07-17-13

Woah... Are you for real?? I’ve been out 4 months?  That’s a pretty long time SHEESH. But I guess I feel like I have been here that long so not that strange. Hahaha, Awwwww THATS SO WEIRD. I remember sitting in sacrament meeting and listening to stories about other missionaries, and Jay and Jenna and Stephen so that makes me feel weird that that’s me now... When did I get old?! I guess I should also apologize for not making me email easier to read hahaha You probably had to translate it into a full sentence.... whoops.

 

I would say I feel bad that you are having Kate withdrawals and then I think.... Nope. No I don’t feel that bad for you. Hahaha Just kidding mom, I can IMAGINE how hard that must be. hahaha Life is Brutal. I am surprised you have made it this long in Oregon as it is, so yeah I could see you guys moving up there in the next few years haha what am I saying- Make Jenna and Ben move to Oregon!!!! SHEESH. and Kate... She needs to come too. :) I mean I guess.

 

I am working on the whole camera thing. The only thing is that I can’t get online, nor is there such thing as a Radio Shack, nor Target, nor anything like that. I have seen a camera shop, but didn’t have anything to help my situation and I am pretty sure that’s as good as its gunna get. Wah. That is super fun that you get to see pictures from Sorella Ervin!!! EEEPPPP No we don’t live together- MAGARI but she is in Milano 2 and I am in Milano 1 so we see each other every 3 weeks because we are in the same zone with the missionaries in Venice. So we always get a quick picture together. She is so great. Don’t be surprised if by the end of my mission we already have housing set up together so we can keep up our Italian. (She goes to BYU I as well) I should probably try to figure out when I come back to figure that out....... yikes.

 

BAHAHAHA Tim. Captain America, YUP. Sounds about right. Hahaha That made me laugh pretty hard, poor Tim. Nobody pays attention to him. :( hahaha

 

Ok I am just gunna start listing off my funny experiences this week cause there were a TON.

FIRST:  I went to visit a new convert this week in the hospital and guess what I saw?... A doctor riding a bike around... Probably on the way to surgery... Apparently that’s ok here?? The hospitals are NOT like in America. we just walked right in and started wandering around this place since it’s as big as BYU campus and we walked right into the building like nobody’s business (Keep in mind this whole time I am staring at the ground praying I don’t see a needle or blood... I did... I survived.) And found our person. Is this weird or is it just me?

 

SECOND: Our apartment is at the metro stop "Uruguay".. like where Stephen served his mission... Hahaha Ok so we were on the Metro and this group of guys asked us were we were from and my Comp says "we are going to Uruguay" cause we don’t like to highlight the fact we are Americans and then they said "Oh wow you are from Uruguay Ok cool!" - now I find this hilarious cause who in the right mind would ever mistake me for being from Uruguay... I mean I am getting a little color but come on. I am still the whitest girl in town. Yikes. People mistake me all the time as French and German here but Uruguayan? That’s a new for me. Lol

 

THIRD: I was trying to invite someone to FHE at the church and was trying to tell them how great it was and you learn a lot!!! right? Ya welllllllll I had told them this was called "QUIT THE FAMILY" -____- So I butchered that one. Needless to say they said the loved their family.... so I told them to bring their family.. and they were really confused. Good times, Good times.

 

FORTH: Similar to the third- I get very confused with the words "Salve" (Hello-Formal) and "Salute" (Bless You)......  You can imagine my problem. We were on the bus and someone sneezed, I said "Salute!!!" aaaaaaaaaaaand then they said "You must be American."

I am Sorry America for representing you poorly.

 

FIFTH!: Ok the other night we had like a 5 hour long lightning storm I could have sworn it was the second coming. SO all four in my apartment went to bed- and me being the 3 year old I am was lying in bed and my bed is right under the window, and so after about 30 minutes of my just watching all this lightning I wake everyone up and have them come watch it with me on my bed cause it was SO COOL. So all my roommates hate me now. BUT we did get some pretty fantastic videos of it. The thunder got SO LOUD and sometimes our ENTIRE room was lit up because of the lightning I am not even kidding it was the coolest thing ever!!!

 

Ok couple more stories that I love about this week, we were going through our "Area Book" which is basically a place where you put all the names and information of everyone you have ever talked to and we found this ex-investigator named (can’t actually use real name) but a name like Moroni. so CLEARLY we have to try and contact this person right? So we call this person up- find out it’s a women, (AWESOME ) ,and ask if we can meet with her. So we meet up and she buys us this AMAZING Gelato- what a doll- and then we go sit on this bench and she starts telling us a little more about her and what do you know but we are sitting outside "La Scala!" Hahaha So I am sitting here in Italy, eating Gelato, outside La Scala and Duomo, teaching "Moroni" marveling in how crazy cool my life is and for some reason I am prompted to invite her to be baptized. SO I am thinking "Well shoot dang here it comes" So I just straight out invite her to be baptized and the next thing you know- We are baptizing Moroni August 31. Hahahahaha True Story. I couldn’t be more excited.

 AND she could not be more ready to be baptized. She has had all the lessons already but wasn’t ready for the Baptismal commitment from the other missionaries- now she is!!! Haha When I asked her to be baptized I said , "Moroni, I know you stopped meeting with the missionaries because you weren’t ready to be baptized, but we would like to invite you again to be baptized  on August 31 and I know that if you keep meeting with us, you will be ready by then." Then she just sighed and hung her head and said, "But I am not perfect yet! UG ok yes. Is that a Saturday?" Hahahaha WELL THAT WAS EASY! Hahaha

 

One thing I have noticed as a missionary is that I don’t feel like I am doing anything. Obviously I plan, I go find people, but during lessons I just talk and then I witness all these amazing things happen and I just can hardly process how much I am blessed. I don’t feel like I deserve any of it yet Miracles keep happening and I could write a book on just what I witness and the changes I see in people’s lives. 

 

We were going through the ward list and we found about 100 names we didn’t recognize and since we have been having a lot of success with these pass byes we went and found another person to try and see. We knocked on this door and she was SUPER nice and wanted to be visited wanted to hear our message and so we visited her about two times and we kinda felt something was off. There had to be something that was wrong or she would be coming to church. Right? So we had our third visit with her this week and at the end we asked her if there was anything that she needed help with and she said no no no I am good, but maybe could you ask the elders to bless my house? Which of course we can. But there wasn’t anything else she needed- so we said ok is there anything we can pray for that you need? And she said- "nah I am good. Maybe energy for work and good health." So I am like fishing for anything so I was asked "Have you been feeling sick?" She said, "No! I just... well.." She goes on to explain that a month ago the doctors found a tumor and she finds out in the beginning of august if she needs to start Chemo.

Not even a week after the doctors found this tumor did Sorella Durfee and I start visiting her. I am SO THANKFUL to be here with her because she lives alone here in Italy cause her family is gone and I just don’t know what I would do in her situation. Incredible. Last night during concilio I was able to get her visiting teachers and home teachers because for some reason she had been forgotten on BOTH of those lists. (She can’t come Sunday mornings because she is a nurse, but she served a mission in Rome and she is just incredible)

So thankful to be here.

 

If this church wasn’t the truth then I wouldn’t be seeing all these miracles. But I promise this church is the truth because I see what it does every day all day long. There is no greater calling then to help people better their lives, and watch people begin to be happier- there just isn’t!

I love my life.

I love my Family.

I love my Friends. 

Tanti Alguri a Me per quatro mezzi qui in Italia! (Congrads to me for 4 months in Italy!)

See yall soon!!!

Sorella Holloway