Baked Goods and Baby Walking

It's been a really good week here in Cagliari.  The weeks are moving faster and faster and I'm starting to feel like so much of my mission has passed by already... 

Then I remember I still have a year left and I calm down just a little.  We've had a ton of work to do here in Cagliari, which has been great.  That's what makes the time fly.

To Market, To Market

One really fun thing we discovered last week was the local market.  We've been doing all of our shopping at a mini grocery store, but we decided to be adventurous and try this market and it was SO cool... There are just tons and tons of venders all selling their fresh fruits, veggies, meats, cheeses, breads, and of course Sard dolcis (sweets/pastries).  

At the Meat Market

We went a little crazy and bought a kilo of every kind of fruit available and then it was all spoiled by Sunday... So now we know not to get so much at once, hah, but we are definitely becoming regulars at the market.

 'ello, 'ello

Thursday we had English Course and I told them all the story of when I opened my mission call, and they all said they want to look up the video on YouTube haha.  

Kaitlin Opening her Mission Call

I love teaching English Course because most Italians have learned their English from Brits, so whenever someone tries to speak with us in English it's always in a British accent... troppo carino. (too cute)

Also the Church is hosting these really beautiful concerts every Thursday for the next four weeks.  The first one was this last week and a ton of people came so that is really cool.  It's great to start getting the members more involved in the work.

Chapel in Cagliari

Rain, Rain... 

Saturday we had planned to meet Marie Ritta and Giuseppina.. pretty sure I told you about them last week.   So the mom, Giuseppina, has a fatty crush on Dallin haha.   I showed her my picture book and everytime there was a picture of Dallin, she had to point him out and tell me that he's "molto bello." -- even in big group pictures, haha.  So if you don't find anyone in America, Dallin....

Anyway, we wanted to meet with them in the park by our house and for some strange reason it RAINED that morning--out of NO WHERE--and JUST in the morning.  So they called and canceled, even when we tried to meet them at the Church or their house. sad.  

Too Good To Be True

But later that day we were at the bus stop and I handed this lady an English Course handout, and she said she wasn't interested and walked away.  But then five minutes later she came back and said, 

"Scusate, credete in Gesu Cristo?"  which means, "Excuse me do you guys believe in Jesus Christ?"  

So we said, "No" and kept walking... 

NOT.   We got all excited and she got on the bus with us, and we talked for ten minutes or so about the Church and our beliefs.  

She is one of the only Catholics I've talked to that doesn't focus on worshiping the Madonna.  I almost fell over. and she gave us her PHONE NUMBER!  

Sorella Nef and I were just all smiles for the rest of the day.  She kept saying things like "I just want a change in my life" 

Yeah, we can help with that.  No one wants to change their lives just like that... too good to be true. 

Really though, it was too good to be true... the number doesn't work, I called the other day... andiamo avanti  (and on we go...)

Displaying Faith

Sunday we did a Mostra in Piazza Yenne!  It was my first mostra.  We brought these big displays of the Rome Temple and just tried stopping people in the street for two hours.  It wasn't really successful, but it was a lot of fun.  I mostly just talked to old people. What else is new?  But old people are really nice, so I don't mind.  

We did meet three young TJs who were asking us a ton of questions (all the typical TJ questions like "What is the name of God?" and "The Book of Revelations says don't add to the Bible")  

But then the discussion turned into questions of real interest.  We gave them each their own copy of the Book of Mormon and then their dad came and they left... 

30 minutes later they came back with the books and we were so sad (we blame the dad), but the girl asked if she could keep a pamphlet about the Restoration. Speriamo Bene. (hoping for the best)

Competing Displays:  "Dio" means "God" and "io" means "I" or "Me".  

This billboard says, "10 million Italians live fine without the "D"-- God."

Goodnight Katerina

I also met this guy named Walter, and he wasn't interested in the Church but we talked about English Course for a little bit.  He ended up calling yesterday and asking me out for coffee.  I had to explain that, 

1. I don't drink coffee.

2. I can't go on dates as a missionary.  

He was like, "Okay, but can I call you later?" ... and I said, "WHY?" and he said "I just want to hear from you"... creepy.  Anyways I said, "No" and so he said that he's coming to English Course... yayy.  

