A Golden Era

Here's the newest and latest from Sarah. In this installment, she continues to serve and love the people of Trieste with Sorella McMurray, enjoys a spectacular birthday, nearly causes a traffic accident, and learns that her time in Trieste has come to an end.

9/16/15

Alam

This past week has been really nice. I've just felt really disconnected from the stress and the numbers and I'm just here in Trieste with my comp doing good.

One of the highlights from this week was that we met a man named Alam who was such a sweetheart. We met him at the house of one of our less actives. I don't really know why he was there because he doesn't speak Italian and she doesn't speak English so I don't know how they communicated. But anyway, Alam is from Pakistan and he said that he came here because his life was in danger. He went against his political party and now people are after him. He had a really good life in Pakistan before though. He was a political science major, he was rich, and he had a wife and two young children (who are now an ex-wife and two kids, who are still in Pakistan.) But after he told the story, he broke into a huge smile and said, "But I love this city! It is beautiful and the people are beautiful!" He really misses his kids though. It was actually 9/11 when we met him and it never came up, but at one point he actually started crying a little and was talking about how he has not always been a good person and about how his people aren't always good. We jumped in immediately and said that God does not judge off of anything but who you are; not what group of people you belong to, not the things you have done, not who you have been, but what your desires are in this moment. We said that God could see that he had a good heart and that he loved him. That started us into a bit about religion. It was actually pretty hard--McMurray and I had to juggle talking to him and Maria separately because they couldn't understand the other's conversation, but at the same time keep up on the other conversation so that we could hop in back and forth. He is Muslim, but not practicing. He knows a lot about Christianity but when we told him about the Book of Mormon he was seriously intrigued. "Wait. Jesus Christ went to America? I've never heard about that before...Do you have one of these books I could buy?" The anziani are going to go find him this next week and bring him a book and help him with his Italian too. I don't know if he is an "elect" who is ready for the message, but God doesn't only show his love by inviting his children to the banquet, he also shows it by letting his children cross paths when they need each other. And we all needed it. As we were leaving he thanked us for being so kind to him and said, "You are my sisters."

Nonna Gianna!

We went to Gianna this week and it was, like always, a riot. We started out with just Gianna talk--how everything in the world was going to the dump and how all the ragazzi are awful and disrespectful these days and yaddaya. Sometimes it is fun to get really uppity about the world like old people do. I was like "Yeah! All these ragazzaci!! They NEVER help me with my groceries!!" But then we pulled out the BoM and she was like, "Wait do you have those..." ~mimics an iPad~ "Haha. Yeah, we have those too." I pull mine out, make the words really big and hand it over to her to use. At the beginning of our visits she was seriously freaked out by them--how it would randomly move and switch screens if you touched it--but now she handles them with all the grace of an elderly person trying to figure out technology. We were teaching her how to scroll down while you were reading the chapter and I swiped my finger across the screen and it scrolled down really fast. "Ahh! Not so fast! I'm old! I have to go slowly!" ~she furrows her brow, drags her finger with purpose, VERY SLOWLY down the screen~ "Nice...and...slow. Like that, ragazze. That is how Gianna likes it." Haha. It's so fun to be around her. And then we started reading Mosiah 24. We wanted to read a whole chapter with her so that she would kind of understand that it was a big story with beautiful principles in it. Anyway, we started reading and I have never more enjoyed reading a chapter of the Book of Mormon. She would throw in commentary throughout the chapter. "Alma! He is that bravo ragazzo we read about last time!!" "Zeniff...hmmm I don't know him yet, do I?" "..They had great weights placed upon their backs...poverini!(those poor things!)" "Whosoever should be found calling upon God should be put to death...MALVAGITÀ!! (WICKEDNESS)" "And now it came to pass that Amulon began to exercise authority over Alma and his brethren, and began to persecute him, and cause that his children should persecute their children...ma questo non va. (That is just not right.)" It was so enjoyable to read that chapter with her. And at the end of it, she was like "Can we read this chapter too? Except I can't use this thing anymore, it is too crazy." We gave her the book and read Mosiah 25 with her too. We have asked her if she wants a BoM before and she always says that she will just lose it and she is okay without it. But that time we just left it on the table for her to find later. We left a bookmark in Alma cause we know she loves him a lot. Good ol Gianna. :)

