Yup. Thats where we decided to go today for our Pday outing- to the leaning tower of Pisa. Somehow we were able to worm our way into Presidents heart and he gave us permission, and on we went. Its SOOO much smaller than I imagined it to be.....and then we went around and looked at ridiculous postcards and then took the hour train ride back and now we are here...emailing about our week...but I cant really think of anything to write.
I sort of want Tommy to fwd me his mission emails- what did he write in his? I feel a little guilty that this is the one connection I have with the outside world and that this is your window into my life, and I fail at painting a proper pic of it, every week.
Things here have warmed up- Florence is the hottest and coldest city in the mission; we spent just a few hours under the sun as we were admiring the tower, and its incredible how draining it is to be out in the sun! I know we will get used to it over time since we havent been exposed to this much at once.
Laurent has cancelled his baptismal date. He came to church on sunday for his baptismal interview and he decided he didnt like the idea of being tied down by a date, and there are still things he wants to sort out. Last Wednesday, Lenora and Andrew were in town and we got to meet up with them and spend most of Wed morning and night with them- it wasnt what I was expecting; I thought it would be slightly strange to be around Lenora, as a missionary, in Florence, but it was actually stranger to see her in the MTC. We all had "dinner" with Laurent, and I am so happy that they got a chance to meet someone I am working with. Laurent is such a good person. I just wish I could bring the font to him. We have the feeling that he will just randomly call us up one day and tell us he is ready, and thats what he later said he would do, so we are continuing to see him every few days, and just praying that we can help him have spiritual experiences to help him along in the conversion process.
Victor, a man who lives with a family that we are working with, has been working with the Elders and he cancelled HIS baptismal date for June 5th, so we joined forces and we are working on teaching the family as a whole, even though its almost impossible to find them all home at the same time. Its true that there is opposition in all things- I find that the better things are going, the more obstacles we face and the more the adversary works against us. The key is just to work even harder :)
Sorella Nelson had her first Russian meal with me at Lyudas on Thursday- Lyuda brought out the Kvas (gross gross GROSS russian soda) and she poured us cups and as Slla Nelson reached for hers, I gripped her leg from under the table, to warn her, and she started giggling and I, who was in the middle of teaching about Joseph Smith, started giggling and we just fed off eachother and Lyuda joined in and ....Im not sure why she laughed, but we were laughing bc of how awful the Kvas was and how funny it was that we had to drink cup after cup of it, but Lyuda joined in and we all had a really random good laugh during the second lesson, and then we stopped laughing and resumed teaching. The strangest and most random thing. (side note: Slla Nelson managed to drink it without coughing and spluttering). What we DID get out of that visit was a can of sardines under oil from Ukraine. We placed it on our desk and looked lovingly at it every day till Mon finally arrived, and then we stowed it away in my bag and whisked it off to DDM- a meeting with the District Leaders, the 2 Anziani who work in Florence 2 with us. Slla Nelson, who was in charge of treat bucket, pulled out the can, a loaf of bread and butter, and we instructed them to butter a slice of bread. I started taking pictures because they had the most curious expression on their faces, and then we had Anz Coombs open up the can and Anz Neilsen gave a gasp and plugged his nose. It was a pretty bonding experience- I never thought I would ever be capable of eating a mini fish whole, mini bones and all, not to mention TAIL, but we all ate up and had a good fishy snack, THEN we pulled out the real treat, apple crisp, and washed down the remaining fishy taste.
The mission office called me this morning to let me know that my permesso di soggiorno is ready for pickup. Slla Nelson still doesnt have hers and she is almost ready to go home- I really am being blessed with little miracles every day. Oh. Lenora brought me lots of clothes and I am bewildered even at myself to confess that I actually prefer Jody dresses! They are light and I dont have to wear layers, and I think Ill mainly wear them during the hot summer months, much to the disappointment of the other sisters. (They dont think its fashionable or cute, and I have to agree with them, BUT.)
One of the miracles of this week was that we not only taught a record number of 10 LESSONS! but that half of them, 5 of them, were with members present!!!
I am seeing more and more of Dad in me with each day. The other day, I pulled out a map of Firenze that we count on, and I started patching it up with pieces of tape in hopes to make it last a little longer. I ended up laminating the entire thing with tape, and then I thought of Dad and his collection of laminated maps. I am half tempted to send him our map once I get transferred out of Firenze, so that he can add it to his collection :)
I consider myself so lucky to be here. All the other missionaries have no idea when they will be able to ever return and visit the people they have helped, and I know that I can see them basically whenever I make it to Italy, which hopefully wont be too many years inbetween. I am making lots and lots of friends here and establishing relationships that will last into the life after. I have the best companion. We actually get along too well. Maybe I shouldnt say the following, but I will to demonstrate how its like: we end each nightly planning session with a prayer, and both of us looked at eachother and rather than kneeling onto the freezing marble floor (which is by the way, h-a-r-d. Marble is incredibly hard!) we both, as if having discussed it, climbed up onto our wood desks. During president interviews yesterday, Pres Acerson asked Slla Nelson by what she meant when she said that we are having a lot of fun together. She put it something like "well, most wouldnt laugh if they were soaking wet and freezing and then someone just called to cancel the appt they were headed to, right? we do. We just take every situation and circumstance and laught about it."
And its true. Its such a blessing to be serving with someone who has a postive attitude. Getting along with your companion makes all the difference. Communication is so so very imporant, and as we find ourselves being asked for counsel and advise to save marriages, etc., the only thing we can really stress to them is how important the Gospel is. If Christ is at the center, theres no going wrong. That doesnt mean there wont be problems, but no problem will be unresolvable. (am I making sense?)
Thats that. Buona settimana, and I hope we all look for opportunities to serve others- we really have no idea what our neighbor is going through. Who knows, they might just be praying for someone to smile at them or reach out a helping hand.
Sorella Urban
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Is it sinful to be having this much fun?
Before I forget, Dad- the camera charger works! Sorella Nelson took it upon herself to figure it all out and it charged all night and I have a lovely, functioning camera that took uh.... 2 pics today. Ill work on taking more pics :)
Lenora and Andrew are in town! While we were teaching English last night, Lenora called and was lost, so I gave directions to whoever lent them the phone, and they managed to find me on a street corner. We dragged over the 2 suitcases they brought for me over to our apartment thats close to the church, and then we took off in a hurry to take L and A back to their hotel and make it back to our house before too late.
Seeing that today is our preparation day, we went this morning to their hotel and mapped out their plans for the day, and we started out by taking them to Ponte Vecchio and then to Santa Croce Church. Sorella Nelson and I were a little flustered because they jokingly asked us why we were so hesitant about getting around (I asked directions every block) ........ we thought theyd understand that we arent here in Firenze as tourists! Getting around to the sites is just as new to us as it is to them; we talk to people all day, not admire statues!
It started to pour just as their first tour started; we left them and went back to our apt to change and grab an umbrella and now we are here at the net cafe for a moment more before we are headed to go meet up with Lenora and Andrew at the Statue of David, where we will head over to meet Laurent. He is taking us to the cooking school restaurant where he is studying at, and there, over dinner, we will teach him the law of chastity :) I am so excited for Lenora to meet Laurent- He and his family are the ones I would try to come see everytime I make it back to Italy.
This week has been amazing like all the others. On Sunday, as I was preparing for church, I was thinking about Katheryn. We thought that we couldnt set a baptismal date for her because she needs to come to church at least 3 times, and her works doesnt permit it. Then the thought came into my mind that we need to show our faith, and THEN the Lord steps in and performs miracles. So, we taught her the planned lesson and then we whipped out a calendar and invited her to be baptized. She seemed a little taken aback, but she had a huge smile on her face at the same time. She is getting her documents on June 7th (which will allow her to find a new job) AND she has to find a sponsor to help her find a job, so we gave her 3 weeks from June 7th to allow her to come to church 3 times, and so her baptismal date is July 3rd and shell be confirmed on July 4th. It WILL take a miracle for it to work, but Ether 12:6 :)
On Tuesday night, we got a phonecall informing us that I had to be in Rome on Thursday for "3 month conference" (really, my 1 1/2 month conference) so I packed up and took off for Rome with Sorella Naslund. Im guessing they had me come early because by the time my 3 month mark rolls around, the Missions will have changed. I spent all day Thursday and most of Friday at the Mission Presidents home there in Rome, and it was really fun passing all the familiar stops on the train. "And this is where Mom and I come to shop.........and THIS is where we get off to go here, and here...." So strange at the same time :) Termini brought back memories of Amber and I running to make trains, and Carla and I :) Ah. I have had the best life so far.
Over one of the meals, President made a comment about me remaining in Florence over July, and winked.....so Im taking that as my final closure to my fate of being bumped up into the North Mission. Yay :) He came for Zone Conference a few days ago, and his last talk was about attitute and how we should accept whatever we are asked to do. He was lovingly reprimanding us- apparently, there have been pleas to not be sent to Milan.
I am excited for whatever comes my way, be it Rome, be it Milan. There is so much work to do wherever I go. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has allowed me to be a part of this great work and to witness the change in peoples lives when they accept Christ as their Savior.
I love and appreciate Sorella Nelson. Its true that every companion is very different, and Ive only had 2! We are helping eachother be better missionaries.
