The owners of this internet cafe are engrossed in a wrestling match on t.v. 1) we arent supposed to watch t.v. so its a little distracting trying to write and block out the noise and 2) there are half naked men all over the screen. eheh. (this is how Italians laugh).
What a week!
I hit and passed my year mark on the 20th of January. Its been an incredible year. I have grown in both senses of the word :)
I have come to understand at a deeper level how perfect Heavenly Fathers plan is for our salvation and happiness. Ive met so many good people and learned from their failures and triumphs. I am also learning (I was just about to say patience, but then this man stuck his phonecall with his little girl on speaker phone and it is getting on my nerves, so Ill just say that patience is something that Im going to have to constantly work at) that happiness is a choice and not a consequence. The simple, basic things of the gospel are what protects us and our families.
Most of all, I understand better who I am and who Heavenly Father is, and what that means to me personally. I definitely have a better idea as to what I need to work on, what I want in an eternal companion, and what I need to learn and apply to raise a happy family. I know that reading scriptures as a family, having family home evening, and praying together are simple but so important. And, above all, I have come to appreciate and love my family more. I have been so blessed for the life Ive had so far, for having the Gospel, and I have hope in a brighter future.
I want to share a little experience that I really appreciate. On Monday, we were having personal study and the light started to flicker and went out. We had already gone through the hall and the classroom light to replace the lightbulb in our bedroom, so our next option would be taking the kitchen or bathroom light out. We were too engrossed in the our studies that we didnt get up till study was over; the washer machine was running but the fridge wasnt. It was all a little strange so we went outside into the basement and checked the fuse- nothing was wrong with it. We decided to wait a few hours before calling someone to come look at it. We started companionship study with a prayer and while I was praying I thought to myself "Why not?" so I asked Heavenly Father if He would fix the light so that we could avoid bothering Pres. Portera whos already busy as it is. Right after we finished singing a hymn, the light flickered on and stayed on. We both looked up and said "Grazie!" :) It was something trivial that could have been fixed with a small amount of effort, but He knew it was something that would make us happy, and He fixed the light for us. I love how much He watches out for us, and sometimes, we just need to ask for help. It can be something small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but its important to Him because its important to us. It gives me so much comfort and security knowing that we are not alone, and that we are being watched over by someone who loves us, and who is more than willing to help us out.
We return to our appartment usually from 13:30-16:30 to study the language and to have lunch. We ate a big lunch and just as we were getting settled in to study, I thought of calling Nino, who we had an appt to have dinner with that night. His first words were "Where are you?".
He thought we were coming over for lunch....and I didnt feel like telling him that it was actually dinner that we had been invited to, I said "We are on our way!" and I scrambled around and called to Sorella Olsen, "We are going to Ninos for lunch!". We booked it to Ninos while trying to keep our lunch down, ate crepes stuffed with the weed vegetable that everyone seems to feed us, and we had to eat quickly because Sonia, his daughter, wanted to take a nap. We were about to explode.
Angela, our investigator who we now want to set her 8th baptismal date for Feb 14th, has found a job in Reitano, a city (450 inhabitants) 20 min from Mistretta, so since we cant go to her place, we have now started stalking her at her parents place. I had met her parents once before and her father was the one Sorella Jones and I had spent at least 20 minutes kneeling on the floor, encouraging him to pray. Alot has changed in 3 visits. He still wont pray because he is upset with God, that bad things happen to good people. We somehow wormed our way into his heart and he invited us for Sunday lunch. Angela called us to make sure we were coming, because her Dad was so excited about it that hed be crushed if we didnt show up. We assured her we were looking forward to it too, and we even skippe breakfast because we knew what we would be facing.
He made us pasta alla carbonara- he took, no joke, 500 grams of butter and melted it with 500 grams of parmiggiano cheese and a bunch of stripped bacon and fried it all together. Then he added the cooked spaghetti and cracked a couple eggs over it and thankfully he cooked it a little more before serving us. I have to admit, it was really good, but all the grease sort of put a damper to it. I could feel my heart start to pump harder to get blood through my clogging veins. Then we ate some fried meat---
He is adorable. He reminds me of a gnome even though hes not too short. Maybe its his ears that stick out. And he has the brightest blue eyes that get all wide when I hiccup while talking, or Sorella Olsens stomach will growl (her stomach makes noise ALL THE TIME! It has now become our biggest disruption during lessons because we will try to ignore it but then start giggling as it goes on and on and everyone else starts to comment and look around. It is HILARIOUS.)
Anyways, Sorella Urban will stop thinking about how in love she is with the man and get on with the moral of the story.
I love Salvatore. He even gets a kick out of only speaking Sicilian and then testing my comprehension. As sad as I am that Im really never getting and good Italian practice (Firenze, I learned Spanish, in Rome, I learned Tagalog and Romanian) I am pleased that Im not as lost as I once was when the conversation is only in siciliano. Yo saccio picca picca! (I know a little bit)
Little by little, his heart is getting a little softer. We read Mosiah 24 with him last night; I love the Book of Mormon. There is no coincidence as to which stories are in it.
There is the Purpari family- alot can be said about them. Vito, the dad (in his late 50s) has been really down this week because of the situation at home with his kids and wife. We went to the Villa (he is the head gardener here and hopes to be able to work on the Temple grounds in Rome) and he expressed concerns for his family and the desires of his heart. What I would have given to just wrap my arms around him and cry with him. So much pain and suffering in that family. The worst part is that there doesnt need to be- they could be so much happier. We asked them to read the BoM as a family every night, and Vito has been, even when its just him who sits at the table and reads outloud because no one wants to join with him. He said, "We all find ourselves in love with something at some point, and right now, Im in love with the Book of Mormon. Heavenly Father has given me answers in something that Ive read every day this past week. I dont have the strength to go on, but I have found something in reading that has helped me get through the days."
Maria Purpari, Vitos sister, has known the church for a very long time. We decided to start teaching her son, Renzo, a less active, at her house so that we could "kill two birds with one stone" type of thing. We were really excited to find a copy of How Rare a Possession and to watch it with them. Sorella Olsen and I were all worked up at how great the lesson and spirit were going to be, and we got halfway through the movie and then- heard a deep, steady breathing. Maria was fast asleep.
Renzo woke her up and she watched the rest of it, but struggled through it all. Oh well. The great thing is that Renzo, at the end, turned to us and said "Ive never prayed to know if the Book of Mormon is true. That is what I need to do tonight."
I took care to not blink in the split second where Mom is in the pharmacy :)
We are going to the town where Vincenzo di Francesca was born to hunt out his living relatives for todays Pday activity. We got permission to take Liria with us- she is Antonios sister (the one who adores sorelle) and we are super happy she can come with us because shes really depressed and stays inside the house taking care of their dying mom. Zone conference got pushed back a week so we will hike Mt. Etna next week if it stops erupting.
(Its harder than I thought to write spiritual experiences when there are men in the background grunting and fighting!)
Oh! Two nights ago, when we had just left Maria and Renzo Purparis house, we were walking past the Mistretta jail and I looked up just in time to see an old woman get hit by a car. We dropped our umbrella and ran to her- within a minute there were quite a few people around us. It was dark and rainy and the poor driver woman couldnt be blamed. They wanted to move her and I advised against it but they wanted to another woman and I lifted her up and carried her to a nearby church and set her on the stairs. The only thing the poor grandma was worried about was her purse. In my mind I was thinking "And youre not worried about your skirt being up around your waist and a 14 y.o. boy carrying your legs?"
haha, just jk. She seemed ok and since there were so many people there, we slipped away and continued on our way to go find a lovely family from the area book, la famiglia Oddo. Mamma Oddo has a testimony about the BoM but wasnt baptized because she didnt want to be different from the rest of her family.
Two of her kids, ages 13 and 17, came to church on sunday :) There is much to do with them!
Ok, times up. So many stories to share still! Oh well. No old woman died this week :)
VVB,
Sorella Urban
p.s. Lenora, while I was licking an envelope closed yesterday, I got a cut on my lip!
Monday, February 7, 2011
read sorella olsens email because mines terrible!
Now, the question is, where does email time go?!?!
Last Pday, we went to Gratteri and found relatives of Vincenzo Di Francesca! They showed us his house and we took some pictures that hopefully we will be able to send when Sorella Olsen gets her camera cord. Oh dear, I really dont know what to write having such little time left! Im having Sorella Olsen forward me her letter that she is writing home and Im just going to send that to all of you, ok? Im sorry!!
We had zone conference yesterday- it rained all the way there but miraculously we made it on time. Sorella Olsen sang a solo and I accompanied her and she was nervous because shes never sung a solo before, and her nervousness was contagious and I got all nervous and my arms went all funny and I somehow made it through the hymn and my respect and admiration for S.Olsen sky rocketed. She has such a beautiful voice, and the neatest thing is that, to overcome her fear, shes been singing for our investigators and members. They love it and so do I.
A few days ago, we had just left the house and were walking past a woman that we said "Buon giorno, come sta?" and she smiled and revealed...two teeth? and we slowed down and stopped next to her and I asked if she needed help carrying her bag and she waddled over to me, stuck her hands out, and started tickling me while making this weird noise. It took me by surprise and I grabbed her hands and held them and somehow said "have a good day!" and we laughed the entire next block. Thats a first for me. Getting tickled by a toothless woman. (I recorded it as the miracle of the day).
Bythe way, this is something Ive been doing that I really like and want to continue with my own family. I have a calendar, and every night before going to bed, I think about the day and write down something that was really neat or strange, or ...just different. Its so much fun, and its a good way to reflect on how the Lord has showed his love for me that day. I think its something fun that we could all do- a miracle calendar. We saw Liria this week and shes been very depressed and not responding to anyones phonecalls- we are the only ones she lets in. We talked about Heavenly Fathers love for us, and we asked her to tell us some things shes been blessed with, and she said "Nothing. Ive been blessed with nothing".
Her words made my heart ache. How can anyone say that? That is so sad. I know that we need to look up, as Peter did, towards Christ to find the joy and peace that we are all in need of. Only when Peter looked around him and saw the tempest did he begin to sink. All of us are surrounded by the tempests of life, but by keeping our faces toward Jesus Christ, we can and will stay afloat.
