Weekly Letter

     I knew this would have to happen sooner or later, but I have to say that exactly 5 months after starting my journal that I got from my dad and which holds an account of everything I've done from the 24th of June to the 24th of November is full. Not super exciting or anything, but now I'm on journal number two, and I wanted you all to know that. 

Pizzas eaten: 40

- This number hasn't changed much because pizza is not very good here in Sicilia. They prefer to focus on the Canoli and gelato, so those numbers will be climbing quite a bit while I'm here. 

Gelato Eaten: 31

- The gelato here is served on a bread bun. I mean ok, sounds weird, but it's really not when you realize they have chocolate, cinnamon and just sweetened rolls for after you've eaten most of the Gelato. 

Book's of Mormon: 55

- This number will not be going anywhere for a few weeks until we get more book's of Mormon in. Because Sicilia is an island, and we happen to be in a very secluded part of that island, we don't get mail very *surprise!* often. 

1. Not your average week

2. Zone Calcio

3. Mission Conference

4. Catching the Bus

5. Cool thing that happened

Not your Average Week

     This week started off (or ended technically because here in Italy they start their weeks on Monday, not Saturday) with a two hour bus ride from Agrigento to Palermo so we could go to the stake conference that was being held there seeing as church was canceled where we live that day for this conference. We got there with exactly five minutes to spare, carrying all of our bags and such because we planned to stay there for good four nights. 

     The reason for this is we had mission tour that wednesday and also a zone calcio (soccer) planned for that Monday where we played for two hours and I, not being the most apt runner, stayed by the goal and just defended for two hours racking up most of the bruises on either side except for maybe the goalie on the other team because he was there the whole game and we weren't being very nice when it came to kicking the ball softly. Mission tour is basically General Conference for missionaries where one of the apostles or member of the seventy comes and talks to us.

     This time around we had Anziano De Feo come to talk to us. Massimo De Feo, he gave a talk in general conference in the April session of this year. He is a wonderful man and I got to shake hands with him four times. I say that because all of the times except for one were unexpected and a little awkward for me. More on this later. 

Zone Calcio

     So as you might have guessed, Soccer here is fairly more popular than football or basketball is, or any other sport. It makes sense that the Anziani gravitate towards it because there are not many basketball gyms and even fewer basketballs but Calcio (soccer) is in abundance. We pay five euro to rent a pitch (field) for every person that plays and then we get an hour or two depending on how busy they are that day or what they rates are. 

     Nobody got seriously injured but we all got some pretty nice bruises and the next day we were all very sore and incapable of much speedwalking or sudden movements. 

     To end our Preparation day we went to the senior couples house, Sorella and Fratello Smith because they have wifi and they bake cookies every Monday for the horde of missionaries that comes over to use this wifi and send their emails home. The cookies were awesome and I was able to meet the Smith's before they went home. They left on the 23rd so they could have a late Thanksgiving with their family and just finish their year and a half with a good meal. 

Mission Conference

     Mission conference lasted from 8 am to about 4 pm with a lunch break somewhere in the middle. The senior couple that lives on the American base here in Italy brought a whole bunch of Dr. Pepper and A&W because most of the missionaries here had not had one for about a year and a half or longer. I was not one of them, so I let everyone else have the doctor pepper while I had my root beer. Italians really don't like root beer because it tastes like their cold medicine. However, they have this drink called bitter that tastes like our cold medicine that replaces root beer. I laughed a little when I figured that out. 

     Anziano De Feo is a very nice man who an Italian native, from an area in our mission and who also served in our mission so naturally he likes this mission a little more than most all the other missions in the world. 'm not saying that, I'm just repeating what he told us. There were some very good things pertaining to missionary work that he mentioned, but the thing I want to share with you is what he told us about our Mantle as a missionary. 

     He said "I hope you never feel like an accomplished missionary. Say this because, the calling you have is much greater than you could ever hope to fill and if you feel accomplished then you are tricking yourself into thinking you've done all that you can do. That is wrong. There is always more to do."

     Now, he said this with love. But it also translates to any calling in the ward or branch or church where you live and are a part of. If you have a calling, try not to feel accomplished. Do your calling, learn it well, and magnify it. There is always room for improvement, so if your are ever feeling comfortable thinking you've done all you can remember "All is not well in Zion. There is always something to do." 

Catching the Bus

     After conference, we all got our flu shots, said goodbye to all the people that were there, and started our journey home. We had to take the Tram to get to the bus station, and boy did we have absolutely no time to spare. When we got to the bus station, my companion started to sprint, leaving me in the dust because I was carrying a duffel bag and a few other things so I was loaded down. I kept up with him for a moment or two and then h lost me because he's a fast little guy and I am not the most apt at running. 

     If we missed this bus we would have to take another tram back into the city and spend another night in palermo because it was the last bus out of the city. However my companion told me that he felt like if he sprinted the whole way there, we would make it onto the bus. So he sprinted and he caught the bus as it was starting to pull out of the station. He got the driver to open the doors and then distracted him until I could find the bus and get on board. 

     We tried to sleep on the way back but I couldn't even fit in the bus seat so that's how my two hours went. We got home safe and sound, and exhausted. 

Cool thing that happened

     We invited our English course to come to church this Sunday because we were having a primary activity, and they all said they would try but we didn't have very high hopes because we knew it was a half hearted reply. However, Francesca, the lady we helped after course for an hour last week decided to come by because her church gets out a few minutes after ours starts, so she was a few minutes late, but thought it was super cute watching all the little kids sing and hearing everyone talk. 

     After church, one of the members came up to her and introduced herself to Francesca and they hit it off. Francesca also said that she wants to come back next week for church so she can be there for the whole three hours and not just the last hour which for us is sacrament. 

     The whole branch was excited to see someone new and they all told us that we were doing great work and wanted to have us over for lunch or dinner sometime this coming week. 

*bonus*

Your antipasta recipe is this: 

Tuscan tomato soup

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 diced white onions, small

5 cups canned tomatos

1 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 cups heavy cream or milk

1 cup basil pesto

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook onion in oil until translucent at medium heat in a pot big enough for all ingredients to go in. Add tomatos, bring to a simmer. Add broth, simmer 15 minutes. Add cream, pesto, salt and pepper. Blend to make smooth, makes roughly a gallon, and is better the next day so don't feel like you need to eat it all on day one. 

1. My comp and I on the tram 

2. This rose is all over Sicilia

3. We made cinnamon rolls

4. My companion in front of a very strange tree

5. All of us after zone calcio

6. For those of you who have been to my house, you will recognize this spoon.