Howdy hey...‏

Hey Team,

How ya'll doing? I loved the pictures!! Jake you look awesome... Mom! I love your hair! Sabrines and ems.... you are sooo old! Jose... Your gorgeous! Dad... you must have been taking the pic! he he! My fam! I love you soooo much! I can't believe how much you all are doing!

Well this week was a good one. Last P-day We went with a family in our ward to Lago di Garda a beautiful lake here! I was soooo wonderful and warm and we ate a ginormous gelato! It was lovely! Then friday, saturday, sunday, and monday consisted of us trying to go out to work and then coming back home because Slla Laratro was really sick again. I am really getting mom training on the mission! Thank goodness I had some practice with little siblings so I knew a bit about how to take care of her. However one thing I still have to get the guts for is when they are throwing up. I stayed in our bedroom and called to the bathroom and told her "I am sorry Slla but I cannot help you!!!" One day I be prepared to face that... maybe ;)

But don't worry... I don't know how but I didn't get sick at all. No fever, no cold, no nothing! I am soooo grateful for this because you know how easily I catch things. Honestly... I am litterally blessed!

Tuesday we went to a conference in Milan for only the Sisters. It was GREAT!!! I loved it and learned so much especially about planning and making every second of our mission count. I am excited to put this into practice. Yesterday we had a BLITZ here in Verona which is why we didn't have P-day until today. The sisters from Porde None came here to help us with our work. I worked with Slla Sloan who was in my italian class at BYU... neat! After our Blitz Slla Laratro and I had the rest of the night to do some finding. We went to one of our favorite parks and started talking with some people. We stopped a woman who was walking along and she told us "listen I am exercising. I come to the park everyday and try to exercise, but I never get to because someone always stops me." She started to walk away But that only encouraged us ;) We just kept talking and we told her about our message and in the end she stopped. We talked until she got a phone call and had to go home but she said, "I have to walk this way, want to walk with me?" So we walked to the end of the park talking to her and we were able to give her an opuscolo. BUT then as a result of walking with her the route we took back took us past a woman sitting by herself on a bench. Of course we stopped to talk to her. Turns out she was having a bad day so she came to the park to get some fresh air. We thus commenced letting this woman know how much Heavenly Father loved her. In the end she asked "Can I come to your church?" Yahoo!!! We got her number and have another appointment with her tonight! I love watching how Heavenly Father litterally guides each step you take as missionaries!

I am SOOOOO excited for conference this weekend! How lucky we are that we have a living prophet that speaks to us and guides us! EVERYBODY WATCH it! Okay? ;)

I love you all and shall talk to you again next week!

Molto amounts of amore,

Kate

p.s. I saw Slla Bowman at the sister conference and she told me... CLAUDIA IS GETTING MARRIED!! Yep she will get married in July to an returned missionary she met at a singles ward activity! WHAT??

Highlight of my week was....

Oops! I forgot to post last week! Here you go!!!!

Buon Giorno mia famiglia!!!

Ciao tutti! How is everything going!?? Sounds like everyone is busy as ever! Jake you look great with a lute... it is definately very Shawn Spencer. Ems, Sabrines... I need pics! How in the world did my whole family go all broadway on me! You guys are amazing!!! Just remember if you get famous before I get back that I am still you sis and deserve backstage passes! Jos, how is school and such? I hope you are all having tons of fun! Can you please send me lots of pics! I want to see everything! And I promise I will send pics soon, but the internet point we use most of the time you can't send pics so I'll try to go to the other one next week.

