Shortest and Longest Year

Holy hannahs I cannot believe I have been a missionary for a year. and yet I can.

These last 2 days there was an abrupt shift in weather. It is freezing! yikes! and the sad thing is I know that it will only get colder, well we might have a few more random weather changes and we might have a few more hot days here and there, but I think that summer is officially over in Italy. Autumn doesn't really exist. the cold really brings back memories of my first few months in Italy.

So we had an appointment the other day with a member family from Ecuador (the Zapata’s) they have been in Italy like 7 years. Anyways they are really great at helping out with missionary work and so any appointment with them is always a pleasure. While there they fed us dinner and we were eating hotdogs, and I had like a small bite left and you know how you always end up with more bun then hotdog, It was like that and the bread wasn't like typical hotdog bun bread, but it was a little bit harder like a roll and when I bit into it the hotdog shot out of the back of the bun like a cannon ball and across the room. I was embarrassed, but everyone else just laughed. It was pretty funny.

but while I am on the topic of Ecuador I thought I would real quick make a request to Daniel. Could you tell me what cities you served in and when? When ever I met people from Ecuador I tell them I had a brother who served a mission there, but I never know which cities and they usually ask.

Today I am especially grateful for the word of wisdom. Too many people here smoke, and it smells so bad! We were at an appointment with an inactive member the other day and she and her mother and her friend just sat there and smoked one cigarette after another. Seriously it is not even an exaggeration. After about the 3rd or 4th round of cigarettes I was feeling so grossed out. I feel so happy to know that our Heavenly Father thought everything out to help us live our lives with the most joy possible. I know that by following ALL of God’s commandments we will find ourselves so much happier and healthier.

So seeing as my new companion is from Italy and she basically speaks English better than me, I decided that I am going to utilize her skills during this transfer to help improve my Italian. I made her record herself with my tape recorder, reading a page from Preach my Gospel so that I could practice my accent, which could use some help. I will let you know how it goes. :)

I hope that you have all lived this last year to the fullest, I bet that there are so many things that have changed in the year since I have been gone. my time gets here is getting shorter and shorter every second and I hope that I can maximize the time I have left. I love being a missionary. It is definitely not easy or 100% joy all the time, but it is an experience so indescribably wonderful. I love this gospel so much! My knowledge of this gospel is the most important thing I have and I thank my heavenly father everyday for the love he has for each one of us.

Take care every one!!! Vi voglio bene!