Week 27: thanksgiving, coldness, and little boy kisses

Dear family and cari amici:

This week has been so good! And this p-day has been amazing. I am in
love with Italy. :)

On Monday, as you saw from pictures... We went to Ortigia which is a
small island off the city of Syracuse or Siracusa. It was absolutely
beautiful, and I died a million times over. Giant piazzas, beautiful
buildings, lovely CLEAN streets, and so many picture taking
opportunities! It is the city where Archimedes grew up. Someday I will
go back with my nice camera and never leave. ;)

Tuesday, I went on a scambio with Sorella Thorpe. All but one of our
lessons ended up falling through, but I think the purpose of a scambio
is for more than doubling the amount of lessons we could have. It's
nice to have someone else to talk to, as much as I LOVE Sorella
Decker. The one lesson we did have was with Rossella. She is an
English course student and loves the missionaries. We read the intro
of the Book of Mormon and Moroni's promise, and then the spirit
prompted me to do an impromptu baptism invite... Scariest thing I've
ever done and so unexpected, but it felt right. And she accepted..
Without attaching a date to it. So fun to feel Heavenly Father working
through you. :)

Thursday was thanksgiving... And it turned into a really cold,
uneventful day. It was raining in the morning when we went to figure
out the bus times, and it stayed cold and windy all day. Humidity and
wind makes for freezing sister missionaries. We went to the Foulk
family for thanksgiving. They made turkey, Mac and cheese, mashed
potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, pulled pork, and A&W root beer.
They also invited an Italian sister over whose husband is on leave and
her mother. The sister speaks English, and then there were 3 kids all
together. The Italians brought lasagna and cannoli, so it was a nice
blend of Italian and American deliciousness. It was so nice of them to
invite us over. We had figured all the bus times out, so it would work
perfectly, and they dropped us off at the stop 15 minutes before the
bus was to get there. And we wait, and we wait, and we wait some more.
No bus. It is freezing. And we wait, and wait... And still no bus.
Finally an hour and a half later, we called the Foulk's back...
Feeling really horrible the whole time... And Zach came and rescued us
and took us back to Catania. We still feel really bad... But
thanksgiving memories. Next one... I'll be home. Ahh! Weird to think
about! They also gave us leftovers and they were just as good the
second day. Italians don't believe in leftovers, but they are missing
out.

It has been really cold the last few days, which calls for tights,
boot socks, wool skirts, and my wool coat. Yes, I finally broke it out
of my suitcase. And our house doesn't have heaters and we have a
window that will forever be stuck open. Haha... It makes it really
hard to get up in the morning.

My 6 months and Sorella Decker's 17 months happened this week. We
didn't celebrate... Because we were broke. Now that I have less than a
year left in this beautiful place, it makes me a little sad. My life
will be forever changed from this experience, and I wouldn't change my
decision to come for anything.

Transfer calls are haunting me. I am so torn on what I want to happen.
Sorella Decker leaves Saturday morning, and then I will find out what
is happening a few hours after she leaves. I don't want to think I am
leaving... And it is only the really selfish part of me that wants to
leave. But the work would fall apart here. So, I read a verse in 2
Nefi in Italian and it talked about reconciling yourself with the will
of God. I know that whatever is supposed to happen, will happen. If I
stay, I hope I get a younger missionary so I will not be the "greenie"
anymore. Stay tuned until next week. :)

Saturday night, we went finding. I've decided that it takes two kinds
of faith to go. One to actually leave the house into the cold air to
talk to strangers, and then two... The faith that it will work.
Finding definitely isn't my favorite thing not because I don't like to
talk to strangers or because I'm afraid of rejection.. But Catania is
a really hard place to find good places to go finding. If you go to
downtown, everyone is too busy to talk to you, if you go to the
historic parts, everyone is a tourist, and if you go to parks, you'll
talk to a bunch of creeps. Hopefully if I stay, I will discover a good
place to go.

