We Feel Like We Are Loving Them and Not Just "Teaching" A Lesson

Buona Pasqua. è andata abbastanza bene. Siamo andati alla casa della famiglia Sgatone per mangiare subito dopo chiesa. Loro vengono da Colombia e sono bravissimi. Sono in cinque, due figli e una figlia che è troppa carina. è stata molto divertente però abbiamo finita la settimana con soltanto 11 lessons. (Translation: Happy Easter! Easter was pretty good. We went to the Sgatone family's house to eat immediatley after church. They are from Columbia and are really great. Theirs is a family of five, two boys and a girl who is really cute. It was a fun time, but we finished the week with only eleven lessons)

We have seriously been working our butts of this past transfer. Right now we are midway through the 6th week of the transfer. Seeing how this is a 7 week transfer, we still have this week and next week to reach it. Next week if transfers happen then it's gonna be super tough, BUT we haven't got a clue what will happen. We will probably remain the same. Back to the 20 lesson thing. This last week about half our zone reached the goal which was super awesome! Guess who was bringing up the rear? We did. We had the least out of all the others.

Last Friday we decided to take things a lot more serious during our weekly planning session. You were talking Dad about the planning things spiritually first and last week we did. It's not that when we've planned that we did a crappy job, but we didn't do all we could do. We decided to not deviate from the Preach My Gospel planning steps. We read each step and did exactly what we were supposed to. They talked a lot during our last Consiglio (Council) with President Wolfgramm and the other Zone Leaders about not deviating from PMG. They related it to trying to fly a plane onto an aircraft carrier. If the slightest deviations are made the plane can't land or it'll crash.

We put it to the test and even though we took about 3 1/2 hours to plan we felt super good. We felt as if the week was planned and we'd already achieved the 20 lessons. So far the week is going so so. We are only at 5 lessons but we are getting there. We have many appointments set up for this weekend. We have been doing a super good job lately about contacting everyone and talking to everyone in our paths. In the last 6 weeks or so we have found about 20 investigators. We are working our butts off-- its ridiculous. We are now trying to figure out what we can do better to keep these people interested and wanting to know more. With most of these people they listen to one lesson then fall off the face of the earth. We feel like we are loving them and not just "teaching" a lesson, but they always seem to stop answering the phone after like one lesson.

As of now we really don't have any GOOD investigators or people yearning to learn more. There are a few with some really great potential but we got to reel them into the Gospel. Once again I've really found a big hole in my missionary work. My prayers have been super half-hearted. I don't think I've been praying enough and when I have been praying they've been super lame. I've really made strides to be better lately and so yesterday during conference it was great to hear President talk about the importance of prayer. He encouraged us to really evaluate them and be diligent in doing it. I think as I really pray for these people that we find and their welfare miracles will start happening. I think it's been taking a toll on my spirit level as well. I'm really excited for the opportunity I will have in the next six months to learn how to truly pray and feel close to Heavenly Father.

It was awesome to see how the other coppia, Anziano Webb and Money set some baptismal dates this week. For the last transfer or so they've had about 5 progressing Italian investigators that are just awesome. This week they set two dates, one of them being Enrico! Enrico is the Italian that Anziano Jensen(AP) and I found during our scambio last transfer. He came to church this past week in the other ward in Verona and when he came he asked the other missionaries if he could come and say hi to me. It was super awesome that he remembered me and actually wanted to come and say hello. From what the other anziani are saying, he knows that the BoM is true and everything and just loves the lessons. Cool huh?

I got my Italian leather bound triple last week at Consiglio! It had been in Firenze getting the leather put on it and then Anz. Glowa brought it to Consiglio. I guess when Glowa was in Pisa doing a scambio he met Chen. Chen gave Glowa some cool stuff to give me. I got this cool little Chinese charm thing and then a red envelope. I realized about 3 days later that the envelope had 100 yen in it. Haha I love Chen; he's hands down one of the most awesome people I have ever met. I have to meet up with him after the mission.

Oh yeah. So I found out about 4 weeks ago that one of the sisters in our zone went to Olympus. When we went to their district meeting at the beginning of the transfer I asked Sorella Jacobsen where she was from. She responded, " Salt Lake City", then when I asked what high school she went to she said Olympus. It threw me off completely so I asked her when she graduated and I guess she graduated with Andy. I can't remember her first name but I also found out that she is in Brian and Ange's ward! We got 3 Oly grads in our zone cool huh?

Well thanks for the Cards update....it's been forever....are the Jazz still doing pretty good?

Anyways I will close up the email but before I do.......I need Franco's address because I lost it.....oops. I asked for it a few weeks ago but I didn't get it.

The mission is know encouraging us to not have parents send us packages. The customs prices are terribly high and it comes out of our pockets. I guess a few people have gotten packages worth 10-15 euro but with custom expenses of 100-150 euro. I'm pretty close to the end anyway so I don't think I will be needing anything.

VI voglio tantissimo bene!!!!! ( I love you a ton!!!)

TuCkEr