Then yesterday he sent me this text: "Buonanotte Katerina, da Valter"  --Katerina is the Italian version of Kaitlin-- (Also Italians won't rest until you tell them your REAL name.  I've got to tell them it's just Sorella next time.)  Anyway, someone's got to tell Walter that sister missionaries aren't fond of goodnight texts... I'm so embarassed.

Brownies or Bust

As far as work goes, Monday was a bust because we had DDM and then I had to do a FIVE HOUR integration course for my permesso, which is five hours of watching videos where they explain Italian laws about things like not doing drugs. 

But we did get some good advice from the anziani about finding ideas.  They just sat us down, looked at us and said, 

"BROWNIES. We are just going to make brownies every day. That way when someone says they don't want to let us in we'll just say, 'but we made BROWNIES'..."  brilliant. Vediamo (we''ll see).  

They also thought of starting a dog walking service and a baby walking service because Italians LOVE dogs and babies.  

It's a guarantee that someone will stop to pet your dog or talk to your baby if you take them in public.  I didn't get to hear the missionary broadcast, so I have no idea what is in the new program... but I wouldn't be surprised if dog/baby walking or brownies are included.

Let Them Eat Cake 

Which is NO JOKE... just about everyone we talk to who has met with the missionaries in that past ALWAYS mentions what type of baked goods that the missionaries brought them--Elders and Sisters. 

We've met at LEAST five people in the last while who have mentioned, "Oh yeah, I know the missionaries, they brought me a cake!"  They don't remember anything about the lessons, but they remember the cake. 

We went and saw a less-active member yesterday--another miracle.  I've been trying to see her since Day One when I got here, and she was magically at home and let us in yesterday!  

We had a lesson with her and her sister (a non-member who might start meeting with us!).  It was incredible.   She told us her whole story of conversion--which is an amazing story-- she was baptized at like 8 months pregnant. Cool.  Anyway, at the end of the lesson she said, "So I should probably come back to Church, yeah?"  And we were like, "Ummm, yeah."  So she is COMING!  And her sister wants to start coming in July.

(We asked if there was anything we could do for them and they said "Make muffins."  The sister missionary from before made them muffins.)  

Reading

THEN we headed to our meeting with Sebastiano!  He is someone that Sorella Cojan and I met doing casa, and Slla. Nef and I had passed by and had another lesson with him.  He's been reading a TON from the Book of Mormon!  

We came in and he said, "So I read this chapter about not baptizing babies" and we were like... "Ummm, what?"  Took us a second to catch up.   

There was a little paper inside of the Book of Mormon we gave him about common questions and answers with scripture references.  He's read a ton of them already.  We had a really great lesson about faith in Jesus Christ.  (We are having to go out of order with him, but it's seriously inspired.)   

He said he'll be baptized when he knows it's true!  He accepted every commitment we gave him (there were like 5... yeah a lot) and we are just amazed.  It was one of the best days of my mission so far.

High on (missionary) Life

I feel like I'm finally hitting my "runners' high" version of the mission marathon. The days are going by like nothing and I am just so happy to be a missionary.  

I really hope that I stay in Cagliari at least one more transfer (Let's be honest; they've probably forgotten I'm on this Island) --just because we have so many cool things happening right now.

With (much) love from Cagliari,

Sorella O'Connor

(Email Sent - June 26, 2013)

Errand of Angels

How she writes it...

(photo cred:  Dylan Ross Lamb)

Crazy

I don't even know where to begin with this week.  Seriously it's been so crazy.  Mostly crazy good, but also some just weird crazy. 

So Thursday we started our first real work day without Sorella Cojan, which was just weird.  But the Sassari Sorelle came down because they were here to pick up their new greenie from the airport. (They are doing what we did last transfer: being in a threesome with the trainer leaving the next transfer).  

Four Sorelle

It was really great to have them here because Sorella Winward served in Cagliari for three transfers before I got here.  She helped a ton, explaining certain people in the area book and giving us a whole list of people that she wasn't able to contact but that we could potentially go see and try to teach. 

Then they came back that night and said the new missionaries hadn't come and they were staying an extra day... and then the next day they came back from the airport again without the new missionaries.. and then they did the same thing again for the next day... seriously. 

for Three Days

Three days in a row the assistants had been so busy and all over the place getting transfers figured out (and getting the Kellys ready to leave and the new mission president ready to come) that they forgot to call us. 

