This week was also great for a couple of other reasons: I had my first root beer float made with gelato and got my transfer call! First off, I should probably explain that this transfer was only four weeks instead of the normal six weeks. This is because the mission wanted to send the outgoing missionaries home before the Christmas rush, to save money on plane tickets. And, as I kind of already knew, I'm staying in Pistoia and Anziano Gibbons is transferring to Padova (a city near Milano). It's a little sad knowing my time with Anziano Gibbons is about to end. We are two very different people, but we've been through so much together... After going through a lot of hardships and happiness and spirit feeling with someone, you tend to get pretty close!
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| Gibbons and I about to eat pizza! |
But, my new companion is... *drum roll please*... ITALIAN! I don't know much about my new companion other than the fact that his name is Anziano Mastino and he's from Sardegna, Italy. I know that most Anziani in the Milan mission don't ever get the opportunity to have an Italian companion, so I'm on cloud nine right now. Hopefully I'll be speaking fluent Italian after my eight week transfer with him. ;) Although, all the members have been making fun of me when I tell them that my new companion is from Sardegna because apparently they speak such different Italian in Sardegna that a person from Tuscany can't even understand them!!! ;p
Speaking of Italian, this past week was our only-Italian-speaking week! Granite, we weren't 100% successful in speaking only Italian... But, we did pretty well. It was HARD! Trying to comprehend Italian all day is incredibly mentally draining. There were nights during this past week where it literally felt like I just got back from another all-night Senior grad night party as I was headed to bed. However, I'm so glad I stuck through this week though because I feel likmy Italian is a lot smoother and I can comprehend the meaning of words I know a lot faster. At district meeting on Monday, we celebrated our Italian-speaking week with brownies and cake (oh how I miss the brownie mix from Costco)!
I have a not so great story to tell you about this week... Yesterday, Anziano Gibbons and I made a lady in our ward cry! We had a lunch appointment at an old retired couple's house and when we got to their house, we went inside and didn't see the husband anywhere. So, Anziano Gibbons asked the lady if her husband was currently home (we can't be inside any house with a woman if their isn't a male 18 years or older present). When she answered that her husband would be home soon, Anziano Gibbons told her that we had to go and that we would be back in 20 minutes. So, after 20 minutes of tracting around some nearby neighborhoods, we returned to the lady's house. This time, the husband answered the door. However, when we went inside the house, the lady started telling Anziano Gibbons and I how un-Christ-like it was to leave her when she said that her husband would be home soon. She then left the house, with tears coming down her face, and said she needed some fresh air. We felt TERRIBLE! The husband still let us eat lunch at their house, but it was really awkward (especially considering the wife was the one that made the lunch). Moral of the story: be careful of your words and actions because you never know how other people are going to perceive them. Anziano Gibbons and I should've left the lady's house a little less fast than Joseph of Egypt left the house of Potiphar's wife, so we could've explained why following our mission rules with exactness was so important. ;p Luckily, after we had eaten lunch, the lady returned in time to hear our spiritual thought and seemed and she seemed to have forgiven us. But, I definitely think we owe her some cookies or something.
Besides from the lunch appointment faux-pa, December in Italy has been a great experience for me. There are Christmas lights and decorations everywhere! We've been passing out A Savior Is Born pass-a-long cards by the hundreds and it's been fun seeing them laying on the ground all over the streets of Pistoia and Prato (if we're seeing them on the ground, other people are too ;)). I really hope the A Savior Is Born video will touch the lives of some people and prompt them to give the Pistoia missionaries a little call to learn more about our Savior. This is a great time of the year family, but don't get too caught up in all the glamour of the world. Be thankful for your warm beds, work and education, and homemade chocolate chip cookies. I see poverty all around me and know that our family has been extremely blessed. What are you guys giving Jesus for Christmas?
Ciao tutti,
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