Cosenza

Week 18

Good morning, tutti!

This week has been CAH-Razy and looking forward at the next few it's
just gonna keep going!

The beginning of this week was filled with visiting people, packing,
and meal appointments as we got ready for Sorella Pinnegar to head to
Rome. I won't tell you how many gelatos I ate during those first few
days...but let's just say we were treated to quite a few.

with Emma from English corso

One of my favorite evenings was with the Famiglia Favre...a really
strong family here in our district. They work really closely with the
missionaries, and have a soft spot for the sisters because their
daughter is serving right now in Colorado. ;) They were really close
to Sorella Pinnegar and wanted to make us a nice dinner before she
left. It was soooo good. We got to help Presidente Favre cook and it
was really fun. We had spaghetti with shrimp, calamari, and tomatoes
which was to die for. Watching him clean the squid and shrimp made me
a little nervous ahead of time haha but man that was some good pasta!

Making calamari pasta with Presidente Favre

Then Thursday was Transfer Day!! So crazy. We got Sorella Pinnegar all
to the station and on her way. It was so sad and hard to say goodbye!
We had two amazing transfers together, but we were both excited for
the new changes that were coming too.

And then Sorella Caliò arrived!! She's pretty great! Short, spunky,
and very Italian. We've got a lot of good work headed our way this
transfer and I'm really excited. It's weird adjusting to a new comp
and a new person in the house, but so far all is going great.
(She came from Battipaglia which is known for is Mozzarella di Bufula
(Buffalo Mozzarella!) and its tradition to bring some to your new city
when you are transferred! So she brought a whole bunch and I had my
first experience eating that this week as well. Sooooooo good. So
weird but so good.)

With Sorella Calio

Thursday evening we had a lesson with Michelle. She's ten years old
and her mom is a great member here. The Sorelle had tried teaching her
in the past, but the attention span just wasn't there haha. But we
started again a couple weeks ago with Sorella Pinnegar and the lessons
were going much better! And now she and Sorella Caliò seriously just
CLICKED. (I think she can just relate to her and understand her in a
way we can't!) We are excited to see her continue to progress, because
honestly, she is so ready for baptism. We are hoping for a date in the
middle of July. If she can commit to the decision, I know that it
won't be just an amazing blessing for her, but it will be a huge
blessing for her mom too as they continue to support and help each
other down the pathway of the gospel.

Besides that we had few meno attivi lessons and have just been
introducing Sorella Caliò to the city and all the wonderful people
here!

Sunday we had a West Europe Area Conference, so the missionaries from
Crotone and Catanzaro all came to Cosenza Saturday night. We did two
really good Gessos with them (one Sat and one Sun) and it was so fun
to have so many missionaries working with us in our city. (And they'll
all be back next week for District Conference too haha... Sorella
Roberts and I were laughing last night because between conferences,
scambios, and combined DDM were are literally seeing each other EVERY
WEEK this transfer! Haha.)

And right now, we're all on a bus headed to Taranto!! We'll spend PDay
there and then have Zone Conference tomorrow! Like I said, crazy
week...and it just keeps going!

This week I was reading an old talk by President Hinckley. In this
talk he is specifically addressing the young women of the church, but
I think his wise counsel about how we use our time here on earth and
how we look forwards the future is so great and applies to all of
us... He says,

"Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your
face, but with great and strong purpose in your heart. Love life and
look for its opportunities...
...Never forget that you came to earth as a child of the divine
Father, with something of divinity in your very makeup. The Lord did
not send you here to fail. He did not give you life to waste it. He
bestowed upon you the gift of mortality that you might gain
experience--positive, wonderful, purposeful experience--that will lead
to life eternal."

Sometimes it is easy to forget why we are here and who were are. But I
have a firm testimony that as we remember these simple truths, our
lives will have more purpose and our hearts more peace during the
trials of this life. We are all so different...with diverse
personalities, backgrounds, and ideas. But we are all children of a
Heavenly Father who loves us, who sent us here to learn and grow, and
who will help on this journey back home to him.

President Hinckley finished up with this:
"Look to the positive. Know that He is watching over you, that He
hears your prayers and will answer them, that He loves you and will
make that love manifest. Let the Holy Spirit guide you in all that you
do as you look to become the kind of woman [or man] of whom you dream.
You can do it. You will have friends and loved ones to help. And God
will bless you as you pursue your course."

I know that this is true, and I'm so grateful for this knowledge.
I love you all and I'm forever grateful for your love, support, and
prayers. I love the members and the people here in Cosenza that I get
to serve everyday, and I'm grateful for the opportunity that I have to
be a missionary.

