Week 77 -- Really, Coronavirus???

Good morning everyone!  It's about 11:00 and we just finished our shopping at the market and now we are going to do some fun things.  I'm going to get my scriptures rebound and then we're going to go buy ukeleles and then we're going to go to the beach and hopefully play a little volleyball, hang out, learn how to play our ukeleles that we will have just bought, and so that's about what our P-Day looks like. I wasn't actually with my companion for most of this week because she was doing permesso travel, so this week's been a little different.  Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday she was out of town doing her permesso so I was with the other sorellae.  We had a few of our appointments but mainly I was just tagging along, you know?  We basically had two proselyting days in our area this week.  We also had some appointments when I was with the other sorellae.  It was just a little bit of a weird week but it was fun.

A couple of months ago I found this man on the bus -- I talked about it when it happened.  It was a little miracle.  We had a certain goal to get certain numbers and we were going home for the night on Sunday night and then I talked to this couple and got their number and -- super awesome -- on Sunday they got baptized!  It was super cutie because anziani from where he lived contacted him immediately when we sent them his number and they immediately taught them the restoration and they loved it.  And so a little bit ago they anziani texted and asked if we wanted to come and we were like, yeah we want to come!  Of course!  I don't think they told him that we were coming but it was super cutie because I got out of the car and he said, "Hey!  The sister from the bus!" and it was just super cool to watch them get baptized.  It was at that very pretty place where I took both of my Facebook profile pictures and it was so pretty.  It was also so funny because it was also freezing cold and the waves were huge and it was literally like a wave that baptized him. It was crazy. 

Let's just go to questions....

1.  What are they saying about coronavirus where you are?

I literally can't.  This coronavirus is ruining my life.  Not really.  People are just really scared and dramatic.  In our mission there is like one case in Torrento (sp?) but they are quarantined, and I've heard there's a case in Palermo but I haven't had that one confirmed.  It's literally not affecting us at all.  Our instruction has been to buy hand sanitizer and use it and on P-Day they're like, buy extra food, but no one is really concerned about anything. Well, they're a little concerned.  The members are a little concerned.  And they've put hand sanitizer in the church.  You also asked if I would rather go home on the 20th if we cancel the trip or the 29th.  If I could work in the visitor's center or stay here in Bari, I would like to stay until the 29th.  It would be awesome to work in the visitor's center.  It's something I've always wanted to do.  I would be totally fine to stay until the 29th.

In Milan they're all in quarantine for the next two weeks so the missionaries from my group, they gave them the option if they wanted to go home to go home now and they gave it also to the group after my group.  Like, knowing you're going to be in quarantine they gave them the option to go home.  Crazy, right?!

2.  What made you laugh this week?

I think just the realization that we're all human and we all are unique in our own way....and some people are more unique than others!

3.  Did you see or do anything unusual this week?

I was with the other sorellae so I got to be part of their area and got to see a new city and meet some of their members.  That was fun.

4.  Did you try any new foods this week?

I don't think so.  We did have a lot of meal appointments.

5.  What did you do for P-day this week?

See above.

6.  What do you love most about the Italian people/culture?

That's a hard question.  I think I just love a lot of things.

7.  How do you think your mission has changed you?

How hasn't it????

8.  I have heard/read that Italians take a break in the afternoon for their big meal – is that true?  What time?  How long does it last?  Do the stores and shops close down during that time?

Yes, that's true.  How long it lasts depends on the city, depends on the people.  Yes, the stores and shops close.

9.  Are you and Sorella T running in the mornings or evenings?

We do our exercise time in the morning.