The past 24 hours have been so humbling. When Lenora arrived with 2 suitcases, and while I was unpacking and putting stuff away, it just hit me how much Im being looked after. I arrived with nothing but the clothes on my back, and now I have more clothes than most of the Sorelle. I almost would ask Lenora to take back the stuff- I really find myself overwhelmed with more than 2 options for outfits! Last night as I was trying to fall asleep, I was thinking of all the things that have happened to make this all work out. How detailed Heavenly Fathers plan is for each of us- HE knew that Lenora would be coming to Italy, and that it would be possible for her to bring stuff for me. If I had gone to Milan, she wouldnt have made it up to there. My passport was returned to me, which allowed me to remain in the country. Ah! How wonderful it all is! And although I would almost feel more comfortable going back to the way it was, I am grateful for all the things people pitched in to send and provide for me. I was like a child on Chritmas morning- I even have body splash! How did I go from wondering if I could get my hands on a toothbrush, to having this much stuff! Its great but Im also fearing of becoming prideful. The past month and a half have been incredible, even in pink puffed-sleeves jody dresses. I will almost miss the dress :)
on Saturday, we went to Arezzo to teach a part member family. It was raining and we got lost at one point, so Sorella Nelsons hanging onto my arm and we huddle into a doorway to call the family and ask directions. The mother instructs us to stay where we were and that Wilman, the father, would come get us. I dont know WHY that would give us the idea that he was coming in his car, but it did, so we scrutinized each car that came our way .... but no Wilman......... about 15 minutes later, (still huddled under the umbrella) Sorella Nelson pointed out a man on a bike and said something about him being Wilman. We got a good laugh and then..... .... Wilman pulled up, on his BIKE. Before I could even get a greeting out, I burst out laughing and Sorella Nelson didnt help. He was so funny to look at - on his bike, in the rain, trying to hold a lopsided umbrella over his head. It was just funny, especially since we were set on him arriving in his car. We ended up being next to his house, so he just rode his bike and beckoned for us to follow. So much fun. Sorella Nelson even got a picture. AND THEN, we went to the station later that night, and a man was talking on his phone, BUT he was using his LEFT arm to hold it to his RIGHT ear, but his arm wasnt across his chest and over, it was raised up over his head and down. The strangest and most uncomfortable position. It was picture worthy too.
I added in my weekly letter to the President the sentence thats in the subject box. It really is a joy to work with Sorella Nelson, even though I feel like strangling her at times because we usually laugh at inappropriate times, like when Anziano Reschke accidentally buzzed his hair in the front (a LARGE chunk was bald) and he gave a training to us all. How are you supposed to keep a straight face and take someone seriously who is half bald? I tried to block the image of a mother rat attacking his head to build a nest out of my mind, but it wasnt easy with Sorella Nelson buried into my shoulder, snickering. Sorella Nelson dies the transfer after this one, so I am hoping that I will get to keep her till she does go.
I love being a missionary. I hope I dont say it too annoyingly often, but I can never say it enough. The days are weeks and the weeks are days, but time is sadly ticking by and I dont want it to. Does anyone have any connection to someone who would allow me to extend my mission for another 13 years, and then we can discuss my options? :)
Sorella Urban
Lenora and Andrew are in town! While we were teaching English last night, Lenora called and was lost, so I gave directions to whoever lent them the phone, and they managed to find me on a street corner. We dragged over the 2 suitcases they brought for me over to our apartment thats close to the church, and then we took off in a hurry to take L and A back to their hotel and make it back to our house before too late.
Seeing that today is our preparation day, we went this morning to their hotel and mapped out their plans for the day, and we started out by taking them to Ponte Vecchio and then to Santa Croce Church. Sorella Nelson and I were a little flustered because they jokingly asked us why we were so hesitant about getting around (I asked directions every block) ........ we thought theyd understand that we arent here in Firenze as tourists! Getting around to the sites is just as new to us as it is to them; we talk to people all day, not admire statues!
It started to pour just as their first tour started; we left them and went back to our apt to change and grab an umbrella and now we are here at the net cafe for a moment more before we are headed to go meet up with Lenora and Andrew at the Statue of David, where we will head over to meet Laurent. He is taking us to the cooking school restaurant where he is studying at, and there, over dinner, we will teach him the law of chastity :) I am so excited for Lenora to meet Laurent- He and his family are the ones I would try to come see everytime I make it back to Italy.
This week has been amazing like all the others. On Sunday, as I was preparing for church, I was thinking about Katheryn. We thought that we couldnt set a baptismal date for her because she needs to come to church at least 3 times, and her works doesnt permit it. Then the thought came into my mind that we need to show our faith, and THEN the Lord steps in and performs miracles. So, we taught her the planned lesson and then we whipped out a calendar and invited her to be baptized. She seemed a little taken aback, but she had a huge smile on her face at the same time. She is getting her documents on June 7th (which will allow her to find a new job) AND she has to find a sponsor to help her find a job, so we gave her 3 weeks from June 7th to allow her to come to church 3 times, and so her baptismal date is July 3rd and shell be confirmed on July 4th. It WILL take a miracle for it to work, but Ether 12:6 :)
On Tuesday night, we got a phonecall informing us that I had to be in Rome on Thursday for "3 month conference" (really, my 1 1/2 month conference) so I packed up and took off for Rome with Sorella Naslund. Im guessing they had me come early because by the time my 3 month mark rolls around, the Missions will have changed. I spent all day Thursday and most of Friday at the Mission Presidents home there in Rome, and it was really fun passing all the familiar stops on the train. "And this is where Mom and I come to shop.........and THIS is where we get off to go here, and here...." So strange at the same time :) Termini brought back memories of Amber and I running to make trains, and Carla and I :) Ah. I have had the best life so far.
Over one of the meals, President made a comment about me remaining in Florence over July, and winked.....so Im taking that as my final closure to my fate of being bumped up into the North Mission. Yay :) He came for Zone Conference a few days ago, and his last talk was about attitute and how we should accept whatever we are asked to do. He was lovingly reprimanding us- apparently, there have been pleas to not be sent to Milan.
I am excited for whatever comes my way, be it Rome, be it Milan. There is so much work to do wherever I go. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has allowed me to be a part of this great work and to witness the change in peoples lives when they accept Christ as their Savior.
I love and appreciate Sorella Nelson. Its true that every companion is very different, and Ive only had 2! We are helping eachother be better missionaries.
The past 24 hours have been so humbling. When Lenora arrived with 2 suitcases, and while I was unpacking and putting stuff away, it just hit me how much Im being looked after. I arrived with nothing but the clothes on my back, and now I have more clothes than most of the Sorelle. I almost would ask Lenora to take back the stuff- I really find myself overwhelmed with more than 2 options for outfits! Last night as I was trying to fall asleep, I was thinking of all the things that have happened to make this all work out. How detailed Heavenly Fathers plan is for each of us- HE knew that Lenora would be coming to Italy, and that it would be possible for her to bring stuff for me. If I had gone to Milan, she wouldnt have made it up to there. My passport was returned to me, which allowed me to remain in the country. Ah! How wonderful it all is! And although I would almost feel more comfortable going back to the way it was, I am grateful for all the things people pitched in to send and provide for me. I was like a child on Chritmas morning- I even have body splash! How did I go from wondering if I could get my hands on a toothbrush, to having this much stuff! Its great but Im also fearing of becoming prideful. The past month and a half have been incredible, even in pink puffed-sleeves jody dresses. I will almost miss the dress :)
on Saturday, we went to Arezzo to teach a part member family. It was raining and we got lost at one point, so Sorella Nelsons hanging onto my arm and we huddle into a doorway to call the family and ask directions. The mother instructs us to stay where we were and that Wilman, the father, would come get us. I dont know WHY that would give us the idea that he was coming in his car, but it did, so we scrutinized each car that came our way .... but no Wilman......... about 15 minutes later, (still huddled under the umbrella) Sorella Nelson pointed out a man on a bike and said something about him being Wilman. We got a good laugh and then..... .... Wilman pulled up, on his BIKE. Before I could even get a greeting out, I burst out laughing and Sorella Nelson didnt help. He was so funny to look at - on his bike, in the rain, trying to hold a lopsided umbrella over his head. It was just funny, especially since we were set on him arriving in his car. We ended up being next to his house, so he just rode his bike and beckoned for us to follow. So much fun. Sorella Nelson even got a picture. AND THEN, we went to the station later that night, and a man was talking on his phone, BUT he was using his LEFT arm to hold it to his RIGHT ear, but his arm wasnt across his chest and over, it was raised up over his head and down. The strangest and most uncomfortable position. It was picture worthy too.
I added in my weekly letter to the President the sentence thats in the subject box. It really is a joy to work with Sorella Nelson, even though I feel like strangling her at times because we usually laugh at inappropriate times, like when Anziano Reschke accidentally buzzed his hair in the front (a LARGE chunk was bald) and he gave a training to us all. How are you supposed to keep a straight face and take someone seriously who is half bald? I tried to block the image of a mother rat attacking his head to build a nest out of my mind, but it wasnt easy with Sorella Nelson buried into my shoulder, snickering. Sorella Nelson dies the transfer after this one, so I am hoping that I will get to keep her till she does go.
I love being a missionary. I hope I dont say it too annoyingly often, but I can never say it enough. The days are weeks and the weeks are days, but time is sadly ticking by and I dont want it to. Does anyone have any connection to someone who would allow me to extend my mission for another 13 years, and then we can discuss my options? :)
Sorella Urban
Friday, May 14, 2010
Mosquitoes...
No, I will not talk about mosquitoes, seeing thats basically what I always talk about, and I only have a split second before we need to run off to an appt with Laurent (!)
I love Sorella Nelson and hope we spend her last two transers together.
Tomorrow, I am going to Rome for conference and ........ thats about all thats going on.
