Con amore,
Sorella FlansbergThe district.. :) Don't ask me what Anziano Tew is doing.
Waiting to Skype... I was so anxious! But my family is real folks!
Missing baby Jesus.. :)
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Week 31:
Con amore,
Sorella FlansbergThe district.. :) Don't ask me what Anziano Tew is doing.
Missing baby Jesus.. :)
Week 31: Almost 2016!!
Hello and merry late Christmas to y'all:
Christmas in Italy was so great. We loved getting to skype our
families and watching two approved Disney movies, and spending time
with our district.
P-day last week, we had decided to go Catholic Church nativity
hunting. We heard that the churches have pretty awesome ones to see.
But there is a tradition in Italy where you don't place baby Jesus
until Christmas Eve. So the one church we went to had Mary and Joseph
and an empty manger. We kind of joked around a bit about the missing
baby Jesus, but then we realized what Christmas would be like if Jesus
was missing. Obviously, there would be no Christmas at all. This year
while in Italy, I was given the opportunity to reflect more on why the
baby Jesus was born instead of how. Every year before, I thought about
the humble circumstances of the stable. But how grateful I am for the
birth of my Savior and for what that single event meant for the rest
of the world. That event started the unlocking of the door between us
in our fallen state and the perfected state we all want to reach.
Without the birth of Christ, the atonement never would have happened
and we would never be worthy to live in Heavenly Father's presence
again. I count my blessings everyday that I get to share the sweet
message of Jesus Christ and what it means for each of us.
Monday night, we received a call from the Anziani B here in Catania
meaning the district leader. We learned that Anziano Bellini is
getting emergency transferred. It wasn't really emergency since he
can't leave until tomorrow. But we are all sad for him. He has really
come to love the city and the people love him too because he can speak
Italian with an Italian accent. But with this transfer, it also means
that I am the only missionary in this city that has been here for more
than 2 transfers. Go me! ;)
Wednesday, all our plans fell through.. Again. Christmas week, yo. :)
I felt like we needed to go to Librino... A little area outside the
city. An ex-investigator came to church and wanted a Book of Mormon
and we exchanged phone numbers. So we had been trying to call her for
a while and she never responded, so because missionaries keep the area
book up, we had her address. There are also a bunch of less actives
who live in that area, so we took a field trip. I guess I should
preface this story by saying Librino is surrounded by places that say,
"for the love, no", "don't go here", "not allowed", "all kinds of
sketchy". We just called the Anziani and told them to keep their phone
on. Haha.. But we went, rode a bus there, and we tried to find
Rosaria. No such luck. We did leave a BOM on the floor where it said
she lived, and we went and knocked on some less active doors. Nobody
was interested in a 5 minute Christmas message and we left without
doing anything as some people would say. All I know is that I felt
like we needed to go down there. And I know that what we did, someone
needed it, even if the trip seemed pointless. We'll see. (Vediamo.)
Thursday, Christmas Eve was going to be a really good day. It ended up
not going as planned, but what day ever does that as a missionary? It
started with us riding a bus. It is a longer bus ride so we decided to
sit when we got the chance. This lady comes and sits across from us
and asks us who we are. It ends up that she is a Jehovah's Witness.
She asked if we had ever read the Bible, we said that we have studied
it. And after we explained the BOM with her, she shows us the
scripture in Revelation where it says "nobody can add to this.." And
then she said that Joseph Smith wrote the BOM after that revelation so
it can't be true. We attempted to explain that we don't believe that
Joseph Smith wrote the BOM, and that he actually translated the record
from plates that were engraved 600 years before Christ was born. She
wanted nothing to do with that, and we stopped talking while she kept
arguing. It was time for us to get off, and so I said, "we don't want
to argue with you and we need to get off." (Non vogliamo litigare con
te, e dobbiamo scendere.) She continued to follow us up the aisle of
the bus. I was just grateful that I kept my head. I realized it wasn't
worth it to argue with her even though it would have been so easy.
That night, our plans fell through again and we didn't have a dinner
appointment. President said that going door to door on Christmas Eve
wasn't allowed, so we went home and made a makeshift couch out of
extra mattresses and watched the Joseph Smith movie. We ate a bunch of
junk food and had a lot of fun. I am grateful for my testimony that
Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and that he translated the Book of
Mormon.
Christmas was a blast. We had an appointment with Sorella Bachetti and
the Battezato family. It was a really fun lunch appointment. We talked
a lot about missionary work as Gabriele is on a mission as well. It's
really fun when you get to the point in the language when you can
understand all the stories and also tell stories. My personality is
starting to form in Italian. Woohoo! We also ate a lot of good food. I
was so full and made a joke about how I was grateful that Skype is
only from the chest up. Haha... Why is Italian food so good? :)
Christmas movies. We were allowed to watch 2. After the skype call, we
watched The Incredibles. And on Boxing Day (for my lovely Australian
companion).. Basically just another day to celebrate Christmas, we
watched Narnia with the whole district. It was kind of funny because
throughout the movies, we still found spiritual messages in both of
them. I wonder if I'll ever be able to watch a movie like a normal
person again. But I learned from The Incredibles that it is never good
to lie to your spouse and that you can do anything that you put your
mind to. And Narnia has a TON of symbolism regarding the Plan of
Salvation, and it was really cool to watch that. A Disney movie
strengthened my testimony of Jesus Christ. Sounds weird, I know.
