Hello Everyone!!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011 10:48 AM

Well, it is the first week of October and I have to wish my little brother a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! 5 years old...what a big kid! And, it actually hit me that October 3...starts the count down. My proselyting license ends on that day exactly one year from now! I panic a little bit everytime I realize how much LITTLE time I have left.

Genova is a completely new experience for me, but I absolutely love it. I have to measure my progress differently because we are CONSTANTLY on the busses..and if any of you know me, I get a little "stretta" (tight...or anxious) when I am squished between lots of people. Sure, I am a watcher first and then I dive in with the huge smile and tell you what's up...but I gotta see what you're up to first. On the busses...and metro's...holy smoly...I get touched and shoved and pushed around...sometimes I just wanna flip! So I am just so happy if I can start a conversation with someone. Yeesh! But...I really do try to talk to people!! And Sorella Silva told me that THIS is what is important...that I am trying my hardest to change. My hair is really long now and so I have to constantly tie it back so people can see my nametag. When people stare, I try and make contact to start a conversation...but it doesnt always work. I have come to find that you really have to be real with the people if you want them to listen to you. The gospel has to flow naturally...not like you are trying to sell something. And for me...when I am on the bus, I am looking to talk to people..but I am also stressing trying to find the bus stops and changing busses. (Sigh) It is the effort that counts.

And through it all...I know the Lord is pleased with our work. When we have lessons and when we can talk to people...we make it count. Our investigators, Kerly and Claudia are already progressing and HAVE a baptismal date. Claudia LOVES praying in Creole (her native language) and finds God in EVERYTHING she does. Kerly prays all the time and has so many spiritual experiences that we are just BLESSED to hear them. She works for an elderly woman named Signora Ferarri. She lets us visit and she just loves us. She knows the truth of the message every time we teach her along with Kerly, and she just promises us that we are going to paradiso (paradise). She loves what we teach...but the thing is...it's new to her every time we teach them. She has Alzheimers, and I just got a confirmation the other day, that we need to teach this woman too because she will accept it on the other side. You do what you can...even if she can't remember. We found a woman who has been inactive for YEARS and she wants us to come back. You HAVE to show the people you love them...or they won't listen to you. It's so true. Every mission is so different, and every missionary is so different and you teach the gospel in different ways. I watched this woman, inactive as long as I have been alive, change from being so distant to laughing with us, talking about peruvian food, and how she is distressed in keeping her 7 year old son away from the influence of alcohol and smoking here...it was truly amazing.

I am seeing so many miracles here on my mission. And interestingly enough, the biggest temptation here is to sleep. Ugh...it is SO hard to get up in the morning. My companion and i bought earplugs today hoping to get some GOOD SLEEP tonight. The amublances go ALL NIGHT LONG here and there are ALWAYS yellings and demonstrations in the streets. I'm praying that these things will work!

As far as conference, I really hope everyone enjoyed it. You don't understand HOW blessed you are to HEAR the prophet's voice and everyone that we hear every conference. We didn't get any of the jokes or why people were laughing on the TV because things that are funny to us, don't translate in Italian to be humorous. And the translations aren't exactly as the people say them because they wouldn't make sense in Italian. Nonetheless, I am excited to read it!! I DID love Pres. Uchtdorf's Forget-Me.Not talk. It's true...we need to remember how special we are. I see women, here in Italy, just being treated like objects. Their boyfriends hanging all over them and just using them for pleasure. In my head, I can't count HOW MANY TIMES I say "Don't do it! Don't do it! YOu are worth so much more than he treats you!" But...they don't hear me...nor will they listen. It's how they find "love"...Gosh...it's amazing how blessed I am and have been! I see so much...and it's SCARY. I have to carry around my pepper spray now...just for protection. I was going to a lesson the other day and I saw a man, completely covered in blood with the side of his head split open..just raging and wavering around. I thought it was joke! I was looking for cameras! But no, instead I find another man to my left with a lead pipe...ready to swing. They paused and let us walk through...but I couldn't believe it. We CAN'T be out after dark...just too scary. Yikes, it makes my knees weak just thinking about it. All the more reason to thank my Heavenly Father for the protection he gives us every. single. day.

Now don't worry, everything was safe as we passed...the men were calming down and got in a scuffle because they were drunk. We were protected for sure. I was with a member, there were others watching us...and besides the Mafia really has a silent protection for us. The mafia is here, but if they hear something happened to a Mormon...the people who attacked are as good as dead. So, there is a silent respect from the biggest criminals in the world. What can you do...haha

Man, I realize that this letter sounds HORRIBLE...but it's really life here. I was thinking "man, what is going to shock me when I get home is that I won't have to wait for busses, and at night you don't hear anything other than dogs and cows....and there's peanut butter and REAL MILK at your fingertips!" Never thought I would think that....

Anyway, all is well and I look forward to hearing from everyone! Love you all!!

Sorella Bowman