The Parable of the Dog

Mom! You are such a good photographer!!! You are going to take all of my business by the time I come back! ;) But it's okay! I'm glad you are developing your talents!

 
On Thursday and Friday we did an exchange and I went to Rome 2, the heart of Rome! And I was with all Italians! I was so scared for it because I would have to speak Italian the whole time!! But it actually went really well! I realized that I am better at Italian than I thought and we did a lot of good work. We taught a family, it was their first lesson. They had a 14 year old boy and a 11 year old girl. They were so interested in me being American (all Italians LOVE america and we have such an advantage over the Italian missionaries) and I showed them my pictures and they loved it! Everyone is so amazed by the ranch. Anyway...I was telling them about the Book of Mormon and the little boy had his face in his hands just staring at me. In the middle of telling them about Lehi he says "Sei una bella ragazza" "You are a beautiful girl".  I just awkwardly smile at him and proceed talking about The Book of Mormon. haha 

My Italian exchange companion Sorella Caramia (my dear in Italian).

All of the Italian sisters I stayed with for the exchange.

Saturday we got transfer calls! It's so crazy that I have already been out for 12 weeks. Time flies! But I will be staying in Roma 5 with Sorella Wightman, but Sorella Mitsvotai will be going to Foggia to open up that area to sisters! I am sad to see her go, but "secret" time....we knew she was going. Wanna know why? Well there are these candies here in Italy called Kinder Eggs and they have a toy in them. It is a tradition that before every transfer you get a Kinder Egg to guess where you are going....Sorella Mitsvotai's egg was a turtle with swimming gear (Foggia is down South on the coast) and Sorella Wightman and I got the SAME toy!! 

Our Kinder Egg Toys

We also went to a baptism in Roma 2 on Saturday. It was so great! The first one I have been to in Italy. It was for a little African girl named Maria. She is 14 and so sweet. The spirit was so strong. The day before when I was in Roma 2 for exchanges I taught a lesson with her and I asked how she found the missionaries and why she was getting baptized and she just said "I felt happy. I just feel so happy now". She doesn't speak well...but it spoke tons! 

 
We also went and saw the progress of the temple!!! I CANT WAIT FOR IT TO BE DONE! It looks so good and we even got to see them putting a piece of Granite on! It looks like about half of the outside has the granite. I am so excited! 

Temple view! far left is the stake center...then the temple...then in the back right is the arrival center and then in the front right is the visitors center.

Putting a granite block on the temple.

The whole month of August, in Italy, is vacation time. Terrible for missionaries because nobody is here to teach or find, but great for the members because they get to go to the Temple in Switzerland! The members here in Italy are beyond amazing. They spend their whole week of vacation time to go to the temple. They drive 10 hours and stay the whole week in the Temple housing and do temple work for their vacation. It is such a sacrifice for them, but they look forward to doing it all year. On Sunday all the members were talking about it and just so excited. But they are even more excited for the temple here in Rome! 

 
Getting married in Italy is so so so expensive. Rent is beyond control, they have to travel to a different country to get married in the temple, and they pay for all of their family to go to Switzerland or Spain and be there. Our ward mission leader has been engaged for 4 years trying to save up! On Sunday Sorella Guidara was telling us about how excited she is about the temple being built here and how happy she was when they made the announcement. She has 3 kids and she always stressed about how they would get married because it is so expensive and takes so long. She said she never imagined in her life that there would be a temple close enough that all of their family could be there for their weddings! It makes me so grateful that we have temples so close. We could go every day if we wanted too! We definitely take it for granted. 

 
So secret time....I never told you this because I knew you would freak out....but I got bit by a dog a few weeks ago. Don't stress! It didn't even break through the skin....but let me tell you the parable of the dogs. I have decided that dogs are of the devil. really. How many horror stories have you heard about missionaries and dogs! They hate us! And it's because they know that we are servants of the Lord! 

 
(Matthew 8)

28 ¶And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.

29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

30 And there was a good way off from them an [pack of dogs] feeding.

31 So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the [pack of dogs].

32 And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the [pack of dogs] : and, behold, the whole [pack of dogs] ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.

let me continue this story for you! The pack of dogs actually knew how to swim! And they survived and are now dispersed though out the world torturing missionaries! 

"Attention to the Dog!" it should say... "Attention to the devil!"

Update from last week: I found a great talk by Elder Holland! "Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence" (read it because it is amazing) but he said something really great! "we cannot sign on for a battle of such eternal significance and everlasting consequence without knowing it will be a fight—a good fight and a winning fight, but a fight nevertheless. Paul says to those who thought a new testimony, a personal conversion, a spiritual baptismal experience would put them beyond trouble—to these he says, “Call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions.” ... In Latter-day Saint talk that is to say, Sure it is tough—before you join the Church, while you are trying to join, and after you have joined. That is the way it has always been, Paul says, but don’t draw back. Don’t panic and retreat. Don’t lose your confidence. Don’t forget how you once felt. Don’t distrust the experience you had. That tenacity is what saved Moses and Joseph Smith when the adversary confronted them, and it is what will save you.

I suppose every returned missionary and probably every convert reading these words knows exactly what I am talking about. Appointments for discussions canceled, the Book of Mormon in a plastic bag hanging from a front doorknob, baptismal dates not met. And so it goes through the teaching period, through the commitments and the baptism, through the first weeks and months in the Church, and more or less forever—at least, the adversary would pursue it forever if he thought he could see any weakening of your resolve, any chink in your armor"

I was also studying chapter 4 of Preach My Gospel, Recognizing the Spirit, and it says "If we do not heed the gentle feeling, the spirit will withdraw and wait until we come seeking and listening".

Speaking this new language took away some of my confidence. And that fear stopped me from obeying the promptings of the spirit. But I have come searching for it! And this week I have been listening to it and amazing things have happened!

Well that's all for now folks! I hope your weeks have been going great!! I still haven't found stamps! Ugh. My letters are going to be so old by the time they get to you! I'm sorry!! I feel bad not being able to email you all back, so I wrote you each a letter. But when I can get some stamps you will have lots of mail!! Also tell Courtney and Kendall I don't hate them either! I will send them letters when I get stamps!

And I have one request! Could you order me some hair thinning shears from amazon uk? I don't need a hair cut, but the thickness is so hot! Also if you could maybe google how to thin your own hair and send me some tips in an email! I would love you forever if you did this for me! But if you don't I will still love you for eternity.

Sorella Wiltbank!

It has been raining so hard! And when we were in Rome the streets were flooded!

My watch tan. Dad are you proud??