Roma 1

Week 37

(written on 24 Oct 2016)

Buongiorno a tutti!

What a week it has been! A week fulllllllll of conferences and craziness, but as always, full of miracles. 

Wednesday night, the members of this Rome stake had the opportunity to come and listen to a devotional by President Nelson. The chapel was absolutely over flowing. President Nelson spoke, as well as his wife, President Kearon, President Hallstrom, and their wives. One of my favorite things was the translation. They had members (most of which were from Ladispoli or my ward now!) translate directly from the pulpit from English to Italian. The gospel and these wonderful leaders' testimonies are true in every language!! 

Thursday morning came quick and it was our turn!! ALL the missionaries in the entire mission came up for this conference and it was sooooo good. At the beginning of President Nelson's talk, he thanked all of us for our service, but I loved what he said more when he thanked YOU. "Thanks to them, too!" he said. He wants to thank all of our family, all of our youth leaders, our dear friends, ALL of you for your support. For your examples that helped us get here and be the people we are today. For the testimonies that you have helped us form, and for the examples that you have given us.

So thank you. I love you all and I'm grateful for the effect that each and everyone of you has had on my life! Grazie, grazie, grazie!!

Vi voglio un mondo di bene ❤️🌎 

Love,

Sorella Carver

Original MTC Zone reunited at mission conference

with Sorella Adamson at mission conference

the cupola of the Vatican

top of the Vatican

sending mail home from the Vatican mail box

view from the top of the Vatican

President Russell M Nelson, President Pickerd, other general authorities and their wives

Roma 1

Week 36

(written on 18 Oct 2016)

Ciao, Cari!

What a week! It's been great. Today is our PDay because yesterday we
had Zone Conference. This week we are also looking forward to two
special conferences with President Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles. It's going to be amazing! In poche parole!

Today we had a lovely rainy PDay. We took a giro around Rome, checked
out Il Teatro del'Opera the Repubblica area. I fall more and more in
love with this city and the people of Italy every week.

Some other highlights from this week:

- A torrential downpour hit one night on our way to a member
appointment. Turns out...the address on the ward list was wrong and we
are about 20 minutes away from where this family actually lives. So we
end up having to cancel the appointment, and as we wait at the bus
stop to head back, the rain keeps coming and coming. A big rut in the
road in front of the stop was apparently invisible to several cars
passing by...and let's just say we were soaked from head to toe with
muddy water by the time the bus finally came. And THEN we forgot our
keys that morning, so we had to do some super sneaky ninja moves
(including scaling a gate and climbing down a bathroom window to get
inside to change before heading to English Course. The things they
DONT tell you about missionary work....
-Carrying 1000 lbs bags of donation clothes from a less active to the
church at 8:45 and wondering when when your arms might fall off but
singing hymns all along the way to distract yourselves. Again...the
things that they don't tell you you'll do as a missionary. 😬
-A super awesome lesson with Aurea. The power of sincere, heartfelt
prayer is real.
-A birthday! Sorella Adamson turned 21!! And with 4 Sorelle in the
house we can get some sneaky surprises worked out. :)
-Sharing the Gospel with Italians (and Peruvians, Moldavians, Costa
Ricans, etc etc) in the Great Italy Rome Mission. There is nothing
better and no place I'd rather be.

In preparation for the conferences this week, we've been asked to read
recent conference talks by President Nelson. As I was reading one, I
came across a quote from President Monson that I loved,
"To live greatly, we must develop the capacity to face trouble with
courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and triumph with humility.
You ask, “How might we achieve these goals?” I answer, “By getting a
true perspective of who we really are!” We are sons and daughters of a
living God, in whose image we have been created. Think of that truth:
“Created in the image of God.” We cannot sincerely hold this
conviction without experiencing a profound new sense of strength and
power, even the strength to live the commandments of God, the power to
resist the temptations of Satan."

I know this is true! I'm grateful for this eternal perspective!

Sending love to you all! Spero che sia una bella settimana!! Vi voglio
tanto bene.
Con amore,
Sorella Carver

Casual red carpet in il Centro

Sorella Adamson's 21st Bday

Roma 1

Week 35

Hello Family and Friends!

This week has been crazy, but crazy good!
My Permesso di Soggiorno was FINALLY finished, and so Sorella Adamson and I
had a great adventure heading back to Cosenza for me to pick it up. I
experienced so much growth, learning, and wonderful things during my
time in Cosenza. As a brand new missionary, however, I often
struggled, as most new missionaries do, to express myself and fully open
up. I remember one of my favorite things every week was English Group.
I was able to open up more and most importantly, turn outwards as I
served others and helped them learn English. It always provided me
with an opportunity to talk and try to hold conversations on my own.
During my three transfers in Cosenza, a woman who came every time
without fail became my dear friend. Her name is Emma. I looked forward
to seeing her every Tuesday and Thursday. While I was there this week
I was able to see her again. It was so wonderful! I could talk a whole
lot easier this time haha and was able to share my love for her, for
this gospel, and for missionary work with her. It was a huge miracle
and a huge blessing. (And made two days of train rides wellllll worth
it!)

