Tutto è bello: Everything is Beautiful

At this moment, sitting in our little internet point, I am so perfectly contented. Today was a wonder, it truly was. Last week Sorella and I taught a lesson and gave a Book of Mormon to a man working at Palazzo Pitti and he told us to come back when he was working again. So, today we went to that amazing palace and he gave us tickets to everything, the exhibits, royal apartments, and the boboli garden, all completely free. It was incredible. Inside there were hundreds of beautiful works of art, sculptures, a magnificent painting by Botticelli and one of my favorite paintings by Francesco Hayez called "The Kiss." I was absolutely tickled to see the real thing. The Botticelli painting was one with a centaur and was tremendously beautiful. There is an exhibit with works from all over Italy right now celebrating the beauty of Italian cities as well. To enter the royal apartments is like entering another world. Everything is gilded and there is scaffolding and paintings, murals on every ceiling, beauty on every surface. Rich colors, draperies, tassels, gold, silver, art, romance, and antiquity. There were wonderful old clocks and other little marvels everywhere. The furniture was incredible. Afterward, we headed to the gardens to one of the most beautiful views I have ever ever seen. Standing almost amidst the hills of beautiful toscana with palazzi, ville, and tremendous green trees and fields of olive trees, skies slightly over cast, a light breeze, and a misting rain is an experience I wish I could capture and hold forever. It was extraordinary. Truly. It will break my heart to leave it. To top off what was becoming my favorite moment in Italy, we talked to two men from Albania on our way out of the garden and I had in my bag an Albanian Book of Mormon. The Lord's timing is impeccable. This week has been amazing. We have taught so many different people and experienced so many different things. We had our ward Christmas party and I wore my beautiful green dress. I felt pretty even when Fratello Maffei said I looked like Peter Pan. I like Peter Pan. And everyone else loved that I was wearing green. It was a great little party. Panettone is really good, but Italians feed you far too much, including that. We had three or four courses. We went out to dinner with Francesco and his family and I tried an incredibly delicious Tuscan dish called Ribollita. We walked to Sesto Fiorentino in the rain, which was fun in and of itself, but on the way I stopped a girl from Pennsylvania who is here studying Jazz music of all things, we taught her a lesson, and I may have found a new friend and kindred spirit. We gave a Book of Mormon to an atheist who needed it yesterday, and I was able to cheer my collega with a letter I sent her that took far too long to arrive. Please pray for our investigators. Right now it is the only thing I would like for Christmas. They are struggling to progress and we aren't sure what else to do. I really love them and just want them to find what I have found. I want them to be happy and feel how much Heavenly Father loves them. I would like that for whomever reads this as well. He loves you very much. I know he loves me. I just hope I can and have done enough to share that.