On Sunday after church, we got a call from the zone leaders saying
that Dallin H. Oaks was in Rome and that he was doing a conference for
the missionaries and it would be broadcasted. Haha.. It's funny how
members of the church literally fan boy or fan girl over the apostles
and we drop anything and everything to go listen to them. We were
like, we're down. (Ci stiamo.) The computer ended up being super lame
and we only got to see the last 15 minutes, but it was really great. I
will just be super jealous of all the missionaries who were serving in
Rome on Sunday.
Sunday night as I was writing in my journal, our sweet neighbor who is
also deaf turned on the Catholic prayer channel. It just reminded me
of Music 101, Jake, with all the ancient Latin music we listened to. I
just love Italy so much!
Con amore,
Sorella Flansberg
Christmas in Italy was so great. We loved getting to skype our
families and watching two approved Disney movies, and spending time
with our district.
P-day last week, we had decided to go Catholic Church nativity
hunting. We heard that the churches have pretty awesome ones to see.
But there is a tradition in Italy where you don't place baby Jesus
until Christmas Eve. So the one church we went to had Mary and Joseph
and an empty manger. We kind of joked around a bit about the missing
baby Jesus, but then we realized what Christmas would be like if Jesus
was missing. Obviously, there would be no Christmas at all. This year
while in Italy, I was given the opportunity to reflect more on why the
baby Jesus was born instead of how. Every year before, I thought about
the humble circumstances of the stable. But how grateful I am for the
birth of my Savior and for what that single event meant for the rest
of the world. That event started the unlocking of the door between us
in our fallen state and the perfected state we all want to reach.
Without the birth of Christ, the atonement never would have happened
and we would never be worthy to live in Heavenly Father's presence
again. I count my blessings everyday that I get to share the sweet
message of Jesus Christ and what it means for each of us.
Monday night, we received a call from the Anziani B here in Catania
meaning the district leader. We learned that Anziano Bellini is
getting emergency transferred. It wasn't really emergency since he
can't leave until tomorrow. But we are all sad for him. He has really
come to love the city and the people love him too because he can speak
Italian with an Italian accent. But with this transfer, it also means
that I am the only missionary in this city that has been here for more
than 2 transfers. Go me! ;)
Wednesday, all our plans fell through.. Again. Christmas week, yo. :)
I felt like we needed to go to Librino... A little area outside the
city. An ex-investigator came to church and wanted a Book of Mormon
and we exchanged phone numbers. So we had been trying to call her for
a while and she never responded, so because missionaries keep the area
book up, we had her address. There are also a bunch of less actives
who live in that area, so we took a field trip. I guess I should
preface this story by saying Librino is surrounded by places that say,
"for the love, no", "don't go here", "not allowed", "all kinds of
sketchy". We just called the Anziani and told them to keep their phone
on. Haha.. But we went, rode a bus there, and we tried to find
Rosaria. No such luck. We did leave a BOM on the floor where it said
she lived, and we went and knocked on some less active doors. Nobody
was interested in a 5 minute Christmas message and we left without
doing anything as some people would say. All I know is that I felt
like we needed to go down there. And I know that what we did, someone
needed it, even if the trip seemed pointless. We'll see. (Vediamo.)
Thursday, Christmas Eve was going to be a really good day. It ended up
not going as planned, but what day ever does that as a missionary? It
started with us riding a bus. It is a longer bus ride so we decided to
sit when we got the chance. This lady comes and sits across from us
and asks us who we are. It ends up that she is a Jehovah's Witness.
She asked if we had ever read the Bible, we said that we have studied
it. And after we explained the BOM with her, she shows us the
scripture in Revelation where it says "nobody can add to this.." And
then she said that Joseph Smith wrote the BOM after that revelation so
it can't be true. We attempted to explain that we don't believe that
Joseph Smith wrote the BOM, and that he actually translated the record
from plates that were engraved 600 years before Christ was born. She
wanted nothing to do with that, and we stopped talking while she kept
arguing. It was time for us to get off, and so I said, "we don't want
to argue with you and we need to get off." (Non vogliamo litigare con
te, e dobbiamo scendere.) She continued to follow us up the aisle of
the bus. I was just grateful that I kept my head. I realized it wasn't
worth it to argue with her even though it would have been so easy.
That night, our plans fell through again and we didn't have a dinner
appointment. President said that going door to door on Christmas Eve
wasn't allowed, so we went home and made a makeshift couch out of
extra mattresses and watched the Joseph Smith movie. We ate a bunch of
junk food and had a lot of fun. I am grateful for my testimony that
Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and that he translated the Book of
Mormon.
Christmas was a blast. We had an appointment with Sorella Bachetti and
the Battezato family. It was a really fun lunch appointment. We talked
a lot about missionary work as Gabriele is on a mission as well. It's
really fun when you get to the point in the language when you can
understand all the stories and also tell stories. My personality is
starting to form in Italian. Woohoo! We also ate a lot of good food. I
was so full and made a joke about how I was grateful that Skype is
only from the chest up. Haha... Why is Italian food so good? :)
Christmas movies. We were allowed to watch 2. After the skype call, we
watched The Incredibles. And on Boxing Day (for my lovely Australian
companion).. Basically just another day to celebrate Christmas, we
watched Narnia with the whole district. It was kind of funny because
throughout the movies, we still found spiritual messages in both of
them. I wonder if I'll ever be able to watch a movie like a normal
person again. But I learned from The Incredibles that it is never good
to lie to your spouse and that you can do anything that you put your
mind to. And Narnia has a TON of symbolism regarding the Plan of
Salvation, and it was really cool to watch that. A Disney movie
strengthened my testimony of Jesus Christ. Sounds weird, I know.