Also this week we had a ward activity that we planned! It was a
culture night, and we have so many different cultures in this ward.
Every country had a different table with decorations and (most
importantly) food and it was a blast. It really brought this ward
together and provided an opportunity for non members to come and see
another part of our church!

Another huge miracle this week also happened on Friday night. After a
fall through on several plans, some rain, and a missed bus, we had the
thought to try an old investigator that we had tried previously
several times. And she was there, and not only was she there, but her
absolutely adorable daughters, Giulia and Giada. They're fourteen and
nine and all three are open and willing to listen to our message. We
have a return appointment with them this week and we are so so so
excited.

I love you all and I'm grateful for you love and support. These three
paragraphs just don't do justice to how much we see every week. This
is His work, and I'm so glad I get to be a part of it.

Love,
Sorella Carver

with Emma in Cosenza

Amazing bread shop

Cultural Night at Roma 1 Ward

Roma 1

Week 34

Ciao, Cari!

What a wonderful week it has been. And what an awesome General Conference.

Today, I just have one thing to say: I love being a missionary.

I really do. To echo the words of Elder Dallin H. Oaks from
conference, "What could be more enjoyable the sharing the truths of
eternity with God's children?"

Nothing. That is the great commission of which he spoke. A commission
that not only applies to full time missionaries with a name tag,
shipped off to a foreign land, but a commission to ALL that have been
blessed with pieces of the truths of eternity.

When we remember who we really are and what we really know, our desire
to share that will grow. As we turn to the Lord, he will provide us
with ways to fulfill that desire, and he will help us become
instruments in His hands.

During general conference, Elder Neil L Anderson spoke of a puzzle,
and how each of us can take pieces from the pile and fill in the
picture. He said, "You are connecting the puzzle pieces of His
marvelous work and wonder."

How grateful I am to be participating in this. It really is a
marvelous work and a wonder. Each week I see so many miracles, my

testimony grows, and I'm continually amazed by the love that our
Heavenly Father has for each one of his children. I'm grateful to be a
missionary.

I'm also grateful to know that my mission will never truly end. Yes,
one day I'll be back home and have to take off the nametag and try to
be a normal person again (haha), but if there's one thing I learned
from General Conference this weekend is that this call, this
commission, to take the gospel to all corners of the earth, never
truly ends. There is always work to do, there is always joy to spread.

I hope you have all had the opportunity to hear General Conference
this week, and if not, that you will take the time to listen! With
questions in mind and an open heart, we can receive answers and
guidance for the things we need.

Sending love,
Sorella Carver

With Aurea and Sorella Adamson

Pranzo on General Conference Sunday

Via Della Missione

Roma 1

Week 33

(written on 26 Sep 2016)

Hello, y'all!

First off, I apologize for the lack of good emails lately. I feel like every week is filled with more and more good stuff, and every PDay gets shorter and shorter and I have no time to write it all down! I wish I could say I was doing better with my journaling so at least everything is being written down somewhere...buttttt.... 😬 

This week has been really amazing though! Unfortunately pictures will have to portray that. I do just want to share a bit from one of my favorite days of the week...SUNDAY! This Sunday was absolutely nuts! We were short on members that could translate, so we missionaries had a great chance to serve by translating in Relief Society, Sunday School, Young Women's, AND primary. 

AND I GOT TO BE IN PRIMARY! That, I swear, is the loudest and craziest room in the whole church building, but to me it feels the most like Heaven. As I sat next to about six English speaking kids, I got to teach and share about how and why we pray, how much our Heavenly Father loves us, and missionary work. The simplest of teachings, but honestly the most powerful.

I got to sit right next to a little boy named Jake. :) He's about the cutest thing ever and reminded me of my little brother. While we waited between classes and lessons I showed him pictures of Jacob, and Jake informed me that he also loves Tae Kwan Do, Iron Man, Cars, and Legos. (There ya go, Buddy! ;))  I was as happy as a sister missionary could be. :) 

Jake in Primary :)

I love the references Christ always gave to children. He always invited them, included them, and probably most importantly, commanded us to become like them. If our two hours in primary and sitting next to Jake taught me anything, it taught me how important this command is. They are pure, they are righteous, and they are close and dear to our Heavenly Father. They are meek, they seek to learn, and they are submissive (most of the time haha). I pray that we can all seek to become like a little child. 

I know we are all children of our Heavenly Father who loves us more than we can imagine. He watches over us, He truly takes care of us, and He knows us each individually. 

I love you all! Have a great week!

Cool Roma Market

Spanish Steps