A Blast from the Past

Ciao ciao i miei amici! ❤️

These past couple of weeks have been so so packed! I've moved to Bari, hit my six month mark, went to the Italy Rome Temple Dedication, had Stake Conference, had Zone conference, and went to see Matera, to name a few. 

But let me tell you, I'm loving it. It is absolutely beautiful out here. Here's a little of what I've learned about Bari. Bari is the cutest and there is the absolute best market. The market is a magical place. Close to Disneyland but has a little more fish smell. But there are rows and rows of tiny shops. And they're all lined by trying to convince you to buy their fruits. And they literally have the best fruit. For so so cheap. I bought a huge sack of oranges for just 2€. You can buy Tralli, these cruton/goldfish/bread snacks, and you can buy super fresh mozzarella. It's amazing. I eat well in Bari.

So this weekend we've had a lot of conferences. Saturday night we had the adult session of Stake conference,  Sunday we had Stake conference and then Monday was Zone Conference. They were all so good. Just spiritual uplift after spiritual uplift. I learned so much about conversion, the gather of Israel and our purpose. I think it's interesting how a conversion story doesn't start with "I knew" but rather "I felt". Heavenly Father doesn't just send us a knowledge so we follow him. He send an impression that He's there so we can choose to follow that and grow our knowledge. I think that's pretty cool. And that is why the Spirit is so necessary. 

We also had the Temple dedication on the 10th. i was able to watch three sessions. That was pretty cool. Again, I just want to stress the importance of the temple. We are So lucky to have them. Go as often as you can. Plan specific times to go. It literally is the House of the Lord, and there are so many blessings that come from going! 

And then today, we went out to visit Matera, the oldest functioning city is Europe. That was so so cool. It was just wandering through little tiny streets and the view was just beautiful. We stopped in some of the little shops and it was just an adorable experience. We also were able to visit this beautiful church on the top of the hill. It was crazy to realize how old this city really was, and that people were still living there.

Anyways, that's all folks. It's been a wonderful go. I'm just barely getting to know any of the members or people we are teaching, but those I have met are wonderful. I love it here in Italy. I love the people, culture, the food, but I mostly love sharing the gospel with the people. 

I love you all!! 

Sorella Thorup