End of transfer #1 in Italia #goUSA

Hi family!!!!!!!!



So a couple of fun facts this week, I found out that I actually like figs and we got a baptismal date with one of our investigators!!!



We had a lesson with Elena and we were trying to talk to her about the plan of salvation and clarify that we don't believe in reincarnation and so as we were doing so, she brought up baptism (just a little side note: she has been meeting with the missionaries since January. She is very intelligent and speaks English and Italian and likes to relate everything to science.) We asked if she would be baptized on September 10 and she agreed. So that was really cool.

Unfortunately she didn't come to church yesterday. She had to go to the funeral of a friend’s mom haha. Italians!!! 


This week was a little bit abnormal because we had scambios (exchanges) with the Crotone Sorelle. Crotone is in Calabria and is five hours away from Taranto. We took a three hour bus to another
little city called Sibari and then took a train from there into
Crotone. The train was only one car and let's just say we were really
lucky we made it there safely. The Sorelle picked us up and took us to
Lungo Mare which was really pretty.

Anyway we did some English course finding there and the
people in Crotone were so friendly. They have a lot of different
nationalities of people there. Much more than Taranto and a ton of
people on vacation there so that was fun to experience that.

The next day I was with Sorella Condé. We had three lessons planned
that day and the rest was finding. All three of the lessons fell through so it was just a day of finding!! Which is not my favorite and I'm not very good at it,
but I'm a lot better than I used to be at it so there's a start.

It's
also fun finding because there are some people on the streets that
have really strong testimonies and they just aren't ready yet.

Sorella
Condé told me that it takes a person seven times at least to hear the
gospel before they accept it. So who knows whether we are the first or
the sixth, it is still one less time that the future missionaries will
have and hopefully will help prepare these people even more to hear
this message.

The Crotone Sorelle had cleaning checks so the Lahadernes (which is
the senior couple here in Taranto) went to Crotone to inspect their
apartment. We got to drive home with them to Taranto instead of taking
a bus or a train which was really nice and super fun.

I absolutely
love the Italian countryside. It is so beautiful. You drive along the
coast so you get to see the turquoise waters of the ocean and the
beach and then there are like mountains on the other side. Or hills
and flocks of sheep and vineyards for miles. It is an incredible
sight, but my favorite thing are the olive trees. I think they are so
cool. Their trunks are twisted, they don't grow straight up, and they
have a lot of knobs and hope in the trunk as well, but they are
sturdy. It just reminded me of Christ. How he suffered in the garden
of gethsemane on those olive trees. A perfect being amongst so many
imperfect beings.



Crotone was great, but I'm really happy that I'm in Taranto. I love
it. We had a ward party on Friday night that was super fun. The
parties here start at 8:00pm and go until like midnight which is
super inconvenient because we go to like an hour, if that.
This time we got permission to stay until 9:30 because we had
Cristina, our investigator there. It was great to be able to talk to a
lot of members and get to know them a lot better.



We also got to do a Gesso this week
in a city called Statte.  (A gesso is where you draw something or
write a question on a bed sheet and do it in a piazza where a lot of
people are, so they are drawn to you and ask questions, etc) The Anziani in Statte have been struggling so Anziano Lahaderne picked us up and also the
Taranto Anziani and drove us to Statte. I got to play the violin and
Sorella Flansberg drew and I think it was really fun for the Anziani
to have a change of scenery with finding so that was fun to be a part
of.



Our meal appointment yesterday went much better than the past two
weeks!!!! We had it with the Anziani so that was really nice because
they eat wayyyy more than us and I didn't feel as guilty not eating as
much, thus not feeling as sick after we finished the meal. It is the
same thing every week at every house. You start off with pasta, always
with red sauce. Then you eat the bread. After the bread there is meat
and Sorella Mazzelari (whose house we were at) made meat that was not
sausage!! So that was a change. It was kind of like a pork tenderloin.
After the meat you eat the salad. After the salad you eat the fruit,
which is always watermelon at this time of the year, and after
watermelon you eat the dolci. Which is cake and ice cream haha. And if
you don't feel sick reading all of that food then I guess you'll just
have to come here and try it yourself. It tastes delicious and I could
never get sick of it. Just really full.



Today is FERR'AGOSTO!!!!!! Meaning we made it through half of the
summer woo hoo! Absolutely nothing is open today so we had a deep
cleaning day in our apartment which was fun. It's so nice to feel like
you are in a clean house.

This week they came out with the "Teachings of the Presidents: Gordon 
B. Hinckley" and I have been reading that. It is an incredible book.
He accomplished SO many things that benefitted the church and was just
a happy man all around. There was a quote in it that I loved that his
wife Marjorie said. She said, "The only way to get through life is to
laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer 
to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.” That is some really good advice
 that I hope I can live the rest of my life by.



I love you all and miss you.

Sorella Lucy Ann Gochnour

we share the same birthday!!

Gesso in Statte