Sunday... We spent a lot of time with the Bruno's who are now ward
missionaries. We went to see Jennifer together because she is sick.
Bro. Bruno gave her a blessing, and as we were leaving... (We usually
ask for a bacio from the boys. A kiss on the cheek. And in Italy, it
is perfectly acceptable for girls to baciare girls and boys to boys)
.. It is really just touching cheeks to greet each other. Anyways, we
ask Emmanuel for un bacio... And he does.. And then Bro. Bruno asks
and he says.. "Sei un maschio" or you are boy! Haha... He refused to
do it.. And it was the cutest thing I have ever seen.

In my studies this week, I especially enjoyed 2 Nefi 11. Nefi is
explaining why he likes Isaiah, and why he uses Isaiah so much.. And
he said because Isaiah has seen Christ as I have seen him. And I
realized that Isaiah is one of the most powerful testimonies of Christ
as the savior in all accounts of scripture. He also talked about how 3
witnesses are used to establish truth.. And how his soul delights in
proving to his fellow men that Jesus is the Christ. I loved this
because, my soul also delights in demonstrating that Jesus is the
Christ. That is why I am on a mission. Because Jesus Christ has
changed my life, and I want to show others how he can do the same for
them.

Well, I am glad you all had a great thanksgiving! Vi voglio un mondo
di bene. :)

Con amore,
Sorella Flansberg

Week 26: 1/3 done? Please tell me that isn't true....

Dear family and friends:

This has been a long week. The time warp quit working... Haha, just
kidding. But this week did seem really long. However, this next week,
I will hit my 6 month mark. How did that happen? I still am not quite
sure.

On Monday night, we had planned to help Jennifer move into her new
house, so we thought we were going to go to her old house and help her
pack up her things. But we arrived, and she said she was at her new
house, and we didn't know where that was. So, we went on a treasure
hunt. We would call her, and she would give us the next thing to look
for. Haha.. It was kind of fun. And it was refreshing because we wore
tennis shoes and sweats. I think that was the first time walking
around the city where my feet didn't hurt. Jennifer's new house is
wonderful and her landlord is literally an angel sent from heaven.
There are windows, and nice floors, and a little more space than her
other one.

On Tuesday, we had a lesson with our investigator, Gabriella. I don't
think I've told you about her before. Whoops! She is a golden simp and
we love her. She is adorable, and super short, and has such a blank
religious slate that we can write all over it. She asks a whole bunch
of questions, and she is already into second Nefi. Her boyfriend is
doing dialysis for liver failure from a drinking problem so she is all
about the word of wisdom. However, she isn't married, so we have to
work on that issue before she can get baptized. She is also like 50,
so I feel like the word boyfriend is a bit odd.

One day this week, we had like zero lessons planned. So, we took the
stop smoking program to one of the less actives we work with, and as
we were walking back, we stopped at a bancomat(ATM) for Sorella Decker
to get money. Then we both had the idea to go get French fries at this
place. Side note: this place puts sauce on French fries, like garlic
sauce and curry sauce. It's a thing from Holland, and if someone took
that idea to BYU, they would make bank. Copyright validated... :)
Anyways, we went to buy french fries and then got on the bus to go
home when we got a call from Marianne. She was having a really hard
time and because we didn't have plans, we were able to go and help
her. We have decided that this woman has so much faith and Heavenly
Father loves her so much because of all the miracles we have seen in
the past few weeks since we met her.

On Thursday, we had English course. Halfway through, Valentina asked
what the church's viewpoint is on war, and the entire English course
turned into a gospel discussion. It was really cool, and everybody was
listening to us very intently. I just love sharing the gospel, because
that is when I am the most happy.

Friday night, we had 2 hours to do finding. I was on a scambio with
Sorella Fuller, because we had the Messina Sorelle with us after the
training on Friday. I didn't really want to go finding, but I knew
that we needed to. So, we set a goal to get 2 numbers and have like 2
quality conversations. And we came back with 3 numbers and a work
location. I truly saw the blessings of setting a goal and having the
faith to go and talk to people on the street even when I didn't want
to walk any further or go out into the cold.