THREE DAYS in a row they didn't tell us that there were problems and that they had to take a different flight.  Luckly they were able to come in Saturday night, but we literally spent Thursday night, Friday, and Saturday morning trying to figure out things to do and people to see with the Sassari sisters.  I felt bad because I could have planned a more productive workload for us if I had known we would be working with four all week.  But hey... we figured it out.

Strike Out

Also Friday we had a bus strike day which made us 20 min late to the ONLY appointment that we had scheduled for the week (a referral from the anziani) and she never answered her phone when we called to tell her we'd be late.  

So I was feeling prettttty awful when she wasn't there when we showed up.  AND I got a blister the size of Mount Everest having to run/walk there when we found out there were no buses.  

Bold

But it was still a good day because we had a lesson in the street on our way home.  I dont know what has happened to me, but I've become a lot more bold on my mission.  Like forcing people to pray with me in public kind of bold. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Saturday was a long day of finding.  We walked the entire perimeter of Quartu... LONG day.  On Saturdays and Sundays there is usually no one outside, so we just tried to find some ex-investigators and less actives and we ran into this girl named Anna.  

Finding Miracles

Finding her was pratically a miracle because she was the only one in the street where we were.  I stopped her to give her an English course pamphlet and she started telling us how she had met with the missionaries in the past and invited us over to her parents' house Tuesday morning!

Sunday we ran into a guy at the bus stop who is good friends with the Relief Society president in our ward, and he said that he was really interested in the things that Sorella Safina had been telling him. So that was ANOTHER potential we found in the middle of no where. 

Sunday night a member called and asked us to come to the Genealogy Center in the church.  There were two non-members there, and we were able to have a mini lesson with them (with a member there!) about genealogy and the importance of temples.

THEN... Monday DDM was canceled because our District Leader had to fly to Messina for permesso stuff, so we had a WHOLE day of finding to do. We decided to do a little park giro and we walked up to two women on a bench.  

Change of Countenance
As soon as we walked up, the older one groaned and rolled her eyes... until she heard "Facciamo un cordo d'inglese gratuito." which means, "Hey we do a free English course.  Then their faces lit up and they got all excited.  

Then they started asking who we were, and one thing led to another and they walked away with two copies of the Book of Mormon.  We walked away with a return appointment and two new investigators! 

Sorella Nef and I were Walking on Sunshine.  We literally had lost all investigators and we were starting from scratch with no trainer, and then out of the blue we had two new investigators! 

Then later that day a man who owns a jewlery shop in Quartu gave us his number and said to call him because he wanted to meet with us!  

Then we were looking for some ex-investigators to see if they had any interest in meeting with the missionaries again, and we met this cute old lady named Adele.  She was SO excited to see us.  She said missionaries hadn't come for 4 years and she had missed them.  

Errand of Angels

We think she is just really lonely, but she was really nice and kept calling us "angels."  Her sister called and she said, "I can't talk right now because I have two angels in my house."  

We had a little lesson with her about faith in Jesus Christ and she kept saying funny things like "Poverino, Gesu" which means "Poor Jesus..." and "I just want to go around and kiss every place where Jesus has walked, I just love him so much"...it was really entertaining.

THEN Yesterday we got TWO MORE investigators!  One is a woman from our English course. We met with her once in the past and talked about the Restoration and she really didn't seem like she had any interest.  I thought she was just meeting with us because she liked us as people and as her EC Teachers.  

Invitation Only

But Sorella Nef and I have been going through the 12-week program and checking our progress to see which of the points we weren't doing very well on. The one thing that I had never done on my mission was to extend the baptism invitation on the first or second lesson... I've actually never done it, ever.  So we made a goal to start being exactly obedient on every point.  

When we realized that, it meant we had to extend the baptism invitation to Rosella in our next lesson.  We were freaked out, haha, but we prepped ourselves and we prayed a WHOLE lot. The lesson was on the Plan of Salvation, and it couldn't have gone any more perfectly.  

It was so cool to feel the way that the Holy Ghost was guiding us to say what we were saying and inspiring her to share some really personal feelings with us.  When the time came for us to extend the baptismal commitment, it felt really natural.  Of course she was really hesitant and didn't say yes...but she didn't say no either.  

Changing

I just realized what exactly we are asking people to do and all the changes we are asking people to make as we meet with them.  Here, even if you aren't practicing your religion or even if you don't believe that church is right, it's still a cultural aspect that these people have had their whole lives.  A lot of people we talk to don't even know there are other options.  A lot of people know about Catholics and Jehovah's Witnesses and that's it. 