On Sunday after church, we got a call from the zone leaders saying
that Dallin H. Oaks was in Rome and that he was doing a conference for
the missionaries and it would be broadcasted. Haha.. It's funny how
members of the church literally fan boy or fan girl over the apostles
and we drop anything and everything to go listen to them. We were
like, we're down. (Ci stiamo.) The computer ended up being super lame
and we only got to see the last 15 minutes, but it was really great. I
will just be super jealous of all the missionaries who were serving in
Rome on Sunday.
Sunday night as I was writing in my journal, our sweet neighbor who is
also deaf turned on the Catholic prayer channel. It just reminded me
of Music 101, Jake, with all the ancient Latin music we listened to. I
just love Italy so much!
Con amore,
Sorella Flansberg
Monday, December 21, 2015
Pictures!
Sorella Flansberg Me and the Aussie
Abbracci e baci, The spray paint artist.. :)
The picture I bought.. :)
Week 30: Merry Christmas!
Hello!
Merry Christmas to everybody! This is my favorite time of the year!
And I am absolutely loving my first Italian Christmas! :)
This week was really great! It also seemed like the longest but
shortest week of my life! On Tuesday, we had a specialized training
with Presidente and Sorella Waddoups. The zone leaders and STL's gave
an Addestramento about repentance. They talked about how sin is like a
dirty pair of clothing and how there is still a child of God
underneath all the clothing. When we repent, we take the dirty clothes
off and put clean ones on. They shared a little story about a beggar
man who wanted to go to a royal banquet. He decided to go to the king
and ask for one of his old robes in exchange for his rags. The king
said yes, and told him that it would last forever and he wouldn't need
his old rags anymore. But the beggar didn't believe him. He picked up
his old clothes and carried them around with him wherever he went. He
didn't enjoy himself at the banquet because his dirty clothes kept
slipping out. And even though he had on this grand robe, everyone
still paid attention only to the little sack of dirty clothes hanging
around his waist. In the end, the robe actually did last forever and
he felt silly for clinging onto his old rags for his entire life when
he should have just trusted in the new robe. The story has a sad
ending, but I really liked all the symbolism. I have to remember to
get the real version of the story from Anziano Stanley. Then they
challenged us to find something that is holding us back from being the
best missionaries that we can be and to throw it away and enjoy
wearing our new robes or in other words, to trade our rags for robes.
After that, we acted out the nativity. I was an angel, and it was
really fun. I haven't acted it out since I was like 5. They took a
picture of the zone in all our costumes and will be posting it on the
blog on Christmas morning. So look for me with a halo on top of my
head. :) I also got a few things for Christmas. I am being obedient
and I haven't opened them yet. We got Christmas cards from the first
presidency, the mission DVD for the year, and new pillows!
Wednesday was an awesome day! We were busy, we ate lots of food, and
we met a whole bunch of people! After our afternoon appointment, we
were walking to catch a bus to the church when we saw this man
painting something with spray paint. Because I'm a geek, we stopped to
watch. When we stopped, he had a piece of paper with orange painted on
the bottom, blue on the top, and a big white circle. And he literally
painted a full moon, a starry night sky, a tree, a forest, two
waterfalls, and a pool of water all with spray paint. And we watched
it unfold before our eyes. I thought it was so cool, and I had to buy
it.. it was only 10€. :) He also knew about the church and said he had
tried to read the Book of Mormon before but there were a lot of
unfamiliar words to him. So we asked if he would want the Anziani to
help him, he said yes, and we got his phone number. I also got a
picture with him since he is the master creator with spray paint. :)
Thursday on the way home from English course, we were on the bus and
this woman got on with her son and another girl we've met before. I
started talking to the three of them and eventually I asked for the
lady's phone number. She seemed really sweet. We did a lot of
contacting this week, and we have quite a few potentials. :) One of
our goals this week is to get some new investigators because we
haven't had anybody new for the past 6 weeks. We're excited.
Friday morning, we went to sing at an old folks home. We sang a few
Christmas carols and ate Pandoro and visited with the women there. It
was a really fun experience. And doing actual service activities is
really fun as missionaries. So many of the people there perked up and
the Christmas spirit lit up their smiles. We gave a Book of Mormon to
one of the employees and she seemed really really sweet. We hope
something comes of that.
Saturday evening, we went to the piazza in town with the university
buildings in centro and we sang carols with a few ward members and the
youth. One of the young women played the saxophone and we sang along.
A lot of people stopped to listen and a few of the missionaries
pounced. We placed an entire box of Books of Mormon. And we sang
Angels We Have Heard on High a few times more than I might have
necessarily liked. But it was really fun. After we finished singing,
we had a district challenge to finish placing the box of books and we
were successful. We got a few phone numbers out of it too. :)
Christmas makes people more open to listening to a message about
Christ.
Sunday was a really great day at church. We are going to Sorella
Battezato's moms house for Christmas. We really didn't want to be a
burden on ward members, so we were grateful when she invited us. She
was going to be alone as Sorella Battezato will be waiting for a Skype
call from her son, and we didn't want her to be alone. Plus she is a
really great cook. We also ate there on Sunday, and we ate something
that seemed like an American crock pot meal. It was delicious! :) We
had a lesson with Kiran and she was talking about how I had a really
hard time when I first got out on the mission, and how I was thinner
back then. I was like, "thanks Kiran!" *rolls eyes* haha.. Obviously I
had a hard time for awhile. New language, new culture, everything
else. Haha... Oh well. She's become as blunt as real Italians, but I
love her to pieces.
