L'ultimo settimana della MTC!!! (The last week of the MTC)

Ciao!!

This week was an adventure! For those of you keeping tabs on the Italian/ French feud, there has been a surprising change! After the tours stopped, they set up two Volleyball courts! We have united and now are allies taking out the Americans, Japanese and the Koreans with our amazing volleyball skills.  (we actually are really good, who knew foursquare would help with my volleyball skills, lol)

In other news, there was a time this week where it seemed like my passport and visa had been lost and I was going to have to stay stateside for another 6 weeks, or longer.  Fortunately through prayer and an amazing worker at the MTC travel office, my travel stuff was located!  (basically I got an email one morning (from the person who was supposed to have my passport/ visa) asking for a picture of my passport/ visa.  Considering that Sorella Ewing had just been told that she was going to be going to Washington for 6 weeks because of a similar issue with the same SLC travel office person, chaos commenced.  

Included below is a (somewhat blurry) pic of all of us at Sorella Ewings "mission call opening"

Also included is the time that Sorella Pacheco and I had our hair braided together. That picture has most of Le sorelle and Anziano Dunn and Anziano Lambardi.

Exciting news!! I leave at 4:50 am on Tuesday to go the SLC airport.  I will then fly to Dallas and then to London (where all the fun customs stuff will happen), then I am off to Milano!

One of the biggest things that stood out to me this week was following the Holy Ghost.  Sorella Pacheco and I have been planning on teaching our investigator Matt the second half of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  However every time we would start the lesson we would be guided to give a different lesson.  Each of those "on the fly" lessons were some of the best lessons that we have given.  I know that they were as good as they were because we were following the promptings of the spirit. We have three more lessons with Matt.  We will see if those any of those three lessons turn out to be the lesson that we have been planning for over a week now.  Also yesterday after infield orientation (9 and a half hours of meetings) we had class.  Our teacher had a game planned for us to play for the majority of the class, but one of li Anziani had a question.  We all sat in a circle and had a really good conversation.  The spirit was so strong, and before we knew it the class time was over.  It was a really good end to a really long day.  

Infield orientation was actually really fun.  We got to sit next to two of my best friends in the zone (Anziano Dunn, and Anziano Empey).  We were all really good at the beginning of the meeting, but a person can only take so many hours of meetings before they begin to become delirious.  Fortunately whoever planned this meeting put the play last for us so we were able to "get our giggles out" without being disruptive.  By the time dinner rolled around we were laughing at everything.  There was this one part in the play (it was meant to be a comical take on our first little bit in the field) where the elder playing the new elder calls the Bishop (one of the leaders in the church) to ask if he can do something.  He ends up getting the message for the voicemail and starts talking before the beep.  Then when the beep comes he was like "I'm an idiot."  Which of course is the first thing on the recording.  It was probably my delusional state, but I was laughing so hard I was crying.  I don't know why that was so funny for me, but I still laugh every time I think about it.  

Another part of infield orientation was learning about how to find people to teach.  That was really fun! I am apparently good at talking to strangers and getting to know them.  My roommates actually joke about that a lot.  I will be washing my face in the bathroom, or walking back home, or something and I will start talking to a stranger.  Before I know it I’m either going to finish my conversation with them in their room, or I'm bringing them back to my room.  I never realized how good I am at making friends.  

Also, we had to teach for a little bit in English and that was surprisingly hard.  Sorella Pacheco and I have been doing a lot of English fasts (we don't speak any English for a day) and our lessons have been like entirely in Italian from the beginning.  I started one lesson in Italian, and then had to restart in English because the poor elder we were teaching didn't speak Italian.  

Oh! Funny story!! One of the punishments for speaking in English on an English fast day is that you have to bear your testimony to a stranger in Italian.  Sorella Pacheco and I both messed up, so we decided to co-testify.  This is how it goes:  We see these two sisters sitting in an office waiting for the receptionist to come back from lunch.  We both pop our heads in the door (literally all they see is our heads, mine on one side, sorella Pacheco's on the other).  Sorella Pacheco starts.  She just goes into it Ciao! Io so que..... no explanation.  Then I join in saying I agree with my companion, and would like to add my testimony that...... only all of that was in Italian... these poor girls were so confused  I close with nel nome di Gesu Cristo amen (In the name of Jesus Christ amen), ciao, grazie! and then we went off to class.  It was so funny!

I'm so excited for Tuesday!! The next time I email home it will be from Italy!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! okay.... freak-out over.... for now... 

Ciao!!

Sorella Nelson