Week 77: the last week in the great Italy Rome Mission

Hello family and friends: 

This week was full of goodbyes. So I'll save you all the sadness and not talk about it that much. This was definitely my hardest goodbye of the mission. I would say Taranto was my favorite city. I'm also excited to see how all of you pronounce this city because I'm pretty sure you all say it wrong. We got to see mostly everybody I wanted to so that was a tender mercy from my Heavenly Father. 

Tuesday was my birthday and it was a fantastic day. We had lunch with the bishop and his wife. It was delicious. Bishop was teasing me beforehand and asked how I felt about octopus. Haha.. I'm sure I looked scared until I realized he was joking. His wife made me Tiramisu for dessert. And that was so good! They also gave me a cute little ceramic thing that is a symbol of good luck. It is only made in this region of Italy, and it is a typical "happy birthday" or "happy marriage" kind of gift. It was so sweet of them. 

We had a lesson with Cristina for the first time in 4 weeks this week. Probably mainly because I was leaving. But it was a really great lesson. We talked about the priesthood and relief society. She has been stressed recently just with working with all the lawyers about her ex-husband. But she should be baptized soon because of news we received yesterday. So I'll be praying for that. It was also when we went to that lesson that we learned who won the presidential election and I didn't believe them until I saw it on the tv myself. Everybody here in Italy is quite interested in what happens. We had quite a few people come up to us and ask us what we thought. But President Pickerd told us to respond like this, "we love and follow Jesus Christ.  We are in Italy to teach repentance and baptize converts." Haha... I don't think that is the answer the people wanted. 

We went to Fia's that night. She made Samoan pancakes again and hot chocolate and she had invited a friend over. We had planned to share the object lesson of the rocks and the sand and how if you put the rocks (the important things) in the jar first and then add the sand (less important things), it all fits and you have enough time to do everything. But if you add the sand and then try to put the rocks in, you run out of room. They both really liked that, and I hope it will help Fia to make the gospel a bigger priority in her life. Her friend also became a new investigator, so that was a cool miracle. We also met a solid potential on the way out there, so hopefully Sorella Keglovitz can continue to work with them. 

Thursday we went to the Casti's (bishop's parents) house and she made us her mom's minestrone recipe. It was super good! That was also the first time I ate soup on the mission. And it wasn't even really soup. It was more like goop with potatoes, beans, and pasta. But a delicious goop. :) That night at English course, a student brought me a cake for my birthday and then we took pictures. Another student gave me a really pretty scarf and then another gave me a watch. And Mariella, the anziani's investigator gave me a really pretty necklace. So I felt really loved. This other guy also told me that I need to eat more when I get home, and I was like, "sir? Do you know how much I have eaten this week?" Haha.. 

Friday, Anziano Friedman had designated this day as my death day. He had promised "the kids" to kill me good, so he made a coffin to take pictures. Haha.. Also, the death jokes had only just begun 2 transfers ago. We went to have lunch with Ettore again and he made a ton of pizza. 

Saturday night, Sorella Keglovitz and I went gelato hopping. I really wanted to bring some of the plastic spoons home that they use to give samples of gelato because they are square shaped spoons. So we had plans to go to 3 gelato places, try two flavors each, and then order a small cup for us to share. We did that twice and realized it would be easier to just ask if we could buy some of the spoons from them. They would ask how many I needed, and then they just gave them to me for free. Haha.., but we made some good memories. We obviously tried to talk to people as we went too, but everybody was super grumpy that night. 

Sunday was my last Sunday in this beautiful country and even though it took me awhile to get used to the church culture here, I will definitely miss it. I had to bear my testimony and I think that went well. I ended it before starting to cry. We went to the Mazzolari's again for lunch today. They also invited this American guy who is moving here with his family over. He doesn't speak Italian, so we translated for a lot of the time. We went home, cleaned the house, packed up my bags and weighed them... stressed out because they are really close to the weight limit, and then we left to go see an investigator. We barely missed a bus, but because of that we met this one guy who passed us while waiting at the stop, and then when we got on the bus, we met this 18 year Hungarian guy who knew the missionaries 2-3 years ago and who has studied the Book of Mormon a little bit. So those were some miracles. The bus didn't come while we were waiting and it was getting too late to go out to where she lives, so we headed home. We were waiting at a bus stop, and nobody else was there, so we were just talking and laughing when a guy walks up and tells us how he likes how we smile and laugh. His name was Josef and he wasn't from Italy but we talked to him for a bit too. 

