Dear Family and Friends,
Today so far has been an awesome day! Our friend/investigator, Sebastiano, drove us far out into campagnia (the country) where we saw one of his family's old houses all the way at the very bottom of Sicily, in Pozzallo. Typically, the more wealthy Italian families have old houses in campagnia that they either use during the summer time for vacation or they just don't bother to take care of it or sell it. It was such a crazy drive on windy roads through rolling hills, going the typical Italian speed (when it said 30 kmh, Sebastiano said that means 80!) It also doesn't help that the road is sometimes really narrow and sometimes the lanes aren't marked. The house was super cool and big, the pasta was great, and the cannoli were even better. I don't think there was anything that could have replaced a day like that.
In general, that's what seems to be the theme of my mission. Every day is unique, even when not a lot happens. One day we were in Catania on a scambio and were trying to do finding at the universities. We were talking to a couple students when all of a sudden a whole class comes running out of a classroom into the hall. Turns out it was a "smoke break" even though there was a no smoking sign. I asked someone next to me who explained, "Va bene. The window is open" :\ Boh! We also went to one university that was ancient and seemed like a medieval castle. Nothing really resulted from it but we found this bookshelf where you could place books you want other people to take and read. We may or may not have put a Book of Mormon on the shelf ;)
Then other days it may seem just like ordinary street finding. But I always try to remind myself, yes you are finding but you are also finding IN ITALY! It doesn't really surprise anymore when we find ourselves trying to introduce ourselves as missionaries to others in the sight of duomos, cathedrals, and ancient statues. As of yet, no one has expressed true and meaningful interest in our message of the restored gospel but Anziano Albright and I have hope for this next week especially since it's almost Pasqua (Easter)! By the way, Anziano Albright are doing great together as companions and his Italian is coming along a lot better. Our new hobby is singing along to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and other songs we can listen to as we drive long distance to Gela and/or Catania almost every week. We also are continuing the cooking tradition and we finally got to make the ultimate Italian dish, lasagna! And for our first one, it wasn't that bad. Note: Keep in oven longer so it isn't liquidy, but not too long where it burns.
But overall, God has given us some really tender mercies. First off, the member here are amazing! Every one of them has a great love for the church and are always grateful for the missionaries. We met with some members this week and the Spirit was there in each of the lessons. We decided to show everyone again the message of Thomas S. Monson to read the Book of Mormon and through it, strengthen our testimony of Christ. There was one lesson where Sorella Campo held back tears as she expressed how she hadn't had the opportunity to watch conference yet and felt this really was God's will for all of us. It's really a great gift to feel the power of the Spirit in these lessons. Even Sebastiano, who has been meeting the missionaries for a long time, showed a lot of change this week with trying to read the Book of Mormon every day.
But really, the greatest tender mercy is just that, mercy! As a missionary, I have come to realize how much I owe God and how much I need to depend on him. He gives us his mercy, the opportunity to change and be better every time we fail because he loves us! It's easy for me to get down with difficult circumstances, with trials, and with self-doubt but God knows I have greater potential than that! I am striving to become like Jesus and place my all my focus on the work here in Ragusa and finding all the children of God who are ready, rather than on my weakness. I just know they are here somewhere!
Vi voglio bene!
Anziano Price
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