On Saturday, we had to go to Siracusa or Syracuse for stake
conference. We went to the bus stop to catch a bus to the train
station, and the bus sat there for literally 20 minutes and we had to
go, like we were going to miss the bus. So, I said an unspoken prayer
that the circular bus would come, and that we could get there on time.
And right before the driver of the bus drove away, there comes the
628. It was literally a miracle, because Heavenly Father knew I didn't
need any added stress... Not that I was stressed.. But it was a
blessing. Then we went to Siracusa and had stake conference. The
entire thing was about keeping the sabbath day holy. Even if I got
super bored after 4 hours of the sabbath day, I still learned
something. :)

In Italian, you say "observe the sanctity or sanctification of Sunday"
and someone mentioned that we should also observe the sanctification
of ourselves while we partake of the sacrament. Another person said
that there are cycles for everything.. Day and night, winter to
spring, and all of those cycles are meant for the earth to rest.
Humans need to rest too, so that cycle is consisted of 6 days of work
and 1 day of rest. The other thing I liked was someone said that the
sabbath is like a spiritual shower. It refreshes us and washes us
clean.

Two other things from this week. This weekend, we had a sleepover with
all 8 Sorelle since we were all here for stake conference. We are also
doing pday in Siracusa. It will be really fun. We are going to Ortigia
today that has a whole bunch of cool Greek ruins. I love this place.
Anyways, one of the Sorelle told us about the painting in the Sistine
chapel and how Michaelangelo added things that actually go against
Catholic doctrine. God and Adam have the same kind of body, Heavenly Father
and heavenly mother, the cherubim and the flaming sword, and Heavenly
Father and Jesus Christ appearing to Adam in the garden of Eden. :)
How cool is it to think those things are painted on the ceiling of the
headquarters of the Catholic Church? Haha.. It was cool to learn and
see on postcards that people have.

Then this week we also had specialized training. Nobody mentioned
seeing pictures so they probably aren't up yet... But it was so good!
I felt like every one of the trainings was meant for me and it was
such an answer to my prayers. Some of the things that I took from the
conference was that as missionaries, especially in other parts of the
world, disregard preach my gospel because they think it was written
for American missionaries. But as we worked with it a bit, I found a
new found appreciation for that book. Someone said that it was written
for us by someone who knows more than us. And if we don't use it, we
are making missionary work harder than it needs to be. And that
chapter 3 is only like 20 pages and the rest of that book is for the
missionaries. It was really enlightening. Then we talked about having
the faith to finish. Not necessarily finish the mission but finish
everything. They talked about how our happiest moments on the mission
are when we are out working and not when we are in bed sleeping. And
then they asked us rhetorically whether we have faith like Nephi or
Laman and Lemuel. They said that all of the brothers accepted the
mission call to collect the plates, but Laman and Lemuel were going to
give up when it started to get hard. It was just a really cool
comparison. Then president talked about how we receive and recognize
spiritual promptings and revelation. It was just a really great
conference and it got me all pumped up to be a better missionary.

Well, I love you all. Happy thanksgiving! We were actually invited to
the American base for thanksgiving, so I might be getting turkey after
all. Italians don't really celebrate thanksgiving. They don't even
really know when it is. It was fun to explain to them what we eat and
about Black Friday during English course. Americans are crazy! :)

Love you!

Con amore,
Sorella Flansberg

Week 25:

Hello to all of my favorite people:

This week had its ups and downs and roller coaster whirls just like
any other week in the mission. So to get started:

Tuesday, we got bidonied... Twice in fact. But to count the blessings,
we found out the lessons had been cancelled before we walked the mile
and half there and back two times.. If you haven't figured it out yet,
we walk a lot... So when we find out we don't have to walk as much, we
get really happy. So we decided to go pay our tickets for riding the
bus "naked". The lady who helped us was actually really sweet. Usually
office people are miserable to work with here, but she was really
happy and we invited her to come to church. Now we are happy because
we can ride the bus whenever we want since we have the monthly passes.
And yes, we have been using it to our advantage. We then went to a
Chinese store to buy a toilet seat. The one in my bathroom has been
broken for who knows how long.. So we measured it, got one we thought
would fit, went home... Too small. Went back, exchanged it for another
one, still too small. So as of right now, I am still toilet seat less.
It's either that or having my knees run into the sink in the other
bathroom. I think there is something wrong with that picture. But home
sweet home in our real ghetto apartment.

