Well, because I am not very intelligent sometimes, I had to work out a few kinks this last week. It was uncomfortable, but I have to say that this last week was probably the best week of my whole mission! Seriously!
So after internet last week we went to the church and played BANG! which is an Italian western card game that is really fun to play. Then we went home so that Sorella Askew could finish packing. While she was doing so I decided to call the Sorelle from Mistretta to see when they were coming because we had both assumed that they were. One, because Sorella Giordano HAD to eventually to be my companion, 2 because I could not be alone that night after Sorella Askew left, and 3 because Sorella Tinoco had to pick up her companion. But when I called and they asked what I needed and they told me they were still at internet I thought "darn it! They have no clue they need to come!" And I was right. We then spent 2 hours on the phone trying to figure out who was going to come with me because the Sorelle from Siracusa (Sorelle Lewis and Nufer) were in Ragusa which is two hours away and Mistretta is 3 hours away and Sorella Askew was leaving in 1 hour. So regardless I was going to have to be alone already for an hour with the Anziani. In the end Sorella Lewis and Sorella Nufer got on a bus and came to save me. I felt really bad but we had a blast that night. And I love Sorella Askew! It was really sad to see her go, and Anziano Hill! I miss my old distrect from last transfer! We had too much fun! I also told Anziano Hill that I want to go on his river rafting trip down the Nile or Amazon . . . even if we end up all dying . . . It's alright, at least it will be a cool story to tell people in the Spirit World no? "Hey I died on a hand made raft going down the Nile! What about you?" I'm down :) While I waited for the Sorelle from Siracusa I hung out with Anziano Andersen (who did not have a companion either) and the Anziani from Siracusa. In the end I was rescued and had two companions for the night.
The next morning the Sorella from Mistretta (Sorella Giordano and Sorella Tinoco) came and we went to buy food because ALL the Sorelle from Sicilia were going to be coming that night and we had NOTHING at home. Then Sorelle Giordano and Tinocco came with me to a members for lunch (Sorella Seminara). Then Sorella Giordano went to an appointment with me to go see Christiana, our new investigator from Romania. Wow, that was a fun little story :) So I told you about what happened at the last lesson and how the grandpa wants me to marry his son? Well guess who answered the door when we went? Yep, the uncle. Great huh? And the grandpa was there and grabs me in this big hug and somewhere between his albanian and Christiana's translating I understood that he was so excited that I was there to meet his son. I had not explained anything to Sorella Giordano yet so it was strangely awkward and she did most of the talking to the uncle and I talked to Christiana. We read the introduction to the Book of Mormon together because Christiana had not done it yet and then I explained the Joseph Smith story again. She liked it a lot. Her mom also offered to make me a scarf if I gave her the money for the yarn. I told her I was fine and then she and Christiana started talking in Albanese together and at the end Christiana asked me what my favorite color was and then told her mom . . . I hope this isn't an initiation into their family haha. But Christiana is great and she really loves hearing our message and she has changed just in the few days we have known her. During the closing prayer that I had to laugh. I felt a hand on my back and saw her mom place a huge pomegranate into my purse. Oh dear . . . at least I love pomegranates! After that I got dropped off with Sorella Nufer and Sorella Lewis at our apartment while the other two went to go pick up Sorella Johnson and Sorella Salyer (my MTC companion!) from the airport. While they were gone we made a homemade lasagna for all the sorelle coming because we figured they had not eaten. The problem was is that I had started a load of laundry so that we would have clean sheets for 8 sorelle in our house, the oven was running, and our heater. So after we blew the fuse in our apartment 9 times I finally turned off the washer. The 3rd to last time I was up on a chair trying to grab a pan from above the fridge right as the power went out. I then did not see that a glass lid to a pot was falling and it shattered all over the floor. I was then left on the chair while the other two ran down 2 flights of stairs to the lobby to turn the power back on. Oh dear. But in the end everything was clean, all the beds were made up, and the food was in the oven when the group from the airport got there. And goodness gracious! I had not realized how much I missed Sorella Salyer! I just adore her and we had such a fun time catching up for an hour before I then had to go with Sorella Giordano and Sorella Lewis to go pick up her new little greeny from the rain station. The new missionaries name is Sorella Taylor and she is so stinkin' cute! She also had my teacher in the MTC and she informed us all that our old friend from the mission, Anziano Hatch, was also her teacher. That's weird . . . I guess he also wrote my name up on the board and told his district (which was a district of 6 sorelle) that I would be one of their trainers. Guess he was wrong there :) After we were all done eating back at the apartment we all settled down into bed. One of the other problems is that we only have 4 beds and an air mattress. So three of us slept on the floor. I thought, oh it will be totally fine! I can sleep on the floor. yeah . . . as soon as my back hit that marble floor I thought "there is no way on this earth I am sleeping tonight . . . " Luckily 2 sisters popped my back the following morning so I survived. But it was so weird. Instead of getting frustrated or upset I was just so HAPPY. Weird right? But I do not think I stopped smiling the whole entire day. I just had this great love and joy for everyone. It did not matter who they were or how long I had known them. I just wanted to hug everyone. In fact, I think some of the sisters thought I was absolutely nuts, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. There is just something about us all being together. It is more than just being members of the church. We are MISSIONARIES. We have all left home, from different parts of the world, for the same purpose. We chose freely to leave school, our families, work, boyfriends . . . to come to serve the Lord. And we all love this work so much. It finally hit me just how fortunate we are. Why am I so freaking lucky? Honestly I have absolutely nothing to complain about, ever. Ever. Ever. I have everything worth having in my life and more. I think what started all of this adrenaline filled happiness was actually when Sorella Salyer got there. They rang our appointment and I called down to make sure it was them. The moment I heard her voice on the other end of the phone I realized just how much I had missed her! It was all down hill from there :) but anyways, my little rant it over :)
