Elder William Cannon Hogan: Miracle, Happy, hard work=joy

Cari Miei!!

Cat cup with cat = nothing better!

I hope everyone is doing well and happy to be back at school! Today school starts for all the kids here in Bologna. Honestly, life couldn't be better in the best city of Italy. Anziano Minnoch and I are having so much fun working hard and enjoying the great work we are doing. You would all laugh at how much pasta, pizza, and gelato we eat almost everyday haha.

I'm actually relieved summer is over because everybody's normal life routine is back into swing so it will make missionary work a bit less challenging.

This last week was busy, fun, and full of great experiences. Last Thursday we had a new missionary training in Milano which was super fun. I really genuinely respect and love President and Sister
Allen for so many reasons. They really are some of the nicest and most loving people.

On Sunday, one of the coolest miracles happened to our district. A woman and her husband came to church for the first time in a little while. The wife said she had been taught everything by missionaries a few years ago and wants to be baptized. It was a pretty cool miracle for the sisters, our district, and the ward! That means we will be having 2 baptisms as a district on the 24th of September!

New missionary training

We are teaching a guy named Max, who had been taught by the missionaries in Bologna 3 years ago. He found us on the street and he told us that he knows the church is true and the Book of Mormon is something that has changed his life. What is interesting is that he used to be a catholic priest. We will see him again this week and we are excited to see what happens.

I read something really nice in the scriptures this morning in Alma 31. While Alma and the other missionaries were trying to teach about Jesus Christ they ran into lots of challenges. Despite these trials, "Lord provided for them that they should hunger not, neither should they thirst; yea, and he also gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ." I really liked how it said that their afflictions we "swallowed up in the joy of Christ." To me that just means when we are in the service of others, doing the work of the Savior, our worries and problems become less burdensome. I've seen that countless times in the mission! I love you all and hope you have the best week!