This morning, we had technicians to come over to fix our heat. Our
thermostat was broken and the water heater had a leak. But they fixed
it and it is the best Christmas present ever. :) now our house is
warmer than 60 degrees.
I read a talk this week called the 4th missionary. It was so good as
it talked about how we can be obedient but resentful obedient
missionaries, or we can turn our will over to God, be obedient, and
gain something from our missions. I loved how he said that life is
always dynamic. Every choice we make moves us either closer to Christ
or farther from Christ. It is a good talk to read even for not
missionaries as we all need to learn how to accept God's will
cheerfully and happily and hopefully.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Buon Natale! And remember
the reason for the season in the midst of all the rest. I love the
church video that talks about what the world would be like if we
didn't have a Savior. I am so grateful for my savior Jesus Christ. I
learn every day a little more about the sacrifice he made. He did it
because he loves us. And he did it for me, and for all of you. We are
never alone. And we can never go to far to be able to come back into
the fold. And to make this email go full round, this Christmas season,
trade your rags for robes and enjoy the banquet of the atonement.
Vi voglio bene! :)
Sorella Flansberg
Merry Christmas to everybody! This is my favorite time of the year!
And I am absolutely loving my first Italian Christmas! :)
This week was really great! It also seemed like the longest but
shortest week of my life! On Tuesday, we had a specialized training
with Presidente and Sorella Waddoups. The zone leaders and STL's gave
an Addestramento about repentance. They talked about how sin is like a
dirty pair of clothing and how there is still a child of God
underneath all the clothing. When we repent, we take the dirty clothes
off and put clean ones on. They shared a little story about a beggar
man who wanted to go to a royal banquet. He decided to go to the king
and ask for one of his old robes in exchange for his rags. The king
said yes, and told him that it would last forever and he wouldn't need
his old rags anymore. But the beggar didn't believe him. He picked up
his old clothes and carried them around with him wherever he went. He
didn't enjoy himself at the banquet because his dirty clothes kept
slipping out. And even though he had on this grand robe, everyone
still paid attention only to the little sack of dirty clothes hanging
around his waist. In the end, the robe actually did last forever and
he felt silly for clinging onto his old rags for his entire life when
he should have just trusted in the new robe. The story has a sad
ending, but I really liked all the symbolism. I have to remember to
get the real version of the story from Anziano Stanley. Then they
challenged us to find something that is holding us back from being the
best missionaries that we can be and to throw it away and enjoy
wearing our new robes or in other words, to trade our rags for robes.
After that, we acted out the nativity. I was an angel, and it was
really fun. I haven't acted it out since I was like 5. They took a
picture of the zone in all our costumes and will be posting it on the
blog on Christmas morning. So look for me with a halo on top of my
head. :) I also got a few things for Christmas. I am being obedient
and I haven't opened them yet. We got Christmas cards from the first
presidency, the mission DVD for the year, and new pillows!
Wednesday was an awesome day! We were busy, we ate lots of food, and
we met a whole bunch of people! After our afternoon appointment, we
were walking to catch a bus to the church when we saw this man
painting something with spray paint. Because I'm a geek, we stopped to
watch. When we stopped, he had a piece of paper with orange painted on
the bottom, blue on the top, and a big white circle. And he literally
painted a full moon, a starry night sky, a tree, a forest, two
waterfalls, and a pool of water all with spray paint. And we watched
it unfold before our eyes. I thought it was so cool, and I had to buy
it.. it was only 10€. :) He also knew about the church and said he had
tried to read the Book of Mormon before but there were a lot of
unfamiliar words to him. So we asked if he would want the Anziani to
help him, he said yes, and we got his phone number. I also got a
picture with him since he is the master creator with spray paint. :)
Thursday on the way home from English course, we were on the bus and
this woman got on with her son and another girl we've met before. I
started talking to the three of them and eventually I asked for the
lady's phone number. She seemed really sweet. We did a lot of
contacting this week, and we have quite a few potentials. :) One of
our goals this week is to get some new investigators because we
haven't had anybody new for the past 6 weeks. We're excited.
Friday morning, we went to sing at an old folks home. We sang a few
Christmas carols and ate Pandoro and visited with the women there. It
was a really fun experience. And doing actual service activities is
really fun as missionaries. So many of the people there perked up and
the Christmas spirit lit up their smiles. We gave a Book of Mormon to
one of the employees and she seemed really really sweet. We hope
something comes of that.
Saturday evening, we went to the piazza in town with the university
buildings in centro and we sang carols with a few ward members and the
youth. One of the young women played the saxophone and we sang along.
A lot of people stopped to listen and a few of the missionaries
pounced. We placed an entire box of Books of Mormon. And we sang
Angels We Have Heard on High a few times more than I might have
necessarily liked. But it was really fun. After we finished singing,
we had a district challenge to finish placing the box of books and we
were successful. We got a few phone numbers out of it too. :)
Christmas makes people more open to listening to a message about
Christ.
Sunday was a really great day at church. We are going to Sorella
Battezato's moms house for Christmas. We really didn't want to be a
burden on ward members, so we were grateful when she invited us. She
was going to be alone as Sorella Battezato will be waiting for a Skype
call from her son, and we didn't want her to be alone. Plus she is a
really great cook. We also ate there on Sunday, and we ate something
that seemed like an American crock pot meal. It was delicious! :) We
had a lesson with Kiran and she was talking about how I had a really
hard time when I first got out on the mission, and how I was thinner
back then. I was like, "thanks Kiran!" *rolls eyes* haha.. Obviously I
had a hard time for awhile. New language, new culture, everything
else. Haha... Oh well. She's become as blunt as real Italians, but I
love her to pieces.
