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| My sisters looking beautiful as always. |
This week was quite...interesting. Last p-day [preparation
day-a day to do laundry, clean, etc.] after I sent the email, we had dinner and
then a late class. So part way through class, I smack my head on a bookshelf.
You are all laughing because this is not at all surprising. Let me just tell
you after this happened my entire district was laughing for at least ten
minutes. It gets better. Have you ever hit your head so hard that you threw up?
I can officially knock that one off my bucket list. (Don't worry I made it to
the bathroom.) Well, so at this point everyone thinks I have a concussion,
because my entire head is bright red; no big deal, right? My comp [companion]
finally makes me go out into the hallway while she calls the front desk to see
if we can get me ice. Our dear Fratello Pesci walks over and wants to know what
I'm doing hanging out in the hall. He then proceeds to go all doctor and figure
out if my pupils are dilating. Five minutes later, he expresses he has no idea
what he's doing because he's never had medical training. Well thanks, Pesci.
Don't worry though. After 20 lbs. of ice and enough painkillers to knock out an
elephant, I'm definitely back to normal. Which admittedly isn't saying very
much.
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| Frat Weller left this note on our board for us. It means I want well for you, but it is the strongest feeling you can say without using "amore." Basically, Frat Wells is just the sweetest. |
We had a great sub this week. Fratello Jeter spent the last
hour of class talking to us about the temple in Rome. I can't express how
excited I am for the wonderful people of Italy. Did you all know, that not only
will there be a Christus [recreation of the original Christus statue] in the visitors center, they will also have the twelve apostles. These will all be made from the same stone Michelangelo used.
I'M FREAKING OUT! This is such a big deal. These beautiful Italians could not
be more excited and proud to finally have a temple in Italy, and it's so close
to being done. Next year they will be able to attend the temple with their
family, and I feel so blessed that I will be in Italy at the time of the
dedication.
Conference, of course, was fantastic! I loved every second.
Also, on Saturday night the sisters were able to watch the General Young
Women Meeting. If you haven't watched it or read the talks, DO IT! President
U [Dieter F. Uchtdorf] is the bomb diggity. For reals, I love that man. I
didn't think anything could possibly make conference weekend better than simply
watching conference. I WAS WRONG! Sunday night we had an inspirational
devotional. Can you guess who came? VOCAL POINT [BYU's
premiere 9-man a cappella ensemble]!! I don't think I had realized
quite how much I missed being able to listen and enjoy music, especially
spiritual. I feel so blessed that I was able to be here at that time. After the
devotional, we watched Legacy [a film about the beginning of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - which Ellen watched every Friday when she was 4-5 years old]. I have never cried so much in a single day, but
they were good tears, promise.
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| So the lovely sister next to me in this picture is Sister Buonanotte from Sicily. We love her so much, especially when she helps us with our Italian. The sister next to her is her companion, Sister Receveour. They are serving in the France Lyon mission. |
I know you all love awkward moments as much as I do, so I
have a lesson full of them for you. We were going to teach Peters (Frat
Carrington) a lesson and I knocked on the door. Just so you know "come in"
sounds and awful lot like "chi e" which definitely means "who is
it?". So yes, I just opened the door; only when I saw his surprised face,
did I realize there was no way he would ever say come in, in English. Great
start, right? Also, I told him all the Apostles were killed after the
restoration, instead of the resurrection. Undoubtedly the best mix up, however,
did not come from me, but from my beautiful companion. While asking him to
kneel, she asked him to pray on his "gnocci" (pasta) instead of his
"ginnoccia" (knees). Great times teaching in Italian. Later that day,
we taught a great lesson to a member who served in Italy. At the end he asked
us if he could show us something in the scriptures. The scripture I read tells
us we mustn’t be discouraged. If you change one letter in the Italian word for
discouraged with an “a”, it definitely means to fart. Don't worry; I said it
right. He just thought we'd like to know he spent six months telling the
Italian people not to fart. What a great guy.
We taught another lesson to Salvatore this week. He's the
one who agreed to be baptized in his first lesson. This time we taught about
the plan of salvation. Again, we barely used notes. It's the greatest feeling
to be able to have a conversation in Italian and actually understand what's
going on. I know I would not have been able to do so without the Lord's
guidance by the Spirit. The Church is most definitely true!
If you don't know who Glen Rudd is, you should definitely
rectify that. Also, he spoke at our devotional this week. I feel so grateful to
be here at the MTC, where we have access to such incredible speakers. Every
single one teaches me something I know I definitely need.
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| This is the lovely decoration adorning our door. |
I am astounded by the amazing people with whom I am serving.
My wonderful Italian district makes life so much better, and we've adopted a
district of three Romanian elders who have definitely just become a part of our
family. I love all of these people so much, and their testimonies continue to
astound me, each and everyday. Many of them are on the very younger side, but
they have the testimonies of people many years their senior. Also fun fact, if
my dear Shea Stapley is reading this, Freddie Lemmo is definitely in my
district. Oh Shea, how I wish you could be here with us!
I love you all and the letters and packages I have received
lift my spirits every single day. I cannot say I wish I was with you, but I can
definitely say I miss your wonderful faces and spirits. Ciao!
P.S. We made it through the halfway point! I'll be in Italy
in less than three weeks. Excitement is abounding . . . also fear . . . but mostly
excitement. We know we fly on April 30th!
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