FANFARE !!!! - I am being TRANSFERED TOO ...... CATANIA :) The Land of Cannolli, Arancini (A fried rice ball filled with Ragu and meat the size of a softball ball) and Mount ETNA!
Catania is in Sicily, as Mom and Dad will know. It is smaller than Bari according to the Barese and it is bigger than Bari according to the Sicilians. So I have no idea :) But the Barese really like Sicilians as compared to how much they dislike the French. I am soooo excited!! I got the call on Saturday and I have just been ecstatic. I have been writing dedicas (little notes) for people and packing and now I am almost done!! I will leave tomorrow morning at 8 am.
We take an 8 hour bus ride and cross with the ferry to Catania :) My collega will be Sorella Ansted. I met her my last 3 weeks at the MTC - she is so wonderful. I am so excited to be able to serve with her :)
All I have heard about is how beautiful Sicily is. There are tons of citrus trees and it is REALLY HOT. (I am going to DIE in May and June if I am still there. Which I probably will be :) They say that in Catania you can see the smoke from Etna and sometimes the eruptions!! I can go climb it for a Preparation day. Which I am definitely going to do!! :)
I will miss Bari because it is like my second home, but I am ready to go!! All the members have asked me if Mom and Dad are coming to pick me up when I end my mission. I promised them yes, so Mom and Dad, you better start saving once you figure out everything with this farm :) I have loved all the people here in Bari. I am going to miss Mark and Giovanni and all the members.
There is one sister that we have been working with a ton. She was very less-active and she still did not know lots of things about basic church doctrines. So we decided to start teaching her again. She loves us and was happy to let us "practice teaching". She always had a million excuses why she could not come to church and many of them valid excuses. She would often just say, "I am lazy and church is too early." She lives very close to church and there are members who could willingly give her a ride since she is a little older. But she never wanted them.
Then something changed. I dont even really know or remember how but she said yes to coming to church. We informed her that there was no bus she could take because it did not run the route by the church on Sunday. She still wanted to come and she did not want a ride she wanted to walk!!! She said she would have to come later at 10 am instead of 9am. We said well you would have to leave by 9:30 to get there by 10 so what is the difference of 30 minutes. And then we said we would come pick her up and walk with her that Sunday. She accepted and we said, "Oh, but we will be here at 8:20 - is that okay?" and she said yes. We did not say would call because then she could cancel. We just showed up at 8:40 that Sunday. She had remembered and was almost ready.
We walked the distance to church and she stayed the whole time. Then she refused a ride and walked home. The next week she did not have time to see us but said, "See ya Sunday" We came and picked her up again and we walked. She was going to walk home but I was worried. She is an older woman. The way to walk is sketchy and she would walk alone. But one of the other sisters gave up a ride and walked home with her!!!! I LOVE OUR MEMBERS. This last Sunday we went to go get her and she was super sick with high blood pressure but she kept saying "I have to go to church I have to go to church. " (We refused to let her go.)
I just wanted to share this miracle story with you all. One of the biggest miracles I have ever seen in my life. She is almost completely reactivated. The Sorelle are going to finish teaching her the lessons. She voluntarily came to a Ward activity about missionary work and found her own ride!! One time we were teaching her about Joseph Smith and then we talked about modern Prophets. She interupted and said, "Wait - there is a prophet today?!?!" We said yes and showed her a picture of Thomas S. Monson and the 12 Apostles. She was sooooo happy. We asked how she felt about this and she said, "I want to be close to him. I want to hear everything he has to say." I love this sister sooo much. She has so much faith. She has started reading the BoM every day! I love the gospel! And how God can change people!
These days I found some beautiful scriptures that I want to share. In John 8:29 Christ is talking of His mission. I read it and I compared it to my mission. I know that as this scripture says, the Father does not leave us IF we do His will. I also really like 2 Nefi 6:3 and applying it to myself. I know that each of us have missions right now for us to do. We have been sent by the Father to bless someone's life. I love you all so much. And I am excited to tell you more stories about Sicily!
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