Rosella asked me "So if I get baptized, does that mean I have to stop being (the religion I was raised in) and I have to be Mormon?" and I just said "Yes".  

Yes, that's what it means... you have to change your WHOLE life and everything you've known for 70 years.  BUT we promise blessings.  We testify that we know that our message is true.  We testify of the love Heavenly Father has for these people and how he wants them to have this eternal joy that is made possible through the gospel of Jesus Christ and the fullness of that gospel is only found in this Church. 

Important

Missionary work is so hard. We ask people to do really hard things.  But when you realize the importance of the gospel... when you realize that it's the only chance people have at eternal joy... when you know the peace that comes from the Gift of the Holy Ghost in your life... and when you love people enough to want them to have those same gifts that you enjoy, you realize that you have to ask them to do hard things.  

When you realize the real purpose of life and why we are here and where we are going, change and repentance are the most important things we are asked to do and the most important things we ask others to do.  So Rosella is still meeting with us and officially became an investigator, and I'm honestly just glad she didn't kick us out, haha.

Later that night we went to try to visit some people and no one was home and we still had an hour of work to do, so I thought of this man that Sorella Cojan and I had gone to see about a million times and he was ALWAYS busy.  I thought we should try him (mostly because he lives kind of far and we could take up the rest of the time with that.. bad, I know).  

What do we do now?

Then when we showed up, he let us in!  I was so shocked, I turned to Sorella Nef and said "Now what do we do?"  Turns out he has been reading the Book of Mormon we left and he is at Lehi's dream!  

WHAT?!  I had no IDEA where to begin, so I folllowed the advice of Elder Holland when he said "If you don't know what to talk about, talk about the Restoration."  So we did and we have a return appointment and I am still just shocked.

Fears Become Reality

Four investigators in two days.  I told Sorella Cojan before she left, "I'm not afraid to handle the rejection.  I've been dealing with that for 12 weeks.  I'm just afraid I won't know what to do if someone lets us in!".... Fears become reality over here in Cagliari..  Luckily they are good fears.  

We are growing a lot.  We are being incredibly blessed.  Thank you for all the prayers at home.  It really gives me comfort to know that I have so much support.  

Boy do I need it--Especially since the Pope announced he is coming to Cagliari in September and everyone is just beside themselves with excitement.  Wahoo.  

Anyway, my time ALWAYS goes too fast.  I'm just very grateful for the help of the Lord in this work.  My weaknesses have never been so apparent, but the guidance of the Lord has never been so strong either.

With Love from Cagliari,

Sorella O'Connor

(Email Sent - June 19, 2013)

Train or Be Trained

So Sorella Nef and I are taking on Cagliari together! 

In Charge

I'm really happy that I am staying here.  I had a little moment where I thought I might be transferred and I was really sad about leaving all my friends.  But alas, I have at least six more weeks!  Everyone told me that I would be finishing the training of Sorella Nef, and yet when the call came I still freaked out a little.

I was hoping for some comforting advice like, "President really feels that you are strong enough to do this." or "President received really strong revelation that..."  But no... all I get for comfort is, "First of all, we really have no other choice." haha. Thanks assistants!  

But really--There are SO many greenies and not nearly enough people to train them. There are 14 missionaries on the island and only 3 of them are older in the mission than I am.  

So Long, Cojan!

I was feeling pretty good about it until Sorella Cojan left yesterday.  I was really sad having her leave, more sad than I thought I would be.  

It was weird coming home without her and even weirder leaving that afternoon without her to guide us.  Not going to lie, I almost had a panic attack thinking that I was in charge of the work here in Cagliari.  There is so much to do and we are basically starting over in our teaching pool... again. 

Sorella Nef has been so patient with me and I am so glad that she is here.  She is a lot stronger than I am and she is patient with me while I'm still trying to figure things out.  

Strength
I've gained a lot of strength from my prayers.  I am so grateful for the knowledge that as long as I am trying my hardest, Heavenly Father will make up for my many weaknesses.  It's hard because I realize how important this work is and how much I want to be a good missionary.  

Knowing how many weaknesses you have and how often you fail makes it really difficult.  I always thought a mission was just physically demanding, but really it's ALL emotional exhaustion. Ahhh.

