Forward with Faith

Dear Family and Friends,

How can I best describe this week? Emotional? A Rollercoaster? Fufilling? Eye opening? Boh, maybe I should explain all that occured and you can be the judge.

The festa for San Giovanni really started it all. Remember when I said it was crazy last week? Well the party just kept going. We worked hard on advertising our free English Group since it would probably also be a little rude to proselyte during the religious celebration. On Tuesday, everyone in Ragusa was probably on that street and piazza near the Cathedral and things were crazy! Everyone was buying candles, waiting for San Giovanni to come out in an explosion of confetti, etc. so we waited patiently for that and then proceeded to talk to people. My favorite conversation was with twp ragazzi that started with his cool superhero shirt and they totally want to practice English. Sadly, they are going to school in Torino but we it is still worth it. We did our best for a while but then the parade decided to come on the street we were on and so we couldn't stop anyone that wasn't in procession following the statue. I loved it though and bought peanuts to prove it (seriously, it was half fair, half sacred tradition) with fireworks at the end to cap it off.

All in all it was a normal week. The finding techniques (i.e. violin playing in a park, cleaning up a piazza, etc.) didn't work out so well but we did our best to represent and just go and serve. Today during our P-day in Modica we helped an English couple involved in a car crash understand the Italian that hit them and they were so very grateful for the translation we did for them. My motto for finding has now become, give them something to marvel at.

We happened to be in Vittoria one day to see Sorella Ferraro. After the lesson, she invited us to pranzo so we went out to search for another less active member which didn't work while she was preparing the pranzo. While walking through the park, a group of ragazzi called us Jehovah's Witnesses and usually, I would keep walking, but now I've learned this is a good chance to explain who we really are. So we went, talked, and they really had no interest but we at least explained the Book of Mormon to them. Then we probably had one of the best pranzos ever! The blessings of missionary work here in Ragusa!

Really highlights of the week were seeing Salvatore from South Africa again who wants to start reading the Book of Mormon, having a cheesecake competition between the Sorelle and us where the members judged at a ward activity, Anziano Mars picking elderberries and making jelly in his spare time (yah it's pretty good!), and helping our ward mission leader set up and clean up the church for the 18th birthday party of his son (it's very big in Italy).

Poi, we taught a lessons with Sebastiano. Things were looking really good, we were teaching well, understanding his needs and such, and trying to get the ward on board with it (all of which was slightly stressing me out because I've never done this before). But the lesson we had the night before, Sebastiano explained how he doesn't feel quite ready yet, he believes in the Book of Mormon but feels bad for missing church last week and wants to feel more secure with knowing that God really exists. It is totally natural to afraid of change so I understood quickly, despite the huge disappointment that it was. I love him a lot so I hope he will take the chance and make the commitment in the future!

I went into the week knowing that it could easily be one of my last here in Ragusa, so as we say in Italian, I was going to spacca tutto! (go all out!). Plus we were approaching September, which people finally returning, new opportunities, etc. But with all that expectation, it turned into stress quickly and I found myself not living up to those expectations I wanted. Things weren't turning out how I expected and that did disappoint me, I felt weak. One night I turned to God and poured out all the feelings. And since then, I have gained understamding of how I can improve and realized how much I have grown since I started here in Ragusa. This has been a city of miracles for me, partially because of the experiences I have had, but mostly what has changed in me. Nothing ever has gone according to plan and for the rest of my mission it probably will be the same. The greatest lesson that comes from that for me is learn what God wants me to learn and also just never give up, because that's the last thing God wants me to do haha. I don't know where I will go because I am almost certain I will go somewhere and have to leave all these bellissimi membri, investigators, and experiences. But I move forward with faith that there is somewhere else I need to be.

Vi voglio bene!

Anziano Price