Wednesday after district meeting, we rode the bus home and we started
talking to these ladies. Eventually the conversation turned to where
we are from, so we said America.. Then the one lady was like, "I could
have guessed that... Look at her eyes and how tall she is. Obviously
American." So far, the project of me fitting in is a failure.

Then after that, we met with the lady from the Mauritius islands who
speaks French... And apparently better English than she let on. But we
were attempting to teach her some Italian in a piazza where there were
a bunch of old men sitting and playing cards. There were some men on
the bench across from us, and they were watching us and were very
amused with our trilingual conversation. M is so sweet and at
the end she said that, "seeing you two just makes my heart hot."
Seriously the cutest.

Thursday was transfer day! One of the sisters from Messina was leaving
to go to Bari, so we got to be in a trio with her companion or in
other words, Sorella Embley who was in my group. :) We are the only
two sisters who are still in our birth city... I guess us Eastern
Sicilians get to stay in one city for a long long time. We had a really
great lesson with G about the 10 commandments, obedience, and
the word of wisdom. We talked about how those teach us how to respect
God, respect others, and how to respect ourselves. I decided that I
don't really like transfer days, because quite often, we miss out on
personal studies. That is probably my favorite hour of the day, so
when I miss it... My day just doesn't feel complete.

Thursday night while on the bus to English course, I was surprised by
something. The drunk man who hates the bus system that I talked about
a few weeks ago got on the bus and looked all calm and peaceful and
kind of sad.. And as I was looking at him, I just felt this feeling of
pure love for him run through me. It's happened a few other times too.
One other time was when one sister in the ward said the prayer
in relief society. As she was praying, she sounded like a completely
different person, and her prayer was so sincere. That was a cool
experience. Then it happened again on Sunday during sacrament when one
of the creepers from English course came who is on again, off again
investigating the church. That time, I was like, "what's happening to
me? " but it just reminded me that I need to have charity for everyone
I run across. Even the people who seem different are children of God.

Friday just wasn't the best day I have ever had. I am pinning it on
the fact that it was Friday the 13th.. But it just wasn't a good day.
We had weekly planning that morning, which is always fun because I can
wear sweats all morning. Coming home at the end of the day and putting
sweats on is like my favorite part.. I hate skirts... Sometimes.
Friday afternoon, we had a lesson with a new convert, and that was
really interesting. Sorella Decker is really good at making people
spill their guts out at us. That evening, we had a lesson planned with
a members girlfriend. I think he told her beforehand that we were
American and we don't speak great Italian, so she came expecting us to
not be understandable. Comunque, the lesson was horrible. We were
saying complete sentences that were grammatically correct, but she
wasn't really listening and then her boyfriend would say the exact
same thing we said and she'd be like... Oh, okay. Then the member had
the nerve to say that I don't really speak Italian that great. Well,
no duh. I've been here for 4 months. I just really hate it when people
don't try to understand me. I am trying my hardest, and it's hard to
learn a new language. Then it also really annoys me when people speak
really fast, ask if I understand, and if I don't... They repeat
themselves in broken English. I mean it is really nice of them to try
to speak English, but if you slowed down a bit... I'd be able to
understand perfectly. #languageprobs

We had a lesson with G and I on Saturday night. It consisted
of an hour of chatting, a 10 minute spiritual thought, and 50 more
minutes of chatting. I actually think those two are professional
chatters. It is also literally impossible to get out of appointments
with them in less than 2 hours.. G kept saying how he know the
church is true, but right now he's happy where he is being an ex
member of the church. He thinks he can help more people come to the
gospel by being an outside perspective. He said he calls himself a
Mormon on vacation. I really wanted to ask him when he planned on
coming back from this vacation. The fun never ends around here.

