Ostia Rome

This is a reference post in progress.

Letters from this area:
Transfer 1
Rome Ostia Week 1
Rome Ostia Week 2
Rome Ostia Week 2 Photos from the Pantheon
Rome Ostia Week 2 More Photos from P-Day
Rome Ostia Week 3
Rome Ostia Week 4
Rome Ostia Week 5
Rome Ostia Week 5 More Pictures of St. Paul's Basilica
Rome Ostia Week 5 More Photos from August 3
Rome Ostia Week 6

Transfer 2
Rome Ostia Week 7
Rome Ostia Week 8
Rome Ostia Week 9
Rome Ostia Week 10
Rome Ostia Week 11
Rome Ostia Week 12

Companion: Sorella Bray

Elders served with: 

• Anziano Kennedy (helped get V's promesso stuff taken care of)

Went on scambios with:
Sorella Rossi (Week 4, went to Ladispoli) and Sorella Sanchez (went to Ostia w/Sorella Bray)(both native Italians)
Sorella Roberts (Week 10, stayed in Rome)
Sorella Sanchez (Week 12, stayed in Rome)

Italy Rome Mission

Mission Boundaries

The mission is in the Roma Italia Est Palo (Rome Italy East Stake)

First area: Ostia, Rome

Notes on people:
Sorelle Anderson (the violinist) came in at the same time as V


Rome Italy Temple
Via Di Settebagni 376
ROME, ROME 00139
ITALY

Wikipedia page on Ostia, Rome

Link to my Google Drive Map of Victoria's Mission

Ostia Week 7

A week of work

We chose to relax p-day instead of going to Rome. We decided to take a break from running around everywhere, so we did a spa day instead. It was really fun and enjoyable. Especially because we are going to be doing a lot of running around today. It is always good to take a break, to relax and refresh. In the evening we tried to visit a less active but we got on the wrong bus. It is really amusing because we did the same thing last week trying to visit a different less active member.

On Tuesday we were able to go and visit the less active we had tried to visit Monday. It was actually really good because her daughter was there, and she is also less active. It all worked out really well. When we got back to Ostia it was time for corso. Everyone was advanced so we just did advanced grammar. Afterwards we had a lesson with Leonardo and Giuliana. They are doing great.

On Wednesday it was pouring rain and cold. One of the things about Italians it that they think your body is extremely dependent on the weather. When it rains it makes them "weak," this means that they can not do anything or see any one. Luckily by the afternoon the sun was shining, so we were able to visit some people. It was really good.

I have survived my first transfer. We have a new Anziano in Ostia. He took the place of Anziano Kennedy. His name is Anziano Blockered. We met him right before corso . He has a lot of good ideas for the city. It will definitely be a good change for Ostia.

Leonardo and Giuliana came to corso!!! That was really exciting. They had asked about it a little on Tuesday, and we invited them to come.

We went to visit Laura after pranzo on Friday. We taught her about temples. The lesson went wonderfully. All the youth went on a temple trip a week ago, so she already knew a lot about temples. Thing are going really well with her.

We met up with the anziani to make goals for Ostia this transfer. It went really well. We worked out what areas we want to focus on and what we want to improve. Afterwards we had a lesson with Giuliana and Leonardo. When we asked them if they had been reading the Book of Mormon, he told us he had read nine chapters! We sat and talked about it with him for a while. He really liked what he was reading.

Reading the Book of Mormon is a crucial part of our religion. The Book of Mormon is a book of scripture that goes with the Bible in testifying of Christ. We can receive so much personal revelation through reading the Book of Mormon. Even thought it was written thousands of years ago, it is pertinent to us today. It can answer any question and resolve any concern. It helps to strengthen our relationship with Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. When we pray and read the Book of Mormon our faith is strengthened and we find the answers to questions. Questions that we may have had for a long time or questions that we never knew we had.

I challenge you this week to pray and read the Book of Mormon. As you do this your faith in Jesus Christ will grow and you will find greater peace in your life.

Sunday we had a group of girls from England in church. Sorella Bray and another sorella in the ward translated for them. It was a lot of fun to get to know them a little. I helped in Primary. I played Come Follow Me on the piano for them. The nice thing about small groups of primary children is they don't care how badly you play. Every fourth Sunday the missionaries are in charge of a musical number. The girls from England loved singing, so we got them to sing with us. It was really good!

Everything here is going great! I have had a great week and am having fun!

Have a great week!

Letter dated August 24, 2015.

Words and Definitions

• adestramental - training
• Anziani - Elder (a title used by male missionaries, also, an office in the Priesthood)
• arancini - a type of food
• biliotini - pass along cards
• cannoli -  a type of food
• Caritas - like a soup kitchen, service 
• citofono - a little placard with the name and a bell at a person's front door
• colega - companion
• corso - English language classes
• destramenti - training, instruction
• DDM - District Meeting
• Fratello - Brother (a title used by males at church)
• gelato - a frozen dessert made with milk and eggs (like ice cream, but more like frozen custard)
• Gesso - where you do a chalk drawing on a dark sheet and hand out biliotini
• kabob - are a little like shawarma in a tortilla
• lungomare (plural: lungomari) - a road or promenade that runs along the seashore
• Permesso di Soggiorno - Permit to Stay. A permesso is my permit to stay in the country. It has to be started eight days after you arrive in the country or they can kick you out. http://www.lifeinitaly.com/moving/permit.asp
•  porta di Roma - The closest thing Italy has to a shopping mall. It is right across the street from the Rome Temple.
• palazzo - similar to an apartment or condo
• pranzo - lunch
• scambio - exchanges, when a missionary companionship switches companions with another companionship for training or other purposes.
• shawarma
• simpatizzanti -  an investigator, someone who is taking the missionary lessons 
• Sorella - Sister (a title used by female missionaries, and by females at church)
• sorelle - sisters, plural
• Vi voglio bene! - 

Ostia Week 6

Adventures in Italy

This week has been wonderful! On Monday we went to the bone church. It was cool, but creepy. Defiantly worth the experience. We had extra time so we stopped by the Colesseum. It was raining so there were not as many people out. That was nice. We tried to visit a less active who came to church on Sunday. First we got on the wrong bus, then the bus that we wanted never came.