I know Heavenly Father blesses us every day. Its sad that we sometimes dont aknowledge or appreciate the little things. I am making it a focus to be more grateful, and to be more positive in everything I do. Happiness really is a choice.
Yesterday, we learned the importance of being actors and not reactors. It goes along perfectly with what S. Olsen and Ive decided to be our months theme-
"Therefore, strengthen your brethern in all your conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your doings" DC 108:7.
Theres alot more I want to add but no time! Thank goodness S.Olsen uses her email time wisely and I can pinch off of her email!
We decided not to stay to hike Mt. Etna because it was pouring and we would most likely be 100% frozen, so we left at 17:30 and somehow ended up on the road taking us through Messina, so it took us 4.5 hours to get home rather than the usual 3. Maybe it was a blessing because we avoided the curved roads of Nicosia. It was raining so hard in Catania that I was afraid water would pour in if I opened the door. It was really cool, and giving me good driving experience :) BUT, I also recognize how protected we have been. Having the car is such a blessing! Before the car, missionaries would have to stay and get a hotel for the night when theyd go to different cities.
Pres. Kelly said we can expect to be together another transfer. I am so happy. Its been so fun to watch Sorella Olsen bloom. She used to say very little during lessons, and she was just too nice, but now she is learning that we can be very open and blunt with people. Now, when Angela goes way off topic for more than 3 minutes, Sorella Olsen speaks up and gets it back on topic. I dont want to say shes learning to be rude, but... thats sort of how it is. Not rude, but....? Its a good sort of rude. Its a necessary talent here :) And I have an overabundance of the talent, so its a good thing shes picking up on it, otherwise everyone would think that Im just the mean one. hehe. Oh, she said that her parents have found my blog. gag me. I used to want to meet them, but Im not so sure anymore. My writing is so random and scattered! If they do read this: Dear Mamma e Papa Olsen; Dont fear for your daughter. She is in good hands, despite what my emails must make me seem :) p.s. Sorella Olsen always talks about your cooking (in particular, your birthday cakes)- my birthday is July 16th, and I love cake, and I love icecream. hint hint. HAHA, just Jk.
oohh so much to write, so little time!
we went and hunted down angela at her parents house- her dad got visibly mad that we said we couldnt stay for dinner, so we did. To save the rest of the family from his wrath. I love him. We ate sausage with LUMPS, BALLS of white fat. I swallowed mine whole and S. Olsen used alot of bread to get hers down. I love it when we suffer together, it seriously is bonding.
Ok. I really need to peel myself off this computer. Enjoy Sorella Olsens email :)!
Love, Sorella Urban.
Dear, Dear Family,
First of all, Happy Birthday Diana!!!! I hope it's a wonderful day. I love you! It's weird to think that today would have been the day that I entered the MTC...weird. I'm so glad I'm here! I love it!
Yesterday I attended my very first Zone Conference. It was great! I loved getting to see President and Sorella Kelly. They are absolutely amazing. They are just so sweet and kind, I love them! Here's something that might come as a bit of a surprise to you: I sang a solo at Zone Conference. Yes. It was SO scary! I never sing in front of people. Our zone leader called us last week and said he had received "revelation from on high" that the Mistretta sisters were supposed to provide the musical number at zone conference. I thought it would be disrespectful to ask my zone leader to pray again. Sorella Urban and I just laughed, but then we realized that he was serious and that we really had to do it. She said there was no way she could ever sing. I said, "Me neither!" Unfortunately I sing in the car all the time and she knows that I enjoy singing. I said there was no way in the world I could ever sing a solo in front of people, but it seemed that that was our only option. We were trying to think of a song, then I remembered that I have a copy of "I Know that My Savior Loves Me" in Italian. I love that song so much. I figured that if I was singing a song that meant a lot to me, maybe I could do it. So I told Sorella Urban I'd try singing in sacrament meeting on Sunday and if I could do it without totally croaking then we'd be okay. I did it on Sunday, my very first solo. I also sang it in every lesson we taught on Sunday and Monday. Even though I'd gotten comfortable singing it in lessons and with the Mistretta members, I was beyond nervous to sing it in front of all the missionaries. It went okay. I was shaking so bad. So yeah, that was a new experience for me. Then, as soon as I sat down, I had to get back up again and introduce myself and bear my testimony since I'm new. It was a very full five minutes for me. Sorella Urban and I had had to wake up extra early to get there on time because it's a 3 hour drive. It rained the entire day. We were going to stay in Catania for the night and hike Mount Etna today with other missionaries, but since the roads looked like rivers (no exaggeration), we decided that it would be a dumb thing to try. It's in our plans for next transfer! After everything ended at about 5, we decided to just drive home to Mistretta. It was SO rainy! There was so much water in the roads. Luckily Sorella Urban is a fearless driver, she was completely calm.
Okay so last week I said that we were going to find the relatives of Vincenzo di Francesca, I need to tell you the story. We drove to Gratteri, which is even smaller than Mistretta on top of an even higher mountain. It has the most spectacular view I've ever seen! So we brought Liria with us. Liria is about 45, she hasn't been coming to church and she rarely leaves the house. She is always very depressed. Her brother Antonio gave us the idea, and he stayed home with the mamma while we went. She was so excited about our afternoon together. Usually when we got there she's wearing sweats and hasn't really done her hair or anything. She was wearing all sorts of makeup and jewelry, she even had a fur scarf on. She really needed this outing.
We asked at the gas station as we entered Gratteri where the famiglia Di Francesca lives. He said there were several Di Francesca families there, and Liria chimed in "Il Mormone! Vincenzo il Mormone!"...the man was even more confused, so we had to explain to him that Vincenzo had lived there many years ago. He directed us to the nearest Di Francesca's. We had no idea if this was the right family or not. Sorella Urban was nominated to speak into the doorbell when they asked who was there. She said that we were looking for the family of Vincenzo di Francesca. There was some hesitation on the other end, then Sorella Urban said, "Siamo mormoni" ("We are mormons"). The person on the other end just laughed and said she'd be down shortly.
Apparently quite a few people have come ever since the movie was made. Liria started crying as soon as we were in the house and the woman was kind of thrown off by that. She asked us if Vincenzo di Francesca was a saint in our religion, haha. Her mother came down and spoke with us, then she took us to Vincenzo's house which was just around the corner. She showed us the window that he used to always sit by to study and think. He also used to sing all the time, and you could hear him singing through the open window. We didn't get to go inside because the woman we were with doesn't have a key. Her sister-in-law does, and she is a little "particolare" as our new friend put it. We learned what she meant when the sister-in-law came out and yelled at us. She was the oldest, smallest woman I've ever seen!
It was such a neat experience! We met Vincenzo's nephew, and his nephew's wife and daughter. The woman that yelled at us is his niece. The nephew and his family were so nice! They are catholic, unfortunately no one else in Vincenzo's family ever joined the church. They had a copy of the movie, so they sort of knew the story. They said they'd read a little bit about our church online when the movie came out because they were curious. We asked them if they already had a copy of the Book of Mormon and they said no. We were really surprised, but pleased because we had lots of extra copies in our car. We asked if they'd like a copy of the book that Vincenzo had found and that had changed his life. They said they would. Sorella Urban and I ran to the car and wrote a little note with a little explanation and our testimonies on the inside of the front cover, then we gave it to them! We really hope that they will read it. How neat would that be if they read it and were able to find the same answers that he was able to find!
After we returned home from Gratteri, we had an appointment with a family in Mistretta. We dropped sweet Liria off and headed there. I was so glad we had been able to bring her. Our simple little invitation meant so much to her, I didn't realized how much until we saw all of the effort she had put into getting ready. She was wearing blue and pink eye shadow and lots of sparkly jewelry. We all had a lovely time together.Our lesson went well. So well, in fact, that at the end we set a baptismal date with the mom! I was in shock. She had been taught by the missionaries about 4 years ago, but stopped having them come because her family is all catholic and she didn't want to be the only one to change. She told us she knew the church was true and the Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon was true. Sorella Urban and I just looked at each other and then asked her if she'd be baptized. Sorella Urban shared a wonderful scripture about baptism with her and then she let me ask her to set a date for her baptism. We were so happy as we walked home. Less than 24 hours later, however, Giuseppina (the mom) called us and said that she didn't want to get baptized anymore. She said she didn't want to cause problems in her family. She said we can come over and chat, but we're not allowed to sing or pray with her. We tried talking to her to try to figure out what caused this change, but she wouldn't say much. We took some banana bread over later that night. She told us it was her husband that told her she couldn't be baptized, but we're not sure that's really it. Her husband is so nice and he just kind of sits there pleasantly while we're there. He made it very clear at the beginning that he wasn't interested, but he's fine with us being there.That was a bit perplexing. We are praying for her and hope that things will change. We stop by from time to time because we are teaching another family in the same complex.
So I have to tell a quick funny story. When I first met Sorella Urban, she was telling me something about her blog and how her companions' families and other random people always seem to find it and she's kind of embarrassed/worried because she's very open in her emails home. I assured her that my family wouldn't find it because we're not really bloggers. This Thursday I got a letter from mom and from Erin Mecklenburg. I about died laughing when I read about her blog in both of them. We had a good laugh about it and she asked me to read what both had said about it twice. She is wonderful. Really, I couldn't have asked for a better trainer.
Also, I decided that in each email home I will share a scripture from my week of scripture study. Sorella Urban and I have picked this verse as the theme for Mistretta for the next couple weeks. I love this verse, I used to have it taped to my wall at the Glenwood, and it's perfect for Mistretta. It's D&C 108:7. It says:
"Therefore, strengthen your brethren in all your conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your doings"
Mistretta has a big problem with gossip. Italians, bless their hearts, are very honest and blunt. I can't tell you how many times already that I've heard something like, "Oh I know him, he's the tall man with the fat wife", or, "Oh yeah, the short man that looks like a dwarf..." One of the reasons that Liria isn't coming to church is because Nino told Francesca that Liria is crazy and Liria found out. So we are sharing this scripture with people and talking about following the Savior's example and having charity, the pure love of Christ, in our hearts. It's something we all need to work on. I like how this verse talks about not only the way we talk, but also our prayers. When you pray for someone, it helps you to love them more. It helps you to see them the way that our Heavenly Father sees them. So yes, that is my challenge to you, dear family. I am also working on it. So just think about this verse and keep on your minds this week.
