Roma 1

Week 28

Buongiorno, everybody!

A LOT has happened since last PDay! A LOT!
Monday was Ferragosto, and Italian holiday that basically shuts down
the whole country haha. But we were invited to a members
party/barbecue with tons of other members and we had such a good time
getting to spend time with them. The food was delicious, the area was
beautiful, and the company was so great. :)

Ferragosta Pranzo

Monday night we also received transfer calls!! We were in a lesson
when Sorella Pickerd called, so we had to wait until we finished the
lesson to call her back. However, the people we were teaching were
super talkative, so by the time we actually left the house we were
running a little late.... :/ So we are literally running home as
Sorella Cueva calls Sorella Pickerd back so we can make it home on
time. She gets her on the phone but then we get in the elevator and the
line DROPS. So we had to wait till we were back in the housetops to call
her AGAIN. We were so anzy at this point haha! We finally got ahold of
her and...

Sorella Cueva will be training (!!!!!!) in Ladispoli, and I was
transferred to the Roma 1 area to open up a second set of Sorelle
Missionaries with Sorella Adamson!

I was sad to leave Ladispoli and Sorella Cueva, especially since I was
there for only five weeks and I had really started to love it. BUT I'm
so excited for Sorella Cueva to train, and I'm so excited for this
HUGE fresh start in Rome 1.

I didn't make a huge jump with this transfer... I'm in the other Rome
Zone now, but my area is in the same stake as Ladispoli. We are in a
four Sorelle house now with Sorella Erickson and Sorella Nelson, who
are so so awesome. My companion, Sorella Adamson, is from Australia!
She's got two transfers left before she goes home, and we're excited
to just hit the road running in this brand new area. The ward is huge,
and often is the ward that tourists visit when they're here on
vacation. A lot of the members are from South America too, so we might
be learning some Spanish in this area. 😳 Super exciting! Our area is
beautiful and covers a lot of central Rome...the Vatican is like 3k
away from our house. I'm falling in love with this amazing city!

This week I just want to share a quick verse I'm loving right now from
Romans 1:15-16

"So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that
are at Rome also.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of
God unto salvation to every one that believeth"

I'm ready to preach the gospel here in Rome. I'm so excited for this
transfer, for our work to start here, and for everything that is to
come. I am also not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. His way is the
way that leads us to find happiness in this life when nothing else
can, and gives of the hope and assurance of an eternal life to come. I
know he loves us, and that is why he provided us with this gospel and
these commandments. Instead of limitations or unreachable
expectations, they are directions (like a metro map!) that help us
find our way. I love my Savior, and I know he lives and loves us too.

Lots of love,
Sorella Carver

Overlook fo Piazza Del Popolo

new comp - Sorella Adamson!

Ladispoli

Week 27

(written on Aug 15, 2016)

Ciao, cari!

How are we already half way through with August? 

This week has gone faster than ever but it's been wonderful. I got a little sick there in the middle (little fever and cough) but nothing some DayQuil and a pisolino couldn't fix. Not sure what I caught, but it wasn't fun. But that's okay... Nothing stops missionary work! 

We are planning to have an open house on the 27th at the church, so this week we spent a lot of time prepping for that and meeting with other church members/leaders to organize ourselves. 

We also had another Scambio this week. This time I was in the Roma 2 area with Sorella Caramia! She's just about the sweetest person I've ever met, and it was so great to work with her. While I was there Friday morning we participated in a service project with some other missionaries and a few members. We painted some walls in a nearby park, and it was so fun and we did some really good work.

While I was there, I also saw a quote on the wall in the Sorelle's apartment from Kid President that made me laugh... 

"Give people high fives just for getting out of bed. Being a person is hard sometimes." 

Haha how true is that?! It also made me think of a quote from President Monson my momma shared with me some time ago...

"Life is perfect for none of us. Rather than being judgmental and critical of each other, may we have the pure love of Christ for our fellow travelers in this journey through life."  

We really are all fellow travelers on this journey! We are all children of the same Heavenly Father, sent here to this earth to learn and grow and become like him. If the whole world could know that, how much better of a place would it be? I hope that this week we can all take a second and remember to show the pure love of Christ to all we meet or to all we may come in contact with. A smile, a kind word, an extra bit of patience.

