Buongiorno a tutti, belli e brutti!!!!
Well, I'm back in Milano! Currently I'm sitting at a tiny little computer space in a sketchy Internet point, but that's just how it goes in Milano. The city isn't really anything like I left it - it's cold! And here I thought all my memories of Milano would be scorching hot summer days... There's actually a really big canal that stretches down our area, and it reminds me a lot of Venice. I didn't even know it existed in Milano! Today is one of the sisters' birthdays and so after we do our grocery shopping we're gonna go up to the Duomo and get lunch together. Man, it's so crazy to be back here.
My first Sunday went pretty well. The ward is HUGE! I mean, by USA standards it's not huge, but dang, when sacrament meeting attendance is about 10x as big as it was in Siena, it feels huge. We had combined RS/EQ meeting the first hour and before the lesson started the bishop let me and the other new Elder in the ward get up and introduce ourselves. Of course I took that as an opportunity to bear my testimony instead of just rambling on about where I've served and how long I've been out and how many times I've trained and all of those other dumb, petty things that no one cares about because they don't matter. Instead I told them about how I'm excited to serve here and how I want to get to know everyone. I had been thinking about what I wanted to say that morning and so told them: "Sono venuta in missione perché volevo servire il Signore, ma sono rimasta in missione perché voglio servire voi / I came on my mission because I wanted to serve the Lord, but I've stayed on my mission because I want to serve YOU". Anyway, I did that and then had to get up and lead the music while Slla Lyman played the piano and then I was asked to say the closing prayer in Sac Mtg. So I guess it went over well! Lots of people came and talked to me after (also because we had come to church early so that I could greet everyone as they walked it) and so I've already started to get to know some of the members. I was complimented on my smile (thank you, Dr. Prewitt and thousands of dollars of orthodontal work!) and also on my Italian accent! It's so funny, no one can guess where I'm from anymore. This YW aged girl came up to me after I said the closing prayer in sac mtg and was like "your accent is SO GOOD!" haha. You might say I have skillz...I would say it's the gift of tongues!
Sorella Lyman and I have gotten along pretty good so far. She was a CP! She worked at Colombia Harbour House, quick food. So we've had fun reminiscing about Disney a bit. And she's from Cary, NC! She even taught me that the name Cary is an acronym for "Containment Area for Relocated Yankees". WHO KNEW??? Well, Slla Lyman, apparently. So, neato skeeto.
Oh, Happy New Year!!! Can you even believe it's 2013!?!? I spent the ENTIRE year of 2012 in Italy as a missionary. How crazy is that!? We didn't do anything, really. We had to be in our apartment by 7pm New Years' Eve and then were supposed to stay in and clean New Years' Day until after lunch. I tried to go to bed at 10:30pm like we're supposed to, but I forgot that we live in the largest city in the mission and sleeping before midnight would be quasi impossible. People were shooting off fireworks from their balconies and noise makers and who knows what all night. It started pretty much as soon as it got dark. It was SO LOUD! It was like being in a war zone or something - non-stop explosions for hours. I didn't ever look at my watch, but I knew when it was midnight because the people in the apartment next to us were making tons of noise and then went out on their balcony and shouted out the countdown to midnight. Which was then of course followed by incessant explosions. Sleep finally overwhelmed me by about 12:30am and I was able to sleep through the remaining explosions. Last year when I was in Torino I guess we lived in a much more peaceful area because it wasn't nearly as bad. I saw a few fireworks but that's it.
I like Milano, but boy was it hard to leave Siena. I may or may not have done a lot of crying...I just love Siena so much! And it was really hard to leave Slla Nilson, too! And the Capeces! We went to the church on Thursday night and some of the members came by to say goodbye. Everyone was like "You just got here! You can't leave!". There were even some suggestions that they chain me to the church and tell President that I couldn't leave, haha. So definitely gonna have to go back to Siena like every year of my life and see everyone! I told Slla Bush "I don't wanna be mean or anything, but I'm gonna be a tough act to follow...I mean, I WAS Joseph in the live nativity..." haha. I think the ward will really like Slla Bush, though. She's fun and has a lot of personality.
Well my time is winding to a close. Also, it's really hard to focus right now because the guy sitting next to me is watching spanish rap videos and his headphone are so loud that I can hear everything. Not pleasant. However, we're off to a new year and another week of missionary work! I'm fairly confident that mail will be coming for me to the Siena apartment until the end of time, but that's okay. It'll just make going to zone conference more fun because there'll be mail waiting for me! I love you all very much! Keep up your BoM reading! I just finished Mosiah 25 today!
Buon Anno!
Love,
Sorella Soh
No comments:
Post a Comment