I feel like I always start my emails with some kind of news with our travel. Don't worry, I got my flight plans and I'll be leaving THIS MONDAY! But, there was another mistake with paperwork and for the same reason that we couldn't fly out last week, all of the Milan missionaries have to spend an extra week here and won't be flying out until the 21st. I feel really sad for them..I can't imagine thinking you'd leave march 7th then finding out you have to stay until the 21st! My whole district is going to Milan except my companion and I. I just keep realizing how much I am going to miss everyone. I love all of these people so much so while I am beyond excited to go to Italy, I am not excited to leave all of them behind.
Last week I forgot to mention that we got to do a Skype TRC which means that we got to skype a member in Italy (unless they can't find one for you then you have an RM here in Provo skype you) but regardless they're fluent in Italian. So last week we got to skype Milca. She is from Milan, Italy but is currently living in Texas because she married an American guy. It was so cool to teach her though, and I decided to have faith rather than fear of what I would say, and I know I was blessed with the Holy Ghost bringing words to my remembrance. And through my broken Italian, I was able to share personal experiences with her as well as my testimony of gospel principles. We were supposed to do it again this week but when we got there they said that they didn't have anyone for us to teach so I got to experience my first cancelled teaching appointment right here in the MTC haha. In Italian they use an idiomatic phrase for cancels which translates to "they threw us a big trashcan"
We finished teaching Lucia on Thursday with one of our best lessons up to that point. I have been praying for the gift of tongues and I know that I've been blessed with remembering the words to say. She finally committed to a date for baptism which coincidentally is Emily's birthday (March 21st!) We began teaching Gennaro (Fratello Sloan) this week as well. He was a great guy, and I feel like we had some really good lessons with him, but in the end, he was not ready for baptism--the same thing happened in real life when Fratello Sloan taught him on his mission. (our teachers always play simp's that they've had in real life) We also started teaching each other as simps. We all chose someone we know who needs the gospel. It has been fun playing a simp and even better teaching the sorelle as their friends. Neither of them (their friends) believe in god or had any desire to learn about the gospel when we started, but as we've worked with them, we've helped to grow that desire. It was really difficult and frustrating at first to try to teach someone who didn't care about anything but it has helped me and taught me soo much about finding needs and helping people have the desire to know the truth.
I almost forgot to talk about culture day!!! since the first day, almost every time we'd ask Fratello Sloan something about Italy he'd say "ask me on culture day" so we have been waiting for this day for a long time. He usually does it on the last saturday we're here but he's going out of town this weekend and he doesn't teach us today because he's our morning teacher so we did it on wednesday! He showed us a ton of pictures from his mission and it made me sooo excited to finally get there. I guess it's also tradition for your teacher to guess your first area so for Sorella Rushton he guessed Badi and somewhere in Sicilia (sicily) for me. We would both love to go to those places so i hope he's right!
Okay funny story for the week:
I was talking to Anziano Palombo at lunch and it's hard to explain what we were talking about anyway, he's like "I don't know how they do it in Utah, but where I come from, we have these things called cows." (keep in mind that he's from Tennessee and has a slight southern accent) I just gave him the strangest look. But then I realized that he was talking about Computers On Wheels that we also had at my high school. It was soo funny though..know that i type it..it might not be as funny for you but oh well!
Okay Okay one more funny story..
Fratello Walden (another Italian district's teacher) was telling us about the first lesson of some Anziani in our zone who will be going to rome with us. They thought that he was a real italian investigator and that he didn't speak english. I guess it was not going well at all so one of them was like (in english) "I know you don't understand me, but I doesn't matter what I say, all that matters is what you feel. And I have faith that the spirit will translate what I'm saying for you." Fratello Walden's just like "Non ha capiso." (i don't understand) HAHAHAHA
It is my last P-DAY here. The next time you'll hear from me I'll be in Italy! So if you plan on sending me any mail or dear elders just to be safe, I wouldn't send anything later than noon on Friday because our mail room closes early on saturday and isn't opened on Sunday. Also, I just want to let you know that I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY and I have LOVED this MTC experience! I hope that you can tell by my emails. And I know that there's no way that I would have enjoyed it this much if it weren't for my amazing Zone, district, and especially my companion. One minute we're having these deep gospel conversations and the next we're in tears because we're laughing so hard. I don't think I've consistently laughed so much in my life. I am going to miss her soo much.
Thank you all for being so supportive and wonderful! I appreciate all of the emails, packages, letters, and dear elders! Wish me luck as I start a new journey in this great adventure!
My first week in the MTC I set some goals for myself that I wanted to accomplish before I left here: 1. to be comfortable praying in Italian 2. " bearing my testimony in Italian 3. increase my testimony of Jesus Christ and of His doctrine. As my time here is coming to an end, I can happily report that I have completed all of these goals and although I still have a lot to learn, I am excited and as ready as I can be to go and serve the people in Italy. With this knowledge I know that I will be able to bring people closer to Christ and fulfill my missionary purpose.
I love you all!
Love, Sorella Bonzo
Email to my branch president:
the girls of my district:
my district on our last day with Fratello Sloan (we have a trio of elders and our teacher is the furthest left)