This morning, we had technicians to come over to fix our heat. Our
thermostat was broken and the water heater had a leak. But they fixed
it and it is the best Christmas present ever. :) now our house is
warmer than 60 degrees.
I read a talk this week called the 4th missionary. It was so good as
it talked about how we can be obedient but resentful obedient
missionaries, or we can turn our will over to God, be obedient, and
gain something from our missions. I loved how he said that life is
always dynamic. Every choice we make moves us either closer to Christ
or farther from Christ. It is a good talk to read even for not
missionaries as we all need to learn how to accept God's will
cheerfully and happily and hopefully.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Buon Natale! And remember
the reason for the season in the midst of all the rest. I love the
church video that talks about what the world would be like if we
didn't have a Savior. I am so grateful for my savior Jesus Christ. I
learn every day a little more about the sacrifice he made. He did it
because he loves us. And he did it for me, and for all of you. We are
never alone. And we can never go to far to be able to come back into
the fold. And to make this email go full round, this Christmas season,
trade your rags for robes and enjoy the banquet of the atonement.
Vi voglio bene! :)
Sorella Flansberg
Monday, December 14, 2015
Week 29: don't have a title for this week
Dear people I love:
I'm getting bored of addressing my emails the same way. So, I might
get a bit creative in the next few weeks. Okay... To get this off my
list so I don't have to think about it anymore... The mission sent out
release dates this week for the entire next year. They asked us to
tell our families and people.. So, I will be getting off an airplane
at the Reno Tahoe International Airport on November 15, 2016. Be there
to pick me up please! ;) Okay, no more thinking about that...
This week was not my favorite. I spent the first part of the week in
Siracusa. On Monday, we went Christmas shopping in Ortigia. The only
thing I bought was for me. I think I have this Christmas thing wrong,
haha. I bought a really nice skirt from Zara. It is a long pencil
skirt with a slit but the slit doesn't come above my knee. It is
adorable, and you will see it on November 15, 2016. I felt kind of
silly buying something for after the mission, but it was too cute to
pass up. And it was only 18€.
Tuesday, I went to lessons with them since I still didn't have a
companion and we did English course and family home evening. Nothing
too exciting, other than the fact that I was still sick and I had to
run around Siracusa for a few days. We came back to Catania on
Wednesday, I felt horrible. I received a blessing and rested the rest
of that day. Thursday was transfer day and we had a lot to do. I woke
up without a voice, we had to meet Sorelle at the airport at noon, we
had a lesson, and then we had to be at the station at 5:20. We barely
made it in time and I credit it all to miracles from Heavenly Father.
Then I picked up Sorella Davison and we went to English course.
A little bit about Sorella Davison. She was born in Sydney, Australia
but her family now lives in Newcastle. She has 7 siblings and she
studied nursing. She has a boyfriend at home, and she has been out for
a year. We are probably at the same level as far as the language goes,
and as she would say, we are getting on great. I'm learning a new
vocabulary, haha..
Trackie dacks: sweats
Jumper: sweatshirt
Getting on: getting along
Shrapnel: change(money)
Foot-paths: sidewalks
Capsicum: bell pepper
She definitely has an accent, but she says it isn't as strong as it
was. They don't pronounce the r's and she says a's differently.
Overall, she is the Australian twin of Bella Favero.
Friday and Saturday, I had no voice. It was a very unfortunate case of
laryngitis, and I still sound a bit croaky, but it's coming back. It's
hard to introduce someone to a city or form a friendship when you
can't talk. But Sorella Davison was very patient. We both have a
desire to work hard, and this city has a lot of potential. So... I am
very excited! Speaking of which, Catania is pronounced Ca-tawn-ya. But
it would be pronounced ca-tan-ee-a if it was a normal Italian word. I
asked about that too, but I can't remember the reasoning. It might be
Greek or something.
Because I didn't have a voice, we organized the area book a bit and I
learned how to do area book finding for the next time that it rains.
I'm always learning something new. I also still haven't figured out
the not feeling guilty about staying in when I don't feel well. I have
the "I'm a missionary.. I don't have time to be sick." Mentality stuck
right now.
On Sunday, the ward had the primary program. My heart melted watching
the kids get up and bear testimony about the Savior in Italian. And
the singing was adorable too. Gah... Kids here are too cute!
Sunday night, we watched the Christmas devotional. It was so good! I
really enjoyed all of the talks. I feel like this Christmas is going
to have a lot more meaning this year. And I feel really blessed to not
be in the center of all the commercialism. It's kind of nice
disappearing out of the world for 18 months. :)
We have a Specialized training tomorrow. It should be really good. I'm
sad it is only going to be 2 hours long, because I cherish all the
time we get for those. So, look for pictures on the blog.
I hope you all have a wonderful week! Happy holidays! Merry Christmas to all!
Love,
Sorella Flansberg
I'm getting bored of addressing my emails the same way. So, I might
get a bit creative in the next few weeks. Okay... To get this off my
list so I don't have to think about it anymore... The mission sent out
release dates this week for the entire next year. They asked us to
tell our families and people.. So, I will be getting off an airplane
at the Reno Tahoe International Airport on November 15, 2016. Be there
to pick me up please! ;) Okay, no more thinking about that...
This week was not my favorite. I spent the first part of the week in
Siracusa. On Monday, we went Christmas shopping in Ortigia. The only
thing I bought was for me. I think I have this Christmas thing wrong,
haha. I bought a really nice skirt from Zara. It is a long pencil
skirt with a slit but the slit doesn't come above my knee. It is
adorable, and you will see it on November 15, 2016. I felt kind of
silly buying something for after the mission, but it was too cute to
pass up. And it was only 18€.
