Cosenza

Week 9

Hello all!

First off, if you've sent me an email during the week before, thank

you! They are appreciated and I love every one of them. I don't always

get to respond to every one of them with the time we have by the time

Monday rolls around. But please know that I love you and your emails

:)

This week has been crazy! Lots of fun experiences and lots of things to do!

Wednesday we had Zone Conference in Taranto, about a 3-4 hr bus ride

away. Zone Conference is a meeting once every six weeks for all the

missionaries in a big area, where we all meet together and our mission

president and others leaders teach us! Super good stuff.

Anyways, we needed to be there Wednesday morning, so we planned to

leave Tuesday night, get there around 9:30 pm that night, and stay the

night at the Sorelle's apartment in Taranto. However, we discovered

around 11am that all the buses in Cosenza that day were FULL because

all the holiday travelers from Pasquetta. Sooooo haha we quickly

checked the train schedule online, realized the only train/bus combo

for that day was leaving in an HOUR, and ran home, packed, bought some

lunch/snacks, and ran down to the train station. We made it on that

train and then on the connecting bus haha, but it was a miracle!

The best part was the bus ride to Taranto! (And also the most rough

haha - bus sickness is real.) Most of the ride was along the coast and

it was BEAUTIFUL. Blue blue blue water like what you see on a good day

in Destin, and as we pulled into Taranto, we saw tons of Palm trees

and marinas. My kinda place ;) Taranto is super cute and coastal.

Zone Conference was also really great. It's was fun to hang out with

other missionaries and see a sister that I was in the MTC with! We

returned home late that night and got back to work the next day here

in my beautiful mountain top city of Cosenza:)

On Friday we visited a church member, Sorella Filipelli, who lives in

Domanico....waaaaayyyyy up in the mountains. She picked us up and

drove us up there.

Side story about driving in Italy: it's nuts. Most streets are one

way, and there are no lines. Which means it's basically a free for all

haha! It reminds me of go cart riding with friends before the mission.

All these tiny, tiny stick shift cars jerking all over the place and

honking for no reason at all. Add in a few whale-sized buses and it's

a real fun time haha!

But we made it up to Domanico all in one piece (barely ;)). And it is

beautiful! Just as Italy as Italy could be! I'll send some pictures.

The hymn "High on the Mountain Top" comes to mind!

Sorella Pinegar, Sorella Filipelli, Me

We had a wonderful lesson with Sorella F and took a bus back down the
mountain. While we were waiting for the bus to come, Sorella F was
visiting with us and asked me a question... I thought I understood
what she had asked.

I thought she asked where the name "Carver" came

from... Like where my ancestors where from. So I responded with a
"Huh... Non so...?" basically telling her I had no idea. Sorella
Pinnegar started laughing and said, "No Sorella, she wants to know
your first name!" And I just about died. I was like "Kaitlin, it's
Kaitlin. I promise a know my first name..." Hahaha greenie mistakes.
Gotta just laugh at yourself!

Then this weekend was conference! For those who aren't familiar, every
April and October we have a General Conference, where church leaders
speak during several different sessions and their talks are broadcasts
throughout the world for members and anyone else who wants to listen.

I'm so grateful for the inspiration and guidance we receive from these
talks and messages. This time around, I learned a lot about service
and reaching out to rescue others. I also learned a lot about
families, and their role in our lives, now and in the eternities. Even
though I miss my family, I'm grateful that I get to bring the gospel
to families so they can enjoy this happiness too. I couldn't think of
anything better to do! I love my family now, and I look forward to the
day when I can build a family of my own, and teach my children these
principles.

I'm grateful for General Conference, for the leaders, apostles, and
the prophet Thomas S. Monson, who speak to us the things that we need
to hear, feel, and do. I know that they are servants of Christ, and by
listening and acting on their words, we can come closer to Him.

In fact, this week, I was reviewing a past conference talk by Henry B.
Eyring called "Mountains to Climb." I love this talk a lot.

In it he talks about how we all must face challenges and trials in
life. They are inevitable, and they come to all. These "mountains to
climb" can be daunting, but as we build our foundation and faith on
Jesus Christ, we can make it to the top and overcome.

He says, "It is never too late to strengthen the foundation of faith.
There is always time. With faith in the Savior, you can repent and
plead for forgiveness. There is someone you can forgive. There is
someone you can thank. There is someone you can serve and lift. You
can do it wherever you are and however alone and deserted you may
feel.
I cannot promise an end to your adversity in this life. I cannot
assure you that your trials will seem to you to be only for a moment.
One of the characteristics of trials in life is that they seem to make
clocks slow down and then appear almost to stop.
There are reasons for that. Knowing those reasons may not give
much comfort, but it can give you a feeling of patience. Those reasons
come from this one fact: in Their perfect love for you, Heavenly
Father and the Savior want you fitted to be with Them to live in
families forever. Only those washed perfectly clean through the
Atonement of Jesus Christ can be there."

He goes on to explain, "If we have faith in Jesus Christ, the hardest
as well as the easiest times in life can be a blessing. In all
conditions, we can choose the right with the guidance of the Spirit.
We have the gospel of Jesus Christ to shape and guide our lives if we
choose it. And with prophets revealing to us our place in the plan of
salvation, we can live with perfect hope and a feeling of peace. We
never need to feel that we are alone or unloved in the Lord’s service
because we never are. We can feel the love of God. The Savior has
promised angels on our left and our right to bear us up. And He always
keeps His word."

I know this is true. I have seen His help every day, but especially on
days when it is hard to keep the right perspective and the right
attitude. We all face challenges. Life is difficult sometimes. But our
loving Heavenly Father wants us to return to Him, and he had provided
a way for us to do that. He hasn't left us alone, and he never will.
Through his Son, Jesus Christ, and through his words and teachings, we
can know the way. And we can make it to the top of any mountain we
face and see the beautiful view from the summit.

Sorry for the super long email this week.
If you made it his far, you're a champ ;). If your just looking for
the pictures, I totally understand. That's what I'd do too... ;)
But this week I challenge you to go to lds.org and find a conference
talk that you think you need to read and read it. These words are here
to help us, and I know that they can!

I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week! Vi voglio tanto bene!!

Love,
Sorella Carver