Okay, not really, but I thought it was hot last week . . . nope. I thought it was hot this week? Nope. All the Italians keep telling us this is nothing compared to the heat that will swamp us in July and August. Darn it!
Last Preparation day the Sorelle from Taranto came because of Zone conference the next day. We went to Città Vecchia here in Bari which was actually pretty cool. It is what you imagine when you think of Italy. I did not have my camera with me, but I will have to send some pictures when I steal them from my companion. They have this old castle (that is always closed on Wednesdays . . . I know right?) and it is right up on the ocean. We then walked along the boardwalk and there was this crazy little barese man who was about 4.5 feet tall and crawling over the rocks grabbing crabs and putting them into his bucket. He was awesome! He was speaking half Barese and half Italian to us while he showed us the crabs and how you know if they are girls or boys. Sorella Hansen got it all on film and I HAVE to get that video from her. It was one of the most Italian things I have ever seen! After all the joyous fun we went off to the GANS activity which did not turn out the way we had planned. All of the missionaries from the Taranto and Bari zone came in that night and were chilling at the church right as the GANS activity started. So they were all mulling around so we ordered panzerotti! It is basically a calzone but you can fry them or bake them. And Italians like to eat their own panzerotto or pizza to themselves. So they ordered about 40 of them from a pizzeria near by. I know . . . that is a lot. We then all played Taboo. They wanted me to play, but come on! My Italian is coming along, but that game is a little above my skills at this point. But it was really fun to watch as they all get super competitive and animated, yelling at each other the whole time. I thoroughly enjoyed myself :)
Giovedì mattina we had zone conference with Anziano Teixera, the second counselor in the area presidency. He was incredible! Veramente. He based it all on two gifts, faith and love. No matter how hard we try, you cannot be good at either of these just by working hard and trying. You have to fulfill the requirements from God to receive them. Faith comes from obedience. When you are obedient you receive a testimony for why a specific rule or commandment is in place, especially those that are hardest for you. At that point he pointed right at me (since I was sitting on the front row, right in front of him the entire meeting) and said "If YOU are afraid of doing street, than you HAVE to do street to gain more faith." Cannot say that that was an accident. And it is true. Talking to people in the street does not work unless you have the spirit with you to tell you what to say, things that that specific person needs to hear. When you go and do it, you gain a testimony of it and you feel the love and power the Lord has given each of us to do this work for Him. Besides faith, we also need to receive love. No matter how many hours you spend proselyting, you cannot feel love for another without asking for you. Quindi, you have to pray and ask Heavenly Father for the love necessary to talk to others. He expressed the sweetest testimony of the love he has for the people of Brazil that he acquired while serving as mission president in Sao Paolo. During his entire discourse he would stare right into my eyes while tears were streaming down his face and because I am an absolute baby and could not look away while he was bearing into my soul, I was crying too. Later I noticed Sorella Laws and Sorella Hansen were both crying too, so it was not just me. His dear wife, Sorella Teixera, then gave us a destrimento on the same things, but incorporating invites. If we do not ask, they cannot act. Then we practiced. You all know how I am. I am TERRIFIED of public speaking. I cannot function up in front of people, or at least that used to be the case. And practice teaching is no different. In fact, it has kind of been the bane of my existence in the mission because I am always super self-conscious. But when Anziano Teixera asked me and my companion to come up and practice teach him and his wife in front of 30 missionaries and the mission president, I did not even flinch. It was really cool actually. The longer I am on a mission, the more I actually LOVE being up in front of people. I actually like public speaking now and I get a thrill speaking before groups. Crazy . . . I know. But it was always a gift I wished I could have and now I just might accomplish it before the mission's through. At the end, Anziano Teixera promised each of us that we could reach the average of two new investigators each week in the matter of two weeks. He said soon we will be looking down on that old standard of excellence wondering how on earth we did not do it before. So let me tell you, this entire transfer, Sorella Laws and I have had NO new investigators. Yes, we knew it was possible, we just were not sure how to turn our many potentials into actual investigators. So after the conference we had English course and Francesco and his friend Silvio came. Right after, as always, they both came to talk to us both and Sorella Laws had whispered to me to invite them to watch the Restoration with us. I did and when they asked when, I said "right now." Luckily they agreed, so we went upstairs and watched it. Silvio loved the whole thing. He was on the edge of his seat and when his phone rang he did not say hello or anything . . . all he said was "mangiate" about five times before hanging up the phone. In English he was saying "eat without me." We then talked a little bit after the video and gave him a Book of Mormon. We asked him to read 3 Nephi 11 and he began reading it right then and there. Francesco already had a Book of Mormon from before but he agreed to read it as well. They also both agreed to another appointment that Saturday. So right then and there, the night after Conference, we got our two new investigators and they ARE legit! Okay, not supposed to use slang, but I have no other way to describe it :)
