First of all yay Broncos. Its been a struggle, but boys...we made it. Superbowl Winners!!
I really don't have a clue where to begin. I'm a little overwhelmed with my life these days haha. Hard and great. Turns out when you're trying to learn another language you start struggling with the one you already know too.
So I left the MTC and went from Salt lake to Atlanta (no chick fil a booooooo) and then to Amsterdam (hooollaaaa) and then Milan. Called the family at the air port. Hard but good. I don't know how to explain it. At the SLC airport if you have a tag on you're a celeb. slow clapped my way onto the plane. jk. then once I got to Amsterdam I was immediately hated for being American and having Christ's name on my tag. So I said a prayer of thanks I wasn't serving in north Europe. The hatred towards Americans is so obviously bad I almost broke down in the middle of the airport. I wanted to turn around and be like well this is fun I'm going back to the best country in the world now byyyyeeeeee. fun fact, I ran into the guy who owns the Oakley train car diner in Amsterdam.I got a picture don't worry, then went to Milan. Again flood of emotions, but the people were much friendlier. President Dibb and his wife welcomed us at the airport and we went to the mission home and had dinner at their place. I was so miserably tired I was falling asleep eating bread haha. Then they put us in the car and took us to the Duomo to "go ahead and do what missionaries do" i was like....what is that exactly? Talked to so many people who very easily brushed me aside. Got a good look at how the next 18 months are going to be in Europe. I did my best and handed some Books of Mormon out and pass along cards. I even talked to a woman on the train who is the famous opera house make up artist. When she said where she worked I heard gasps around me so I gasped too, but had no idea what she was saying. Then we went out to eat yuuuuum. and then went to a hotel that night at around 10;30 and tried to sleep. I was so miserable, but it is strange to be in Italy. Everything is different. I Couldn't figure out the lights or the toilet for the life of me. The next day we went to the church in Milan and met our trainers. I was one of the last two to be paired off so I had two options left 1. Siena or 2. Prato where apparently they have the largest population of Asians in Europe and no one speaks Italian....... uh you can bet which one I was hoping for. Well I got SIENA: and it is truly the most beautiful city I have ever seen in my life. I wish I could describe it. It's one of the only cities where they truly have kept it looking like the renaissance. I spent the first whole day just looking up at all the buildings. Italian and American cultures are sooo soo different and already I have had to stop doing some things and start others.My trainer is great and I'm so lucky to have her.
We taught one of our investigators Eunice my second day. she lives in Roccastrada, a beautiful countryside city outside Siena. She was nice, but it's hard to tell if she genuinely likes\wants our message or if she just likes having company. I'm not a very patient person and cant understand what is taking so long with her. The missionaries have been teaching her for SO LONG . I believe you can be bold when it's a matter of salvation. my trainer thinks I'm such a greenie because I literally talk to everyone even though I have no idea what they or myself am saying. Eunice is nice, but hard for me to read. She asked if we were hungry and we said no, but she made us food anyway. I have never been more scared in my life. she pulls out this basically giant pickle jar from under the sink with giant sausage looking things in it with green water in it (fun fact no one refrigerates anything in Italy. not even milk. not even eggs. the grocery stores don't even put them in the fridge. I don't get it) and then she puts like 100 of these babies on my plate. she says you have to peel the skin off of it. I was so scared hahahahaha. It had more fat than it did meat. It was basically all white with fat. I wanted to cry. I choked those mamas down and prayed I wouldn't throw up on her floor. fun huh? not all of Italy is just pizza and pasta ok?
