A big CIAOOOOOOO to all you dear people - famiglia, cari e stranieri!!!!!!!!!!
Well well well it's Wednesday AGAIN already and apparently time for my weekly email. I feel like I just wrote an email to you all last week! (Maybe because I did...) Anyway, shout-outs this week go to Sorella Walton's mom and sister(s?) who, I found out yesterday, not only read my letters/blog, but also cut and paste little snippets of what I write, print them out and send them to my companion. So now not only has Sorella Walton read my list of mission goals without my knowing it, she also has been reading all the mean things I've said about her in my letters home!!! :P But in all seriousness, Sor W is great and I love her to death and we will likely be friends for forever. (And maybe Sor W's mom if you want to cut and paste and send me a letter of all the things she's said about me, particularly the email she just sent you today which she covered her screen and wouldn't let me read because it was about me, I would be okay with that. Also, I'm sure my mom would be totally okay with you email her. It just feels right.) (Note from Nicole - Katie's mom: YES! I would love that! nicolesoh (at) yahoo (dot) com! I'd love Sor. Walton's blog address too, as would others here I bet if you want to put it in the comments?? Pretty please?)
Anyway, a few quick secular things - there's a less active family that we visit every other week or so, and the last two times we've gone, we've brought these Crayola markers for them to use - they're called heads 'n' tails and are double tipped markers with crazy names like "electric sky blue" and "candied red apple". Anyway, the mom really really likes them and asked if we could get her some. So if anyone can find these markers and would be willing to buy them and send them to me, she said she would pay for them. And they'd probably like any other kinds of cool Crayola markers because Crayola is the best.
Also, a funny thing they do here in Italy, especially in the city, as a Christmas decoration, is that they buy these little Santas that are hanging on ladders and then hang the ladder over the side of their balconies. So if you at their balcony from the street, it looks like Santa is climbing a ladder onto their balcony. It reminds me a lot of those Halloween decorations that look like the witch has flown her broomstick into the tree. It's the same kind of idea. Totally funny.
AND. Olivia and Audrey. Addresses! I need them! Come mai voi non mi avete spedito i vostri indirizzi?! Ho bisogno di comunicare con voi belle ragazze!
I've decided that the best gift members can give missionaries is stationary and notebooks/journals. Speaking of which, if someone really really really loves me, it would be super great if they could send me another set of journals like I already have. I bought them at Target, and the brand is Markings (crgibson.com). My journal journal has a black leather cover, about 8"x10" (about $15) and my study journal is the same brand, black leather cover, about 4"x7", graph paper inside and has a little elastic band to keep it shut ($10). They don't come in a set, but they're the same brand. Anyway, I just know everyone loves to show their love for me by buying me tangible things... (Note from Nicole: I plan to get these for her, and the markers, so you don't need to - not sure how many of each she possibly wants!)
What a week this has been! The holidays are FINALLY over, which is great because it means we can get back to work since people are in town again! Huzzah! Friday, the 6th, was the last holiday (La Befana, google it. Actually, wikipedia it and then send it to me so I know what the heck it is because I still don't know). We have gotten so much food from members. And candy. And chocolate. SO MUCH CANDY AND CHOCOLATE. So much. The weather has been uncharacteristically warm lately, but we're okay with that because it means that there are more people out in the parks and on the streets for us to talk to!
A cool thing happened last night. I wrote about it in my weekly report to the president:
"The other night we had to run back to our apartment because we had forgotten something. It was kind of a pain, but what can you do. Anyway, as we were walking out the door of our palazzo, there was a woman walking past the door and we said hello to her. She looked at us, confused (as people often do when we try to be friendly, who would've guessed...), and then we just started teaching and talking to her. She refused a copy of the Book of Mormon because she said she doesn't even read the Bible, but she did let us pray with her. After we had prayed, she said, "Posso chiedervi un favore? / Can I ask you all a favor?" and of course we responded with an enthusiastic "Certo!!!/Of course!!!" and with watery eyes she said "Potete sempre pregare per me?/Can you always pray for me?" She really needed that prayer and I am confident that she felt the Spirit. The Lord's timing is so perfect."
It's kinda crazy sometimes to look at the experiences I'm having with people and realize that that really was something that happened to me. Sorella W said something the other day that I've been thinking about a lot lately. She said something along the lines of "make purpose of your experiences". It's all fine and dandy to go out into the world and "live it up", but if you aren't making anything of your experiences, what's the point? I can have all kinds of crazy, neat-o experiences as a missionary, but if I personally don't think about them or what they mean for me as well as what they mean for other people, how can I ever expect to grow or gain anything from all this time I've decided to dedicate to the Lord? I'm still trying to figure everything out, but I know that if I try and make purpose of the experiences I'm having now, even if I don't really have time to think about them a lot, when I do end up having more time to think about them I'll remember them better and be able to get more out of them.
I've really been missing my ukulele! We have a mission hymn, and I know exactly how I would play it on the uke, but guess who doesn't have one to figure out how to play it on the uke?! Ah! Sor W is a superstar on the violin and hasn't been able to play for a long time, so we commiserate together about it. Except she's way more legit than me.
OH! How did my challenge from last week go, everyone??? Did you do it??? Do you even remember what it was?? I want to hear what happened!!! If you haven't done it (or if you forgot), have no fear! There's still time! Go ask the missionaries in your ward to recite the missionary purpose to you!!! Do it! Do it! And you can even tell them I told you to do it. Mwahaha.
Well, it's that time again. Torino is great. The ward is great (we actually just got a new bishop!). The people are great. The companion is great. We sometimes have hard days and experiences, but that doesn't prevent us from seeing miracles if we really look for them. And guess what - they're there! I love you all so much and pray for you and just love you! We go out and work every day because of love - the love we have for the people, the love we have for YOU and the love that we are lucky enough to receive in return. Keep up the great work! The gospel is true! This is real life! In the words of Sorella Walton: "Woo Hoo!!!"
TANTO tanto tanto amore,
Sorella Soh
No comments:
Post a Comment