Hello again!!!
This week was a little bit crazy and might be a little bit boring to read so I'll just try to include all of the details.
Auguri is what all of the Italians say instead of like happy holidays or Merry Christmas. It also is in their happy birthday song and is what you say to people when you are saying like congrats. But I think for the blanket term it basically just means "wishes" so there's a little language fact.
This week we built a stage for a musical!! After hours of drawing lines to look like wood on brown paper and fire to go in a fireplace and a sign that says "Marley and Scrooge" we were able to help our ward perform Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". It turned out really cute and to have had everyone memorize their lines, costumes done, and a set built in a month is pretty impressive if I do say so myself haha.
Then we took a bus ride to Catania to do a scambio! There were so many people there!!! If I get transferred to a big city next I am not going to know what to do with myself! There are way too many people to stop everyone. The first half of the day I was kind of in a daze because I didn't know what to think about all of the people surrounding me. Sorella Demann and I were talking about it and were saying "there are people passing us that we aren't stopping!! This never happens!!!" Haha, but it was fun. They have a ton of beautiful Christmas lights and we went to the center of the city and sang Christmas songs with a bunch of the missionaries and some ward members and it was a very fun experience.
We cut out a bunch of paper snow flakes this week and went "snowflaking" to some members in our ward. It is basically the same idea as heart attack I but instead it is with snowflakes. It was very fun because I got the thrill of doorbell ditching (but when they opened the door there were snowflakes and a note on it!!) and also was quite funny trying to get into people's apartment buildings. There are just a bunch of names on a citofono and you can't ring the person's bell because then they know you're coming!!! Everybody seemed to really love it and it is always nice to know that there is someone thinking about you.
On Christmas Eve we had a little Christmas breakfast as a district and we read the 12 gifts of Christmas which I absolutely loved. It is so important to remember the things we have been given that we take for granted a lot of the time. Like sight, smell, and taste. And the gift of our Savior Jesus Christ because without Him we wouldn't have any of those things. At about 8:30 we went over to a member's house and got to participate in their little Christmas devotional. Usually it starts at 9:00 pm, but they started it earlier for us and President Pickerd allowed us to be out a little bit later than usual so we could stay a little longer. Us missionaries sang a song (which probably sounded absolutely terrible because it was a cappella and the Anziani are both sick, but it's the thought that counts right?) The family gave a spiritual thought and then Babbo Natale came! Christmas Eve is a little bit interesting here because santa comes and hands out all of the presents and everybody just opens there presents right then and there all at the same time. And then after santa comes you eat until one or two in the morning.
Christmas morning we went to church and partook of the sacrament!! Christmas on Sunday is so much more spiritual. It is such a blessing to be able to partake of the sacrament on the very same day that Jesus Christ was born. I am going to miss singing Christmas songs in Italian next year also. We went over to the bishops house on Sunday for lunch and then I got to talk to you guys!!! Best day ever!!!
Funny experience that happened yesterday night. Every single night at 10 o clock we have a mission prayer where all of the missionaries in our mission pray (in their respective homes) for three specific things. So I was writing in my journal and then it turned 10 pm so I got on my knees and it was Sorella Demann's turn to say the prayer. She said that she finished saying amen and I just stayed like that. She was so confused and couldn't figure out what was going on. She thought I was maybe praying and then five minutes later realized that I was asleep. I woke up at 10:27 and said "I fell asleep during my prayer!" And she said, "No. you fell asleep during my prayer!!!" Haha oh man. I never thought I would be asleep for 25 minutes on my knees but it has now happened hahaha.
This week as I was studying I read a talk given by Elder Robert D Hales titled, "waiting upon the Lord: thy will be done." In it he talks about how we must be patient as we wait on the Savior. There have been a lot of people who have waited on the Savior. We waited for Him in the premortal life to say here I am. Send me. And the people waited for Him to come to the earth and to minister to them and to atone for their sins. The people in Heaven waited for Him to return to His kingdom and here we are waiting for Him to come once again. We must wait with patience, but we also have to act and to have faith. The good news is, He will always come.
I love you all and hope you had the best Christmas ever!!! Mine was definitely one to remember. I hope you all look forward to this new year and bringing lots of hope and joy and goal setting!!
Much love
Sorella G
Sent from my iPad
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