I love you all so much. I am seeing more and more every day how blessed I am to have such a loving, supportive, functional family. I love being a missionary. I'm learning a lot. I get frustrated some days, but reading the Book of Mormon always helps. I love the gospel. I love my Savior.
I love you!
Love,
Sorella Olsen
Last Pday, we went to Gratteri and found relatives of Vincenzo Di Francesca! They showed us his house and we took some pictures that hopefully we will be able to send when Sorella Olsen gets her camera cord. Oh dear, I really dont know what to write having such little time left! Im having Sorella Olsen forward me her letter that she is writing home and Im just going to send that to all of you, ok? Im sorry!!
We had zone conference yesterday- it rained all the way there but miraculously we made it on time. Sorella Olsen sang a solo and I accompanied her and she was nervous because shes never sung a solo before, and her nervousness was contagious and I got all nervous and my arms went all funny and I somehow made it through the hymn and my respect and admiration for S.Olsen sky rocketed. She has such a beautiful voice, and the neatest thing is that, to overcome her fear, shes been singing for our investigators and members. They love it and so do I.
A few days ago, we had just left the house and were walking past a woman that we said "Buon giorno, come sta?" and she smiled and revealed...two teeth? and we slowed down and stopped next to her and I asked if she needed help carrying her bag and she waddled over to me, stuck her hands out, and started tickling me while making this weird noise. It took me by surprise and I grabbed her hands and held them and somehow said "have a good day!" and we laughed the entire next block. Thats a first for me. Getting tickled by a toothless woman. (I recorded it as the miracle of the day).
Bythe way, this is something Ive been doing that I really like and want to continue with my own family. I have a calendar, and every night before going to bed, I think about the day and write down something that was really neat or strange, or ...just different. Its so much fun, and its a good way to reflect on how the Lord has showed his love for me that day. I think its something fun that we could all do- a miracle calendar. We saw Liria this week and shes been very depressed and not responding to anyones phonecalls- we are the only ones she lets in. We talked about Heavenly Fathers love for us, and we asked her to tell us some things shes been blessed with, and she said "Nothing. Ive been blessed with nothing".
Her words made my heart ache. How can anyone say that? That is so sad. I know that we need to look up, as Peter did, towards Christ to find the joy and peace that we are all in need of. Only when Peter looked around him and saw the tempest did he begin to sink. All of us are surrounded by the tempests of life, but by keeping our faces toward Jesus Christ, we can and will stay afloat.
I know Heavenly Father blesses us every day. Its sad that we sometimes dont aknowledge or appreciate the little things. I am making it a focus to be more grateful, and to be more positive in everything I do. Happiness really is a choice.
Yesterday, we learned the importance of being actors and not reactors. It goes along perfectly with what S. Olsen and Ive decided to be our months theme-
"Therefore, strengthen your brethern in all your conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your doings" DC 108:7.
Theres alot more I want to add but no time! Thank goodness S.Olsen uses her email time wisely and I can pinch off of her email!
We decided not to stay to hike Mt. Etna because it was pouring and we would most likely be 100% frozen, so we left at 17:30 and somehow ended up on the road taking us through Messina, so it took us 4.5 hours to get home rather than the usual 3. Maybe it was a blessing because we avoided the curved roads of Nicosia. It was raining so hard in Catania that I was afraid water would pour in if I opened the door. It was really cool, and giving me good driving experience :) BUT, I also recognize how protected we have been. Having the car is such a blessing! Before the car, missionaries would have to stay and get a hotel for the night when theyd go to different cities.
Pres. Kelly said we can expect to be together another transfer. I am so happy. Its been so fun to watch Sorella Olsen bloom. She used to say very little during lessons, and she was just too nice, but now she is learning that we can be very open and blunt with people. Now, when Angela goes way off topic for more than 3 minutes, Sorella Olsen speaks up and gets it back on topic. I dont want to say shes learning to be rude, but... thats sort of how it is. Not rude, but....? Its a good sort of rude. Its a necessary talent here :) And I have an overabundance of the talent, so its a good thing shes picking up on it, otherwise everyone would think that Im just the mean one. hehe. Oh, she said that her parents have found my blog. gag me. I used to want to meet them, but Im not so sure anymore. My writing is so random and scattered! If they do read this: Dear Mamma e Papa Olsen; Dont fear for your daughter. She is in good hands, despite what my emails must make me seem :) p.s. Sorella Olsen always talks about your cooking (in particular, your birthday cakes)- my birthday is July 16th, and I love cake, and I love icecream. hint hint. HAHA, just Jk.
oohh so much to write, so little time!
we went and hunted down angela at her parents house- her dad got visibly mad that we said we couldnt stay for dinner, so we did. To save the rest of the family from his wrath. I love him. We ate sausage with LUMPS, BALLS of white fat. I swallowed mine whole and S. Olsen used alot of bread to get hers down. I love it when we suffer together, it seriously is bonding.
Ok. I really need to peel myself off this computer. Enjoy Sorella Olsens email :)!
Love, Sorella Urban.
Dear, Dear Family,
First of all, Happy Birthday Diana!!!! I hope it's a wonderful day. I love you! It's weird to think that today would have been the day that I entered the MTC...weird. I'm so glad I'm here! I love it!
Yesterday I attended my very first Zone Conference. It was great! I loved getting to see President and Sorella Kelly. They are absolutely amazing. They are just so sweet and kind, I love them! Here's something that might come as a bit of a surprise to you: I sang a solo at Zone Conference. Yes. It was SO scary! I never sing in front of people. Our zone leader called us last week and said he had received "revelation from on high" that the Mistretta sisters were supposed to provide the musical number at zone conference. I thought it would be disrespectful to ask my zone leader to pray again. Sorella Urban and I just laughed, but then we realized that he was serious and that we really had to do it. She said there was no way she could ever sing. I said, "Me neither!" Unfortunately I sing in the car all the time and she knows that I enjoy singing. I said there was no way in the world I could ever sing a solo in front of people, but it seemed that that was our only option. We were trying to think of a song, then I remembered that I have a copy of "I Know that My Savior Loves Me" in Italian. I love that song so much. I figured that if I was singing a song that meant a lot to me, maybe I could do it. So I told Sorella Urban I'd try singing in sacrament meeting on Sunday and if I could do it without totally croaking then we'd be okay. I did it on Sunday, my very first solo. I also sang it in every lesson we taught on Sunday and Monday. Even though I'd gotten comfortable singing it in lessons and with the Mistretta members, I was beyond nervous to sing it in front of all the missionaries. It went okay. I was shaking so bad. So yeah, that was a new experience for me. Then, as soon as I sat down, I had to get back up again and introduce myself and bear my testimony since I'm new. It was a very full five minutes for me. Sorella Urban and I had had to wake up extra early to get there on time because it's a 3 hour drive. It rained the entire day. We were going to stay in Catania for the night and hike Mount Etna today with other missionaries, but since the roads looked like rivers (no exaggeration), we decided that it would be a dumb thing to try. It's in our plans for next transfer! After everything ended at about 5, we decided to just drive home to Mistretta. It was SO rainy! There was so much water in the roads. Luckily Sorella Urban is a fearless driver, she was completely calm.
Okay so last week I said that we were going to find the relatives of Vincenzo di Francesca, I need to tell you the story. We drove to Gratteri, which is even smaller than Mistretta on top of an even higher mountain. It has the most spectacular view I've ever seen! So we brought Liria with us. Liria is about 45, she hasn't been coming to church and she rarely leaves the house. She is always very depressed. Her brother Antonio gave us the idea, and he stayed home with the mamma while we went. She was so excited about our afternoon together. Usually when we got there she's wearing sweats and hasn't really done her hair or anything. She was wearing all sorts of makeup and jewelry, she even had a fur scarf on. She really needed this outing.
We asked at the gas station as we entered Gratteri where the famiglia Di Francesca lives. He said there were several Di Francesca families there, and Liria chimed in "Il Mormone! Vincenzo il Mormone!"...the man was even more confused, so we had to explain to him that Vincenzo had lived there many years ago. He directed us to the nearest Di Francesca's. We had no idea if this was the right family or not. Sorella Urban was nominated to speak into the doorbell when they asked who was there. She said that we were looking for the family of Vincenzo di Francesca. There was some hesitation on the other end, then Sorella Urban said, "Siamo mormoni" ("We are mormons"). The person on the other end just laughed and said she'd be down shortly.
Apparently quite a few people have come ever since the movie was made. Liria started crying as soon as we were in the house and the woman was kind of thrown off by that. She asked us if Vincenzo di Francesca was a saint in our religion, haha. Her mother came down and spoke with us, then she took us to Vincenzo's house which was just around the corner. She showed us the window that he used to always sit by to study and think. He also used to sing all the time, and you could hear him singing through the open window. We didn't get to go inside because the woman we were with doesn't have a key. Her sister-in-law does, and she is a little "particolare" as our new friend put it. We learned what she meant when the sister-in-law came out and yelled at us. She was the oldest, smallest woman I've ever seen!
It was such a neat experience! We met Vincenzo's nephew, and his nephew's wife and daughter. The woman that yelled at us is his niece. The nephew and his family were so nice! They are catholic, unfortunately no one else in Vincenzo's family ever joined the church. They had a copy of the movie, so they sort of knew the story. They said they'd read a little bit about our church online when the movie came out because they were curious. We asked them if they already had a copy of the Book of Mormon and they said no. We were really surprised, but pleased because we had lots of extra copies in our car. We asked if they'd like a copy of the book that Vincenzo had found and that had changed his life. They said they would. Sorella Urban and I ran to the car and wrote a little note with a little explanation and our testimonies on the inside of the front cover, then we gave it to them! We really hope that they will read it. How neat would that be if they read it and were able to find the same answers that he was able to find!