Fam, the high point of this week was definately DANIELA'S BAPTISM!!!!!!! OH!! It was so beautiful! We had the program which went great and then the bishop baptized her. After her baptism as we were helping her get ready she told us how light she felt and kept saying "I feel like I could fly!!!" We as missionaries then sang "Come thou Fount" in Italian and according to me it went pretty good (with all this singing I am doing on my mission I might just join you all in the music business when I get back!) Then Daniela had the chance to bear her testimony! It was amazing! She told again about here experience with the Book of Mormon and then how she felt after her baptism! I absolutely love this woman! She is an amazing example of literally unshakable faith. She still has so many challenges that she has to face and is looking for work, but she constantly says she knows Heavenly Father will help her. After the Baptism they had a little refreshment for everyone and Daniela was talking to all the investigators that were there and telling them that they too could feel like she did if they got baptized and how she searched for her whole life for the right path and finally found it... literally music to a missionaries ears! Sunday she recieved the Holy Ghost. Then in Gospel principles as we were talking about the atonement and she raised her hand and explained how she felt to be clean again. She then explained the power she felt come over her during her confermation! WHAT???? I just cannot even express the perma-grin I have on my face whenever I am in Daniela's presence! I am sooo grateful for the blessing of getting to work with her and still getting to teach her as a New Convert Now!!

Well now that Daniela is baptized we have a lot of finding work to do! But Sorella Laratro and I are having fun doing it! You sure get to meet a lot of interesting people when you knock doors or stop people on the street. I think one of the hardest thing as a missionary is having people turn us down because of the Book of Mormon. I want to just burst and say "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE MISSING!!! :)" I was trying to think of how I could explain it... I thought of how the Bible is like a Candle... it gives us light. But the Book of Mormon is like a high powered Flash light that gives us all the light we need. And people are like "no thanks I'll stick with the candle"!! The funny thing is that we KNOW the bible gives us light, we just want to add to that light!!! OR the fact that they aren't even willing to pray to know if it could be true! Sorella Laratro always says it is like we are giving them a debit card with a 1,000,000 dollars and all they have to do is go to the bank and pull it out, but they aren't willing to go to the bank! Well... my little soap box on the Book of Mormon. Dad, you said you are loving the Book of Mormon right now! I am so happy. I am too! I can't even tell you how much I am learning. I don't know what it is but this time around reading it, it seriously is like a new book for me! I am writing down Everything because every 2 seconds I am like, "What! How long has that been in the Book of Mormon!!" I can just tell you that I am definately eating it up and feeling the desire to nourish myself on the scriptures! I hope all of you can learn to love the Book of Mormon just as much! It might feel like it is Boring but start looking for the lessons and the stories and it just comes to life. I recently read the beginning of Mosiah. Can I just say I love King Benjamin... the man just doesn't mix words! He tells things how they are! If you want to have blessings, then keep the commandments... point Blank! Yep, I am having fun :)

Well fam... I love being a missionary... need I say more??

I love you and miss you times a million and a half!
Slla Kate

Then sings my Soul!!‏

Family! Ciao tutti! Come state?? Spero che tutto vada bene!

Guys... I am the most excited thing right now... why?? Because DANIELA is getting baptized on friday!!!! We have worked our hearts out this last week to insure that she was taught everything and really prepared for her interview and baptism. She passed with flying colors! The amazing thing about Daniela is she just has soooo much faith. She reads and prays everyday and has the strongest testimony of the Book of Mormon. We asked her on Sunday to share her testimony of the Book of Mormon in Relief Society. She was really nervous but we told her just to tell what she felt. I prayed so much for her that she would be able to do well and not be nervous. It was the most beautiful testimony of the book of mormon I have ever heard. The spirit was so strong as She explained how she felt a fire inside her when she read and that tears just began rolling down her face. She said she can't believe it took her 39 years to find this book! Honestly I was just beaming. I could not stop smiling!!! I was SOOOO proud of her! She is incredible and soooo excited for her baptism. She tells everyone about how she is ready to start her new life and has no fear about sharing her testimony... oh if we all were just like Daniela. Plus she is the most giving person I have ever met. It offends her if we don't take what she offers us when we visit her and everytime she offers basically her entire house. She has so little but is willing to give it all to us. She still hasn't found work but is helping all her friends find work (jobs she can't do because she has her son). I love her so much and have truley learned about humility and fervent faith from her.

I also will be singing at her baptism... don't ask me how I get roped into all these musical numbers, but if it is for Daniela I shall sing my heart out. I shall let you know how it goes!

