Okay, so I'm training. Yup, and it is SO different than last time and I'm learning so much.
Sorella Montagnoli is from American Fork (so check that stretch of I-15 off my companion bingo card). Both parents served in Catania, late 80s, so she understands Italian pretty well. And she's younger than Ian, yeah I feel like a grandma, but so it goes.
And these days I live in tranquil little Forlì and I feel so good about being here. We've already made great plans about uniting and loving this little branch because they are in need. I'm starting to feel like a normal missionary again, the first few days I spent too much time doing through lists of lists and calling peeps and looking at maps and I feel like I have a rough outline of the city in my head, meno male because my baby never knows where we are.
We got her a new bike, one of the anziani bikes was totally shot, like had no breaks, so we're back biking again and yes my butt is sore and no I've never been happier. We've found some great parks that hopefully will be more full of people once the rain lets up. Did some rainy casa yesterday, the funniest. It wasn't rainy when we had left the house and we had gone to visit these great less actives from Nigeria, Veronica and Betty, and they insisted we take this huge funny not quite rain coat and I looked a right fool in giro, but hey, people are starting to learn who we are, the only two bikers wearing helmets and skirts that greet everyone as they pass. But Forlì is such a bike friendly city it's awesome. It doesn't feel all that like Italy sometimes, more like Madison in some areas.
Another cool thing I wanted to say, on our train down here last thursday I was talking to the woman sitting across from me, heading home down south now lives in VARESE! I was the happiest I was like "Wait really, I lived there for 6 months and LOVED it, seriously!" SO we chatted and I realized at the end that in the hustle of packing up my whole life again I had no pass along cards (cool move, Sorella Bush), so I had this little book where I had stamped in the sorelle info in Varese, so I wrote here this little note that had the church address, website and the sorelle's number and told her about English class and stuff, she was the nicest, I'm praying she does some how get in touch with them.
I'm sure I'll tell you all about Laura and Alberto in the future, this great family the anziani have been working with for awhile who are literally beautiful. There's supposedly one other solid investigator the anziani were working with but we can't see her til next week. But today I wanted to tell you about Serena and Francesco.
So here in Forlì I have another senior couple to take care of me, the Jeffries. He's Branch President, and they did a service project at the pharmacy with the anziani a while ago and met this beautiful couple. They're Italian, 25 and MARRIED* and beautiful. They had initially said they would be down for meeting with the missionaries but then changed their mind. Well last night we had dinner with them at the Jeffries, and at the end we had a little thought from the Book of Mormon, and then explained what it was. There was a beautiful spirit and somehow when I testified of the Book of Mormon it hit him (he even said, mi colpisce tanto) what I had said about not always being good at reading, it but something changing and now it's changed my life and we was like what changed, what happened to make you open the book,
We had a beautiful discussion and at the end, Sorella Montagnoli said that we wanted to keep seeing them to see the blessings that would be coming into their lives and they were like, "Yeah okay." They are the coolest. They remind me of italian speaking versions of some of my best friends. Love them.
Got the most beautfiul email from Chiara about her baptism, made my heart explode, about how she literally felt reborn and how she was so sad I wasn't there and how she's already preparing to serve a mission! This work is eternal, love it.
IAN! I'm excited for your baptisms coming up, it's the coolest to see people change and how that short moment of baptism determines eternity and just opens the flood gates.
Life is good. I feel like I drag through the first bit of a new transfer trying to not miss the chapter, or chapters I've already finished, but now that I feel like I have my feet under me and ADVENTURES and miracles are happening, time is starting to slip between my fingers.
BUT JUNE 18TH!!** MOM I am the happiest!!!!!!! Okay, with out thinking too much about it I'll try and figure a bit of a plan. Forlì doesn't have much to see really so I bet we can spend a day here just to see everyone, organize an evening in church or something, and the Jeffries said we could stay in their apartment here. So yeah. Couple days in Siena, to see the city my peeps and especially the Gori's. Bergamo, hop over to Venice with the Capelli's if your down and Varese...bo...***
Love you all madly.
s.b.
Explanatory footnotes notes from the amanuensis:
*Italians never get married before their 30, and many are not getting married at all. 25 married couple is unheard of.
** Stephanie bought tickets for her and Whitney to fly back to Italy a few days after she gets home.
*** Not a typo. Bo (the vowel is a schwa sound) means something like "I dunno...we'll see...not really sure...not important right now..."
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