and shoes are doing good. I shouldn’t need anything new. Just save it and we can buy new clothes so I can try and be cute when I get home mom :) haha, um besides that I should be good! Maybe some normal socks for when I wear my boots. I didn’t pack a lot of those, but I really am doing good, I don’t really have anything I desperately need yet :) Mom, you just did such a good job of packing for me before I left!

This week was pretty hard. We are feeling pretty overwhelmed with our area and we are kind of out in the middle of nowhere by ourselves. But we are seeing miracles for sure. This Sunday we were having a really hard day. We had just moved into the new apartment the night before, we barely missed our train in the morning to go to church, we didn’t get invited to any of our members house for lunch like we usually do every Sunday, and it was fast Sunday and we didn’t really have any food because of moving and it was Sunday. We did have some crackers and bread though so don’t worry, I ate! haha but anyways, it was a rough day.  So we got on a train to one of our cities called Arezzo and we said a prayer that we would be able to have two lessons that night.  First we decided to go visit our investigator with a baptismal date. Her daughter called through the window and said her mom wasn’t home so we said thank you and started walking away and then Sister Lopez and I just stopped, and turned around and went back, rang the bell for her apartment again and asked the daughter if we could talk with her for a few minutes – and she said YES. So we taught her a lesson and she was super interested and told us she wanted to meet with us again – and we are seeing her and her mom later this week. It was so awesome, this girl is so cute, she is 17 and we just clicked with her. It was great - then we went and taught a lesson to a less active family in our branch and it went really well, and they FED us which was totally a tender mercy. Then we were on our way back to the train to go home and we ran into a lady we had contacted on the train a couple days ago. We didn’t get to talk to her for a very long time last time but this time she had us come sit with her. I KNOW. So we talked to her and turns out she has met with the missionaries before in Santa Domenga and even had a baptismal date but then she had to move and was never baptized. She said she has seen the missionaries once or twice since she has been in Italy but doesn’t have a book of Mormon any more. So guess who is meeting with her later this week to give her one? that’s right – US! haha She was super sweet and really liked us and we are really excited to meet with her again. So in one night we got three lessons and two new investigators. MIRACLE. It was so awesome and exactly what we needed to keep going. Heavenly Father really does answer prayers and I am so grateful for that. Thank you so much for everything you do for me Mom and Dad. I am so lucky to be a Yost :) Thanks for all your love and support. I feel it all the way over here in Italy :) tell Abbi and Anna and Will and Charlie hi for me! and that I love them! Love you mom and dad!

Sorella Alli