The next morning was really crazy too. Sorella Giordano had to drive the sorelle to and from the station until they all had gotten on their way to their cities. Then we had to go and find an ATM, buy our bus tickets, then we went home and cleaned everything, reorganized the house, walked to the station because a bus did not come, and then took an hour long bus ride to the Navy base. We started out with an appointment with Aubrey and Owen Leaver. We popped in the Restoration DVD and the whole time we watched it Owen did not take his eyes away from it. After it was over we all kind of looked at each other and then I just asked "So, what do you think?" Owen then jumped into an almost nervous explanation of his feelings. He explained that he has attended just about every church, like Joseph Smith, thinks it is a great story, agrees that there is a lot of confusion, but that he does not believe he will EVER find an answer to which church is true. I then bore my testimony of prayer, and that Joseph Smith is no different than us and that we can each follow his example. We can all pray and Heavenly Father is no respecter of persons. All we need is faith and a desire to know and it shall be shown unto us. I then had Sorella Giordano share her testimony which was perfect :) She is a convert of only 2 years and she is the only member in her family and one of only two members in her whole city (the other member is Anziano Errante who is actually serving in our mission also). There was a sweet spirit in the room as we got ready to go. I don't know how long it will take for this family to have the blessings of the gospel, but I know without a doubt that it will happen. We then went to go visit Bobbi's family for dinner. As always it was fun :) Her two kids are too funny and she is an awesome cook. We had crab chowder and homemade bread. For dessert we even had oreos and milk :) does not get more American than that!
Saturday morning we had to AGAIN go to the store because we AGAIN had nothing in our house. Then we did weekly programming, ate, and then wandered from contact to contact who were not home. We finally ended up at the home of Agata, Santa, and Elisa. Agata was the only one home but she let us in right away and we talked about the Plan of Salvation. Their family situation is rough and I think she really liked the idea of a set plan and purpose in each of our lives even if she was pushihg against it a little bit. A lot of people are tired of seeking for answers and always being disappointed. I think she has been let down so many times that she is afraid of getting let down again. I just hope she opens her heart just enough to see that it truly is the answer she has always been looking for. We then went to an appointment with Angelo! He is so great :) It was not really a lesson in the book, but more just a discussion of missionary work, how we are called, set apart, the power we have to act in the name of Jesus Christ . . . It was really cool! And then at the end he turns to me and says "Sorella, I have something to tell you about my mom . . . " I thought, okay, what happened? Turns out she told him that he is not ready to be baptized and that he is not quite sure what to do. Sorella Giordano then shared her experience of conversion. Her parents were really against it at first too. In fact, her mother even told her that she would be cut off if she did so. In the end she stopped talking about the church to her family, got baptized, and then prayed for help in telling her mom. When she finally told her mom all she said was "you are 22, you can make your own choices. Just know that once you do you can never got back." Angelo really liked it and she ended up telling her whole conversion story. The lesson ran over . . . a little bit, but we repented ourselves and got home safely. Even Angelo asked for our forgiveness in the closing prayer :)
Church on Sunday was great, as always. We had a referral in church named Diana. She is friends with a member. In the American branch we had an even bigger surprise! Well before I get into that, I had to lead the music as always, but without a pianist. Basically the only people you could hear singing was me and the branch president and his counselor. But it was fun. I also bore my testimony of our fun little disorder this last week with transfers and that even though it was crazy and I had to sleep on the floor it was probably the greatest week of my mission so far. After the meeting Sister Nordstrom laughed and said I could have called her to come and stay the night with me but I would not have traded those last couple of days for anything! Even if Sister Norstrom is way awesome and we would have had a blast :) But the most EXCITING part of the whole day was Carol Mullen! She is SO freakin' great! She is my age and is from Las Vegas. Right now she is working in the logistics in the Navy and will be here for 3 years. Her boyfriend is a member of the church and she started talking to missionaries online. They directed her to finding the branch here in Sicily and she contacted our branch president, President Shefchik. And may I just say again . . . she is incredible! After church I was talking to her about our missions and she ends up telling me she wants to go. I told her she could if she wanted. She then paused and asked "how do I get on that path to doing all these things?" We then sat down, swapped numbers, talked a little bit about the Book of Mormon and set up a tentative plan for this Friday. She told me she knows this is something she has to learn for herself. She has seen her boyfriend and his family and knows that only the truth could make him and his family as great as they are. But she knows she has to find her own testimony. I am so excited to see her growth in the gospel! Ah! Missionary work is so awesome! After that we ate dinner and then went