We are working towards 2 more baptisms. The work goes on and it is such a blessing to be a part of it.
I love you all and hope that you are all happy and safe
Sorella Urban
I love Sorella Nelson and hope we spend her last two transers together.
Tomorrow, I am going to Rome for conference and ........ thats about all thats going on.
We are working towards 2 more baptisms. The work goes on and it is such a blessing to be a part of it.
I love you all and hope that you are all happy and safe
Sorella Urban
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Transfer 2
Buon Giorno!!!!!
So. Yesterday night President Acerson FINALLY decided to call us and let us know what our fate was- Sorella Hughes guessed right- my new companion will be Sorella Nelson, from Seattle, WA too. She is serving in Sardegna now and will catch a boat tonight to Rome and will arrive in Florence tomorrow evening. So I am excited for the many adventures that lay ahead :) She dies in 2 transfers, so my guess is that we will be together for 2 transfers, and she will die in the Milan Mission. Tommy, I am happy to hear how excited you are, but its not 100% that I will be in the Milan Mission :) Its just about 99.9% sure.
I asked President, and he said that I can call whichever day, as long as it doesnt interfere with other things, so I am thinking that since you wont be home all day on Sunday Mom, that I will either try calling Sat or Monday, and keep trying until you pick up..... Dad, I am not sure when youll be in the office, so I think I will try the same thing, and if its not a good time to talk, (I have an hour) then we can work something out for when I can call back.
This week has improved with the mosquitoes- I have spent a few nights in the kitchen, bent over the kitchen table with a pillow and trying to get some sleep that way, but the Sorella lent us some mosquito repellent thing that has worked wonders and I have moved out of the kitchen. Sorella Hughes has been living in a cloud the past week, and hasnt been sleeping well. She leaves tomorrow morning, and last night she packed and got her things together and it was just strange for all of us. I almost feel like I am at the end of my mission- its been good seeing her go throught this though, because its making me want to work everyday like it is my last, because time does go by quickly and before I know it, itll be my turn to pack my bags. I am trying to make every moment count.
Today, cinqo di mayo (I forgot how to spell or say it!) marks the day MARGARITA IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I made carrot cake, banana bread, and zucchini bread to take tonight- this is such a special day for us all. In a few hours, we are going to Laurents home to see his whole family. Last week, he invited us to where he is taking a cooking course, and today he will cook for us and we will provide an American dessert. He is making so much progress, despite how hard it is for him to accept the Atonement. How wonderful it is that we can be forgiven of our sins, and that we dont have to carry that burden on our shoulders because He has done it for us. It is painful to see him not fully realize how to utilize the Atonement, and to continually suffer for his past wrongs. I hope I can always take full advantage of what He has done for me; I am realizing more than ever now how good it is to have memory. He forgets our sins when we repent, but He allows us to remember them so that we can learn from them, not to carry the guilt.
The work goes on. There is so much to do, and we are slowly chipping away at all the potential there is. I am so grateful for His continual guidance and blessings.
Have a wonderful week. Remember His Sacrifice and make it intimately personal.
Joshua 1:9 and Mark 5:36 :)
Sorella Urban
So. Yesterday night President Acerson FINALLY decided to call us and let us know what our fate was- Sorella Hughes guessed right- my new companion will be Sorella Nelson, from Seattle, WA too. She is serving in Sardegna now and will catch a boat tonight to Rome and will arrive in Florence tomorrow evening. So I am excited for the many adventures that lay ahead :) She dies in 2 transfers, so my guess is that we will be together for 2 transfers, and she will die in the Milan Mission. Tommy, I am happy to hear how excited you are, but its not 100% that I will be in the Milan Mission :) Its just about 99.9% sure.
I asked President, and he said that I can call whichever day, as long as it doesnt interfere with other things, so I am thinking that since you wont be home all day on Sunday Mom, that I will either try calling Sat or Monday, and keep trying until you pick up..... Dad, I am not sure when youll be in the office, so I think I will try the same thing, and if its not a good time to talk, (I have an hour) then we can work something out for when I can call back.
This week has improved with the mosquitoes- I have spent a few nights in the kitchen, bent over the kitchen table with a pillow and trying to get some sleep that way, but the Sorella lent us some mosquito repellent thing that has worked wonders and I have moved out of the kitchen. Sorella Hughes has been living in a cloud the past week, and hasnt been sleeping well. She leaves tomorrow morning, and last night she packed and got her things together and it was just strange for all of us. I almost feel like I am at the end of my mission- its been good seeing her go throught this though, because its making me want to work everyday like it is my last, because time does go by quickly and before I know it, itll be my turn to pack my bags. I am trying to make every moment count.
Today, cinqo di mayo (I forgot how to spell or say it!) marks the day MARGARITA IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I made carrot cake, banana bread, and zucchini bread to take tonight- this is such a special day for us all. In a few hours, we are going to Laurents home to see his whole family. Last week, he invited us to where he is taking a cooking course, and today he will cook for us and we will provide an American dessert. He is making so much progress, despite how hard it is for him to accept the Atonement. How wonderful it is that we can be forgiven of our sins, and that we dont have to carry that burden on our shoulders because He has done it for us. It is painful to see him not fully realize how to utilize the Atonement, and to continually suffer for his past wrongs. I hope I can always take full advantage of what He has done for me; I am realizing more than ever now how good it is to have memory. He forgets our sins when we repent, but He allows us to remember them so that we can learn from them, not to carry the guilt.
The work goes on. There is so much to do, and we are slowly chipping away at all the potential there is. I am so grateful for His continual guidance and blessings.
Have a wonderful week. Remember His Sacrifice and make it intimately personal.
Joshua 1:9 and Mark 5:36 :)
Sorella Urban
Thursday, April 29, 2010
ciao!
This will be super quick, the Elders from Pistoia just called and need Sorella Hughes to sing and record a song in church in an hour, so we are leaving in a few short minutes.
First, Ciao! I find myself writing in another Jody dress, but this one doesnt have puffed sleeves. Slla Hughes was sick at the beginning of last week, and I am now, but seem to have it much worse than she did, but I am pulling through. I just wish I had some cranberries.....
The zanzare are faithfully keeping me company and the pigeons have laid another 2 eggs but I think Sorella Hughes is too busy to care. Yay!
Mom, I get to call on May 9th I think, so what time should I call? Missionaries with divorced parents get to call both, so I wrote President and asked him if I could call you, and Im waiting to hear back. Im pretty sure he will let me, so can you please send me your phone number and what time I can call?
Amber, I got your package- we spent all day Thursday going to retrieve it and it seriously was in the middle of nowhere in a storage unit, but after much sweat and blisters (sort of not true...but true) we got the package and wrapped our arms joyfully around it. Awesome. THANK Gma Spalding for the clothes- they are great and very cute. AND for the choc bunnies- I ate mine almost immediately. Very good.
This week has been full of different things- its finally nice outside, and .....we fasted with Laurent over the weekend about his baptismal date, May 29, and we kneeled in prayer together at the close of it and his first words were "May 29th is the day!" So its the day!!! Margarita and Marina are being baptized a week from today!!!! Giving up smoking is something incredible hard, but it can be done, and apparently grapefruit helps. Interesting!
Mom, thanks for the letters. I actually can recieve letters at my Firenze address, so I give you permission to write me there, but Id rather the majority be sent to Rome. I was very happy to hear from Tommy and Dera, and that things are going fwd with their move to Udine. Please dont tell them that they told me too late to not spread the news. AGHHH!!! (Dera and TOmmy, dont kill me! But Im not going to mention who I may have said it to, bc ......then you really will fly over and kill me. PERDONAMI!!!)
Sorella Hughes and I have alot to do this week. She wants to say goodbye to alot of families and investigators, and next Wed we want to go see some sights. I saw Ponte Vecchio from a bus window the other day; while we walk around, especially around the Duomo, tourists will stop us and introduce themselves as members and ask where we are serving. Their response is always "Youre the Florence missionaries?! Do you know how lucky you are to be here?! " We really are lucky. This is a beautiful city and the people are wonderful.
We were able to help a Croatian refugee return home. She has been in the Rifredi train station for more than a month, with 10 suitcases containing all of her belongings. She didnt speak Italian very well so we are really not sure what her story is, but she reminded me alot of the police escapee in Kaz who took refuge under our bush for a few days. All I could think of was what you had done Mom, so I made her some tuna fish sandwiches and got some stuff together and gave it to her. Her name is Snezhna, and this morning we poked our heads into the train station, and she and her stuff was gone, so we are very happy that she made it out of here.
How is Nonna, is she still in the hospital? I am so happy that she is tranquilla and scherzando. I find myself missing the time I spent with her- it was actually pretty fun at times. (like taking one way streets in the opposite direction) :)
Sorella Hughes had her first Russian meal at Lyudas house on Thursday. It wasnt the best tasting meal Ive had here, but its been definitely my favorite. We had borsch with smetana (sour cream) and the flying saucer cookies that Dad used to always get, and KBAC! I gripped Slla Hughes knee under the table as I drank my first cup of it, and I thought back to when Mark refused to even take a sip of it. I feel remorse for ever giving him a hard time for not drinking it- it seriously is the nastiest stuff ever created. Lyuda sent us home with a bottle so we gave it to our district Elders as their mystery gift, and they told us that they hadnt even sipped it. Just opening the bottle and smelling it was enough for them. ha!
Marmota, can you give me the pizza recipe? And whats the purpose of baking soda? I find myself often in the mood to bake, but since we dont have much time, I limit myself to one experiment a week, and last week I made peach cobbler. Slla Hughes and I will try to make popcorn balls with the weird easter marshamallows that you sent.
