Serving An 18 Month LDS Mission

In the LDS church, when a girl turns 21 she has the opportunity to choose to serve an 18 month, self-funded mission. I have wanted to go on a mission since I was a little girl. My parents both served a mission in Rome in the 1970's. In 2001-2002, my sister Letty served as a missionary in Hong Kong and my brother Algot in the Philippines. As soon as I turned 21 I submitted my papers. The Prophet and 12 Apostles determine through inspiration which of the more than 300 missions worldwide each missionary will be assigned. I was overjoyed when I opened my mission call and discovered that I was called to Rome, Italy! I feel immensely blessed and I feel that God has been preparing me to serve the Italian people. Each week, while I am on my mission, I will send my sister Letty an email and pictures to post on the blog. I won't see this blog till I come home, so I will be unable to directly respond to your comments until then. However, the sidebar will always have a current street address for me, and I promise I will respond to your letters! If you would rather write via email, just email your letter to my sister and she will print it out and send it me with her weekly snail mail!

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Letter #7 from Cosenza, Italy

Dear Family,

Yes, summer has finally arrived but with it I am getting a nice tan. Italy is HOT and Sorella Worsham and I have upped our gelato in-take exponentially.
I hope everyone had a great week and I hope you had a great Father's Day, Dad!!

Right before coming to Internet today I got a notice saying something was at the Post office for me. So we walked to the post office headquarters and asked. I was certain it was a package but it was not. It was a notice saying the package that Mom had sent with contact solution had been stopped at customs in Milan. The letter had all these forms and identification I could fill out and send to Milan and I just thought, "Let it Be! :)" So with an audible sigh we continued on our way to internet point. Mom, I am sorry if you spent a lot of money on that package and if there were things important in it. BUT Good news now we know for sure that sending liquids is A BAD IDEA, and DON'T TRUST THE POST OFFICE CLERK :) 

But on happy news as we were walking today in the Hot Italian sun a thought came to me, "I am sweating in ITALY for the Lord" HOW COOL IS THAT!! That is a once in a lifetime thing and I will be able to tell everyone about it. Being a missionary is pretty cool. Also if ever I feel really hot I just think of the elders and all self-pity goes away. I get to wear a skirt and sandals and light tops, they do not ! A bit of perspective always helps.
I had really sweaty armpits but i wanted to send you a foto!! :) However,  when I got home it was dry. So I tried to reproduce it with water! So this foto is my reproduced sweaty armpit :) Enjoy 
Recently in Cosenza we have been seeing tons of miracles. God has really been answering my prayers and teaching me A LOT. Just yesterday we met a lady on a bench who opened up to us and told me that she has lost her faith in Christ and in God because if He exists he does not show Himself. I was able to bear testimony that God was there and that He loved her. And we were able to say a prayer together with this woman who had not prayed in years! What a wonderful miracle!! At the end we did not get a phone number or anything but she PROMISED to go home and pray and Ask GOD if He was there and if he was listening. I get choked up just remembering that BEAUTIFUL moment. 

Another Cool Miracle is about a month ago a woman stopped us on the street and asked who we were. Her name was Amy (name changed) and she was from Nigeria. She gave us her phone number but after that it never really went anywhere. She was not interested to meet with us. Then about 3 weeks ago, Sorella Worsham and I met a nun at the Questura while we were getting Slla Worsham's Permesso. She was a plain clothes nun (They don't wear a habit and they can live on their own in an apartment or in a convent) who was from Nigeria. She was so nice. About 2 weeks ago we called her and went to have lunch at her apartment with her. She is so nice but not quite ready yet and she is very attached to the Madonna. Yesterday we called her and she was at the market with her "friend". She said, "I think my friend knows you - here she wants to say Hi." AND IT WAS JANE!! 

How cool! 2 people met separately in 2 different situations and they knew each other and when we called they happened to be together because it was JANE's Birthday!! SOOO COOL. 
Last news - this is for Mom and Dad especially, I met Vincenza Castaldo. Mom I do not know if you remember him but he remembers you. He was probably 20 and had polio to his leg so he has a limp. He was part of the Branch in Taranto when you were there and now there is a branch in Statte and he is part of that. He has been active his whole life and now is a Family History expert and works at the Genealogy center. I found out where he lived and when he was baptized, and  I whipped that little photo album out of my purse of you and Dad during your mission. He was flipping through the pictures (He knew who everyone was). He gets to the 2nd picture and blurts out "KEITH ROSE!" He and Keith stayed friends after the mission and they would work together because Keith worked with Family History for the Church (Disclaimer: This is what I drew from his rant. Some of this information could be incorrect.) So that was exciting and I wanted to send his regards to "Sorella Johnson" :) 

I love you all so much and I hope you are working on your conversion stories and typing them up!! 

Love Sorella Preston
 
Me and Maria Marchiano, Rossana, and Maria SanMarco. The sweetest funniest ladies I have ever met. Maria Marchiano has been coming to English course for 7 years and she invited us for Lunch and 2 of her friends. They Gossiped the whole time. Dont get me started on what I could tell you about Giselda :) It was the funniest lunch I have ever been to. Rossana refused to eat because they were not expecting to eat lunch. She said this is a gift from God so I am going to sacrifice and not eat! :) So since Rossana would not eat a lot Maria M. would shove all of the food on Maria Sanmarco, This poor little skinny woman. And Maria S. let me tell you, She can EAT. It was a very funny dynamic :)
 
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