We taught one of our investigators Eunice my second day. she lives in Roccastrada, a beautiful countryside city outside Siena. She was nice, but it's hard to tell if she genuinely likes\wants our message or if she just likes having company. I'm not a very patient person and cant understand what is taking so long with her. The missionaries have been teaching her for SO LONG . I believe you can be bold when it's a matter of salvation. my trainer thinks I'm such a greenie because I literally talk to everyone even though I have no idea what they or myself am saying. Eunice is nice, but hard for me to read. She asked if we were hungry and we said no, but she made us food anyway. I have never been more scared in my life. she pulls out this basically giant pickle jar from under the sink with giant sausage looking things in it with green water in it (fun fact no one refrigerates anything in Italy. not even milk. not even eggs. the grocery stores don't even put them in the fridge. I don't get it) and then she puts like 100 of these babies on my plate. she says you have to peel the skin off of it. I was so scared hahahahaha. It had more fat than it did meat. It was basically all white with fat. I wanted to cry. I choked those mamas down and prayed I wouldn't throw up on her floor. fun huh? not all of Italy is just pizza and pasta ok?
Sorella Feri is my favorite person in the entire country. Mostly because shes the only person I know. She is the relief society president and is the funniest person I have ever met. she is SO SASSY. she is about 70 something and runs the town. The branch here has 10 members....no joke. Sorella Rowe took me to Sorella Feris house to meet her and I about died. I just cant believe people live in this city. her house is the most propio italiano casa. when I met her she basically just grunted at me and kept on walkin. I was like what the heck lady be nice to me I'm new!!! So with my tiny Italian I tried winning her over, I complimented how strong of a member she was and how she has probably had a hard time being alone all these years (she never married) but that she is a great example to me, and now she loves me. While we were talking in her house she could hear someone talking on the street from the window so she goes over and swings it open and starts yelling down at them. I had no idea what she was saying but my trainer was laughing so hard. they do that all the time here. people never want to go to their doors so they just have full conversations through their windows. it is so stinking funny. Once you get Sorella Feri talking she doesn't stop so we were there for several hours and all we did was share a scripture with her hahaha. her house was the tiniest most perfect Italian house i have ever been to. I love that woman more than I dare say. I want to be her one day.
I was so nervous for Sunday because I want these people to like me and they do not wait for you to catch up. So I knew I would be doing a lot of smiling and nodding having no clue what the heck was going on. There was legit maybe 10 people in our TINY family room sized chapel and it was testimony meeting and I'm thinking how the heck are we going to take up an hour long testimony meeting with less than 10 people? well I was wrong. Italians use every bit of testimony meeting because they love to talk. They talk about EVERYTHING. sometimes they do it just to vent haha. and the men are not afraid to cry. It was so strange, people were having full conversations with each other while others were giving their testimony. The branch President would talk to individual people from the pulpit just about life and what not haha. They use the microphone that is so not needed because the room is the size of a family room. They talk over each other all the time and sometimes when someone isn't fast enough when reading a scripture someone else will just spontaneously start reading it over them to go faster haha. There are constantly like 3 people talking over each other because everyone wants to give their 2 cents. I was laughing so hard. During peoples testimonies they would stop and talk to whoever had just walked into the room from going to the bathroom or stepping outside. needless to say it was a much different meeting than what I'm used to in America. I bore my testimony and i was SO SCARED. It was so slow and so simple but Sorella Feri was smiling at me the whole time and everyone else really loved it too. They really respect the missionaries here because none of them would be members with out them. Everyone is a convert. and they know how hard this mission is and in specific the city of Siena. Siena is beautiful, but everything has its opposite and the work is very challenging here. They know this and sympathize with us....but only a little haha. So many people tried to talk to me but I was just so clueless what they were saying. It sucks. They asked me to say the closing prayer and while I was saying it I couldn't remember a verb i was trying to conjugate it in my head and was stumbling a bit and all the sudden I could hear Sorella Feri correcting me from her chair, just during the prayer she starts telling me good job and keep going and giving me verbs to say. I had a hard time finishing the prayer without laughing. these people just crack me up.