Sunday was full of miracles again. Gabri came to church!!! Woohoo!
Also, Jen found a new house, so tonight we are going to help her
move. Those two things were enough to have the fact that Heavenly
Father answers prayers reconfirmed. :)

No additional spiritual thought this week. But I did want to talk
about how the attacks in France have impacted things here... It really
breaks my heart that people can do such horrible things. We learned of
the attacks on Saturday night at I and G"s. The first thing
we thought of was Sorella B, and how she must have been coping
with knowing her son is on a mission there. He is in Lyon, but still
in France. We were glad to hear that all missionaries were safe as
they happened after the time we are to be home. There are rules for
reasons. I guess the Lyon mission president had his missionaries not
leave their homes for a while. Everyone around here is worried that
the next attack will be on Rome. Italy is supposed to have 15 million
more tourists this next year alone for the Jubilee? Last week, the
Europe area presidency said that missionaries are no longer allowed to
teach immigrants without identification or permesso paperwork. I don't
know if it has something to do with all of this, but we also heard
that Italy is cracking down on letting people immigrate here now from
Africa. I don't really know much about what happened as I'm away from
the world right now, but my heart is saddened. And my prayers are with
the French. We might hear additional news from president today.

I actually read a really great talk this last week by Neal A. Maxwell.
It is called Applying the Atoning Blood of Christ from October 1997.
Add it to your reading list. It touched my heart. :)

I love you all!

Love,

Sorella Flansberg

Week 24: A week of firsts.. :)

Dear family and friends:

Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes! I had such a great day,
but you'll have to wait until the end to read more about it. :)

Okay, on Monday this last week, Sorella Decker and I splurged and went
to a fancy restaurant for dinner. Well, sort of fancy. We aren't that
rich... Haha, the first thing they bring us is two glasses of wine...
Haha, we looked at each other and were like uh....we didn't drink it
in case anyone was wondering. Anyways, it was really delicious. I
ordered the pistachio, bacon penne pasta and it was absolutely
delicious! I took my first bite and almost melted into my seat. The
restaurant was really cute, but the company wasn't that great. Well,
Sorella Decker was great, but there was a table of really rambunctious
English people across the room who made it not as enjoyable. I've
gotten to be really good at the game, "Guess where the tourist is
from." :)

Then Tuesday, our week began to go downhill. I think it was the worst
day of my mission so far, but it is far easier to have days like that
when you have a friend like Sorella Decker. So we started the morning
out with a bidone, or a cancelled appointment, so we decided to make
fudge for our recently released ward mission leader because he did so
much for us and we wanted to thank him. But it never hardened. Oh
well, we put it in the freezer and now it is like chocolate ice cream.
Back to Tuesday, then we walked the mile and a half to our next
appointment. She cancelled because she was sick, and our backup plan
fell through too. So, we decided to go to the church to make English
course posters to hang up. We do English course as a service to the
community, but it also makes for a great finding technique, however
right now... We just have a bunch of creeps who come so it helps the
sisters.. Aka us.. Squat. But as we are walking back to our house..
Sorella Decker gets pooped on by a pigeon right in her hair. She
decided to take a shower when we got back, and then we left for the
church. Before we sit down to wait for the bus, I had the thought.
"Hey, you should go buy a ticket." So I get my wallet out and walk up
to the booth, but it was closed. So I was like, oh well. It's their
fault if I don't have a ticket, because I am not going to walk all
over town to find a tabacheria. Plus, nobody EVER checks on this bus
anyways. But, at the first stop, guess who gets on? Ticket checkers!
So, they asked for my ID and I received a €60 fine. Sorella Decker got
one too, and we both resolved to never ride "naked" again... I was
really frustrated, because I am pretty sure it is a game that the bus
company plays to be able to fine more people. Oh well. At least it is
only 20 euros out of pocket because if we go pay it within 15 days, we
get a month pass that is worth 40 and we can get that reimbursed. That
was my first run in with the law. Oops! I'm pretty sure it was the
spirit reminding me to buy a ticket, but it didn't help with the
ticket booth being closed.

At the end of Tuesday, I felt like I needed to get a comfort blessing.
I had felt like I should get one 2 weeks ago, but I didn't... Because
I didn't feel like anything was wrong. I still didn't feel like it
wasn't anything I couldn't handle on Tuesday, but then Sorella Decker
said that maybe it isn't because something is wrong, but maybe
Heavenly Father has something to tell you. So, I resolved Wednesday
after DDM to ask for one so I didn't inconvenience anybody. Then
Wednesday morning, I had so much anxiety. I didn't want to eat, I
couldn't concentrate during studies, and I just felt sick to my
stomach. I decided Heavenly Father was just giving me a reason to have
to ask for a blessing, because maybe he knew that I wouldn't. I'm a
bit stubborn. But the comfort blessing was totally worth it. I felt so
much better. :)