 

9/23/15

Olga

Olga is a lady that the anziani have seen at bus stops a lot and one day they gave her our number and she called us and we met last pday and it was an interesting lesson. She is from Columbia and really wonderful. She said that one day she was sick and someone came and put oil on her head and then led her to the forest next to her house and she knew that she should become Mormon because of some relationship to the Joseph Smith story. But I was like, ya know what, God can speak to people in whatever way he wants. I'm chill with that. So yeah, she came to church on Sunday and...kind of called a member egotistical during gospel principles and I was sitting next to her for the lesson on eternal marriage, scrambling to teach a really fast plan of salvation (we haven't even gotten through the resto) and trying to calm her down...sigh. There was a little bit of havoc there for a minute but the member she could have offended is this SUPER chill GANS (YSA) member that I love and she was like "Wow, dude, chill, ain't no thang ain't no thang." So yeah. I don't really know what is going to happen there. Also some of the members remember her from 6or 7 years ago and they are like "Yeah!...She is a little...it is a complicated long story" and then I'm like lol that tells me nothing about the actual situation, thank you.

Birthday

My birthday was SOOO GOOOOD. Seriously it was surprisingly one of my best ever which is weird cause Thanksgiving and Christmas and Easter were hard and I was expecting my birthday to be similar. But it started the night before at English course when they brought me a surprise homemade tart and sang happy birthday to me in their cute Italian English accents. <3 I seriously love my English students so so much. Then the next morning I woke up and felt sick #ofcourse but I was like, eh it isn't too bad, so I just skipped breakfast. Oh, also that morning my comp woke up early and put a bunch of sticky notes on my mirror so that when I went to the bathroom that morning I read, "Well, hello there gorgeous." I'm going to miss her. But anyway, after that we went to Tayryn's house and she was ADORABLE. First off, she can't usually wake up early cause she is always really tired and sick in the morning, but we knocked on the door and about three minutes later we hear the happy birthday song playing and she answers the door with a little cake that says TVB in Nutella (ti voglio bene=I love you) and she had a candle next to it and there was a wax heart carved in the candle. She said she got up early especially to make that and that there was Nutella and wax everywhere but she wanted it to be perfect. So that was so cute. And then she gave me one of her scarves so that I could always have a little of her with me. It made me cry. Every bit of it. 

Then I had lunch with Giada (English class) and her mom which was great and I love them too. And then we went to the hospital because someone called us and said that she wanted a BoM and a peach. Haha. So we hopped in the bus and brought her a peach--we forgot the word of God. Oops. But yeah. We got lost in the huge, freaky, hospital-y smelling hospital and let me tell you, Italian hospitals....just don't get sick in Italy. It is freaky. But not as bad as I thought. Anyway, her name is Maria and she is so sweet and we are going to see her again this week but yeah. Don't have much on that right now because we literally just went and saw her and taught her a little lesson about the atonement and how it could help her and then left back for the city. The hospital is perched up in the mountains though and it was SO PRETTY UP THERE. I was looking out the window and dying at the thought of maybe leaving this city next week. :( Holy cow. I hate that transfer calls come in three days. These three transfers have flown by. Magical city.

Then we went to dinner at that Indian restaurant and it was so good. I felt right at home when I stepped in and the familiar scents of Indian food filled my nose. Mmm. I don't even like fennel seeds but I was chopping on them like a mad woman because they remind me of Bombay House and therefore of home. So that was the perfect end to my birthday. And then that night I got a bunch of calls and texts from ward members and I just felt really loved by my family here. The next day in church I got a cactus from a member and the Nigido family. Annalisa (RM from the Leeds England mission) and Max (our ward mission leader)) invited me to lunch with some other GANS members and they gifted me a shirt and were so nice and I just love them and I love this city and I loved my birthday.