For next week, I will not be writing. Slla Hughes has to pack and wrap stuff up, so just a heads up. Mom, if you could hear from Dad about his phone number, and then send it to me (yes, to my Firenze address ..Im sorry I keep contradicting myself) then that would be great.
I am slowly improving my Italian.... its a terrible TERRIBLE thing when someone will ask how long weve been here and then point and ask why I speak better if Ive only been here for a month. I want to sink thru the earth. I almost consciously have to purposefully make mistakes so that it doesnt happen. Oh mamma mia. What else? Im printing off the emails I recieved, (time) and if there are any pressing questions, then I will find time to write a note before pday ends. (oh! Amber, whats the pin to my new card?)
Thank you for all that you do for me. For your prayers, support, letters, and packages. I am so so so grateful to be here. And to think that there was ever a time that I was debating about to come or not! AGH! There is so much for me to work and improve on, its almost overwhelming, but I am so thankful for the patience and love that Heavenly Father has for me. Its great to stand at the feet of the Statue of David and see the awe that the crowd has at Michelangelos creations, and to see the same thing in the faces of those we speak to. Laurent has changed in his countenance- he has loosened up and become easier on himself, and its a humbling and inspiring thing to see. The knowledge the Gospel gives us changes us and motivates us to become better. I am so sorry for Andreas loss, and for those who are going through tough times now. During sacrament meeting last week, I was sitting next to Snezhna, the Croatian refugee, and the speakers were talking about eternal families and she started sobbing. I wrapped my arm around her and I found myself becoming emotional- she thinks it would be a beautiful concept but that it cant be true, and Im not sure if I was sad about her not believing it or sad for the things she has been through. I have so many blessing that I never appreciate fully or show my gratitude as I should. Being here is making me feel even more indebted to the Lord and for His tender mercies. I know He is protecting and watching over me, and gives me the strength to lift us those whose arms are hanging low. I hope that I can always be someones angel; to better the life of everyone I come in contact with.
Grazie mille. Vi voglio bene. Buona settimana, and keep your heads held high.
Sorella Urban
First, Ciao! I find myself writing in another Jody dress, but this one doesnt have puffed sleeves. Slla Hughes was sick at the beginning of last week, and I am now, but seem to have it much worse than she did, but I am pulling through. I just wish I had some cranberries.....
The zanzare are faithfully keeping me company and the pigeons have laid another 2 eggs but I think Sorella Hughes is too busy to care. Yay!
Mom, I get to call on May 9th I think, so what time should I call? Missionaries with divorced parents get to call both, so I wrote President and asked him if I could call you, and Im waiting to hear back. Im pretty sure he will let me, so can you please send me your phone number and what time I can call?
Amber, I got your package- we spent all day Thursday going to retrieve it and it seriously was in the middle of nowhere in a storage unit, but after much sweat and blisters (sort of not true...but true) we got the package and wrapped our arms joyfully around it. Awesome. THANK Gma Spalding for the clothes- they are great and very cute. AND for the choc bunnies- I ate mine almost immediately. Very good.
This week has been full of different things- its finally nice outside, and .....we fasted with Laurent over the weekend about his baptismal date, May 29, and we kneeled in prayer together at the close of it and his first words were "May 29th is the day!" So its the day!!! Margarita and Marina are being baptized a week from today!!!! Giving up smoking is something incredible hard, but it can be done, and apparently grapefruit helps. Interesting!
Mom, thanks for the letters. I actually can recieve letters at my Firenze address, so I give you permission to write me there, but Id rather the majority be sent to Rome. I was very happy to hear from Tommy and Dera, and that things are going fwd with their move to Udine. Please dont tell them that they told me too late to not spread the news. AGHHH!!! (Dera and TOmmy, dont kill me! But Im not going to mention who I may have said it to, bc ......then you really will fly over and kill me. PERDONAMI!!!)
Sorella Hughes and I have alot to do this week. She wants to say goodbye to alot of families and investigators, and next Wed we want to go see some sights. I saw Ponte Vecchio from a bus window the other day; while we walk around, especially around the Duomo, tourists will stop us and introduce themselves as members and ask where we are serving. Their response is always "Youre the Florence missionaries?! Do you know how lucky you are to be here?! " We really are lucky. This is a beautiful city and the people are wonderful.
We were able to help a Croatian refugee return home. She has been in the Rifredi train station for more than a month, with 10 suitcases containing all of her belongings. She didnt speak Italian very well so we are really not sure what her story is, but she reminded me alot of the police escapee in Kaz who took refuge under our bush for a few days. All I could think of was what you had done Mom, so I made her some tuna fish sandwiches and got some stuff together and gave it to her. Her name is Snezhna, and this morning we poked our heads into the train station, and she and her stuff was gone, so we are very happy that she made it out of here.
How is Nonna, is she still in the hospital? I am so happy that she is tranquilla and scherzando. I find myself missing the time I spent with her- it was actually pretty fun at times. (like taking one way streets in the opposite direction) :)
Sorella Hughes had her first Russian meal at Lyudas house on Thursday. It wasnt the best tasting meal Ive had here, but its been definitely my favorite. We had borsch with smetana (sour cream) and the flying saucer cookies that Dad used to always get, and KBAC! I gripped Slla Hughes knee under the table as I drank my first cup of it, and I thought back to when Mark refused to even take a sip of it. I feel remorse for ever giving him a hard time for not drinking it- it seriously is the nastiest stuff ever created. Lyuda sent us home with a bottle so we gave it to our district Elders as their mystery gift, and they told us that they hadnt even sipped it. Just opening the bottle and smelling it was enough for them. ha!
Marmota, can you give me the pizza recipe? And whats the purpose of baking soda? I find myself often in the mood to bake, but since we dont have much time, I limit myself to one experiment a week, and last week I made peach cobbler. Slla Hughes and I will try to make popcorn balls with the weird easter marshamallows that you sent.
For next week, I will not be writing. Slla Hughes has to pack and wrap stuff up, so just a heads up. Mom, if you could hear from Dad about his phone number, and then send it to me (yes, to my Firenze address ..Im sorry I keep contradicting myself) then that would be great.
I am slowly improving my Italian.... its a terrible TERRIBLE thing when someone will ask how long weve been here and then point and ask why I speak better if Ive only been here for a month. I want to sink thru the earth. I almost consciously have to purposefully make mistakes so that it doesnt happen. Oh mamma mia. What else? Im printing off the emails I recieved, (time) and if there are any pressing questions, then I will find time to write a note before pday ends. (oh! Amber, whats the pin to my new card?)
Thank you for all that you do for me. For your prayers, support, letters, and packages. I am so so so grateful to be here. And to think that there was ever a time that I was debating about to come or not! AGH! There is so much for me to work and improve on, its almost overwhelming, but I am so thankful for the patience and love that Heavenly Father has for me. Its great to stand at the feet of the Statue of David and see the awe that the crowd has at Michelangelos creations, and to see the same thing in the faces of those we speak to. Laurent has changed in his countenance- he has loosened up and become easier on himself, and its a humbling and inspiring thing to see. The knowledge the Gospel gives us changes us and motivates us to become better. I am so sorry for Andreas loss, and for those who are going through tough times now. During sacrament meeting last week, I was sitting next to Snezhna, the Croatian refugee, and the speakers were talking about eternal families and she started sobbing. I wrapped my arm around her and I found myself becoming emotional- she thinks it would be a beautiful concept but that it cant be true, and Im not sure if I was sad about her not believing it or sad for the things she has been through. I have so many blessing that I never appreciate fully or show my gratitude as I should. Being here is making me feel even more indebted to the Lord and for His tender mercies. I know He is protecting and watching over me, and gives me the strength to lift us those whose arms are hanging low. I hope that I can always be someones angel; to better the life of everyone I come in contact with.
Grazie mille. Vi voglio bene. Buona settimana, and keep your heads held high.
Sorella Urban
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Still Alive!
Ciao!
Yes, I am still alive :) I love it here. I am finally starting to sometimes walk infront of Slla Hughes- being a greenie has been a very humbling experience. I have always been more of the leader type, and the first few weeks were very strange having no idea where we were going or where we were at. After the first day, I gave up asking and just followed. Now I feel much more confident and aware of thing... YAY!
The training on Friday went great. Slla Hughes and I practiced and practiced and it really paid off. We spent all of Friday at the church and I met alot of other missionaries and.... we were the first to present our training. It was exactly 40 minutes, miracle. I started us off, and there was a mosquito buzzing around my face and finally I smacked it and said at the end of my intro of who I am, I said something about "and I always have mosquitoes following me" and they called it the ice breaker of the year. Phew. At least I got some to loosen up. We were then followed by two other sets of Elders, and compared to theirs, I would have to say that ours was much more ... animated. We think everyone was very sincere when they expressed how well we did. So we are very happy- our fast paid off too. Moral of the story: do the work, put in the effort, and put OFF! on before presenting, and things will be ok.
Seeing we dont have much time, Ill touch on the highlights. (This morning we went to visit a woman who has lost everything, and she lives in the train station near our home...and the Elders asked us to go with them but Im a little confused with the whole thing. They havent even called President and yet, they are blowing ahead with their plans to teach her the lessons. I know its important to spiritually nourish, but right now she is wondering where her next meal will come from. Her story is alot like Ainuras, and I cant remember what we did for that....but Ive suggested we call President, but everyone seems against that. Hmmm.)