On Thursday, Sorella Decker and I did a calculation of how many
miles I have walked since I arrived in Catania. We guesstimated that
we walk about 4 miles a day. 7 days a week for 18 weeks, and that is
about 530 miles. Obviously, I don't think I have walked that much, but
I know that I have at least walked 300. That is like walking to Reno
and back 5 times. Ha.. I'm pretty sure my body is going to be so beat
up from walking this much, and it is also the only thing that is
keeping me thin. Pros and cons. Everything has an opposite. Lehi was
right about that. :) And a lot of other things too.

Friday was a really great day. We finally got to meet with Gabriella
after 3 bidones this week. It is so hard to teach it public places
though and we teach her at a hospital. The spirit is still there, but
I find it harder to recognize. However, she is willingly reading the
Book of Mormon and she said she was going to come to church on
Sunday.. Which she didn't, but that is a different story. Later that
evening, we went to the areas around the church to hang up English
course posters, and as we were waiting for the bus, the anziani come
by and offered us a ride home. One of the elders in our district went
home this week, so the anziani are in a threesome, and we love it
because we get rides now. At least, for a week. We are sad that
someone went home, but it was his decision. That night we did weekly
planning while eating pizza. One of my favorites is a pesto potato
pizza. It is so good. :)

Saturday... TRANSFER CALLS! And... Drum roll please.... I'm staying!
Anziano Borden talked to Sorella Decker first and she handed the phone
to me.. And he asked me if I have ever committed a crime.. I was like,
no. Then he said that there is a first time for everything because I'm
murdering Sorella Decker. :) We were so excited, we might have
screamed in his ear. Oops! Ha... Now I get to worry about what is
going to happen next transfer. I'll either be in this lovely mad house
forever, or we will get blown out. I think we will probably be blown
out. This transfer is only 4 weeks long for the holidays, so I think
President kept it all the same for this time, but next time...
Everything is going to change before the 8 week transfer so all the
missionaries have a renewed sense of energy. We'll see. Vediamo. :)

Saturday morning, we had a lesson with a less active, and we had
planned this lesson for her about a week ago.. But we get there and we
start the lesson, and she told us that she had been thinking about the
exact thing that morning. Inspired lesson plans from the Lord. We used
a talk by Neil L. Anderson called, "what thinks Christ of me?" It
basically talked about our personal discipleship and how this is going
to be the only question that matters at the day of judgement. It
doesn't matter how great of a disciple other people think you are.
Only Christ. I think this is a really great concept to remember.
Riding the bus to this lesson, this lady saw our name tags, and from
that the entire bus started to talk about baptism. 4 pass along cards
later... Haha.. That was probably one of the coolest things that has
ever happened. It is also amazing to see how many people disagree with
infant baptism, but yet they are still Catholic because of the family
traditionalism.. Really?

Saturday night, the anziani had a baptism for this really sweet lady.
It was a part member family, the husband was inactive, and he is the
grandson of one of the really active members of the ward, Fratello
P. (Perciò quindi guy...) Sorry, that note is for me for future
memories. :) Anyways, the baptism went really great. The husband
baptized his wife. We were waiting behind the font with the towels, so
we didn't get to see it, but we heard the water swish, and then the
spirit just swished right over us. It was so cool. Baptisms literally
make every rejection so much more worth it. :)

Then, Sunday was my birthday!! I am now two decades old as Heidi so
lovingly pointed out. Thank you... :p I don't feel any different..
Just like any other birthday, but I had a really great day. Mom and
dad, thank you for the surprise you sneaky people... :) After church,
we went to Kiran's house for pranzo... And then we had a lesson with
the Fichera's and then we went to Sorella Catania's house for dinner
(cena). I figured I would just list all the delicious food I ate
yesterday... Chick peas, cous cous, fried rice, fried potatoes, fried
ham and cheese crepes, birthday cake, sponge cake, brownies, pancakes,
homemade lasagna, polpette, and tiramisu. I pretty much died. Or my
stomach almost burst. But, it was so so so dang good. The lasagna was
to die for. Also, I won't be eating for the next few days. What
surprised me about this birthday was my outlook on it. Before the
mission, I was all about the me, me, me aspect of my birthday.. But
this year, I was like, "yeah, it's my birthday today, but I am here on
the Lord's errand as a missionary, and it isn't about me today." It
was really fantastic.

