Fun!

So you want to know where I am going this next transfer?! Gotta wait to find out!

So Wednesday night we had a "Mexican" night with the GANS because Anziano Cuellar is from Mexico and Anziano Whitfield's mom is from Spain so they cooked us all tacos. It was really good and the best part was that "le Ragazze", Stefania and Annalisa, came to the activity. We had thought that they were 18 or 20 but we found out that Stefania is 17 and Annalisa is 16! Crazy! They do not act like it at all. But it all went really well. We did a spiritual thought at the beginning and taught the establishment of the original church during Christ's life, the Apostasy and the the Restoration with a demonstration using cups. My favorite part was taking the cup that said "Judas" on it and then all the cups/the church fell down. Le Ragazze jumped! But that's exactly it! When the church fell into apostasy it was terrible. The World lost the fullness of the truth. Meno male we have everything again. Then we all ate good jummy Mexican food. But it was not quite the same without the real ingredients like cilantro. Too bad it's almost impossible to find. I would have brought the dried cilantro mom sent me but I had forgotten. But it was good anyways. The Italians do not know the difference anyways because it was the first time almost anyone had ever tried it. Weird huh? Mexican food is totally normal to us.

Thursday morning was WONDERFUL! We went to go see Orazio and Maria Galletta with the Valentini's and the lesson was awesome! First thing is I LOVE those two. Seriously. They are amazing! This was the second time these two couples had met one another and they hit it off completely. They are pretty much carbon copies of one another. We started out with small talk and then Orazio began talking about how he felt after he had met us, the missionaries, the first time. We had found him doing house and he told us to take the number that was written on his post box outside and call him later. He said that night he had a dream and he was in the court yard of their house and there was a snake covered in diamonds. His initial reaction was to kill it but the only things he saw was a branch from a fig tree and a rod of iron. Fig tree branches are really flimsy so he knew he could not use that and he thought of the rod of iron but by that point he decided to just leave the snake alone because it was not doing anything. He said he does not know what to think of that dream and asked us for some help to decipher it. I thought it was interesting that all three of the items are symbols found in the scriptures. But I am probably the last person to try and decipher a dream like that. We then taught the Restoration because it was only the second time we had met Maria, his wife. We taught it the same way we had taught it the night before with the cups. It went really well even though Orazio kept asking a ton of questions and cutting me off. It was funny though because he looked over at me and cut himself off saying "I think she's bored of me talking too much" haha. It was not really true, I think he just wanted to hear the rest of the story I was telling :) After that we went to Fratello Curci's to talk about how he can be a better member missionary. It ended up being him talking the whole time and telling us how to do the work, but that is alright. Advice is always a good thing right? And he gave us 8 referrals! That night we had a lesson with Annalisa and Stefania . . . well kind of. We had planned to watch the Restoration with them but it ended up being an English lesson. For more than an hour Sorella Ashman helped Annalisa with her English homework while I and Angela Cafagno talked with Stefania. Those girls are so funny. Sure we did not really teach anything doctrinal, but it only helps to establish a friendship with our investigators. We then had English course and the only people there were Giuseppe and Frank. Frank said I am going to be transferred to Catania and he says he is happy. But we all know he is just hiding the pain deep inside that I am leaving :) After that we went for a little giro with Angela and Carmen to talk to them. They both need support because they are both relatively young and are the only members in their families. Also, they pretty much love us. They make fun of me all the time, but they said it is only because they love me. Angela also said I won't be transferred because I and Sorella Asham am doing good work here and I need to stay with them. We'll see lol.

Friday we did weekly planning. I do not remember a lot because I left my planner at home. Darn it. Nothing too exciting happened. We then had a concert that night that Sorella Ashman sang in it. She did well and the two other girls that sang were very talented. One sang "Killing me Softly" and "Fields of Gold". I love those songs. But it was funny because she does not speak English and it was obvious that she did not understand the words by the way she had pronounced them but her voice was beautiful. We also got the Anziani from Libertà to buy us some fresh baked bread. It was delicious. In the end we were late getting home but no worries, we had asked for permission. In fact, Sorella Ashman called Sorella Kelly practically begging her to tell us we had to be home on time so that we did not have to stay late. She laughed and said if we wanted to stay we could but if we didn't we could go home. It was kind of between. But I enjoyed myself.

