31 Jul 13

31 Jul 13

This week was pretty interesting. It was really long to. Ill explain why sometime, but before I forget, Mom I havent gotten the package yet, but we get mail at zone conferences. So dont fret cause im sure ill get it then. Its in week four of the transfer (in the middle of one right now) so well see.

So Muggio! Its different. The church is in Muggio, but we cover like thirteen little cities outside of MIlano. Its a big change. Its like going from Salt Lake (except like a real big city) to covering cities like HOlliday, Sandy, etc. (except like the size of Fillmore). Work is going really well. Weve got two bap dates that are solid, so we should be getting some baptisms this transfer! There are tons of people to work with to, theyre just ALL out of town. We called a lady the other day who said "Im in the mountains until October!" So weve been doing a lot of finding work in the park. THats why the week has been so long. At Lampungano we were going from appointment to appointment, or passby a less active. Here, the buses only go like every hour, so if our appointment falls through we kinda stuck in that city.

We live in four here! So fun! We live with our zone leaders, Anziano Moore and Ackerman. Anziano Ackerman is the exact mold of a Hutchins boy, so thats been fun, and I dont really know how to describe Anziano Moore. I like him aton though. Then theres my companion, Anziano HIllyard. Hes really really quiet, but I like him a lot. Hes starting to open up a lot though, and his personality is a lot like Jacob Loceys. So im surrounded by familiar faces!

Its been exciting being the senior companion. Anziano Hillyard is a transfer younger than me, so were relying on my Italian a little more. My Italian boosted a ton with Anziano Miller because we only spoke in Italian, so im making Anziano HIllyard do that outside the apartment. Its hard to do it inside the apartment in four, but oh well. Its been a huge confidence booster to see that I can do this work and dont have to rely on a senior companion to hold my hand.

Speaking of Anziano Miller though, im proud to say that the good habits I learned from him are sticking. I make my bed every morning military style (when I use the covers. We dont have AC and it doesnt drop below 30 in our apartment, so I dont use them very often) and my desk is spotless. Still clean all my dishes after I use them (dishwashers dont exist in Italy yet) and ive excercised well every morning! I still even go running with Anziano Hillyard every other day. Thats been my biggest accomplishment because I HATE running.

Weve met some interesting people here. The capi (zone leaders) taught a guy two days ago who believes hes the reincarnated Joseph Smith. He kept asking "So do I need to get baptized by you, or do you need to get baptized by me?" One of our investigators thinks that hes an Avatar. I havent met him yet, but im really excited to. Then, the other day we ran into some ladies the other day from a different church. They asked us to go talk to them, so we did. We started the lesson, and one of them said to me "Did you know your religion is classified as false?" And I said "Yeah, by who?" And she said "I read it on the internet." Its a good thing that A. Im becoming more Christ like and B. I dont know how to say "Youre an idiot" in Italian yet. I explained that she could know the truth through reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. We went on and (how it goes with all the people who try and Bible Bash with us) theyll argue points that we agree on (Satan is evil because he tempted CHrist after he fasted 40 days) and think that it proves us wrong. Then finally she said "I have to tell you, I got baptized into your church. I got a head ache afterwards, and so I stopped coming." Thats when we just ended and said "read the book of mormon, and when you want to talk about it, call us" and left. Im learning how to avoid people like this haha.

Sunday we got invited to eat at a members house. They live far away, so we had to take bikes. The problem is, Anziano Hillyard and I dont have bikes. So they capi have two, then theres one broken one. So we took the bikes, the capi rode double, and we got there. I really hope that im in a bike city next time because it was SO FUN! There werent any hills and we had to go kind of slow so the capi didnt, like, die, so it wasnt tiring. But I really liked it, so well see!

Thats pretty much it. Oh! Thats so cool that Brad saw Sorella MaCnamara (I think i spelled that wrong. Actually I know I spelled that wrong) (Mac nu my rah). Shes super cool, one of my favorite people ive served with!

But yeah, thats it! Glad everything is going well at home! Keep CTRing and reading your scriptures and stuff!

I love you all! Thanks for all the support!

Anziano Christian Fife McKinnon