After we returned home from Gratteri, we had an appointment with a family in Mistretta. We dropped sweet Liria off and headed there. I was so glad we had been able to bring her. Our simple little invitation meant so much to her, I didn't realized how much until we saw all of the effort she had put into getting ready. She was wearing blue and pink eye shadow and lots of sparkly jewelry. We all had a lovely time together.Our lesson went well. So well, in fact, that at the end we set a baptismal date with the mom! I was in shock. She had been taught by the missionaries about 4 years ago, but stopped having them come because her family is all catholic and she didn't want to be the only one to change. She told us she knew the church was true and the Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon was true. Sorella Urban and I just looked at each other and then asked her if she'd be baptized. Sorella Urban shared a wonderful scripture about baptism with her and then she let me ask her to set a date for her baptism. We were so happy as we walked home. Less than 24 hours later, however, Giuseppina (the mom) called us and said that she didn't want to get baptized anymore. She said she didn't want to cause problems in her family. She said we can come over and chat, but we're not allowed to sing or pray with her. We tried talking to her to try to figure out what caused this change, but she wouldn't say much. We took some banana bread over later that night. She told us it was her husband that told her she couldn't be baptized, but we're not sure that's really it. Her husband is so nice and he just kind of sits there pleasantly while we're there. He made it very clear at the beginning that he wasn't interested, but he's fine with us being there.That was a bit perplexing. We are praying for her and hope that things will change. We stop by from time to time because we are teaching another family in the same complex.
So I have to tell a quick funny story. When I first met Sorella Urban, she was telling me something about her blog and how her companions' families and other random people always seem to find it and she's kind of embarrassed/worried because she's very open in her emails home. I assured her that my family wouldn't find it because we're not really bloggers. This Thursday I got a letter from mom and from Erin Mecklenburg. I about died laughing when I read about her blog in both of them. We had a good laugh about it and she asked me to read what both had said about it twice. She is wonderful. Really, I couldn't have asked for a better trainer.
Also, I decided that in each email home I will share a scripture from my week of scripture study. Sorella Urban and I have picked this verse as the theme for Mistretta for the next couple weeks. I love this verse, I used to have it taped to my wall at the Glenwood, and it's perfect for Mistretta. It's D&C 108:7. It says:
"Therefore, strengthen your brethren in all your conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your doings"
Mistretta has a big problem with gossip. Italians, bless their hearts, are very honest and blunt. I can't tell you how many times already that I've heard something like, "Oh I know him, he's the tall man with the fat wife", or, "Oh yeah, the short man that looks like a dwarf..." One of the reasons that Liria isn't coming to church is because Nino told Francesca that Liria is crazy and Liria found out. So we are sharing this scripture with people and talking about following the Savior's example and having charity, the pure love of Christ, in our hearts. It's something we all need to work on. I like how this verse talks about not only the way we talk, but also our prayers. When you pray for someone, it helps you to love them more. It helps you to see them the way that our Heavenly Father sees them. So yes, that is my challenge to you, dear family. I am also working on it. So just think about this verse and keep on your minds this week.
I love you all so much. I am seeing more and more every day how blessed I am to have such a loving, supportive, functional family. I love being a missionary. I'm learning a lot. I get frustrated some days, but reading the Book of Mormon always helps. I love the gospel. I love my Savior.
I love you!
Love,
Sorella Olsen
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
happy mamma
Pointing at me, "Youre Italian and (pointing at S. Olsen) Youre the American one". Thats everyones reaction now. I love it!
Sorella Olsen arrived safely in my arms on Thursday at 17:27 in the train station of Catania. She is blond and 6 feet tall. She studied Italian at BYU and is just perfect for mamma Urban.
We spent the night there with the Sorelle, and then we took off after our morning studies. We listened to primary Cds with kids singing and it was better than I thought itd be. Hearing Sara once in awhile helped me get through :) It is so cool and strange having to quicken my stride to keep up with my companion.
About an hour from home, we stopped by a huge prickly pear plant becuase S. Olsen had never tasted them. I warned her not to touch them and got my gerber out and sliced some off into a bag, and since they didnt look too pokey, she took one off with her bare hands. She spent the rest of the trip with tweezers :(
After picking her up from the station, we went to the church to pick up Sorelle to give them a ride to the station because they needed to make it back to their city, Ragusa, that night. That experience of driving has made me dread returning to the U.S. with a valid driving permit. I have to say, Im a pretty good terrible driver. It doesnt make any sense at all, but I am :) Im like a Roberto driver, just not so crazy. Im afraid my excuse "but, but...I just came from driving in Sicily!" wont be accepted by a Utahn policeman.
On Sunday, we went with the Purparis into campagnia (countryside) and while we were there, we picked some oranges. We picked happily away until we looked down at our bag and realized that we had more than 20 kilos of oranges. We dragged the bag to the car, hefted it in (it almost felt like we were discarding a body) and somehow we got it upstairs into our kitchen. Oranges are amazing. Since we have so many, we took some to some inactives because they are sick with the flu- "Ciao! We just wanted to drop by and see how youre doing and we brought some..." and as I held up the bag of oranges, our eyes fell upon a mound of oranges on their kitchen counter. Oh well. Its the thought that counts, right?
On Friday evening, we stopped by to see if Angela was home. Only her 19 y.o. son, Calogero, was. We said wed stop by later and left. That night, it was about 22:00 and S. Olsen was already almost asleep. The doorbell rang and I thought I heard Francescas and Danieles voice- I thought theyd stopped to salutarci because theyd just pulled in from a trip to Messina. As I neared the door, I got this feeling that I shouldnt open it. I called out to see who it was, even though I was almost positive it was Francesca and Daniele. It was Calogero. We really have never spoken with him before- I asked what he wanted and he just said that he wanted to come in or that I come out. He sounded out of it- I told him that I wasnt opening and to go home.
I camped out at the window to watch if hed pass to go home, but he didnt. He stayed at our door for a goodwhile. It was a little creepy. But Im super grateful for the prompting I had to not open the door. Who knows what could have happened; in the past he has beat Angela up bad enough that she has had to be hospitalized.
We went to go see the mom of some members (Antonio, the one who loves the sorelle and brings us food). We walked into her bedroom and Liria woke her up to tell her that we were there, and she lifted herself up a little and then wiped her hand ALL AROUND her mouth, clearing off all the drool, and then made as if she wanted to kiss us. I thought Id die watching Sorella Olsens face as she neared the bed, bent down and kissed her. I had to do the same, but Im at least used to it. Welcome to the mission, Sorella Olsen. Mamma B even has a pokey beard!
We have two new investigators, Tina and Franco Battista. On our way there, Slla Squarcia and I were talking about how strange it is that everyone claims to have visions of either Christ or angels, and thats how most of the members here have recieved a testimony of the church.
We arrived and had the lesson and we were teaching how they can recieve a testimony for themselves about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and I thought to myself "Maria Battistia is someone I can count on to not stray off topic or say something weird," so I said, "You probably wont have a vision like Joseph Smith had, where he was visited by God and Jesus Christ, but through the Holy Ghost, we can know for ourselves. (to stress this point, I turned to Maria and asked)
Maria, did you see Jesus Christ?
To my horror and incredulity, she responded "Yes!"
You saw Christ?
Yes, not once, but twice. He came to me, and told me that I was doing the right thing.
I saw S. Squarcia in the corner trying to bite her tongue and I somehow managed to keep a straight face. It was tragic. We had just been talking about it and how it seems that everyone has visions here and it just cant be real! And then there goes Maria. No wonder its hard to baptize here- the members tell our investigators that they need to be 100% sure before they are baptized- Angela is still putting off baptism because she thinks that somethings wrong with her because she still hasnt had a vision. oi oi oi.
Somehow, we managed to explain how not everyone, at least I nor Sorella Squarcia have ever been visited by heavenly hosts, but we know the Church is true because of the Spirit. phew!
Maria Purpari has known the church for tons of years and most of her brothers, nephews, and nieces are baptized. She had a bap date in 1966 but has never been able to go through with it because she feels that she would be a traitor to how she was raised and to the catholic church. Anyways, we had picked oranges with her and then some wild plants- she invited us to her house the next day to eat the weeds we had picked.
We arrived, excited to see what awaited. The food was really good- she made an omelet out of (Lenora, remember those plants all over Kazakhstan with the poppy things that we would squish?) this one plant with yellow flowers, and then she served cicoria. Im not sure what cicoria is in english, but it looks like something thats not edible by humans. We both were served big helpings and Sorella Olsen looked like she was struggling to swallow it, so for her last bite I reached over and playfully stole it because it was "oh, so good". She squeezed my leg under the table to thank me.
We are teaching the familgia Scarito. They live here in Mistretta and have 3 kids. Does anyone know of a legal way to knock out a kid?
Besides Luca, they are wonderful :) Mario, the father, said the closing prayer last night. Its so good to see a family together, kneeling, and learning how to pray. Its on of the most rewarding things.
Seeing that we teach Primary and Young Womens, we are getting started on the personal progress program. I wish Id been more involved in it when I was in Young womens. It really is a great program.
We now have heating but we have had to turn it off, maybe because we are used to being half numb.
We go running in campagnia at 6:30 am and came across several puddles of blood, and then in a tree nearby, we spotted a thing with hooves.....?
Va bono. Last week for pday, we drovo to Capo dOrlando and ........... looked around and then at eachother and asked "What were all the great things we heard about this place?" stopped for a minute at the beach to touch the sand, and then drove back.
Today, we are going to stick our faces in all the 24 churches of Mistretta. It will be fun :)
Zone Conference is next Tuesday and we are hoping to stay in Catania and hike Mt. Etna for Pday so I dont know if Ill be writing next wed or not. it all depends on if Mt. Etna erupts again.
Vi voglio bene!
