So first off, flying is not exactly all it is cracked up to be. I was unable to sleep the night before we left the MTC and I could not sleep on the plane to London :S but that is alright. President Kelly let us go to bed early after feeding us some sweet awesome Italian food! Italy is a bit different than I expected. But I guess I never realized just how big it was. It has over 5 million people! And I have been opened up to the whole new world of public transportation! You can get anywhere on the train or the bus. It is completely different than anything I am used to and no one lives in houses here, they all live in apartments, which are everywhere as well. But it is crazy how old everything is. My first full day in the field I had to wait until the afternoon with my MTC companion (we are both serving in Roma) until our companions could come get us. So Sorella Kelly and one of the senior couple Sorelle took us to Centro to see the Colloseum. We took a bus and then took the subway and then TA DAH! You walk out into of the subway station and all you see is this ancient building. I am not quite sure what I was expecting but when we walked out I thought to my self, "Huh, that looks familiar" and then it occured to me that it was the Colloseum. It quite literally took up the entire sky when you walk out. It is pretty sweet. We walked around there for a little while and then Sorella Kelly bought us lunch at a cafe directly across Piazza Vincenza from Victorio Emanuele (a huge massive wedding cake building built by Mouselini when he was trying to resurrect ancient Rome, that none of the Italians like). I was just sitting there out on the sidewalk at a cafe in Roma, eating Pizza with this massive marble building in front of me . . . rather surreal to be honest. My camera died, otherwise I would have a picture of it. I need to find batteries that can sustain my camera for more than ten minutes. I will be on the hunt today!
So my new companion is Sorella Pickett. She is from Oregon and I love her :) and what is super neat is we both had the same MTC teacher, Fratello Silva! We have had several talks regarding exotic pets he has. I guess he smuggled a sloth out of Thailand . . . ? Yeah, we did not hear about that one. Maybe I will have to write to him and find out what that is all about. The night I met my companion we had dinner and a lesson with a girl named Angela. She is a member and from Peru. She was super nice to me considering I do not speak a lick of Italian lol in fact, all anyone ever does is just laugh at me. Another thing I did not expect is that I have yet to teach anyone who is actually a native Italian! Everyone has been from South America, Africa, or the Philipeanes (which is great because those from Africa and the Philipeans all speak English). But definitely unexpected. My district consists of the Assistants, the district leader and his companion, and all the senior couples (there are three) so it is fun because we all go to the same branch on Sundays. I even went to high school with my district leader, Christiano Pesci (yep, he has an Italian name) and I had never spoken to him in my life and he knew exactly who I was when I got there and was way nice to me considering we had never spoken. His companion I knew also in the MTC, Anziano Schwing. He is from Germany and was in the district just before me. The assistants are also really cool and we see them every now and then because they live right by us too.
Church was interesting because everyone just assumed I was a Sorella from another city so they just rattled off to me in Italian and I just nodded my head and smiled. I bare my testimony in Sacrament meeting on Sunday so I will be sure to let them all know I have only been in Italy a week lol Remember those icky passport photos I had to send in to the mission office right before I had knee surgery? Yeah, so they use them for everything! Even the transfer board in the mission office! We are there fairly often so it is my mission to replace it before the end of this transfer. I refuse to have that picture up for all to see when it deserves to be burned. Seriously. It must go.
Glad everyone is doing well! I have showed more than one member pictures of Evie and they all agree that she is "molto carina!" Love her :) Liesel rocks and I tell all the spanish speakers we meet that she served in Ecuador. We are teaching an investigator tonight who lives in Ecuador. Maybe we will be friends, despite the fact we do not speak the same language haha. I just have to say that I thought I would be really frustrated not being able to speak the language but it really does not matter that much. Yes, it is convenient, but there are ways around it. We are all people and they can understand fairly well what you are trying to say, especially when you are just yourself and you teach by the spirit. I can say enough and I will just have to keep working at it! Melissa, I like the idea of international studies (possibly asian politics?) or business. Then you could be a business consultant for Japan or China or something. That would be sweet! Seth, again, you are a stud. And when you get home from you mission you will pretty much be future prophet material. It is crazy how much missions change people. I have just seen the changes in myself and the members from my MTC district and I cannot even imagine who we will all be when we get home. Melissa, you should definitely go do. It is hard, but well worth it. I still have to overcome my insecurities of talking to people on the trains and buses. It is scary when you do not speak the language, but I get less and less scared each day!
Love you all! Vi Voglio Bene!
Sorella LeCates
In July 2010 I was called to serve an 18 month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Italy Rome mission. I've always wanted to see Italy and I can't believe I'm lucky enough to spread the gospel there!