The day after I became Sorella Hughes comp, we set goals for our transfer. We set May 5 as the date that we would have a baptism, seeing that it was the last day she has here. We thought Laurent was our closest to baptism, the father of the family from Cameroon. Last pday, he said he would be baptized on Nov 29th, his birthday. We saw him yesterday, and we expressed our concern for the risk of rigressing if he waited that long, and that there is NO reason why he cant be baptized now. I shared with him a story, of a little boy who sat on his fathers lap and the father told him that he was sending him out on a trip, and althought the trip would be long and difficult, he knew that it would be the best thing for his son to do. It would give him experience and wisdom, and the father asked him to just remember how much he loved his son and to always choose the right. I related the young boy to Laurent- how I know that we all sat on our Fathers lap and he introduced us to the plan of happiness. We all chose and accepted His plan once: we told Laurent that this is something he has just forgotten and needs help remembering. After much more, he agreed that theres no reason to wait that long, so we whipped out a calendar and I pointed to May 29th (his half birthday) and said that we felt that that was the date he needed to be baptized and he nodded and said he needed our help along the way. So, we will be fasting every saturday with him for the next 5 saturdays, each fast for a specific thing for him. He asked how long we fasted for, and I thought 24 hours would deter him, but his reaction was "Only 24 hours? Ive done one for 9 days for my church" and my response was "9 days?! Im sure grateful Im Mormon!" Sorella Hughes isnt that optimistic bc she was so disappointed in his refusal of May 5th, but we know that miracles happen, even from solely the faith of others. He might lack the faith, but our prayers and righteous desires are heard and answered.
As for having a baptism on May 5th, I am so excited to announce that it will be for Margarita!!! The woman from Colombia, the one we are doing a chocolate fast for. She has smoked 2 since the 21 of March, and her sister who is a chain smoker, who never showed any desire to, wants to quit now because of the excitement and preparations we are making for Margaritas baptism. It was a miracle- we went to their house last thursday, and she asked what day she should be baptized. She thought of the 1st of May, but its a holiday and there wont be much transport...in the end, the 5th was the day that worked best for us all. Truly an answer to our prayers. We are so happy for her and for the influence for good that she will be. Itll be Sorella Hughes 5th baptism, so it will be a wonderful way to end the mission.
Talking about mosquitoes earlier reminds me: I woke up Friday morning (a little nervous because Sorella Hughes was SOO nervous and it was getting contagious) and I look in the mirror to find what? A mosquito bite on my eyelid!!! Ay ay ay. Ive become master mosquito killer in the apartment. I am now so skillful, that therell be a mosq flying at knee heighth and I will put my foot up and step down quick and kill it! Sorella Hughes discovered 2 MORE EGGS...which are now sitting in a little basket in our hall...waiting to be taken out. It kills me to hear the mom on the balcony, ranting. Once Sllla Hughes leaves, Im afraid that therell be a whole flock on the balcony since I dont have the heart to move them. Can you imagine how hard it would be to lay an egg? Just the fact that she can is enough to give me that admiration and respect for poor mamma pigeon. She deserves to keep them if she can come out with them.
We visited Lyuda, our Russian busy lady. She was very hostile at the beginning- standing with her arms crossed, as if "get out in one minute or else" but slowly she warmed up...after I invited HER to sit in HER chair. (aghhh awkward).... and by the end of getting to know her (She allowed us 15 min before we had to go) she gave us chocolate and some weird ukrainian marshmallows. I warned slla Hughes that the choc was probably alcoholic, and I was right. bahaha. But she is really nice and we have a return appointment for tomorrow. Another russian lady that I met on the bus, Vera,...I called and she was busy at the moment, so Ill try her again. We have to order more Russian materials from the office today which is a very good thing! Theres a Russian woman the Elders in Pistoia met, and she doesnt speak and Italian... but the distance is too far for me to go up, so I dont know what their game plan is.
Sorella Naslund e Maero moved in last Wednesday- its been interesting. I only have from 9:30 to 10:30 to write in my journal or to read my scriptures, and they are TALKERS. Which is nice, but also....very limiting. The biggest difference Ive noticed about having other roommates is how fast the toilet paper goes!
:)
One day a few weeks ago, I was wearing a Jody dress and wrote in my journal "Only for the Lord would I be doing this". I had on a pink, floral print dress with puffed short sleeves.
Sorella Maero told me her first impression of me was "Oh. Shes the type who wears Jody dresses." (and I thought back to which dress I was wearing...and it was the best of the bunch! Agh!) Can you imagine what I must have looked like in a PINK dress with PUFFED SLEEVES?!
Dad, I saw a pheasant and thats about the only wildlife Ive seen.......and thats when we were outside in a village to go to correlation. No foxes, but maybe you can send me the one you saw?
The weather is going back and forth; we are still in sweaters and scarves, but an American family was at church on Sunday, and while I was translating for them, they said that Utah had a big snowstorm before they left. Im glad Im here! The Spirit does warm a soul. Sorella Hughes and I have often taught on park benches, and although it may be super cold and windy, I feel warm inside and dont care about my lavendar goosebumpy legs. (speaking of purple- Grandma, you would love Florence. I have always liked purple, but Florence is changing that. I dont think I ever want to see or own anything purple after my mission- theres just too much of it!)
I am so happy. I really was born for the mission life. I am healthy and am never very tired when the alarm goes off in the morning. Sorella Hughes has never been too sick on her mission, and scoffed at something shes been told by others that Sorelle fall apart on the 18th month mark of their mission. Hers was last thursday, but it hit her Tuesday. its something real! We think its the influenze though, and we spent a few hours back at the apartment so that she could rest.....and I experimented in the kitchen......could have possibly had something to do with mustart...............or cream cheese.....
Transfer predictions are due this coming tuesday, which are alot like the sheets for March Madness that you fill out for which teams will win. All the Elders are really into transfer predictions- we have to guess whos being transferred, new companionships, and who the new assistants and zone leaders will be. Everyones guess is still that I will be training, but ..... we shall see. There are plenty of wonderful, well-qualified sorelle out there who can train! ;)
Have a wonderful week. Look for the good in everyone and everything; attitude really makes the difference. Thank you for all your prayers towards having a baptism on May 5th- the way it worked our makes it obvious to us that the Lords hand is in all that we do.
The time is drawing to an end with Sorella Hughes. The addition of the new Sisters has really bonded us even more and I am already missing her and she hasnt left yet. She is a wonderful missionary and such a good example for me. I hope I can be a fraction of what she is like. I am slowly but surely working on becoming the person I have always wanted to be. There is much to do and I am still a very rough stone, but change feels and IS so beautiful. Seeing the changes that Laurent and Margarita and so many others are making...what examples! What faith and strength. If anything, I am learning more from them than they are from me.
Amanda, a Peruvian girl about 20 years old, is someone we meet with every Sunday (last week was in McDonalds) and we asked her if shed read 3 Nefi 11 and she pulled out her scriptures and had not only read much more, but she had written notes and summaries on what shed read! PLUS, we extended the invite to be baptized, and she accepted!!!
Miracles are happening everywhere and every day!
Sorella Urban
Yes, I am still alive :) I love it here. I am finally starting to sometimes walk infront of Slla Hughes- being a greenie has been a very humbling experience. I have always been more of the leader type, and the first few weeks were very strange having no idea where we were going or where we were at. After the first day, I gave up asking and just followed. Now I feel much more confident and aware of thing... YAY!
The training on Friday went great. Slla Hughes and I practiced and practiced and it really paid off. We spent all of Friday at the church and I met alot of other missionaries and.... we were the first to present our training. It was exactly 40 minutes, miracle. I started us off, and there was a mosquito buzzing around my face and finally I smacked it and said at the end of my intro of who I am, I said something about "and I always have mosquitoes following me" and they called it the ice breaker of the year. Phew. At least I got some to loosen up. We were then followed by two other sets of Elders, and compared to theirs, I would have to say that ours was much more ... animated. We think everyone was very sincere when they expressed how well we did. So we are very happy- our fast paid off too. Moral of the story: do the work, put in the effort, and put OFF! on before presenting, and things will be ok.
Seeing we dont have much time, Ill touch on the highlights. (This morning we went to visit a woman who has lost everything, and she lives in the train station near our home...and the Elders asked us to go with them but Im a little confused with the whole thing. They havent even called President and yet, they are blowing ahead with their plans to teach her the lessons. I know its important to spiritually nourish, but right now she is wondering where her next meal will come from. Her story is alot like Ainuras, and I cant remember what we did for that....but Ive suggested we call President, but everyone seems against that. Hmmm.)
The day after I became Sorella Hughes comp, we set goals for our transfer. We set May 5 as the date that we would have a baptism, seeing that it was the last day she has here. We thought Laurent was our closest to baptism, the father of the family from Cameroon. Last pday, he said he would be baptized on Nov 29th, his birthday. We saw him yesterday, and we expressed our concern for the risk of rigressing if he waited that long, and that there is NO reason why he cant be baptized now. I shared with him a story, of a little boy who sat on his fathers lap and the father told him that he was sending him out on a trip, and althought the trip would be long and difficult, he knew that it would be the best thing for his son to do. It would give him experience and wisdom, and the father asked him to just remember how much he loved his son and to always choose the right. I related the young boy to Laurent- how I know that we all sat on our Fathers lap and he introduced us to the plan of happiness. We all chose and accepted His plan once: we told Laurent that this is something he has just forgotten and needs help remembering. After much more, he agreed that theres no reason to wait that long, so we whipped out a calendar and I pointed to May 29th (his half birthday) and said that we felt that that was the date he needed to be baptized and he nodded and said he needed our help along the way. So, we will be fasting every saturday with him for the next 5 saturdays, each fast for a specific thing for him. He asked how long we fasted for, and I thought 24 hours would deter him, but his reaction was "Only 24 hours? Ive done one for 9 days for my church" and my response was "9 days?! Im sure grateful Im Mormon!" Sorella Hughes isnt that optimistic bc she was so disappointed in his refusal of May 5th, but we know that miracles happen, even from solely the faith of others. He might lack the faith, but our prayers and righteous desires are heard and answered.