Sorella Urban
p.s. Slla Jenkins died last week and was here last night on a giro with her parents. It was good to meet her but also slightly unpleasant seeing her with her parents and realizing that that day will come for me too, like it or not.
p.s. Angela finally got a job!
p.s.s. we spent all morning doing S. Olsens document stuff- she should be legal now!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
weird things in pockets
Fantastic news- Sorella Squarcia struggled to fit into her jeans this morning. I think she no longer wonders why every missionary gains an average of 10 kilos.
For the past week, we had a wretched smell in the car. Every time we got into the car, we would yelp and roll down the window, even if it meant freezing. We checked under the seats, in the trunk, EVERYWHERE and we couldnt find anything that had crawled in and died. Then, suddenly, the smell vanished. Makes me wonder if we had roadkill stuck to a tire or something. Bo. (Or like the story Lenora shared with me, maybe a cat had been clung to the car for so long that it died and finally one of the potholes we went over shook it off.)
I made TONS of choc chip cookies this past week. The first batch turned out great, and then the dozen batches that followed - the cookies were transparent and flat as a sheet of paper. What? Is? wrong? with? our? oven? Or is it just the baker?
We delivered them in little baggies with the Christmas candy Id recieved- we stopped at the bishops house and no one was home. I noticed a window open, so perched the plate of cookies on the windowsill, and the peeked into the room and saw a shower curtain.
What a nice surprise for them to find cookies in their bathroom.
We recieved the new visiting teaching assignments- out of the 7 companionships, we make up four of those. It continues to amaze me that some have the idea what we are here to just have fun and make memories with the members. No! No! No! Sorelle missionaries have the same call and purpose as Elders do- to find, teach, and baptize! We also walk through puddles, cry after meal appointments, freeze, get doors closed in our faces, etc! But, I am happy we can be of help. I know visiting teaching and home teaching are extremely important. Print this email out and tape it to my forehead if I ever miss a month in the future.
For la Befana (Jan 6th, when a witch delivers candy, like santa clause) we had english class and Francesca told me she was going to bring "modern coal". I thought she was joking when she said shed bring a heater. Francesca showed up with a space heater in her arms- about twice her size. I could just see her walking through Mistretta. Everyone knows she just joined the church. They have good reason to think Mormons are strange :)
Speaking of Francesca: she dreams everything. She told us this past week that she was told in a dream that she is to serve a mission, modify her medication, and that leaving her husband was the right thing to do because she is to marry Daniele Purpari one day. It is astonishing how many people dream responses, dream Christ, dream everything. I almost feel a disagio admitting that Ive never been visited by a heavenly host!
I consider it a tender mercy that Angela doesnt invite us over to eat. Her son just killed two boars (everyone tells us horror stories of how they get chased now and then by these giant, wild pigs. And even the cows are blood thirsty! Our car has dents from when cows have attacked it in the past. I love it!!!) and she had a pan of intestines that she was cleaning out to restuff and fry. ugh.
We went to Nino Purparis house for dinner last night- our appt was at 8:00 which is when English finishes, so we booked it there and enjoyed a quick meal of meatballs, pasta, bread, vanilla pudding, and vegetables (steamed weeds). Nino opened a bottle of what he called "grape juice" but "Sorelle, I think it stayed out a day longer than it should have so Im not going to offer you any because the taste is a little strong." Uh...Nino, wouldnt that be considered wine then?
Ninos been known to give wine to the sisters in the past. Sorella Miller, "Nino, isnt this wine?"
"No Sorelle, I made it yesterday- drink up!"
Sorella Miller did so and "Nino, this doesnt taste like juice. Are you sure?"
Nino lowered his head and said "Sorelle, I didnt even make it myself. my friend brought it to me."
So. We didnt taste his grape juice.
During english class, I have Renzo read outloud and I correct his pronounciation. I was fiddling with my turtle neck and sometimes slipping it over my nose to warm it up, and he stopped and said timidly, "Are you doing that because my breath smells?"
Hes the same one that said he would stop coming to class because he didnt like the fact that Carmello looked at his lips while he read.
I love Renzo.
After class, I offered everyone some american hot chocolate. Antonio commented on how runny it was (Italian hot choc is super dense and can be eaten with a spoon) and guess what? The next morning while we were doing personal study, he rang the doorbell and delivered two cups of "this is Italian hot choc, the way it should be, the way its good". So. I think american hot choc just got snubbed.
Angela was talking and said "13 months of the year I spent there...". No other place would I feel the need to interrupt and clarify how many months are in a year. Im relieved to report that Sicilians are aware that there are just 12 months in a year.
We got a tour of a park here in Mistretta by the member whos in charge of it, Vito Purpari, and he gave us some seeds of this one amazing plant. Id forgotten Id put them in my coat pocket and while I was bearing testimony in a lesson with Angela yesterday, I pulled my hand out of my coat pocked and out fell a poop turd on the table. For a split second I thought "What is poop doing in my pocket?!" and then I realized that it was just a seed thing from Vito. Phew.
We spent ALL day on saturday in the countryside with Eleonora Messina and her family. Shes inactive and lives with her boyfriend and she has 3 kids. We ate ALL day and wanted to do some service for her........ they have alot of cows and we cleaned out their water hole with sticks. It had a bunch of weed and moss in it. It was SO much fun.
We had an amazing lesson with an inactive family, the famiglia Naro. We talked about Alma 32 and how we can gain a testimony on any principle of the gospel.
The church might be moved up to Mistretta. I dont know how I feel about that. Itd be good for everyone here, but I feel like theres so much potential moving the church away. oi io oi.
Its time to wrap up and head out. Tomorrow, we will be going to Catania and picking up my greenie. I mean, verdina. Oops, I meant, new missionary.
Then, I think Carla will fly out Friday morning, and then my new sorella and I will drive back on Friday. Im praying that she can handle adventure.
p.s. We have 2 new investigators- Franco and Tina Battista. Francos sister, Maria, is an amazing member. Yay for new investigators! Tina said she felt really good while we were talking, and we helped her by identifying that it was the Holy Ghost. We promised her that if she did everything we taught her and kept the commitments, that she would find happiness. She said shes willing to try it out.
I think Carla and I are headed to Capo d Orlando or Cefalu to have a picnic on the rocky beach or something. Ill try to figure out how to send pics next week.
VVB!
Sorella Urban
p.s. Happy Anniversary Mom and DAD!
For the past week, we had a wretched smell in the car. Every time we got into the car, we would yelp and roll down the window, even if it meant freezing. We checked under the seats, in the trunk, EVERYWHERE and we couldnt find anything that had crawled in and died. Then, suddenly, the smell vanished. Makes me wonder if we had roadkill stuck to a tire or something. Bo. (Or like the story Lenora shared with me, maybe a cat had been clung to the car for so long that it died and finally one of the potholes we went over shook it off.)
I made TONS of choc chip cookies this past week. The first batch turned out great, and then the dozen batches that followed - the cookies were transparent and flat as a sheet of paper. What? Is? wrong? with? our? oven? Or is it just the baker?
We delivered them in little baggies with the Christmas candy Id recieved- we stopped at the bishops house and no one was home. I noticed a window open, so perched the plate of cookies on the windowsill, and the peeked into the room and saw a shower curtain.
What a nice surprise for them to find cookies in their bathroom.
We recieved the new visiting teaching assignments- out of the 7 companionships, we make up four of those. It continues to amaze me that some have the idea what we are here to just have fun and make memories with the members. No! No! No! Sorelle missionaries have the same call and purpose as Elders do- to find, teach, and baptize! We also walk through puddles, cry after meal appointments, freeze, get doors closed in our faces, etc! But, I am happy we can be of help. I know visiting teaching and home teaching are extremely important. Print this email out and tape it to my forehead if I ever miss a month in the future.
For la Befana (Jan 6th, when a witch delivers candy, like santa clause) we had english class and Francesca told me she was going to bring "modern coal". I thought she was joking when she said shed bring a heater. Francesca showed up with a space heater in her arms- about twice her size. I could just see her walking through Mistretta. Everyone knows she just joined the church. They have good reason to think Mormons are strange :)
Speaking of Francesca: she dreams everything. She told us this past week that she was told in a dream that she is to serve a mission, modify her medication, and that leaving her husband was the right thing to do because she is to marry Daniele Purpari one day. It is astonishing how many people dream responses, dream Christ, dream everything. I almost feel a disagio admitting that Ive never been visited by a heavenly host!
I consider it a tender mercy that Angela doesnt invite us over to eat. Her son just killed two boars (everyone tells us horror stories of how they get chased now and then by these giant, wild pigs. And even the cows are blood thirsty! Our car has dents from when cows have attacked it in the past. I love it!!!) and she had a pan of intestines that she was cleaning out to restuff and fry. ugh.
We went to Nino Purparis house for dinner last night- our appt was at 8:00 which is when English finishes, so we booked it there and enjoyed a quick meal of meatballs, pasta, bread, vanilla pudding, and vegetables (steamed weeds). Nino opened a bottle of what he called "grape juice" but "Sorelle, I think it stayed out a day longer than it should have so Im not going to offer you any because the taste is a little strong." Uh...Nino, wouldnt that be considered wine then?
Ninos been known to give wine to the sisters in the past. Sorella Miller, "Nino, isnt this wine?"
"No Sorelle, I made it yesterday- drink up!"
Sorella Miller did so and "Nino, this doesnt taste like juice. Are you sure?"
Nino lowered his head and said "Sorelle, I didnt even make it myself. my friend brought it to me."
So. We didnt taste his grape juice.
During english class, I have Renzo read outloud and I correct his pronounciation. I was fiddling with my turtle neck and sometimes slipping it over my nose to warm it up, and he stopped and said timidly, "Are you doing that because my breath smells?"
Hes the same one that said he would stop coming to class because he didnt like the fact that Carmello looked at his lips while he read.
I love Renzo.
After class, I offered everyone some american hot chocolate. Antonio commented on how runny it was (Italian hot choc is super dense and can be eaten with a spoon) and guess what? The next morning while we were doing personal study, he rang the doorbell and delivered two cups of "this is Italian hot choc, the way it should be, the way its good". So. I think american hot choc just got snubbed.
