27/08/2014 Settimana di consacrazione

Well let me just start by talking about this week. What does consecration mean? Basically, it is a cleansing, dedication and devotion, to make clean and to refresh. Well, Thursday, Friday of last week we were not able to meet any of our goals and we only had one lesson! I'm not sure what happened exactly, it was just two rough days. I was feeling down, Sorella Carter was discouraged too. And (confession) I was feeling homesick, which I never thought would happen! Not that I don't love you all, because I do. Well anyways, Friday night I prayed out my heart to figure some stuff out. The next day, I woke up at 3am ish throwing up. I threw up all through the morning and as a result, we had to stay in Saturday. So that made three days in a row of not much success. I think I ate some bad pesto or got a bug or something. Such a bummer! 

I asked the Anziani for a priesthood blessing, and not only was it for health but it was an answer to my prayer. Miracle. Besides sore stomach muscles, I felt great on Sunday and have felt great since! I am so happy, and we have taught some awesome people so far this week. Small and simple things... like needing to take a day off to <cleanse> are how God brings about even better things. 

At church on Sunday, an investigator of 12 years came and found us. She is half Italian/American and is from Milano. Pretty much she said, I know that this church is true. I believe all of the doctrines and I want to change my life but I need your help. So, she is going to pick a date for baptism tomorrow and we are going to help her get there. So cool! On the other hand, our dear friend Mercedes has not been coming to church or responding to us... so her baptism will get pushed back. We don't have many people we are teaching right now but we met with some members to get more lessons lined up. I can feel good things to come :)

Last week, I started talking to a guy on the bus and I couldn't think how to correctly say there are 7 kids in my family, so I ended up saying that I have 7 kids of my own. Oh, language is soooo much fun!

I have an irrational fear of fire. Carpet does not exist here as a side note, everything is tile or wood. Well, the stoves and hot water runs with gas... and it scares me... so in the next 1.5 year surely I will overcome this fear of fire :) 

To answer some questions...

The most delicious thing I have eaten... ice cream, of course. And torta (cake) and food from South America! I don't remember what it is called, but it's delicious. We had arancini this week. Look it up. Deliciousness in a ball. 

The weather is cooling off. I fear it will be a cold winter because the summer has been so mild. Today, we are going to Como to go hiking. The weather is perfect and though yesterday it was groggy, today is sunny and bellisimo!

There are six missionaries in this war, Four elders, two sisters. So just Sorella Carter and I share an apartment. 

I love Milano! It is a huge city but it is so diverse. Downtown, I don't like so much. Treno parc is a beautiful area, though. There is a park right next to our apartment where we go running every morning we get the chance to do so. 

Italian men are not super attractive. Only on occasion, like the guy who helped us at the police station on Monday. I had to get finger printed to get my permesso di soggiorno.

Italian members are so strong! I Love them!!! They always try to help me with the language and correct me. It is much fun.  We visited with a great family yesterday; they even had a dishwasher in their kitchen (rare). But it felt like home. They were so cool.

I can now maintain conversations with strangers on the metro, tram or bus and most of the time I can understand what they say. Italians talk So Much! The gift of tongues I'll tell ya, is real. My sentences come out slow sometimes but I can read better and piano piano, slowly slowly with time I am getting better. It's a miracle. 

We email every week in an internet cafe. There is just a room of computers and phones and copier, and we come to email, pay like £2 then leave. 

No one responded to my enduring to the end questions last week. Fail!

This week: go look me up on mormon.org. Type in my full name and read it. Then browse through the website. It's good stuff.

Love you all! Thanks for being awesome :) keep writing and keep the questions coming. Life is good. I love the gospel, I love my savior. OH!

Go watch this video.... <confio en ti>

Ciao!

Sorella Hastings =)

Love and Be Loved

Dearest mia famiglia è amici,

Just some things for voi (ya'll) to know: San Siri stadium is right here in Milan, not too far from our apartment. Kinda cool. The cemeteries here are all fancy and cool, too.

 I want toget life savers and attatch them to the pass along cards :) think about it... good plan?

