Hey Family!
This week has been so crazy but in the BEST way possible. It started off last Wednesday night when the sisters from Vercelli (Sorelle Jones and Montagnoli) came to Alessandria to start the scambio. The next morning Sorella Jones and I headed to Vercelli for the scambio. It was so awesome. We had a couple of lessons and I got to see her awesome teaching skills (she came in with Tokarski, so is still pretty young in the mish). And then that night they had English class, so the Vercelli Anziani cooked up some burgers, we cooked up some pancakes and we showed those Italians what the fourth of July looks like in America (ha!). I mostly just missed the fireworks...
That night, Hoffman and Montagnoli met up with us again in Vercelli, we spent the night there, and then Hoffman and I got up the next morning and headed to Milano for consiglio. BEST DAY. I got to see so many people I love and miss! It was so great! And we learned so much. Sorella Dibb talked about our purpose as missionaries and compared the reasons we came on the mission to the reason we're still here. President Dibb talked a lot about being a "complete missionary" and how we can use all the skills we've learned while he's been here to keep improving as missionaries and to help the work in Italy progress. We had a 4th of July lunch (hot dogs, jello salad, potato salad, chips, baked beans, oreos) and got packages/mail (thanks for the Liahona, mom! It's already getting used!). It was such a lovely day. I even got to see my friend Anziano Lovett!
On Monday morning we headed to Torino to go to their zone training. Okay, so technically we're in the Alessandria zone, but since we're over the sisters in the Torino zone, we go to their meetings. It's kinda weird but whatevs. I was just there anyway, so I like it. The zone leaders "battle cry" this transfer is about being true shepherds. The things they said reminded me a lot of the talk by President Monson in April 2013:
Anyway, after the zone training, Sorella Ervin came back here to Alessandria with me. It was so much fun. We taught a bunch of lessons, some planned, some not. We rode around on our bikes and I attempted to pretend I knew where I was and what I was doing. Haha. (Lesson in biking: Riding bikes in skirts is hard. Lesson over.)This week has been so crazy but in the BEST way possible. It started off last Wednesday night when the sisters from Vercelli (Sorelle Jones and Montagnoli) came to Alessandria to start the scambio. The next morning Sorella Jones and I headed to Vercelli for the scambio. It was so awesome. We had a couple of lessons and I got to see her awesome teaching skills (she came in with Tokarski, so is still pretty young in the mish). And then that night they had English class, so the Vercelli Anziani cooked up some burgers, we cooked up some pancakes and we showed those Italians what the fourth of July looks like in America (ha!). I mostly just missed the fireworks...
That night, Hoffman and Montagnoli met up with us again in Vercelli, we spent the night there, and then Hoffman and I got up the next morning and headed to Milano for consiglio. BEST DAY. I got to see so many people I love and miss! It was so great! And we learned so much. Sorella Dibb talked about our purpose as missionaries and compared the reasons we came on the mission to the reason we're still here. President Dibb talked a lot about being a "complete missionary" and how we can use all the skills we've learned while he's been here to keep improving as missionaries and to help the work in Italy progress. We had a 4th of July lunch (hot dogs, jello salad, potato salad, chips, baked beans, oreos) and got packages/mail (thanks for the Liahona, mom! It's already getting used!). It was such a lovely day. I even got to see my friend Anziano Lovett!
On Monday morning we headed to Torino to go to their zone training. Okay, so technically we're in the Alessandria zone, but since we're over the sisters in the Torino zone, we go to their meetings. It's kinda weird but whatevs. I was just there anyway, so I like it. The zone leaders "battle cry" this transfer is about being true shepherds. The things they said reminded me a lot of the talk by President Monson in April 2013:
When I was growing up, each summer our family would drive to Provo Canyon, about 45 miles (72 km) south and a little east of Salt Lake City, where we wouldstay in the family cabin for several weeks. We boys were always anxious to get on the fishing stream or into the swimming hole, and we would try to push the car alittle faster. In those days, the automobile my father drove was a 1928 Oldsmobile. If he went over 35 miles (56 km) an hour, my mother would say, “Keep it down!Keep it down!” I would say, “Put the accelerator down, Dad! Put it down!”
Dad would drive about 35 miles an hour all the way up to Provo Canyon or until we would come around a bend in the road and our journey would be halted by aherd of sheep. We would watch as hundreds of sheep filed past us, seemingly without a shepherd, a few dogs yapping at their heels as they moved along. Wayback in the rear we could see the sheepherder on his horse—not a bridle on it but a halter. He was occasionally slouched down in the saddle dozing, since thehorse knew which way to go and the yapping dogs did the work.
Contrast that to the scene which I viewed in Munich, Germany, many years ago. It was a Sunday morning, and we were en route to a missionary conference. As Ilooked out the window of the mission president’s automobile, I saw a shepherd with a staff in his hand, leading the sheep. They followed him wherever he went. Ifhe moved to the left, they followed him to the left. If he moved to the right, they followed him in that direction. I made the comparison between the true shepherdwho led his sheep and the sheepherder who rode casually behind his sheep.
Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep.”2 He provides for us the perfect example of what a true shepherd should be."
It reminded me that being a true shepherd involves so much love and compassion. That's what Christ is for us. And as a representative of Christ right now, that's what my mission is - to love these sons and daughters of Heavenly Father.Sorella Gunnerson
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