Hallie turns 21!!

She Turned 21

 Week 25 Birthday, Miracles, and No Shows

Wow it's already been 25 weeks crazy! This week was am awesome one! First off watch out world because I am now a 21 year old! Crazy, it was hard being away from my family but that's okay we still had a good day! But more on that later... This week started off with a scambio in Milano. For Friday and Saturday. I was with Sorella Jones. We went to a lesson pretty far away, and it  was awesome though. It was with an elderly lady who has this grand house. She was so sweet. Saturday we sneaked by the Duomo to get a birthday picture! You are now getting weekly emails from a 21 year old, yikes! Then for our dinner appointment I was surprised with balloons and confetti and a yummy cake! It made my day! 
I had a great miracle this week. A lot of our appointments turned into empty houses, no answers, and fell through. I was kind of discouraged. But one day we were sitting on the bus and I looked at this lady and I thought to myself, I think I know her, she is from Peru. So I got one of our pass along cards and gave it to her. Turns out she is from Peru and she has a member cousin, pretty cool! But she was leaving the next day to go visit them in Peru. But she gave us her number to contact her when she gets back in September, so this story is to be continued.

We are way short on time today but I want to share a brief testimony that I know prayers are answered even if they aren't in the way we want or expect. When we go look for the miracles they come, no one can just wait around expecting them. I hope you all have the best week ever! (And if you are in Texas I heard Bluebell came out with their mint chocolate chip ice cream again so go eat some for me!)
Love,
Sorella Teague
Pic 1- Duomo in Milano
Pic 2- Birthday dinner
Pic 3 Como
Pic 4 A member's daughter did our hair haha

Surprise Party

Sis MacKenzie

Crazy hair dos!

Week 20 June 2016 Bologna

Ciao all! Well I guess I will just start off with the weird, I am no longer in Rimini but instead in Bologna with the wonderful Sorella Taylor! It is a really long story but in the end I know that I am just where I need to be now. It was so hard to leave that beautiful city and more importantly the wonderful people, but there are many great things ahead here as well. So last Wednesday I arrived here in 
Bologna, hence the no emails last week. We filled our days with quite the adventures because Sorella Taylor has only been here 2 weeks, and I have never been here before. Thursday we met this amazing member her name is Erika, man she is so  cool, her husband speaks 10 languages, I think the Elders here are teaching him. She told us all about her hometown in Peru, and we talked about pretty much everything under the sun. She was so nice and
so happy to see us. Our English class here is soooooo different from any English course ever. There are three Elderly people who come. I have yet to understand them in Italian or English, haha. But they brought us food so that was cool. Sorella Taylor and I were really struggling with staying awake haha.


We had a fun FHE activity where we played pictionary, it was fun to see and to meet the ward. On Saturday we met a new convert Helena. Then the icing on the cake (literally), we ventured our way into a Romanian birthday party. Weirdest two hours or so in my life. First of all we showed up and everyone was not happy to see us, they were under the impression that the old Sorella would be there. They were personally offended that she did not make it to the party. But there was one girl, literally a girl she is 19 but has a child.... It's part of their culture to get married very very very young, M is her name and she was very nice and needed us to talk to. We were stuck at the party for quite sometime because heaven forbid us to leave, again just their culture. Things were just chaos babies crying everywhere, all the men yelling and laughing at one table across the grass field, drama among the women, and then it just started to pour we are talking thunder and lightning. Then they brought out the cake...... There were literal literal fireworks on the cake. Sorella Taylor and I were dying with laughter and shock. They were a very close family, and there were a lot of them. I am sure we will see them again.

Sunday we had church and lots of calls. Because we had to prepare for scambio! Because Sorella Taylor is an STL, so as her comp, I am involved in the scambio process.... On Monday we had our scambio! I was with my Sorella Bartch who is from Germany. We had a good lesson on Monday and we didn't even get lost. So yeah for that, four days in this city has got nothing on me! These past few weeks have just been absolutely crazy on me. So one thing i decided to do was to read and dedicate a Book of Mormon to just find scriptures about peace and finding answers. I have been highlighting and writing notes just on this one topic in one place. One that I found this week was: Moroni 7:36. "Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the
earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?" I know that there are miracles and angels still today, sometimes we just have to look for them! 

Love you all!
Sorella Teague
Pic 1 sorella Taylor and I dying of heat and a little sad because
someone lost their cat
Pic 2 with Sorella Bartch

June 1 - Week 17 - A quick detour to Rimini - but not for long!

Ciao Tutti!

