Io so che la chiesa e la verita.
I know that the church is truth (inside joke with the siblings)
But so much truth.
ps. I know more italian than this. I just can't type as quickly as I think in italian...which is still pretty slow:)
Are you ready for the greatest news possible??
Sorella Price and I are singing in the choir! ....NOT just any choir, but the General Relief Society Meeting one in the Conference Center this SATURDAY NIGHT! Say WHAT. So if by chance you're watching the RS broadcast, WOMEN (and men too, I guess...) Look for the girl with the TEAL shirt (there will probably be 100s of teal shirts) so hopefully you haven't forgotten my face already:)
We feel so lucky to be chosen to participate in this opportunity. The choosing process is based on your singing experience. Thank you so much mom and dad for pushing me to do choir! The music is so beautiful and the choir directors put so much passion into the music. They have given me a whole new perspective of music and how to portray the words. It is so beautiful. The main choir director is from 17 miracles!! (the woman who flees with her children on the train from her abusive husband). She is fantastic. Wow.
IT is my halfway point. 3 weeks to go. Life is crazy and Italy is getting more and more real each day.
We received our FIRST referral in Rome. An elder from Cazikstan approacched us with this exciting news. I was very impressed when he took the effort to find pen and paper to write down this man's address. Turns out, the elder did not know the man's address, but FEAR NOT. We were given a beautifully drawn, rather tiny map of where exactly the man's house is in Rome. All we know is that it is three houses from the center and his name is Marco. Sorella Price and I giggled so much about it after he walked away. We then decided that we would do the Sisterhood of the Traveling Marco Map (We would send the map back and forth and at zone conferences "Have you met Marco yet??") I then said how cool it would be if God actually led us to him. Hey, you never know... with God. Read Elder Andersen's talk "It's a Miracle". It's fantastic. God has power and will make things happen as long as we have faith!! Do the Lord's work. "Not missionary work. Missionary fun" RIGHT? Of course right:)
Teaching is going so well! Wow there has been such a difference in our teaching since day one. Yes, we have learned better techniques, but more importantly we have learned how to incorporate the Spirit into our lessons. The Spirit is what testifies of truth and is absolutely necessary is everything we do. In the beginning Sorella Price and I felt so confused and disordered in our lessons. We have come to pray more sincerely and it has made all the difference. Our investigator, Luigi is atheist and has really struggled with the concept of prayer. (He is this funny crazy little italian man who is very stubborn). We have testified over and over of the power of prayer as we have taught him dfifferent things. Prayer is the ONLY way to come to know truth. It is how Joseph Smith, a boy of small faith came to know God's truth. It is how everyone can receive answers to questions of life! Sorella Price and I have prayed so sincerely for each of our investigators and we have seen the Spirit take over in lessons. It is amazing at how much more calm and confident we are in the lessons. We are able to whip our scriptures and ask the right questions. I know without a doubt that the Spirit of God speaks through us. We have God's power to receive revelation for our investigators. Luigi finally prayed for the first time last week. The Spirit was definitely present! We felt so overjoyed!!
I have been studying about the gift of the Holy Ghost. Alma 32:27-28. Verse 28 is beautiful. It is "delicious unto me". Meaning that we desire to have more of it all the time. We desire to feel more and hear more and know more. It is so vital that Sorella Price and I are constantly receiving revelation as we testify of the power of prayer. The Holy Ghost is really what sets us apart from other churches! We have the ability to communicate with our Heavenly Father. Brother Whiting (in our branch presidency) encouraged us to literally picture our Father in Heaven there with us as we are praying. What a beautiful thought.
We had an incredible devotional last night with a member of the Seventy- Elder Don Clarke, I believe. Everything he said was golden. He strongly urged us to talk to everyone! A good missionary is busy one. He shared a story of how a family was ready for the missionaries to stop by, but they didn't. It wasn't until 7 years later that they met some Mormon members and their whole family was baptized in a couple weeks!! One of the members became stake president and another patriarch. It made me realize how there are so many golden people out in the world today who are just itching to receive the truth! Dana, Ray, Nate...etc are some an amazing examples. There people in Italy being prepared to receive the gospel. There are people in California, Utah, Washington that are preparing to hear the beauty of the gospel from you. The members are so key!!! I am really hoping to get involved with the members of Italy! Please please help out the missionaries in your ward. You will see miracles. I know it. The joy of missionary work is too wonderful to pass up.
I am so grateful for the experiences our family had seeing several friends go through the conversion process, go on missions, and go to the temple. Wow, this is why I am serving a mission today! D&C 18. I have already experienced the joy of missionary work and it was not enough. I am so proud to be serving the Lord. What an honor to represent him and hold this power and authority! Share the good news.
