Letter #7 and Pictures from Bari, Italy

Hey everyone!!

These week has been crazy but amazing. Last Wednesday we went to Polignano. I will attach photos at end :) It is this tiny town. but I had the best pizza I have had yet in Italy and the best gelato. IT WAS SO GOOD! We went with the 2 other Sorelle invece of the Wednesday before when we went to the grottes alone :) Polignano is beautiful. They have the most picturesque città vecchia (The old of the city) It looked like I entered a movie. I could not believe that people lived there :) 

Sorella Preston at the entrance to Citta Vecchia. Yes that is a very old fresca above the arch way

Sorella Wagoner and Sorella Preston. Citta Vecchia Polignano

 Proof that people live on this street. That in the back ground is a cute old lady

Sorella Preston and Comollo in front of a super-cute church, and Sis. Comollo in front of a super-cute house.

 

Then after taking pictures the other Sorelle in front rounded a corner and gasped, we ran to catch up and we ran to an opening with the most BEAUTIFUL view of the sea that I have ever seen! The citta vecchia is built into the cliffs and then drops into perfect blue water :). 

 Just as you round the corner you see the sea

Sister Preston by the sea at Polignano

 We started to walk to the other outcrop of the cliffs but as we left the città vecchia it started pouring and Sorella Comollo and I had forgot our umbrellas!!! We were soaked in minutes. Our winter coats, our tights, our skirts, the water poured inside our boots from the top .) But it was so much fun. We ran to the out cropping down these huge marble stairs and took pictures on the rocks in the rain!! At the top of the stairs there is a statue of a man flinging out his arms. and apparently Polignano and that view is what inspired the song "VOLARE whoho, CANTARE, NEL Blu dipinto di BLU" mom and dad will know the songs.

 But after all these wonderful pictures a tragedy happened!! That night Sorella Comollo lost her memory card! My camera had died so almost all the pictures of the sea were on her camera !!! :( We both wanted to cry! But Sorella Wagoner let me take some from her camera so all is well. You still get some :(

Sorella Preston and Comollo at Polignano. I wanted a picture with a creepy tree.

Sorella Preston in the Rain

More Sea Taken from Rocks. (Umbrella Top Right).

Gorgeous Sea and Sun

Stormy sea taken from bridge

This week we did Mostra!! Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!! I was dead tired but I loved it. I got to talk with such cool people and a few crazies wanting to kiss me but all is well :)  Total we did 7 hours of Mostra in one weekend :) Mostra is when we go to a piazza or in this case the big shopping street in Bari and set up a tripod screen with questions. Then we split up. It was Sorella Comollo and I and the Anziani. You just try to talk to as many people as possible. It was amazing. On Saturday morning there was a huge sciopero. I got to see my first sciopero (Strike). It was by the schools, so about 600  or more Middle schools students and teachers marched down Via Sparano ( our Mostra street) It was intense! There were mega phones and whistles, and signs, and shouting in Italian. It was awesome :)

I love Italians they have so many strikes, and reasons to stop working. They have their siesta nap in the afternoon and no one works Saturday or Sunday. But it is really hard to get stuff done as a missionary. Or to get the car fixed. They also have so many holidays. Pretty much every day during the next month is a holiday. Dec 6th is Festa di San nicola, the patron saint of Bari. Then Dec 7 is the vigil of the Virgin Mary. Before the Dec 8th which is the feast of the immaculate consumption ;) It is so fun

We broke our phone on Monday evening so our phone does not work anymore and we can’t get a hold of GIOVANNI. But it is capi conference this Thursday and Anziano Larsen will bring us a new phone on Friday !!

Giovanni is doing good. His character and his outlook on life has changed. He looks like a new person. He smiles all the time. He comes to church every sunday and all the ward activities. He talks with people at the ward activities (THIS IS a big DEAL. we have been trying to help him make friends). You can see how the gospel of Christ has completely changed his life. We are going to ask him to baptized and pick a date (again) when we see him next. He wants to take it slow ‘cause he does not want to back out again like he usually does. Also he could be moving in April to Pescara. But we want to help him act because we know how much baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost will help him.

Mike has been giving us bidones this past week and last time we saw him, he had his ex-boyfriend there. Pray that he won’t get back together with his boyfriend because he was coming along so well. He knows it is wrong and he even broke up with Bright before we even said anything. Charles we are going to give to the Anziani but he is still coming to church.

  

And we have a new investigator!!!! Maurizio. We met him with his friend, and his girlfriend on Lungo mare. We had a lesson with all three of them and gave them a Book of Mormon. They were so nice. After we prayed I knew they felt something. We finally got around to calling Maurizio (we only had his number) yesterday and he wants to meet with us. He and his girlfriend had read some of the Book of Mormon and they like it so far. Sorella Comollo asked him if they were interested in English course before she asked about meeting with him to play it safe. And he said, "I don’t really care about the English course but I would like to talk more about this book". Best part he is Italian,not insane (we don’t think) he is 21 and he does not flirt with us!! YES, He could be a future missionary!!!!!

This Sunday I gave a talk and it went wonderfully. I spoke about faith and acting and what would have happened if Joseph Smith had not acted and prayed. If he had just said that is a nice verse or I should pray more :) I then quoted Anziano Bednar’s most recent conference talk about conversion and testimony. I love conference talks they are so amazing and such useful teaching tools! But after I closed the Bishop spoke and it was amazing his talk was more on Conversion based out of Alma 5. I had had no idea what his topic was or who was speaking after me, but we had been guided by the spirit, our talks had run fluidly. It was soo cool!

I am going to close I love you all so much and I am loving it here.

p.s. http://robertsromemission2012-2013.blogspot.it/ this is a blog done by a senior couple about the mission if you want to look. The assistants sent it to me so I don’t know what it looks like but it should be fun :)

Love Sorella Preston