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

Cosenza

Week 16

Hello!

We've had a great and busy week here in lovely Cosenza!

We spent some time in Crotone for Scambio and a combined DDM, we had
lots of visits with less actives this week, and we had two members
give us names of people/friends they knew that might be interested in
meeting with us! All in all its been a great week, with lots of
promise for next week too. :) This transfer is cut short, so we
actually receive transfer calls THIS Saturday! Crazy how fast it's
gone!! We are betting that Sorella Pinnegar is moving on (seeing how
she's been here NINE months already!!) but other that that were not
sure what will happen! Vediamo!

Funny Italian experience number 2389: yesterday we set aside an hour
to finish up our weekly planning session (that was cut short because
we were in Crotone Friday). We had a list of about 10 people to call
to confirm or set appointments for this week, in priority order of
like who we needed to call first so we could tell the next person when
we were free, etc, etc... Anyways... We sit down and get work, and I
kid you not, every person said basically "Sì, si!" when we asked if we
could see them, and then when we asked when they'd say "Uhhh... Non lo
so... Ci sentiamo, okay, va bene??" ("Don't know, we'll hear from each
other, okay?")
....it's the Italian lifestyle.
....Va bene.
Haha we tried and it all works out when you're doing your best and
you're on Lord's errand, right?! Right! ;)

This week we used a lot of finding time ringing citofonos and knocking
on doors trying to talk to people. :) We were in a part of Cosenza
that we had never tried before and as we were going from Palazzo to
Palazzo I noticed how beautiful each door was! Intricate and detailed,
dark wood or brightly painted. (I will try to send some pictures -
we have really terrible Internet!) As we knocked on each door or
rang each name on the citofono, I was reminded of the painting of the
Savior knocking on the door that doesn't have a handle on the outside,
showing that we must open the door, as the ones inside.

 Later, I read this scripture from Revelations 3:20

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and
open the door, I will come in to him..."

Little thought I had about these two things... We all have doors to
our very different and very unique lives. But Jesus Christ, as our
brother, Savior, and Redeemer, stands at the door, knocking, waiting
for each of us to open. We are the only ones who have the ability to
do that!

We have busy lives filled with things to do and places to be.
Sometimes we are burdened down by the amount we need to do or the
tasks that are before us. But Christ has told us,
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in
heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy,
and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

I know at as we come unto Christ, we open the door for Him to do His
work and miracles in our lives. The way we do this is through learning of
Him and keeping those small and simple commandments that hold so much
power: scripture study, church attendance, and sincere prayer...by
coming unto him and making room for Him every day. If we do this, we
are promised rest. Rest from the things of the world that weigh us
down, and peace of mind, knowing that with Him we can do all we need
to do. I know that this is true, and this is why I'm here sharing what
I know and want so badly for others!

I love you all and I'm grateful for your love. The experiences I'm
having here are amazing, Italia is lovely, and the people here are
wonderful. (And sometimes crazy and hard to set appointments
with...but simply wonderful!) ❤️

Hoping you all have a great week!

Lots of love,
Sorella Carver

Homemade Gnocchi!

Citta Vecchia

Cosenza

Week 15

Hello, carissimi!

An appropriate summary for this week would be "April flowers bring may
showers..." I think Cosenza may be more weather moody than Gulf
Breeze! The sun has finally come out today though, and we are hoping
for it to staying that way for the rest of this week!

Twirling with Marlysa

On Tuesday we headed to Taranto again for another Zone Conference.
Conference was WONDERFUL! Learned so much about being an effective
missionary and had a great time with the other missionaries. (Also!
For those who know Sister Brooke Bertaldo... Her brother just got
transferred into my area! So I got to meet him and that was cool.)

Thursday morning we were back in Cosenza and bright and early we
headed to the Questura (police station/government building) for my
Permesso Di Soggiorno appointment. It was NUTS. I thought the DMV was
bad at home...we waited at the Questura for 3 HOURS. But several
fingerprints and a few signatures later, we made it through, and I'm
officially legally allowed to stay here in Italy. We have to go back
later to pick up my actual ID card (I've been carrying around a folder
of "receipts" and photocopies of my passport for the past two months!)
but it was a relief to be all through with that!

Other news for this week: I made my first phone call in Italian! That was fun.

This Sunday we taught a lesson in Sunday School on the importance of
work. As missionaries, we are responsible for the time given to us
everyday to do this work. We must work with diligence and we need to not
just "fill the time" but "dominate the day." This is one of the things
we talked a lot about at Zone Conference that I really loved.