Love,
Sorella Carver

Cosenza

Week 17

Buongiorno a tutti!

Sitting here writing this I realize how CRAZY but good this week has been!

As soon as PDay was over on Monday we started seeing miracles! On our
way to do some park finding, we ran into one of our less active
sisters, Sorella Scalera! She was so happy to see us and we had a
lovely little walk with her. While we were crossing the street, we ran
into Sorella Tamara and we were able to introduce them! It was so
great. Sorella Scalera hasn't been to church in ages and so it was
really cool to see them interact and get to know each other. We are
excited and hopeful to start working with a few sisters in the branch
to start fellowshipping her.

Tuesday we were headed to this same park to do finding, and another
woman stopped us and was like, "I know you!" Turns out that she
(Lucia) was baptized like 10 years ago and we've been trying to get in
contact with her ever since I arrived in Cosenza!! We swapped phone
numbers and she agreed to visit with us in church this coming Tuesday!
It was her idea even! We are hopeful that she follows through and we
can get to know her better and see how we can help her grow and
remember her testimony. Exciting! She was a hoot haha.

Wednesday was NUTS! We made it out to Amantea again and had Pranzo
with another less active, Sorella Pignataro, and then visited Sorella
Leone who also lives out there. Then we ran back to Cosenza and had a
less active lesson with Roberta F. It was a crazy but very fulfilling
day!

Mediterranean near Amantea

Citta Vecchia

 Thursday the Sorelle from Crotone came and we had a Scambio with

them...only this time, I was with Sorella Dustin, who is a
first-transfer "greenie" (aka brand new missionary)! I was SO nervous
seeing as how we'd basically be left to fend for ourselves in Cosenza
for the day (while the other Sorelle went to a Piazzino) but we
CONQUERED the day and had such a great time doing it. We talked to so
many people and felt so good at the end of the day! Heavenly Father
really does bless us to be able to do the things we need to do!

Then probably the biggest news of the week: TRANSFER CALLS!!!!
Saturday morning we were a wreck haha... Trying to do morning studies
like normal but basically just waiting on the edge of our seats
hovering over the phone.

And the news is....
Sorella Pinnegar is headed to ROME 3 and will be companions with
SORELLA LEATHERN...MY MTC COMP!!! So so excited for both of them!!!
And I am sooooooo happy to announce that I will be staying here in
Cosenza for at least another transfer!! I have come to love this place
so much! And to add to that excitement... My new companion will be
Sorella Caliò and she is Italian! 
It's going to be a crazy awesome transfer! On the phone president said
"Now you get to work on your Italian all the time!" Wonderful.... so
nervous and so excited! Thursday will get here so fast!

For a little spiritual thought:
This week I was reading a talk called "Truly Good and Without Guile"
which talks about a person from the BOM named Shiblon. Shiblon was the
son of Alma, and as Alma is addressing his sons and leaving them with
his final words before his death, he seems kind of overlooked and not
given as much attention as his brothers, despite his good works and
valiant service. However, this talk praises such people, those who
seek to do good, and have Shiblon-like characters.

"In a world where praise, position, power, accolades, and authority
are sought on every side, I honor those wonderful and blessed souls
who are truly good and without guile, those who are motivated by a
love of God and their neighbors, those great women and men who are
“more anxious to serve than to have dominion.”

"Today there are some who would have us believe our search for
relevance can be satisfied only by obtaining position and power. Yet,
thankfully, there are many who are uninfluenced by this perspective.
They find relevance in seeking to be truly good and without guile. I
have found them in all walks of life and in many faith traditions. And
I find them in large numbers among the truly converted followers of
Christ."

The talk goes on to describe different things and attributes these
kind of people have. Those who do good for the sake of doing good and
those who serve God and others because of their sincere desire to do
what is right. It reminded me of my favorite scripture (at the
moment), Romans 8:28:

"28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

The speaker finishes with this:
"I thank my Heavenly Father for Shiblon-like souls whose examples
offer me--and all of us--hope. In their lives, we see a witness of a
loving Father in Heaven and a caring and compassionate Savior."

I hope that as I continually do my best, I can develop these
attributes and characteristics... The ones that bring hope and peace
to others, spread happiness and joy, and show the example and love of
the Savior and our Heavenly Father. It doesn't happen all at once, but
through our consistent, daily, and hourly efforts, things work
together for our good because we love God and we are doing our best to
be the kind of person HE wants us to be.

I'm sending lots of love from Italy and praying for you all. Thank you
for your continual encouragement and support. I'm so grateful for
y'all!

XOXO
Sorella Carver