Sorella Decker shared a talk with me this week. It is called becoming
a consecrated missionary by Elder Callister. It was so good, and made
me think about some things that I need to get better at. You should
try to find it. It is from an MTC devotional, so it isn't on gospel
library, but maybe you could find it online.

Anywho, in conclusion, this week was rough at the start, but because
we handled it well, we received blessings from on high. :)

I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Love,

Sorella Flansberg

Week 23: Rain, rain, go away...

Dear family and friends:

Last week ended up being a pretty great week. Miracles happened. Those
two words pretty much sum it up. But since I know those two words
aren't enough for all y'all... I'll expound a bit.

So on p-day, Sorella Decker and I had a blast (we are both history
geeks). And we went to see this Ancient Greek theater and a monastery
that turned to a university building. The theater is the oldest one
that has ever been discovered, I think. So that made it cool. There
was a sign that said we couldn't take pictures, but everyone was
ignoring it... So I ignored it too. Shhh, don't tell anybody that. ;)
Also, there was a house built over the theater that existed during
World War II, and the replica was beautiful. Sorella Decker and I came
up with a historical fiction plot that travels back into two separate
periods of history. If I ever find the time in my life after mission,
I might try to write a book. How cool would that be? The monastery was
also beautiful. I just think I scored the jackpot for missions. Italy
is so dang cool. I mean, other missions are cool too... But not as
much. ;)

Okay. 5 months down happened this past week. And it's freaking me out.
When you think about serving a mission, it is always 18 months.. And
now it's less. And I don't like that. I also don't know where time
goes. It disappears faster than you can snap your fingers.

This week, we had scambios. I was with the lovely Sorella Fransden.
And we had a really good time. We laughed harder than I ever have, and
I actually had fun finding for the first time. That morning, we went
to dolce America for American sweets with Angela for her birthday. We
got this really good cake, that was perfect in lightness and flavor,
and it was delicious. Also, America needs to adopt the pistachio
additions to their desserts. :)

This week, I received 3 birthday cards all on the same day, and then I
got one other one the next day. Strangely enough, they all say I can't
open them until November 8th. My family knows me too well. ;) They are
now sitting, and taunting me on my desk. I'm excited to open them. :)

Twice this week, we had people smile and wave at us that I've never
seen before. One of them on the bus home from English course. So we
turned around and asked her what her name was. She said Mary. And we
asked her if she knew the missionaries, and she said no. She just said
hi. We invited her to come to English course, and then she pointed at
the name of the church and said she wanted to learn more about that
too. We then saw her again the next day.. And she said she would come
to English course the next night, but she didn't. We are hoping she
comes this next week. She was really cute. We also met this lady from
Germany who lived in Ireland for 12 years who heard us speaking in
English on the bus. She was pretty excited to speak English with us.
We invited her to come to church too, so maybe something will come out
of that. Those were two of the miracles that happened.

We threw a Halloween party for English course on Thursday. And it was
really fun. A lot of people showed up, and brought treats to share and
we taught them words that are Halloween related. We also played a cake
walk type game and the game where they stick their hand in something
gross that they can't see.. And the things feel like various body
parts. They thought we Americans were nuts. :) Halloween here is
celebrated more with the dead and scary things. Then they have a day
in February to dress up like princesses and cartoon characters. But
their version of trick or treat is dolcetto o scherzetto? :)

This week, I started reading 1971 conference talks. Holy cow are those
things bold?!! But the world during the 70's had started to go crazy
with the hippies. So, I can imagine how important it was to emphasize
the law of chastity and word of wisdom. They are really fun to read.
It's funny to not recognize any of the general authorities though..
Well, I recognize their names, but not how they write their talks. It
is really fun.