Angela was talking and said "13 months of the year I spent there...". No other place would I feel the need to interrupt and clarify how many months are in a year. Im relieved to report that Sicilians are aware that there are just 12 months in a year.
We got a tour of a park here in Mistretta by the member whos in charge of it, Vito Purpari, and he gave us some seeds of this one amazing plant. Id forgotten Id put them in my coat pocket and while I was bearing testimony in a lesson with Angela yesterday, I pulled my hand out of my coat pocked and out fell a poop turd on the table. For a split second I thought "What is poop doing in my pocket?!" and then I realized that it was just a seed thing from Vito. Phew.
We spent ALL day on saturday in the countryside with Eleonora Messina and her family. Shes inactive and lives with her boyfriend and she has 3 kids. We ate ALL day and wanted to do some service for her........ they have alot of cows and we cleaned out their water hole with sticks. It had a bunch of weed and moss in it. It was SO much fun.
We had an amazing lesson with an inactive family, the famiglia Naro. We talked about Alma 32 and how we can gain a testimony on any principle of the gospel.
The church might be moved up to Mistretta. I dont know how I feel about that. Itd be good for everyone here, but I feel like theres so much potential moving the church away. oi io oi.
Its time to wrap up and head out. Tomorrow, we will be going to Catania and picking up my greenie. I mean, verdina. Oops, I meant, new missionary.
Then, I think Carla will fly out Friday morning, and then my new sorella and I will drive back on Friday. Im praying that she can handle adventure.
p.s. We have 2 new investigators- Franco and Tina Battista. Francos sister, Maria, is an amazing member. Yay for new investigators! Tina said she felt really good while we were talking, and we helped her by identifying that it was the Holy Ghost. We promised her that if she did everything we taught her and kept the commitments, that she would find happiness. She said shes willing to try it out.
I think Carla and I are headed to Capo d Orlando or Cefalu to have a picnic on the rocky beach or something. Ill try to figure out how to send pics next week.
VVB!
Sorella Urban
p.s. Happy Anniversary Mom and DAD!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
not worm cheese, but macedonia
For starters- could someone procure Lias address\email for me so that I can write her? Would she be entering the MTC right about now?
Yes, I am with Sorella Carla Squarcia :) Pres. called us late on Monday night and surprised us with "Youll be picking her up tomorrow morning in Catania" so ...... we did :) I was sorry to see S. Riffaldi go but happy that we got to serve together again. I dont know how I managed but I even know my way around Catania. We picked up Slla Jones from the church, went to the airport and parked in a BUS area (I actually thought I was right outside of the bus area, but appartenly not) because when we walked back out, there was the longest line of cars, honking and blaring, and we looked to see what was causing the mess and I heard someone say something to the effect of "..people parked where the bus is supposed to pull in so it cant pull in" and it was exactly just that. A bus couldnt pull in so had to block traffic as people piled out and unloaded luggage. We were too embarassed to claim one of the cars causing the blockup so we stood off to the side (while I, of course, giggled all the while while S. Jones frantically searched for her camera) till the bus took off, people cooled down, and we got into the car and drove off, quickly ;)
Sorella Squaricas experience so far in Mistretta? Well. We got back to Mistretta at 3:00 and she was hungry, so while she boiled pasta she danced around the kitchen to create some body heat. I didnt think not having heating was that bad because we had a space heater, but that too has decided to take a vacation, so we now fight over who gets to do dishes. Doing dishes means warming up (in the slightest) so its a little strange trying to dirty as many dishes as we can. Making pancakes this morning managed to dirty even all the kitchen surfaces which required some scrubbing...I may have purposely (is that spelled wrong?) dripped on the floor too so that I had to bend down and wipe it!
I took her to meet a few of the members and Francesca, we taught English ......... We teach English every TU and THUR at 7:00 for an hour. I teach advanced, which is usually just Carmello, a non member, and Renzo. Renzo Purpari was an inactive till a month ago, and now we are hoping to help prepare him to be the next branch president. Anyways, he always comes to english class, so when he didnt come twice in a row and didnt come to church that sunday either, we were alarmed and fasted for him. It was all resolved in yesterdays phonecall- he decided to stop coming to English because "when I read, Carmello looks at my mouth. I dont like it." Mi sta antipatico.
I told him he shouldnt NOT learn English because some other man likes looking at his lips while he reads, so he came to English last night and I taught them separately. What funny people here.
Slla Squarcia was terrified to teach English but she did very well- they just went over the months of the year. Afterwards, she said that she now understood why I told her she shoudnt get worked up- I think our English lessons are the most laidback and family-like lessons in the mission.
We ended with a lesson on Mosiah 24 and then once the clock struck 20:00, we ordered everyone out because we had to run to an appt. We literally had to carry their stuff to the door so that they got out and didnt remain to chat inside. We booked it up Mistretta to Nino and Sonias house (father and daughter, whos wife is american but left them almost 3 years ago) and we had a wonderful dinner of soup and sausage and fresh ricotta. Ive added ricotta to my list of "Things Im discovering I dont like". The minestra was amazing though. I could happily live off of potatoes, peas, cabbage and carrots. While we ate fruit salad for dessert, S Squarcia kept glancing at me and I didnt even think twice about it as I happily munched away on pieces of pear and orange -
right before getting into bed last night, she said "Im sorry to say this S Urban, but halfway through dessert, I noticed that it was full of worms. I tried to warn you but you ate so quickly that I couldnt do anything. I managed to set four worms to the side of my bowl while I was eating, but when I got to the end, I could only find one worm left in the juice".
I dont know if Ive ever laughed so much in my life over eating worms. Just the whole concept of helping Slla Squarcia prepare for her mission in a couple of months, her freezing to death here ("Why didnt you tell me it snowed here?! Id have brought more warm clothes!"), and finding worms in her first meal here. Oh well. Mistretta is known for its mystery meat. This time, it just wasnt a mystery.
We found a beer bottle in our kitchen cabinet that we opened and discovered really good pasta sugo inside. Who was it from? Bo.
Antonio is still delivering bananas. Seriously, if he did think I had diarrhea, how long does he think I could have it?!
We are just about doing emails and then we will go back home and write a few letters and I get to read the conference talks!! Dad, THANK YOU. I think I may have slept with the Ensign under my pillow last night. None of the missionaries have recieved that months issue yet so I consider myself super blessed. Thank you everyone for the things you sent me. None of its labeled....except, Andrea, thanks for the pillow case! Its too cute to use :S
Lenora- the tights are AWESOME. Im wearing two pairs and the leggings right now. yay!!
The candy has been opened and enjoyed by our english students and I just dont know how to divy (sp?) up the cookie mixes. I would make them myself and deliver them BUT I know theyd get burned.
For New Years Eve, we bought a bottle of apricot juice because there wasnt any apple, and we had a romantic dinner of pasta. We left out the candles this time bc we were too cold to go hunt for them in the death closet. We set the alarm at 11:55 and when it woke us up, we were too toasy in bed to step out for a toast, so SR just counted down "10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1! Happy New Year!" and turned her head and fell back asleep. That was our celebration.
The next morning, we got up and spent the whole day cleaning. We were fast workers and got most of it done by 15:00 so we were able to read and catch up on things for the rest of the day. Amber asked me if its true that they throw toilets out of windows- only in Naples :)
Is it true juice is supposed to be consumed entro 4 days of opening?
Ive been drinking grape juice a sip at a time when I pass the fridge...since Slla Jones was here. I guess its never been enough to intoxicate me. But Carla poured it down the sink today and it sure wasnt juice anymore!!!
Sorella Urban
p.s. Oops, P.S.. Angela didnt get baptized. Still the law of chastity problem.
And how do I manage to write a whole email without adding something spiritual? Im a terrible missionary.
Read, pray, and go to church!
:)
Yes, I am with Sorella Carla Squarcia :) Pres. called us late on Monday night and surprised us with "Youll be picking her up tomorrow morning in Catania" so ...... we did :) I was sorry to see S. Riffaldi go but happy that we got to serve together again. I dont know how I managed but I even know my way around Catania. We picked up Slla Jones from the church, went to the airport and parked in a BUS area (I actually thought I was right outside of the bus area, but appartenly not) because when we walked back out, there was the longest line of cars, honking and blaring, and we looked to see what was causing the mess and I heard someone say something to the effect of "..people parked where the bus is supposed to pull in so it cant pull in" and it was exactly just that. A bus couldnt pull in so had to block traffic as people piled out and unloaded luggage. We were too embarassed to claim one of the cars causing the blockup so we stood off to the side (while I, of course, giggled all the while while S. Jones frantically searched for her camera) till the bus took off, people cooled down, and we got into the car and drove off, quickly ;)
Sorella Squaricas experience so far in Mistretta? Well. We got back to Mistretta at 3:00 and she was hungry, so while she boiled pasta she danced around the kitchen to create some body heat. I didnt think not having heating was that bad because we had a space heater, but that too has decided to take a vacation, so we now fight over who gets to do dishes. Doing dishes means warming up (in the slightest) so its a little strange trying to dirty as many dishes as we can. Making pancakes this morning managed to dirty even all the kitchen surfaces which required some scrubbing...I may have purposely (is that spelled wrong?) dripped on the floor too so that I had to bend down and wipe it!
I took her to meet a few of the members and Francesca, we taught English ......... We teach English every TU and THUR at 7:00 for an hour. I teach advanced, which is usually just Carmello, a non member, and Renzo. Renzo Purpari was an inactive till a month ago, and now we are hoping to help prepare him to be the next branch president. Anyways, he always comes to english class, so when he didnt come twice in a row and didnt come to church that sunday either, we were alarmed and fasted for him. It was all resolved in yesterdays phonecall- he decided to stop coming to English because "when I read, Carmello looks at my mouth. I dont like it." Mi sta antipatico.
I told him he shouldnt NOT learn English because some other man likes looking at his lips while he reads, so he came to English last night and I taught them separately. What funny people here.
Slla Squarcia was terrified to teach English but she did very well- they just went over the months of the year. Afterwards, she said that she now understood why I told her she shoudnt get worked up- I think our English lessons are the most laidback and family-like lessons in the mission.