Retail Therapy

I'm feeling much better about it today (probably because I went to the Zara), 

But a few extra prayers our way can't hurt.  Like I said, I am so lucky to have Sorella Nef because she is very dedicated to the work and she makes up for a lot of the characteristics that I don't have.  Just check the news occasionally to make sure I haven't burned the city to the ground.

On a much more positive note... we had a really great final week with Sorella Cojan.  Everyone wanted to have us over, and we even were able to meet with some ex-simps and they said they want to start meeting with us again!  Also, all the members had us over for dinner.  Monday I literally ate myself sick.  

We had DDM and since two elders from my district were also leaving, everyone brought food.  Presidente Caravagna surprised us by bringing us food too. THEN we had  FHE with members, and I literally couldn't fit any more food in me.  I felt really rude telling them I couldn't eat any more, but it was physically impossible. It's a rough life.

District with Presidente Caravagna

One of the highlights was last week's p-day.  After I emailed, we met up with the elders and Walter (a member) and two English course students to do a hike to "The Devil's Saddle," which has this INCREDIBLE view of the city and the ocean.  

I took a million pictures but they really can't do it justice.  I've never been so tempted to go cliff diving.  

Doesn't it make you cry I can't get in that water?

No doubt I am coming back to Sardegna after the mission.  They have all these small hidden beaches that you can only get to by boat or by rock climbing down to them.  There is also an old watchtower from the 13th century that they used to look for invaders coming from Africa.  

Sandro took us up.  He is an English course student that lived in Miami for a while.  But he took us on the "path less traveled," which was really, really cool.

Kaitlin and Sandro

Other than that it was just a good week.  We got to visit a lot of the members, which was great for me because now I can remember everyones' names (that's how small the branch is).  I don't have Sorella Cojan to tell me what they are now that she is gone.  

Rafaella, one of my favorite simps that we visited before Slla. Cojan left

Also I am trying to learn piano a little bit for Relief Society.  Apologies to my piano teacher that I fired in middle school... should have stuck with that.

Sounds like life is beautiful in California. Please go to the beach for me... please please please.

With love from Cagliari,

Sorella O'Connor

(Email Sent - June 12, 2013)

Four Months! Scambi in Sassari

Ciao Ciao!

Scambi

We have had a really busy week here in Cagliari, well actually not in Cagliari because we were able to do our first SCAMBI this week! (scambiare-exchange).  

Because the train schedules are so limited from Cagliari to Sassari, all three of the Cagliari sisters took the train to Sassari and we spent about two days there.  We left Thursday afternoon and took the three-hour train ride, which was absolutely beautiful. 

The countryside of Sardegna is amazing. They have tons of nuraghi (small stone castles) just scattered all over the green hills. 

The landscape of Sardegna is really diverse: it has beaches, valleys, and then mountains in the middle.  We saw much of it on this trip (except the beaches... which is the best part).  

Actually, we weren't able to see a ton on the way there, because we had two lessons on the train!  Slla. Cojan had one with a French tourist. 

 I tried to give him an English course flyer and he told me he was from France and I told him my companion was from France (all in Italian which he didn't understand, which explains the confused look he had on his face).   

Then Sorella Nef and I taught a woman sitting next to us on the train for about an hour about the Restoration.  She is (from another church) and pulls the whole "Yeah, just like (my) church" and we are all  "Yeah, actually not quite..."  

That's one of the most frustrating things about a lot of people here is that they agree with our message, but they think it's the same message as the their church.  I don't want to offend someone by telling them that they don't even know what their church preaches.  How do you do that politely?

Sassari 

We had a great time in Sassari.  It's a lot smaller than Cagliari, but it's also a lot older.  

Therefore it's much more like the Italy I imagined I would see from watching movies:  small alleyways and moss growing in the cobblestone streets... big piazzas with packs of old men sitting on pizzas boxes... tiny scooters whipping past you and the smell of fresh pizza in every corner with loud laughter echoing down the alley.  

It was magical... but at the end of the trip I was happy to be back in Cagliari. 

Weaknesses Can Become Strengths

I was lucky because I got to go to most of the lessons they had and didn't really have to do any finding.  I learned a lot about both my strengths and my weaknesses.  I have a lot I really want to work on and really no idea how to get there... so that just means a lot of praying to figure it out.  

