Sign Art Around Florence

SIGN ART.  And maybe you can see all of the sign-art now.  Signs around town, where someone creative has painted pictures on the signs, of people "using" the symbol somehow.  I've taken pictures of almost every one I've seen around town, so I would guess that covers maybe 80% of them.  There are clever people working on those.

Training, Tag-Teaching, Traditions

Well I don't have any huge new stories this week -- no hurricanes, wipeouts, UFO's, or other crazy nonsense.  But I do have transfer news, and I have put more pictures on Box :D !!!

TRANSFER NEWS: I am staying here as District Leader, and I will be training a new missionary.  Woo-hoo!  Anziano Kormylo is going to Lecco, way far north, and I will miss his company.  But we've discussed a lot this "new companions" business, since not knowing anything about the people we're going to be spending 24/7 with for the next 6-12 weeks is, well, kind of scary.

I've decided that, on the positive end, I could get an Australian (or Brit) who already speaks Italian and shares my interests.  On the negative end, I could get an anti-social, card-carrying member of the K K K with no desire to learn Italian and who has never left his home state.  That would be really disappointing.  I would probably cry.

 Realistically, it's probably going to be somewhere in the middle.  Probably an American, probably knows some Italian, probably gone/going to BYU.  We'll see.  I'll pick him up from Milano tomorrow.

LEARNING FAST.  Julia is still progressing nicely towards baptism.  We're on track for the 5th, and without any foreseeable hiccups, I think we can manage that.  We're tag-teaching with the sisters, since she is usually home during the mornings, but without her husband.

So they teach her then, 2X/week, and we teach Saturday evenings, when Henry is also there.  So with pushing from us and the sisters, she is learning quickly.  She has also told us that she reads the pamphlets with her boss (she works as a caretaker for a 91-year-old lady).  So that's neat.

Henry had his interview for the Aaronic Priesthood.  Unfortunately, he left before Priesthood Meeting, so he doesn't have it yet.  Next week --

We've also visited many members this week, so Anziano Kormylo can say goodbye.  It's neat, seeing how the missionaries can get close to members over the course of a few months.  I got close to Ann in Udine, but in Ferrara there weren't as many members.  So Firenze is a different experience in that regard.

SABBATH DAY.  The Stake President held a meeting just before Ward Council about keeping the Sabbath Day more holy, which is apparently a church-wide push.  They rearranged the schedule of church and put Sacrament Meeting in the front, instead of at the end.  And he brought up things like setting examples for our children in how we treat the Sabbath, and how families can start traditions to keep children focused on the Gospel.  See "The Music of the Gospel," Wilford W. Andersen.  Good stuff.

For meals, I cook rice dishes, pasta-pesto, mac-n-cheese-n-sausage, and sloppy joes.  A variety.

I'm looking forward to the next several weeks, as people get back from vacation and work goes along.

Love you!  Anziano Whitesell

Stretching, Scrapes and Saldi

Ciao!

Yes, we were surprised at the hail and at the man's reaction, too.  I have taken out the frisbee twice, but I've definitely lost some skills.  NOT throwing, for hours, 3X/week takes some muscle memory away.  Same for piano.  I can still play Black Pearl and Have a Nice Day, but Wizards in Winter, He's a Pirate, and Skyrim are completely gone.  It's very sad.

GOOD TIMING.  I gave a talk last Sunday, with two other missionaries.  No, I'm not leaving yet, (so far as I know...we get transfer calls Saturday), we just got assigned to give talks.  And he said "7 minutes," and I gave a 7-minute talk, didn't have to stretch it!  There was a Seventy (church leader) from Brazil there, named Massagardi, so he gave a talk, too.

SUITS.  I bought a suit last p-day, from Gutteridge.  Most of the 'suit stores' look intimidating, because you know they cost a ton (hello, Boggi).  This one looked classy, but was on Saldi (sale).  It's a blue suit, which I haven't tried before.  I wasn't about to do the anchorman burgundy or green suits, but blue is a good color.  My grey suit is fading some, I've worn it quite a bit...and biking in it can't help.

 Also a few weeks ago, I got a leather bag.  A side bag, but a little smaller than the one I took to college.

BIKE MISHAP.  Another thing that happened, on the way to a service project on Thursday to clean up debris from the storm,

I was coming down the hill on my bike and turned, and skidded out, leaving a nasty scrape on my forearm, just below the elbow.  So I wasn't hurt during the storm, just after.  And of course, the only thing to do was wash it off and go to the service project.  And then at English class, people asked, "What happened?"  It stung pretty bad the next day, but now it's scabbed over, healing nicely.

Also, chances are I'm training a new missionary, this next transfer.  I don't know for sure, but it's likely.  I'll find out Saturday.

Well, that's all for this week.  Have a great week!
Love, Anziano Whitesell

Not in Kansas Anymore

ONCE UPON A TIME.  Today, I will tell you a story.  It was a politely cloudy day, with a slight chance of rain.  My companion and I had just finished a lesson with Henry and his wife, and as we started to bike home, the sprinkles began.

Quickly they increased, to the extent that 2 minutes into our bike ride, we were soaked.
The rain continued to get worse, with gusts of wind tossing additional buckets of water on our already Drippy Companionship.  On top of a bridge, halfway back, with it raining sideways, we began to feel some Airsoft Pellets hitting us.  "That's not rain," we thought in surprise.  No, the storm was sending us HAIL.

