First Week in Italy - May 12, 2010

Hello All!

I can hardly believe I am actually here in Italy, and actually a missionary. It's such a strange world and we are really not normal people. Well, my first city, as you already know, is Verona, as in Romeo and Juliet. In fact, I think later today we will be going by Juliet's balcony. It is so beautiful here. There are just two sisters, myself and my trainer and companion, Sorella Harper, and four anziani, our capi zona (zone leaders, Anziano Divett and Anziano Toronto) and two others (Anziano Colins and Anziano Pastillo). I met the Anziani briefly at church on Sunday and then again at District Meeting on Monday, along with our district leader and his companion, who serve in Vicenza (Anziano Watkins and Anziano Perdonarillo or something like that). They all seem very nice and friendly.

Ok, so we got to Italy on Wednesday last week, and they took half of us to the mission home and the other half to the Duomo. But when we were getting in the cars to drive to our respective places from the airport, there wasn't enough room in Sister Dunaway's car (the mission president's wife) for all the sisters, so all the rest hopped in with her and I was all by myself! It felt really weird. But I rode with the mission president and a bunch of elders that I had just spent nine weeks with in the MTC, so it was actually just fine even though it scared me for a moment to be separated from my sisters within ten minutes of arriving in Italy! My car and the other sisters went back to the mission home for an orientation. Then later in the afternoon they took us over to the Duomo in Milano to try contacting and sharing the gospel! It was intense. We got there and they took us inside the Duomo to look around, but definitely told us not to proselyte inside. So we are all standing there when this girl who looks about my age walks up to me and says, siete mormoni? are you mormons? you aren't allowed to be here. In Italian, and I was scared out of my wits! So I told her we weren't preaching, just looking, and I'm sure I looked terrified, and she then said, scherzo! which means 'joking,' and pulled out her name tag. She was one of the sister missionaries serving in Milan there to meet us at the Duomo! Crazy, huh? So then we went back outside and the sisters split into groups of three, so I went with Sorella Johnson and Sorella Cozzens, the one who played the joke on us, and we talked to four people in the time we had. The first turned out not to speak Italian and was from Texas! So that was fun. But while we were talking to her these two Italians came up to join in the conversation, but they didn’t speak English. So we were translating back and forth for this bizarre two-language conversation, and found out the two Italians were Baptist missionaries, and ended up translating their invite to the lady from Texas to go to church with them! How goofy! Then we talked to this super-staunch atheist, and that was fun because I understood a good chunk of what he was saying and could ask a few questions. Then these two elderly ladies flat out ignored us, so we had to give up after a while. Then this lady who is studying to do something medical, but I couldn't quite understand what. It was really interesting and I really enjoyed it. We also got to eat gelato after, which of course was fantastic.

The next day, Thursday, we went to the LDS church building in Milan to meet our trainers and find out where we would all be going first! It was super exciting mainly, with a tint of sadness because we all are very dear friends now after all that time in the MTC together and have no idea when we will ever see each other again! But it's great knowing that we are spreading out to all serve the people we have been preparing so hard to serve together, and I am so excited that we all get to go all over! The assistants to the president would stand at the front of the room, call out a new missionary’s name, and then tell them they will be with so-and-so at such-and-such place, and then the trainer and new missionary would walk forward and meet each other and hug and smile and be really excited about where they are going. It was really neat to see. I came in with my five sisters from the MTC, my two companions and the other companionship in our district: Sorella Shuel, Sorella Costley, Sorella Johnson, and Sorella Tressler. Sorella Shuel is now in Genova, Sorella Costley in Bergamo, Sorella Johnson in Torino, and Sorella Tressler in Milano, with me in Verona! It's a good thing I really like my new companion, or I would be sadder about them being elsewhere, I think. Here is something cool: I was wondering if I would get to see Sorella Thurston, Anna Thurston, who went to London with me and it turns out she is training Sorella Johnson in Torino! So she was there at the church my very first day, and it was great to get to see her. After the meeting my trainer and I left and came straight to Verona with my luggage on the train, and she told me about our city while I tried not to fall asleep. The first thing we did after arriving was rush off to the grocery store because we had practically no food - the sister I am replacing, Sorella Ferguson, just went home because she finished her mission, so in the craziness of packing they hadn't been able to go shopping this week! The thing is, in Verona, we are on bikes, so my very first day I got to try riding my bike with groceries on the handlebars, and that was certainly a crazy experience. I was scared to death I wouldn't be able to navigate, but it actually turned out just fine!