As for having a baptism on May 5th, I am so excited to announce that it will be for Margarita!!! The woman from Colombia, the one we are doing a chocolate fast for. She has smoked 2 since the 21 of March, and her sister who is a chain smoker, who never showed any desire to, wants to quit now because of the excitement and preparations we are making for Margaritas baptism. It was a miracle- we went to their house last thursday, and she asked what day she should be baptized. She thought of the 1st of May, but its a holiday and there wont be much transport...in the end, the 5th was the day that worked best for us all. Truly an answer to our prayers. We are so happy for her and for the influence for good that she will be. Itll be Sorella Hughes 5th baptism, so it will be a wonderful way to end the mission.
Talking about mosquitoes earlier reminds me: I woke up Friday morning (a little nervous because Sorella Hughes was SOO nervous and it was getting contagious) and I look in the mirror to find what? A mosquito bite on my eyelid!!! Ay ay ay. Ive become master mosquito killer in the apartment. I am now so skillful, that therell be a mosq flying at knee heighth and I will put my foot up and step down quick and kill it! Sorella Hughes discovered 2 MORE EGGS...which are now sitting in a little basket in our hall...waiting to be taken out. It kills me to hear the mom on the balcony, ranting. Once Sllla Hughes leaves, Im afraid that therell be a whole flock on the balcony since I dont have the heart to move them. Can you imagine how hard it would be to lay an egg? Just the fact that she can is enough to give me that admiration and respect for poor mamma pigeon. She deserves to keep them if she can come out with them.
We visited Lyuda, our Russian busy lady. She was very hostile at the beginning- standing with her arms crossed, as if "get out in one minute or else" but slowly she warmed up...after I invited HER to sit in HER chair. (aghhh awkward).... and by the end of getting to know her (She allowed us 15 min before we had to go) she gave us chocolate and some weird ukrainian marshmallows. I warned slla Hughes that the choc was probably alcoholic, and I was right. bahaha. But she is really nice and we have a return appointment for tomorrow. Another russian lady that I met on the bus, Vera,...I called and she was busy at the moment, so Ill try her again. We have to order more Russian materials from the office today which is a very good thing! Theres a Russian woman the Elders in Pistoia met, and she doesnt speak and Italian... but the distance is too far for me to go up, so I dont know what their game plan is.
Sorella Naslund e Maero moved in last Wednesday- its been interesting. I only have from 9:30 to 10:30 to write in my journal or to read my scriptures, and they are TALKERS. Which is nice, but also....very limiting. The biggest difference Ive noticed about having other roommates is how fast the toilet paper goes!
:)
One day a few weeks ago, I was wearing a Jody dress and wrote in my journal "Only for the Lord would I be doing this". I had on a pink, floral print dress with puffed short sleeves.
Sorella Maero told me her first impression of me was "Oh. Shes the type who wears Jody dresses." (and I thought back to which dress I was wearing...and it was the best of the bunch! Agh!) Can you imagine what I must have looked like in a PINK dress with PUFFED SLEEVES?!
Dad, I saw a pheasant and thats about the only wildlife Ive seen.......and thats when we were outside in a village to go to correlation. No foxes, but maybe you can send me the one you saw?
The weather is going back and forth; we are still in sweaters and scarves, but an American family was at church on Sunday, and while I was translating for them, they said that Utah had a big snowstorm before they left. Im glad Im here! The Spirit does warm a soul. Sorella Hughes and I have often taught on park benches, and although it may be super cold and windy, I feel warm inside and dont care about my lavendar goosebumpy legs. (speaking of purple- Grandma, you would love Florence. I have always liked purple, but Florence is changing that. I dont think I ever want to see or own anything purple after my mission- theres just too much of it!)
I am so happy. I really was born for the mission life. I am healthy and am never very tired when the alarm goes off in the morning. Sorella Hughes has never been too sick on her mission, and scoffed at something shes been told by others that Sorelle fall apart on the 18th month mark of their mission. Hers was last thursday, but it hit her Tuesday. its something real! We think its the influenze though, and we spent a few hours back at the apartment so that she could rest.....and I experimented in the kitchen......could have possibly had something to do with mustart...............or cream cheese.....
Transfer predictions are due this coming tuesday, which are alot like the sheets for March Madness that you fill out for which teams will win. All the Elders are really into transfer predictions- we have to guess whos being transferred, new companionships, and who the new assistants and zone leaders will be. Everyones guess is still that I will be training, but ..... we shall see. There are plenty of wonderful, well-qualified sorelle out there who can train! ;)
Have a wonderful week. Look for the good in everyone and everything; attitude really makes the difference. Thank you for all your prayers towards having a baptism on May 5th- the way it worked our makes it obvious to us that the Lords hand is in all that we do.
The time is drawing to an end with Sorella Hughes. The addition of the new Sisters has really bonded us even more and I am already missing her and she hasnt left yet. She is a wonderful missionary and such a good example for me. I hope I can be a fraction of what she is like. I am slowly but surely working on becoming the person I have always wanted to be. There is much to do and I am still a very rough stone, but change feels and IS so beautiful. Seeing the changes that Laurent and Margarita and so many others are making...what examples! What faith and strength. If anything, I am learning more from them than they are from me.
Amanda, a Peruvian girl about 20 years old, is someone we meet with every Sunday (last week was in McDonalds) and we asked her if shed read 3 Nefi 11 and she pulled out her scriptures and had not only read much more, but she had written notes and summaries on what shed read! PLUS, we extended the invite to be baptized, and she accepted!!!
Miracles are happening everywhere and every day!
Sorella Urban
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Dov"e primavera?!
The work may not be flourishing here, but mosquitoes sure are. One night last week, we returned home to find the light in our room on, and my window wide open!!! I woke up from my hands burning and slowly since then, Ive killed off a few. Now, as we are sitting here writing our emails, we have to pause to kill those who stray past us. Agh!
Much has happened this week! Forgive me if I repeat myself, I cant remember what Ive mentioned or not.......but Sorella (smack) Hughes and I ARE training this Friday, and we have slowly formulated a game plan. Plan C is to simply throw up our hands and run out of the building. Later, if President asks us what that was all about, we can just tell him that we recieved a very strong impression to go visit a family; he cant get after us for that, can he?
Last Thursday, right (smack) after Pday, we went to go see Jill, an American who is 9 months pregnant and lives here with her Italian husband. She is the YWs president and we are trying to work more with the members...so our purpose was to see what we could do for the young women. It didnt really turn out that way. Sorella Hughes has been kind enough to not fill me in on all the news about the Florence 1 and 2 branches, but Jill is the gossip queen of the branch and filled us in. (I would put in a frowney face here if I knew how). Briefly put, Florence has the reputation of being the most messed up = the branches needing the most help. There was a time when there was just one ward, but the conflict and drama that happened caused 2 branches to be made, thus hoping to result in some peace and unity among the members who dont want to murder eachother. We walked out of there a little dazed - sorella Hughes knew all this but now I knew it, and although it was a little disheartening to see all the work and prog (I just KILLED HIM!!! finally.) ress that needs to happen......it is motivational for me. I know Florence may be in shambles, but think of all the changes that can happen! After talking to Jill (well, she really did all the talking), I am even happier that I get to serve here. It means that theres alot on my plate- the missionaries who get called here have something specific to do, and I am going to do my best to do it. On Sunday, I was more attentive to how the members interact with eachother, and I noticed a little of what was talked about. Florence 1 and 2 meet at the same time, they just have different classes and we cover both wards. One Sunday we will go to one, and the next Sunday we go to another. Its a little hard- with having the worst memory, I havent been able to remember many of their names, but its a work in progress :)
Has anyone ever taught the Restoration in a super crowded McDonalds? That was us this past Sunday.
Margarita has had 2 cigarettes since April 24th!!! She is doing so well, despite that her sister is a chain smoker and smokes infront of her. We are still doing our chocolate fast, although she seemed surprised to hear that we were still doing it. Um...if it means nothing to you, then why are we abstaining from chocolate?! Some days are incredibly hard- it seems that every good food has chocolate in some form! oi oi. We get to break out fast on the 24th...we will hold on faithfully. I cant imagine how hard it is to give something up like smoking or coffee. Margarita is my hero
As for the family from Cameroon- Vittorine is no longer accepting our phone calls, and only aknowledges the fact when we show up to teach her husband, Laurent. She is still very closed off and her response to everything we teach her is still "we have that in my church too"....and the restoration- she just nods and says its nice.
We saw Laurent yesterday afternoon, and as we huddled on a park bench to teach him about how we can recognize the spirit, he said he is ok with setting a baptismal date so that it gives him something to work towards. I cried, I was so happy! Sorella Hughes and past companions have set many many baptismal dates and Laurent has never accepted them. We have been praying to have a baptism on May 5th, and I wanted to extend that date as the invite, but Sorella Hughes gave me "the look" so I kept my mouth shut and he said that he would pray with a date and we agreed to call him this morning to find out.
