Buongiorno family and friends:
Well, I'm past the whole time slowing down part for being in a new
city. This week went so fast. It was literally just p-day and I feel
like I just wrote all of you. But alas, here we are again.
This week for DDM, we talked about why our purpose as missionaries is
outlined in the first chapter of Preach my Gospel. We discussed how
having a purpose gives us direction and motivates us to do the right
things. It is important that we know what our purpose is as
missionaries, and there is a reason we recite it every morning. I
guess it should become more of a declaration instead of a recitation
for me. I've been working on thinking about what I'm saying a little
more this past week.
We also had a scambio in Crotone this week. The bus times in Calabria
are really horrible plus it takes like 4 hours to get there. Haha.. So
we spent a lot of time on the bus. We left at 4:00 on Tuesday, and
then we left Crotone Thursday morning at 5:30. This mission just has a
different aspect to other missions just because we have to travel so
far to get places. I also don't think we get as close to our mission
president because the only time we get to see them is for zone
conferences. They don't randomly pick us up for lunch. Haha.. But it
is also the best mission in the world, so I guess I'll take it. ;)
Crotone was fun, but I sure am glad to be back in Taranto. 1) because
they have a cockroach problem in their church and 2) the town is known
for the mafia. A guy we met on the bus down there was probably part of
it. They are nice to us, but scary.
I went on scambio with Sorella Dustin. We were able to have an
appointment with their new converts who are also Nigerians. Just being
with them and listening to them speak in English reminded me of
Jennifer. We helped Juliet with a talk she was giving at a baptism on
Friday night, because she doesn't read or write and she was so cute
about it. She practiced for us and it was definitely African in style,
but she has a testimony of the church which was cute to hear. We also
made Tiramisu for the first time. I don't know how Italian it was, but
it was fun to make. We made it for one of their investigators who they
haven't seen in awhile. Sweets open doors here in Italy.
This week on gospel library, I found these videos where they had
little kids tell the stories of the bible in their own words. I just
wish they were in Italian, because they are so simple. My favorite was
probably the one that is titled, "who is Jesus?" And one of the little
girls says, "he heals our owies." And I just love that. He really does
heal us, and maybe in the moments where it seems like the trials we
have are hurting more than helping us, I know that he will heal our
pains and sufferings and replace them with peace. I feel like having
faith in Christ is just relying and trusting him enough to follow his
will and let him "kiss our owies better" for lack of better words.
We were also able to see Sorella Parabita again this week. She was
talking to us about how she has been sick for a long time, and how she
doesn't really know why she is still on the earth. But I've learned so
much from her just from the 3 times we have gone to visit her. So if
nothing else, she has been a blessing in my life. I hope that my
testimony is as strong as hers when I am 86 years old.
And now I get to tell you about our miracle of the week! Two weeks
ago, this less active named Giusy came back to church... And she
brought her non-member mom with her. We were finally able to have an
appointment with Cristina... And she was so cute! She began by telling
us about her life, and how when things started going wrong a few years
ago, she went to the Catholic Church to find peace. Before that, she
remembered her daughter Giusy telling her about the LDS church because
Giusy joined 20 years ago. And ever since then, Cristina has felt
drawn to our church. She has come a few times, but every time she
comes she just feels peace in her heart and she feels at home. It is
her first time meeting with the missionaries and she is so ready!
During the lesson, she kept referring to the church as "her church"
and the Catholic Church as the "other church". I've noticed that here
in Italy, we have the most success with people who already know the
Catholic Church isn't completely true. It was such a miracle, and she
wants to be baptized. I'm excited to watch her progress. :)
We also tried to go see Margherita, one of our other investigators
this week. Her brother Fortunato is a member of the church, but was in
a motorcycle accident a few years ago and now only has half a brain.
He can't survive on his own, and his family are literal angels to him.
They love him so much. Supposedly the mom is a member too, but she
isn't in the church records. But we were able to have a lesson with
Elisabetta (the mom) and Fortunato. I could just feel God's love when
we entered the room with Fortunato's hospital bed. It was a really
cool experience. :)
Also, I happy danced this week because they sell peanut butter in a
store here that is right next to our house and it is actually a
reasonable price. Hallelujah! I never thought I'd be so happy to eat a
peanut butter sandwich.
