But that's okay. I will survive.
So last week we ran over a little bit on internet into our proselyting hours and then we had problems with traffic. So by the time we got to Lia Sciotino's house it was 7.30. So we stayed a half hour and then had to leave because it takes an hour to get home . . . if we are lucky. Lia is moving to Palermo at the end of this week and she is really sad. 1) because she does not believe the members have been nice enough to her and she is afraid they will be the same in Palermo. 2) because there are only Anziani in Palermo. 3) She has lived in Catania for a long time. But it was a nice little visit, even if she did start to cry.
Giovedì we went to go visit Sorella Maria Amato and her mother. She is the only member but asked us if we could go and visit her mom. It was a funny little visit because this sister is a bit eccentric, but I like her a lot, even if she is probably going to jail for man slaughter hahaha. But that is another story. We then did house on her street and then mdae our way home. But first we smelled something really good so we followed the scent to this panificio and I bought this sandwich. But then before I could eat it I saw this woman on the street and just knew I had to talk to her, even though we had only faced rejection after rejection the whole morning. And you know what? She was SO nice and immediately said she wanted to learn more! Perfect :) That afternoon we were not sure how much time we would have before the Anziani came to get us to go to Thanksgiving dinner so we stayed home from 4.00 until 5.30 and did area book and phone calls. We even got to set up a few appointments :) And thanksgiving dinner was pretty sweet! The Bay family is so nice. We even got little oreo-candy corn turkeys at each of our places. We had turkey, REAL mashed potatoes, candied yams . . . everything. I rather enjoyed myself, especially the pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing at the end. After we all ate we played BANG! an Italian card game that I actually played a lot when I was up at Utah State. Then we played Scum. I did not do very well, but as Dad knows, it is a game of luck. I also got my Christmas package, and don't worry mom, I gave it to the Anziani to keep until Christmas so that I wouldn't be tempted. I just don't have any self control :)
Friday after we did weekly planning we went and had a lesson with Angelo Longo. We explained the sanctity of the Sabbath and the Fast and then Angelo pulled out this article that he had found. It was from a person's blog who is an active member of the church but they also believe in Zoroastrianism, buddhism . . . and he asked me to read it and tell him what I thought. I tried my best to explain that I actually like a lot of the points that the woman brought up, that different religions have great truths and teach people to do what is right, but that I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has ALL the truth. I think Sorella Giordano was a little concerned that he had been surfing the web for different articles about the church. You never know what you will find. But then Angelo pulled out another article which was from the church website. He then had us read that one and it was entitled "Respecting the religions of Others." It was all about finding the common truths between us and our friends so that we can find points to share testimony. Also there were quotes from early church leaders who were not members at the beginning of their lives and that they had learned good principles from their former churches. As we finished reading the article Angelo looked up with his very special smile and simply said "this is a treasure". Haha, oh Angelo :) After him we went to go see our little friend Kristiana. It had been a while since we had seen her and this time she was home and even said "wow, it has been so long!" We read from 3 Nephi 11 with her and she really liked it, especially when we talked about the Holy Ghost. We also invited her to church Sunday and she said she would love to go. Perfect! After that we went to the church for an appointment with a man, named Salvatore, we had met 2 weeks before. We were kind of nervous because he seemed rather friendly when we met him. Not in a super creepy way, but in a "Hi, I have no social skills and you're pretty" sort of way. And just because we have such great luck, a ton a of members were at the church and they are really particular about the people that we teach. Luckily he did not show up though so we left to go and see if Agata was home. She wasn't and while we were sitting planning what to do next Salvatore called us (45 minutes after he was supposed to be there haha) and told us he was at the church with the pizzeria under it. That is the Evangelical church next door to ours so he was not even at the right one haha. Oh well, he will survive. We then ran home to grab a list we had made of less actives to go visit one that lives close to our house. We tried to find it but took a wrong street. At that point it was too late to go and "drop in" on a person we did not know so we went ot talk to our friends, Silvana and Fabio, who own the snack bar below our house. They are so great and always give us free food. This time we started talking about religion and she asked us about ours. We explained the priesthood to her and she then started explaining the catholic priesthood to us. But Sorella Giordano was Catholic her whole life so there was no need. But then Silvano really started to open up and she believes in a lot of really faith based principles. But like many people, she has seen that most religions try and offer solutions to life's problems but it just ends up leaving us disappointed. She even said that she prays everyday to thank the Lord for every day that she has and asks for help. We have developed a pretty good friendship with them and hope it continues to grow. One day, whether in this life or the next, she will join the church.