Yes, there are lots of mosquitoes. My legs look like they got attacked! such is life. Sorella Carter hates bugs, and so it's really funny when there is a bug because she screams and freaks out! She's a handful, my madre. She is from San Diego and writes poems, like I do. She eats chick peas (she loves them) it's so weird. She is crazy, but it's fun. I am learning a lot from her.

Last week I went to Como. Cool place, though it's a tourist town. I didn't talk much at all and I hope that Sorella Pond doesn't hate me. I am trying to be bold, and I can carry on conversations in Italian for the most part now. I can understand the gist of everything. I love Milano. Yesterday, we had lunch way out in the middle of nowhere (so pretty) with Olivia, from Africa. She fed us food though it was mild. Rice and beef on the bone and sauce. It was yummy. 

Story of the week: Yesterday we visited with a less active lady who we hasn't met before. We taught her about Heleman 5:12. Good scripture. Well, I knew that she couldn't see well because I could tell from her eyes, but when we left I asked my companion, so, can she not see well? Then she burst up laughing because, as it turns out, Laura was blind.

So we taught the whole lesson and I got most of it, except I missed the beginning when she said that... she was blind. Language barriers are fun! 

Second story: This week we met a lady on the metro who invited us to go to church with her. We also invited her to come with us. So, we went to her church, The Church of Christ, for an hour. She was Filipino and so were most of the people there, with a few exceptions. The church originated from the Philippines and we believe most of all the same teachings, but there were a few things I noticed were missing while we were there: The gift of the Holy Ghost and the pastor taught by fact, not by the spirit; the doctrine of repentance and resurrection and also of the plan of salvation and Il Libro di Mormon. It was an interesting opportunity and it was a miracle because we walked away with a firm confirmation that this church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints is true! And there are so many people out there in the world so close to the fulness of the truth, so close to Christ, but they don't know of the fulness. And that's why we are here. Without that fulness, we can't fully come unto Christ. well, they tried to convert us to their church (i don't think they knew much about missionaries) but we invited them to ours, I don't think they will come though.

Third thing: I ate an Italian meal this week. fratello Lauriola, the ward misison leader, invited us sorelle over for lunch. We had bread, delicious rice stuff (olives, tomatoes, peppers, tuna, etc.)- because they eat cold foods in the summer, then pork chop meat deliciousness, I ate a fig- it was yummy!  and of course, gelato :) Success. They live in an actual, custom build casa outside of Milano. It was a great experience. A good family.

This is week of consecration. We hope to see more success. Our bap date is sept 13, and she is looking good. Mercedes is awesome and so sweet. SO many miracles happen every day. It's the little things. sometimes God's plan is our backup plan, according to my collega, but it's true. It has been super rainy here and the weather is getting cooler. we had to pull out the coats/jackets yesterday. It's beautiful, though. Pretty sunsets, pretty skies. 

I think that's about it. I love you all! I read everyone's emails this week, but if I did not respond thank you, I'm sorry, I will next week! be aweomse! Smile! be happy!

Life is good :)

3 Nefi 5:13 is our mission scripture. we changed I to us. It's a good one.

Also, if you have small quotes, or pictures, or things I can decorate my planner with, feel free to mail them. Feel free to ask questions, too.

Oh! One more thing.

Tell me, how do you endure to the end? what does it mean to endure to the end? why is that important in life? what scriptures can back that up? How did Christ endure to the end?

That is your homework.

Ciao!

Flight here: our pilot was silly, I don't know, we sat on the runway taking off and landing forever so we got to the airport late. Just the way things happened, mi collega and I were waiting for phones and i let her go first, then I had no time to call. Everyone else was on the phones and got to call home... except for me. I am sorry. Whatever. You will just look forward, family, to hearing from me at Christmas when I can actually speak Italian well :) it's good. all things happen for a purpose, right?

Well on the end of flight from Chicago to London I got sick! My ailly tummy. We landed in Milan and walked off the tarmac to the airport, then I threw up. I through up again on the bus to the church where we met as missionaries. I threw up again at the church. then I threw up again just before dinner. Mama mia, what am I going to do with my stomach? Now, adesso, I am well and feel great! I think i actually slept through the night last night. I have good energy today so that's a blessing :)

We stayed in a lovely hotel that night and got to go out to dinner. The restaurant was nice, but the food was cosi cosi. Salad first, then pizza, then a huge piece of lasanga, then ice cream. i was so tired and still felt sick, but it was good. We met our collegi the next day after some training. What they did was have the trainer walk up and introduce, then call my name. I knew when she walked up that I would be her child. and here we are. Sorella Carter! From Boston, has been here for one year, pretty much speaks perfect Italian and is super-duper crazy, but awesome and very patient with my lack of understanding the lingua. She's so great.

