Gesù & Gelato: 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.