Well I guess I will start out with the weird, we, the Busto Sorelle, are being closed. This news came as quite a shock to us. Because of some circumstances we knew that the other set of Sorelle in our district were being closed. So to get that phone call on Saturday with

our Zone leader saying "You are being closed" was heart breaking. Both Sorella Roper and I's hearts just sunk. They then told me where I was serving. And it is Rimini, and I will have an Italian comp, so no English for me. It is quite literally so far away from where I am now.

Busto has been quite the city for us. It has been full of really hard at times, it has taught us to count on the tender mercies, and to rely on the Lord. I was definitely not expecting or prepared to leave so soon. We both felt as though the work has just picked up. I am scared

to go to a new part of the country with a companion who does not speak English, and I do not speak Italian. It has made me really reflect on what Thomas S. Monson quite frequently repeats, "Who the Lord calls, He qualifies". I am sure that there are going to be times of

frustration and hardships, but I have been called and I can do it. I will be in a Beautiful place. I am so grateful.

So with all of the new crazy changes needless to say this has been a  busy week. It has been a week full of lots of sunshine and heat. And then the later half was all rain, haha. We have walked quite a lot this week. Sorella Roper was asked to give a talk on Sunday because she finishes her mission tomorrow. This gave me some time to read and listen to conference talks.  

One that I feel inclined to share is "Faith of Our Father" by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf (April 2008). If you have not read or listened to it, do it. Even if you did watch April 2008 conference go listen to it again because it has been 8 years. Here is a story that he shares of President Thomas S. Monson: "Some years ago, President Monson came to a regional conference in Hamburg, Germany, and it was my honor to accompany him. President

Monson has a remarkable memory, and we talked about many of the Saints in Germany--I was amazed that he remembered so many so well. President  Monson asked about Brother Michael Panitsch, a former stake president and then a patriarch, who had been one of the stalwart pioneers of the Church in Germany. I told him that Brother Panitsch was seriously ill, that he was bedridden and unable to attend our meetings. President Monson asked if we could pay him a visit. I knew that shortly before his trip to Hamburg, President Monson had undergone foot surgery and that he could not walk without pain. I explained that Brother Panitsch lived on the fifth floor of a building with no elevators. We would have to climb the stairs to see him. But President Monson insisted. And so we went. I remember how difficult it was for President Monson to climb those stairs. He could take only a few at a time before

needing to stop and rest. He never uttered a word of complaint, and he would not turn back. Because the building had high ceilings, the stairs seemed to go on forever, but President Monson cheerfully persevered until we arrived at the apartment of Brother Panitsch on

the fifth floor. Once there, we had a wonderful visit. President Monson thanked him for his life of dedicated service and cheered him with a smile. Before we left, he gave him a wonderful priesthood blessing. No one but Brother Panitsch, the immediate family, and

myself ever saw that act of courage and compassion. President Monson could have chosen to rest between our long and frequent meetings. He could have asked to see some of the beautiful sights of Hamburg. I have often thought of how remarkable it was that of all the sights in that city, the one he wanted to see more than any other was a feeble and ailing member of the Church who had faithfully and humbly served the Lord. President Monson came to Hamburg to teach and bless the people of a country, and that is what he did. But at the same time, he focused on the one, name by name. His vision is so broad and far-reaching to grasp the complexities of a worldwide Church, yet he is also so compassionate to focus on the one. When the Apostle Peter spoke of Jesus, who had been his friend and teacher, he offered this simple description: “[He] went about doing good.”I feel the same can

be said of the man we sustain today as the prophet of God." This account helped me this week, I am here to go about doing good. There are so any times when the "five flights of stairs" seem to be going on. Whether it is trying to find a house in the hot hot sun only

to find that they aren't home, or waiting for a bus that never comes, or literally walking up those five flights of stairs which seem to last forever. 

There is always good to be done. There are always those that are in need of cheering. So as I am off to Rimini I am off to new adventures, to find those in need and to go about doing good. I hope everyone has a wonderful week,