This week, we also went over to the members house and her less active
daughter was there. She asked us for scriptures that talk about prayer
because she has been trying lately to make her prayers more
meaningful. We were more than happy to help. She was super sweet, and
we asked her if she would like us to come and visit more often, and
she agreed. :) She also has the cutest little boy who literally has a
smile on his face all the time. Not being able to play with kids is
the hardest thing ever.

On Saturday, the ward put on a Halloween party for the youth and the
singles, and so we went to the church to help them set up. We ended up
blowing up balloons. I think I blew up like 20 balloons. I figured out
how to tie them though. Haha, the things you learn on your mission. ;)
After blowing up that many balloons, you start to get a bit
lightheaded. My hands smelled like latex for the next two days. Haha..
Then it started to pour down rain, and we had to walk to the bus stop
and ride the bus home. We sat in the pouring down rain for 30 minutes
waiting for the bus in which we experienced a very genuine Halloween
storm. There was the rain, thunder, lightening, winds that started
ranging close to hurricane status, black cats, and bats. It was a fun
time. Let's just say that I was really grateful for a nice warm shower
when we got home. :)

I saved the biggest miracle for last. This week, we received a phone
call from the Reggio Anziani. They said they had a lady who is a
convert of like 2 years who just moved to Catania. She is from the
Mauritius islands and only speaks French and Creole. They also told us
that she was requesting a blessing of comfort. We asked people in the
ward if they knew of a priesthood holder who speaks French, but nobody
knew of anyone. We thought the best we would be able to do was to have
the blessing done in Italian and then have Kiran translate it. Then,
Sunday comes, and we had gotten her a ride to come to church. As we
are waiting for her to arrive, we see a couple walking up the walkway
to church. They come in and Anziano Pope says he hears them speaking
French. We thought he was joking, but when we asked where they were
from they said they were from Paris. So we ask the husband if he would
be willing to give Marianne a blessing, and he said he would. This
couple was on their honeymoon and they were in the province of Messina
which is about an hour and a half away from Catania, but before
catching their flight back to France on Sunday afternoon, they decided
to come to church. The church is far away from the airport and it was
really out of their way to come, but they felt like they needed to.
When Marianne arrives, she sits down in sacrament meeting and the guy
who gave her a ride starts to translate for her. Haha.. What? I guess
Angelo Longo speaks French too.. Along with all the other languages he
speaks, but I am not sure he would have been comfortable enough to
give her a blessing. Anyways, during fast and testimony, the wife
stands up to bear her testimony in French so Marianne could understand
her even though she didn't know anyone in the ward. And then after
sacrament, Sam gave her a blessing, and it was a beautiful thing. I
had tears in my eyes, because it was in that moment that I knew that
God knows about each and every one of us individually. He knows what
we need, and he knows exactly how to help us. He knows the people to
send to be angels for his children in their moment of need. I felt so
blessed to watch this miracle unfold. Watching and observing the
miracles that God brings to pass in my life and in the lives of the
people I am serving makes everything worth it. Also, if I was a
newlywed bride, how comforting would it be to know that my new groom
is a worthy priesthood holder who can be called upon at any time to
give a blessing. As much as this was a blessing for us and for
Marianne, I can't imagine the blessing it was for them to help us out.
I hope this is a story that continues on to their kids. I love
miracles.

Something I was reading this week in Matthew was that when Christ
walked on the water and calmed the sea, he didn't come out until the
4th watch of the night. His disciples were toiling all night in the
middle of this storm, and after hours and hours of struggling, Christ
comes and helps. Sometimes, miracles come during the 4th watch, and we
just need to be patient. :)

Sunday afternoon, we went to a pranzo appointment. And the Sorella
made us pasta with homemade pesto that was literally to die for. I
almost cried taking my first bite. Literally. Italian food is the
best. Then, I think I might have eaten horse meat. Now that I think
about it, it probably wasn't my first time.

Other than that, the only thing I want to happen is for the rain to
not exist anymore... But unfortunately, it is just getting started.
Woohoo! The rain here is crazy, and it would be a lot more efficient
if Italy had created a place for the water to go when it does rain.
Another civil engineering project for someone.

Well, I hope you all have a fantastic week. Don't forget to look for
miracles, and know that I love all of you. :)

Love,

Sorella Flansberg

P.S. Thank you for all the birthday wishes! :)