Tuesday, I went to lessons with them since I still didn't have a
companion and we did English course and family home evening. Nothing
too exciting, other than the fact that I was still sick and I had to
run around Siracusa for a few days. We came back to Catania on
Wednesday, I felt horrible. I received a blessing and rested the rest
of that day. Thursday was transfer day and we had a lot to do. I woke
up without a voice, we had to meet Sorelle at the airport at noon, we
had a lesson, and then we had to be at the station at 5:20. We barely
made it in time and I credit it all to miracles from Heavenly Father.
Then I picked up Sorella Davison and we went to English course.
A little bit about Sorella Davison. She was born in Sydney, Australia
but her family now lives in Newcastle. She has 7 siblings and she
studied nursing. She has a boyfriend at home, and she has been out for
a year. We are probably at the same level as far as the language goes,
and as she would say, we are getting on great. I'm learning a new
vocabulary, haha..
Trackie dacks: sweats
Jumper: sweatshirt
Getting on: getting along
Shrapnel: change(money)
Foot-paths: sidewalks
Capsicum: bell pepper
She definitely has an accent, but she says it isn't as strong as it
was. They don't pronounce the r's and she says a's differently.
Overall, she is the Australian twin of Bella Favero.
Friday and Saturday, I had no voice. It was a very unfortunate case of
laryngitis, and I still sound a bit croaky, but it's coming back. It's
hard to introduce someone to a city or form a friendship when you
can't talk. But Sorella Davison was very patient. We both have a
desire to work hard, and this city has a lot of potential. So... I am
very excited! Speaking of which, Catania is pronounced Ca-tawn-ya. But
it would be pronounced ca-tan-ee-a if it was a normal Italian word. I
asked about that too, but I can't remember the reasoning. It might be
Greek or something.
Because I didn't have a voice, we organized the area book a bit and I
learned how to do area book finding for the next time that it rains.
I'm always learning something new. I also still haven't figured out
the not feeling guilty about staying in when I don't feel well. I have
the "I'm a missionary.. I don't have time to be sick." Mentality stuck
right now.
On Sunday, the ward had the primary program. My heart melted watching
the kids get up and bear testimony about the Savior in Italian. And
the singing was adorable too. Gah... Kids here are too cute!
Sunday night, we watched the Christmas devotional. It was so good! I
really enjoyed all of the talks. I feel like this Christmas is going
to have a lot more meaning this year. And I feel really blessed to not
be in the center of all the commercialism. It's kind of nice
disappearing out of the world for 18 months. :)
We have a Specialized training tomorrow. It should be really good. I'm
sad it is only going to be 2 hours long, because I cherish all the
time we get for those. So, look for pictures on the blog.
I hope you all have a wonderful week! Happy holidays! Merry Christmas to all!
Love,
Sorella Flansberg
Monday, December 7, 2015
Pictures!
Sorella FlansbergEnglish course!
District #4 :)
Week 28: volcanic eruptions and other fun stuff
Dear family and friends:
This week has been anything but calm and serene. I don't think I've
had a crazier week yet on my mission. Actually, I can't remember...
But here are some highlights.
-emergency transfers
-dying companion
-transfer calls
-baby cold
-Mt. Etna erupting twice
-and being in a trio with the Siracusa Sorelle
Monday night, we went to see Laura. She is one of our wonderful less
actives and we went over at 6 to help her learn some English and then
we were going to stay for a family home evening and dinner (cena).
When we got there, we discovered that she had no voice. Like barely
even a whisper. It is hard to teach English when they can't talk, but
she offered to find our mothers on Facebook and write a message to
them in English. It was nice to get to know her a little better. Then,
we shared the new Christmas video with them. I love this video so
much, and it was such a helpful tool to use in lessons this week. It
quickly brings the spirit in and helps them remember why we celebrate
Christmas.
Wednesday, we had DDM in the morning, and we did transfer predictions
and everyone predicted that I was leaving. We also predicted when
Sorella Decker is going to get married. ;) After DDM, a senior couple
drove us home to do an apartment inspection. It was nice because we
finally got to tell someone how ghetto our apartment is. (No heat, no
toilet seat, window that is stuck open, bathroom sink that leaks onto
the floor, and a toilet that sprays clean water out the back every
time it flushes). Mission life really does teach you what you can and
can't live without. The rest of the day was spent saying goodbye to
people. I kind of half said goodbye to everyone because I didn't know
what was going to happen. Then we ran... Almost literally to Kiran's
house. Like 2.5 miles in 30 minutes where we had dinner with them.
Thursday morning, we went to see one of our investigators who is
dating a member, Nicoletta. It was perfect, because Marco had just
received the Melchizedek priesthood a week ago and so she wanted to
know what that was. We were like, well let us explain. All of her
questions went right in order with the restoration lesson, and it was
wonderful. She then asked what needs to happen before she gets
baptized and we set a date with her for January 9. Later that day, I
got an email from a friend who ended her week with 4 baptisms, and
here we are celebrating a bap date. It's the little victories. ;)
Thursday night, the Messina Sorelle came to stay with us because
Sorella Embley was getting emergency transferred to Rome. (We learned
from them that Mt. Etna had erupted because there was ash all over
Messina. The smoke column was 4 km high). Sorella Embley had a flight
the next morning at 7:20 so we had to be at the airport at 5:30
meaning we had to wake up at 3:30. Because this was so last minute, we
already had plans for the rest of the day... So we couldn't get extra
sleep even though the zone leaders told us to. After we dropped her
off, the new companion was going to land at 9:30.. But it ended up
being 11:20 before she got off the plane and found her luggage. So we
sat waiting for 6 hours in the airport of Catania. Also I started to
not feel well Thursday morning. Yay for being sick 3 times in 6
months...