Vi Voglio Bene

Sorella Teague

Week 18:
Really in Rimini

Well I am here, in beautiful city of Rimini! But let me tell you getting here, oh boy that was an adventure of it's own. Haha, it started with a pretty sad good bye to my companion, Sorella Roper. We got up Thursday morning and left pretty quickly afterwards. Two members, F and our new convert C, took our luggage to the station. Sorella Roper and I walked to the station. We left like we came (well I came) but this time we were going the opposite direction, on to new
adventures. At the station the Elders met us they helped with our luggage and took our keys. Waiting for our train my stomach was slowly sinking. And then it came, we got on our train and waited. Then two stops later Sorella Roper needed to get off. We said our goodbyes and i continued on to Milano. It was weird being by myself. When i got to Milano i had to manage my bags and it was all so heavy. But I some how
managed. My original train to Bolgonga left early and without me. That wasn't a fun moment. But on the second train to Bolgona, I was just fine. In fact I sat next to a very nice person who helped keep me
company for the really long journey. At the station in Bolgonga I met the STL's along with my new comp. Her name is Sorella Rosano, she is from Milan. We took another long train to Rimini. When we got here, ahhhh it was just great. Minus the no elevator thing
at the station, talk about an arm workout. But this city is just so cool. It's full of life, ocean, and happiness. I love waking up and going outside and smelling sand and sea, it reminds me of where my Granny and Papa live. Plus it looks like there are lots of fun things
to do here for P-day. And in our Proselyting area...... we have San Marino. And i am so "lucky" because once again I am in a bike city, hahah. In Busto we would ride our bikes a little bit here and there, but here we ride our bikes literally every where. I though my legs were going to fall of on Monday we rode them for like 4 or more hours that day. The work here seems to be good, we have been packed busy everyday I
have been here. It has been a little hard with the changes and adjustments, but to me it's all about counting your blessings everyday. Everyday i write one down in my agenda it helps me stay positive and remember that i am not alone! Yesterday I was reading in Mormon 9: 15. The end of the verse really stuck out to me "God has not ceased to be a God of miracles". I fully believe this is true. Miracles happen every day whether big or small, so watch out because one might be coming your way! I am so grateful to be here and can't wait to see what my time here has in store!

Love always..
Sorella Teague
P.s.
I am going to have quite the look going on after summer, with the sun
shining so bright on me. Plus i have the lovely opportunity to wear a
helmet i.e. the bottom of my hair will be so light blonde while the
top just blonde, pictures to follow 😄

It is Going by so FAST .....

It happened so fast I can't even remember this week ... Let me think!

Oh Yes - Thursday ... what a great day. We met L that day. L is a referral from a member in another ward. She is always busy with work but we were able to meet with her last Thursday and again this Tuesday. Um She is just amazing. She has already read the Book of Mormon, Bible, and Doctrine and Covenants. We decided to share with her the new Easter video Alleluia along with the hashtag, and she had already seen it. AND she showed us her banner on her phone it said "Choose the Right". Then this Tuesday she basically taught us the restoration. She is so sweet and super special, I can't wait to see her next week! One totally awesome thing about this week is that every day we had a lunch appointment. It IS was super wonderful to not have to cook. The weather has been starting to get really really warm, minus this Monday where it started to pour as soon as we walked out the door. 

Things have been quite busy in our district. We had a sister leave early, and Sorella Roper is finishing in a week. They are closing quite a few cities this transfer in our mission. Everyone is anticipating a bit of change. I love it here in Busto so much! It will be a fun last week with Sorella Roper, and it will be interesting to have to show someone else around this town soon. (or Hallie may get moved!)

This week I did a fun little project. My walls in the bedroom or horribly boring and ugly. I was having a little trouble focusing so I decided to make the walls a little better. So I took strips of paper and looked up and wrote down some of my favorite uplifting scriptures. I linked them all together and made a cute paper chain. I put the craft on the wall near my bed. That way if I am ever feeling down, I can just look up and find a scripture to change the day around. :) 

I am so happy to be here and to be a missionary. There really isn't a way to describe it. I am happy for this day and for all the journeys ahead. 

Vi Voglio Bene 

Sorella Teague 

Pic1: Pizza Time (Hallie found Gluten Free Pizza) 

Pic 2: When you run into the Elders at the only wifi point because all of the trains were canceled today..... Yeah Italy! it was our last travel P-day as well.... 

Pic 3: District Missionaries

A LOT of Rain; Pass Along Cards and The Last Supper

Week 15 already? That's just crazy! 

This week we had more rain and then the sun came! I was just so happy for that... This week has been so filled with things and then at the same time I am not sure how to describe it. Wednesday's English class was surprisingly busy considering that it was storming outside. I ended up just working with one lady. She is the sweetest we had the best conversations - that's what we really try to do is teach people how to have conversations. On Thursday it was raining like crazy. I had a goal to hand out 10 little pass along cards in the morning. To my surprise, mostly because I didn't think there would be 10 people outside, I was able to do it. We were absolutely soaked afterwards, but so happy to just talk with people. And guess what mostly everyone was happy as well. But the rain was just crazy, you know it's bad rain when even your raincoat is just soaking. By the end of the morning our skirts were stuck to our legs, and our hair was soaking wet. Our umbrellas eventually became useless.

