I never have good subject lines.

Well, it has been a pretty eventful morning and it isn't even noon yet! The zone leaders had arranged for the sisters to do a scambi (exchange) with the sisters in La Spezia. I was to go to La Spezia with Sorella Mandola, a native Italian who ONLY speaks italian, and her companion was gonna come here.
It was actually scheduled for the beginning of the week and we had planned to switch back at the end of today because we were also planning on having zone p-day in La Spezia where apparently there is a really cool hike, the cinque terra (5 lands). However the sisters in La Spezia called at the beginning of the week and asked the Zone leaders to push it back because there was an appointment they felt they both needed to be at on tuesday evening. So the new plan was to get up early this morning head to La Spezia, do the hike have a fun p-day and then split up for the scambi and go our seperate ways.
However, this morning (bright and early! Like 6:30 am) after having some frustrating moments with the train tickets and times and then just barely catching the train we arrived in Pisa where we were to switch trains only to find our connecting train had been canceled, and the next one and the next one. Apparently there was a train accident yesterday or the day before and a train exploded, maybe you heard about it on world news, I have no idea if that would make world news. I guess it was by some appartments and like 13 people were killed. So sad. Needless to say we were unable to go to La Spezia today and so here I am in the internet point in Livorno writing this fasinating e-mail to all of you.

We found a really cool girl doing house a few days ago. We rang the speaker and no one answered so we started to walk away, but then someone came on over the speaker so we ran back and talked into it, but by then they had hung up so we started walking away again, and then she opened up her door and came out, so we went back and explained a little about who we were and she invited us in. She was so cute and so sweet! It turns out the she was recently married, just 2 days before! Wow! She is 21 and named sophie. ( she is from belgium, but has lived in italy pretty much forever so speaks italian perfectly.). We are going back to see her again on Friday. Wish us luck!!!

Mom asked me in her e-mail to talk a little bit about the ward and my appartment and any funny stories I might have... so...

The ward. I really like the ward here. It is awesome. The branch President is absolutely amazing. He has not even been a member of the church for 5 years. He and his wife and little girl are really just so awesome. There are also a few american italian families here. Some American men who have married Italian women and an american girl who married an Italian. The husband of the girl who married an italian is in the branch presidency, and just recently became the ward mission leader. He is so awesome and so desirous to really unite the ward with the misionaries. He too is a new member to the church (7 years or so). I really like the ward.

My apartment. It is really not that bad of a place, aside from the outlet problem and the toilet. I don't want you getting any ideas here, I did not break the toilet! It was good and broken long before I got here! And it isn't real broken, I mean it still functions it is just tempramental. It can only be flushed like once every few hours, and even still you have to pump the flusher like a trillion times. We have a balcony that is pigeon free and a couch in the bed room ( though there isn't ever much time to sit on it.) It is a pretty nice spot to live. The church is like a 1 minute walk away and there are bus stops fairly close.

Funny stories... hmm... I don't know what is funny any more. I think that after so long as a misisonary really stupid things start to become funny. Also on my misison I have met more crazy people then I can count. I have decided there are 3 likely reasons for this. First, we are talking with as many people as possible everyday so odds are we will meet some crazy ones, second crazy people are attracted to girls in midcalf length skirts, or third it is an unknown/unrecognized side effect of smoking. I go with the last option because nearly everyone here smokes and I have ran into a lot crazy people.

Ok... I am hungry and it is time to go so I am gonna wrap this up. I love you all so so much, really you don't even realize how much it means to me to have so much love and support from home. This gospel is so so so important! Don't ever forget that!

Vi voglio un mondo di bene!


P.S. Happy Birthday Dan!!! (in a week) I am sending you are card, hopefully to the right address.
P.P.S. way to go Jessy-poo! I expect pictures soon. :)