Saturday we went to Carbonara to see Beatrice. But when we arrived it was only her daughter, Silvia. She let us in, finished the laundry and then sat to talk to us while we waited for Beatrice who had gone to the store. Silvia started by asking us the difference between "our" religion and her's. We briefly explained Christ's life, apostasy, and the Restoration and then she asked us if we believed in saints and the Madonna. I told her plainly that we worship only Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. But she had been on guard the whole time and at that she got really defensive and started telling us how she respects us but she wants us to respect her religion. Of course we do so as she kept talking and we kept smiling and nodding she calmed down and told us the story of her pilgrimage she made to all the different cathedrals and how she came to know Jesus Christ. She, in fact, is a very spiritual person and as she slowly let her guard down she began to sense the Spirit that we brought and asked more and more questions. When Beatrice finally walked in the door we had the Book of Mormon out and were explaining why it was different than the Bible. She had the BIGGEST grin on her face when she saw her daughter was interested as well. We kept talking with Silvia while Beatrice started making lunch and though she was not necessarily a part of the conversation she was very intent on listening to it. And that smile never left her face. I think she was very content to know that it was not just her, that other people, her daughter included, sensed the truth of the things we say and now she is not alone in her search for the true church. I love them both! At the end I wanted a picture with them both in case I was transferred but Silvia was in pajamas and would not do it. But thankfully I got a picture with Beatrice :) After that we dropped by Maria and Orazio to leave her a birthday card because her birthday was the next day. From the moment I met her she reminded me of mom so I wrote just that on the card. I figured there is no greater compliment right? That afternoon as we were leaving the house we got a phone call from the Anziani from Libertà, Anziano Whitfield and Anziano Knutson, that Anziano Kafel and Anziano Cuellar had received their transfer call. Anziano Whitfield was super excited and told Sorella Ashman that Anziano Scotchi would be coming to Bari to be companions with Anziano Cuellar. Now it is very vital to know that Sorella Ashman and Anziano Scotchi were in the same district for 4 transfers in Sicilia and she LOVES him. Not in an inappropriate way, but in a "Wow he is so awesome and we are basically siblings" kind of a way. So when she heard this she screamed into the phone and into my ear. We were outside in public and I tried to calm her down but she was stoked. As we kept walking we too received our phone call for transfers. She answered first and learned that she is staying in Bari and her new companion is Sorella Hicks who is in Roma 3. I then got on the phone and I am going to . . . CATANIA! I am excited. Sorella Pickett served there for four transfers so I have heard pretty much everything about it. The coolest thing is that there are two wards there. One is the normal Italian ward and the other is an American wrad from the military base. Yay! Americani! And I am going to be there for Thanksgiving! Yes! Good ol' American Thanksgiving. And I am actually going to have 2 new companions. Right now we have an odd number of Sorelle so the Sorella that is in Catania now, Sorella Buma, is staying for 3 weeks to show me and Sorella Askew around the city because we are basically getting blown in. Sorella Askew and I know each other pretty well already. She was Sorella Pickett's companion just before I got to the mission and then we were all in Rome for 3 transfers so we did Preparation day and exchanges together all the time. This will be her last transfer so after that I will then again have a new companion! Maybe I will train . . . boh! Who knows? But anways, so we then wanted to call Anziani Kafel e Cuellar to tell them what had happened because we had heard about them. BUt when we called we found out they had only TOLD Anziano Whitfield that as a joke. They had not received their call yet. Sorella Ashman was very disappointed so she then called up Anziano Whitfield and told him we had received our call but told him that I was staying in Bari and was training the new Sister and that she, Sorella Ashman, was going to Roma 3. He was super excited for us which made us feel guilty for telling a lie but we figured the joke would only last 30 minutes until they heard from the other Anziani where we were really going. But it did not happen like that . . . but I will finish that story for Monday! Anyways, that whole afternoon we went to try and find ex investigators and less actives but had no luck. We then went to the church for a lesson with Nicola but he did not show up. So we then went to go say good bye to Jimmy with the Anziani. He is the new convert from the Philippines but is returning there Sunday. We took a bunch of pictures and his wife gave us all Philippino food. We then bought a pizza and panzerotti and ate dinner together in the church. It was delicious :)

