Bouna Fortuna tutti and vi voglio bene

So this week was super awesome. We finally reached twenty lessons! Some of the latter lessons weren't super high quality but we did have a day that we got 4 lessons within 2 hours. That was pretty hardcore if I say so myself.

My new companion, Anziano Palmer, is a pretty chill guy. We get the work done but we are having a blast with it. We all that we can and then more when we need to do it. We have a few progressing investigators and we hope to see some baptisms soon but I think my first one will be this V woman who doesn't get back for two weeks. Due to the very few active members and the large number of less actives, we have to do a lot of member work as missionaries. We have home teaching assignments, we have talks every other week, we bless the sacrament every week, we run an FHE program for the single members and the less actives, we have to do an English class, etc etc. Just a lot of work on the member side but we are seeing the blessings roll in from them. Especially when we get invesigators from all the side things that the members do that we aren't involved in. The Relief Society especially is super strong here.

Finding new investigators is very very difficult here in Pesaro. Pesaro is a very vaction city. Everyone comes here for the beach. So they are either there, sleeping, or working. No one is at home. If they are, they just aren't interested which is frustrating sometimes. Everyone does come out at night though when everything is cooled off though but we have to go in! Timing just isn't working. But we are getting prepped for August because that is when everyone in Italy basically has the entire month off. So they come to the beach. Game time for us here in Pesaro.

I did do a Scambio the other day with Anziano Duque. He is 10 years older than I am! He has already gone through college and is getting ready to get married when he returns from his mission. Pretty crazy. He also served as a branch president while a missionary because there wasn't enough Priesthood power in a city. That just sounds like it would be difficult. Being a missionary and a branch president.

It has also just been hot here. A humid hot which is the worse. We have been taking three showers a day just to get the stink off of us. A bike ride to the church (two minutes long) from our house makes it so that I am just sweating all over already. The heat is just killer. There is no way to escape it either. Bleh..........

Ah. Fun side note. Anziano Palmer pulled out a cd he had that is all Disney songs in Italian. It is super weird to listen to because I totally expect different words but it makes sense to me still.

Well, next week is interviews so I'll discover if I need to go home or not (scarzo, scarzo). Got some of my mail this past Monday but hope to be seeing more this next Monday as well.

Bouna Fortuna tutti and vi voglio bene,

Anziano Rockwood

Transfers and Missionary Time

Ah.... Transfers. That was fun. Cost a bit of cash but we got everything we needed to. Went all the way up to Milano and saw everyone there. Big group of missionaries, had a few hours to just relax and catch up with everyone. Got some American food. Good old times. Got my new companion Anziano Palmer as well. More on him later. Saw my old companions from the MTC and got to see who the new Zone Leaders are going to be. Just seemed like one big party. Unfortunately we didn't see the new guys since they don't get to the station until later in the evening but oh well.

So Anziano Palmer. What a chill guy. He knows how to work hard and have fun at the same time. So far we have taught more lessons since Monday than I ever have before. The lessons are also super powerful. We taught one lesson on Saturday that just flowed super well. We passed off nicely, we asked the right questions, we could feel the Spirit. It was super cool. We also have mixed up our eating schedule a bit. No longer am I eating pasta everyday. Had some awesome Italian hamburger things, then we also had a weird day where we were just tired so we made some good old egg and pepperoni sandwiches. Delicious. Palmer comes from Arizona and knows Colorado fairly well. Both of us have generally the same interests so we are just a power team. Going to get to work and do it!

Another fun day here in Italy was the fourth of July. Had the guys come up from Ancona and we held a district meeting then had a little party for lunch. Got some pizza, got some gelato, sang the America hymns. Just a super sweet day for Merica. Other than that the day just came and went. I figure most holidays will be like that beside Christmas. Only other days we have "off" is January 1st and August 12th. Because apparently there is no one at home period. They are out partying for new year's or they are out at the beach for some big all of Italy off work day. Time here seems to fly though. It feels like yesterday I was just stepping off the plane but it also feels like I can't remember the lessons I taught yesterday. The mysterious time bubble of the Lord's Work has struck again. Wow........ What did I have for breakfast 3 hours ago...... ? Bo. Still remember the time I ate some sweet ice cream cake ball though. That was super good. Evil time bubble is evil.

Been reading a lot in the Book of Mormon as well. Just so weird how nearly every scripture just jumps out at me. Everything seems to apply to the work that we are doing here. Even the little scriptures that I have never heard of before or probably didn't think were significant are just popping out left and right. Now I just got to get my investigators to read the book. People just seem to not have any time. "Ha cinque minuti per un breve misaggio?" No one has five minutes anymore! But they have time to watch TV or just sit on their porch. Super frustrating.

We did find one of these guys we had been looking for for the past 6 weeks. Caught him coming up the stairs as we were leaving his front door. Taught him a sweet lesson and now we are going to go have lunch with him sometime. Also going to be playing some calcio with the Elder's Quorum today. Or some policonestra. That should be super fun. Planning a huge P-Day trip in 3 weeks to go up to San Marino and check that place out. Apaprently it is one of the best spots to just go and see. Still haven't done anything too special for P-Day but we have some planned for the upcoming weeks.

Also holding our first FHE tonight with the ward. That should be super fun. Making some brownies. Some mana brownies and preparing a sweet lesson with some Phase 10 on the side. Going to grow this branch up till they don't know what to do with all the unity and love but spread it to everyone else in this city. Looking forward to it.

 

Well, love all ya'll and looking forward to hearing from you. Don't be afraid to email or write. Just remember that writing will only get to me every 4 or 5 weeks. If you want a letter to reach me next, write me addesso. Because the next time I get letters will be on the 18th.

See you all in 15 transfers or 8 Conferences or 2 1/2 pregnancies (ah missionary time, so awesome).

Anziano Rockwood