On our way here, we prayed and called him and....... he said that he has chosed to get baptized on his birthday. "Laurent, when is your birthday?" His response "November 29th". No! Sorella Hughes told him that he is ready and doesnt need to wait that long, and that we will talk about it later. Now we regret not giving him a specific date to pray about, but we will extend that invite to him tomorrow.
Lyuda, the Russian woman I met on the bus last week, has agreed to have us over tomorrow, so we are excited for that. I am struggling to remember church vocab, but I think reading a chapter or two in the Russian Book of Mormon will help me recall some things. I cant remember many hymns, so I am going to teach Sorella Hughes the first verse of I am a Child of God and I think itll warm her up a little to hear us sing for her in Russian. At least, hearing Sorella Hughes will. She has a really good voice- during zone singing on Sundays, when she steps out of the group to approach someone, the female voice input plummets drastically, so I have made it a point to secretly watch Sorella Hughes" gaze and when she is about to step out to walk to them, I will scurry and approach the person so that she can keep singing. Its worked out nicely so far :)
What makes tea ... tea? Sorella Hughes has never had tea because she grew up thinking it was against the word of wisdom, but I told her I have had tea and we had some fruit tea this morning and she looked over all the ingredients and is confused... and we are wondering what is it that makes tea against the word of wisdom. Caffeine? Can we eat chocolate simply bc of the low amount of caffeine in it? Hmmm.
We got a call from President Acerson Monday night. He asked us if our apartment had the capacity to have 4 missionaries. We told him that it was, and he said he would call us back Tuesday. He did, to inform us that the Livorno Sorella are moving in with us either today, tomorrow, or Friday. Sorella Hughes reaction was nothing short of wailing and gnashing of teeth, (once she was off the phone of course), ....... this will be an adventure! She has never lived with more than her companion, and she mentioned something last night: Sister Urban, when you first arrived, you warned me that things happen to people out of the extraordinary that normally dont happen, and its because of your presence. The first thing that came to my mind of something that has never happened to me was getting a fine for a ticket on a train, and it happened with you. (an invesitagtor we were with had forgotten to validate her ticket, so we all pitched in to pay the fine) I beleive you when you say that you bring about weird events".
The sisters are Sorella Maero and Sorella Naslund, who I was with in the MTC. The Elders guess is that I will train next transfer (What?! Dont I get a follow up trainer?!) but Sorella Hughes thinks that when she leaves, I will be in a threesome with them. Sorella Hughes was companions with Sorella Maero for 3 transers in Rome, and hasnt said much about her experience so that I can formulate my own first impression, .....but....all I can say is ....that it will be an adventure. This too shall pass, basically :) I now eat my words for when I said in the MTC that I love Sorella Naslund, but I am grateful that I am not her companion. Ha! It will be good. We spent last night moving S Hughes stuff into our room (all her clothes) and I cleaned up the kitchen and made space for their stuff. Using the bathroom will be interesting, seeing that we only have an hour to get ready.
This past week, when we were going over to Margaritas, we thought it would be nice to bring over some flowers so we stepped into a florist and got some crysanthemums, and the lady helping us asked what color of wrap we wanted, and we hesitated for a moment because we were fine with simply just the flowers, and I said we could have transparent but she insisted we pick a color so we told her she could pick it, and Sorella Hughes chose gold for the ribbon. Voila! Purple flowers, gold ribbon, and PINK wrap. It looked TERRIBLE. I tried not to snarkle the entire time that she was wrapping it, AND to make it even more hilarious, she seriously tied on a ribbon that had 6 feet of length on each side of the bow. She even made TWO BOWS! and ran scissors down it to curl them. It really looked like something I would carry around on never-catch-me-with day. We thanked her and made it to the corner before we turned to eachother and busted. We took off the pink wrap and altered the ribbon several times before we just decided to tear it all off. It looked SO much better. Were we the ones who had gone to school for this? We were a little confused......but it was a fun experience. Not to mention that we had asked her to cut the stems (the flowers seriously stood to my waist) and she obliged and cut off less than a finger width off. There I was on the bus, carrying these flowers that looked like mini trees, with gold ribbon flowing off of them and getting in everyones way on the bus. aghhhh... fun. In fact, it was so weird looking that I actually sacrificed some of my cameras battery to take a pic of Sorella Hughes with it.
To celebrate (or mourn) our last supper, I am making us mexican chef salad today. Grazie a mamma for the makings, and I would have you know that we dived into a box of cheezits for comfort since we couldnt turn to chocolate, once we found out about the sorelle moving in. ha. Oh my. I cant wait for next week to tell you how the first week has been!!! It took a few hours to get the packages (the notice had no number or address on it, and we finally traced it to this one post office in the centro) and I got another notice a few days ago. Same story...so we are going to wait to see if they have added anything to the next notice so that we can go trace it. A sweet, kind reminder that all packages and letters, ALL, go to the mission home. Thanks Mamma for sending me proof of your love, but I feel embarassed when I get mail and she doesnt. I think thats why its a rule- so that theres more unity in a companionship. One of her comps would spend home-time on her bed, going thru her scrapbook and listening to tapes that her parents would send her. I cant imagine how annoying that would be, so I dont want to do the same. Thanks again for the letters and packages- we have neatly stored the goodies in the bottom of my closet so that we can track its progress in diminishing :)
Dad, I loved your story. I am glad you didnt pass out and made it to the door, and feel your shame in having to explain yourself. My first Sunday, I sat next to a family, not knowing if they were members or not, and started talking to them. He later introduced himself as Pres Acersons counselor, and LATER, Sorella Acerson called to ask if she could get my anything, and to mention that he had told them how I had sat with them and talked about the Book of Mormon. I honestly dont remember doing that, but it seemed to have left a good impression. ba. The general vibe I get from the fellow missionaries is that Pres Acerson is intimidating and Sorella Acerson is sweet but constantly judging your appearance. I hope that is not the case, and I dont think it is, because I have had breakfast with them in our pjs. Or maybe I have just spent more time with them than what is normal.
The quote of the week: Anziano Reschke, upon walking into the room for our district meeting on Monday, saw me and exclaimed: "When did you get a new sweater?!"
I was wrong in thinking that others wouldnt notice if I wore a dark navy blue sweater for 3 weeks in a row. My latest purchase was a salmon sweater, and everyone complimented me on how they like the added color to my outfit, at least from that it was been. Black tights, black shoes, black shirt and skirt, and a dark navy sweater. I really do look like a nun!
I dont know the status on the coat or if I am even getting one from Lenora or Mom....but I still need to get an umbrella and will get around to it someday. The past week has been terrible weather, but todays showing signs of hope. Maybe Florence will see Spring this year after all.
For Zone Conference on Friday, I think they might as well just call it the "Sorella Urban show". We are giving the training, I am sharing my testimony as the new missionary, singing in a group to record a few songs for the Acersons sound track for when they leave, reciting Il Scopo "My purpose", ...and I know Im forgetting something. We are just waiting for a phonecall to tell us that we are also in charge of buying and preparing the sandwiches for lunch. I am a little nervous to train, even more so because Sorella Hughes is freaking out at how she doesnt feel qualified to train. Imagine how I feel!! I know that once this is over, any ideas that the Elders had of me training so soon will be squashed.
I need to wrap this up and look up some stuff to integrate into our training presentation. I cant describe how happy I am to be here. Maybe its because I havent been out that long and havent had much experience, but I havent had any rollercoaster days. Every day is a great day, and sometimes there are days less glorious than others, but there is never such a thing as a bad day. I am grateful that the sun is out and for the warmth that it brings, and it is a constant reminder of how that is just the same with the Gospel and the love our Heavenly Father has for each of us. I know that He has gone before me to prepare the way, and I am trying to do my best to qualify for this special calling and work that He has for me. How wonderful it is that it is spring! Jesus Christ really lives, and how great is His work.
Thanks for all your support, love and prayers.
A prossima settimana-
Sorella Urban
Buon Compleanno to Marmota, Anita, e Carla!
Much has happened this week! Forgive me if I repeat myself, I cant remember what Ive mentioned or not.......but Sorella (smack) Hughes and I ARE training this Friday, and we have slowly formulated a game plan. Plan C is to simply throw up our hands and run out of the building. Later, if President asks us what that was all about, we can just tell him that we recieved a very strong impression to go visit a family; he cant get after us for that, can he?
Last Thursday, right (smack) after Pday, we went to go see Jill, an American who is 9 months pregnant and lives here with her Italian husband. She is the YWs president and we are trying to work more with the members...so our purpose was to see what we could do for the young women. It didnt really turn out that way. Sorella Hughes has been kind enough to not fill me in on all the news about the Florence 1 and 2 branches, but Jill is the gossip queen of the branch and filled us in. (I would put in a frowney face here if I knew how). Briefly put, Florence has the reputation of being the most messed up = the branches needing the most help. There was a time when there was just one ward, but the conflict and drama that happened caused 2 branches to be made, thus hoping to result in some peace and unity among the members who dont want to murder eachother. We walked out of there a little dazed - sorella Hughes knew all this but now I knew it, and although it was a little disheartening to see all the work and prog (I just KILLED HIM!!! finally.) ress that needs to happen......it is motivational for me. I know Florence may be in shambles, but think of all the changes that can happen! After talking to Jill (well, she really did all the talking), I am even happier that I get to serve here. It means that theres alot on my plate- the missionaries who get called here have something specific to do, and I am going to do my best to do it. On Sunday, I was more attentive to how the members interact with eachother, and I noticed a little of what was talked about. Florence 1 and 2 meet at the same time, they just have different classes and we cover both wards. One Sunday we will go to one, and the next Sunday we go to another. Its a little hard- with having the worst memory, I havent been able to remember many of their names, but its a work in progress :)
Has anyone ever taught the Restoration in a super crowded McDonalds? That was us this past Sunday.
