Hello family and friends:
Last Monday, we had the nice privilege of sitting on the ground
outside the closed mall under the hot sun for awhile to email all of
you. We felt like real hobos but thankfully not very many people saw
us because the mall is pretty out of the way. The anziani were finally
asked to leave after we left, but it was literally the only place we
could email. So I guess we are grateful for the free wifi because the
church's still doesn't work.
Well, today we got special permission to leave the zone to go to this
place called Alberobello. I'll send pictures, but basically there is
nothing fun to do in Taranto. The good news is that we are an hour
away from all the cool things that are unfortunately located in the
Bari Zone. So I got the nerve up to call president and ask if we could
go and he said yes. So glad I asked because I only have 12 p-days left
in Italy and I want to make the most of it.
Anyways, Monday night.. We got transfer calls. And we are both staying
for another! Woohoo! I'm so glad that we get to stay. I love Sorella
Gochnour and I'm excited to learn more from her and help her get more
adjusted to missionary life. Another 7 weeks.. Transfer #11. :)
On Tuesday, we did a district meeting addestramento about how to teach
according to investigator's needs. We talked about when Christ
explained why he taught in parables and talked about how to understand
these parables, we must have eyes to see and ears to hear. We thought
that in order to teach according to needs, we need to have eyes to see
and ears to hear too because the spirit is the real teacher and we
need to listen to him. We must be humble and realize that we can't do
missionary work on our own.
Wednesday morning started out a bit rough because we went to see
Margherita and determine whether she had the desire to change her life
and come closer to Christ. And unfortunately she doesn't.. And so we
did my very first drop. And it was hard. I just love these people so
much, and it makes my heart sad when they don't want to apply the
things they have learned. Usually investigators drop us before we drop
them, so I didn't really know what to say... But it all worked out.
We also had a lesson with Elena that evening. We role played before we
went in and it went completely opposite to our plan. She is so
fascinating to listen to and to learn from because she really is so
smart. But she doesn't let us talk much. And that can get a bit
frustrating. We watched the children's bible video about baptism and
she really liked it. I'm glad that she speaks English so we were able
to use that resource. She also said, again, that she would read the
Book of Mormon. We're praying that she does.
After that, we had a ward party after the elder's quorum cleaned up
the road the church is on. They played music, we danced, we ate these
really good Italian sausage type hotdogs with barbecue sauce, and
Cristina brought her friend. We are hoping to be able to start
teaching her, and it is true that the best place to find referrals is
from investigators/members. I love that the gospel makes Cristina so
happy that she wants to share it with others.
Thursday we went to a pranzo appointment with the anziani to the house
of our English conversation group people who are also some of our
potential investigators and one of the anziani's investigators. It was
really good, and of course we ate a lot. It was also the strangest
Italian meal I've ever eaten, in a good way. And I think I can
officially say that I don't like mushrooms now. They made these
bruschetta type things with eggplant and cheese on top, and pizza
rustica. And then crepes with cream and mushrooms inside, and then
French fries, and a super thin steak cooked in butter. They also made
tiramisu and we felt bad because we couldn't eat it. But they also had
a crostata with fruit. Basically a lot of food. We also had a fun
conversation and they weren't aware that Italians are known for using
their hands when they speak. Haha.. They tried to teach us some of the
gestures and there are a lot more than I thought. Basically it is a
completely different language.
Then we went to see Lucia, and we showed her the restoration video
because she still doesn't seem to understand that we are separate from
the Catholic Church even though we clearly explained it last time. It
was a good idea to use a video because it caught her attention and she
actually watched it without talking. So we are going to try to teach
her the apostasy using cups and maybe that will help her understand.
She seems to be a visual person. We also invited her to be baptized
when she reads and prays about the Book of Mormon. She said she would
think about it. Sorella Gochnour and I were really bold and we did it
with love.
Friday, we tried to go to the mall and do some English course finding.
We did that for a solid 30 minutes and then the security people came
up to us and told us that we weren't allowed to be there. Haha...
Whoops!
Saturday, we spent 5 solid hours doing less active finding. We had a
list of 11 less actives to find who all live in downtown Taranto. We
found 8 of the addresses, and 7 of the people don't live there anymore
and they also don't have accurate phone numbers. So that was kind of
frustrating for us because we walked all morning and all afternoon,
but we felt productive because now we know we need to find them. Most
of these people, nobody knows. We asked members and they are all like,
who? How sad is that!
That night, we did another gesso, but this time in Taranto. Anziano
Friedman drew this time and we went around asking people if they
believe that there is a prophet on the earth today. Most people said
no... And a few people said maybe. And then A LOT of people said, it
doesn't interest me, and walked away. But I talked to this one guy
named Nicola who seemed interested and then this cute couple who said
they might come to church. They didn't, but maybe next week. I also
talked to a man from up north who seemed interested in a Mormon.org
card. You never know what will happen to those people. We got home
that night and felt like we had a productive day. We were plain
tuckered out and I love feeling that way on the mission.
Sunday, we had some wonderful talks in church about the Holy Spirit,
overcoming discouragement, how much God loves us, and our choices. It
was a great meeting, and Cristina convinced her companion (the person
she lives with) to come and he really enjoyed church too even if he
was skeptical at first. After church, we went to the relief society
president's house and she made us a really great meal. We had lasagna,
like a hamburger meatloaf, potatoes, really good salad (yes, I just
said that) and these really good pastries stuffed with cream and
chocolate. I thought they would be really good with strawberries
inside. I'll ask for the recipe. We shared a spiritual thought with
them using a scarf about prayer. If you hold both ends of a scarf
without letting go, you can't tie a knot... But if you fold your arms
and then hold the ends and unfold your arms, you tie a knot. So when
we pray, we can do all things through Christ. The little kids liked
that.. Well, the 11 year old girl did.. The 5 year old was just
playing with another scarf. Haha..
We rode a bus home from lunch. We waited 40 minutes for a bus to come,
then the bus took an hour ride back to Taranto and was packed to the
brim with beach goers and dogs. We had a seat the whole way, but it
was still super claustrophobic. We finally got home at 6 to do some
language study before going to Slla Lahaderne's surprise birthday
party. So, we had our 4th ward party in 2 weeks. Haha.. It was really
fun and she was so surprised. Cristina came and she enjoyed it and
talked with everyone. Plus Sorella Mazzolari made a delicious birthday
cake that I ate even though I wasn't hungry, and I didn't regret it.
Well, that is it for our wonderful week here in Taranto. We had a
great time in Alberobello today and it was so worth it. Definitely
coming back someday. I hope you all had a wonderful week! You are all
amazing and I know that God loves each and every one of you.
Con amore,
Sorella Flansberg
Missione Italiana di Roma
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