President David O. McKay said, “Let us realize that the privilege to
work is a gift, that the power to work is a blessing, that the love of
work is success.”

When I think of an example of a hard worker, I think of my daddy.
Whenever we were doing chores, yard work, or any other kind of task as
kids and we were struggling with it, he would often say, "Gotta put
some elbow grease in it!" (One of my favorite memories of this is when
I was learning how to change my car oil for the first time... Grease.
Literally. Everywhere. That saying took on a whole new meaning that
day haha)

Diligence and hard work are important things in this life. Without
them, we accomplish nothing. With them, we can overcome anything. The
way we use our time, gifts, and talents during our life is one of the
many ways we can show love to our Heavenly Father.

But like President McKay said, it's not just work...but the love of
work that brings success. Our attitude and disposition play a huge
role in our end happiness and the results of our work. When I thought
about this on Sunday, I thought about this past week and the work I
had done. While as missionaries things rarely pan out as planned, we
have to keep a happy and cheerful disposition. We have to work as hard
as we can. And we have to enjoy the journey.

In D&C 123 we read:

"Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to
light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and
they are truly manifest from heaven...
Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things
that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost
assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be
revealed."

Now obviously this applies to other forms of work than just missionary
work!! School work, jobs, service, church callings, family
responsibilities...the list could go on and on. My commitment to
myself this week (and to all of you as well!) is to remember to rub
some elbow grease in all the tough things I have to do, to look for
the good in every situation, and to "cheerfully do all things that lie
in my power"!

I'm grateful that everyday for this short period of my life I get to
do missionary work. I know that as I "invite others to come unto
Christ," I'm helping Him accomplish His work. He knows each and every
one of us. He is aware of our situations and the work we are doing and
stands ready to help us. As a representative of Jesus Christ and His
church, I bear testimony that He lives, He is our Savior, and He loves
us.

I love you all. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Sending lots of love,
Sorella Carver

Cosenza

Week 14

Ciao, everyone!

This week has been so so great. Probably one of the best in my mission so far! Just keeps getting better and better.

We've had a week full of miracles, to stay in the least! This week we focused a lot on working with our less active church members, strengthening and helping them.
We had a lot of really good lessons and a lot of good relationships built with them.

One of my favorites was with Sorella Scalera. She is a miracle in and of herself! We were able to come in contact with her a few weeks ago, but we could never find her house before that. This week, instead of meeting us at a Piazzo, she actually showed us where she lived, took us in, made us food (of course), and let us share a little spiritual thought with her. It was a really amazing afternoon! Now that we have visited with her a few times we are really hoping we can continue to build our friendship with her, help another sister in the branch fellowship her, and continue to grow her testimony and desire to return to church.

We also got to visit a few other sisters and families. Some of my favorite were with Sorella Minieri (nicest and calmest lady I've ever met), Sorella Tamara (Dad-she's from Russia and when I told her you served in Russia she got so excited. She's from Saratov, and she said Samara is right near by...? She's amazing.), and la famiglia Lopez (who just received news Tuesday that two girls they have been trying adopt for a year have been cleared by the judge for their adoption...I've never seen them more happy!).

Another miracle we saw happened Friday night. Most members and others we visit like to have us come visit during the week, so the weekend is usually spent doing finding. Friday night we walked all over Cosenza doing casa a casa, ringing citofono after citofono with no luck. We ended up near a street, and Sorella P said that in a complex a little ways down the street, a women lived that she had taught a lesson to once but hadn't been able to meet again because she was too busy a few months ago. We decided to give it a try and see if we could find her again. We didn't know her name, so we rang a few buttons on the citofono, until someone said "va bene" and opened the door to the building. Not knowing which house had let us in, we started knocking doors, again with no luck. We had two doors left, and we were thinking like its late, we should probably start heading back...but we decided to finish the doors in the building anyways. We get to the last door on the top floor and knocked... 

And low and behold... The woman Sorella P knew answers the door and says basically, "What took you guys so long to get up here?! I've been waiting!" :) Her name is Manuela! She has three small children, she's really young, and is a widow. She is SO SO nice. We shared with her a Mormon message video, and she agreed to meet with us again if we call and reconfirm again an appointment with her. We are hoping and praying that we get in touch with her this week. I know the gospel can bless her life and her family so much.