I love you all and I'm grateful for you all!

Love,

Sorella Carver 

Service Project in Rome 2 with Sorella Caramia and others

Waiting on the train...

Dinner with the Famiglia Gambi and Dayana,
a new convert we work with

Ladispoli

Week 26

Good morning, y'all and happy Monday!

This week has been a whirlwind and I'm not sure how it's already a new week. I hope its been a good week for each of you and you are enjoying your summer!

As I thought about what I could share in my email this week, a few things came to mind. But as I sit here typing, I feel like I need to share a few different experiences I had yesterday.

Yesterday at church was fast and testimony meeting, which is held every first Sunday of the months. On this Sunday, we have a testimony meeting, where members of the congregation are able to bear their testimony in Sacrament Meeting (instead of pre assigned talks by members like normal). For the past few weeks we've had a girl named Megan visiting our ward. She's from the States and is working on a cruise ship that ports near Ladispoli! Yesterday, she wanted to bear her testimony, and had one of the Anziani translate for her into Italian.

It's been a good six months since I've heard someone say their testimony in English, and though my Italian improves everyday, it was so rejuvenating to hear her share the things she knows... In my native language. The spirit was so strong.

She works with a girl on the cruise ship who began asking her questions about the things she believes in and why she does what she does as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In her testimony, she expressed how she had felt like a failure, that she wasnt doing enough to be a member missionary, and hadn't explained well enough what needed to be explained. BUT it wasn't until later that she found out this co worker had talked with another friend on the ship, and had said that she could "see a light" on Megan's face that hadalways impressed her. 

Megan went on to describe another experience she had when the ship stopped in Greece. A person on the tour had only known her for an hour, and didn't speak English perfectly, but did her best to say, "I don't know how to say this perfectly, but you have a light about you that's different and I can't explain what it is."

Megan bore a sweet testimony to me that sometimes it's our example, it's the light we bring with us, that makes the biggest difference. It makes up for our inadequacies, our fears, and our stumbles. The light in our eyes sparks a difference in others and makes them want to know what we have. We have the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Later Sudnay evening we were in a spur-of-the-moment member present lesson/meeting these new potential investigators...(long story haha) and the member was explaining to these women that as missionaries, we leave home and family for 18 months/2 years to come to Italy and share the gospel with others. One of the ladies a few minutes later caught my eye and said to me..."Do you miss your family?" I couldn't lie. "Yes, so much!" I said, but with a smile. I added something like "But it's okay because this time goes fast and I'm here to share something that makes my family so happy!" She elbowed her friend, and says "Look at the way she lights up when she says that..." 

Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing much good here, like Megan said about her experiences with her friend. I can't share the gospel as fluently as my native comp can, I don't know the lessons perfectly, I don't always have my words perfectly strung together, I stumble a lot, and I can't always say exactly what I'd like too. I have to remind myself (often!) that that's okay! Because I carry with me the message with the greatest worth in all the world, and as long as others can feel that through me, then I'm doing all I need too. 

Ether 4:12 in the Book of Mormon says,

"And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good....I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world."

This light that we all carry in us it the light of Christ. He is the light and his is the way that leads to happiness and peace in this life, and hope for the life to come. His name is on my name tag everyday, and it is His light I'm trying to share to that others can find the way. 

I know he lives, I know he loves us. I know that His church has been restored to the earth with the same authority and organization that was there when he walked upon the earth. He has provided a way, through his Atonement, for each of our Heavenly Father's precious children to return to our home. He is the light.

I love you all and I'm grateful for your love, prayers, and support! Vi voglio tango bene! 

Con amore,

Sorella Carver

View from our apartment in Ladispoli

Ladispoli

Week 25

(Written on 1 August, 2016)

Buongiorno cari!

This week has been lovely here in Ladispoli!

Except for the heat. Half the time I don't know if we're just sweating
or if we're actually melting haha. So hot. But that's what gelato's
for, right? Meno male.

Anyways, back to the loveliness.

