Cosenza

Week 11

Hello y'all! Again, I still can't believe it's already Monday. Time
needs to slow down.

This week has been super great! Spring has sprung here in Cosenza,
although it already feels more like summer haha. The flip was huge,
one day I was wearing tights and a winter jacket, and the next it felt
like 100 degrees. The nights and mornings are still nice and cool, but
during the day it gets very sunny and very very warm... And that
means... sunscreen!! Yayyyy. Sorella P and I are both on the fair
side... So we've had to add this step to our usual morning routine
before we leave the house most days haha.

This also means crazy beautiful wild flowers everywhere and the best
fruit I've ever eaten in my life. My favorite right now is the
pears.... We have a fruit stand underneath our apartment and I swear I
wish I could eat 10 of those things a day haha :/

Today for PDay we took a train to Paolo and had a picnic by the beach.
It's was BEAUTIFUL. Sorella Pinnegar was laughing at me, as we walked
closer to the waters edge I got all excited and yelled, "It's smells
like home!!!" Haha it's true. Nothing beats the smell of sand and salt
water. (And sunscreen because it was necessary today haha...)

This week we had a great Pranzo appointment with Sorella Spizzirri and
her daughter, Sorella Sicilia. Sorella Sicilia lives in a piazzino (a
small city that branches off of Cosenza) way up in the mountains. It
was a really beautiful view and we had a really good visit with them.

We also have started visiting with a sweet older lady who owns a
flower shop (smells like heaven!). She and her daughter in law are
interested in our message and see how it could potentially help their
son/husband who is facing some challenges right now. We haven't
started teaching them, but we plan to keep visiting and sharing
messages with them.

On Friday, we celebrated Sorella Pinnegar's one year mark as a
missionary! Our day was busy with a few less-active lessons and
appointments, but we managed to still celebrate with lots of delicious
food (of course!) I made breakfast for her, we got a gelato after
Pranzo, and then had a pizza from Mimmo's for dinner. It was
delicious, and Mimmo is doing well ;)  His little restaurant was empty
when we went in (around 8pm) because dinner here is so much later.
Haha but we had to go that early so we could be home by nine
(missionary curfew!) and so we had lots of fun talking with Mimmo and
the workers. Our kindness goal is working well! :)

Today I have been in Cosenza for officially a month!! Which is crazy
because the days have all blurred together and something we did four
weeks ago feels like yesterday. I have come to love this city and the
people here so much.

The biggest news for this week is: I gave my first Sacrament talk
yesterday IN ITALIAN.
In our church, our first meeting on Sunday is Sacrament Meeting, where
we take the sacrament and members are asked to give talks each week,
usually based on a topic, to the rest of the congregation. Our branch
here in Cosenza is REALLY REALLY small....like 15 people on a good
week. So we go through the members pretty fast haha.

On Monday of last week we were at the church and the leader who is
over assigning talks comes in, shakes my hand, and says, "Sorella
Carver, I have some news for you. I'm really happy!" *oh boy....*
"You're giving a talk on Sunday!!"
Me: "No.....Davvero??!"
Haha it was pretty funny and everyone was laughing, but the greeny
missionary inside of me was about to pass out.

Anyways.... All is well, I didn't pass out, and I managed to speak for
about 10 minutes yesterday in Italian and somehow relay a message
that was kind of understandable.

I was asked to speak on a talk from general conference a couple weeks
ago that inspired me, and I chose "I Am A Child Of God" by Elder
Donald L. Hallstrom.

This talk is so so simple, but the simplest of truths are sometimes
the most profound. In it he said,

"Our most fundamental doctrine includes the knowledge that we are
children of a living God....It is foundational to comprehending the
glorious plan of salvation and to nurturing faith in the Firstborn of
the Father, Jesus the Christ, and in His merciful Atonement.

Later he goes on...

"When difficult things occur in our lives, what is our immediate
response? Is it confusion or doubt or spiritual withdrawal? Is it a
blow to our faith? Do we blame God or others for our circumstances? Or
is our first response to remember who we are--that we are children of
a loving God? Is that coupled with an absolute trust that He allows
some earthly suffering because He knows it will bless us, like a
refiner’s fire, to become like Him and to gain our eternal
inheritance?

"We live in a world that can cause us to forget who we really are. The
more distractions that surround us, the easier it is to treat
casually, then ignore, and then forget our connection with God....In
today’s world, no matter where we live and no matter what our
circumstances are, it is essential that our preeminent identity is as
a child of God. Knowing that will allow our faith to flourish, will
motivate our continual repentance, and will provide the strength to
“be steadfast and immovable” throughout our mortal journey."

I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to prepare this talk. While it
was simple and somewhat repetitive, the things I studied and prepared
helped me remember who I am. I am a daughter of a loving Heavenly
Father. I know that this is true. I know he listens to our prayers,
wants to help and bless us, and desires for us to seek and become like
His Son, Jesus Christ, so we can return to live which Him again
someday. This knowledge has helped me make it through hard days and
easy days, time and time again, and I'm grateful for the chance that I
have to be a missionary and share this with others. It is truly such a
blessing.

I love you all! Thank you for your prayers.

Love,
Sorella Carver