Transfer Calls

I better learn fast, though, because we get transfer calls on Saturday and everyone thinks that I'll be staying in Cagliari to finish the training of Sorella Nef.  

That would be cool because I love Cagliari, and I really don't want to leave yet... but it's scary to think they will just leave me here to be in charge.  I'm definitely not that responsible yet.  

I just want to call President and say "Umm... are you aware that you are putting ME in charge of people's salvation and the training of a greenie?" (which I still happen to be myself until the next transfer starts.) 

I think that might put things into perspective.  But we will see when Saturday comes.

Comunque (anyway), some more highlights...

Death by Roller Bag

I had to use an old carry-on I found in the apartment which happened to be the WORST.  Imagine me trying to drag this thing down the street.  Everytime I'd cross a road with a bus coming, my suitcase would flip over and almost cause my death--but really funny looking back on it.

We met this old lady at the bus stop and talked to her for a while.  When we got on the bus, the kids in front of her whispered that we were Testimoni di Gehova and she started yelling at them saying that we weren't TGs, because if we were she would have been swearing at us. haha.  

Thanks for the publicity signora.

Awkward and Confused

We went to a Catholic baptism party on Sunday. Wahoo. One of the member's infant grandaughters had her baptism and she invited us over basically for support.  

It was super awkward because we just had Moroni 8:10-15 stuck in our minds and they were confused about why we were there.  But it turned out great because we got two appointments out of it!  

Also, the mom started breastfeeding her daughter at the party and Anziano Walker was seated right in front of her, so I just watched his reaction for a good five minutes as he tried to figure out how to place his body so he wouldn't see anything... soo funny.

Sweet Moment

I bore my testimony on Fast Sunday and one of the members came up to me and told me that he thinks I'll be a really good mom one day and have a really great family.  It was a really sweet moment.  He is really shy and never talks to anyone, so it was sweet of him to come tell me that. I love the members here.

Me and Sabrina.. one of the members that I always hang out with because she likes to practice her English...

Finding Miracles

Yesterday we had two miracles from our afternoon of finding!  We went and passed back that apartment where the kid answered the door in his underwear, and they let us in and we had a lesson with them!  

He was still really embarassed, so he stayed in his room hah but the rest of the family listened and seemed really interested.  Their older son said he wants to come to church on Sunday!  

We can't technically call them investigators because we need a specific return apointment for that and Italians hate making commitments to times, soooo... we'll see. They said we could come back though!  

The other miracle was a lesson with Ritta and Paolo.  We've stopped by their house a number of times and it's always been a bad time.  (We even left brownies in his mailbox when he went to the hospital, and they ended up sitting there for three days... ooops.) 

Anyway, they let us in and they both were there, and we had a lesson with them too!  He kind of made fun of us for the Word of Wisdom (which always comes up because everyone offers us coffee), but other than that he seemed pretty open.

Anyway.. another great week in Cagliari.

Hopefully I'll have another six more weeks at least, but we will see on Saturday!

With love from Cagliari,

Sorella OConnor

(Email Sent - June 6, 2013)

"Alohomora" - Opening Doors

I feel like there isn't much to update on this week... but I feel that way every week and then it takes me forever to write it all down, so we'll see about that, ha.

We've been doing a TON of less active work.  Any free time we have, we are going to find less actives and try to meet with them.  It 's been really cool because as we've set this goal as a whole district, we've seen a ton of miracles happening with the less actives.  It's really comforting to know that Heavenly Father is working with us to help us achieve our goals.

Welcome Back

One less active that we have been visiting is named Regiane.. she is from Brazil and moved to Sardegna about 4 years ago, but in a town about an hour away so she couldn't come to church.  She just moved to Cagliari, so now she can come back to church!  

We went and visited her this week and she told us all about her conversion story.  It was really fun for me to hear because I have tons of friends who served in Brazil, so it reminded me of how our missions are all just a part of a bigger mission.  

She was baptised when she was 15 and is the only member of her family.  She told us that she would love to serve a mission too!  We are working on getting her to come to church consistantly again first, hah, but it's a great goal to have.

Productive

Saturday was probably our most productive missionary day.  We gave away 4 copies of the Book of Mormon! IN ONE DAY! It was really cool. 

We had a lesson doing casa in casa in the morning (we had to explain the Restoration to her about 4 times until she figured out we were LDS missionaries... Sometimes people forget that there are any other religions than their own), but she said we could come back so that's cool.  