In fact, the bike is the number one hardest thing about being a missionary for me right now. I feel like that sounds lame, but just wait till you hear how crazy the relationship is between my bike and I. I loved it a ton the next morning, when we went to the questura to get my companion's permesso di sogiorno and ran a bunch of other errands (like buying my bus pass and a bag for my stuff), and couldn't stop smiling because there I was, biking through Italy. The only problem is the skirt. It is impossible to keep my skirt down. Not so fun. But I am getting used to it. So that was a good day for us, my bike and I (even though the seat still hurt.) The next day, however, we rode to meet and teach this wonderful amazing woman and the ride almost killed me, it was so hard and there were so many uphill slopes. Also, I was having a lot of trouble starting up again in a straight line at stoplights so I ran smack into the side of the car next to me. The driver was not very happy, methinketh. But I survived the ride with a lot of prayer and then we took the bus for the rest of the day to give me a break. Sunday we walked to church because it is at the top of this really steep hill, and we even had this random lady come that we weren't expecting! Which was good, since both our planned investigators didn't show. That afternoon we got to call home from the church because it was Mother’s Day, so we took our bikes to the church so we could go straight to Montorio (a section of town) that evening. I talked to y'all, which was awesome, and when I talked to you, Dad, do you remember telling me to be safe on my bike because flying over the handlebars and being sprawled out in a skirt would probably not be too flattering? Well, we went to go ride home after phone calls and it turned out to be raining, so I got to ride my bike in the rain in my skirt for the first time. But, like I said, the church is at the top of this really steep hill, so my companion warned me to keep the brakes pushed some the whole time because it is so steep. So I do, but right when I get to the bottom of the hill and go to turn the wheel starts sliding instead of turning and I fell, rather spectacularly, over the handlebars and landed on the ground sprawled in my skirt. My first thought was, I need my companion to know so she doesn't leave! So I yelled, 'io fell!' which is half Italian half English, but I looked up and she hadn't heard and was long gone and this random family was standing there staring at me very concernedly, asking if I was ok. I told them I was fine and hurried to get up and started walking my bike down the hill, when my companion comes riding curiously back around the corner wondering where I am and sees me and it was really funny. So now I have a bunch of bruises all down my left side and my hand got kind of scraped up, but otherwise I am fine and glad to know that I can survive a fall. We took a break from the bikes the next day, thank goodness. Then the next day, yesterday, we biked a ton, and mostly it turned out well, except for the part where I fell again right in front of this old lady in a park. The bike landed on top of me and my bag flew up over my head and made my helmet sit all awkward so I couldn't see and couldn't get up. This time my companion saw so she was rushing back over while the old lady got my bag off me and some random passing-by man picked up my bike off me so I could get up. Another bruise and two skinned knees. So you know how missionaries joke about having bruised knees from praying so much? Mine are just from being a terrible bike rider! So those are my funny stories about the bike. My companion is so worried about me every time we take the bikes out now, it is kind of hilarious, but I am not worried, I can do this because God has called me to, and plus I am accumulating a whole slew of funny stories.

Anyway, the other exciting thing going on with the actual work is that we found this family, and they said we could stop by sometime, so we are really hoping to teach them and that they will be interested. We couldn't find their house, and then we sort of miraculously found it, so it was super awesome and we were so excited!! We also taught yesterday this one investigator who is from Romania and has such incredible faith. She misses Sorella Ferguson, but I am excited to get to teach her also.

My companion, Sorella Harper, is really funny. I really like her a lot. She has only been out three transfers [transfer = 6 weeks], all of them in Verona, but she speaks really well and knows the city and how to do the work, so it is great.

I love you,