This week I had a couple of neat experiences I wanted to share with y'all.
The first was on Friday. We went to Civitavechia, a city outside of
Ladispoli but still in our area. We had never been and had no idea
what it was like (perks of a blow in ;)) so our plan was to go and get
an idea of the area and do some ricerca before the next train. This
city has a LOT of potential, and we are excited to start working there
more in the future.
On the way back to the train station, we passed a large family of
Africans also heading back in that direction. They were all speaking
English really well, but as we passed, one of the girls looks at me
and asks, "Stazione...?!" and points in the direction of the station.
I laughed and said, "Yeah, it's straight ahead!" She then said, "Oh!
You speak English!" We laughed some more and as we continued walking
we got to talking. This family was from New York (when I told her I
was from Florida she was like "USA!" and gave me a huge high five
hahaha) and were here on vacation. They had seen Elders (boy
missionaries) in their city before, but never Sorelle, and thought
that was really cool! I explained who we are and what we do as
missionaries, shared with them a little card for a video on
Mormon.org, invited them to watch it, and we parted ways. I love
situations like these 1) because I get a chance to share the gospel in
English (as much as I love Italian...it'll always be a little bit
easier in my native language!) and 2) though we might not see the
fruits of that experience, who knows what will happen the next time
they see Elders or Sisters in New York. I hope and pray they'll have
the opportunity, and remember the American girl and her Italian
companion that helped them find the train station in a little bitty
city in Italy.
Following that awesome experience we got to the train station and
there's this other family freaking out because their train is about to
leave and they can't figure out how to stamp their ticket to verify
it. They were all in a fluster and the woman spoke poco English but we
were able to help them figure it out...then we RAN because we were
about to miss our train too. Turns out we were on the same train haha!
This family was from Saudi Arabia (!!!) and was ALSO here on
vacation, and we talked about our missionary purpose and what we do
with the daughters who were sitting across from us. Again, just
another really fulfilling experience. The world is small when you're
in Rome. :)

(((Side story: we forgot to stamp our tickets after we rushed to buy
them and by the time we got to the train we had NO time the turn back.
Sorella Cueva was like "You tell the train ticket guy that we didn't
have time and ask if it's okay in English...he'll be more
understanding! And at first I didn't want to but then I did and he
laughs and goes "Don' worry. Can on the train!" Sorella Cueva was
right. Funny thing is later we talked to him in Italian so we kind of
broke our tourist-cover ;)))

Then Saturday I had a Scambio in Rome with Sorella Holiday. In the
evening we had an appointment with a meno attivo and her friend who
just came to live with her from Peru. (Did I already say that the
world is small in Rome?) Anyways, the friend only speaks Spanish and
so as we talked and explained things her friend would sometimes have
to stop and translate. (I haven't heard Spanish since high school...so
it was kinda weird to hear that after having learned some Italian...)
At the end we gave the friend a copy of the Book of Mormon in Spanish
and invited her to read it. She also said the closing prayer, and THAT
was awesome. She prayed in Spanish, and both Sorella Holiday and I
could understand most of it. The spirit filled the room as she said
this humble, from the heart prayer.

Summary: The world is small, the spirit knows no language barriers,
and we are ALL sons and daughters of one amorevole Father in Heaven,
together going through the same mortal journey.

SO. This Wednesday I hit my six months mark as a missionary, or a
third of the mission. This has made me think a LOT about how much I've
learned and grown in the past six months and how much I can still
learn and grow in the coming year. It's also made me realize how fast
time is going.

Sometimes in life we often think, "Tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll start that,
tomorrow I'll change this, tomorrow I'll be the person I want to be."
I'm definitely guilty of this. In our last zone conference, our APs
told us to not put of to tomorrow the things that can be done today.
I.E. Becoming the missionaries we want to, need to, and can be. Today.

I read a talk this week, "This Day" by President Henry B. Eyring, that
tied this all together.

"The God who gives us each day as a treasure will require an
accounting. We will weep, and He will weep, if we have intended to
repent and to serve Him in tomorrows which never came or have dreamt
of yesterdays where the opportunity to act was past. This day is a
precious gift of God. The thought “Someday I will” can be a thief of
the opportunities of time and the blessings of eternity."

