Hello family and friends:
Transfer calls were on Saturday! And I was only slightly disappointed
that the news slipped out over Facebook before I could tell you. I
wanted to be the first. Oh well, I've been transferred! I am going
to.... Drum roll please?
LADISPOLI! Haha... I am so so so excited. It is this small little
suburb/city thing outside of Rome. It is pronounced just what it looks
like. La-dis-Po-lee.. :) There is a joke around the mission that
anything that ends with "oli" is the promised land. But, we got the
call from President on Saturday at 10:30 in the morning. Meno male
that I didn't have to wait as long as last time. I was literally
dying. I didn't sleep very well on Friday. I pretty much knew that I
was leaving, but I wanted to know so badly where I was going.
President told me where I was going, and then asked if I was ready to
be senior comp. I said, "I don't know.." But then he said, "the lord
thinks you are." That's a great vote of confidence. I will be with
Sorella Condè. She is from Utah, and she is one transfer younger than
me in the mission, so as far as I am concerned, we are on equal
playing ground. And the title senior comp means absolutely nothing
since we don't have cars and we share the phone. But, I'm excited
nevertheless.
I am also really happy that I'm not serving inside the city of Rome.
And I hope Ladispoli is as close as I get. My district is with Rome 4,
so we can still go see the sights in Rome, but I don't have to deal
with tourists. Also, since I now speak Italian, I can visit Rome as a
tourist and not get super lost since I'll know the subway lines. I've
heard it is a much smaller city than Catania which is really nice. It
is right on the sea. #beachbummissionary And the ward is really good.
Most of the members work for the church in the translation center
there, so they all speak English and Italian. I'll still speak in
Italian to them. I also kind of feel like this is Heavenly Father
giving me the opportunity to see if translating is what I want to do
with my life, since I had that idea at the beginning. We'll see! The
fact that I'm leaving Catania hasn't hit me yet. Saying goodbye sucks,
but I haven't cried yet... For the first time since my setting apart
where I feel like the crybaby trait was substituted into my DNA for 18
months. I think it might start to hit me on the train. I've also
accumulated quite a bit of stuff here in Catania, so we'll see how
that all fits into my suitcases. ;) Challenge accepted.
Now that I spent two paragraphs talking about that... Here is the rest
of my week. :)
Tuesday was Australia Day! Haha.. We didn't do anything special, but I
felt the need to mention it. That morning, we had a fingerprint
appointment for her permesso renewal and we had to go back to the
place we went my third week of the mission. I remember having
absolutely no clue what the guy was saying to me, and this time... I
understood everything! I get to leave my birth city feeling pretty
comfortable with the language... How many people can say that? ;)
Haha.. But I still have tons to learn. We went on an adventure trying
to find the above ground metro stop that we needed for Wednesday, and
we found a piazza with swings. It was a glorious 5 minute break. :)
8 months down on Wednesday. This still has not ceased to freak me out.
After you hit 6 months, halfway is literally right around the corner.
Il tempo passa. That morning, I told Heavenly Father that I would talk
to everybody that he put in our path. And boy, did he listen to that.
We had so many more opportunities to talk to people in a natural way
than ever before. We went out to a member referral that afternoon. She
was absolutely adorable. She is the sister of the relief society
president who is looking for more peace and tranquility in life, so
her sister sent her us. Her husband is like super Catholic...like that
description doesn't even cover it. We shared a message about Jesus
Christ with them, and then we left. Letizia walked with us to the
metro stop where we realized that the train wasn't coming for another
hour. We told her we could wait by ourselves and that it wasn't a
problem, but she stuck around for the whole hour in which we took
advantage of the opportunity to teach her the plan of salvation
without her super Catholic husband.
Saturday afternoon, we went up with the Bruno's to teach that family
again in the paesino. And it was phenomenal. That morning, we had
decided to do an overview of the Book of Mormon, which was a little
odd since we would have usually taught the plan of salvation. But it
was perfect, because their 26 year old son joined in. So we did a
quick review of the restoration and the Book of Mormon. This family
has studied with the Jehovah's Witness and they had a really bad
experience. As we were finishing the lesson, the father said that when
we teach, he feels tranquility and peace. We helped him recognize that
it was the spirit, and they all committed to read the Book of Mormon.
It was wonderful to have the members in the lesson. Their testimonies
helped so much. We walked out of the lesson and Sorella Davison turns
to me and says, "You know you're teaching by the spirit when
everything you said popped into my mind as well." It was just a great
experience, and one of the highlights of this week. So sad I don't get
to finish teaching them, because they are truly so great. :)
It was my last Sunday in Catania. They had me give my departing
testimony. I think everybody was a little surprised that I've been
here for 7 months. After the meetings, we took several pictures with
members, and surprisingly some people that I never got to know super
well thanked me and said I'll be missed. I don't think we realize how
many lives we touch. We went to pranzo with the Battezato's and
Sorella Bachetti. The food was so good as always. And that family has
literally been my home away from home. As we were leaving, Sorella
Battezato said that my Italian has improved so much, and that when I
speak... I speak properly. Such a nice compliment.
Today, more like this morning. We went to take pictures in the
courtyards of the university buildings. And we went to say goodbye to
Iole and Gesualdo. I just remember the first time I went over to their
place and I actually understood the jokes. That was a marvelous day. I
will miss them. Several people have told me to come back for my
honeymoon and I can stay with them or that they'll pick us up from the
airport or that they'll take us to see the sites. It is very sweet of
them. I said that I will if the temple is finished by then. Come on
Rome Italy! :)
My spiritual thought this week comes from my study this morning. I
read Acts 5. And there is a verse towards the end that says, "they
left the council rejoicing in their hearts that he counted them worthy
to suffer shame for his name." I found it interesting that they
rejoiced. Because I'll be honest... Having citofones slammed down or
being yelled at or rejected is not the most fun thing in the world.
But I am grateful that I am worthy to suffer shame for his name. There
is nothing else I'd rather be doing than serving the great and
almighty God in his work.
I love you all! Happy February!
Con amore,
Sorella Flansberg
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