Friday we had a zone conference. We talked a lot about what it means to teach people and not lessons. After zone conference we went to Milano for our scambio. We had a good time and taught some good lessons. We didn't get back to Busto until Saturday night. We made brownies for one of our investigators we won't be teaching anymore. It's a long story but he is being passed to a set of Anziani (these are the male missionaries) in another city. Speaking of the which I think my miracle this week was that lesson with him this Sunday. The mom (a member) made a really yummy dinner. For our lesson / message, we really weren't sure what to share or say. We decided to share our favorite scriptures and say our testimony. I can't fully or justifiably, describe what happened. But let me just say that when we take the time to share our hearts and bear testimony - miracles happen and the spirit is there. That lesson was just what I needed, a reminder of why I am here.

Tuesday we had some good lessons and the best Italian meal I have had so far, the risotto was so good! Yummy Yummmmy. (Mom here - when we talked to Hallie on Mother's Day - she made us laugh about telling the Italians that she was gluten intolerant.  She had this funny thing where she says "Risotto - Yes!  Gluten - NO!"  When she told us this, she had her hand out expressively and we were all laughing with her.  So hearing about the Risotto just brought that memory back....)

Today was our P-day, we went to Milano for the day. We started it with seeing DaVinci's Last Supper, it was amazing. There really was a spirit in that room. When Elder Christofferson  was here in the mission a few months (before I was here) the Last Supper was one of the things they visited. And now I know why - it is just so incredible. We spent the rest of the day exploring and shopping. We went to this vintage Italian clothing store which was awesome! And now we are here in Busto preparing for our English class, what a good week! 

Love 

Sorella Teague 

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own Sunshine"

It is actually week 14! What a wonderful surprise. And tomorrow will be my 100th day so that is pretty darn exciting! This week has been full of rain, lots and lots of rain. But whatever, it only makes the weather very humid and the people very exhausted. Here I have noticed that

when it rains it mysteriously and personally affects the people. They all seem to be in a gloom and have all of the sudden come down with an illness. On Thursday we visited our investigator E, she made us a very yummy healthy lunch. Unfortunately we haven't had an opportunity to see her again. But I am very hopeful that we will. Sometimes it just takes time I think. 

Lately any kind of appointments have been lacking, so we are trying to discover ways to find people to teach, to visit members to try and get referrals, and do pass bys. One day we walked for about an hour to try and see a less active family, and they weren't there. Oh the joys haha. But it looks like they still live in that apartment - so we will just try again. This Saturday we had a mostra for our English class. This time the Elders picked the city, so we went to Legnano. Anytime that we had been to Legnano we just though it was a suburb type area. Well to our complete surprise Legnano actually has a central. We literally had no idea. It was very nice and sunny Saturday morning so there were lots and lots of people. We had an FHE scheduled Saturday night with a group of church members. One of them is our new convert C. Her and her sister wanted to surprise the other two women who were there with a Mother's Day theme. So we helped them out and made cards and shared a message with them. It was a good day. 

This Sunday was Mother's Day!! We got to Skype home to our families, so crazy!! It was wonderful, I loved talking to them. It was fun to see them in person, and it helped give me the little uplift to keep on working hard. Ot definitely doesn't feel like I have been gone for over 3 months. Today, Monday, and Tuesday have just been drenched in rain. For P-day today we decided it was best not to travel. I needed to get a journal though and we had to do spesa (this is a shopping trip!). It was quite tricky walking hoe with heavy bags of groceries while holding an umbrella. But we did it! We made lunch, relaxed a little, we made an apartment tour for our families, and all is good in the world. 

******

I have really recently learned that work takes faith and hope. I have noticed that if we start the day with a negative attitude, well that day is going to be the literal worst - we will have that mindset all day! But instead we try to look at all of the good things and count the small blessings in life. in fact I think this is a trick I need to apply to all of my life not just the mission. Oh how I love being a missionary! We have a busy next few days planned, i can't wait to see what is in store for them. 

Sorella Teague 

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own Sunshine" Anthony J. D'Angelo 

Week 12 - Allergies Hit but Sorella Teague keeps Going ...