Almost all our efforts this week have been focus on Daniela and she seriously is a miracle everyday. But one other miracle I have to mention is this... we had an amazing lesson last thrusday with a less active. She is 22ish and hasn't been to church in over 3 years. We have been visting her with her family but this time had a lesson just for her. We told her how important she was to Heavenly Father and that he needed her to serve in his church. Her biggest fear was what members would think... we told her she didn't need to worry about that. That night she came to the ward party- the first time she has stepped foot in the church for years and had so much fun! She promised this next week she will come to church! YES!

I am sooo grateful for the gospel and soooo grateful for the chance to see it change peoples lives... it is litterally amazing! I can't believe how blessed I am even when I am not perfect! I absolutely love being a missionary! We have lots of work to do to find more investigators (hopefully more Daniela's ;) ) but I am ready for it!

I love you all and have a bellissima settimana!

Ciao for now,

Slla Nilson

pics: A bit of Verona... The pic of me on the bridge reminds me of Rainbow row in Charleston... It is the rainbow row of Verona ;)

Just keep swimming...‏

Hey Famiglia!

How goes everything? I Hope things are going good amid the craziness! I wonder if it is possible that our family could get any busier! Hang in there each of you and everything will go good.

This week I have really learned that Heavenly Father always takes care of you. You put in what you can, try and give it your all, and he takes care of the Rest. I learned this is possible through the Atonement. As we have really been trying hard to find more people to teach it seems as if no one wants to listen. I think probably the worst thing is when they don't even take 2 seconds to hear what we have to say. But we have learned that the elect will hear our voice. And one of those Elect is Daniela.

I talked about Daniela last week. How we gave her the Book of Mormon and she started praying and she found work. Well this is what happened after that. We go to visit Daniela Friday only to find out that when she went to start her new job they informed her they picked someone else. This was after she had spent 70 euros on a bus pass to get to work everyday and it was non refundable. Litterally everything was falling apart. However this was her response, "I know this is a trial of my faith because I am trying to do the right thing." When she felt so desparate because she litterally is down to NO money and hardly any food- I'm talking she literally has potatoes, crackers and juice, she turned to the Book of Mormon. She is now is Alma and has not stopped reading and praying. As she prayed yesterday in our lesson she thanked Heavenly Father for finally introducing the Book of Mormon in her life. She told us "I don't know why for 39 years no one told me about this Book" Needless to say she is amazing. She is such an example to me. I thought I had it bad because we didn't have very many investigators and then you have someone like Daniela who is litterally being tried and tested and she hangs in there. She is progressing wonderfully and is soooo excited for her baptism. I am too!! This woman is incredible.

Another example of Heavenly Father stepping into our work was Thursday. We recieved a call from a the wife of a New Convert in our ward. They learned about the church as a family, but her Husband was the only one to get baptized. She called us thursday and told us that She is ready to get baptized and wants to be baptized with 2 of her children together. WHAT?????????? Can you say miracle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was reading in the Conference issue the talk by Elder Hales entitled "Waiting on the Lord." In his talk he describes that at times we seem to wait on the Lord and don't exactly understand why. One of my favorite parts is this.. "Even with the shining examples of Job, the prophets, and the Savior, We will still find it challenging to wait upon the Lord, especially when we cannot fully understand His plan and purposes for us. That understanding is most often given “line upon line, [and] precept upon precept.”³² In my life I have learned that sometimes I do not receive an answer to a prayer because the Lord knows I am not ready" I know this is true. Sometimes we aren't ready to recieve all that the Heavenly Father has in store for us. We must prepare ourselves and do our part and he will take care of the rest. And the most amazing part is that while we are trying to do our best, He is with us every step of the way. He doesn't come help when we have had it. He walks with us, and carries us, and then takes care of the rest. We are NEVER alone and Help and peace with always come. We were able to promise Daniela this. And she is continuing to pray and read and have so much faith.

I am soooo grateful for these amazing people I have the chance to meet. THese miracles certainly overpower all the rejections we get as missionaries! I know Heavenly Father Loves us. I know that through the Atonement we can have to strength to face anything and everything, and that we have a Savior who understands us perfectly! I love you all soooo much thanks for your emails and support! Keep reading, praying, and going to the temple- I PROMISE it will help you all in everything you do!

Molto amounts of amore! From your sis and daughter,
Slla Nilson