Caserta sta Fiorendo

Happy Thanksgiving family and friends! Hope everyone had a good holiday :)

The Americans in our ward took very good care of us on Thanksgiving!

My first full week in Italy was unforgettable.

Let me start by saying that we live in the most beautiful city I have ever seen. We go running in the mornings and I jog down these streets in complete awe. Everything is so cute- there's no other way to put it!

Today for p-day we went up to Casertavecchia and it was an amazing view with super cute streets, pictures attached.

The streets of Casertavecchia

The view from Casertavecchia

Something cool our zone is doing for every day of December is that each companionship is giving away a wrapped copy of the Book of Mormon to someone as a gift. It'll be over 250 copies of the Book of Mormon given away just from the Napoli zone!!

English course has to be my favorite part of the week. We have about 60 people that come and it's adorable to hear Italians speak English with their accents.

On Friday, Sorella Hess and I had plans to visit Sorella Gallardo, a less active member who doesn't live super close to us. We had a really awesome lesson with her, but it was thunder-storming when we left so we walked home in the pouring rain! Oh my goodness I was laughing the whole way home it was so much fun...even if it took 4 days for my shoes to dry!

I hit a milestone this week when I finished my first whole pizza!

We had a gesso on Saturday night and another on Sunday night! They are so much fun and we get to meet so many people on the street.

Yesterday Sorella Hess and I watched the Face to Face with David Archuleta and it was really good! One thing he said that I really liked is that "the gospel helps good people become better". I know this is true, I have seen the gospel enhance my life and so many others.

I am so thankful for my Savior, I know he loves each of us infinitely. I have never been so happy, and I know that this happiness comes through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I love being a missionary, especially here in Italy!

Love you all and hope ya'll have a great week! :)

PS sorry for the short email this week.

We ran into Americans visiting Caserta for the day!
They are exchange students.

Waiting for the train.

XOXO,
Carley

Sorella Carley Neuberger
Via Caduti Sul Lavoro 3
Caserta CE 81100 Italia

When in Caserta

Ciao from Italy!! I'm finally here and this country is nothing short of amazing :)

​Our first couple days here were spent in Rome at the mission home! They call it "The Villa" and it's 7000 square feet, originally built for Mussolini. Huge and so beautiful. Big enough for our group of 18 to stay at! While in Rome, we got to see the Colosseum, the Forum, and the old Vatican.​

​President and Sister Pickerd are ​the coolest! I know that they have been called of God to direct us as missionaries and I can't wait to get to know them better over the next 18 months.

​Our second night at the Villa, we had a big "golden envelope" ceremony. Each of us was called up in front of the group one by one, was handed a golden envelope, and opened the envelope to discover our first area! It was surprisingly intense... I didn't realize how big of a deal that would be. It's probably just an Italy thing, I don't know. 

My first area is.....CASERTA!

​It's a city right outside of Naples. I had a short, 2 hour train ride down to Naples and my trainer/first companion in the field, Sorella Hess, was waiting there when I got off the train- she's literally the cutest! ​I am so excited to spend the next 12 weeks with her, she is hands down one of the coolest people I've met. Sorella Hess went to BYU last summer/fall semester. She's been here in Caserta since July and before that she was in her first area, Taranto. Her Italian is flawless and I know that I'll be learning a ton from her in the next couple months!! 

Sorella Hess and first Napoli pizza

As you probably know, Naples has the best pizza in Italia. So being the amazing trainer she is, the first place Sorella Hess took me was to a pizza place in Naples. Best. Pizza. Ever. I will for sure be eating as much of it as I can while I am here. It's a little different, because unlike American pizza, Italians don't cut the pizza. Instead, 1 pizza feeds 1 person. You just pick up the pizza, fold it in half, and eat the entire thing. IT'S HEAVENLY. That's the best way I can put it. Guess you just have to try one for yourself! The gelato is also to die for. We may or may not have had 2 gelato trips in my first day in Caserta. No regrets whatsoever. 