On Saturday, we went to see Fia and we read the Book of Mormon with
her. We talked about how the people who keep the commandments of God
are the happiest using the scripture in Mosiah 2. She told us how she
knows she needs to come back to church and how she needs to program
her week better so she is able to come. We are making progress with
her, because now she recognizes the need for church in her life. Being
able to watch people repent is probably one of the happiest parts of
my mission. :)
We also went to see our kidnapping grandma again this week, and the
miracle was that we got in and out of her house in less than an hour.
We also read the Book of Mormon with her, and she tried to parallel it
to a movie she saw this week. She could not stop talking about this
movie, but she read the Book of Mormon without us too. She still
doesn't listen very well, but hopefully she will begin coming to
church. I know that she will feel a peace there just like everybody
else. We rode home on an air conditioned city bus, the first one I've
seen in Italy. It was heaven since Saturday was also the hottest day
of the week.
One of the people we went to visit this week, I'm not going to name
names, gave us this coconut almond drink. We asked her how she made it
and she said you put the concentrate in it and fill it up with water.
That is when what we feared was confirmed. We just drank tap water
from Taranto. Well, yesterday and today, Sorella Hess has felt a
little nauseous. But yesterday in church, I had to give a talk. So I
knew that we had to go even if she wasn't feeling well. But all was
well and she survived church. She still has a stomach ache today, but
it didn't have the same effect on me. And I don't understand. Maybe I
just became immune to it from Sicily. Boh. (I don't know.) But they
weren't kidding when they said the water was bad here. Now we know.
My talk went well. It was about how the plan of salvation helps me
know the things I have to do to return to Heavenly Father. I used the
talk, I'm a Child of God by Elder Hallstrom as my basis, and just
talked about how knowing we are children of God makes such a
difference in how we comprehend this life. Last week, the bishop
forgot to have me get up and bear my testimony, so he apologized by
having me give a talk this week. How nice of him! ;)
Also in church, a member who started coming back 3 months ago made a
comment in relief society which I found very interesting. She said
that there was a member who would text and call her to check up on
her. She said that she was a little annoyed about it at first because
she thought the member just wanted her to come back to church. But
after a while, she realized it was because she really loved her. This
recently returned less active member realized that consistency was the
key in her coming back to church. Maybe in the moment, we might feel
like we keep doing the same things over and over, and we don't feel
like we are doing anything. But with consistency, our efforts over
time can make a big impact.
This was our third week without a meal appointment, so we sadly walked
home from church to make our own humble meal. We take 1.5 to 2 hour
lunch breaks because we work through dinner so yesterday we watched
the Joseph smith movie and ate Popsicles. It was a nice little break.
We also had a lesson with Elena. She is pretty determined not to say
that this church is the only true church on the earth even though she
believes in Joseph Smith. We tried to explain the importance of the
priesthood and how God reveals his gospel in all dispensations. She
keeps resorting back to other inspired people in the world from
religions like Buddhism, and Islam, and Conficianism who claim to have
seen God. And I just want to know what everyone else thinks about
these people. Do you think they really saw what they said they saw? To
me, I want to believe them because I know God reveals truth, but I
don't quite understand how there can be such a variety of religions in
the world from the same God. I also feel like they could be inspired
men, but there is a difference between revelation and inspiration
right? Anyways, if anybody has ideas of how we could reach this to
her, let me know. Whoever responds first, wins. ;) haha...
Speaking English has been hard this week. I always add in Italian
vocabulary when I do speak English and then my grammar and everything
just gets mixed up. I'm going to be a laughing stock when I get home
because I can't speak anymore. I don't even know if that made sense.
Hahah... SOS. Plus there are words in Italian which I will never be
able to give up. Like "proprio, boh, mamma mia, mannaggia, meno male,
giro, GANS" and the list could go on and on. I'm gonna be a mess. And
I feel bad for whoever has to read my first paper at university. Ahh.
Well, I love you all! I hope you have a marvelous week!
Con amore,
Sorella Flansberg
Missione Italiana di Roma
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