And this morning, Mariella helped us get to the station with all my bags. She bought us cornetti, a pastry with Nutella inside, for breakfast. As of right now, it all feels like it's just another transfer. But I'm sure once I get to Rome and go to the mission villa, it will feel a bit more real. 

I found some good conference talks from a while ago about going home from a mission and the blessings we receive from serving a mission, and my heart was just full of gratitude for the opportunity I've had to serve here for a year and a half. It has been hard, but the good times always make up for the bad. And to prevent myself from crying on the train, I'll stop all the sappy stuff there. I'm just grateful for my savior, for my mission, for my family and friends, and for the gospel. 

See you all real soon!

Con amore,

Sorella Flansberg
Missione Italiana di Roma

Week 76: salted caramel gelato, Italian cemeteries,

Hello friends and family: 

I'm sure you aren't all counting down for me... 😉, right? Haha... I still have one glorious week here in Italy, and I am for sure living it up. In a missionary type of way. Meaning mainly that I'm going to gain 10 pounds just this week. Haha... 

And to start with, last week, right before p-day ended, we had planned to get gelato with the district. Only the zone leaders ended up coming with us, but I got salted caramel gelato. And it was the most delicious thing ever. It was just the right amount of salt but sweet in every bite. Am I making you drool yet? Haha.. but seriously... I'm going to miss the food so much. 

This week, we had a bit of success with our less actives. It all started on Monday night when we went to see the Oliva's. Their phone wasn't working so we just stopped by, and only Sorella Oliva was home, which ended up being a miracle. We shared a nice message with her about Christ and about prayer, and she actually said the prayer at the end of the lesson because her husband wasn't there. And it was a good prayer too. More than just "padre nostro" (the prayer from the Sermon on the Mount). Last week when the sisters were on scambio, they went to see them and I guess Sorella Oliva thought I had left, and that made her really sad. It just warms my heart to think of all the little impacts I've made on the lives of people here through being an instrument in the savior's hands.

Happy November! Haha.. I just have to mention that November is my favorite month. My birthday, thanksgiving, the fall weather, pumpkins, sweaters, boots, and everything else good. So at least that helped balance my hyperventilating of it also being the month I go home. November 1 was All Saints Day, and the ward had a giant service project planned at the cemetery for both November 1-2 which was the day of the dead. So we spent a lot of time in the cemetery wheeling elderly people in wheelchairs around to the graves of their relatives. I think every single person in Italy visits the cemetery on one of these two days. We had some good experiences and it was nice helping people. I love old Italian ladies, because you know them for like 5 minutes, and they automatically become your grandma. They are just so caring and sweet. One of them was 95 years old, and we walked around for 30 minutes inside the cemetery looking for her husband's grave because she was lost. Her husband was in the military and passed away 53 years ago. I can't even imagine being a widow for that long. We also helped another lady and her son. Sorella K complimented her on her earrings and she wanted to know if we would be there the next day so she could bring all her earrings to give to us. Haha.. Italian cemeteries are a bit different than American cemeteries because they aren't underground. All the boxes holding the caskets are above ground and if you are rich enough, a family will have a sepulcher that holds all the dead bodies. One of our English course students took us to his family's sepulcher and it smelled quite lovely inside if you know what I mean. But I can say that I became a million more times grateful for the plan of salvation and for my testimony about the resurrection. Something about the bodies not being buried makes you think more about what is actually in those boxes and it is sad to think about. But the gospel brings so much hope knowing that someday our bodies will be restored to their perfect frame. 

We weren't able to meet with Gilda this week either, because the day our lesson was scheduled was all saints day and she had spent the day with her family. But, we will try again for this week and hopefully she will be available. Tuesday night, we went to English course and everybody knows I'm going home so they keep asking me how I feel. And really, it is just a big lot of mixed emotions. Haha.. 

Wednesday night, we went out to see Fia. We had a really great lesson with her about doing family history. Something I've learned during the mission is how when we take family names to the temple or even just go to the temple, we become savior's on mount Zion for those people. She was really excited about the book to fill out with all the information about her family. We also talked about how examples as parents/grandparents are the best ways to teach children. We invited her to show a good example of going to church and following God's commandments so her grandchildren will know what is truly important to her. She also won't let us leave without feeding us, so this time we ate chick pea soup and it was really good!