​The ward here is awesome! It's a nice transition for me because all of the meetings are translated. There's a military base in our area ​so a large portion of the ward is American, which is awesome! I can actually communicate with the ward members if no one else!!!! 

The missionaries here do English Course every Tuesday and Thursday night and it's been really fun! It's a super good way to get people into the church buildings and it's way easy to just walk up to people on the street and invite them to english course! We have basic, intermediate, and advanced classes and the Italians come to learn English from us missionaries! I'm excited to be a part of this for the rest of my mission. 

On Saturday night we had a Thanksgiving party with everyone from english course plus a bunch of ward members and it was super fun!! Funny moment from the Thanksgiving Festa: when Salvatore takes a big forkful of butter and eats it plain in one bite. Oh my goodness I thought I would never stop laughing. He seemed totally chill about it though! Whatever floats your boat, Salvatore.

​For Thanksgiving on Thursday, we, along with 2 anziani in our district, will be eating with some members that live on base! Our district is made up of 4 anziani, us, and a senior couple. Everyone is really awesome and nice and I'm just so excited to get to know them all and become a family!! 

​Last night our district had a ​gesso which is where we go to a busy-ish strada with lots of people and draw on a sheet with chalk. It gives us plenty of opportunities to talk with people and hand out pass along cards--- it was way fun! Last night we drew a Christmas tree and shared the video "He is the Gift" (https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-00-1460-he-is-the-gift?lang=eng). Sorella Hess and I had the opportunity to share this video with a sweet girl named Rosa and by the end of it, we were all in tears. We got to bear testimony of the love our Heavenly Father has for each of us as His children and prayed with Rosa right there in the middle of the street. It's amazing how the Spirit can be felt so strongly no matter where you are! We are looking forward to meeting with Rosa later this week :)

​The language is coming slowly but surely! Something I learned from Fratello Hatch in the MTC was that your potential will only be limited if you limit it. Otherwise it's infinite and eternal!!​ I am excited to strive to live up to my potential every day in the mission field. I know that as we turn to our Father in Heaven He will help us become our best selves! I was reading a talk this morning called "A Pattern in All Things" by Marvin J. Ashton and really like this quote: "Many times true winners in life are those who have been hurt and disappointed but have risen above these challenges. Very often in life, God gives us difficulties to bring out the best in us. It is true, life does not determine winners. Winners determine life." This week I challenge you to strive to have a winner mentality! I know that as we look for the good in life, we will be blessed beyond comprehension.

I'm so thankful for the opportunity I have to be a missionary and a representative of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, here in Italy! I love you all and hope you have a great Thanksgiving.

At the mission home.  Serious jet lag.

All 18 new missionaries at the mission home.

Train ride from Rome to Naples

Meeting my trainer Sorella Hess
for the first time at the train station.

First cornetti

First gelato

XOXO,
Carley


Sorella Carley Neuberger
Letters:
Via Caduti Sul Lavoro 3
Caserta CE 81100 Italia

We arrived

A quick note from the Mission President and Carley

Dear Parents,

We wanted to let you know that your missionary arrived safely at the mission home today. We love them already and have been praying for them before they came. 

We are including a photo and short message from them. We look forward to serving with your missionary!

President and Sister Pickerd

Hey family! We made it to Italy and so did our luggage :) extremely jet lagged and tired, but so happy to be here!! Italy is awesome and so beautiful as you can see from the pictures! Today we are doing training and tomorrow we are sight seeing. Tomorrow night we find out our first area and then we head out Thursday morning! Email Monday!

Love you!

Carley

President and Sister Pickerd in front of the mission home

Italy Rome Temple
( I am hoping I am still on my mission when it is dedicated )

Last email from Utah

That's right, this is my last email from the MTC! My next email will be sent from Italy!!

Ciao friends and family!

It has been another amazing and spiritually uplifting week for me! Reflecting back on the past 7 days, I can't help but think of how blessed I am and how often the Lord has manifested His hand in my life.

