29 September 2010
Hello!
You have a date for my homecoming? That's weird...What am I speaking on?
Yeah, Alex is going to be home really soon. His parents are picking him up, but he'll be speaking in his ward on Halloween. I sent a letter to his house today, that was weird. The address is sooo much shorter.
Well, this has been a good week, although it's weird because we still have no investigators that we're seeing, we're talking to tons and tons of people but if they don't listen then you can talk at them all day and it doesn't make a difference. Last Wednesday night we basically just meandered around centro (we got to take our pday hours at night since we spent the morning at the questura) and got gelato. We talked to a man on Lungomare who told us over and over that he wasn't on drugs, just nervous. Methinks thou dost protest too much?
We went and talked to Carlotta again, and gave her a Book of Mormon. It was good. She really seems to want to understand. However, it is so much easier to teach people, I've discovered, when they actually know what they believe. She knows she's Catholic, and that she has a Bible, but she didn't know that there was an Old and a New Testament in her Bible. Seriously? We read Bible stories all the TIME growing up, what do these people do with their children? Actually the fact that seven year olds can't write their own name is beyond me as well.
We saw Patrizia. She's doing well. It was actually cool because in correlazione on Friday Andrea Di Pietro told us that he had talked to her home teachers and they said they've noticed a difference in her. That was awesome. She is like a completely different person. She's still difficult but from blank stares to good friends is a huge change. I'm excited about that.
I hate that it's illegal to smoke inside but they still do it anyway.
Thursday night we went to see the Mazzolari family in Lama and we don't have a map of Lama so we got a little lost. Slla Mazzolari came to pick us up, luckily, so we just waited at the bus stop and talked to this little old lady who thinks we should go home and get married. All the old people say that. We had a good lesson with the Mazzolari, they're great. Good good people. They watched "The Errand of Angels" in some stake meeting a couple of weeks ago and SM LOVED it and cried through the whole thing.
Friday we had correlation, really good, and then we ran over to see Sorella Bargelloni. That was good. She opened up a little bit more and was honest--the other Sorelle thought her husband wasn't allowing her to come to church, she told us that she just isn't ready yet. So we'll help her to get ready. She's a sweet lady.
Umm, basically nobody wants to see us but we had a good night anyway. We talked to this awesome family and we hope to talk to them a lot more. It's nice to know where they work instead of just having a phone number---they can't run away.
Saturday we planned, and then we looked for an inactive, and we talked to some people on buses and such.
Sunday all four of us gave talks in church. Kind of frustrating because I had to cut my talk way down and then the anziano that went after me took his whole 15 minutes when he was only supposed to take 7 to begin with. This may have been the cause of a dream where I was giving a talk and then some wind came and blew a bunch of papers all over and by the time everything was gathered up the bishop had taken over again and I wasn't even finished and I threw a fit. HA. weird dream though actually.
We ate lunch with the DelVecchio family in Carosino. They're cool. They gave the 14 year old boy a really hard time about burning his forehead with his straightener when he was making his faux-hawk. :)
On Monday we saw Ada DiPietro and cute little Alice. It's amazing how much babies learn in 2 weeks. Like, she can walk and say a bunch of new words. It's crazy. Hopefully Ada will come to conference.
So the funniest business of the week...Monday afternoon we went to see Grazia, the girl we found in a bar when we were putting up flyers for English course. Anziano Caussé when he came in January told us to do a lesson zero with people where we ask right at the beginning if they'd be willing to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized with the proper authority once they have received a testimony that the gospel is true. And so, we decided to do it. Sorella Jones couldn't, so I did, and Grazia's eyes just about popped out of her face. She says she has no idea right now, which is fine, we just wanted her to know that that's what we're here for, and she still wants to see us, so that's good. Sorella Jones and I have been laughing about that all week.
We met some cool people on lungomare, and we got their numbers, seem really great, we'll see what happens.
Yesterday we had an appointment with our Relief Society President in the morning. That was about all I could handle, we walked along way to get there and then I felt freezing halfway through the appointment and then we walked to find Carlotta and she wasn't at work. We made panzerotti at home and then I went to sleep and we stayed in yesterday afternoon because I have a cold and my head wasn't feeling too well.
I felt much much better this morning, thank goodness. However this afternoon I feel not so wonderful again. Maybe I'm allergic to missionary work? just kidding. This morning we tried to go to the fiera at Grottaglie, and we got there and it isn't open in the morning. What kind of fiera is that? Luckily there are ceramics to see still, and we taught a lesson and the old man who I talked to last time remembered me, even after a few months and a bunch of tourists. Cool.
Tonight we're going to see Patrizia.
I'm excited that Conference is this weekend. We're telling everybody. I'm slightly disappointed that conference means nothing to the members here, and they don't even know when it is. They aren't showing the Relief Society one until TBA and I think they're only showing two sessions in church. HUGE BUMMER. They don't get it, they don't even know there are four sessions and that all are equally important. But oh well, we're excited anyway, just not sure how to help the long time members to understand these things.
The police are here again. Stupid. Good thing my companion knows to carry a copy of her passport with her. :)
The church is true! We don't share this message because we want our church to be the biggest in the world. We share it because we want everyone to have the chance to return to live with Heavenly Father. It's simple and it's beautiful.