Family, Friends. Please send mission/ member missionary work experiences. I would love to hear them! www.dearelder.com
The language is going pretty well. When I called USAA on the phone in the main office, I had to go through all the operator questions. When I was asked if my account number was correct, I answered "Si. YES!" Luckily, they caught the english word and I didn't have to start all over:) The language is beautiful. News on the temple: I hear it won't be finished until beginning of 2015. I pray that we will make it in time!!
Have a fabulous week!
Love,
Sorella Clyde
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Life is So Good
Teaching: though a very rewarding experience, it can definitely be a funny one (especially when your way of communication is so limited) and your teachers you have come to know so well become "your new investigators". Yep, we got two new ones to teach this week (Sandra and Luigi). (Yes, like Luigi from Mario Cart- it's fine) We are already off to a great start! First of all, Anziano Stephens and Anz Passantino probably don't put in as much effort with their italian, one might say... Apparently when Gianpiero agreed to be baptized, the elders quickly responded "Pregiamo?" (Can we pray?) Don't worry, we (sister price and I) try to put a little more thought into:)
Fratello Mortenson did a roleplay with us in class yesterday. He played the character of Lorenzo. It was first lesson. Everything was going great. We were getting to know him, asking about his religious background, sharing our purpose as missionaries, and then asked if we could pray. After I explained the importance/purpose of beginning with prayer, I offered to say the prayer. However, as we assumed a reverent position for the prayer, I noticed Lorenzo (Frat Mortenson) had immediately raised both hands in the air - all ready to pray. It definitely took me by surprise and I lost it a little bit. I even got Fratello Mortenson to step out of character. I guess it just wasn't anything I was expecting, especially from my teacher. Sorella Price then proceeded to explain how we pray; however she had no clue how to give directions in Italian, so she just motioned how we hold our hands/fold our arms and all I could contribute was "La testa" as I used my hands to force my head into a bowing position. (We definitely need to work on that). Lorenzo understood and I proceeded with the prayer
Afterwards, I apologized, claiming that I promise to never do that in Italy. I explained that it was only because I knew who Fratello Mortenson actually was.
Gianpiero became our teacher.....He is Fratello Cena and he is actually italian. He is an interesting man. Sometimes I feel a little bit judged by our teachers when we laugh in class- as if we are not taking it seriiously. I totally am! I finally explained that we get a little crazy sometimes because we are in this classroom always! :) Laughter is what gets us through the tough times.
We are really learning how to teach more effectively. The knowledge found in Preach my gospel is clearly from God. It just makes so much sense and is laid out so well for great teaching. Love it. All of our teachers are fantastic. Every day, I am continually amazed by what they teach and the Spirit they bring.
Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I know it so strongly. This past week has been so centered on him. As we have studied, testified, learned the 1st vision in italian, and even sang Joseph Smiths 1st prayer in the choir, I have such a stronger love and appreciation for him and all who gave so much to follow Christ's church during that time. I know without a doubt that the church has been restored and President Monson is the living prophet on the earth today!
2 Nephi 32
The Book of Mormon is full of promises. That is what the gospel is all about. We are continaully making covenants with God. It's like how we ask our investigators to make commitments. This is just practice for the covenants they will make. We are continually making commitments with God. We must commit to FEAST upon the words of Christ. God promises that in return, they willl tell us ALL things what we should do. Again, it says to feast and we will receive the Holy Ghost. Another promise= Pray to Father and He will consecrate our performance; it is for the welfare of our souls!
Search knowledge. Embrace the gospel everyday! I know that it will make you a better, stronger, happy person. I know that you will find the answers to your everyday concerns about life in the scriptures. They are the word of God!
I love the mission! I love the language! I love the people. Mostly, I love the doctrine. Every part of the doctrine brings me great hope and can bring the world great hope!
Io so che Gesu Cristo vive! Lui e il Salvatore dello mundo! Io so che le famiglie sono sempri. Il vangelo di Gesu Cristo mi fa molto felice! Ringrazio per la oportunita servire un misione oggi!
Vi voglio bene!!!
Love,
Sorella Clyde
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
IS THIS REAL LIFE????
Ciao tutti!!!
WOW. That is all I have to say. I have a missionary nametag. WHAT. I seriously have so much pride for it. Kenna, I keep wanting to grab it and look at it! I am representing Jesus Christ. This is so surreal. IT still freaks me out/excites me to see elders/sisters "Hey look! It's the missionaries!" (I think to myself). And then I quickly look down at my nametag..."Oh wait. I'm a missionary too!" SAY WHAT!