Well another week has passed by! This week was a little slower paced than the previous weeks. Last Wednesday we went to Switzerland and oh my goodness it was so beyond beautiful, and it was super clean and well kept. We had lots and lots of fun walking around exploring castles and things like that. We also had our first English class here in Busto! It was quite a small turn out, but hopefully today more people will come. This past week my allergies have been absolutely brutal. Both Sorella Roper and I struggled quite a bit with them. A lot of the people we visited had them too. On Sunday I had completely lost my voice. And to my surprise after 5 weeks of being here and never having to introduce myself, the bishopric called me during Church up there to speak my testimony. I literally had no voice and my head was aching. I could barely think in English let alone Italian...... It was interesting, but whatever it's all good!  The great part of the week was that we had two new people come to church! We are meeting with one of the tomorrow. We are very happy and very excited! Our Elders here in Busto are seriously the best. They are very sweet and are hard workers. They always seem to have a person we can contact. A lot of people they stop and who are interested in our message need to be passed on to us. It has been a blessing though because lately our efforts in finding people to teach haven't seen much success. Although this past week wasn't very significant, I have a good feeling about this coming up one. Hope you all have a wonderful week!! 

Sorella Teague 

Food Poisoning ... and a Birthday

Ciao tutti! 

Well I can hardly believe it, I have been here for 4 weeks! That is just crazy to me. I am just so happy here in Italy. We have had a pretty adventurous couple of days though. (In fact right now we are on our way to Switzerland! I am so excited)  We started off by ( and by starting off I mean Wednesday / Thursday) having our P-day where we went to a used market place and did some shoe shopping. It was a good day. Thursday we went to my favorite town in our area - Gallarate - where we had some lessons lined up. That night we had an English tutoring and mini lessons with Ci, who is 13. She is super funny we always enjoy helping her out. 

Italian English books are seriously so funny. First of all the English isn't always correct and they have these really funny highlight and spotlight sections in the text books. The two that I thought were the funniest: one was literally a whole article with quizzes all about James Bond, the other was regarding the dangerous youth of the U.K., it was seriously so funny. 

Friday was a good day as well. We made homemade lasagna and it was so amazing. Then on Saturday, (Oh Saturday!) Sorella Roper and I had the lovely pleasure of being fed a meal and then enjoyed a whole 24 hours of food poisoning. What joys...... There is nothing like making it through church with your stomach turning and rumbling. It was seriously awful. It definitely threw us off our norm. Monday we were starting to feel much better. We had a district meeting in Varese. Because it is our last District meeting before we find out about transfers we did the "Kinder Egg Predictions". This is where everyone gets  a Kinder Egg and you open the toy inside. Then the rest of the district uses the toy and a random scripture you find to determine your fate in the transfer. It's pretty funny.

Our Monday lessons canceled, and they have for like the whole time I have been here, and then it started to pour down rain. It was quite the day.Tuesday was Sorella Roper's Birthday! She is now 21! It was so much fun to be with her. And celebrate. The day started with us being ding dong ditched and opening the door and finding 21 balloons with a fruit basket. With a giant sign reading "Happe Birthday Sister Forever!" And then a picture of Sorella Roper printed off. It was very sweet. We knew who it was from but we literally couldn't see them anywhere on the street; we had no idea where they were. But don't worry the mystery was solved later when we went to F's (a member) house for lunch. While we were there we were shown a video they had taken of use bringing the fruit basket inside. Turns out they were hiding behind the cars parked on the street. After we ate lunch, my personal favorite part of the day came. It was her birthday cake time. Her birthday cake was this beautiful homemade cake with a giant close up picture of her face on it. It was amazing. (photos to follow) They really do love Sorella Roper here.. I think my favorite part was when she lit the 21 candles, Sorella Roper's face started to get a little saggy. It was literally so amazing. I love the members her in Busto, they are the sweetest. They really do care about the missionaries here, it is great. 

Well yep that pretty much sums up my week. Sorella Roper and I made the mistake of looking at a calendar and we realized we literally only have 6 weeks left together (and yes she only has 6 weeks left in Italy). But we will just cross that scary bridge when we get there. People here in Italy have no idea how to pronounce Teague, it's so funny, I love it. Every day I have a new new name. I love it here in Italy I love being a missionary. Here is to next week! 