Love you lots,
Eliza
You have a date for my homecoming? That's weird...What am I speaking on?
Yeah, Alex is going to be home really soon. His parents are picking him up, but he'll be speaking in his ward on Halloween. I sent a letter to his house today, that was weird. The address is sooo much shorter.
Well, this has been a good week, although it's weird because we still have no investigators that we're seeing, we're talking to tons and tons of people but if they don't listen then you can talk at them all day and it doesn't make a difference. Last Wednesday night we basically just meandered around centro (we got to take our pday hours at night since we spent the morning at the questura) and got gelato. We talked to a man on Lungomare who told us over and over that he wasn't on drugs, just nervous. Methinks thou dost protest too much?
We went and talked to Carlotta again, and gave her a Book of Mormon. It was good. She really seems to want to understand. However, it is so much easier to teach people, I've discovered, when they actually know what they believe. She knows she's Catholic, and that she has a Bible, but she didn't know that there was an Old and a New Testament in her Bible. Seriously? We read Bible stories all the TIME growing up, what do these people do with their children? Actually the fact that seven year olds can't write their own name is beyond me as well.
We saw Patrizia. She's doing well. It was actually cool because in correlazione on Friday Andrea Di Pietro told us that he had talked to her home teachers and they said they've noticed a difference in her. That was awesome. She is like a completely different person. She's still difficult but from blank stares to good friends is a huge change. I'm excited about that.
I hate that it's illegal to smoke inside but they still do it anyway.
Thursday night we went to see the Mazzolari family in Lama and we don't have a map of Lama so we got a little lost. Slla Mazzolari came to pick us up, luckily, so we just waited at the bus stop and talked to this little old lady who thinks we should go home and get married. All the old people say that. We had a good lesson with the Mazzolari, they're great. Good good people. They watched "The Errand of Angels" in some stake meeting a couple of weeks ago and SM LOVED it and cried through the whole thing.
Friday we had correlation, really good, and then we ran over to see Sorella Bargelloni. That was good. She opened up a little bit more and was honest--the other Sorelle thought her husband wasn't allowing her to come to church, she told us that she just isn't ready yet. So we'll help her to get ready. She's a sweet lady.
Umm, basically nobody wants to see us but we had a good night anyway. We talked to this awesome family and we hope to talk to them a lot more. It's nice to know where they work instead of just having a phone number---they can't run away.
Saturday we planned, and then we looked for an inactive, and we talked to some people on buses and such.
Sunday all four of us gave talks in church. Kind of frustrating because I had to cut my talk way down and then the anziano that went after me took his whole 15 minutes when he was only supposed to take 7 to begin with. This may have been the cause of a dream where I was giving a talk and then some wind came and blew a bunch of papers all over and by the time everything was gathered up the bishop had taken over again and I wasn't even finished and I threw a fit. HA. weird dream though actually.
We ate lunch with the DelVecchio family in Carosino. They're cool. They gave the 14 year old boy a really hard time about burning his forehead with his straightener when he was making his faux-hawk. :)
On Monday we saw Ada DiPietro and cute little Alice. It's amazing how much babies learn in 2 weeks. Like, she can walk and say a bunch of new words. It's crazy. Hopefully Ada will come to conference.
So the funniest business of the week...Monday afternoon we went to see Grazia, the girl we found in a bar when we were putting up flyers for English course. Anziano Caussé when he came in January told us to do a lesson zero with people where we ask right at the beginning if they'd be willing to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized with the proper authority once they have received a testimony that the gospel is true. And so, we decided to do it. Sorella Jones couldn't, so I did, and Grazia's eyes just about popped out of her face. She says she has no idea right now, which is fine, we just wanted her to know that that's what we're here for, and she still wants to see us, so that's good. Sorella Jones and I have been laughing about that all week.
We met some cool people on lungomare, and we got their numbers, seem really great, we'll see what happens.
Yesterday we had an appointment with our Relief Society President in the morning. That was about all I could handle, we walked along way to get there and then I felt freezing halfway through the appointment and then we walked to find Carlotta and she wasn't at work. We made panzerotti at home and then I went to sleep and we stayed in yesterday afternoon because I have a cold and my head wasn't feeling too well.
I felt much much better this morning, thank goodness. However this afternoon I feel not so wonderful again. Maybe I'm allergic to missionary work? just kidding. This morning we tried to go to the fiera at Grottaglie, and we got there and it isn't open in the morning. What kind of fiera is that? Luckily there are ceramics to see still, and we taught a lesson and the old man who I talked to last time remembered me, even after a few months and a bunch of tourists. Cool.
Tonight we're going to see Patrizia.
I'm excited that Conference is this weekend. We're telling everybody. I'm slightly disappointed that conference means nothing to the members here, and they don't even know when it is. They aren't showing the Relief Society one until TBA and I think they're only showing two sessions in church. HUGE BUMMER. They don't get it, they don't even know there are four sessions and that all are equally important. But oh well, we're excited anyway, just not sure how to help the long time members to understand these things.
The police are here again. Stupid. Good thing my companion knows to carry a copy of her passport with her. :)
The church is true! We don't share this message because we want our church to be the biggest in the world. We share it because we want everyone to have the chance to return to live with Heavenly Father. It's simple and it's beautiful.
Love you lots,
Eliza
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