After weekly planning on venerdì we took off to go see Nella for the first time in two weeks. How we EVER let that much time go by, I have no clue. But I love her and it had been long enough. So we got there and the look on her face said it all. It was a mixture of relief that we had finally come and frustration because we had pretty much abandoned her. When we explained that Sorella Laws had been sick, she felt a little bit better, but she told us that the last two weeks had been "Proprio brutto". My heart just goes out to her! We followed up on her reading of 2 Nephi 32 and she said she had not had time. Trust me, I was disappointed, but we decided to randomly read with her 3 Nephi 11 like we had assigned Silvio and Francesco the night before. I was not quite sure where we were going because we had planned a different lesson but we both were trying to figure out what the spirit wanted us to do. We read the first few verses of the chapter when Nella said she just still does not have hope in these things. She believes Christ exists but her life is not what she had once hoped. So I ran with that. I told her that there is one thing that I have done in my life that has given me hope for all of the problems I have faced and will ever face. I told her that this thing was written in this chapter. I then read the verses where Christ institutes the mode of baptism to end the disputations among the people. I told her that I was baptized the exact way that Christ commanded. The same authority, priesthood, and model for baptism that Christ spoke of in those verses. I told her that if she wanted hope, she needed to turn completely toward the Lord and allow him to help her, only through baptism into His church. And then I was SO brave! I asked her to be baptized all by myself! I know this sounds so lame . . . but that was my first baptismal invite that I actually gave. Sorella Laws looked pleased and when Nella did not respond, she bore testimony of the same thing. She told Nella that this is the way to find hope and happiness in this life and without it we will continue to be lost. Nella never really did respond, but she also did not say no. She truly is going through some hard things and until she confides in us as to what they really are, we cannot help her completely. We will see where this takes us. She has the desire, we just have to help her get there. After the lesson with Nella we went to la famiglia Tarantino. They are the cool old ladies, mother and daughter, that live together. We sat out on their porch with them as they gave us 5 referrals for their neighbors. They are too funny! I guess the first time the Sorelle had gone over, a couple of months ago, they had asked for referrals and were told that they hated all of their neighbors. This time Tina, the daughter, whispered to us all of the gossip around them and told us to go visit them but not to say that we were told to by their neighbors. Wish we could say we were sent . . . but we will just have to be tactful and do a terrific door approach haha.
Sabato morning we went to see our dear little Francesca. She is the woman that lives with her father and has not left her home since her mother died about 20 years ago. The last time we were there, Sorella Laws left a photo of herself for Francesca to paint. We got there that morning and she had not painted just one, but three! And they were really cool! Francesca is quite talented. Infact . . . I kind of wanted her to do one of me too . . . I will just have to ask before I leave Bari haha. Her dad was really pleased though because she has refused to create anything. She is a musician and artist but has stopped doing all of those things. Her dad could not stop smiling while we were there as he brought in the big oil canvas Francesca had done of Sorella Laws. So sweet of her :) Saturday night we had another lesson with Francesco and Silvio, but this time with a member named Giuseppe. We taught them the Plan of Salvation with the little pieces to demonstrate. The problem with Italian Catholics is many of them have worked out the doctrine from reading the Bible and so when they hear the principles of our church they say "Oh yeah, our church believes that too." So while we were teaching the Plan of Salvation Silvio continued to tell us that his church believes the same thing. But how do you tell someone that they are wrong? That you know more about their religion than they do? Boh . . . Non lo so. Luckily we did have Giuseppe there. He is so on the ball. He has been back from his mission for 10 years, but is totally in gamba. They asked us to convert their atheist friend, Gianluca and so we asked them if we could start seeing them 3 times a week. They happily agreed, little do they know that we will just be convincing them at the same time ;) After that lesson we went to Fratello Curci's house for a serata famigliare con Massimo. We also had Raffaele there and though it was a big group, it went really well. Massimo did a lot more listening than he has in the past and Fratello Curci was very direct and just asked "Sorelle, what have you taught Massimo about the church . . . ?" After we explained he asked Massimo what he had taken from what we had taught. Sometimes it pays to just be blunt and get to the point. In the end, Massimo promised to come to church the next day so we were stoked!
