Hey guys!
Monday:
I had my finishing interview with President Pickerd. It was super weird, especially because I still have 3 weeks left, but in the end I really appreciated it. It made me feel comforted and calmed the anxieties that I have of going home. I just love President Pickerd so much. He is the most Christlike man I have ever met.
I will miss Sorella Pickerd and him so much. They are both amazing, and are people that I will definitely look up to for the rest of my life.
Tuesday:
My last zone conference was definitely one to remember. We have one of the smallest zones in the mission which I absolutely love because we all become great friends really quickly even with the constant change in missionaries.
This transfer President Pickerd is focusing on overcoming plateaus as a mission, companionship, and individually in order to reach new heights.
I got to give a training with the zone leaders about how we felt that our zone could do this. We talked about how love is the great motivator. We shared the story of Christ when he asks Peter 3 times if he loved him and I came to the conclusion that our call as missionaries is very similar to that of Peter's, this is to love Christmas and demonstrate that love through selfless service. He has asked us to leave everything behind for this period of time, and serve loyally until the end of ministry.
I want to share with you the final quote that we shared from my most favorite general conference talk:
"...My beloved brothers and sisters, I am not certain just what our experience will be on Judgment Day, but I will be very surprised if at some point in that conversation, God does not ask us exactly what Christ asked Peter: "Did you love me?" I think He will want to know if in our very mortal, very inadequate, and sometimes childish grasp of things, did we at least understand one commandment, the first and greatest commandment of them all--"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind." And if at such a moment we can stammer out, "Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee," then He may remind us that the crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty." (The First Great Commandment, Holland Oct. 2012)
I also got to bear my finishing testimony along with 3 other missionaries who are leaving with me. The spirit was strong and the testimonies were edifying. Then as we sang the Inno di Roma for the last time, we started to smell a strange odor. After the closing prayer we continued to smell something burning. Someone proceeded to open the curtain of the big chapel window and as we looked outside we saw the entire field across the street from church was up in flames. By the end it had spread all the way around the perimeter of the church. We quickly contacted the fire department as well as local leaders then grabbed the buckets, filled them with water, and started throwing it on the fire to protect the church's bushes. We continued to help the fire department until it was all out. It caught a few more times after that but by then we had a system down and it was all under control. It was actually a huge miracle that we had 16 missionaries there in the church in that specific moment because otherwise things could have gotten a lot worse. And on top of that, the bishop of the Taranto ward was able to talk to the firemen who were so impressed with our desire to help and they set up an appointment with the head fireman to learn more about our church!
I did an exchange with Sorella Bishop this week in Taranto. She is amazing. I was impressed at how well she already knows the area being blown-in only 2 weeks ago. We went out to a smaller town by Taranto to find some people that they have out there and saw a miracle with a less active letting us in and within 20 minutes of talking, she had already opened up and told us her problems. Everything comes with a price though haha. Her nasty dog had been distracting us the entire time and wouldn't leave me alone so as she began to open up to us in order to keep the dog calm I sacrificed my arm and was almost clawed to death by the end of it, but it was worth it! I was really impressed with Sorella Bishop when she used some verses in the Book of Mormon that she had read in her personal study that morning as a way to teach to this woman's needs.
Not being in our area for most of the week, I don't have a lot to report about our work. We did a lot of less active work in these last few days while we were here in Crotone. I've been working with these people for a while now and we're finally slowly seeing the fruits of our labors.
On Friday as we were walking to the church for a meeting, I realized that we had about a half an hour of time that we could still use. It was not long enough for us to go finding so I considered just going to the church and trying to find something to do like make phone calls, but then the thought came to my mind to pass by a less active lady who never lets us in. I was a little worried about the time if we did get in, but thought, "might as well." We got to the bottom door to the apartment building adn suprisingly, it was open! We went up and rang her door and she let us in! We talked in our lesson about the importance of studying the Book of Mormon daily. During the lesson she had made little comments about praying and worshiping at home but then In the middle of us reading the introduction to the Book of Mormon she interupted and said, "I want to come back to church, I really do, I just can't ever seem to get myself to go on Sunday morning." We promised her that if she will read The Book of Mormon daily, and pray to have the strength and desire on Sunday morning, then she will be able to do it. This was a break-through lesson with her. I'm really grateful that we listened to that prompting to see her!We got to see my cute nonnina this week. When she realized that I would be finishing my mission at the end of this month she gave me some of the sweetest advice I've ever recieve. It is especially close to my heart because it came from the cutest little 86 year old woman who is passionate about her love for God and gives everything she has to him. That was the highlight of this little advice session: "Love God for the rest of your life and give everything to him because he has given everything to you."Saturday we went out to a town called Isola with the Elders to have lunch and teach our new convert Precious and her boyfriend Bob. We helped them prepare some sick african lunch. Bob made peanut butter, tomato sauce, and chicken over rice. I know, it seems like a strange combination, but it's actually really good! Precious doesn't like peanut butter so she made some fufu soup and had us try some over our rice. It was...not as good. As we ate we asked, "so, what's in this?" It was full of spinach, spices, and...cow skin! As we looked closer and began to eat the skin chunks, we realized that some of the bigger ones were actually covered in cow hair.... it was... interesting... I love africans so much though. They're seriously the greatest.Yesterday was my last fast and testimony meeting with my cute little Crotone branch. As I got up to bear my testimony for the 7th consecutive month (we always bear our testimonies as missionaries because there aren't enough members to take up the time), I realized just how much these people have come to mean to me. It's true what they say about loving those you serve. Our branch president bore a power testimony at the beginning of the meeting, one that I will never forget. This branch is going through a lot right now. I am so amazed at how he is so calmly and faithfully enduring through these difficult moments.It was his birthday Saturday so we made him banana bread and we all went over to his house Sunday to visit his family and wish him a happy birthday and let him know how much we appreciate him. He's such a good man.I appreciate you guys! Have a great week!love always,Sorella Bonzo
African pranzo
The zone
Calabrian travels
