Dear family and friends:
This week was beyond crazy, so buckle up and get ready! Monday night, we drove out with our ward mission leader and his wife to visit a couple who lives outside of town to share a message about our new ward mission plan. We got lost on the way out there because their address wouldn't show up on Google Maps and nobody wanted to ask for directions...but once we finally arrived, we had a great lesson with them and invited them to use their interests (specifically in family history) to help people outside the church with their genealogy. The spirit was definitely there, so that was a good experience. Then as we were drinking water before we left, our phone started ringing... and everybody knows what that means! TRANSFER CALLS!
You all are lucky that we now receive transfer calls at the beginning of the week, so you don't have to wait until the end of my letter! But drum roll please.... I am STAYING in TARANTO! I have probably never been so happy in my life! Sorella Gochnour went to Ragusa in Sicily to be with an Italian companion and I'm so excited that she gets to spread her wings! This transfer was a little weird, because almost everybody who was training stayed in their city and all the greenies were the ones who moved. My thought process is that Heavenly Father wants them to spread their wings now so they are ready to train faster. My new companion is Sorella Keglovitz! She is in the same transfer as Sorella Hess, so she hits her halfway mark soon. She is 23. She also served in Catania... so guess what we've been talking a lot about... CATANIA! Haha... it has been fun to reminisce with her and get updates on all of my favorite people. Other things about her... she is from Grants Pass, Oregon... she is really good at telling stories and is a BEAVER FAN. I told her she could stay. :)
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Tuesday, we had a wonderful DDM where we talked about all of our insights from conference. Anziano Friedman was kind of stressed out the whole time because he is the new zone leader (our other ones either died or changed to being AP) and he is in charge of all the travel plans and there were some crazy ones. We made a Nutella crostata and that was really good. Don't worry, I'll make it once I get home for all who have watering tastebuds. :) We ran an errand out to Auchan to check to see if they had desks/wardrobes for the new anziani arriving in Taranto. And Sorella Gochnour had to pack.
Wednesday morning, Sorella Gochnour left on a train to Foggia, and I had to go to Bari because my new companion wasn't arriving until Thursday and that is where the nearest sisters are. I guess you could say we are empty nesters now because our kids both left and with them leaving, our district became full of old retired folks. Haha.. there are now 3 new anziani in Taranto who all die in the next 2 transfers, plus Anziano Davidson who dies with me, and then me.
So, I got to spend the day in a trio with Slla Embley and Nelson. Sorella Nelson was headed to Catania, so I basically just talked about Catania all week! We went to get focaccia with a member and her giant golden retriever and that night, we went to see another member and ate panzerotti from Bari. But I think the ones in Taranto are better because they are just baked and not fried. The fried ones are really heavy..
On Thursday, we were in the middle of all the transfer excitement and everybody was coming into the Bari station at different times. So I think we walked back and forth between the station and their house like 4 times. It would have been 5 but then Sorella Embley and I waited at the Burger King and ate lunch instead of walking back to the house. I ended up having to stay longer in Bari because Sorella Keglovitz didn't go up to Napoli the day before and ended up having to travel up on a bus. So I just got to be in the midst of everything crazy during my last transfer day.
We got to go to English course that night and the advanced students have been begging to have the sisters teach them again so we decided to switch from teaching basic to advanced. And we spent the majority of the time talking about why we chose to serve missions, and what things we have learned on our missions. The thing I shared that I've learned the most about is being selfless. I've learned that the more I seek to make others happy, the happier I become. But when I always check to see if I'm happy, I'm not.
Friday morning, we went down to centro to buy monthly bus passes and we got on the bus after talking to this cute 18 year old girl, I realized I forgot my wallet, so we got off at the next stop, went back to the house, waited at the bus stop, talked to someone else and the excursion that was only supposed to take an hour ended up taking all morning, but we got good potentials out of it. So we are excited to follow up on them this next week.
We met with Nicola this week. He finished reading the introduction of the Book of Mormon and some of the testimonies at the beginning. He also is trying to stop smoking because he has health problems. And he said he would come to church if it rained. But it didn't... I wasn't sure if praying for it to rain was going against someone else's agency. Probably not because he could choose whether to come to church still whether or not it was raining. I'll pray for it to rain this next Sunday. Haha...
We also went to meet with this less active couple where the wife is not too fond of us coming all the time. And I guess the husband didn't tell her we were coming, so she kind of cussed us out when we first arrived according to him. I don't know Italian cuss words... but by the end of the lesson we had with them, she had invited us over to pranzo sometime. So the spirit really can change people's hearts. :)
We had a lesson with Cristina on Saturday morning. I guess she thought that I had left and so she was really sad. But when she opened the door and saw me, she was SO happy! She just gave me the biggest hug and wouldn't let me go. We had a great lesson with her about the plan of salvation, temples, and family history. She still wants to get baptized and was telling everyone on Sunday that she will get baptized as soon as her situation changes. So good news there. :)
That night after we did weekly planning, we went to the church to do Area Book Planner training. We have FINALLY been authorized to use the area Book planner app on our iPads starting October 1. So I get to use it for a solid two weeks... haha.. :) It is such a cool tool, and the church is so technology forward. I'm pretty sure the apostles know more about technology than I do at this point.
Church was really great on Sunday. As much as I love general conference and hearing those inspired messages, nothing beats getting to partake of the sacrament on a normal Sunday. The relief society lesson we had was also very good about our commitment to God.
This is what I loved from that lesson, "The Lord revealed in the preface to the Doctrine and Covenants that this is the "only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth." Then he added, "with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually" (D&C 1:30). This should raise a question in our minds of eternal significance: We know that this is the true and living church institutionally, but am I a true and living member individually?
… When I ask, "Am I a true and living member?" my question is, am I deeply and fully dedicated to keeping the covenants I have made with the Lord? Am I totally committed to live the gospel and be a doer of the word and not a hearer only? Do I live my religion? Will I remain true? Do I stand firm against Satan's temptations? … "
Then Gilda, Cristina's friend came again, and she wants to meet with us finally! Cristina talked it up about how when we come to her house, it is like angels coming. So now we have a high expectation to fulfill. But we hope that will finally happen this week.
Then we went to pranzo with the Casti's, one of my other favorite members. They were literally the life savers of the week. We wanted to have a lesson with these investigators we haven't seen since I first arrived here, but the only day they could do it was Sunday and that is the only day the buses don't run from Taranto to San Giorgio. So there was a problem, but the Casti's were totally willing to help us out. They fed us pranzo, drove us to the appointment, Sorella Casti stayed for the appointment, and then they drove us home. I love them so much! They were literally our heroes!
Then we had a lesson with Elena. It was probably the shortest lesson we've ever had with her. We talked about the importance of the spirit in learning about spiritual things and invited her to put as much effort into reading the Book of Mormon as she does reading other spiritual books. And then to pray before and after she reads.
So today marks the beginning of my last transfer, and I am feeling good except for having a whole bunch of mixed emotions about everything. I'm pretty sure this transfer is going to fly by though because... this week is the only normal week we have. Then next week, we go to Rome for the mission conference, the next week we have zone conference and stake conference, the next week we have scambios in Cosenza, and the next week, we have my birthday... and then I'm home.
Well, I hope you have a wonderful day and week! Life is good over here in Italy and miracles are happening each and every day! I truly have learned that joy is found in Jesus Christ and when we are in the service of others. :) Love you all!
Sorella Flansberg
Missione Italiana di Roma
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