Saturday morning we left at 7.30 to go to the blood drive but turns out I couldn't donate blood. I then had to wait my turn to see my blood analysis and talk to the doctor. Turns out my iron (sideremia in italian. Iron serum level?) was way too low. It should be between 37-180 and mine was only 28. the doctor first asked me "Aren't you tired?!" and all I could think of to respond was "I don't know . . . ?" I honestly don't know the difference between real world tired, mission tired, and iron-low tired. He then said I needed to take iron and buy a huge raw stake with the blood oozing out and eat it. Great. I probably won't do that. So yeah, because Liesel is a smart little cookie and a nurse and all that ask her if my iron is low enough that I should be concerned or not. Thanks! So yes, in the end I had to wait while Sorella Giordano gave blood and then we went on our 2 our journey across the city to visit the family Terranova. The whole family is inactive and we have started to go visit them recently. This time it was just the mom, though the daughter, Valentina, dropped her head in to say hi before she left with a friend. Sorella Terranova is really sweet and we re-taught her the Restoration with the plastic cups. She liked it a lot and you can tell she still has her testimony and it is starting to grow a little with our visits. It had been years since the sorelle have gone to visit her or her visiting teachers. At the end we invited her to come to the Primary Program the next day and she said she would it Valentina was coming. That afternoon we went to to go see Kristiana again and this time we listened to a song about prayer and she responded like she always does "Beautiful". And we talked a little bit about the spirit but nothing was really changing. So we changed tactics and started asking her questions. Eventually we got the the question "But say Joseph Smith is a prophet and he saw God and Jesus Christ, what would that mean to you?" She did not really know how to respond. So we then explained that we are not here just to talk about our Savior, but to share this message about the Restoration of His church. We explained that having this knowledge makes a difference, for example, knowing without a doubt that you can live with your family forever. She was really quiet and I asked if she knew how to find that answer for her self, how she could know if this was all true. She shrugged and said she didn't know. We then asked her to pray directly and specifically to know if these things were true. She said she would because she already prays every night and that she just needs to ask specifically. She also told us she still wanted to come to church and would be ready for us to come and get her at 8.30. She is so great :) We then stopped by Agata afterwards and stayed with her for about an hour. We did not teach a "lesson" really but we looked through all of her pictures that she brought to us. Of her wedding, children . . . and then she showed us all of her pets, dog, cat, and bird . . . She has had a really hard life. She lost both of her parents at 13 and then when she was 49 her husband died. 6 months later she almost lost her younger daughter. She believes in God but she asked us "but why? I lost my parents. Wasn't that enough? I don't know what God wants me to learn." She is so sweet and we told her to re-read the pamphlet we had left of the Plan of Salavation and we would talk about it the next time. She also wants to have dinner with us sometimes this next week. After Agata we went to have a lesson with Angelo. Wow. That was a killer lesson. We gave him the little pieces of the Plan of Salavation and told him to teach it to us. We had been a little afraid that he was too worried about knowing the deep doctrine of the church and wasn't paying enough detail to the basics. We were wrong haha. He spent 15 minutes just on the Pre-earth life as he explained how we were all intelligences before we were begotten as spirit children of our Heavenly Father and our mysterious Heavenly Mother. He even got into the details of the Fall of Satan and that Christ was chosen because He gave all the glory to the Father. Then Angelo explained the Fall of Adam and Eve (also telling us that Adam was the Archangel Michael) and explained everything perfectly. Thinking I was sly and wanting to see what else he knew I asked him where the Garden of Eden was now. He then grinned at me and said "Well, I believe I have read a few things about Adam-ondi-amon". What a little stinker. So yes, basically he knows TOO much for an investigator we met in October. At the end after he finished explaining everything we then said "Okay, well that's all great. But what do YOU think about it all?" He stopped and thought for a minute and then told us how he liked certain points and that it all makes sense and then he said something to the effect of "But this does you no good if you don't have the desire to become like Christ. We have to want to have compassion and charity for all those around us, encompassing who He is. Without that, the rest of the doctrine does not even matter." Wow, Angelo really gets it! Sorella Giordano and I were stunned. Literally. He will do wonders for the church here in Sicilia.
Sunday we left early to go pick up Kristiana and she was ready the moment we arrived. When we were about 15 minutes away from the church still, Stephanie and Julie Renau drove past and gave us a ride. Everyone introduced themselves to Kristiana and after Sacrament meeting Maria Grazia (the young woman we brought to the lesson two weeks earlier) took her by the hand, introduced her to EVERYONE and took her to sunday school. After that we did not have to worry about another thing. We were then free to go to gospel principles with Lidia and Angelo and then Relief Society. Just before Relief Society though, Maria Grazia came up to us and said that whenever we have a lesson with Kristiana she wants to come. Perfect. After church we took Kristiana home and we asked what she had learned in Young Women's. She told us, as always, "Belle cose." (beautiful things). We then asked what they were and she said "something about not smoking and drinking and doing illegal drugs. That's right, those things are bad for you." Haha, I had to laugh at that one, especially since her whole family smokes. She even brought that up and counted up how much it costs her family each day and every week to buy cigarettes and that her dad is always hacking up a lung. If she continues to progress in the church it will change her whole life. And she is on her way. She is coming to the YW activity Saturday and wants to come to church again next week. I could not be happier. We made it back to church just in time for the Sigonella branch and before it started, President Shefchik came up to me and said "Sister, were you here for the earlier ward?" "yes." " Could you tell me why our computer monitor and key board are missing?" I guess the other ward forgot to inform them that our church building had been robbed 2 this last week by a member. Whoops. So I had to explain that to him. He was rather shocked, then shrugged, and walked away. Whoops. All the meetings went really well, especially sacrament meeting because the newest member, Samuel Nana Boatang, gave a talk. He is a convict (on false charges) from Ghana who has lived the last 4 years in Lybia. But then with the war there, he and his pregnant wife had to leave as refugees on a boat to Italy. During his talk on gratitude he recounted this whole story to us. And wow, it is an intense story, especially in the way he explained. Let's just say it made all of us American's feel a lot more grateful for the lives we have because Samuel was so incredibly full of joy at just the fact that he is alive and a member of the church. We cannot even begin to relate to his life and I am so ungrateful in comparison. And to top off that grate talk, after church we had a linger longer! Yes, I was starving! I know, I take way too many things for granted. And also a car. The Anziani drove us across the city for an appointment with the family DiGrazia. We happened to call them last week and they came to church. We all stayed and just talked with them and their daughter, Tiziana, who is married and has a little girl. We all played with her toys while we talked and got to know each other. We then went with the Anziani to their appointment with Isidoro. I love him haha. First thing, he is a bouncer. Second thing, he has one of the craziest personalities I have ever met. He is a member but does not come very often. We had a good ol' time and the spirit was also strong as we talked to him about the blessing we receive when we come to church.