And Sunday morning . . . massimo came! Oh my goodness! We were so excited! We were waiting outside with the Anziani and Anziano Reyes made a comment about not being too surprised if he did not show up. And then up walks Massimo looking super sharp in a suit and everything! Alright, most investigators do not start wearing church clothes for quite some time, if ever. And here comes our stubborn little Italian man looking like a priesthood holder already! In Relief Society and Priesthood they talked about developing talents and in Gospel Principles we talked about prophets. After that Sorella Laws asked Massimo if he had learned anything. He said no. He knew it already. With Massimo he always assumes he knows all he needs to know already which inhibits his ability to really learn. But then in Sacrament Meeting we had some terrific talks about the temple, families, and missionary work. Also, not to mention the Sacrament itself. It was perfect for Massimo. It finally opened up his mind to the fact that there is so much knowledge the church holds and that even after your entire life, you cannot possibly know it all. I think it really humbled him a lot and he began to ask a lot of questions. And we are pretty sure he is hooked for life :) After Sacrament meeting he also shared a dream he had had previously. He had seen a path with many children all dressed in white. He was going to take the path but was scared away by two dogs. They were not aggressive and did not come towards him, but as he turned down another road, one of the dogs barked after him but did not follow. That day in church about 80% of all of the children, and even some of the adults (bishop included) were dressed in white. This is why he shared the dream with us. He told us that now he knows that the path in his dream he turned away from what the right path. The children represented simplicity and the dogs faithfulness. Actually, Sorella Laws opinion is that we were the dogs and she was the one barking after him. She is always getting frustrated with him but we cannot force him to commit to anything, hence the bark but we did not follow. I really think that coming to church has made all the difference in Massimo's conversion process. For pranzo that afternoon we went to the Palermo's. Their mother, Sorella Cassano is a hoot and a half. She does not bother trying to remember our names, instead she calls me "Bionda". She just kind of yells it at me. I love her :) Italians are pretty much the greatest people ever! And this family are all converts from the last 7 years or less but you would never guess by their strength and testimonies in the gospel.
Monday morning we received a referral from the anziani for 3 girls that live in a little paese outside of Bari. They are from Africa, Romania, and Moldova. They are living in a center for women who are wanting a fresh start and change so we headed out there early in the afternoon to see them. When we got there we saw on the outside that it was run by nuns. A little intimidating, but what can you do? So we go all ready and pushed the citofono and no one answered. Managia! We waited but no one came so we had gone all the way out to Adelfia for nothing. And in southern Italy, you DO NOT do house during lunch. It is just something you do not do. It only makes people upset. So, it being 3 o'clock and our bus was not coming until after 4 we strolled through the streets and a park trying not to waste time. The day was not completely wasted though because that night we had another family night with Massimo and la famiglia De Santis who are the aunt and uncle of Raffaele. He was there too of course. He is so nice. He goes out of his way to help us and we are always very appreciative. And the serata famigilare went really well! Fratello De Santis started inviting Massimo to read the Book of Mormon from beginning to end and then he stopped and turned to us to make sure that it was okay he was doing that. We assured him he was more than fine. Then he told Massimo that whether or not he joins the church, their family is there for him for anything. He told him that they are friends no matter what religious differences may come in between them. I love our members :)
