Sorella Sobeck in Rome: ONE YEAR

Whoo hoo I made it!!!! I feel like their are certain landmarks in the mission...in the MTC - making it to the first Sunday, becuase the first 4 days are the longest days ever. The first week in the mission field, when you feel like your head is going to explode with everyone and everything so new and not understanding anything at all besides Ciao. Training the first time. Hitting the YEAR MARK (day after tomorrow...we're so eating a pizza to celebrate). Training the second time and making it through the first week of that. There's been some big stuff happening lately in the mission life of Sorella Sobeck.

Things are good. For the second time, my training experience is not completely normal, but that's all part of the mission experience becuase everything is just all over the place and you never know what you're gonna get or whats gonna happen. My new companion is Sorella Fuller, from Utah. She studied Italian for 3 years before at BYU, has been to Sienna for 3 months a few years ago, and because she knew the language better than MTC language training, they sent her state'side for a bit to wait for her visa there. She she did 3 weeks of MTC, then had a transfer in Arizona before she got sent to Italy and down to me in Mistretta. It's been a really interesting experience this past week, as we've gotten adjusted toe ach other and the fact that our mission experiences are very very different....yep, the mission is a bit different in Italy than it is in Arizona. There's been some give and take going on this week and a LOT of conversation (I don't feel like I've ever talked so much in my life as this week haha), but its been great! Sorella Fuller has GREAT ideas and I know she was sent here to Mistretta to be my companion for lots of reasons. I am already learning so much how to be a better and more consecrated missionary which is really helping my attitude and ability to lose myself in the work. I feel like since transfer calls a week and a half ago I haven't stopped a minute to just take a breath and think, so as a result I've been very tired this week, but we are talking to EVERYONE on the streets, having some great lessons, and really seeing cool miracles and I'm reallly grateful to have my new companion. We're going to see some great things happen in our time together.

We're still hoping for this baptismal date for Giuseppe in a few weeks, but with August being ferrie and everything (where everyone goes on vacation...something I'm VERY excited to have done with in a couple days), he hasn't really been thinking about it and we hadn't seen him for a lesson in a few weeks. But we've had a couple good lessons lately where I've felt the spirit, and its great to see how his understanding of the things he reads in teh Book of Mormon increases. He really is great and chosen to be a member of this church.

We have a really cute girl from Romania who is a new investigator, as well with a couple of her friends, and they seem really interested and we're pumped. They all want to actually come to church on Sunday, which is a huge miracle becuase whenever we invite someone to church in this area they mostly just deny the option completely. But this girl, Angela, seems really special and really wants to come. We have another lesson with her and all these people later tonight and I'm super pumped for that!

I really don't have much more to say, and I'm also out of time. So I'll wrap up saying I'm grateful to have the chance to train again and be learning a TON by someone who is so much younger in the mission. They really have a ton of energy and that greenie power brings miracles. It's pretty awesome. I'm grateful for the church and the gospel, and for the agency that we all have even though it is really hard to accept the choices of others sometimes. I'm grateful for God's love for every single one of us. When you start realizing that every single person you talk to is a child of God, it makes you love them a lot more and a lot quicker. It makes me happier as well. I'm so grateful to be a missionary. I've never learned so much in my life. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Thanks for all of your examples. If you feel the need, you can send some thoughts my way and it would sure be appreciated. Hope everyone has a great week. Thanks for all the prayers.

Love,

Sorella Sobeck