Margarita has had 2 cigarettes since April 24th!!! She is doing so well, despite that her sister is a chain smoker and smokes infront of her. We are still doing our chocolate fast, although she seemed surprised to hear that we were still doing it. Um...if it means nothing to you, then why are we abstaining from chocolate?! Some days are incredibly hard- it seems that every good food has chocolate in some form! oi oi. We get to break out fast on the 24th...we will hold on faithfully. I cant imagine how hard it is to give something up like smoking or coffee. Margarita is my hero
As for the family from Cameroon- Vittorine is no longer accepting our phone calls, and only aknowledges the fact when we show up to teach her husband, Laurent. She is still very closed off and her response to everything we teach her is still "we have that in my church too"....and the restoration- she just nods and says its nice.
We saw Laurent yesterday afternoon, and as we huddled on a park bench to teach him about how we can recognize the spirit, he said he is ok with setting a baptismal date so that it gives him something to work towards. I cried, I was so happy! Sorella Hughes and past companions have set many many baptismal dates and Laurent has never accepted them. We have been praying to have a baptism on May 5th, and I wanted to extend that date as the invite, but Sorella Hughes gave me "the look" so I kept my mouth shut and he said that he would pray with a date and we agreed to call him this morning to find out.
On our way here, we prayed and called him and....... he said that he has chosed to get baptized on his birthday. "Laurent, when is your birthday?" His response "November 29th". No! Sorella Hughes told him that he is ready and doesnt need to wait that long, and that we will talk about it later. Now we regret not giving him a specific date to pray about, but we will extend that invite to him tomorrow.
Lyuda, the Russian woman I met on the bus last week, has agreed to have us over tomorrow, so we are excited for that. I am struggling to remember church vocab, but I think reading a chapter or two in the Russian Book of Mormon will help me recall some things. I cant remember many hymns, so I am going to teach Sorella Hughes the first verse of I am a Child of God and I think itll warm her up a little to hear us sing for her in Russian. At least, hearing Sorella Hughes will. She has a really good voice- during zone singing on Sundays, when she steps out of the group to approach someone, the female voice input plummets drastically, so I have made it a point to secretly watch Sorella Hughes" gaze and when she is about to step out to walk to them, I will scurry and approach the person so that she can keep singing. Its worked out nicely so far :)
What makes tea ... tea? Sorella Hughes has never had tea because she grew up thinking it was against the word of wisdom, but I told her I have had tea and we had some fruit tea this morning and she looked over all the ingredients and is confused... and we are wondering what is it that makes tea against the word of wisdom. Caffeine? Can we eat chocolate simply bc of the low amount of caffeine in it? Hmmm.
We got a call from President Acerson Monday night. He asked us if our apartment had the capacity to have 4 missionaries. We told him that it was, and he said he would call us back Tuesday. He did, to inform us that the Livorno Sorella are moving in with us either today, tomorrow, or Friday. Sorella Hughes reaction was nothing short of wailing and gnashing of teeth, (once she was off the phone of course), ....... this will be an adventure! She has never lived with more than her companion, and she mentioned something last night: Sister Urban, when you first arrived, you warned me that things happen to people out of the extraordinary that normally dont happen, and its because of your presence. The first thing that came to my mind of something that has never happened to me was getting a fine for a ticket on a train, and it happened with you. (an invesitagtor we were with had forgotten to validate her ticket, so we all pitched in to pay the fine) I beleive you when you say that you bring about weird events".
The sisters are Sorella Maero and Sorella Naslund, who I was with in the MTC. The Elders guess is that I will train next transfer (What?! Dont I get a follow up trainer?!) but Sorella Hughes thinks that when she leaves, I will be in a threesome with them. Sorella Hughes was companions with Sorella Maero for 3 transers in Rome, and hasnt said much about her experience so that I can formulate my own first impression, .....but....all I can say is ....that it will be an adventure. This too shall pass, basically :) I now eat my words for when I said in the MTC that I love Sorella Naslund, but I am grateful that I am not her companion. Ha! It will be good. We spent last night moving S Hughes stuff into our room (all her clothes) and I cleaned up the kitchen and made space for their stuff. Using the bathroom will be interesting, seeing that we only have an hour to get ready.
This past week, when we were going over to Margaritas, we thought it would be nice to bring over some flowers so we stepped into a florist and got some crysanthemums, and the lady helping us asked what color of wrap we wanted, and we hesitated for a moment because we were fine with simply just the flowers, and I said we could have transparent but she insisted we pick a color so we told her she could pick it, and Sorella Hughes chose gold for the ribbon. Voila! Purple flowers, gold ribbon, and PINK wrap. It looked TERRIBLE. I tried not to snarkle the entire time that she was wrapping it, AND to make it even more hilarious, she seriously tied on a ribbon that had 6 feet of length on each side of the bow. She even made TWO BOWS! and ran scissors down it to curl them. It really looked like something I would carry around on never-catch-me-with day. We thanked her and made it to the corner before we turned to eachother and busted. We took off the pink wrap and altered the ribbon several times before we just decided to tear it all off. It looked SO much better. Were we the ones who had gone to school for this? We were a little confused......but it was a fun experience. Not to mention that we had asked her to cut the stems (the flowers seriously stood to my waist) and she obliged and cut off less than a finger width off. There I was on the bus, carrying these flowers that looked like mini trees, with gold ribbon flowing off of them and getting in everyones way on the bus. aghhhh... fun. In fact, it was so weird looking that I actually sacrificed some of my cameras battery to take a pic of Sorella Hughes with it.
To celebrate (or mourn) our last supper, I am making us mexican chef salad today. Grazie a mamma for the makings, and I would have you know that we dived into a box of cheezits for comfort since we couldnt turn to chocolate, once we found out about the sorelle moving in. ha. Oh my. I cant wait for next week to tell you how the first week has been!!! It took a few hours to get the packages (the notice had no number or address on it, and we finally traced it to this one post office in the centro) and I got another notice a few days ago. Same story...so we are going to wait to see if they have added anything to the next notice so that we can go trace it. A sweet, kind reminder that all packages and letters, ALL, go to the mission home. Thanks Mamma for sending me proof of your love, but I feel embarassed when I get mail and she doesnt. I think thats why its a rule- so that theres more unity in a companionship. One of her comps would spend home-time on her bed, going thru her scrapbook and listening to tapes that her parents would send her. I cant imagine how annoying that would be, so I dont want to do the same. Thanks again for the letters and packages- we have neatly stored the goodies in the bottom of my closet so that we can track its progress in diminishing :)
Dad, I loved your story. I am glad you didnt pass out and made it to the door, and feel your shame in having to explain yourself. My first Sunday, I sat next to a family, not knowing if they were members or not, and started talking to them. He later introduced himself as Pres Acersons counselor, and LATER, Sorella Acerson called to ask if she could get my anything, and to mention that he had told them how I had sat with them and talked about the Book of Mormon. I honestly dont remember doing that, but it seemed to have left a good impression. ba. The general vibe I get from the fellow missionaries is that Pres Acerson is intimidating and Sorella Acerson is sweet but constantly judging your appearance. I hope that is not the case, and I dont think it is, because I have had breakfast with them in our pjs. Or maybe I have just spent more time with them than what is normal.
The quote of the week: Anziano Reschke, upon walking into the room for our district meeting on Monday, saw me and exclaimed: "When did you get a new sweater?!"
I was wrong in thinking that others wouldnt notice if I wore a dark navy blue sweater for 3 weeks in a row. My latest purchase was a salmon sweater, and everyone complimented me on how they like the added color to my outfit, at least from that it was been. Black tights, black shoes, black shirt and skirt, and a dark navy sweater. I really do look like a nun!
I dont know the status on the coat or if I am even getting one from Lenora or Mom....but I still need to get an umbrella and will get around to it someday. The past week has been terrible weather, but todays showing signs of hope. Maybe Florence will see Spring this year after all.
For Zone Conference on Friday, I think they might as well just call it the "Sorella Urban show". We are giving the training, I am sharing my testimony as the new missionary, singing in a group to record a few songs for the Acersons sound track for when they leave, reciting Il Scopo "My purpose", ...and I know Im forgetting something. We are just waiting for a phonecall to tell us that we are also in charge of buying and preparing the sandwiches for lunch. I am a little nervous to train, even more so because Sorella Hughes is freaking out at how she doesnt feel qualified to train. Imagine how I feel!! I know that once this is over, any ideas that the Elders had of me training so soon will be squashed.
I need to wrap this up and look up some stuff to integrate into our training presentation. I cant describe how happy I am to be here. Maybe its because I havent been out that long and havent had much experience, but I havent had any rollercoaster days. Every day is a great day, and sometimes there are days less glorious than others, but there is never such a thing as a bad day. I am grateful that the sun is out and for the warmth that it brings, and it is a constant reminder of how that is just the same with the Gospel and the love our Heavenly Father has for each of us. I know that He has gone before me to prepare the way, and I am trying to do my best to qualify for this special calling and work that He has for me. How wonderful it is that it is spring! Jesus Christ really lives, and how great is His work.
Thanks for all your support, love and prayers.
A prossima settimana-
Sorella Urban
Buon Compleanno to Marmota, Anita, e Carla!
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