Sorella Teague 

Wow, this week went by crazy fast! I seriously don't believe it, it felt as though it was just P-day. This week was a great one. On Thursday we had a new missionary training so I got to see all of the missionaries who went to the MTC with me. I loved getting to see them and to see how everyone is doing. Our next day we had a scambio in Milano. We worked with the Sister Training Leaders there. It was a really good and really rough at the same time. From my time here in Busto, I haven't really seen or had to deal with hard situations. But on the scambio we visited a man who about 4 weeks ago was riding his bike when he was hit by a car/ and a bus. This accident has left him paralyzed from the waist down. I was with the sister that was going to see him that day, and needless to say I was not prepared. First off Italian hospitals are the weirdest most unorganized thing I have ever seen. Like seriously..... They are odd. There was no sign in or check in you kind of just go there, it doesn't seem like a happy place to be. His wife was with him at the hospital. This is when it hit me, people who go through terrible things have faith like I could never imagine. These two people who's lives and physical ability have taken a horrible turn took the time when we were there to bear their testimony and love for the atonement and God's plan for us. It was absolutely incredible. I was so moved by this. In his room he had a picture of Christ right in the middle of the shelf from across the bed so he could always see it. I know that this man must be in unimaginable pain and sorrow, but he did not show it. He showed his love for Christ because he knew that in the end all would be made right. Needless to say going into scambio I was not expecting that to happen. (As the mom - I was crying here reading this part .... you want to shield your kids from this kind of sadness but the lessons to learn are so great.  I know that this sweet couple was gladdened a little by these 2 sisters visiting them.)

Saturday was a wonderful day! Saturday was the day of C's baptism!! It was amazing! The first part of our day was kind of crazy, as in our line to the metro stopped working, we couldn't find anywhere for lunch, we were literally in the chapel forever filling up the fount, we kept on getting calls about the baptism arrangements, and so forth. Then we get to the actual baptism and it was great and a little hilarious. First off we had spent hours and hours putting together and calling people regarding the program. We were asked to find specific people and a lot of other things. Then when it comes time for the actual thing no one who was supposed to do their assignment was the same. Somehow the whole program was switched, I still don't understand it. But that's okay, it was still wonderful. And at the end of the day C was "oh! so happy" and that's all that really matters. (I love how Hallie's humor serves her well)

I still have a hard time understanding Italian, but it just takes time. Sundays are always a little hard because I a literally sitting there for over 3 hours trying to understand things without a break. Plus Italians love to talk, no one really waits for their turn to talk, they just all talk over each other. Monday we had quite the adventure. We had no appointments, we pretty much called everyone that we could try, but no one was available. So we decided to do some finding. A family had referred us to go to was is called "Parco Milanese", we thought wow a park that's always good. So we walk about 40 minutes to get there. There is this giant dirt road, but we just figured it led to a nice park. What a joke... Parco Milanese is literally a hiking trail. Which don't get me wrong I love pretty hiking trails but by the end of it we were in a completely  different city. It was so awkward. There were people running, riding bikes, working out, and then there was us. We were in our dresses with our purses and our Il Libro di Mormons. Oh my goodness it was an adventure. But the thing about is that we couldn't really just turn around so we kept on going. We were literally in the middle of nowhere. I kept on joking that I had walked to Argentina (for those of you who don't know one of my best friends is a missionary there right now). So if anything we got a good work out out of it. When we finally returned to civilization we had just enough time to catch a train and head home.  

Tuesday we also had no appointments and after our experience yesterday just stayed clear away from any parks. Which was actually great because we were able to meet and stop by some people's houses. What a week it was! Also I hit my 70th day of being a missionary! How cool is that? I love it here and I can't wait for next week! 

Ciao for now! 

Sorella Teague

About the Parco Milanese:

Alto Milanese Park

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Coordinates : 45.594101 ° N 8.872232 ° E

Alto Milanese Park

Agricultural field near the "Brothers Of God" entrance to High Park Milanese, Legnano, May 2nd, 

Type of area Local supra Park

States Italy Italy

regions Lombardy Lombardy

provinces Milan Milan 

Busto Arsizio-Stemma.png Busto Arsizio 

The Alto Milanese Park is a protected natural area of Lombardy as a local park supra and affects the city of Milan subway in the town of Legnano and the province of Varese in the towns of Busto Arsizio and Castellanza . 

It is recognized by the Lombardy Regional Council by resolution of 27 October 1987 on a proposal of the three municipalities concerned. The area covers about 360 hectares, of which around 178 of the City of Legnano, 126 of the Municipality of Busto Arsizio and 53 hectares in the municipality of Castellanza. 

The boundaries are marked by the peripheries of the three municipalities and include a large area primarily agricultural.

Paperwork, a visit to Como and Conference

Well it's my second week here in Busto Arsizio. Things have been quite busy. Last P-day was kind of a bust, (P Day is a missionary's day off)  We had to spend our whole day fixing my iPad and such, lots of just silly work, but that's okay because today, we are going to Como! (I'm so excited. Look at that smile!)