We ended with a lesson on Mosiah 24 and then once the clock struck 20:00, we ordered everyone out because we had to run to an appt. We literally had to carry their stuff to the door so that they got out and didnt remain to chat inside. We booked it up Mistretta to Nino and Sonias house (father and daughter, whos wife is american but left them almost 3 years ago) and we had a wonderful dinner of soup and sausage and fresh ricotta. Ive added ricotta to my list of "Things Im discovering I dont like". The minestra was amazing though. I could happily live off of potatoes, peas, cabbage and carrots. While we ate fruit salad for dessert, S Squarcia kept glancing at me and I didnt even think twice about it as I happily munched away on pieces of pear and orange -
right before getting into bed last night, she said "Im sorry to say this S Urban, but halfway through dessert, I noticed that it was full of worms. I tried to warn you but you ate so quickly that I couldnt do anything. I managed to set four worms to the side of my bowl while I was eating, but when I got to the end, I could only find one worm left in the juice".
I dont know if Ive ever laughed so much in my life over eating worms. Just the whole concept of helping Slla Squarcia prepare for her mission in a couple of months, her freezing to death here ("Why didnt you tell me it snowed here?! Id have brought more warm clothes!"), and finding worms in her first meal here. Oh well. Mistretta is known for its mystery meat. This time, it just wasnt a mystery.
We found a beer bottle in our kitchen cabinet that we opened and discovered really good pasta sugo inside. Who was it from? Bo.
Antonio is still delivering bananas. Seriously, if he did think I had diarrhea, how long does he think I could have it?!
We are just about doing emails and then we will go back home and write a few letters and I get to read the conference talks!! Dad, THANK YOU. I think I may have slept with the Ensign under my pillow last night. None of the missionaries have recieved that months issue yet so I consider myself super blessed. Thank you everyone for the things you sent me. None of its labeled....except, Andrea, thanks for the pillow case! Its too cute to use :S
Lenora- the tights are AWESOME. Im wearing two pairs and the leggings right now. yay!!
The candy has been opened and enjoyed by our english students and I just dont know how to divy (sp?) up the cookie mixes. I would make them myself and deliver them BUT I know theyd get burned.
For New Years Eve, we bought a bottle of apricot juice because there wasnt any apple, and we had a romantic dinner of pasta. We left out the candles this time bc we were too cold to go hunt for them in the death closet. We set the alarm at 11:55 and when it woke us up, we were too toasy in bed to step out for a toast, so SR just counted down "10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1! Happy New Year!" and turned her head and fell back asleep. That was our celebration.
The next morning, we got up and spent the whole day cleaning. We were fast workers and got most of it done by 15:00 so we were able to read and catch up on things for the rest of the day. Amber asked me if its true that they throw toilets out of windows- only in Naples :)
Is it true juice is supposed to be consumed entro 4 days of opening?
Ive been drinking grape juice a sip at a time when I pass the fridge...since Slla Jones was here. I guess its never been enough to intoxicate me. But Carla poured it down the sink today and it sure wasnt juice anymore!!!
Sorella Urban
p.s. Oops, P.S.. Angela didnt get baptized. Still the law of chastity problem.
And how do I manage to write a whole email without adding something spiritual? Im a terrible missionary.
Read, pray, and go to church!
:)
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Christmas week
Ciao!
Seeing that its alot easier writing in bullet points....:
Last Wed night, we had the primary program at our house. It went well despite it being just the 8 of us, and I think each of them were at some point or other in our kitchen. Meee. (strange sound that Sicilians make that Im getting to like). Pres. Porteras family brought a pandoro (italian christmas cake) and they gave it to me to prepare- under the watchful eye of their youngest daughter, Lucrezia (Im making a list of names I definitely DO NOT want to use for my children, and Lucrezias at the top of the list!) I tore open the plastic bag around the pandoro and out fell a packet of powdered sugar. Ooops. Lucrezia was sweet enough to point out that I shouldnt have tore the bag and now "How will you put the sugar on?" Ah ha. Thats when the dormant part of my brain kicked in (Mom, "I like to use both sides of my brain" :) ) and I managed to avoid breaking the cake as I put it into a cardboard box, poured the sugar into it, and then shook it. It worked! But the best part was proving to Lucrezia that I can redeem at least some of the stupid things I do. I could just tell from her expression, "Oh, Americans arent that stupid."
Friday, Christmas Eve. We drove to the train station and seeing we had a few minutes before the Elders arrived, we walked to the beach and somehow I cut my finger open, so SR told me to wash it off in the water....I carefully approached the water and bent down, waiting for a little wave to roll back towards me, but a giant wave came instead and washed me up to my ankles. I stood there and laughed, and SR apparently got it all on video. Now I have salt marks on my new pair of shoes, so I switched to my old pair because Ive been too lazy to shine them, and ... I have mold marks. haha.
The Anziani from Trapani (one of the three points of Sicily) arrived, went to Angelas and interviewed her, ate Mexican Chef Salad burritos (Liria, Antonios sister (the man who always feeds le sorelle) was there with us and she kept suggesting what I needed to do for the salad. Like adding salt into the meat. I love how blunt I can be with people here. I was able to flat out tell her that Id made it before and knew how to make it and she didnt have to tell me how to make it (of course, in a nice way) and she understood and shut up. I think I was made to live among Sicilians. Theres really nothing I could say that would offend someone, just if I didnt eat what they give me.
When we walked into Angelas house, Liria said "I have to talk with Anz Rolland!" and pulled him into a different room. A few minutes later they emerged, and Anz R asked if he could speak with me. Liria had told him ALL of Angelas problems and said that she wasnt ready for baptism. He went ahead and interviewed her and the baptism is... still on? ... for tomorrow, but Angela needs to live the law of chastity! So maybe its not going to happen tomorrow. We dont know, and we have been trying to meet with her but she went to a different city for Christmas and yesterday when we were supposed to meet, she had to go to the emergency room for ...........drumroll..........her toe. A toenail had fallen off.
SR and I made stockings for eachother; shed always used tights because "they can fit more!" so we did. It was alot of fun carrying our stockings to our bed and taking turns opening them. We just got alot of junk food for eachother. And I bought her a thing of shaving cream so now she has no excuse. Now I just need to lock her into the bathroom or strap her into the tub. She thinks we have bed bugs (which the sister prior to us did :S) bc she feels something biting her legs- I told her to save her lamenting till AFTER the shaves to see if the bed bugs stop biting. I know its just her hairy legs.
We went to bed and I started to not feel so well..........
and Christmas was spent in our bedroom. It was killing me the thought of having just one christmas in the mission and spending it under 10 blankets, but the thought of going out wasnt appealing. We did have a lunch invite with the Purparis to eat pig head pasta, which might have played a role in my decision to not go.......
We talked with our families and then SR dressed up in a Santa outfit and sang hymns for me while tring to keep the moustache on her face.
A couple members stopped by the wish us a merry christmas and they found out I wasnt feeling too well, so on the way to church the next morning, this is how the conversation went;
Antonio (we ride with him and Liria) : "Sorella Urban, if I may be so intrusive to say... you know what you have to do for your diarrhea? Eat white rice or bananas. Actually, I dont think you should be upset over having diarrhea. I consider it a blessing when I have it because I usually have a hard time going" and this whole time is looking in the rearview mirror at me, and Lirias next to him, nodding. Who said I had diarrhea? SR hadnt said anything about why I wasnt feeling well! But that wasnt the best part.
Guess what was said over the pulpit?
"Thank you all for coming today. We are happy to see Sorella Urban with us, and hope that she can get over her upset stomach soon and that she can soon eat food without it giving her problems. (then turns and looks at me) You know what you should eat? White rice or bananas. Theyll help you get over the diarrhea. We will now sing hymn number.........."
yes. It really happened.
And I had to then stand up and go play the keyboard.
And then Daniele and Renzo and Nino, (why all men?!) each asked me a dozen times how I was doing.
Guess what Antonio handed me during English class last night? A bag of bananas. Really? Why did everyone jump to that conclusion? Oh well. And everyone has been asking me how Ive been and all I have to say is "SR made me white rice" and they all nod their head approvingly. Its easier just to go along with it. The moral of the story? Be grateful your bowel movements havent been announced from the pulpit during sacrament meeting.
After church, since we unfortunately missed out on eating pig head, we went to the Purparis and ate pig thigh lasanga. Luckily, since everyone knew quite well about my upset stomach, they didnt force me to eat anything. We then drove to their piece of land in the countryside and Vito showed us his plans of what he will do with the land. He and his wife, Lina, and their son Daniele (who brought us a bag of a green plant that looks alot like dandelions but they boil, fry, and then eat them- the last bag he brought, I boiled them and made an omelet. I cant help but feel like a cow most of the time) disappeared for a second and SR and I peed behind a rock. One of the most liberating moments of our lives. I almost felt back at Marvine, except for being in a skirt.
On Sunday night there was a little bit of drama with Francesca- she moved out of Ninos house and is now back with her "husband". Theyre still techinically married but hes under police watch becuase of the things Francesca filed against him. He had a dream that he had to go save her from her current situation, and Francesca believes him and has moved into a different house where he comes each night in the dark and in secret, to deliver some food for her.
Last night, Pres. Portera wanted to see where she lived so we went with him to her place and then she wanted to "confess" and Pres begged us not to leave him alone, so we sat on the stairs and tried to not eavesdrop while they talked. She needs to gain 4 more kilos and then shell not be considered anorexic. Whenever we are with her, we bring cookies or something and make her eat it. I love Francesca- she has the faith and humility of a child.
While we were at the track running (we found a "track" here in Mistretta that we have started going to during our lunch hour, seeing that SR is incapable of functioning at 6:30 am) we met a Mario who has met with Elders in the past and invited us to come over to meet his family. YAY! We found his record in the area book last night, and we are really excited.
Yesterday, we stopped at Lirias and she said that she and Antonio can give us rides, but now refuses to give a ride to Angela because "shes so big and heavy that she broke the motor". ?!