Sunday went well. The mom of Andrea Scisci came to church for the first time EVER! We hope she gets baptized so that he is not the only member anymore. And during Sacrament meeting Sorella Ashman and Anziano Cuellar kept trying to signal to Vescovo that I was going and I needed to bare my testimony. But he never saw. I kinda wanted to bare my testimony in fact. You know, leave that last impression on the ward. But oh well. And then . . . drum roll . . . Maria and Orazio came to church! They walked in looking so SHARP! Orazio had worn a super nice suit with a pocket square and everything. Maria wore a stylin' dress with a scarf. And they brought his mother who is 86 years old. And man, she is still kickin'! They loved church too and afterwards I went around and got pictures of everyone including them. Le Ragazze had come but had not felt ready to come in during sacrament meeting but I went out to say hi and they gave me the sweetest little note! I love them! Then we went to lunch with the family Caricola. We had pasta come sempre and then meat . . . yum. You know how much I love sausage . . . and then fruit. And then gelato. That made up for the meat :) We then walked to the other chapel in the other zone because they could not give us a ride home and we did not have time to go home and we had to go to choir practice for stake conference. Because I won't be there I sat in the back doing nothing until we took off the Maria and Orazio's for her birthday party. It was sweet. Because they have a little court yard they set up several little round tables with candle lights and then he has this little stage on one side with the drums, saxes, keyboard . . . etc. and all the speaker equipment. Sorella Ashman sang Maria a song and then we had some sweets Orazio's mom had made because we did not have time to wait for the Risotta to finish. By this point she had read the card we had given her and she gave me a huge hug and said she had cried when she read that she reminds me of my mom :) And Orazio just adores us both and loves the spirit, loves the church . . . they will be baptized for sure!

Monday at district meeting . . . hehe. AT the beginning Anziano Urry, the district leader, started out by saying farewell to Anziano Knutson who is going to Palermo and goodbye to Sorella Ashman. He also expressed his excitement for the new members of the district. At this I was really confused because I had completely forgotten the little lie we had told Saturday afternoon. But then Sorella Ashman an I looked at each other at the same time and grinned. She raised her hand, said "confession" and then explained that I was in fact the one leaving. Anziano Whitfield then said "I hate you all!" because he was the victim of all the lies. And everyone was really shocked because they had not doubted us for a second. Anziano Cuellar and Anziano Kafal were sitting at the other end of the table grinning because they had allowed the lie to go ahead and thought themselves really clever. But in the end it was a good little joke haha. Anziano Whitfield then gave the adestramento and then we had a potluck. We had made pasta al forno and it was delicious and we had brownies and fruit. We then all chilled for the rest of pranzo and went around the circle telling each other our futures of where we will marry, who/the type of person we will all marry, how many kids . . . etc. I guess I am going to marry someone 10 years older than me and have 4 kids and live abroad. Alright. We then finished the book we had made for Antonio's baptism with letters we had written him as well as the letter he had written himself. Then we went to see Sorella Magno. I love her and Sorella Ashman gave me the responsibility of the lesson. I could not think of a thing to teach her because as far as I can see she is the most perfect person on the planet. So when it came time to share a message I said "Sorella I don't have anything to tell you because you are our example. So can you give us advice on how we can be more like you?" I know, I am a suck up, but it was the truth and it TOTALLY made her day. She then told us that we have to do three things.
1. Faith
2. Love for others
3. And accepting the will of the Lord.
She then recounted to us her life story. Wow. She almost became a nun, but then married a man to make her mother happy even though she did not love him nor visa versa. She joined the church and it was until 27 years later that he joined the church. And once he joined he finally started to love her. SAD! But that is why she is so patient, loving, spiritual, strong . . . all the characteristics I want to have. They come through trials and experience. And she has definitely had her fair share. After that we went to meet le ragazze so that we could go to the family Santoro for family night. They had already met Silvia Santoro so we figured it would be a good opportunity to see a family in the church and how they work. WE had a lesson on obedience and it of course had it's ups and downs because le ragazze are young and independent, but i think they learned a few things. Then the Anziani came and we had a little dinner with lots of vegetables for me and Sorella Ashman and then some prosciutto crudo for everyone else. It was SO good! Then we walked home with le ragazze. Sorella Ashman talked with Annalisa and I talked with Stefania. We have decided that Annalisa is more like Sorella Ashman, much more wild and outspoken and I am like Stefania. We are more ready to sit back and listen to the conversation than jump in. (I know, I have changed huh? But really, most of the time I just sit and listen now. Everyone says I am the sweet quiet sister and Sorella Ashman has the strength and force. So according to the members we make up the perfect companionship and work well together.) Che strano no? But missions change you I guess.

