This
has been a bit of a crazy week because of traveling to Rome, zone
leader conference, and traveling back. I had one of the craziest travel
opportunities taking every form of transportation except bicycle and
horseback. We left for Catania on Wednesday and ate lunch there with the
other missionaries, then we took the bus again up to Messina where
there was a lot of wind and a storm so the small boat we took across the
Messina straight was rocked across the sea like crazy! When we finally
got across we landed in Villa San Giovanni and then took a train to
Reggio Calabria where we ate a pizza with the Anziani there and then
finally got some sleep at their place. We woke up early, got a ride from
a member to the airport and flew all the way to Rome. It was very, very
cold and rainy, but I love flying so much and enjoyed every minute of
it.
When in Rome we waited for the other Sicilian Z.L.'s
but there was a problem with Anziano Nelson from Sardegna who needed to
bring some luggage for a different missionary. The machine that unloads
the plane broke apparently so we had to wait an extra hour at the
airport. They told us to take the train from the airport to the city
center instead of being picked up in the van because the gate to the
mission home was broken and couldn't open, so the vehicles inside were
impossible to take out except by complete annihilation of the gate (you
should see the size of the mission van... it's called a 'furgone' in
Italian).
The airport is only about an hour by car from the
mission home (Rome is gigantic), and the little train would only be
about a fifteen minute ride. Usually, at the end of the month (and we
were in the latter days) missionaries are generally out of money. The
train tickets would have cost £70 for all of us! It was ridiculous so we
called the assistants and we worked it out to get a ride from other
missionaries with cars. Because of the weather, everyone was late to the
mission home, but although all the problems we faced and the stress of
travel, we were all happy to enjoy each others company and we ate a
delicious lunch prepared by Sister Kelly.
The conference was great and we had some great
discussions regarding the work and things we need to do to improve the
zones. President leaves a little bit of time at the end to ask questions
about anything we want (it is titled 'trunk talk') that usually
involves deep doctrine and marriage, and other after mission subjects.
The funniest one I heard was a missionary who asked if there was
something different we needed to do for the 21st of this month.
President was very confused and asked, "Is that that Mayan calender
thing?" The way he said it was hilarious and you have to know Pres and
his sense of humor! It was a much needed conference and we found out
that there will be a general authority that will visit our mission in
January! I can't wait to find out who it will be!
Our zone conference will be next week on Tuesday so we have a lot to do to get prepared.
We
returned to Siracusa doing the exact same trip we made before that took
up nearly the whole day. The best part about traveling though was
meeting and talking to people. I find such great pleasure in talking and
meeting new people as we go around. One of the ladies I talked to while
going to Catania became a new investigator on Monday! She, Gabriella,
was very interested in the Church and she is really searching the truth
as she goes and researches other churches. Her faith in Christ has grown
exponentially throughout the past couple of years because of the help
and comfort she's received while her twelve year old son was found to
have a brain tumor. Now everything is well, but hearing her recount her
experiences and love of God as she was in tears was very touching. She
said she looks forward to coming to church!
I'm out of time but that's basically the sum up of
the week! Things are going great and I can't wait to soak up yet another
Christmas in Italy. I know it will be a fantastic experience! I love
you all so much! I love you Dad, I love you Mom, I love you Morgan, I
love you Brooke, I love you Heather, and I love you Greg. Have a great
week and stay safe and strong! Che Dio vi benedica! Vi voglio tanto
bene. Un abbraccio forte!
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