Does everyone know why I love Italy? It's because every day I get to make discoveries like the following:
1) The best coconut gelato I've had in Italy. Thanks, Professoressa Klein. You were right. (My companion hates dairy, but I forced her to at least try one gelato while with me. The attached picture shows her pain.)
2) In Italian, the Powerpuff girls are called the "Superkickers." Their names are Lolly (Blossom), Molly (Bubbles) and Dolly (Buttercup). Bwhahahaha.
3) Good thing I have Sorella Viazzo as a companion, because I'm making discoveries with her that are completely changing how we do missionary work. GOOD THING I'M FIGURING THIS OUT AFTER OVER A YEAR. Bwhahaha. My incapacity to learn these things early on in my mission amuses me. Anyway, we've started to try and find more... mmm, natural ways to talk to people. Perhaps all of you know, but being a missionary, we're always trying to look for people to talk to, to get to know them, share our message, and help them in their lives. But how do you do that without being a salesperson?
Whenever we are on the train, bus, etc. we FORCE ourselves to sit next to someone (because it's really easy to just sit in the empty seats). And then we say: "Excuse us, we're learning Italian. Can we practice with you?" They say yes 95% of the time and then the conversation just comes. We also tried it on benches in the park yesterday and it worked. I also got a free book out of it!
Basically, Sorella Viazzo is the bud of greatness. Soon she will bloom and flourish into a fantastic, capable missionary (Viazzo family, if you're reading this: good job!)
4) We took a trek to Rome for last Pday (Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, gelato, colesseum, etc.). Also? We got Dr. Pepper and black beans! Does everyone realize these are the first black beans I've eaten in 14 MONTHS!?! Considering it was a staple in my diet before the mission, this is a big deal. And by staple I mean, I would have stapled my stomach shut if I couldn't have eaten black beans and rice for the rest of my life. So we cooked them and they were delicious.
5) Alright, WEIRD SPIRITUAL THOUGHT TIME!
This morning, I was thinking about a song I used to run to called "Perfect Day" (by Hoku, if I'm not mistaken). If I remember, the lyrics go something like this:
It's a perfect day
Nothing's standing in my way
I could stay
Forever as I am
In the race but I've already won,
And getting there is half the fun
So don't stop me 'til I'm good and done
Don't you try and rain on my
PERFECT DAY
Obviously, I used this as a motivational song to help me run (for those who don't know, I love running... but only after I've stopped). But I was thinking about how... I don't know, twisted? the lyrics are. The expectation that we have these perfect days where we find happiness. What does that say about the days where it (literally and metaphorically) rains?
Sometimes, we think that we can't cope with trials. That we only want the perfect days ("I could stay forever as I am"). We avoid hard things. We don't push ourselves. Why? Because we're scared. We prefer the easier status quo. But hard things are OKAY. And we ARE capable of doing hard things.
Sorry I'm one of those freakish missionaries that is trying to cast out Babylon in a simple pop song. I just want to bear my testimony that DIFFICULT THINGS are good for us. We don't seek them out. But they do come. It is inevitable. And we can grow from them.
Some of you may remember a talk I heard my freshman year of college, "Lessons from Libery Jail" by Jeffrey R. Holland. That talk treated this very subject and I think that talked changed my life. Elder Holland said: "You can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experiences with the Lord in any situation you are in. Indeed, you can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experiences with the Lordin the most miserable experiences of your life—in the worst settings, while enduring the most painful injustices, when facing the most insurmountable odds and opposition you have ever faced. ...We will face things we do not want to face for reasons that may not be our fault....But the lessons of the winter of 1838–39 teach us that every experience can become a redemptive experience if we remain bonded to our Father in Heaven through it."
(For the whole talk, see: http://www.lds.org/ensign/2009/09/lessons-from-liberty-jail?lang=eng)
So. That's all. You can do hard things. All of you. You wouldn't be on my email list, otherwise.
PICTURES
...810: I force my poor greenie to eat gelato.
...817: Our relationship
...829: Black beans!
SHOUTOUT to Meish and Jerry! Thanks for your letters. Expect responses in the soon/near/far future.
I love you all. It's almost September! CANDY CORN IS JUST AROUND THE RIVERBEND!
love
annie
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