I have fallen asleep every day here! Yesterday, we went to visit a member to make a family mission plan with. Italians... talk... SO MUCH and SO fast. It was So hard to stay awake! I could not understand her, and I felt really bad. But I survived, thankfully :)

What do you want to know every week? I could tell so much.

Oh, I am in Milano, in Lampugnano! There are two other sets of elders in our area, making three sets of missionaries in the ward. The ward is huge for here. We have a baptism date set! She is so sweet; Mercedes.  OK: so there are lots of foreigners here. Ghanaians, Filipinos (which mean English lessons) Romanians, other Africans and lots of South Americans, and occasionally we meet an Italian ;) we got fed rice, plantains and eggs this week. I thought I was in Italy? Ha, it's funny, but the work is good. We have so many people we need to follow up with. I feel like our mission goals are really low, and I want them to be higher, so I'm going to see what I can do to boost the work. 

Everyone in Italy smokes and drinks coffee. Well, instead of coffee the members drink Orzo. Nasty stuff. with sugar though, itàs managable to swallow.

August: vacation month. It is true, this town is empty! So crazy. I will send a photo of a sign that says they are closed until Augusto 25. Fare augost, or something, is the 15 of august and everything is closed, including the metro and buses. Friday will be a fun day, but luckily we have new missionary training so that will take most the day.

They rarely cut the grass here, and they don't plant it. It all just grows naturally grass like and green and wild. Pretty, though. In Milano, there are no houses. I have not seen one. Apartments, tall and wide and big everywhere! Security here is big too. A gate to the complex, a gate for each individual building, and you turn the key on our door four times because there are four locks. Have no fear, our home is safe. Oh, and I am not on bikes! If I'm going to get fat it will probably happen in these next few weeks. 

The first transfer for verdini (greenies) is 12 weeks. Probably, I will be here for these first two transfer and one following. That's just my guess.

I now know why they call tomatoes a fruit. They are so delicious here! I am eating a small margharita pizza as I type. It's delicious! So, something to adjust to. We do not have dinner here. We have to eat as we go if we want. As a result, I am always so hungry... we'll work on that. We have lunch at 1 and then have an hour of lingua study and additional companion study while all the Italians are home from work napping. Here, we do not SYL but we LYL. Live your language, meaning we can parle italiano outside and in public and speak English at home.

Sunday... was exhausting! I understood what the lessons were about, like the priesthood and charity. But I couldn’t really understand what they were saying. Then we went to lunch with a member and taught here hopeless friends. Her boyfriend is in the mafia, she drinks and smokes and hates to go out in public, she cries all the time and just has no hope for life! So sad. It was hard, because she spoke fast and unclearly and I couldn't really understand her, but I wanted to help her. I tried, my collega tried. It was interesting.

Well, I think that's about it. Please send me mail!!!! A missionary with mail is a happy missionary :) if you send packages throw some pictures of Mary on them, for fun.

The gift of tongues is real. My collega says I am so awesome, and after I bore testimony in church on Sunday the Anziani were impressed at how well I did. The members compliment me and everyone helps me with what to say, they don't get offended. It’s great. I don't usually see at first how well I can speak, but after a lesson or something I'll realize, wow, the spirit was totally just helping me. It is so hard and I wish I could speak English. In fact, even in English it is hard to speak. That was one of my fears coming- what if I get in a lesson and have nothing to say. Well, I can smile and I do, and bare testimony, but it's still hard, ya know? 

If anyone has tips on how to brave, how to talk to strangers and puts words in my mouth... I'm working on it. 

Really, I am well. This was a long week but I am adjusting, I am blessed and I love it here. Different than expected, and much similar to Paris actually. It's a good place.

Ci vediamo!

Vi voglio bene,

Sorella Hastings =)

Love and Be Loved