He goes on to talk about how sometimes our circumstances and our
trials cause us to have these feelings of "someday"...or even of
despair about the "lack" of our ability to do some thing today. This
is something I'm working on a lot... All too often I think things
like, "When I speak the language better..." Or "When I have a comp
that does this..." Or "When the moment is perfect I'll open my
mouth..." It's a day by day process of improving, but we can't wait to
get started. Today is the day. I love how President Eyring finishes
his talk:

"Hard as things seem today, they will be better in the next day if you
choose to serve the Lord this day with your whole heart. Your
circumstances may not be improved in all the ways which you desire.
But you will have been given new strength to carry your burdens and
new confidence that when your burdens become too heavy, the Lord, whom
you have served, will carry what you cannot. He knows how. He prepared
long ago. He suffered your infirmities and your sorrows when He was in
the flesh so that He would know how to succor you."

Let us choose to serve today. Let us use the enabling power of the
Atonement of Jesus Christ to help us on the way. He stands ready to
help. This is his work!

I've got six months behind me but a whole lot of "todays" ahead that
I'm so grateful and excited for. I know that this is l'opera del
Signore and that he stands at the head of this Church. His way is the
way that leads to happiness, peace, and contentment in this life and
in the life to come.

Please excuse this extremely long, jumbled up mess of an email/testimony... 

Sending love to you all,
Sorella Kaitlin Carver

P.S.I invite you all to finish the talk because it's that good.
There's also a Mormon message made from it called "Choose this Day" that
is amazing.

P.P.S No fun pictures this week... Sorry :( I've only got a video from
our balcony of a karaoke singer from a bar down the street from us
that was PROPRIO TERRIBLE and made us laugh a lot. But no one wants to
listen to that haha. Really. I promise.

Ladispoli

Week 24

Buongiorno a tutti!!

This week has been great here in the lovely city of Ladispoli! It's
also flown by. Can't believe it's already Monday.

Last Monday we had a great PDay in Rome and joined up with a handful
of other missionaries to see some sites! It is crazy busy this time of
year, but it's still so amazing.

Trevi Fountain

casting coins in the Trevi Fountain

sightseeing in Rome with other Sorelle on Pday

Tuesday we had Zone Conference in Rome as well. ZC never fails to
inspire and uplift me, and I love our new mission president and his
wife, the Pickerds. They have a great work placed on their shoulders
but they handle it like no one else could. ALSO I got to see SORELLA
LEATHERN at conference who is now in my district!!! (My MTC comp!)
Holy happiness...and lots and lots of laughter. ;) So excited that we
get to see each other every week this transfer.

Sorella Moro, Leathern, Cueva, and me :)

This week we've been working hard to get to know a lot of the members
and less actives here in Ladispoli. The members here really are
amazing and want to work hard with the missionaries to share the
gospel. We set a goal to try and visit all of the members, and teach
them using the Europe Area Plan that the area leaders have put out. So
far we've had a lot of success and I'm excited to see how the rest of
this transfer goes.

Friday we went to Bracciano (a little town outside of Ladispoli) for
the day to do finding and missionary work there. We had Pranzo with
Diana, a member who lives there. She's recently married and just about
the cutest thing ever. She served a mission at Temple Square and is so
wonderful in helping us get to know the area and who were working
with. She also justifies eating gelato if we also eat salad, so we're
already great friends. ;)

She introduced us to her friend, Martina, this week. She's come to
church a few times and has started to read the Book of Mormon. We are
so excited and hope to start teaching her the lessons this week. She
is ready!!

Funny for the week:
The mamma of our ward mission leader is visiting from Messina (a
Sicilian city) and she is just the most southern Italian woman I've
ever met! Everyone calls her Mamma Giorgianni and she's hilarious. She
knows Sorella Cueva from when she served in Messina, so whenever she
sees on us Sunday she always shouts out (to not only her but me also
haha), "Ciao, gioiaaaa!!!!" And talks to both of us like she's known
us for ages. She seriously reminds me of Mamma Voodoo from Princess
and the Frog. But Italian instead of Cajun. So so great. She also
broke her arm so she's got this huge cast on that the grandkids drew
gelato on which just makes the scene that much better.