10.  Tell me about a lesson or teaching experience you had this week.

We had kind of bad teaching experiences this week.  Our work kind of crumbled this week, but that's ok.  There is one couple we found and have been teaching, so they invited us over and they have been very loving to us.  They invited us over to eat with them and it was literally the most anxious I have been in forever.  It was so bad.  It was so bad!  First of all, the address they gave us wasn't right and they knew it wouldn't be right.  We called and asked them since we weren't in the right place and they said they would come meet us there, they didn't want to send us the right address.  An hour before they texted us and said they didn't want to talk about faith or anything like that, I just want you to meet my daughter because I talk to her about you and I want her to meet you because she's in town.  And we said that we are here to share a message and that we would like to share a spiritual thought.  So we picked the most basic, basic -- Alma 32.  So we get there and he's like, "what do you want to tell me?  You said you had to tell me.  What do you want to tell me?" and things like "this is my house, and I invited you here so I get to talk."  And we were like, "yeah, of course!" so we asked if we could start with prayer and he said yes.  So we prayed and he told us to read the verses.  Literally these guys were so elect the first lesson and they came to church and were so elect!  He wouldn't read the verses and told us to.  So we read it and asked what they thought and he said "why did you choose those verses to share?"  And we said "we knew you had said that you have your faith, but honestly faith is what we're talking about.  This is the basis of everything.  This is the first principle of the gospel and we need to understand it.  A lot of people say they have the faith but they don't understand what needs to happen for them to really actually have the faith.  And so we just wanted to talk about this because these are beautiful verses that we studied."  And then he starts going off about who knows what, and then he was super rude.  It was horrible.  And then we ate but they weren't even eating.  They were like, "we got this for you so you have to finish it.  You need to eat it all."  The whole time he was so combative.  He wanted to argue.  And we couldn't figure out why they would invite us over if he was going to be like this.  Kind of rude.  And it was really sad but I think it just shows how hard Satan works.  These people were so legit, so elect, and in a second Satan was able to get into their hearts and change it.  You could see it in their eyes.  At the end he walked us out to the car and I said, "you know, I was thinking about it and I think the reason I chose to share those verses is because I think that you felt that seed in your heart, you felt it start to swell, but you're casting it out right now.  I would invite you to think about that because I know you felt something.  I know you felt the Spirit and I know that you're denying that right now."  And so I left him with that.  Because it's true.  I studied a lot Alma 32 this week and it's just, like....so true.  I read that chapter and every single principle that it talks about in that is so true.  Like in the sense of the things we need to do in order to grow this plant, this tree of our faith, so that one day we can inherit eternal life, taste of the fruit.  Even in that little thing, he felt that in his heart and you could see it.  You knew it.  And then he didn't nourish it and he threw it out.  So that was maybe not the most happy thing but it was interesting.

11.  Do you know how much I love you?

Of course!

12.  What can we pray for for you, your companion, or the people you’re working with?

Yes.

13.  Where are you at in your personal studies right now?

I'm doing Come Follow Me and then I'm reading whatever I want.  One thing that I kind of realized that I'm trying to work on doing a little bit better about is we had a really cool lesson with R (a different R than the R above) and we're really understanding her problems, understanding what's in her head, and trying to help her.  So we had a lesson with the other sorellae.  The last time she brought up a question kind of asking about the purpose of life and so we talked about that.  Her question kind of make me think so I decided to study it that week.  And so I came with another scripture and was ready to talk about it and she was like, "Yes, but this and this and this...." but I was Sorella P and Sorella V and Sorella P said something really cool.  She said, "you know, sometimes I know something but I don't believe it. And a lot of times you believe it and then you know it."  I feel like for me it's the same thing -- I know something but I don't believe it in the sense of I know it in my head but I don't feel it in my heart.  I was kind of thinking about that in my studies, and in my studies I was studying a little about premortal life and so I decide to start trying to study with the idea of, "ok, what are the implications of this?  This is awesome, that you lived with God before this life -- what does that mean?  That's awesome that you know that but why is it important?  Why does it matter?  What does it mean to you?  How does it change the way that you view this existence?  How does it change you?" And so I'm trying to work on focusing on "what are the implications", kind of like Pres Nelson's questions to prep us for General Conference -- you know the Book of Mormon is true, that's awesome, that's incredible -- that's step one -- what does it mean for you?  How does that become a belief for you that is going to lead you to act?  I know a lot of things that are like, who cares?  But how do I know, what are the implications for me, what does it mean for me, and how should that change my thought process, how should that change the way that I act?

We ate a lot of food this week.  SO much food.  Oh.My.Gosh.  I was a little bit tired of pasta -- I'm not going to lie.

I love you so much!  I love everyone.  Thank you for all loving me and being my friends.  Everyone please pray that coronavirus doesn't affect our vacation!!!

I love you!

Ciao!

I took a power nap

Sunrise on our run

This is a sister from the other ward -- she's awesome.

Yes, that's my bed on the floor.

Blood orange

The anziani put on a Carnevale activity.

At J's baptism

Meal appointment upon meal appointment....

Sunset selfies

Sorella L -- Love her!!!

I cut her hair

Russian church

Ginseng has changed my life!

Ginseng and a pasticchio