More about the volcanic eruption: we didn't even know it happened.
Haha, but I am safe. All the snow that was on Mt. Etna melted...
Obviously. ;) I think there might have been a small earthquake, but I
didn't feel that either.
Then we went to the Battezato's house for pranzo and the funeral of
Sorella Decker. It was really fun, and I absolutely love their house!
It was adorable, and definitely the cutest one I have seen here in
Catania. It's just way out in the middle of nowhere, so we had never
seen it before. Pranzo was delicious, and as always... The company was
great! Then the Siracusa Sorelle came that night so I would have a
companion after dropping Sorella Decker off at the train station.
Also, over the course of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, we walked
approximately 15 miles. This is what happens when the month changes
and we don't have bus passes anymore. Can anyone else believe that it
is December?
Saturday morning, I said goodbye to Sorella Decker. It was quick, and
painless.. Kind of like waxing your eyebrows except for the painless
part. We were outside waiting for Gabriella and then she ended up not
coming, so we ran back to the binario and she gave me a quick hug and
she hopped on the train. Then the waiting game began. Transfer call
days are so stressful. We couldn't plan anything because we didn't
know if I was staying or if I was going. So we waited while we did
personal study, and companion study, and then we waited while we
cleaned the house a bit, and then we waited while we did language
study, and while we ate pranzo. I was getting just a bit antsy. So 4.5
hours later, I called the assistants. They didn't answer, and so I
called Sorella Waddoups. And....
I'm staying for five in Catania. My new companion is Sorella Davison
(I'm staying with the d name trend) and she is Australian. She is
going into her 9th transfer. Even though the next 8 weeks are going to
be tough because 5 transfers in any city is tough, not even counting
that it is my birth city.. I'm excited that I get to stay with who
I've heard is a really good, and fun companion. Right after we got the
call, we packed up our bags and we headed to Siracusa because Sorella
Thorpe is going to Bari and we figured we would spend the next 3 days
there so she can say goodbye to people. As we were leaving, we heard
that Mt. Etna erupted again. Haha... Active volcanoes, cool stuff.
Sunday was weird. It is weird not being in your ward and without your
own (proprio) companion. But it was a good Sunday nonetheless here in
Siracusa. This city is so different from Catania. Nobody is on the
streets and it is so quiet. Siracusa is like the calm, cool and
collected beach town, and Catania is like the party it up all night
kind of town. At least I'm not breathing in ash. :) News update: there
is lava flowing down Mt. Etna now. Also, I ate a pasta dish with fish
in it tonight. It was like the small version of mussels. I don't know
what they are called. It was good preparation for Christmas Eve since
they eat fish that night. The zone leaders called to tell me that a
lot of people asked where I was at church today. I guess they missed
me. Little do they know, I will still be part of their lives for
another 8 weeks. How lucky are they? ;)
I read a talk this week by Neal A. Maxwell called "brightness of hope"
and he said that "genuine hope gives spiritual spunk". This quote made
me remember when I was in the MTC and dad said I was spunky. Now I
know what he really meant. ;) But I really liked that quote because
when we are hopeful, we know who we are and we know why we are here
and where we are going. When we are confident, we are able to be more
"spunky".
My other thought from this week is from a talk by Jeffrey R. Holland
called, "io credo" or "Lord, I believe." He talked about the story
from Mark where a man's son is having seizures and he asks the savior
to heal him. The man says that he believes, but help thou my unbelief.
Jeffrey R. Holland pointed out that he acknowledges first what he does
believe and then he asks for help to believe what he doesn't. It's not
about our level of faith or the amount of knowledge we have, but about
how we show the faith we do have when experiences become challenging.
Well, I hope you all have a fantastic week. Enjoy the holiday season.
I am thoroughly enjoying seeing all the lights go up here in Italy.
The Main Street in Catania has lights all up and down. I think they
are waiting until December 8 to light them all up. The 8th is the
immaculate conception... A Catholic holiday. I guess it is a big deal.
:)
Vi voglio un mondo di bene!
Con amore,
Sorella Flansberg
This week has been anything but calm and serene. I don't think I've
had a crazier week yet on my mission. Actually, I can't remember...
But here are some highlights.
-emergency transfers
-dying companion
-transfer calls
-baby cold
-Mt. Etna erupting twice
-and being in a trio with the Siracusa Sorelle
Monday night, we went to see Laura. She is one of our wonderful less
actives and we went over at 6 to help her learn some English and then
we were going to stay for a family home evening and dinner (cena).
When we got there, we discovered that she had no voice. Like barely
even a whisper. It is hard to teach English when they can't talk, but
she offered to find our mothers on Facebook and write a message to
them in English. It was nice to get to know her a little better. Then,
we shared the new Christmas video with them. I love this video so
much, and it was such a helpful tool to use in lessons this week. It
quickly brings the spirit in and helps them remember why we celebrate
Christmas.
Wednesday, we had DDM in the morning, and we did transfer predictions
and everyone predicted that I was leaving. We also predicted when
Sorella Decker is going to get married. ;) After DDM, a senior couple
drove us home to do an apartment inspection. It was nice because we
finally got to tell someone how ghetto our apartment is. (No heat, no
toilet seat, window that is stuck open, bathroom sink that leaks onto
the floor, and a toilet that sprays clean water out the back every
time it flushes). Mission life really does teach you what you can and
can't live without. The rest of the day was spent saying goodbye to
people. I kind of half said goodbye to everyone because I didn't know
what was going to happen. Then we ran... Almost literally to Kiran's
house. Like 2.5 miles in 30 minutes where we had dinner with them.
