Tired Bears

Hello all,

Oh this week. Ooooooh dear. Well, last Wednesday we were supposed to get the car fixed but there were some problems with our credit cards that couldn't be resolved until at least Monday. We had Zone Conference in Catania on Tuesday (about two and a half hours away) and we were running around like headless chickens trying to figure out solutions. Every time we came up with a solution for how to pay for the car or how to get to Zone Conference (because we can't take our broken car long distances), it was swatted down. We're pretty sure there's a reason for all of this... but it's always frustrating to take a couple hours stressing over solutions just to have them washed away like a castle in the sand.

But we took some breathers and stared at the ocean for a little bit until we got ourselves together. And in the end, it worked out. Our final solution was to wake up at 4:30, drive to the train station, take a train to Messina, and then have the elders in Messina give us a ride from Messina to Catania (about 3 hours). Our other option was to drive through cow-strewn roads for an hour or so and hope to take two buses to Catania (4 hours). Yay Sicilia! But we made it, and Zone Conference was great. We got a chance to interact with other missionaries, which is rare for us. In Mistretta, we're pretty isolated, so it's nice to swap stories and get support with people who understand the work. I feel recharged and more ready to face work when we get back to Mistretta.

Let's see. Here's a good story. We've been doing more finding in Capo D'Orlando, a city relatively unexplored by missionaries. We were walking down the street and a man, Antonio, was coming toward us on a bicycle. He took one look at us and make a sharp stop, wanting to know who we were and why we were so "clean." He is very very Catholic, but you can tell he's a reader and a thinker. He told us, "I know my church is the true church because it was established by Jesus Christ!" and we said "Hey! Us too!" Chuckle chuckle chuckle. He said he would talk to us more, but were we willing to take the risk that we might convert to Catholicism? We said, "Yes sir! As long as you can take the same risk!" Then he got on his bike and said, "Follow me, I'll take you to my house!" We haven't taught him anything yet, but it's always encouraging to talk to people who are open. So thumbs up for Antonio!

Then yesterday we had Zone Conference. Zone Conference is a big gathering of missionaries from all of Sicily... it's always in Catania, so some missionaries are already stationed there. Other missionaries spend sometimes half a day getting to and from. But all thirty missionaries on the island of Catania are together, and we spend most of the day getting encouragement, training, and lunch.

The gem from Zone Conference is a quote by Richard L. Evans:

"If we cannot learn to love imperfect people, we will live a life without love."

Amen. Well said!

After Zone Conference, we came to Sircusa (an hour south of Catania) for our preparation (break) day. It's a nice big city and a nice refreshing change. Yay change. Yay for me learning lessons from these hard things! Yay for me changing!

Shout out to Apple Valley: Elder Clay Lacey is in Siracusa and says hi to everyone.

Also, letter shout out to Mom (thanks Mom!), Ingrid (GLITTER!!!!), David Ruvalcaba, and Jerry B. You guys are great! Your letters always manage to get to me. So thanks!