September 23, 2019

So I'm gonna try to get pictures from people today but i can't guarantee anything. There was a festa in Crispiano Friday and Saturday. Crispiano is 5 minutes away from our house and we have members who live there and Mario lives there. It was a cool international festival thing but it starts at 9pm so we couldn't be there for any of it, only the pre-stuff. 

The book of Mormon video series is out! It's awesome everyone should be watching it. We're also hype down here in Puglia for general conference and stake conference. Stake conference is actually a really big thing out here where it has to be held at a hotel in Bari. The stake president goes to Statte ward so we're obviously the best. 

I understand so many people now!! It was kind of a sudden realization where I realized that I understand a lot of what people are saying. Some people its like they're not even speaking Italian but people I couldn't begin to understand I now get a lot of what they're saying. I can actually fully SYL(Speak your language) now. Which means I can just talk and have conversations in Italian. 

We went fishing with Mauricio. It was pretty cool, we used maggots as bait and I found a hermit crab. Mauricio caught a fish that had a fish in its mouth, he threw it back tho because one day someone else will catch it as a bigger fish. It was decently sized already tho. 

We have an American flag in our car for some reason. 

Preston said he's only seen this traffic sign in this one town, and he's asked locals what the sign means and hasn't found anyone who knows. Hahaha. 

This is Padre Pio. He's revered in Southern Italy, and is an interesting character if you care to google him. 

He sent a picture of these because I bought the hazelnut version of the exact same cookies at Ross, and he was doubting whether they were actually from Italy. 

This is a one eyed cat that lives around their apartment. 

Distant pic of the cat. Their apartment is in this building on the 3rd floor. 

September 16, 2019

So Etore's pizzaria almost burned down. He for to the pizzaria and smelled smoke and when he opened his oven it exploded into flames. It's a miracle he's untouched and the oven was the only casualty. That entire room was covered in ash tho including the walls and ceiling. He just got everything painted too so he needs to do that again. So we've been over there a lot helping clean up but he seems unphased by it all, he's an awesome guy. Apparently he's 63 too and that's insane because he's very young and capable looking. We've also been helping this lady move. So we've been doing a lot of service haha. Today actually we helped get the huge oven out of the pizzaria which took like 2 hours.

      We have a lady that wants to re-join the church which is super cool. Anna and Mario are scheduled to be baptized! They want to go through the temple and they know that they have to be baptized first. We're just trying to help them get to church and Mario to finally stop smoking. He's so close yet so far. It sounds like he only smoked if he was with his friends.

     Having the car in the area is hard because if anyone needs a ride we kinda have to help them. They try to get places on their own but the busses here suck and things are too far away to walk. It's okay to because we get to participate in everyone else's service activities and stuff. 

     

     Also!! We've been asked to help teach English, and apparently help teach math too, at some high school. We already do English course twice a week so this would be on top of that but this is an awesome opportunity to meet some cool people and have a fun time. I don't know who all reads the entirety of these emails but ti amo per quello. All of the missionaries are having awesome experiences to read about tho. The Italy rome mission is TOTALLY a Baptizing mission btw. There are people searching for answers everywhere, everywhere. That reminds me of what I wanted to post on Facebook about member missionaries. Ya'll have to help out the missionaries in your area, it's not an easy life and most baptisms come from member referrals and help. Please help us.

    In Taranto a man came in wanting to be baptized. There are people who want to find joy for themselves and their families. I've seen the gospel touch lives first hand and you all can to, you just have to ask God to trust you with one of his children. And you should be honored if he gives you the opportunity to bring one of his children to christ. Thank you in advance and I would love to hear about your missionary experiences!!

Vi voglio bene!

September 9, 2019

So I was born in two cities, Statte and Taranto. I loved it but now my tale of two cities is over. Now I can focus on the people in my area and really get some work done. I will miss the people of Taranto tho. 

     We had a baptism in Taranto Saturday. Apparently someone else told a member that they would like to be baptized too! I love it here haha. There's some hilarious people like a member in Taranto that throws cornutes at everyone and pulls a knife on you haha. Everyone knows he's never serious but if you don't know him you'd totally think he is.

    We had zone conference! It was super fun and I got to spend a night in Bari. We got to go street contacting so we walked around with books of Mormon and talked to people. I met an awesome guy who dreams of visiting LA and I may have invited him to meet my family there when he goes. And since this is the first they've heard of this.... He's trying for summer of 2020! He speaks English and I'll keep you guys updated. We're Facebook friends now. 

    Dialects are fun haha I understood a lady when she told her husband to shut up and eat haha. I wouldn't be excited to understand it but it was a completely different dialect which can be a whole other language depending on where you are.

     We had a youth activity and watched emperor's new groove in Italian and ate Panzerotti. It was super fun and I think us missionaries enjoyed the movie way more than the youth haha. Now that I can somewhat understand them and speak I can actually make friends with the youth and members.

     Voglio imparare la lingua più veloce ma ogni persona dice "piano piano" (step by step). È più difficile parlare di capire.

My favorite part about this language is probably how often they use the word beautiful. They say ciao bello as a greeting all the time haha.

Vi voglio bene! Ciao! 

These egg things are called Pumi.  They're good luck or something.  You can google it. 

September 2, 2019

 So a week is a long time to remember everything that happened haha. But yes I got lined up by an Italian barber. He insisted on the style. Apparently I look even more Italian. A bunch of people say they see Italian in me and ask if I'm Italian. They always include how being short is an Italian feature haha.

     So the language is rough but apparently I'm doing better than most people on their first weeks which is encouraging but I also hardly understand anyone. So they're saying they walked around for a week understanding almost nothing?  I guess this is how I learn patience for myself tho. Little kids are the best to talk to because it's very hard to understand them and they are just hilarious in general. I met a little girl with the biggest Italian attitude I've ever seen. She's all up in your face telling you about the YouTube show she's watching about crazy people that go into houses where vampires live. Or at least that's what I got from all of that. I can't wait until I can understand everyone better haha. 

    It's lit here tho and even tho we had to work with two cities and had no time to do anything we actually get everything done. My man Mario is almost done smoking so he can be baptized. I think I can say his name because literally so many people have the same first names. BTW... That preacher isn't scared of us being right. He has such a strong testimony that he doesn't believe he needs more. He's afraid to doubt his beliefs by testing ours out. He doesn't care at all about money either. He's an awesome guy looking for the truth and would do anything to follow God. The stories he and the other immigrants from Africa are insane. In order to get here they have to go through territory where they are in slaved and if they survive it they can leave for Italy. They credit God with their lives and they owe him everything. They're truly an elect people.

     Soon I'm going to only Statte and can really focus in on helping people there. Our area is still kinda big so some members have to drive an hour to get to church. Lots of people go inactive because of it. So my goal is to go out to that area and create a group big enough so they can meet on Sundays. We're meeting with the stake president this week. Luckily Anziano Stark doesn't think I'm crazy.

     Vi voglio bene! Syl (Speak Your Language-the process they were taught in the MTC where they try to only speak Italian) is super hard but it's coming. I'm doing great and I hope all of you are too!