And THEN my district the next day for district meeting threw me a surprise party at the end with pazuki which is like a warm half baked cookie with ice cream on top. And I love my district so that was good too.

A Lot of Jesus Lovin'

Other than that the week was really pretty great. We had some good lessons; we met some nice people. And we had a lesson with two evangelical people who we met on the street like...two weeks ago or something. I can't remember. But I went into it kind of nervous because everyone is always like "Ooooh they love bible bashing!" But then I met them and we were talking with them and they did seem a little more ready to criticize a few things (They call the LdM the book of Joseph and they think we worship him.) but about halfway through the lesson they were getting a little more intense and I was starting to get a little bit more upset and hurt by stuff. But then I was just like "Ho'd up. They love Jesus, I love Jesus. We are all just doing our best to follow him." And then I just got over myself and loved those people and I didn't get my feathers ruffled when they asked me questions or showed me clips from their preacher man bashing on Mormons. I was just cool as a cucumber and I bore my testimony about how I honestly love the Book of Mormon and it has blessed me in my life and that this church has blessed my family and I left it at that and I dunno. I honestly respect them and love them and I want to see them again. My comp, a little less so, but they were really great people. As soon as I got over myself and stopped being offended, I could actually feel the spirit. Cause there was a lot of Jesus lovin' in that room. Just in different ways.

Still Got It

Last random funny story from the week. We were waiting at a bus stop after zone conference and two young male motorcyclists drove by. I don't really remember looking at them specifically cause I had my back to them and I was talking to other missionaries, but about three seconds after they passed I heard a screech and turned around to see both of them slamming on their breaks and scrambling not to crash into the car in front of them. The person I was talking to started laughing and then said "Haha. They both almost crashed into that car cause they were checking you out." Hehe. Still got it.

9/30/15

Transfer News

So transfer news! I'm going back to Milano area! Which means I get to eat Luini's again!!!! But I'll be  in the other Milano zone. Not the Lodi one. The pretty Milano zone (there are 2). Wow, haha I still haven't said where I'm going. I will be serving in the beautiful city of Varese. :) I don't actually know much about the city itself but I've heard it is cold and pretty. Also, get this, it is a thirty/forty minute train ride from Switzerland (you'll be getting Swiss chocolate for Christmas) and Como #HelloGeorgeClooney and about forty minutes from Milano. So I'm stoked. It will be good. I'm going to be with a Sorella Sharp who is going into her 4th transfer but has only been in Italy for 2 transfers because she had visa issues. Oh, another plus is that I'll be in fashion capital for winter sale in Milano. Yayayayay.

Just Belting It

Oh! Cool tangent! So I was playing the piano for some new beginnings type thing at the church on Sunday night and one of the GANS was playing the violin with me and we were practicing it beforehand and before all the people came I asked him if I could give it a whirl and he handed it over and AFTER ONE YEAR I WAS ABLE TO PLAY THE VIOLIN AGAIN and it made me so trunky. I really have missed playing the violin on my mission. And it was really rough at first, but after a few hymns I actually didn't sound too bad. :) Hey-o. And then after the fireside the violin guy and this other GANS kid were playing hymns together and they were like "Sorelle! Come sing!" And so we went over there and started singing. And then Sorella McMurray left to go talk to some people and this other guy came over (the one who was playing accordion that one hot summer afternoon) and he has a BIG bass voice. And we were just belting it. Him, the deep low bass line, and me, the high soprano line. Or the tenor. ;) It took me back--way back--to the Sunday night piano/singing sessions. It made me trunky as freak. In a good way. Man I miss singing with you guys. As we were wrapping up I told them that I always did this with my family at home and Slla McMurray was like, "You are going to bawl your first Sunday back when you get to sing with them again." Yes I am.