Monday morning we went to go see Melina but she was not home. It ended up working out because a member called us needing our help to open the gate to the church. Troy Rappleye had a flat tire and left his car in the parking lot and needed someone with a key. We then had district meeting and then went to the Snack Bar beneath our house so that we could all see Silvana and Fabio! I also ate meat because I ended up calling Sorella Kelly (mission presidents wife) about my iron level and she told me I had to eat meat again. Good thing it was all in a tortilla with lots of veggies around it. I guess my health comes first. that afternoon we went to go see the family Bruno and talked with the wife, daughter, and the grandma. The Grandma is too funny. She is getting on in years and is not all there in the head. But the moment we walked in the door she started jabbering at us with this huge smile on her face. She took our hands and just kept jabbering. Because of her health she can't come to church and the missionaries are her only visual connection to the church. We definitely learned that haha. After that the rest of our afternoon kind of fell apart so we went on a less active hunt. Turns out everyone we went to go see does not live at their addresses anymore and we have no number for them. It is really sad when members get completely lost and we have no way of finding them :( Oh well, we are going to make a big list of all the information we find out about these members and give it to the ward. The saddest thing is our ward list is more than 27 pages long. That is a lot of members, but only 120 are active. Our ward is probably about 80% less active. 2 years ago they had two wards, now there is only one. Even if JUST the less actives came to church we would have so many members! We have a lot of work to do on that side of the work.
Yesterday we were going to go see Lidia but she was sick so we went to go try and visit Sorella Carruba. First thing is my immune system had decided to start failing Saturday so yesterday morning I felt really crummy. But we went out anyways. We spent almost 2 hours on the bus to go visit this sister and she wasn't home. Then we walked to another Piazza to meet an ex-investigator named Cristina we had called. That meeting was only 5 minutes long because she was with her whole family (mom, husband, baby, and mother-in-law) so after we waited 45 minutes for the bus which then took another hour to take us home. We then walked 20 minutes from the bus stop until we got home and then I collapsed in bed and slept until we had to leave again. We went to go see Sorella Mairori and we sang 6 hymns with her haha. She just loves to hear us sing, even though she can't and neither can Sorella Giordano. So it is always a Sorella LeCates solo. Fun fun! We then made our way ot the church for a lesson with Angelo and we talked about the different commandments he has to know before he can be baptized. After the last lesson where we learned he basically knows everything, we decided to just give him the list and have him explain them to us. But I was shocked as we talked about prayer that he only does it at MOST once a day. We then really emphasized that for the rest of the lesson. He has had problems with his mom's approval of his baptism and coming to church so we told him he has to pray specifically for help with that. At the end he said the prayer and was really specific and I think he realized just how important that communication is with our Heavenly Father. We then had English Course, as always. At the end I re-summarized all the different points of the Plan of Salvation I had previously explained and then we moved onto the Spirit World. It was fun to teach it because it was only 2 students and they kept on trying to guess that it was purgatory, or hell, heaven. . . it was probably the 6th time I explained that it was only a temporary place until Christ comes again that they finally got it. One student, Michelangelo stayed after and talked to me about it. I left him the whole pamphlet and told him to read it. He told me, without really thinking about it, that it is impossible to know in this life where we will go after death. I then told him there is a way, but it is not me or any other person on the earth. We have to ask God. He said he would pray to know and I really hope he does. After that we only had 20 minutes until 9.00 and I still felt crummy, so the Anziani took us home and we talked to our friends in the snack bar for a half hour.
This morning we went to the market and I bought a bunch of ties for the men in my life and now I am here writing to all of you as always.
Love you all bunches! Hope you are all doing well and you know that you are always in my prayers!
Vi amo una quantità che non potete capire!
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!