Martedì we went out to Loseto to go see Sorella Puglisi, a less active member but she was not home. So we dropped by the bishops to leave a thank you note. We were only planning to stop for a minute but his lovely wife forced us in and gave us juice. She is an absolute doll! Veramente! She served a mission in Milan and told us she has really been trying to think of someone for us to teach. We read with her 2 Nephi 32:2-3 and she grabbed a marker to mark it in her own scriptures. We had a really good discussion on how we can all follow the spirit to help others come unto the gospel. It was the first time I had been to their home and I love them even more :) That afternoon we tried to stop by Nella but she would not let us in. She told us that she had a problem and we had to come back another day. She asked if we could come Wednesday but we couldn't. When we said Thursday she said she would talk to us about what was going on then. Hopefully! And who knows! We are doing scambi that day and me and Sorella Johnson, a greenie, will be here for that lesson . . . I hope she finally opens up and that the gift of tongues will enter my brain so I can understand her! English course was craziness though. Today was the day of bidones (appointments that fall through). We were even bidoned by the anziani and our ward mission leader for correlation. The Anziani did not come to English course . . . I do not know why . . . so that did not go according to plan. But the lesson afterwards was SWEET! Francesco and Silvio were all ready for the lesson and they said their friend Gianluca was coming. Giuseppe had come specifically for the lesson as well. So we all sat down and we started talking to Gianluca about our relationship with our Heavenly Father and prayer. He told us he has never prayed in his life. That was a surprise to me. We talked about that for a while and then finally Sorella Laws asked him what he thought about Jesus Christ. Completely on a second impression I pulled out my picture of Christ in the Red Robe and put it right in front of him. Immediately he pushed it away, almost out of fear. I was not going to let it go, so as he tried to put it back inside my Book of Mormon I pulled it back out and put it in front of him. He was clearly uncomfortable so Giuseppe took it and placed it in the middle of the table. But his reaction was not of someone who has no belief, in fact it was the exact opposite. If you were to put a picture of Mickie Mouse in front of me and as me if I believed him to be real I would have no problem looking right at the picture and saying no. Gianluca was squirming under the gaze of the picture. We tried to get him to open up, but with his friends there it was a bit difficult. We read Alma 32 about the experiment but he told us he did not have the slightest desire to know the truth, therefore it would not work. We told him that that was alright but we would like to meet with him again. He agreed immediately. I pulled out an extra Book of Mormon that I had written a short dedica in two days earlier. I had not written the dedica for anyone in particular, I had just written my testimony and promise that the Book would change someone's life. Actually I remember absolutely no details as to what I had written, except I remember I had written things I usually did not write. I wrote his name at the top and gave it to him. I hate it when people read things I have written right in front of me but of course he did. After he read it, the look in his face had changed and he asked if Sorella Laws had written it. When she told him I had he was surprised and it was as if something written there had really touched him. To be completely honest, atheism does not exist. Even when someone proclaims they do not believe in a creator they are only deceiving themselves. Gianluca was a testimony of that. You was written clear across his face that he wants nothing more than to believe there is a loving Heavenly Father watching over him.
It is crazy to feel love for people you do not even know. I had met Gianluca, and many others, for about a half hour one night about a week or two previous to this experience. But I could not deny the love that our Heavenly Father has for him. I wanted to tell him, and I should have told him, but I did not. And I feel this all the time. It is a gift we can each have, especially as missionaries, to feel a small portion of what our Father in Heaven feels for each and everyone of us. When you allow it to enter your heart everything changes. Your outlook, your perceptions . . . everything. It truly makes me sad when I see people who do not have this, or those that doubt its truthfulness. This is why we serve missions. To give people hope, to allow them to feel love from the one who will always be with us. Gianluca and many others, Nella, Massimo, Francesco, Silvio, Sara Puglisi . . . they all need this and I am lucky enough to be the hands by which our Heavenly Father and Savior show them. Missions are wonderful. Everyday is different with it's own challenges and trials, but each and everyday I walk away with a new experience and a small increase of faith and spiritual strength. Most of the time I do not even notice but times like this, when I write them down and really think about it, I cannot deny the changes that are taking place in myself. This work is perfect. God uses us to help others while it is helping us also. He is all about efficiency and why not? When you know everything, why not plan accordingly :)
Love you all troppo!
Muah! Tanti Baci!
Sorella Karen LeCates