Beautiful day at the Provo Temple

Flight Plans

But first of all: FLIGHT PLANS! I leave Monday morning  (along with 17 other missionaries going to Rome, the Milan missionaries leave Tuesday) Our plane takes off at 8:55 am but for some odd reason we have to be at the travel office at 4:20 am.... not complaining because I probably won't be able to sleep that night anyway!!!! We have a layover in New York (JFK) and then straight to Rome! We arrive in Rome on Tuesday at like 7:30 am local time. That's a full 24 hours of traveling but I can't wait. It still doesn't seem real that I'm actually going to Italy!


My companion and I have been practicing for a couple weeks and we auditioned to perform a musical number: "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go". Sorella Oehler on the flute and I accompanied her on the piano. We got to perform yesterday at the new missionary orientation! It went really well and was a lot of fun.

Our zone got to host this Wednesday AGAIN. Three weeks in a row, che cavolo?! It was awesome as always, the sister I hosted will be serving in Anaheim, California.


On Sunday night we had a special musical devotional-- Jenny Oaks Baker and her family performed for us! Oh my goodness it was amazing. She is such an accomplished violinist and her children are so talented! She bore her testimony in between songs, it was just a great way to change up devotional but still super spiritual.

Tuesday's devotional was Sister Joy B. Jones, the General Primary President. 12,000 hours. That's the number of hours in 18 months. Sister Jones emphasized that we make the most of our 12,000 hours because every. hour. counts. But the same applies for each of you! Make every minute of every hour of every day count! You know what they say...life's too short to be anything but happy :) Sister Jones said that YOUR happiness is YOUR responsibility. I love that!! One other thing she mentioned: "We can't know WHO we are until we know WHOSE we are." I know that each one of us is a son or daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves us more than we can imagine. He knows us each individually, knows our needs, desires, everything and He. Loves. Us. I am so thankful for my Heavenly Father and all He has blessed me with in this life. I'm thankful that He has allowed me to be one of His missionaries!

Funny comment of the week---
Me (at dinner): "hey Anziano Velardi, what is that on your plate?"
Anziano Velardi: "pasta"
Anziano Hughes (to Anziano Velardi): "you're pasta!"
Anziano Velardi: "I would consider myself a Fettuccine noodle because I'm white and skinny"

I'm still laughing every time I even think of this conversation......Haha oh my. I'm going to miss my district for sure. They've undoubtedly become my best friends in these past 6 weeks.

After hearing about the events of this past week in politics, I would just like to say that no matter who is in office or who isn't in office, I know that these next 4 years will be some of the best for all of us! Why? Because we have a Heavenly FATHER who loves us and who will work all things together for our benefit so long as we are faithful to Him.

During class this week, Sorella Francom had us write down an answer to the question "What type of missionary do you want to be?" This question has been on my mind since! I have come to the conclusion that I want to be the type of missionary who: smiles at everyone she sees, is quick to serve and help others, carries the light of Christ, is dedicated to the work, cares less of herself and more of others, the missionary who opens her mouth at every opportunity, who isn't afraid to make mistakes, who doesn't care if her language is perfect. I want to be the type of missionary that when I talk to people they will see Christ's light and desire to know more about the gospel, who turns to the Lord in every situation, who prays whole-heartedly. I want to find joy in the journey, I want to be the best missionary I can be.

I am so thankful for the gospel in my life! I know that it is true and I'm so thankful and happy every day to be a missionary. Love you all!

XOXO,
Carley

#SiblingShoutouts
Chase: #fastestboyiknow congrats to your team on placing 3rd in the state! #XC
Cade: #YOUREALEGALDRIVER #SAYWHAT #CLEARTHEROADS
Claire: is that road rash from Cade's #awesomedrivingskills ?

Also shoutout to Austin for the Rome package! Don't know how you had time for that but thank you!!

As always, big thank you to my parents for all of the DAILY love and support. Can't wait to Skype with you from the airport on Monday morning!!

Glow Stick party - Thanks for the glow sticks mom!

Words to live by