Notes About Nothing: Time Flies

Okay, since I've written last

it has been another exciting week,

all starting with our Prepday adventure to

THE FIRST MCDONALDS IN ITALY.

Okay, that actually just happened by chance
because we were hungry.

But it was momentous nonetheless when we realized where we were.

Then we went, like we planned to the prison of st. paul and peter.

Well, I was imagining we would go down into some tavern like place and walk around and see some old cells.

Boy was I wrong!! It was so much more,

like the glowing walls that talked to us,

I dont know how to explain it, we were all like,

what just happened?

And an audio visual enhanced tour of the cells with videos

and a voice recording that made us feel like we were on

the Haunted Mansion ride.

SO hilarious.

We got to see Kevin again! Last night he met us at the Carrefour again and was like, "so what's the deal with your church" so we told him!

Also I have to say my Arab roots continue to shine through
we were teaching Achmed

and I told him and he was like, "I thought so! I was just thinking that to myself." and the other day we got off the trenino and a group of Afghanis got off with us and one just walks up and asks, "where are you from?" ha, it makes me feel like I've got real culture to me.

We got to celebrate Befana because Stefano
came and gave us giant stockings

( they were crammed full of candy, it was ridiculous)
the holiday makes no sense,

but the family we visited with on Sunday
they got scooters for the Befana,
so sounds worth celebrating to me.

Stefano came to church and asks, "Is it okay to wear jeans to church?" and all three of us at once are like, "I mean, you can, but don't" and he goes, "I'm wearing jeans right now."

He came to church in a pinstrip denim suit! I was like, "who are you??" and his vintage Valentino 70s tie. I insisted we take a picture. About his tie I was like, "what is that?" and he goes, "it's a tie." Oh, Uncle Stefano...

So we call it dying around here when a missionary is about to go home and Slla Camp is watching for me to go through the five steps, I'm not sure which I am on now, but as soon as I get depressed I will be close to acceptance. And this one punk RM member came up on Sunday and made this sniffing noise and I was like, "um, yes?" and he goes, "you stink like death." oh mission jokes. If I wasnt a missionary I would've punched him.

Slla Camp DID punch Stefano when she thought he was ordering a cappucino, that was funny. "I don't know, reflexes I guess..."

I'm trying really hard to focus but it's hard to not feel a little bit of limbo-ness these days, my days are numbered and it actually does feel like dying.

There is this desire to sort of wrap everything up even though the fantastic thing about missionary work is that there is no ending point in the work. You just keep going and then leave and let someone else take over.

We met this guy on the metro coming back from visiting a member at the hospital and he was looking at me so I started talking to him, next thing I know he is telling us all about his troubles at home, how his wife is cheating on him and said he started looking at me because of my coat and asked if it was some designer and I was like, ha, no, chinese store. Anyway, he was saying how he just feels empty and we told him we know how to help with that and taught him the first lesson in the basement of termini station.

He also kept telling me I was beautiful, not so much in a hitting on way (okay, at least not completley in that way), just in this matter-of-fact way that makes me think, what am I going to do when strangers aren't calling me beautiful and acquaintances calling me talented all the time?
I am so vain, ha.

Our magical lunch in the countryside

with the American-Italian family that just moved in.

They are so fun!

Oh man he made us laugh so much

and they took us home in the misison van that they had borrowed

and they just made having five kids

under the age of nine look so easy. ha.

We made fresh squeezed orange juice with fresh picked oranges...

it was kind of sour, needed some sugar.

Have I mentioned I adore children?

I have no idea what happened to me.

They are just so precious.

Also I totally look like a mom in my clothes

that I found when we cleaned out our death closet.

Slla Camp kept referring to me as Mamma Laws

with all the kids around me, oh dear.

So I sent a bunch of pictures and
all the stories are kind of mixed up

but I hope it makes sense.

Life is good...

I was sick with stomach things and Stefano
brought me a fruit basket...
with oranges and nuts.
Christmas never ends here!
Slla Camp was on the phone with him
and in my head I thought,
don't tell him I am sick! But it was too late.

I was only a little sick, don't worry about it,
I think I just ate too many oranges
in a small concentrated amount of time,

I am just holding on for a little bit more
and then I'll be healthy again for the rest of my life :)

Enjoy the pictures!!

You can make up some stories of your own from them.

There is nothing quite like being in Rome,

we are coming back from the hospital,

"Wait, where are we exactly--oh,

there's the Colosseum,

there is a metro stop by there."

k, loooooooooooooooooooove you,

loads and loads and buckets

and enough to fill

all the Catholic churches here.

Sorella Laws

one more thing,

Fllo Perego pointed out to us that the Rome Temple
is the first temple to be built in New Testament lands.
Thats cool to think about.

And a few more pictures: