Here's the start of transfer eleven. I'll be staying for at least another six weeks in Bergamo. I'm content. I love Bergamo and I love my companion. What more can I ask? So, when it's all said and done, that'll be at least six months in Bergamo! It doesn't seem like it at all. I feel like I got here two months ago at max. I've been here four and a half. Time won't go any slower I'm afraid. A mission is sixteen transfers, so with the start of transfer eleven I'm finding myself on the older side of things.
Our zone is changing quite a bit. We'll be getting several new faces, including a "greenie" fresh from the States. That'll be a ton of fun! New missionaries have so much enthusiasm.
Today for Preparation Day we went to Sirmione, a lakeside city on Lago di Garda, one of the biggest lakes in Italy. It used to be a fortress however long ago. Now it's turned into more of a tourist attraction, but it was still fun to go see it, take some pictures, and "storm the castle" if you will, i.e. pay the two Euro entrance fee.
There was a baptism in Bergamo 3. The sisters' investigator was baptized on Saturday. She's known the church for a long time, so it was a big day for her and for the whole ward in general. There were a ton of people at the ceremony. She invited a lot of friends and gave each of them a Book of Mormon. What a good missionary! Some of our investigators were able to come too and they really enjoyed their first time seeing a baptism.
I don't have my planner with me for some reason. I think I left it on my desk this morning... That's why this letter is so choppy, or as my brother would say it's written in Chop-a-nese. Usually it's so easy to just look back in my week, pick a moment, and write about it. I Skyped my families on Mother's Day. It was so great to see everyone's faces. All of my brothers are so grown up. One of them turns sixteen tomorrow! What?!
On Sunday I had to give a talk in Church. The subject was the plan of salvation. The two speakers before me talked about life before life and life on earth, so my topic was life after death. At this point in my mission I feel that I can communicate decently well in Italian, but having a conversation is different than giving a twenty minute sermon. It went pretty well though. I was pleased. I was able to talk smoothly, even through my American accent. It's such a cool experience to learn a language. There's another part of your brain that opens up that you never knew existed. Italian has become so integrated into daily life, that the difference between the two languages is starting to get less and less. Lately, I've been mixing the two together, which gets pretty frustrating when I'm trying to teach in Italian. I guess it's a good sign because it means it's becoming more natural, but still.
Scriptural thought for the week: "And he [Jesus] said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full" (3 Nephi 17:20). His joy comes from our faith! When we have faith and follow His commandments, He is joyful. He rejoices when we rejoice. He cries when we cry. He looks forward to our salvation and does everything within His power that we may inherit His kingdom.
I love you all! Love, Anziano Simcox
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