Annie Update

I got this in the mail yesterday:

"Dear Martha & YALE!
Buongiorno tutti! I am loving life as a missionary. IT is hard and actually very busy (even in the MTC) but the rewarding - finish the race-hard every day. Each day my eyes open to a recognition of more and more blessings (I did not spy them before!) God is so loving, so merciful. I look at our childhood and realize how beautifully God weaved one-anotehr into an intricate friendship that lives now just as before!

I am so excited for Sister Rhondeau! Elizabeth will be an amazing missionary. I have no doubt in her gift with languages. Yea, INDONESIA! I am so grateful for this chance to learn and grow in such a concentrated environment and with such a magnified tie to God through my calling as a missionary. I treasure this opportunity and - although I've been gone 5 weeks - foresee the bittersweet experience it will be when I return. I love this Gospel. I love the people of Italy and Italian. And I love you all!

Vi volio Bene! Baci,
Sorella Stevens

"Ciao!" she numbly exclaimed

Sometimes an emotional defense mechanism catalyzes this effect: the numbness number. To protect myself from the sadness, the bliss, the fear, the excitement, and the whole range of emotion...I just give myself a figurative shot of novocaine. Soon it will wear off. So, as I gingerly anticipate the deluge of feelings, I would like to calmly state "Ciao! Vi voglio bene!"

MTC address:

Sister Ann Elizabeth Stevens

Italy Milan Mission

Provo Missionary Training Center

2005 N 900 E

Provo, Ut 84604

P.S. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Yale Commemorative Program. "Grazie Mille!"