Living in Color

AUGUST VACATIONS.  Well, we are seeing the beginning of Ferragosto (month of August=whole population on vacation), where the streets and parks are no longer full of people to contact.

We have resorted to house-to-house finding, and in fact one man walked by as we were doing so, recognized we were Mormons, and said in English, "Oh are you going door to door like the Jehovah's Witnesses?"  So of course we talked with him.  He said he had lived in England for several years and had at one point taken the missionary discussions.  We left our contact information.

ENGLISH CLASSES.  In the absence of many people, I decided to try the same thing for English class that worked in Ferrara: tagging street signs with English class flyers.  So now there are Perche Egli Vive ("Because He Lives") cards and English flyers around town.  Hopefully it will lead to higher numbers at English class.  It did in Ferrara.

POSITIVE CHANGE.  I went on an exchange with one of the Zone Leaders yesterday.  It made me think of how grateful I am to have had Elder Kormylo as a companion these past 8 weeks or so.  We get along really well, and I enjoy doing missionary work with him.  I've had some companions I get along well with and some I don't, but the change from unpleasant companions in an unpleasant area to a great companion in a great area blew my mind.  Life has color again.  Obviously everyone has a different experience, and changes their perspective accordingly, but I'm much more calm and content here.

When we went to Henry's house last Thursday they had prepared a little meal for us to eat, and were very hospitable.  his wife, Julia, accepted a baptismal date and seems very excited to make the choices Henry has made.  We're very much looking forward to working with her.

(On his dad flying to Houston for the week.)  That sounds neat, being able to fly to places for work.  I want that to be part of my job, going here or there.

(On his dad reminiscing about those he taught/baptized on his mission in Spain.)  I hope to remember the people I baptize, but it looks like it'll be easier for me, since I'm baptizing fewer people.  Obviously, that's not the main point of a mission, but it is the most sought-after number. From what I've seen so far, I think the person I'll probably keep in contact the most with from here is Ann.  She was the new member in Udine who always had us over for dinner and we called home from her house on Christmas Day.

Love, Anziano Whitesell