Thurs 5. Transfers. Last time crossing ponte girevole on bus number three. Last phone call from Anziano Miller and Garner (figlio mio!). Helped some Japanese men (who didn’t speak English or Italian) to get tickets/find the right train. To thank me they pulled out Japanese coins, candy, a fan and a pin with the Italian and Japanese flag. Umm…thanks. Anytime, sirs. Got to Bari, waited around, said hi to other missionaries coming and going, and boarded the train for Caserta. I had to travel alone, so I decided to leave a bunch of stuff in Taranto and take only two suitcases. It worked, but they were so heavy. And yes. You read that correctly, I travelled by myself. Some of the happiest hours of my mission, haha. Really though, it was so great, and I got three referrals for Bari. The two guys sitting across from me shared their foccacia, and we just had a good conversation. Potential! The one who sat next to me though, old but not old enough not to be creepy, leaning over the arm rest so I could hear the saxophone music from the oversized earphones plugged into his brick of a cell phone. Ugh. At least I had someone to help me with my suitcase. I had to change trains in Caserta, and as I struggled to drag one suitcase up the stairs someone said ‘’want to take the lift?’’ There was an elevator. Everything worked out. So I talked to this Australian kid who had been travelling for seven months the whole way to Napoli Centrale, and he, Sorella Mathews and I got on the same train. I’ll tell you his story when I get home. Anyway, by this time it was well past eleven. We got to Salerno, the Scherbel’s picked us up, and we got to our apartment. Long day. I love trains, train stations, talking to strangers.
Fri 6. Weekly planning. Appointments that night with the Melella family, Luca and Francesca, and Luciano. My first Napoli pizza, they made it in the shape of a heart. Mozzarella di bufala is as good as everyone said.
Sat 7. Lesson with Francesco, a new convert. He loves the Book of Mormon, had a list of all his favorite scriptures and wanted to read them all. It was so great. We did some finding. Sorella Mathew’s first experience with Jehovah’s Witnesses. The woman talked forever, her husband came up to Mathews, touched her young women’s medallion and opened his bible up to something about ‘’idols of silver’’…it was really fun. Lesson with Filomena, long time investigator who is working towards baptism now. Worst part, her mom was there and made us eat the entire box of these little hostess cake things. Except they weren’t hostess, it was this gross brand, fruit filling...oh well. The whole box though. That’s six each. So persistent. Lesson with another progressing investigator, Michele. Then met a member, Sorella Delia.
Sun 8. First time in our small branch. So different than the big wards in Rome and Taranto, but there was a sweet spirit. I’m excited to get to know the members here. And 25% of the congregation was made up of investigators! That’s pretty cool.
Mon 9. Salerno to get Mathew’s permesso di soggiorno. The guy at the office told us to come back that afternoon. So we ran some errands in Salerno with the Scherbel’s, got gelato, had a picnic on the pier…I could get used to this. Really, they’re the best. Got her permesso, went to a referral in Sarno. Most beautiful drive ever. A storm was coming, so the huge dark clouds over the green hills, passing the little villages, it was beautiful. We met Giudi at her dance studio. She had read about Mormons on Wikipedia and requested a copy of the Book of Mormon. She seemed amazing, and said she’d read and give us a call if she wants to know more. Hopefully. We stopped by at a less active’s and on our way home Sorella Scherbel asked if we would mind stopping at IKEA for a bit. Ahhh it was so great. It felt like home for a minute.
Tues 10. District meeting. Marisa, baptized five years ago. Considers herself half mormon, half catholic. Told us about this retreat she had just come back from, with other women her age, guided by a priest…girls camp for sixty year olds? Good for her. It was a really good lesson though, sorry for the sarcasm. But sometimes, you just have to laugh at these things. Oh boy. We’ll see what we can do with her. Then with Michele, set a baptismal date. October 5th. He’s awesome, and really wants to receive an answer.
Wed 11. Amalfi. Told you about it a little last week. It was a dream. Drove all around. Walked by one of those beaches. Didn't see Wiebeke. Then home real quick, changed so I had a skirt and sweater over my shorts and tee shirt, threw some vans in my purse and headed to Belizzi to play soccer with Luciano and all of his friends. Sorella Mathews didn't want to hurt her ankle again so just watched (and talked to this creeper named Antonio. More about him next week). It was the best! Luciano was so protective, ''e una sorella'' ''una ragazza.'' I love him.
Ok, I'm a week behind still, but we've got to go. I'll tell you the rest next Wednesday!