Spiritual thought for the week:
In Zone Conference this week we talked a lot about being consecrated
missionaries. Later, I read a verse in the Book of Mormon that
reminded me of the things we talked about. Omni 1:26 says,
"And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto
Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation,
and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your
whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and
praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be
saved."

My favorite part is the phrase that says, "...come unto him and offer
your whole souls as an offering to him..." As missionaries, we're
asked to give all our time, energy, and thoughts for a year and a half
or two years to the Lord, leaving behind worldly desires and worries.
But this invitation isn't just extended to missionaries, ALL are invited to
come unto him. As we come, and as we offer him our whole souls (all
our desires, our dreams, our will) to him and accept his will, we
become the people he needs us to be, and we are blessed with strength
and power beyond our capacity to understand.

I know the work I'm engaged in now is the Lord's. It is not always
easy. What he's asking for in that verse is a lot! I was so blessed to
be called to the Italy Rome Mission for more than one reason, but it
isn't a vacation, we're not here to study or to sight see or eat great
food. There are hard days, hard weeks, good days and good weeks. 
Times when I've never felt more capable or inspired and times when I feel
more alone than ever before. But this is the Lord's work. And he is
helping us!! He's there enduring with us, helping us every step of the
way. He always keeps his promises. I'm so grateful that for the next
part of my life I can give my whole focus to him and his work. And
though I'll eventually come home and take my name tag off, my mission
will never truly end. Once we give our will and souls to him, there's
no going back! And I'm so grateful for that. Because truthfully, there
is no better work than this in the world!

As always, thanks y'all for the continual love and support. I miss and
love you all!
Forza Italia e vi voglio un mondo di bene!

Con amore,
Sorella Kaitlin Carver

P.S.
The mission mailing address has changed....just a heads up! It's now:
Piazza Monte Gemma 9
00141 Roma
Italia

Cosenza

Week 23

Me ne vado via!

One thing I've learned...
Is that you just never know and changes are a part of life (especially
in the mission!).

Whooooo hheeeee this has been CRAZY.

This week up until Friday was fairly normal! Our less actives and
members are doing well and we got some really good work done. Friday
we had the Crotone Sorelle in town, and early Saturday morning we
headed to Paola to put Sorella Roberts on a train up to Rome. She's
finished the mish and headed home with honor! Then the plan was for
Sorella Dustin to stay with us in Cosenza until Thursday (transfer
day).

However. Saturday was Transfer Call day, and we were called ON THE WAY
TO THE TRAIN STATION as we carried two big ol suitcases in 98 degree
weather. It was an adventure y'all!

And for the news:::
As sad as I'm am to say I have to leave Cosenza, I'm excited to also
say that I'm headed to LIDISPOLI!! (A small city on the coast near
Rome!) I will miss Calabria and all the crazy experiences I've had
here. This zone is were I started my mission, and it'll always have a
special place in my heart! But I know it's time to move on and do the
lords work for me in another area of Italy.
My new companion will be Sorella Cueva, a South American/Italian and
we will be "blowing in" the city....mish terms for when both Sorelle
leave and two brand new ones come in! To say I'm nervous is an
understatement, but it'll just be another adventure. ;)

Sorella Sargent (and MTC Sorella from my group) will come and take my
place! Andddd Sorella Dustin (who thought she was staying for sure in
Crotone) is ALSO being blow out! She's headed to Sardegna!

So long story slightly shorter... Our whole mission will be flipped
around next Thursday!! Quite literally. (There are 75 companionships
and 72 of them are changing. )

Saturday afternoon we headed to Crotone last minute so Sorella Dustin
can start packing and getting ready for the blowout. So much to do and
so little time! We'll be here until Tuesday morning, then we'll head
back to Cosenza and it'll be my turn to say goodbye to people, pack,
and get ready to go on Thursday!

All of this change and experience has made me think often of the
scripture that says "Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for
I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear
record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God,
that I was, that I am, and that I am to come." D&C 68) I know that
this is true, and that all of us have this help and promise! I've got
it as I face big changes and new experiences in the mission, and each
of you with all the things you're facing. He is with you. And he will
stand by you.

I love you all and I'm grateful for you all!

Love,
Sorella Kaitlin Carver

4th of July Festa prep

4th of July Festa with branch

Gelato :)