to go see Margherita Benessere. We retaught her the Plan of Salvation because the last time think she felt a little left out because her more dominating friend was there and controlled the lesson. She really liked it this time and understood it much better. When we asked her if she would pray to know if it was true she looked up at us and asked HOW to ask. It was so cute and so humble and I love my little Sicilians! (I am really sorry I am so mushy gooshy girly right now, but I can't help it, I really love everyone!) After Margherita we went to go see a family we had sung to the other week. Again we sang like three new songs. Haha, but Sorella Giordano does not sing. At all. She will also be the first one to admit it. She also had a sore throat. So we just had to laugh our way through the songs. Then we talked to this huge family in the stairwell of their apartment for a half hour. They really liked us a lot and before we left they all told us several times how nice we were and we could come back anytime. Va be :)
Monday morning we went to go visit Melina. She read the blown up pages of the Book of Mormon! Sure she did not read it all and she probably pulled it out and started reading it an hour before we got there, but she read it! We retaught her the Plan of Salvation and she actually remembered a lot of what we had taught her in the first lesson weeks ago. She is super sweet and likes a lot still. And THANK GOODNESS Sorella Giordano understands sicilianon so that I don't have to just sit there and nod my head and pretend I understand every word she says . . . which I don't. We then filled the rest of the morning with finding. It was weird because we did not do singing. Instead we did normal house. I have to say I like going door to door singing a lot better, but it was alright. We talked to a lot of people. We did not get any numbers, but we talked to a lot of people. That afternoon we had another lesson with Christiana. Her uncle was still there but it was less awkward. She also read the whole Introduction which we asked her to do and to circle the words she did not understand because Italian is her second language and we don't have a Book of Mormon in albanese yet. We then taught her the plan of Salvation too and she really liked it a lot. Her uncle made some comments and Sorella Giordano started talking to him, but Christiana turned to me, cupped her mouth and said "He is just dumb. What you've just told me is beautiful." She is still changing every time we go over and we are almost positive that if we can get her into church so that she can make friends with the young women she will be hooked! Sorella Giordano also told me afterward that while she was talking to her uncle that he told her that it is really good for Christiana to learn these things, especially at her age. She needs the strength and help in her teens to stay away from the filth that is so easily found. He does not seem to want to really act, but he also likes our messages and stayed for the whole thing. Until the prayer. Christiana was a little shy to pray in front of him so he left and she said the prayer for us. She is too cute :) We then got picked up by Sorella Di Mauro to go visit a new investigator named Grazia. She is from the Dominican Republic and we had only taught her once several weeks ago. But she called us and we set up this appointment. Unfortunately it was really far away and I felt bad that Sorella Di Mauro had to drive us there and then we taught the lesson in a Piazza with a ton of people around us. But it went well considering all of the factors. Grazia really likes the Joseph Smith story and wants to find the truth herself. We will see how often we can see her. That is one of the biggest problems we have here. People like the message but they either have no time to see us or don't follow through on commitments. But we will see. That night I FINALLY had to catch up on area book. We had fallen behind when I was with Sorella Askew and so I spent an hour doing progress records. I am still not done, but I am a lot closer than I was!
Tuesday morning we went to go see a less active member named Sorella Terranova. We talked about an article from October's Liahona about the Book of Mormon. Even though she does not come to church she told us she still reads the Book of Mormon almost everyday. She is really sweet and we want to set up a family night with her family since none of them are active. We then ate a quick lunch and saw Lia. We also shared the article from the Liahona and then she went on a rant about the members and that they are not Christian. Sorella Giordano kinda put her in her place, but it was good for her. I adore Lia, but she cannot base her attendance in church on what other members do. We then went to go see Giorgia Castorina because it had been WAY too long since our last lesson. We taught her the Restoration with the cups and her little brother, Emanuele, really liked it. He was down on the floor with me helping me build the pyramid. The lesson went a little over though so we had to pretty much run all the way to the church (which is NOT close) so that we would be on time for our lesson with Angelo. That too went well. WE were kind of brain dead so I was not completely there mentally but it was alright. We had planned to watch the Restoration DVD anyways. He did have a few questions about the bible at the end that I was not very capable of answering, but maybe he understood how tired I was . . . because it just got worse during English course. Whoops. We watched another video with everyone together because we still have not had a good opportunity to reorganize the classes now that there are two Italians, 2 Americans, and 3 different classes. Anziano Andersen kind of took over. Ogni tanto non sono così brava . . . va be. That's what life is about, growing and becoming better no? But thank goodness for awesome elders who help a sister out!
And today we did not do a whole lot. We swapped hours and had a lesson with Lidia Tosto in the morning. We taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ with cups and knives (yeah, sounds weird, but no worries, we didn't do anything illegal) and then went to the huge market here in Catania. I bought a few things for my fam (AKA you) and then we met up with the Anziani to eat lunch. And now I am here. Fun fun!
Love the mission, love my companion, love Italy, love the Lord, and love the Gospel.
Oh, and love you all too :D
Muah!
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!
