Norah in the MTC

 October 13th, 2023

Hey all!

I arrived at the Provo MTC on Wednesday and it's been a whirlwind! Lot's has happened but it's all mostly good there is such a fun and Christlike spirit here. Also I love my comp she is awesome! 

There are 6 of us in our district we have another pair of sister (or sorelle) and just one pair of elders (or anziani). It's been a blast. We haven't quite started learning Italian yet but excited for when we do! 

Today we did baptisms at the Provo temple (or the birthday cake, because it looks like a birthday cake with one candle on it, the flame on the candle of course being the angel Moroni representing the flame of our testimonies )

D&C 7:6 "6 Yea, he has undertaken a greater work; therefore I will make him as flaming fire and a ministering angel; he shall minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation who dwell on the earth" 

This email is short because there's not much to report on haha.

Have a great week!

October 27th, 2023

Ciao tutti!

I've been a missionary for four weeks now! Time goes by so differently as a missionary, the minutes are slow but the days are fast! Probably because we have every second of our days scheduled out. It's a good thing though!

This week was filled with so many Italian studies and countless hours of conjugating verbs in any of Italian's 14 tenses. Alora, my companion and I never forget to die laughing at one thing or the other everyday. I feel like I've known la mia collega for years. Sister Gunther is the best . All of the sisters in our dorm are awesome, last night we belted every Hamilton and Adele song we could remember the words to. It was great even though I know we sounded like a bag of cats.

Former first counselor of the young women's general presidency, Sister Michele D. Craig and her husband are some of our branch missionaries! Every other night Sister Craig comes and visits us in our dorm! It is so cool to hear her experiences and get hugs from her. I keep meaning to ask her what it's like to give a general conference talk, but I will get on that and return and report. I'm incredibly grateful, not only for her and her husband, but for all of the kind and supportive people at home and in our branch at the MTC .

Spiritual thought:

We went to the temple today and It was the best! I'm learning so much about our Heavenly Fathers plan for us every day as a missionary! The more I learn, the more perfect I know it is. This church is truly unlike any other, and I know it contains the fullness of Jesus Christ's gospel.

I hope you all have a great week <3 

Ci vediamo!

November 3rd, 2023

1 Mese Di Missione!

Buona Giornata!

This week, the fire alarm went off at 3 a.m. and it was a chaotic experience. My companion almost ran out the door without shoes on.... and without her companion haha. The whole building just had to evacuate into the gym which was cool, we held an impromptu sister only devotional. I'm just kidding, we just sat there. But in all seriousness the building was fine and they don't know why it went off. 

For Halloween I dressed up as sister Gunther and sister Gunther dressed up as me. We thought we were funny. Overall it was a fun day because one of our roommates' parents sent three boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and I passed out the candy I had!

Spiritual Thought!!: 

This week I was thinking about the story of Job and how strong his faith was. He gave up everything because it was the will of the Lord. I found myself thinking, "God must appreciate Job's sacrifice much more than anything I could give, God must love Job more than me." But then I thought "hold up!", Everything we know about the Character of Christ tells us that is NOT TRUE. We know from the Sermon on the Mount Jesus Christ will gratefully take our meager sacrifice of five loaves of bread and two fishes and he will feed enough for 2,000+. I know Heavenly Father is so incredibly grateful for every sacrifice we make no matter the size. 

Gesu ci ama!

P.S. The elders beat their banana day record

November 11th, 2023

New Week New District!

- So sadly all but four of the Italian missionaries left this week. Due to a Visa activation delay, myself and three others get to spend another week here at the MTC! I will miss Sister Gunther and all the others. We've been having classes with an English speaking district who is going to England and South Africa. So pretty much my new companion and I get to relive week 2 of the MTC and relearn all of the lessons lol. The night before all of the Italians left we had a huge party with way too many doughnuts, cinnamon rolls and crumbl cookies. It was awesome. 

- They put Christmas lights up at the MTC, who knew they were so festive! 

- Italian is going well! I like to listen to conference talks and read the kids magazine in Italian.  Its crazy to see how much you can learn when you study 30+ hours a week (and of course with the gift of tongues).

- Spiritual thought: 

This Sunday we studied the topic "Strengthening my conversion to Jesus Christ and His Atonement." and this is for sure my favorite topic that we've studied! I've come to know how capacitating and incredible it is. Everyday I'm grateful for our savior . I am grateful to know I don't have to traverse this crazy life on my own. Grazie a Lui (Thanks to Him) I have hope for great days ahead of me and comfort in the difficulties of today. I invite you to find how the Atonement is working in your life! 

"Remember kids, God made you special and He loves you very much!" -Bob the tomato and Larry the cucumber