I was under the impression that tape stuck to things

This Week

So, last week we were so busy. I left ya'll right before we had our volleyball activity. We showed up for the activity to find that the tape we had put down the day before for the court had all blown away. I was under the impression that tape stuck to things, but I stand corrected. We had to run to a hardware store buy new tape and lay down the court again in about an hour. It was a miracle that we did it, but then a new problem presented itself. It was time to start, and the missionaries were the only ones there! We forgot to take into account that these were Italians and Mormons so everyone was late.

The activity went amazingly well. We had about 40 people there, and everyone had a good time. So, with my new companion we have not been home on time in one week. We keep having appointments, and I confirm that it is impossible to stay in an Italian's house for only one hour. It takes at least an hour just to eat the first course.

We have been super busy, and Thursday was a night of hell. I never want to go to an Italian hospital again. One of the sister missionaries hurt her finger so she wanted it to be checked out at the emergency room. She went at night about 7 o'clock, and after English course we came to meet them so they wouldn't be by themselves. It was so hot there! There was no A/C and it was closed off. I fell asleep reading my scriptures, waking up to find the pages soaked with all the sweat that was falling from my face. It was gross. So, finally at 11 o'clock they moved us to another building to wait for another 30 mins. Finally they discovered nothing was wrong. So, we go to the bus stop to find one last bus waiting. As we arrive the driver tells us that the bus was done for the night, and he was heading back to the farm. We had to walk home for about 3 miles at midnight. We had a little incounter with a drunk South African, who stumbled off after I spoke some quick english to him. Needless to say we are ok.

Sunday was a very cool day. We have this contact that is a little confused about religion, and he comes to church every week to pray to Jesus. I've tried to teach him the lessons and fix appointments with him, but he really wasn't interested in that. So, abbiamo fatto i furbi (it doesn't translate well, and I'm not sure how to say it in english. It says we did the clevers) and just taught a first lesson in gospel principles. He loved it and was really touched by the story of the Book of Mormon. It went really well. Tonight we have another activity of dating etiquette. I hope it goes well. We have been having some obstacles with some leaders here.

Well, vi voglio tutti bene! I hope to see ya'll soon. Arrivederci.

Con affetto,
Anziano Paul

the first baptism in Sicilia in this dispensation

OK

So, this last week went very strange, but very well also. We received a call on Tuesday afternoon and one of the missionaries I live with was made an assistant, and had to leave on Thursday. So from Thursday to Monday morning we were a trio. We got an awesome lunch appointment with a family that came to visit from Philadelphia. They were staying in Cefalù which is about an hour and a half east of Palermo. We had a great appointment with this family, and then went for a little gyro before our trainee arrived.

The cool thing about Cefalù is that right off the coast there was performed the first baptism in Sicilia in this dispensation, and I was right there. About 50 years ago Vincenzo di Francesca was baptized right there in that city. It was a pretty cool thing to see, but we really couldn't see much because we aren't allowed on the beach. It would have been strange anyway like going to a wedding in shorts and sandals. Really awkward.

Speaking of weddings. Aguri Jordan and Alyssa. Sia vostro matrimonio pieno di difficoltà e figli. :) So, this past Saturday we received transfer calls, and it is settled. I will remain in Palermo until I finish in November. I also received a new companion today. His name is Anziano Costa. He is from Ottawa, Canada. He seems pretty normal, but he's very quiet. I hope it doesn't stay that way.

This Sunday was probably the most tranquil Sunday I have had here at Palermo. This member from Philadelphia gave talk in church, and it was amazing. He spoke about Light being truth that emanates from the glory of God, and when this light touches us we can perceive anything and everything. It was a really deep subject, and very spiritual. I love the depth of this gospel. There were a lot of evangelists there that wanted to see how things were. This talk blew their minds. They had never considered or heard anything like that before.

The last few days I spent with another missionary waiting for our new companions, and setting up a huge activity at the church for tonight. This mutual night thing is going really well. Oh, a funny story. Last week we watched a movie for mutual night. We wanted a certain movie, but conceded to the wish of the sister missionaries and picked Hitch. A very good movie, and as far as I remember there wasn't a lot of bad stuff in it. Well, with Italian translations they take some of our minor words and change them into terrible swear words. It was a bit embarrassing watching this movie with the youth, and having a lot of swear words in it. Oh well, everything went well in the end, and we are even expecting a bigger turn out this week. Vi voglio bene tutti. Ciao alla prossima.


Con affetto,
Anziano Joel Paul