This week has gone fast! Okay, maybe not the first three days :) I am learning so much and I feel like I've known my companion/roommates for at least a month. My district consists of four missionaries. FOUR. There are two anziani (elders) and two sorelle (sisters). We are the only four going to Rome. There are bout 8 others (in our zone) going to the Milan mission. However, our classtime is just with the Rome missionaries, so it feels like we are constantly on a double date. So awkward, but awesome because we get a lot of one on one time with the teachers. The teachers are fantastic! Sorella Urban, Fratello Mortenson and Fratello Knutsen. The language is such a beautiful language! Apparently all of Italy came together one day with all the different dialects and combined them into one language. They took the most beautiful parts to create the Italian language. So cool!
My background of high school spanish has been a blessing and a curse (benedizione e maledizione). I find myself using Spanish words instead of Italian. Sorella Price (my companion) and I have been teaching an investigator, Giampierro, in italian! (I am totally seeing the gift of tongues come to pass in these lessons!) However at one point I asked Giampierro "Ha pregunte?" (Do you have any questions?) Giampierro seemed very confused. I quickly corrected myself "Ha domande?" MAmma mia! Also I probably make a lot of words up as I teach a lesson. It's great:) Dad. My previous italian study has worked wonders this last week! I am so so grateful for you pushing me!
Sunday was a spiritual feast! Wow. Everyday is in fact, but especially sunday. I can't believe howmuch good there is in the scriptures. I am discovering new and beautiful scriptures everyday. I know the scriptures bless so many lives and will bless so many lives. They bring us the greatest joy. They answer the questions of the soul! The missionary lessons are so beautiful! They make so much sense. On sunday night we watched Elder Bednar's previous devotional "The Character of Christ". Kungpow! I feel like his talk changed my whole mindset for the rest of my mission- for the rest of my life! Man, he is so BOLD! He spoke of learning OF Christ, not about Him and how we need to continually turn outward! The stories he shared were so touching! We must recieve His image in our countenances in evertyhing we do. It is the only way to bring souls unto Christ.
Monday was probably the best, worst day of the mission (the one week I've been here). It was definitely a rollercoaster of emotions. Giampierro is struggling to get an answer to his prayers. He still doesn't know if God exists, but he is interested in learning because his girlfriend is a member of the church. In our first lesson on Monday, I shared an analogy with him. It is the the telephone analogy explaining the idea of how to talk tot God. When you call up your dad on the phone and you ask for shoes, money, help with homework etc. and then you end the call. The idea is that that is how people tend to talk to Heavenly Father. It is necessary to wait for a response! I taught him the importance of waiting after you ask him a question. Giampierro then asked "How long do I wait?" With the limited italian I know, the first response came out: "Un minuto." I guess I didn't realize how ridiculous it sounded until Sorella Price brought it up later. Apparently I responded to Giampierro as a question. "Un minuto?" WHO gives someone a specific amount of time to wait for an answer!?? My district joked.."Um about 52 seconds." I laughed so ahrd that day about it that my stomach hurt. I litterally cried from laugher (probably mostly because of all the emotions I have felt since entering the MTC). ONE MINUTE, what was I thinking? There have been many-a-time that I'll look back and laugh at that. My Romanian roommates often tease me about it.
After our second lesson that day (which went very poorly), I felt pretty crumby. I felt like we hadn't really prepared for it and it was very disorganized. We didn't commit him to anything! On top of that, we can barely communicate what we want to communicate! I felt so beat up about it that I was on the verge of tears as Fratello Mortenson asked how it went. (KEEP IT TOGETHER KEEP IT TOGETHER). Frat Mortenson understood how disrtraught we felt, so he prayed with us and then opened up 2 Corinthians 12:7-9. I guess that's when I lost it alittle bit. It was so embarrassing. I kept laughing while covering my face. Fra Mortenson responded by retrieving a roll of toilet paper from the bathroom (an unopened roll). I laughed as I awkwardly removed the wrapping while wiping my tears away. LOTS of laughs, tears, emotions on Monday. (Such a fantastic scripture) I know that through faith, we can overcome our weaknesses. God can make miracles happen.
The language is great, though! There is so much to learn, but I think I am doing well so far! Teaching the basics, praying, carrying out a simple conversation. Dad, yes I am developing a LOVE for the language! It is really exciting!
