The work continues. For the past week, Anz. Garcia stayed in Ancona with the Anziani from Ravenna while their apartment was getting fixed. This meant that Anz. Miller and I had Pesaro to ourselves for a whole week! It was so nice to not have to travel back and forth. We're back in a tri-companionship now for another three weeks probably. Ah well! Every day is an adventure.
So since I stayed in Pesaro this week, this letter will all be about Pesaro. We have six investigators right now: Gyldena, Claudio, Maura, Iryna, Natlya, and Celestina. We also have Carmine. He's been investigating the church for about a year now, but he likes to do things at his own pace. We don't teach him anymore, but he comes to church every week. He'll set a baptismal date when he's ready.
---Gyldena is 23 years old and a student at one of the local universities. Our lessons with her take forever because she always asks so many questions. That's a good thing though. She's a bit skeptical, but she really is looking for truth. She has a baptismal date for April 27th, but she won't be ready by then because she hasn't been to church yet. We're looking forward to continuing to work with her.
---Claudio is a father who has cancer. He has strong faith in God. He is interested in learning more about the church, but we haven't been able to get ahold of him since our first lesson... We're hoping we can get back in contact with him.
---Maura is the woman who let us in when we were going door-to-door. That never happens. Usually people just close the door when they see us (or hang up on us since most of them are apartment buzzers). We can tell she's experienced a lot of pain in her life. She has somewhat of a belief in God, but doesn't believe He loves us or that we need Him. Slowly she's started to gain some faith. She told us that she wants to believe and she has set a baptismal date for May 11th. That was such a miracle. I honestly lacked faith, but this is something she really wants to strive for.
---Iryna is Ukrainian, but she speaks very good Italian. She thinks the Book of Mormon can be helpful, but sees no need for it, saying that the Bible is basta (enough). For some reason though, she keeps setting up appointments with us! We're hoping to see her progress. During her second lesson, she brought her friend Natalya with her. She is also Ukrainian and has similar beliefs. We have an appointment with both of them on Sunday.
---Celestina stopped us on the street. She is from Nigeria, but speaks very good Italian and English. She's met with missionaries twice before; once in Nigeria and once while she was living in Napoli (Naples). We gave her a Book of Mormon in English and she says she is going to read it.
Primavera (Spring) is arriving in Italy. The sun is shining and the rain is coming. The other day it was actually raining while the sun was out. I felt right at home. Haha. We are allowed to proselyte without suit jackets now! Everyone got really excited about that.
Food... Yum. I had pizza today. It's soooooo good. There's pizzerias on every street. There's so many different toppings and so many different ways to make it. You know how in the States pepperoni is the main topping? It's a lie. They have one kind of pizza that has pepperoni on it, but they're called salami instead and they're much smaller. That's one of the less popular kinds. Usually it's salsiccia (sausage, and I mean really good, fresh sausage) or margherita (tomatoes and mozzerella). The tomatoes here are unlike anything I've ever tasted. I don't even know how to describe it. I was never a huge fan of tomatoes, but I absolutely love them now. This is good, because tomatoes are on everything. Italians really do eat a lot of pasta. In the grocery store there's a whole aisle of just pasta on both sides. Another one of my favorite things are called piadinas. The piadina bread itself is like a tortilla, but much thicker and made with a different kind of flour. Then you fill it with meat and vegetables and sauces and mmmmmmmm. We eat one every P-day night. I'm looking forward to it.
I'd say that one of the hardest parts of missionary work is being with a companion 24/7. Not that I don't love Anz. Miller and Garcia, but I was never the kind of person that liked to be around people constantly. I like time to myself too, but that doesn't exist out in the mission field. That was a rough adjustment, but I'm growing to love it. The three of us are very different people. Anz. Garcia is quieter and kind of messy sometimes. Anz. Miller is very energetic, but also very military. Everything he does has to be perfect. The apartment is 100% clean 100% of the time or else| I'm the scared little greenie I guess. Hah! We all have different things to bring to the table though and I'm looking forward to growing our companionship.
Now it's time for your Italian lesson for the day. The word paese means country. What we didn't know is that it also means village or town. Anz. Miller and I went for the longest time thinking that Pesaro was surrounding by a bunch of little countries. The Italians love to exploit that on Americans, much to our NOT enjoyment. I'm starting to understand things more and more. The best thing to do is to talk and listen as much as I can. I noticed that as I get to know a person better, it's much easier to understand them. When I first meet someone, I usually don't understand them, but as I meet with them more often I can understand them. For example, the Tariffa family. They're one of our three active families in the branch. Fratello (Brother) Tariffa is from Napoli (Naples) so he has a thick accent. The first time I met him I didn't understand a word he said, but now I can understand him most of the time. It's actually really cool as I talk with people more and more and realize that my understanding is growing.
Italians love to try to be American. It's really kind of funny. There's a type of bread at the grocery store called "American Classic." The sad part is that I buy it... I've seen more American flags than Italian flags. Italians do love their culture, but they don't care much for their politics. Most Italians know a couple of English phrases that they like to say. Every Tuesday night in Pesaro we teach English. It's actually really fun. Two women, Roberta and Donatella, have been coming now for ten years! They're fluent in Italian, but they come because they love meeting the Anziani and practicing their English. They have no interest in the Church, but they love coming to English class.
OH! And how can I forget gelato. At first, I thought it was just overhyped. It's not. It's. So. Good. Wow. I don't know why exactly, but it's fantastic. There's any flavor you can think of. I had Nutella flavored gelato. Nutella! Wow. Tonight we're getting some. :)
Missionary work is hard, as I've said before and as I'll probably say again. It's so worth it to see people bettering their lives. It's hard to be away from all of you wonderful people, but your letters and emails make my day. I love all of you! Vi voglio bene.
'Til next time, Anziano Simcox
P.S. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures this week. I left my camera at the church. I'll try to do double next week!
No comments:
Post a Comment