Because we had the service project on Tuesday and Wednesday starting at 8, we didn't have time in the morning to do our studies and there was a significant difference in how our days went when we studied and when we didn't study. Thursday, we had to go to the questura to pick up my permesso or my permission to be in Italy legally card. I don't know what you would call it in America. I renewed it in June, and I just got it. And the funny thing is that it expires on the 23 of November, so I have a new card for 20 days.. woohoo!

Thursday morning, we had district meeting. It ended up being short because we were running late from picking up my permesso. Then we had to run home, grab something to eat real fast, and catch a bus to the bus station to then take a bus to Cosenza. I didn't get to eat much which wasn't a bad thing, because as soon as we arrived in Cosenza, I was told Sorella Gl and I were going straight to a meal appointment. And this family's goal is to make every missionary fat. Haha.. so we ate a lot. 

Friday morning, we did some pharmacy finding because a member had given an employee a pamphlet there, but we weren't sure which pharmacy or where it was. So we asked all the other pharmacies, and we met this really cute lady named Roberta. She was probably 28 and we just started talking like we had been friends forever. She said the sisters could go back the next day and talk more with her, so that was a pretty cool experience. And then we made another contact. Sorella Gl thought I was a good luck charm because everybody was being so friendly to us. That evening, we caught a bus back to Taranto which takes almost 4 hours, so there went a good chunk of our day. Our zone is so big! 

Saturday, Fia had invited us to go play tennis with her. She's been planning this forever, basically ever since she found out I play tennis 6 months ago. But we finally made our schedules fit together. And it was so much fun. Sorella K played tennis in high school too, so we all had fun. We mostly just volleyed back and forth. And let me tell you, I was so sore the next day. Haha... Fia also made us Samoan pancakes.. and they were so good. Basically fried pancake batter with apple and banana inside. We are learning how to make them on Wednesday. 

That morning before we played tennis, we had barely missed a bus and I was worried we were going to be late, but God makes things happen for a reason. As we were waiting at the stop, this lady who came up to all of us sisters during the scambio before zone conference showed up and started talking to us again. She is the cutest, and she wants us to go to her house. We had tried twice and she wasn't ever there, but this time we were able to get her phone number. Her name is Marisa, so hopefully we can meet with her this week. She lives really close to our house which is also really close to the church. Perfect, right? Also, when we were done playing tennis, we went to the bus stop and the anziani's new convert was there. So miracles all over the place. :) 

That night, we went out to another city and there was some bus confusion about which company of buses leaves when and which tickets we bought, so we arrived at the appointment late, stayed late because Italians talk a lot, missed the last bus of the night from the company we bought tickets from, and so the zone leaders had to come rescue us. Luckily they were good sports about it, also because I promised them cookies. At least the lesson went well. We read the introduction to the Book of Mormon with them and invited them to read it. These 2 women are investigators from a long time ago. I've only seen them 3 times since I've been here, so now we just have to help them move along a little more speedily. 

On Sunday, we arrived in church and Sorella Mazzolari immediately called me over and presented me with the Swiss chocolate she bought for me at my request. They also invited us and the anziani over for lunch because nobody else invited us. They were worried they wouldn't have enough food because they had just gotten back from the temple the day before and hadn't done shopping yet. But believe me, there was plenty of food. If anybody wants me to cook Italian style when I get home, be ready for pasta, meat, bread, fruit, other sides, salad, and dessert and for your stomach to explode. Also, we will be going back to the Mazzolari's when we come back to Italy, family. They have already made me promise. They are basically my family here in Taranto. 

Sunday night, we did weekly planning. And we miraculously fit in everybody we have to see this week, so hopefully their schedules work with ours. Or else I'll be sad. My eyes even began to water as I began to think about leaving this city and these people. As excited as I am to come home, I do feel like I'm leaving my home (Taranto) to go to some dream like world that doesn't really exist. Haha.. 

Sunday night, we met with a less active who we saw another miracle with. She usually wouldn't ever let us in to her house. Whenever we went, we would literally stand in the entryway and share a spiritual thought. But for some reason, we got into her kitchen last night. We got to know her a little bit more, she said she would come to church, and she said a prayer at the end of the lesson. Miracles all over the place. 

Something I really liked from studies this week was a verse I read in 1 Nephi 21:13. It connected to Isaiah 44:23 in the footnotes. And it says, "Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it" and I loved this connected with the idea that Christ completed the atonement. He did it. He already did it. How much joy and comfort that sentence gives me. He did it. 

I love you all! Have a great week! And I'll see you soon!

Con amore,

Sorella Flansberg

Missione Italiana di Roma