Then we went to Capoterra to find some less-actives and we met this guy named Giuseppe and had a great conversation with him.  He said he is going to come to church this Sunday!  He had a ton of questions and is really interested in the message, so speriamo-- bene per lui.  Anche abbiamo incontrato una donna... oops, English sorry.  

We met a woman from Algeria who speaks French, Arabic, a little Italian and a little English, so we brought her Books of Mormon in French and Arabic!  She was SO excited.  

Cool "Peace Sign" Flower in Capoterra

Capoterra

We loved visiting Capoterra... I'm hoping we go back to visit some more.  It's hard to get there, so we can only really go when it's our week to have the car.  (We share with the elders in Oristano.)  We had a lot of sucess there and the people are really nice (probably because they aren't sick of us yet like they are in Cagliari).  

THEN we got to finish the night with a Kebab at Fratello Vicedomani's restaurant, which is always my favorite.  He makes the best bread in the world.  Slla Nef and I are looking for apartments in Capoterra to move into because we love it so much.

Sunday one of the less actives we had been trying SEVERAL times to meet with came to church!!!  So we were really excited about that!  He said he felt bad for ditching us so many times, so he came to church--hah, whatever works right?  

Then we decided to try to see this other less-active family that we have really been wanting to see & they were HOME and they let us IN!  Another miracle.  Seriously though, because after 3 hours walking down the street and feeling like you are in "I Am Legend"-- aka, the last people alive in all of the city-- it's nice to have someone to let you in. So another miracle getting to have a lesson with them.

What "casa in casa" looks like Monday nights in Italy - Deserted

Helping Hands

Also we have been trying REALLY hard to find service opportunities. The Italian culture doesn't make it easy for people to accept service, so we really have to be forceful if we want to help anyone

(like grabbing-grocery-bags-out-of-old-ladies-hands-forceful.. Okay, so I haven't tried that yet, but we were getting desperate).  

Then on Sunday Sorella Pistida (hands down my favorite member--everyone knows it) asked us to come over and help her clean her house!!! YAY!  They are having a party at her house on Sunday for her granddaughter who is getting baptized (the Catholic way).  

She is a tiny, old Italian lady who can't reach anything, so we got to go help clean.  She kept calling Sorella Nef "Ladder" because she is so tall and can reach everything.  

While we were there four of her friends stopped by, so we were able to do some missionary work WHILE doing sevice.  Thank you Heavenly Father for answering prayers.  We talked about temple work with one of her friends for a while and then we left a Book of Mormon with Slla. Pistida to give to her friend, so that was cool.

How to Work

What I've been most grateful for this week is how Heavenly Father answers our prayers:  when our desires are aligned with his desires, the answer to those prayers fills us with joy.  

As we ask Heavenly Father to help us in specific ways with the work, that's when the work moves forward.  And as we study to know what we need to do and what we need to ask for, the work moves even faster and more effectively.  

Nothing makes a missionary happier than more work to do.  Seems weird, but it's true.   There is always work to do, but the hard part is knowing "how" we are supposed to do it, so I'm grateful that Heavenly Father has been opening little doors for us.  

Alohomora

Speaking of opening doors...I seem to have some magical power of making it happen. 

On more than one occasion have we found ourselves at a locked door that somehow opens at my command... whether its someone who happens to be driving out of the gate at that exact moment, or someone who walks up with keys and lets us in, or even a neighbor who walks on the balcony and asks if we want her to open it. It's become my specialty somehow.

Communque... hope all is well on your side of the world.  Cagliari is beautiful.  Really hard some days, but always beautiful.  I don't know why you'd want to serve anywhere else.  

(Actually I just thought of why:  We were watching The District movies for training and the sister missionaries serving in Texas have goals for like 20 refferals in a week and 6 new investigators.  I think I've had 10 referals and 6 new investigators my whole first two transfers.  

And now I am remembering that the sister missionary in The District reminds me of Jamie from "A Walk to Remember" and that didn't work out so well for her, so I realize that I'd still rather be me in Italy.. sorry Jamie)

With Love from Italy

Sorella O'Connor

Baptismal Font in a Cathedral in Cagliari -

 We also got to go into the crypt where they had a huge grim reaper painted on the ceiling... cool. 

P-days in Italy.

(Email Sent - May 29, 2013)