Tuesday devotional was amazing, of course! Elder Martino spoke of the need of member involvement. It was so interesting as he applied Alma and Amulek to the missionaries and members of the church. Alma=missionary. Amulek= member. READ ALMA 8! Themissionaries are called to teach . The members = fellow-shippers. That is how we will have the greatest success. In the words of Pres Monson, "Members, of the church. ''Who do you know who has recently lost a loved one? Who do you know who struggles with unemployment? Who do you know who struggles with raising teenages?" Refer them to the missionaries. Your lives will be blessed immensely! You will see miracles come to pass. Your testimony will grow more than ever and be more grounded as Amulek's was. Missionary work is THE greatest work that we can be involved in! Do not miss out on these opportutniites that are before you!
THE MTC:
I am on the west campus (at wyview apartments) !! It's weird. I felt sad that I wouldn't be in the legit mtc where all the siblings went! However, the west mtc is fantastic in other ways. For one thing, we have the creamery!! Also it is so spacious!! There are two sisters to a room! More privacy. The cafeteria is definitely not as great. We went to the main campus cafeteria today. It pretty much felt like the great and spacious building :) That wrap line= molto bene! There are about 600 missionaries on the west campus and the numbers will grow to about 1500 eventually! Dad, the dana is awesome! Icanfly when I write in my journal! So so so grateful! Sorella Price is fantastic. We get along really well. She is so cool and fun. She laughs a lot at my weird humor. We live with three romanian missionaries. They are all really silly and definitely make life interesting. The missionary schedule is crazy and long but I am loving it. I pray hard that I can get this language down in FIVE WEEKS! (Oh we went to the Consulate today in SLC to sign our visa applications) Fun fun to get out of provo!
Mom: How is the family doing? I feel so sad that I am missing everything! How are the kids and school? I hope your surgery went well! Kids and sports!? Tryouts!! I hope you're being nice to Maisy...Boris, not so much. TELL ME EVERYTHING. Janey, phil, hen write meeeee:)
Laughing seriously gets me through everything. That and feeling the Spirit:) The elders are definitely young, but fun. And by that I mean, they mix together all sodas and foods in their cups in the cafeteria...
Life is great! I love you all so much! Io so che la chiesa di gesu cristo dei santi degli ultimi giorni e vero! Okay I can say a lot more than that, but time is limited!
Sincerely,
Sorella Clyde:):):)
WOW. That is all I have to say. I have a missionary nametag. WHAT. I seriously have so much pride for it. Kenna, I keep wanting to grab it and look at it! I am representing Jesus Christ. This is so surreal. IT still freaks me out/excites me to see elders/sisters "Hey look! It's the missionaries!" (I think to myself). And then I quickly look down at my nametag..."Oh wait. I'm a missionary too!" SAY WHAT!
This week has gone fast! Okay, maybe not the first three days :) I am learning so much and I feel like I've known my companion/roommates for at least a month. My district consists of four missionaries. FOUR. There are two anziani (elders) and two sorelle (sisters). We are the only four going to Rome. There are bout 8 others (in our zone) going to the Milan mission. However, our classtime is just with the Rome missionaries, so it feels like we are constantly on a double date. So awkward, but awesome because we get a lot of one on one time with the teachers. The teachers are fantastic! Sorella Urban, Fratello Mortenson and Fratello Knutsen. The language is such a beautiful language! Apparently all of Italy came together one day with all the different dialects and combined them into one language. They took the most beautiful parts to create the Italian language. So cool!
My background of high school spanish has been a blessing and a curse (benedizione e maledizione). I find myself using Spanish words instead of Italian. Sorella Price (my companion) and I have been teaching an investigator, Giampierro, in italian! (I am totally seeing the gift of tongues come to pass in these lessons!) However at one point I asked Giampierro "Ha pregunte?" (Do you have any questions?) Giampierro seemed very confused. I quickly corrected myself "Ha domande?" MAmma mia! Also I probably make a lot of words up as I teach a lesson. It's great:) Dad. My previous italian study has worked wonders this last week! I am so so grateful for you pushing me!
Sunday was a spiritual feast! Wow. Everyday is in fact, but especially sunday. I can't believe howmuch good there is in the scriptures. I am discovering new and beautiful scriptures everyday. I know the scriptures bless so many lives and will bless so many lives. They bring us the greatest joy. They answer the questions of the soul! The missionary lessons are so beautiful! They make so much sense. On sunday night we watched Elder Bednar's previous devotional "The Character of Christ". Kungpow! I feel like his talk changed my whole mindset for the rest of my mission- for the rest of my life! Man, he is so BOLD! He spoke of learning OF Christ, not about Him and how we need to continually turn outward! The stories he shared were so touching! We must recieve His image in our countenances in evertyhing we do. It is the only way to bring souls unto Christ.
