Buongiorno!!
Week 2 in Italy is out of the way. I am only one week into my transfer because the transfer started last Monday. This week was great. A lot went on! We had our zone training meeting last week which was awesome. We have a great zone up here in the North. I was able to do a scambio (exchange) in the city of Bolzano with an elder who has lived in Italy for 7 years and is originally from the Dominican Republic. His name is Anziano Sosa Correa and he is awesome! It was hard only speaking Italian for 24 hours but I learned so much! We taught 3 lessons in Italian and one of the guys we taught had no legs and only 3 fingers on each hand. He was an awesome guy and we talked a lot. I have been learning more and more of the language each day. I am way better at understanding people but speaking is a totally different story. I'm getting there and I really can't wait to be fluent! I was able to bear my testimony in sacrament meeting here in my branch! It was scary to be honest but it felt so good! I was able to share what I wanted and the members loved that I got up and tried.
Beautiful Trento
In Trento, my trainer and I have been teaching mostly Africans which is always an adventure because their culture and way of speaking is so different from anything else. They are such great people. We have been teaching Italian people too and I love it!! Before I got out here, I thought that all the Italians would fight over who gets to feed the missionaries and we would be eating amazing food every night but I have learned it's a bit of the opposite. It has forced Anziano Yee and I to become professional chefs. I'm not going to lie, I have become quite the master at cooking.
Something really cool we do is English class. We do it every Wednesday and Saturday. I have about 8 students and they all love it so much. It is definitely something to look forward to.
Trento has been pretty awesome. It rains almost everyday and it is starting to get colder but it is still an extremely beautiful place. We are trying every day to do as much as we can to fulfill our purpose.
I learned something very valuable last Sunday as we were teaching a man named Brother L. I learned was that we really are our first convert on the mission. When you teach someone the gospel and they say to you, "you are wrong, it is this way we are supposed to do things" you must be truly converted to the gospel in order to look someone in the eyes and testify that the things you say are true. Anyone can testify of things but not everyone can testify of things with the power of the spirit. And the spirit is our best friend when we teach. I know that I will have investigators who will have strong beliefs and hard hearts. With people like that, I need to be ready to testify with everything in me that what I am telling them is true. And I do know that I have given up my life at home for 2 years to teach others about the gospel.
I know that the true church was restored on the earth 200 years ago. I have spent a lot of time on my knees praying out here in the mission and I really do know that this church is true. I have had some of the most satisfying and enjoyable days of my life here in Trento. When I get back to the apartment feeling exhausted and tired, knowing I put everything I had into sharing the gospel, I am so extremely happy. I love being out here! I love being a missionary. I have seen it bless many people's lives including mine. The best thing we can ever do for ourselves is read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. I promise anyone who does this will find out for themselves that it is the word of God and another testament of Jesus Christ. I love you all and I love this work. Till next week.
International Lake Garda Marathon
Ciao!
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