August 8th

Well, dear ones, it is a sunshine day in Milano and I am very excited to share with you the daily doings and many miraculous adventures of Sorella Pericolosa (Sorella Jacobson) and her faithful companion Sorella Impavida (yours truly). We are just trying to soak in every delicious moment of missionary work and all of the blessings our Father in Heaven just keeps giving us. Last Wednesday we went to Fratelli la Bufala here in Milan with the other sisters for old times sake and our many memories of Firenze together. Our walk down memory lane was followed by La Scala, the opera house extraordinaire. They let us in for free because we are pretty...only joking...they let us in for free because we are missionaries. Yeah! It was beautiful! I wanted so badly to walk on the stage and see it from the performer's point of view. It was so grand and impressive. There is just an amazing atmosphere in a theater of any kind. Stories, costumes, props, sets, and characters all come to life in a space like that. I miss it a bit. I felt very at home. The museum part was also incredible. They have Listz's piano, and Mozart's hair, costumes, props, masks, old libretti, many other instruments, paintings, busts,death masks, casts of musicians' hands, and a host of other little musical wonders. I would love to go to a concert or opera there.  We brought Beny to GANS activities three times this week and she sang, "Someone like you" by Adele, but used her own translation into Spanish at the GANS talent show. She is awesome. I hope she is finally making friends so she doesn't feel so alone in the changes she is making. She was our little miracle this week. We made it to her house just in time on Sunday to take her to the GANS FHE and she really asked good questions, talked and played with everyone, and learned a lot while having a good time. We all just need to keep praying that she sees it is possible to do the right thing even in a world where values are shifting and changing or just don't exist. Because it is possible. We know the truth. We know what is right. We have the Lord Jesus Christ. We have Heavenly Father. And, we have each other. Eugenia and Geraldine are both on vacation now, but they are doing great and we had a lovely lesson with each of them before they left. We did a lesson with Eugenia and the family Astudillo and the spirit was strong and you could just see the change in Eugenia from after her baptism. She is so much more relaxed and happy and full of light. I just want everyone to get to experience that in their own lives and see it change the lives of others. It is a beautiful thing. don't be afraid to share. We as missionaries all performed in the GANS talent show. The amazing Sorella Soh played her ukulele that a member gifted her and blew us away with her performance and Anziano Rodriguez beat box like I have never heard anyone beat box, doing his own rendition of "If you could Hie to Kolob". It was otherworldly. Saturday we had our concert in Bergamo and Sorella Jacobson was in heaven seeing her Bergamasca famiglia. I was so happy for her. She just was so happy. Bergamo is a wonderful place with great people. The Branch president, Presidente Pezzoli played the guitar incredibly and it just reinforced my desire to learn when I get home in a way stronger than ever. He was great and played and sang with Sorella Simkins and his wife. Sorella Botta from Bergamo sang with a friend of hers and then of course there was Sorella Padula and I. We had a marvelous time and it was a truly great concert. President was proud of us. We got home really late and were wound up and exhausted at the same time, but it was worth every moment for what it gave to the people there, for the spirit of joy that was felt. We spent yesterday in Collegno doing a blitz in that adorable little city just outside of Torino with Sorella Laratro and Sorella Eaton. I was with Sorella Eaton and we did a lot of really fruitful finding with two new investigators and a few really great lessons. I learned a lot from her and I loved their little city. so much breathing room. I felt instantly at home. Other than that we have made "gospel cake" with the Barbieri/xhunga family, taught scads of lessons, and got 11 new investigators. Yeah! Now we just need to help them progress. Today we are planning on going to Chinatown and doing some shopping and eating amazing Asian food from people who only speak Chinese! I am so excited. Aren't you jealous? Last night Sorella J and I spent a bit of time reminiscing reading our journal entries from our first transfer together in Firenze. It was fun to see our different perspectives on things and remember how we were and see how we have changed and how we are still the same. Our personalities maybe never go away, nor our craziness or sense of fun, but we keep growing into who we were meant to be and that is an amazing thing to see. I love being able to notice the way the atonement works in my life by helping me grow and how much He is helping me change, how far I have come, and where I can go. If we will let him, he will make us the best we can be. We just need to trust him. And trust that he made us to be grown this way and that we were enough at the beginning to become enough like him at the end. What this gospel does in our lives is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Remember he loves you and so do I.

Sorella Lloyd