Now to get to my week, on Friday it was April Fool's day! I kept on hinting to Sorella Roper that she should be expecting a prank, haha. Don't worry I have left my pranking and trickster days behind as a missionary. We had a lunch appointment on Friday, and it was super interesting. We had chicken and rice. We then used our day to try to find people to teach because our other appointments fell through. Saturday was one of those days that was super annoying but super necessary. Because our investigator C. Is getting baptized, she needed an interview this Saturday. Well apparently  all of Busto and all of Varese have no baptismal certificates. So Saturday morning we had to go the Milan area to get one. Then we met the District leader and  at the church and surprise! the gate was locked! The gate is never ever locked. Unsure of what to do, and we were running out of time - they just decided to hop the fence. It was quite the adventure. Then it was back to the same Milan area to watch general conference (this is church meetings over the television). So we felt like a majority of our day was spent going back and forth. Sunday we had an appointment with C. It is so much fun talking to her about her upcoming baptism. General conference was also wonderful to watch. We watched it in live time so we watched the morning sessions at 6 pm. We haven't had a chance to watch all of the afternoon sessions yet, but we did enjoy the morning ones a lot. 

Unfortunately on Monday we had no appointments, and the sky was a horrible grey with rain. While we were walking and trying to find people to teach - no one was friendly. It was definitely a long day.(As a mom - this made me sad but learning perseverance is a good thing, right?) Tuesday was a new adventure. We had a meeting, then a lesson, and then at what was quite a surprise to me a prep for English class. We teach English class here, it sounds like it will be quite a learning experience. Well now I am here sitting in Como, it is so beautiful. Italy is beautiful, the people are wonderful, and I am so happy to be a missionary. Until next week! 

(sounds like someone needed a day off!)

I made it ....Working the Duomo on my first day! PS It is also so crazy how much I love Italy!

Well here I am in Italy! What a crazy couple of weeks this has been. Our last few days was crazy sauce. We had our last classes, packed up our bags, oh and we got to watch the Provo City Center temple dedication, it was amazing. On Monday morning we got up literally before dawn (our alarm went off at 2:30 in the morning). We dragged our suitcases across the MTC campus to the travel office. There we received our visas and passports and off we were. The airport was a little chaotic. For an early Monday morning it was pretty packed. Plus we were all so "delusionally" tired trying to figure out the technology machine to print our tickets was a nightmare. There were so any buttons and gadgets, after being pretty much technology free for 7 weeks it was a little too much for us to figure out. We had three stops on the way to get here in Milan, we went to Atlanta to Paris and then to Milan. The flights weren't awful, but we all had a hard time sleeping. There was some turbulence and stuff like that. When we arrived in Paris we had to rush to get to customs so we could make our next flight. This flight was only like 30 minutes long, but because of the clouds and fog it took us longer to land. But we made it! As we were landing our group from the MTC looked around and we realized, "This was it!" This is the start to our next grand adventure; we are now in the land of our mission! It was a weird thought. We got our bags and met our new President. President and Sister Dibb plus the assistants  were all there waiting for us outside of the arrival door. It was so overstimulating. ( Mom here - I love that Hallie wrote this!) There were so many people and things going on, not to mention I was finally in Italy! Our first day was a whirlwind. We got to the mission office and started our work right away by going to the Duomo in Milan. There we did pass along cards and handed out a few copies of the Book of Mormon. It was really good for the most part! Plus it was super beautiful outside. I love the sun, especially the sun in Italy. That night we went to the Mission home, and ate a yummy dinner. That night we had a small testimony meeting and then we went off to the hotel to go to bed. It was much needed rest. 

The next morning we got up, finished up some training and then we found out who are trainers were and where we were going! And surprise..... I am in Busto Arsizio. My trainer's name is Sorella Roper and she is just the best! We are the same height and it is great because I feel like I am not the only one who towers over the Italians. So on Wednesday morning we were off to Busto. It's definitely not what I imagined my first area to be like, and mainly this is because I have never even heard of it before, haha. But it is really quite wonderful. It is just perfect. Not to mention our apartment is definitely not an apartment, it is way more of a town home, it's crazy. I was preparing my self for a smaller studio type apartment, but I got the complete opposite. We have a two story town home, and separate bathrooms it's quite wonderful. Busto has a cool city center area, it's nice when we hand out our little cards and to find people to talk to. The members here are absolutely amazing. They are some of the most kind-hearted people I have ever met, with amazing life stories. 