Yesterday morning we went to Carbonara to try and stop by Silvia Amoruso (the daughter of Beatrice) so that I could get a picture of her before I left. But she wasn't home. We than ran (literally) to the photo place so that I could grab the pictures we'd printed before the lesson with Maria and Orazio. But we only had 15 minutes total and it takes 15 minutes to just walk there. But I had no money and they did not take cards so we then had to turn around and run back. In the end we were only 5 minutes late and the Valetinis were already there and had given them a tour of the church. They are so great :) perfect little missionaries for us. We then watched the Restoration and at the end we asked if they believed it. Right away Maria said "of course" and Orazio agreed. We invited them to pray that night to know and that they would feel the need to be baptized and we would talk about the date later. They had no objections :D We then had lunch with them at their house. Focaccia, pizza, and pasta. Mama mia! Troppo. I ate enough Carbs for a month! But Maria was happy. She had also invited us over for lunch today but she got into a car accident so we can't. Thankfully it wasn't bad but they don't have time to have us over. Darn it. I was hoping to see them one more time before I leave! But I will just have to come back :) We then had an appointment with ANTONIO! Wow, he is not the same person. He has so much more confidence and his testimony of the gospel is way stronger than I had thought. We just talks and talks now about just about anything and he was so quiet before. WE gave him the book for his baptism and we was excited. He then stayed for the lesson with Nicola Bellino and they hit it off really fast. The lesson started off well and then we listened to a spiritual song and the spirit was definitely there. But because Nicola has fear of the spirit, he took hold of the first thing he could to distract us and then it was all over. I do not even know what happened but finally Sorella Ashman just said "I don't feel the spirit we're done". The lesson with Annalisa went a little better. She LOVES the D&C and the Pearl of Great Price. She had asked us what they were so we explained and then read a little bit from Abraham. She was HUNGRY as she read that. She couldn't put it down. She is really intellectual and the fact that we are a living church and we have more information is very attractive to her. We then started to explain the plan of Salvation because we had started up with the preexistence in Abraham and she had a ton of questions. We did not have time to finish and she was a little let down that she had to wait but she is wonderful! Too bad Stefania could not come. But We have high hopes for Annalisa. She even stayed for English course and we watched the Restoration in Italian with English subtitles. Afterwards we talked a bunch with her and then walked home with her again. She gave me her scrunchy so that we HAVE to see each other again after the mission. She is so cute :) she is coming to live in the US for the summer that I get home so I told her to come to Utah. She's down with that. Ah! I don't want to leave Bari! Ever! And I have to leave tomorrow morning! Darn it . . . And then Carmen Servedio wrote me a letter and gave me a bracelet and her letter was so sweet. Missions are hard, but only because you then create a second life, a second family and for the rest of your life you miss one or the other but you can't ever have them at the same time. Darn it. Why did I do this to myself? I love these people and it will just happen again and then again . . . and then the worse will be when I have to come home! I want to go home, do not get me wrong, but I will then have to leave these people here. Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb . . . okay. My rant is over. I will love Catania. Probably too much. I love Italy. I love the mission. But I love you all too :)

Catch you all on the flip side!
Muah! Vi voglio bene!
Sorella LeCates
WRITE FRIDAY