We ran with our bikes to the bottom of the bridge, and not finding shelter closeby, ducked behind a car.  We crouched with our bikes, which provided some protection over us.  The now grape-sized pellets continued to assault our frozen bodies for some-odd minutes.  We then realized with horror that the water in the gutter, which had until then peacefully flowed toward lower ground, was rising fast.  Swirls of hail-filled water threatened to engulf our already-wet shoes in yet another layer of cold.

ITALIAN HOSPITALITY.  So we forded the gutter-stream, running towards a nearby apartment, in hopes of finding some kind soul willing to let us in from the storm.  We rang, and someone opened!
 Peace filled our hearts as we gratefully stepped into the entrance!  We were then greeted by a man who upon seeing our bedraggled forms, told us to GO AWAY...

"What," we asked incredulously, "into THAT?"

Yes, there is no place for you here.

"Well, we'll just stay a few minutes."

No, go away.

"No, we'll stay.  We'll leave shortly."

All right, fine. Since you insisted.  Amidst such hospitality we did manage to find shelter from the storm...for 5 minutes or so.

We left the haven to venture back towards home, only to find a tree dashed to pieces in our path.
 Perhaps this mighty timber was a casualty of the lightning we had seen and heard earlier that evening.  Shortly after passing that, we found something that cracked as we rode over it.  Looking down, we saw tile.  Looking up, we realized that these were shingles, fallen from 3 stories above.  The damaged shingles, whether blown off by hail or wind, made us say silent prayers of gratitude that we were not there when they fell.

At long last, we arrived home drenched but whole.  We changed our clothes and started bailing out our roof (it was more fun in normal clothes).

According to the news, that storm was a TORNADO.

Now I have experienced a tornado on my mission!  There were probably angels working overtime to keep us safe, but we are fine now.  I was also worried about picking up pneumonia again, but I got warm and I haven't had any side effects so I think I'm in the clear.  STORMAGEDDON success!  You say it hailed on you in Wayland.  Maybe the storm passed from me last Saturday, to you this week.

CLOSER TO FALL.  Wow, it's that time of the year: school time.  It's a little surreal, since I won't be there, but I was actually thinking about that and Teresa the other day.  A church member's son turns 18 in October, and so will Teresa soon, and I'll be 20.  It's cool, but super weird to think about.

SERVICE THIS WEEK?  We didn't do any service this week, other than English Class, which isn't really service in the sense that you're thinking.  But as a result of the tornado, the church is doing a Helping Hands project, with which we will be helping next week or so.

ADVICE FOR NEW MISSIONARIES.  I think after I have been here a year now, I would tell a greenie (brand new missionary) to just enjoy everything, and keep the perspective of "Bad things will pass."  Often we get caught up in the stress of talks and lessons and meetings and getting from Point A to Point B that we forget...in 2 weeks this won't be relevant anymore, or in 2 weeks this will be finished.  So I would emphasize to them not stressing about short-term problems.

Love you all dearly!
Anziano Whitesell

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

Beautiful Saturday, Peruvian Drinks, Chinese Culture

(Side Note from Mom: he sent quite a few photos of sights they've seen.  I'll just sprinkle them throughout, even though they don't have to do with his descriptions.)

Hello!

SATURDAY HIGHLIGHT.  Well, the big activity this week was Henry's baptism!  He was baptized Saturday, and there was a lot of support from members, especially the Peruvian members, since Henry is Peruvian.  We all showed up, and we're talking, and waiting for him, since he was coming straight from work.  He got there about 10 minutes late.  Still, it was a great experience, especially for Henry's family (wife, son and brother).  The man who did the baptism, another Peruvian, started off in Italian, paused, and finished in Spanish.  Henry is in the middle.  Fratello Borjas is on the left, and Vescovo (bishop) on the right.

CHRISTIANITY LESSON. A fun experience we had this week was teaching a Chinese man.  We ran into him on the street, he gave us his number, and we met to talk about our message and about God.  But, he didn't have the foundation of a belief in God, or know all about Jesus, which most people here have, so we explained the concept of God as the Creator and our Heavenly Father, and then some basic principles about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

AIM HIGH.  The push at the last missionary gathering was to be the best missionaries we could be, in our setting goals, self-improvement, and consecrated work.  Since so many missionaries just went home, the story used as an example of that was one from the Bible, where Gideon has a large army.  But the Lord wants him to decrease the size, so the army doesn't claim to have won by its own power.  So he tests them, and decreases it to 300 people.  Meanwhile in the mission, we went from about 230 to 200 missionaries.

INTERNATIONAL DRINK CHOICES. Dad, I don't know if you've tried it, but some of the Peruvians brought Inka-Cola, some South American drink.  I really liked it, maybe you've stumbled across it.  There are Arab shops here and there, that sell American drinks, like Dr. Pepper and in theory A&W, though I haven't found it yet.  There are also Indian and South American shops that sell typical drinks or foods or sauces of a given area.

Mom, the sunrise bike ride place was Piazza San Michelangelo, I just didn't know it then.  We have been there on a P-day, and to the Duomo-basilica-tower combo.

Have a great week!
Love, Anziano Whitesell

P.S. A note on the "Sign" pictures...those street signs are decorated around town, with those stick figures interacting with the lines.  They're pretty clever.  And the "Free/fly away" stick figures are just fun graffiti around town.  You'll see a couple in this batch, but there are more to come.