And the last miracle but DEFINITELY not the least...MOTHERS DAY.

As missionaries we are allowed two phone calls or skype calls home a year, typically Mother's Day and Christmas. However, the Internet in the Church has been out for a couple of weeks, and things weren't looking good come Saturday. Most members don't have Internet, and the one family that does was in the process of getting theirs fixed also. I was totally and completely prepared to not be able to skype this week. I was so so sad, even though I knew we would be able to push it off to another day. 

I knew before, but now I know for sure one thing: Heavenly Father loves the mothers in this world, and wants them to be able to talk to their babies on Mother's Day. 

The Lopez Family miraculously got their internet fixed Saturday night. 

They are so kind and loving to the missionaries, and as soon as it was fixed the first thing they did was call us and invite us over so we could skype on Mothers Day. I'm so grateful for them, for modern technology, and the amazing time I had talking to my family. We were able to get a three way skype going so we could all be "there", the connection worked great, and it felt like the happiest hour of my life.

Mother's Day Skype with Dad in Michigan, Momma and kiddos in Florida

Today I want to share with you my testimony that I know that families are meant to be together forever. I miss home a lot, but I've never felt more at home than when I was talking with my family, even though I'm across a huge ocean and seven hours ahead in time. The family is central to our Heavenly Father's plan for us. They help us learn, grow, and provide support for us in the good and the bad times. 

And what would families be without mothers?! President Thomas S. Monson said,

“May each of us treasure this truth; one cannot forget mother and remember God. One cannot remember mother and forget God. Why? Because these two sacred persons, God and [our earthly] mother, partners in creation, in love, in sacrifice, in service, are as one.”

I cannot adequately describe how grateful I am for my mother. I appreciate her more and more everyday, and think of her example and teachings whenever I need support or help. She has been my biggest role model, someone I can always turn to for love, and one of my best friends. I strive each day to become like her, and I only hope I can be the mother she has been for me for my future children. I look forward so much to the day when I can be a mother and love my children as much as she loves me.

I'm grateful also for all the "mothers" in my life - grandmothers, YW leaders, teachers, friends, friends' mothers, and any one who has shaped and molded me into the person I am today. Thank you. You are all so amazing. Happy (late) Mother's Day to all!

I love you all and hope you all have a wonderful week ahead of you!

Much love,

Sorella Carver

Cosenza

Week 13

Buongiorno everyone!

I'm sorry my email titles are so lame. It's a bit embarrassing. I need
to start being more creative than three to four word alliterations,
week after week. I need an email-title-generator or something. Jacob,
maybe you could put your creative juices together and whip something
up? ;)

Well this week has been...interesting... But then again, when is
missionary work not interesting?!

To start out, last Monday was some sort of Festa nationally celebrated
in Italy. When Italians celebrate (which is often), they celebrate.
This means 99% of stores are closed and public transportation is
barely functioning.
Unfortunately, it happened that on this Monday we had to travel to
Crotone again. Sorella Muçe's companion had finished her mission, and
she was now companion-less. We had planned to spend until Thursday
(transfer day) there with her and help her prepare to transfer to
Siracusa.
In a lovely turn of events, we stopped in just about every city in
Calabria before we got to Crotone. No joke. But we made it. It was
quite a day! :)

We ended up have a great week in Crotone. There was a lot of service
to be done to help Sorella Muçe get ready (she had a foot injury they
were trying to let heal, and was told she wasn't supposed to walk as
much as possible until transfers! Makes it hard to pack and do
missionary work if you can't walk!).

Saying Good-bye to Sorella Muce

Because we hadn't been in Cosenza for most of the week, we were
looking forward to going home and getting to work in our city.
We got in late Thursday afternoon, visited with a meno attiva sorella
(Sorella Scalera - she is so wonderful, and we just found/met her a
couple weeks ago... Hoping we can continue to build this relationship
and trust!) and then headed to the church that night because there was
a branch festa for a Sorella who had just finished her mission and was
coming to visit with her family! (Again with the festas.... Haha)

And then things were seeming really great, but...
You know that feeling when you know you're about to get a fever? Your
head feels all pressurized haha and you are so cold... Or does that
just happen to me?
I think with all the traveling to and from Crotone, the new town and
lots of hand shaking, lack of vegetables (no joke), and the cold
front/huge change in weather we had, my body just threw in the towel
and was saying, "Sorella Carver. I'm dying."