My first few days here were jammed pack, minus my first night when literally everyone cancelled on us, haha. But both Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were filled with appointments. It was fun getting to meet people even though I literally had no idea what was being said, or quite frankly what I was saying. Some of the best news of this week is our investigator C. Is getting baptized! She is 15 and has been investigating the church for about two years, and last Friday we asked her again about being baptized and she told us absolutely yes! It was amazing, I was definitely not expecting to witness that in my first week. She is just an amazing person. She is so sweet to everyone, and is a good friend to those around her. So we are preparing her and her program for her baptism which should be on the 9th. I will never forget the big smile she gave when she told us she wanted to be baptized. It was absolutely miraculous.

Sunday was quite the day. As all of you know it was La Pasqua, or Easter. It definitely was not the same as it is at home. Our ride to church was a little late, so we didn't make to to church on time. And sacrament meeting was definitely not the same. Plus it didn't help that I literally understood nothing, maybe every 100th word. It was crazy. For lunch that day we went to C's house. Her mom made a fish dinner thing. It was super sweet of the to feed us, but oh my word it was full off salt. My companion and I kept on drinking water because we literally felt dehydrated after the lunch. But this family is amazing so it didn't really matter. We then taught C how to make brownies. People here are obsessed with brownies. It is a completely foreign concept to them but they love the. The members here in Busto call them "BRAWNEESS", haha. Monday and Tuesday were nice days too. Monday was a little rainy, but Tuesday was amazingly warm and sunny. We taught some great lessons and are trying to find some new people to teach as well. 

Overall my first week here in Italy has been amazing, I can't wait for the next one. 

Love 

Sorella Teague 

Funny things about Italy: 

1) No one turns on their lights, like no one, the sun will be going down and the room will just get dark

2) Everyone seems to have this burning desire to know my genealogy. They want to know where my ancestors are from 

3) People who have dogs talk to their dogs like people. For example if a dog is barking they won't just say "no" they will say "no, stop that we have people over" it's super weird. 

4) In one of our visits a lady literally gave me a full plate of strawberries. Just for me, no one else. I'mm still not sure how I ate that many. My companion thought it was super funny. 

5) People will give you food and say "You need to fatten up" 

6) Even if it is beautiful and sunny outside everyone will wear their coat, and not just their coat but like many any layers as well. 

7) People are crazy drivers, it's ridiculous 

Week 7

Hurry put something here...

Week 6

Hurry put something here...

Week 5

Hurry put something here...

Week 4

Hurry put something here...

Week 3

Hurry put something here...

week 2

Hurry put something here...

Week 1

Week 1

Hi Everyone -
Pictures to follow ...

Hallie got off to Utah just fine this morning.  She is with here aunt and cousins until tomorrow drop off. She checks in tomorrow after lunch to the training center. We are so excited for her.

Please write her. The first weeks are hard as she is trying to learn the language.  It requires so much work. She may not write you back as much as she needs your letters.  Here is the scoop.

email:
hallie.teague@myldsmail.net

Letters and Packages:
Sister Hallie  Maelinda Teague
MAR16    ITA-MIL
2005 N. 900 E Unit 99
Provo, UT  84602

She can receive daily email deliveries if  you use the online service called "Dear Elder"  (I know - such sexism!).  You have to set up an account but there is no cost to send emails....

Here is how it works.

1) www.dearelder.com
2) create an account
3) write a missionary
4) on the left hand side select Provo MTC Free
5) A box appears that asks for information. You enter the following:
Sister    Hallie   Teague
Unit 99   Mission Code  ITA-MIL  Estimated Date MAR16

Type your email in the box. and hit send.

The training center prints these out each day and delivers them to the missionaries.  Hallie will only be able to write us once a week, but she can get her messages everyday.

Can I plead for you to write her!!

Thanks to everyone who supports her through thoughts and mail!  We all need it.

Ciao.
Paula

Ciao For Now!

Well the time has come! Here we are on Feb 1st, and tomorrow bright and early it is MTC time. Looking forward to new adventures, but anxious for leaving the comforts of home. Thank you for everyone for their love and support. Especially my loving parents who I love more than they even know! Here are some pictures from my little farewell last night. Thank you to all who came! 
well as they say in Italy Arrivederci!

 With my cousin Miranda 

 With my cousin Grace

 With my Papa

 Selfie Time with Miranda 

 With my Cousins Miranda and Meagan

With Aunt Kay

Okay so this is obviously not from the party, haha. But the night before matching pajamaing it up with my best friend! 

 Back in September when I first got my call