Thursday morning, we went to see one of our investigators who is
dating a member, Nicoletta. It was perfect, because Marco had just
received the Melchizedek priesthood a week ago and so she wanted to
know what that was. We were like, well let us explain. All of her
questions went right in order with the restoration lesson, and it was
wonderful. She then asked what needs to happen before she gets
baptized and we set a date with her for January 9. Later that day, I
got an email from a friend who ended her week with 4 baptisms, and
here we are celebrating a bap date. It's the little victories. ;)
Thursday night, the Messina Sorelle came to stay with us because
Sorella Embley was getting emergency transferred to Rome. (We learned
from them that Mt. Etna had erupted because there was ash all over
Messina. The smoke column was 4 km high). Sorella Embley had a flight
the next morning at 7:20 so we had to be at the airport at 5:30
meaning we had to wake up at 3:30. Because this was so last minute, we
already had plans for the rest of the day... So we couldn't get extra
sleep even though the zone leaders told us to. After we dropped her
off, the new companion was going to land at 9:30.. But it ended up
being 11:20 before she got off the plane and found her luggage. So we
sat waiting for 6 hours in the airport of Catania. Also I started to
not feel well Thursday morning. Yay for being sick 3 times in 6
months...
More about the volcanic eruption: we didn't even know it happened.
Haha, but I am safe. All the snow that was on Mt. Etna melted...
Obviously. ;) I think there might have been a small earthquake, but I
didn't feel that either.
Then we went to the Battezato's house for pranzo and the funeral of
Sorella Decker. It was really fun, and I absolutely love their house!
It was adorable, and definitely the cutest one I have seen here in
Catania. It's just way out in the middle of nowhere, so we had never
seen it before. Pranzo was delicious, and as always... The company was
great! Then the Siracusa Sorelle came that night so I would have a
companion after dropping Sorella Decker off at the train station.
Also, over the course of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, we walked
approximately 15 miles. This is what happens when the month changes
and we don't have bus passes anymore. Can anyone else believe that it
is December?
Saturday morning, I said goodbye to Sorella Decker. It was quick, and
painless.. Kind of like waxing your eyebrows except for the painless
part. We were outside waiting for Gabriella and then she ended up not
coming, so we ran back to the binario and she gave me a quick hug and
she hopped on the train. Then the waiting game began. Transfer call
days are so stressful. We couldn't plan anything because we didn't
know if I was staying or if I was going. So we waited while we did
personal study, and companion study, and then we waited while we
cleaned the house a bit, and then we waited while we did language
study, and while we ate pranzo. I was getting just a bit antsy. So 4.5
hours later, I called the assistants. They didn't answer, and so I
called Sorella Waddoups. And....
I'm staying for five in Catania. My new companion is Sorella Davison
(I'm staying with the d name trend) and she is Australian. She is
going into her 9th transfer. Even though the next 8 weeks are going to
be tough because 5 transfers in any city is tough, not even counting
that it is my birth city.. I'm excited that I get to stay with who
I've heard is a really good, and fun companion. Right after we got the
call, we packed up our bags and we headed to Siracusa because Sorella
Thorpe is going to Bari and we figured we would spend the next 3 days
there so she can say goodbye to people. As we were leaving, we heard
that Mt. Etna erupted again. Haha... Active volcanoes, cool stuff.
Sunday was weird. It is weird not being in your ward and without your
own (proprio) companion. But it was a good Sunday nonetheless here in
Siracusa. This city is so different from Catania. Nobody is on the
streets and it is so quiet. Siracusa is like the calm, cool and
collected beach town, and Catania is like the party it up all night
kind of town. At least I'm not breathing in ash. :) News update: there
is lava flowing down Mt. Etna now. Also, I ate a pasta dish with fish
in it tonight. It was like the small version of mussels. I don't know
what they are called. It was good preparation for Christmas Eve since
they eat fish that night. The zone leaders called to tell me that a
lot of people asked where I was at church today. I guess they missed
me. Little do they know, I will still be part of their lives for
another 8 weeks. How lucky are they? ;)
I read a talk this week by Neal A. Maxwell called "brightness of hope"
and he said that "genuine hope gives spiritual spunk". This quote made
me remember when I was in the MTC and dad said I was spunky. Now I
know what he really meant. ;) But I really liked that quote because
when we are hopeful, we know who we are and we know why we are here
and where we are going. When we are confident, we are able to be more
"spunky".
My other thought from this week is from a talk by Jeffrey R. Holland
called, "io credo" or "Lord, I believe." He talked about the story
from Mark where a man's son is having seizures and he asks the savior
to heal him. The man says that he believes, but help thou my unbelief.
Jeffrey R. Holland pointed out that he acknowledges first what he does
believe and then he asks for help to believe what he doesn't. It's not
about our level of faith or the amount of knowledge we have, but about
how we show the faith we do have when experiences become challenging.
Well, I hope you all have a fantastic week. Enjoy the holiday season.
I am thoroughly enjoying seeing all the lights go up here in Italy.
The Main Street in Catania has lights all up and down. I think they
are waiting until December 8 to light them all up. The 8th is the
immaculate conception... A Catholic holiday. I guess it is a big deal.
:)
Vi voglio un mondo di bene!
Con amore,
Sorella Flansberg
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