HAPPY NEW YEAR! and on the road again....

On the balcony of Lauren's apartment in Milan
Surpise of the week: I AM GETTING TRANSFERRED ALREADY!?!?! The zone leader called last night for transfer updates. He calls everyone, though, whether they are being transferred or not. He asked to talk to me first. We thought he was just joking because obviously I wouldn't be transferred after six weeks into the mission. That never happens (or so they say). But nope, I'm off to Pordenone - six hours away by train, opposite side of the country, smaller city where I will be riding a bike and I'll be in a threesome.

I may have complained a little bit about how the work was going here in Milan initially, but I have honestly had the best past two weeks and am really pretty bummed to be leaving right in the middle of the momentum that I feel like my companion and I have just got going. BUT, I lucked out big time and at least don't have to leave tomorrow when transfers are supposed to happen. I have to be in Milan next Monday to pick up my permit to live in Italy, so my President is letting me just stick around until next Wednesday and drive to Pordenenoe then with him and a member of the Seventy who will be here for Zone conferences. SAWEEEET!!! And this means that I get to be here for the six or seven new investigator lessons that we have lined up for the next four days. I am so thrilled. I feel like my companion and I finally figured out how to free the work up from the waste of time traditions that had been set here, and subsequently have had so many blessings the past week and a half. We have taught the first lesson five times in the past eight or nine days, whereas my first four weeks we didn't teach any first lessons. I LOOOVE sharing the story of Joseph Smith.

Probably my favorite experience this past week with sharing the Restoration lesson happened three nights ago. My companion and I had received a phone call from a lady who said she had met us on the metro about a month ago and we had left her with a pass-along card. She said that she was out of the city and that her mom had just been admitted to the hospital. She also explained that her sister is still around the city and would be visiting her mom in the hospital, but she was worried about this sister because she had already lost a son this year. This woman was practically begging us to go visit her mom and sister at the hospital and share our message. So we did. We showed up and there were actually several relatives visiting the sick mom. She was really agitated so the nurses asked us all to go sit in the waiting room...where there were two other families waiting. About five minutes into the conversation in the waiting room, we were able to bear our testimonies about the Plan of Salvation and Eternal Families. At this point the other two families started talking to us. Twenty minutes into us sitting there and chatting we were given the perfect opportunity to explain the Restoration. And for the next 30 minutes all three families gathered in the waiting room were asking us genuine questions, explaining what we were saying to one another, passing the Book of Mormon around, reading through the introduction, etc. IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!!

On another note, a few days ago I started writing in my journal a list of random observations from Milan that I don't want to forget. I am sure glad I wrote them down now that I know I am leaving! As a little tribute to this city before I head out, I'll share a few with you all...

1) It is not normal to greet strangers in Milan. Every time I say "Hi" or "Good Morning" to a random person on the street who is Italian and over 30 yrs old they give me a head nod, trying not to show how completely baffled they are, take approximately six steps, then completely stop and stare for at least 30 seconds. I love catching them doing that and often go back and talk to them which confuses them even more.

2) Shopping bags from name brand stores make you cool. I initially thought everyone was just constantly shopping at those stores, but that is not the case. They just save bags from a select few name brand stores like they are gold and re-use them continually.

3) It is taboo to have a dog bigger than 15 pounds. Even more taboo is having a dog but not putting a jacket or sweater on the dog.

4) There is no limit to what you can put in a vending maching in Milan. Just in metro stations I have seen a special vending machine for books, another for freshly squeezed orange juice (squeezed in front of your eyes inside the machine), another for toy cars, one for mini travel toiletries....the sky is the limit.

5) You can see the Alps from one spot inside the city!! I found this spot by chance on Christmas Eve when wandering from one side of the city to another caroling to members and asking for referrals. I hope to return often to that blessed spot.

6) All Milanese women over the age of 40 here must have a brown or tan fur coat.

There are more, but I don't have time and you are likely bored already...

Awkward moment of the week: I was getting bored of all the conversations starters I was using one day and so tried a new one while walking next to a lady with a crazy, huge fur hat. I asked her if the hat had fur on the inside too. She said "no". I kept trying to pry and start a convo off of this silly hat. She just power walked away. Maybe that doesn't sound very awkward, but trust me it was. I made my companion turn on a street earlier than we wanted to just to escape.

Pop - I talked about Oracle twice yesterday. Once was with a man who worked for SAP that I met on the tram. I told him my dad worked for Oracle, but I liked SAP's advertising much better. He didn't believe that I knew what I was talking about so I further explained the comparison of Oracle's boring posters at the Frankfurt airport and SAP's posters with good pictures. He was pleased and said he'd pass the word along to his marketing crew. Then I demonstrated our advertising methods as missionaries by giving him a Book of Mormon pass-along card.

Ai yai yai, so much more to say, so little time.

I love you all so much. Don't ever hesitate to share your testimonies with each other or with friends. I know that the knowledge of the restored gospel is what can bring happiness to everyone, no matter what age, background, economic level, whatever. We all need the atonement.

Love you lots,
Sorella Cozzens