A Little Bittersweet

The week was super busy with trying to see everyone and pack and get some gelato with the GANS and such, but it was a good week. Sunday was good, always a little bittersweet. Mostly just bitter actually. But the people I really cared about I saw in my last three days. 

Me n Patrizia

The GANS

The GANS took us and the anziani out to ice cream earlier today. The GANS here are amazing and when I'm with them I feel like they actually like ME. Like, without the tag. Because usually members are only nice to us because they have to be. But the GANS...I could tell they meant it when they said they would miss me. 

Tayryn

The hardest goodbye was definitely Tayryn though. I think I've told you all quite a bit about her but she is the one who is the most wonderful forgiving and beautiful person on this earth. She is also really sick a lot of the time and it prohibits her from coming to church. But yeah, as soon as I walked through her door I started crying. And we passed a beautiful two hours together and she told us the story of her life which meant more to me than anything because she said she has only told that story to a handful of people- never any Sorelle. And she said some amazing sweet and beautiful and kind things and that made me cry even more. And at the end of it, we hugged, we exchanged information, and then I left. And I don't know when I will see her again. And that is one of my least favorite feelings ever. When I said goodbye to her, I felt the same way I did when I said goodbye to you guys. I don't think I will ever love anyone more than her on my mission. My mission, because of her, is all worth it. But yesterday, when I said goodbye to her, was without a doubt the hardest day of my mission. And I don't think I will have a harder goodbye. I've even been a little anxiety sick in the morning like I was before I left for the MTC because I didn't want to say goodbye to her so much.

Thou Mayest

Kristen emailed me this week a little passage from East of Eden...I loved reading it the first time and I loved reading it the seventh and tenth time. And this is what I wrote back to Kristen, "The idea of Timshel ("thou mayest") is beautiful and empowering. One thing that I've been thinking about in regards to this is something my dad wrote to me about.  In D&C 93:29 it says 'Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.'  We, as intelligences on this earth, are co-eternal with God. Light and intelligence cannot be created. They simply are and always will be. We just have to choose to find and accept it. My dad couldn't remember, but some philosopher said something along the lines of 'That which is created can never be free.' 'Do thou.' 'Thou shalt.' Orders and inevitability are not a part of the human equation. 'Thou mayest'. Thou mayest choose light and intelligence. Thou mayest accept. Thou mayest turn down. Thou mayest follow. Thou mayest fight. Thou mayest ponder and think and build and struggle and grapple and destroy. Thou mayest come. And that is Godly."

A Golden Era

This city, Trieste, and this ward (especially the GANS), and this district (Slla McMurray, Anziano Horne and Anziano Harbin are some of my best friends now), and these two past transfers especially have kind of been a Golden Era for me. I've been really honestly happy these past three months. I mean, there have been hard days and bad weeks obviously, but I don't think I've been this happy and felt this at home during my whole mission. And I'm going to miss this city so much more than I can imagine right now. And when I come back (I don't know when it will be but I can't leave this city forever) it won't be exactly same. It's like Dad said in that one letter, the mission is like Narnia. You can't really go back to the way things were the first time. I know that it isn't all downhill from here in my mission, but...right now it honestly seems that way. There isn't a better city, there couldn't be a better ward, there aren't better missionaries with which to form friendships. Basta. Door closed. Just kidding. I'm not closing the door because I know that there are good things that await me in Varese. But I'm leaving my heart here in Trieste in a way that I'm not going to leave it in any other city. For me in Italy, Trieste will always be home. Always. 

 

Trieste district.  Love these kids. <3

Pray for me that I can accept and welcome the changes ahead of me. Pray for me and my comp that things will be good. I love you guys so much.

Love love,

Sarah

"My family is growing. A member gave me a cactus for my birthday (Holden) and I got Jeff from you guys. :)"