Ciaowdy!
Well, this past week has been absolutely nuts! I have a new companion! Fresca fresca from the MTC! Her name is Sorella Heupel (Hoi-pull) and she's from California, L.A. area. She's tall (but not taller than me, ha!) and blonde and cute and has never studied Italian before! It's been a crazy last few days because we had a ton of extra stuff to get done to get her legal here in addition to the work we still had to get done before the week ended, but she's been a total rockstar and we've just been setting goal and reaching them!
I'm particularly excited for my new companion because she was told, as every missionary who gets sent to Italy, that she shouldn't expect many, or ANY, baptisms because the work in Europe is just so slow. Well, all those people are going to have to eat their hats because we have TWO baptismal dates! Giovanna and Flavia are getting baptized! So take that, haters!!!! People in Italy are just as elect as they are in any other country!
So last week Wednesday the Rimini sisters (Slle Gomez and Arume) came and stayed the night. Rimini is pretty far away and Slla Gomez had to be in Milano early because she's training, too. Slla Arume went home - all the way to Kauai!!! Poor thing, I don't even want to know how many hours it took her to get home - and then she had to give her homecoming talk in church that Sunday! I guess that's what happens when your dad is bishop! But anyway, Wednesday night I confess I stayed up past my bedtime because I was talking to the sorelle. Slla Arume told me that I can come visit her the next time we go to Hawaii and she'll show me all the cool things on Kauai.
We had a sisters only conference yesterday and everyone came to our meetinghouse in Milano 2. I about had a heart attack when Slla Nilson, who is one transfer ahead of me (she's the one who talked about cod nuggets in her blog), said "do you realize that WE are now the old sisters in the mission?" Ahhhh! It's true! I hit one year on Friday!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How did THAT happen!?!? I still feel like a new missionary! But then again, this is my second time training and my first training is now also training...but still! There are 7 sisters that are older than me in the mission, and three of them go home in 5 weeks...yikes. There are only 24 sisters in the mission.
We've met some pretty neat people lately. I took Slla Heupel to do casa in casa (door to door contacting) for the first time on Saturday. We get into a palazzo (stairwell) and start ringing doorbells. We ring one and a man answers the door (he may or may not have been wearing a shirt...I honestly don't remember because with this heat it's normal to see lots of shirtless people) and we say something about how our families can be together forever. He doesn't seem to understand Italian very well, and looks confused. The following exchange ensued (in Italian):
Him: What church are you from?
Me: We're from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!
Him: Oh...uh...us too.
Me: Really?? That's so great! So have you been reading the Book of Mormon?? (we both show him the BoMs in our hands)
Him: Uh...yeah, we already got one...
Me: That is so fantastic! Could we maybe come in and read together with you and your family??
Him: Uh...um...well, no because we're waiting for some people...
Me: Oh, darn! Well maybe another time! Thanks, brother!
Him: Uh, yeah yeah...no problem (closes door)
After he closed the door and we started to walk away I just couldn't help but start laughing. He clearly had no idea who we were and was definitely not a member. It was just really funny. Slla H didn't quite understand the whole conversation, but it was just funny. There's a part in the book "Our Search for Happiness" by Elder Ballard where he talks about missionary work (and it's awesome and I suggest you all read it...it starts on page 103) where he says something along the lines of "in all honesty, our missionaries feel just about as awkward standing on your doorstep as you do finding them there" and I felt like our experience with this guy was just a case in point. Too funny.
I'm glad my Pua Olena video is still a hit on your FB, mom. One of the conditions of me keeping the uke was that President asked me to play my version of the mission hymn at our next missionary conference, which just happened to be our sister conference yesterday. So I was the special musical number. Sorella Soh and The Pink Ukulele. I was super nervous for some reason (still don't know why) and so I messed up a little bit, but of course everybody loved it. President was really impressed. Afterward he and Slla Wolfgramm complimented me on it and said how I have a great voice and President basically told me that he would buy my CD if I ever had one. Actually, he said something along the lines of "you have a great voice. That's the kind of voice I would buy a CD of and listen to". What a compliment! Maybe after my mission I'll go put together a little CD like Jen and Chad did that one time and give copies of it to all my little fans - including President!. So be thinking of good songs for me to sing!
Well, folks, that's all I have time for this week! Today we are going to the Duomo and the baptistry (apparently the font is an immersion font!). Slla Forbes, who is in Milano 3rd ward, is also training (Slla Mancuso), so we are taking our trainees to get their first gelato and kebab! Aaand the sorelle from Milano 1st ward (slla Nilson! who just got here and Slla Lloyd) are coming, too. We are excited! Oh! And mom, thanks for the package!!!! I'm sure my companion was tired of hearing me say "MY MOM IS THE BEST!!!!!!!" every five seconds as I pulled things out of the box. The socks are PERFECT! You are the best mom in the whole wide world! Anyway, all is well here in Milano. Still hot, but cooling down. I am a missionary!!!!! Livin' the dream!!!!
Love you all buckets!
Sorella SOH
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