After church we went to visit Francesca, an old convert woman who is in an old folks home, but really is a psych ward because everyone is a little crazy. My trainer was freaking me out because she was like don't be too scared it's going to be weird don't worry its alright. I was like bracing myself for the horror movie, but it was totally fine. Francesca has gone crazy so she can't talk, but she likes to dance and sing so we sang hymns to her and I loved it. We visit her twice a week and I look forward to it. The old people are so sweet. I tried teaching this old cute man Mario but he found out we weren't paid missionaries and thought we were trying to brag about how much money we have since we don't get any money from this work...so that didn't go as planned. Even the crappy old folks home here in SIena is the most beautiful building to me. My poor trainer, I stop and stare at everything. In the old folks home I was just walking around and saw a door and I went inside and saw the most extravagant catholic chapel ever. I literally just stood there with my mouth open thinking to myself no wonder we cant get people to our church. nothing is this beautiful. and this is only an old folks home!!!!! I don't blame them for not wanting to come to our back alley family room sized plain chapel when they have been used to this their whole lives.
We try to find people all the time and I'm getting a small glimpse at how hard this is going to be. It's so hard to walk up to someone on the street and small talk with them and pull it into the gospel in English much less Italian. I knew this would be my hardest trial because i love talking and I love people,especially these people. They are so over dramatic and hand talkers to the max and do everything with such emotion, but they are kind to one another. I want to talk to everyone. I know I could do great work here if I could only figure out how to talk to them. Nothing is more frustrating in this world than not being able to express yourself. I have faith in God and have faith that he called me here for a reason. I will find the people I am meant to find. No one wants to listen to you. It's very rare you get to talk to anyone and I just want to scream at people walking away or shutting their doors DO YOU REALIZE WHAT WE ARE TELLING YOU-DO YOU REALIZE WHAT IS IN MY HAND. it's so sad. I just have to continue to be bold. or at least that's what I tell myself. I'm excited to get more comfortable here and really talk to people. I promise if I could just speak I wouldn't stop talking to people, but it is like being handicapped right now. I just want to get to work! Italy is beautiful but I'm not here to vacation. I want to go teach!!!!!! it's so hard. but all the Italians tell me "piano a piano" little by little I will get the language. I know they are right. And I know there must be a reason God needed me here in Italy and not in the States. I will let you know when I figure out why haha. Siena has a reputation of being a very hard city to do work in, but I don't really care. It only takes one person to change that and there's something here called greenie miracles.They call it that because this mission has a history of where ever the greenies go miracles happen and I hope that's the case because having a branch of 10 people is pathetic, and I know it's hard on the members and I want to change that for them so badly.
Other than that, I'm just completely overwhelmed and happy. I love seeing how people live here it's so strange to me. I've already learned a lot about them and their culture. I have a constant headache with how much smoke I've inhaled. hopefully I will get used to that. I haven't felt too unsafe here. The people are very nice and honest for the most part. Grocery stores here make the ones in America look like crap. Fresh everything. Today I had fresh blood-orange, orange juice. mmmmm:) We cook all our own food and members never have us over because they live an hour + away. (FHE was over skype haha) so to everyone who thought I would gain all this weight my first couple weeks, jokes on you. if anything I've lost weight from the disgusting MTC food. I'm really happy here. I love this city and I'm excited for all the people I could meet. I just have to meet them! Thanks to everyone who emailed me (yes mom i got your letter and may or may not have cried) there's no way I have time to email everyone back so I'm sorry, but i love your emails I get them all and I am allowed to read them throughout the week I just can't respond until Pday. Im going to Firenze (Florence) this week for splits with the STL (I'll be comps with Sorella Taylor for the day and night yaaaaayyyyyy!) So that's another beautiful city I can't believe I get to go to!
Every Italian has a dog here and it's so hilarious to me. They love their dogs and I am convinced that I will get an investigator through their dogs. That's been my opening line these past couple days "awe i love your dog what's his name, I miss my dogs back home I have two, I'm from America, you're probably wondering why I'm here, well sir I'm a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (which is the longest name ever and hard to memorize it in Italian) and here's a book, you should read it and hey by the way what makes you happy in life oh did you say your family well the gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families and I know it has blessed mine. yep. please pray for me hahaha
I love you all and miss you all and thank you for so many emails and support!!!
Sorella Williams and her trainer Sorella Rowe
The view from Lindsay's apartment
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Francessca
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Beautiful Siena!
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