It makes me think---------what are some stupid things I do or say that limits me?
Now we have to find Angela a ride to church. Sonia could, but she doesnt want to come bc of Francesca.
No one else has a car.
.... MIstretta has alot of problems, but I am loving it here.
I am so excited that I have one more week with SR and then, on the 5th, Ill pick up Carla in Catania and get to serve till the end of Feb with her. A whole transfer and more!!! Im excited to spend the coldest winter months with her. hehe. What precious memories we will make here together. If I had a blast in London and that was just 10 days, I cant imagine being companions with her for 7 weeks.
On Monday, we got a delivery. THe postman pulled out a box that I thought was a new fridge- it was a package from the Riffaldis. We now have matching pjs- mines flaming orange. I feel like a mandarino in it.
Last night as I was in bed writing in my journal, I looked down and saw a giant, black spider crawling up me. I wailed and think I tossed it to SRs bed and she came out of the bathroom and we TURNED THE ROOM OVER looking for it. We couldnt find it so we moved our beds. bahaha. It reminded me of sitting on the lawn at Grandpas house with Carla and Lenora and they suddenly looked at my neck, jumped up, started screaming, and pelted off. I do not like spiders on me.
We were speaking with someone and somehow we got on the topic of names and I asked "Nerina, do you like the name Nerina?" and she got this face and shook her head. haha. Then SR said "Do you like the name Noemi?, its better, isnt it?" and they both nodded. Why grazie :)
Ok. We need to run off and go....home. I think we are going to go pack a picnic lunch, come back to santo stefano and eat lunch on the beach, and then go to Sant Agata to look for shoes for SR. Her mom sent her the UGLIST shoes. We both were horrified as we pulled them out of the box. To make her feel better, I put on brown tights with my black skirt and shoes. Thank goodness we dont run the risk of bumping into Pres Kelly here.
Vi voglio bene. Happy new year!
Sorella Urban
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
how is it gia natale?!?!
I can kick myself for forgetting my plannner- Id made a list of things I HAD to include in todays email. Ill do my best without it.
This morning we woke up early and ... put on JEANS!... walked to Ninos house and went together to his land patch. We cleared out pokey weeds and I "mowed" the lawn with a scythe. I loved it. Reminded me of Kazakhstan. Ill try attaching some pics at the end. Its been a good morning. Its my first time wearing jeans in the mission, and its quite comforting that I can still fit into them.
I had a disturbing dream that I was with Lenora and she kept complaining about her weight and I remember getting really annoyed because she didnt seem to notice that I should have been the one complaining. Haha. Apparently Lenoras been having crabby dreams about me, and Im starting to have dreams about her where I get upset. Lenora, Lenora
I cant believe I dont have my planner! I cant remember what I did yesterday, how am I supposed to remember whats happened since last Wed?!
Ok. Last Wed, we left Catania and Sorella Riffaldi and I headed back to Mistretta. Luckily, ALOT of the snow has melted and is almost gone, so we dont risk breaking our necks every time we leave the house.
Its great being back with SR. She loves Mistretta and Im starting to fear because she might convince President to take my spot and I get kicked down to her spot in Siracusa ;) The members love seeing an Italian sorella.
Guess what? Angela is getting baptized the 30th!!!! This is her 6th baptismal date but she really is going through with it this time. We really feel it. She feels it, too. I asked her why she thinks shes going to go thru with it this time, and she said that while she was sitting there, listing to us teaching her parents last week, it hit her that she cant keep putting it off. Shes taken steps to observing the law of chastity so she should be ready for her 3rd interview on Friday. She has been out of work for more than a year, and the past few days she ran out of wood; the members are WONDERFUL. They got together and pooled some money and bought lots of groceries for her and went to the forest and cut wood. Angela was in tears when they delivered it all last night. Sorella Riffaldi and I were at the point where we were clearing out our own kitchen shelves to donate to the cause but the members wouldnt have it. I love them, they are so incredibly generous and humble.
At church, we Sorelle teach young womens (the daughter of Pres. Portera) and then we teach primary (the other 2 daughters of Pres. Portera). They are putting on a Christmas program tonight at our house. I decided to make brownies for it last night, seeing that we thought wed be spending all of PDAY doing yard work, ... our oven doesnt have degrees on it. I have no idea how Sorella Miller baked banana bread, but something weird happened to the brownies and smoked our house out. So, I think even the wall paper has a permanent smell of charcoal. Maybe if I continually burn food, the members will get sick of it and decide to stop using our house for activities....now, thats an idea :) This past Sunday, as church finished and I was walking out towards the car, Francesa pulled me aside and told me my slip was showing. Slla Jones then says, "Oh yeah, I noticed when you got up to play for sacrament but I forgot to tell you". I had my skirt tucked up and my slip showing for ALL of church. All of it. Nevermind that we had a member of the stake there. Nevermind that I get up 2 during church to go to the piano. mamma mia. che figura.
Monday stands out in my mind for some reason. We decided to take the train from Santo Stefano (half hour from our house, where church is) to Palermo to have a district meeting with the Anziani and Zone Leaders. Thank goodness we left early:
9:00 am: leave house
9:05 fill up on gas
9:07 left gas station
9:07.15 heard strange noise
9:07.20 pulled to the side of the autostrada
9:08 our front tire was propio flat
9:09 finished laughing and very slowlyyyy drove the car to a gravel road
9:15 realized that neither of us knew how to change a tire. Decided to pray to get revelation in hopes of being enlightened on how to change a tire.
9:18 no vision on how car mechanics worked...so we called up Antonio and he came over and fixed the tire :) We love Antonio. He loves us.
10:00 left gravel road.
10:02 Got pulled over by police. Handed over my UT license. They looked at it, whispered to eachother, and handed it back.
10:07 I started breathing again
10:08 not more than 200 meters later, I got pulled over again by 2 other policeman. This time, they asked me to point out where my name was on the license and DOB.
10:15 Sorella Riffaldi snapped a picture of me talking to the policeman
10:16 One officer told us we needed to teach about Christ to the other.
10:17 Took off again. SR and I were soo tempted to just turn back and head home and lock ourselves in for the day. We feared what else was in store for us.
We got to the station and the next train to Palermo wasnt leaving for another 2 hours. The Anziani asked us to drive there. We did, and I have to say this. I thought driving in Armenia was bad. There is NOTHING that compares to how Sicilians drive. I dont think I should be allowed to drive for at least a year once I get back to the U.S. I dont think any officer would take my excuse of having served here as being an excuse for my bad driving.
Somehow, we missed the toll highway and we took the street that got us home at 18:30. DDM ended up being a 9-6 trip. The waste of time was painful. Im pushing towards doing DDM twice a month, not every week. We can do it over the phone if we really needed to. Otherwise, its not worth the time or the cost.
Yesterday, we had an appointment to go meet and teach for the first time a man that Sorella Miller and I had met doing house about an hour from Mistretta, in Sant Agata. We finally made it to the right street after parking the car and making it on foot, and then I called him up and asked him where he was, and he said he was at 171 on Via Nazionale. I told him we were there, and he said he was there too. He wasnt, so I jokingly said "Well, there are two streets with the same name. How are we going to find you?"
Turns out we were on the right street at the right number, just in the wrong city.
We got back in the car and drove about 20 min to the right city, and this time, he was at 171. He was the only one home so we stood at the door and taught him a few principles and we want to go back with a member, Renzo.
Renzo has been inactive for a super long time but in the time Ive been here, hes been to church every sunday and he comes to institute and Sorella Miller and I felt really good about him being the possible next branch president. Guess what? Pres Portera pulled us aside last night and said that he feels like Renzo is being prepared to the next church leader here. YAY!!!
English class is fun. Daniele, (24 y.o. young man who served a mission in Milano for 2 months and then returned to Mistretta, the nephew of Antonino and the brother of Beatrice, the 18 y.o. with 2 kids) insisted and insisted that we eat the pringles hed brought. I finally ate one to silence him but he kept at it so I had to be a little "firm" with him and then ....... he left our house and came back with a huge poinsetta for us. It is strange and something I need to get used to having people in our house. We came home and were putting our shopping away while institute was going and we were in the kitchen trying to eat something and Daniele KEPT knocking on the door and poking his head in to ask the most random questions. Finally, I had to tell him to stop asking questions and to leave us alone till English class started in an hour. He seemed to understand until there came a knock at the door no more than two minutes later.
I have to try a little harder to love Daniele than I have to with Angela :)
I just love it here. Its awesome. And times running out so I need to attach some pics.
I really had thought Id have time to write everyone Christmas letters and find a place to develop pics to send, but somehow Natale has snuck up on me. Oh well. Know that I love you all and that Im thankful for all of you and your examples.
Carla cant come down till the first week of January, so I have to call Pres today and ask him if SR can remain till after Angelas baptism on the 30th, then we will drive to Catania and spend New Years there. From what Ive heard, they launch fireworks from every balcony. Im excited to not get a wink of sleep that night! And then.... Slla Squarcia a few days later, so I think Ill just be in a threesome with the Catania Sorelle.
Now we are going to head home and get out of our muddy jeans and get the house ready for tonights program. We dont have a christmas tree, but thats ok- Sorella Riffaldi and I are going to have stockings :) maybe we will end up having to use our tights, but thats ok- theyre longer and stretchier- even better. Too bad Dad wont be around to fill them with oranges :)
I have to be honest- Im really not that excited about Christmas phone calls because Im really not sure what to say.......so please be the ones to talk or ask questions if you want to hear about anything in particular. I can just see it as being the same phonecall I made from the airport where I had just too much to say that I couldnt say anything.
I love you all. Buon Natale. Isnt it wonderful having faith in Jesus Christ- knowing that he was born to die so that we might live with our families for eternity? Heavenly Fathers plan is so detailed and perfect. It continues to astound me. Im so grateful for the people He has put in my path- Im learning alot.
2010 has been an incredible year. 2011 can be even better. Lets all set goals that will make us stretch and grow.
Sorella Urban
p.s. can someone fwd this to amanda miller?
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