Monday was probably the best, worst day of the mission (the one week I've been here). It was definitely a rollercoaster of emotions. Giampierro is struggling to get an answer to his prayers. He still doesn't know if God exists, but he is interested in learning because his girlfriend is a member of the church. In our first lesson on Monday, I shared an analogy with him. It is the the telephone analogy explaining the idea of how to talk tot God. When you call up your dad on the phone and you ask for shoes, money, help with homework etc. and then you end the call. The idea is that that is how people tend to talk to Heavenly Father. It is necessary to wait for a response! I taught him the importance of waiting after you ask him a question. Giampierro then asked "How long do I wait?" With the limited italian I know, the first response came out: "Un minuto." I guess I didn't realize how ridiculous it sounded until Sorella Price brought it up later. Apparently I responded to Giampierro as a question. "Un minuto?" WHO gives someone a specific amount of time to wait for an answer!?? My district joked.."Um about 52 seconds." I laughed so ahrd that day about it that my stomach hurt. I litterally cried from laugher (probably mostly because of all the emotions I have felt since entering the MTC). ONE MINUTE, what was I thinking? There have been many-a-time that I'll look back and laugh at that. My Romanian roommates often tease me about it.
After our second lesson that day (which went very poorly), I felt pretty crumby. I felt like we hadn't really prepared for it and it was very disorganized. We didn't commit him to anything! On top of that, we can barely communicate what we want to communicate! I felt so beat up about it that I was on the verge of tears as Fratello Mortenson asked how it went. (KEEP IT TOGETHER KEEP IT TOGETHER). Frat Mortenson understood how disrtraught we felt, so he prayed with us and then opened up 2 Corinthians 12:7-9. I guess that's when I lost it alittle bit. It was so embarrassing. I kept laughing while covering my face. Fra Mortenson responded by retrieving a roll of toilet paper from the bathroom (an unopened roll). I laughed as I awkwardly removed the wrapping while wiping my tears away. LOTS of laughs, tears, emotions on Monday. (Such a fantastic scripture) I know that through faith, we can overcome our weaknesses. God can make miracles happen.
The language is great, though! There is so much to learn, but I think I am doing well so far! Teaching the basics, praying, carrying out a simple conversation. Dad, yes I am developing a LOVE for the language! It is really exciting!
Tuesday devotional was amazing, of course! Elder Martino spoke of the need of member involvement. It was so interesting as he applied Alma and Amulek to the missionaries and members of the church. Alma=missionary. Amulek= member. READ ALMA 8! Themissionaries are called to teach . The members = fellow-shippers. That is how we will have the greatest success. In the words of Pres Monson, "Members, of the church. ''Who do you know who has recently lost a loved one? Who do you know who struggles with unemployment? Who do you know who struggles with raising teenages?" Refer them to the missionaries. Your lives will be blessed immensely! You will see miracles come to pass. Your testimony will grow more than ever and be more grounded as Amulek's was. Missionary work is THE greatest work that we can be involved in! Do not miss out on these opportutniites that are before you!
THE MTC:
I am on the west campus (at wyview apartments) !! It's weird. I felt sad that I wouldn't be in the legit mtc where all the siblings went! However, the west mtc is fantastic in other ways. For one thing, we have the creamery!! Also it is so spacious!! There are two sisters to a room! More privacy. The cafeteria is definitely not as great. We went to the main campus cafeteria today. It pretty much felt like the great and spacious building :) That wrap line= molto bene! There are about 600 missionaries on the west campus and the numbers will grow to about 1500 eventually! Dad, the dana is awesome! Icanfly when I write in my journal! So so so grateful! Sorella Price is fantastic. We get along really well. She is so cool and fun. She laughs a lot at my weird humor. We live with three romanian missionaries. They are all really silly and definitely make life interesting. The missionary schedule is crazy and long but I am loving it. I pray hard that I can get this language down in FIVE WEEKS! (Oh we went to the Consulate today in SLC to sign our visa applications) Fun fun to get out of provo!
Mom: How is the family doing? I feel so sad that I am missing everything! How are the kids and school? I hope your surgery went well! Kids and sports!? Tryouts!! I hope you're being nice to Maisy...Boris, not so much. TELL ME EVERYTHING. Janey, phil, hen write meeeee:)
Laughing seriously gets me through everything. That and feeling the Spirit:) The elders are definitely young, but fun. And by that I mean, they mix together all sodas and foods in their cups in the cafeteria...
Life is great! I love you all so much! Io so che la chiesa di gesu cristo dei santi degli ultimi giorni e vero! Okay I can say a lot more than that, but time is limited!
Sincerely,
Sorella Clyde:):):)
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