Laugh. Pray. Be Grateful! Repeat.

Once again, Annie is learning how important the simple things are. 

Laugh. Pray. Be Grateful! Repeat.

Sorella Viazzo and I are just... laughing all week. I've never laughed so hard with a companion. Everything that happens to us---the good, the bad, and the ugly---just has us rolling in tears of laughter.

For example! We were on the train and starting talking to this man across from us (I'll call him Marcello). We just start chatting in Italian and Slla Viazzo is trying to keep up. The phone rings and I have to answer it, so Sorella Viazzo, sweating bullets, takes over the conversation. "I only know four questions in Italian: what's your name? Where are you from? What do you do for work? and How are you? ... so..... What's your name?" Bwhahaha. She killed it! I get off the phone, we keep talking, we invite him to English course... and -- IN PERFECT ENGLISH -- responds, "Oh, as far as English, I don't need it. My mum's from England." You should have seen the look on Sorella Viazzo's face. Priceless.

Prayers. Sorella Viazzo and I have undertaken a program of intense PRAYER. Our motto: "If you believe it, you will receive it!" We're believing and praying. You know. Because we didn't do that before on our mission.

I've realized that my prayers are ONLY effective if I first thank Heavenly Father for all the things that I have. I HAVE to have an attitude of gratitude. If not, my prayers become selfish, whiney, and arrogant... and they do me no good. There's something about thanking God for all the things I have that makes me much more open.

I was thinking about Mr. Holland's Opus this week. I actually haven't seen it in years, but if I recall correctly, Mr. Holland spent his whole life helping individuals, but felt his life was a failure because he never was known for this opus he was composing. It's only at the end that he realizes his opus is his life.

I think that's a lot like the mission. I'm not here to create this great masterpiece... to have this one culminating moment that affirms to me, "Aha! This is why you're here." But it's only after I do all of the small things that I can look back and see that, combined, those things did create a masterpiece. "Aha. THIS is why I was here."

PICTURES!

...789: We did chalk drawing again this week. We drew the classic plan of salvation on one bed sheet, but I wanted to try and "branch" out. Bwhahaha! So we did one on family history. The text reads: "Who are my ancestors?" with a line from Mario Rossi (the Italian equivalent of John Doe) leading back to Machiavelli, Garibaldi, Eleanor Roosevelt and Joan of Arc. Don't ask how one many can descend from two Italians, an American and a French. Then "Family History." No success, but it was fun to draw a tree!

...789: I love my companion so much. She has these great "as seen on TV" hair contraptions to make buns... and, of course, this is what resulted. None of the Lord's proselyting hours were harmed in the making of this photo.

SHOUTOUT

to David Ruvalcaba! Thanks for your letter this week. Tell Jerry I'm sorry he never got my updated address, and that I hope he gets my special package from Rome soon! 

Okay, I love you all! Say hi to the mountains for me! And go watch Mr. Holland's Opus!

love

annie