Tuesday after DDM I had my second scambio. This time I stayed in Ostia and Sorella Bray left. My companion for the day was Sorella Fuller. We had a good time. We went to visit a simpatizzanti named Victoria. We ended up being an hour early so we sat outside and role played our lesson. Half an hour later she walks up so we started our lesson early. This was actually a really good thing because the anziani needed us to start corso. We didn't want to wait for the bus so we walked to the metro station, and we beat the bus! As we got up to the platform the metro pulled in! It was perfect! After corso we had a lesson with Giuliana and Leonardo. We read Alma 32 with them and talked about faith. It was a great lesson!

Trevi Fountain

On Wednesday we were supposed to have a private English lesson but that fell through so we ended up putting up posters for corso around town. I discovered that Italians are very stubborn, especially when it comes to food. We had a meal appointment and had arranged to end our scambio in time for the appointment, but she changed the time last minute. Then the metro was running late. There was also some confusion about the meeting spot. When we finally met up, there was no way we would make it back on time, so we tried calling to reschedule, but she said she would wait for us.

Afterwards we had to go directly to our lesson with Laura. That was a fantastic lesson. It was defiantly a break through lesson. She is shy, and she finally really opened up to us.

Thursday we went to visit the less active that we had tried to see on Monday. This time we  had better directions and realized that we could just walk. That was really nice. She is from South America. She had not been to church since before she came to Italy, but she decided to find it and go. She wants to take the lessons. Then she invited us to stay for pranzo. She made a four course meal for us! It was all delicious!

We had a private English lesson with Elena. She had just been proposed to the night before so she was a little distracted. We always do a spiritual thought at the end of every English lesson. The one we had decided to do was on how God has a plan for each one of us, and we can turn to Him when we need help or guidance in our lives. It was perfect for her. The Spirit was so strong. It went really well.

We went and heart attacked Laura and Clara. We left them brownies and a Book of Mormon.

Saturday was an Italian holiday. Anziano Kennedy is half Italian and has lived in Italy most of his life, so we asked him about the holiday. He doesn't know if there is a reason for the holiday, it is just an excuse for everyone to go the the beach. This means cleaning day for all of the missionaries. We also had a lesson with Giuliana and Leonardo. Lessons with them are really progressing.

We were on our way to get some gelato when we met a very nice family. The dad is from England, and the daughter is currently learning English so we told them about corso. Then the father also asked what a missionary was. It was an awesome experience. I really hope that they decide  to come to corso.

Prayer

All of our lessons this week talked about prayer. Why is it important to pray? Prayer is a two way conversation with God. You don't just pray and get an immediate answer to your pray. It takes time, pondering and listening.

One thing that a lot of Italians believe is that God is like a genie in a lamp. You pray to Him, tell him what you want, and then He gives it to you. God is our loving Heavenly Father and he wants to hear from you. Imagine you have a friend that lives far away. You still love them and want to communicate with them. That is how God feels. He wants us to communicate with him regularly. There is a quote by Ian S. Ardern that I really like. He says "let us be as quick to kneel as we are to text."*

We have a divine being who loves us and wants to hear from us. He has all the answers we could ever need. When we pray and ask Him, He will always respond. It may take time and practice to know how He responds, but He does always respond. Prayer is important for each one of us. We receive so many blessing when we pray. God loves us and want to hear from us. He wants us to sincerely pray and talk to Him.

This week I would like you to try praying twice a day. Once in the morning and once at night. If you already do this, I would like you to think of and apply ways that you can improve the quality of your prayers.

Letter dated August 17, 2105.
*quote from Elder Ian S. Ardern's conference talk in 2011, A Time to Prepare.

Trevi Fountain

Convento dei Cappuccini

Ostia Week 5

We went to Saint Paul's Basilica on Monday. It is stunning! It is so beautiful. The sad part is that even though it is a church, it doesn't feel holy. It reminds me of how I feel when I go to a museum or a library. It is awe striking and wonderful, but you do not really feel the Holy Ghost. Another interesting thing was that they have a giant statue of Saint Paul, and right in front of him is a tiny statue of Jesus.

We also visited the Leonardo da Vinci Museum. It was neat. He was an incredibly intelligent man. He had lots of very interesting, very fascinating ideas. It was a fun experience.

Tuesday we had a pot luck after DDM in Rome. We were going to make a fruit salad, but the fruit in Rome is very expensive, so instead we brought watermelon. It was still really good. It was fun to be able to sit and talk with everyone. All of the food was all really good.

We taught a private English lesson on Wednesday morning. The girl we taught was really nice, and it was really fun to teach her. It was also sad, because she grew up believing that looks are the most important thing. That is how she got attention, and now her world revolves around looks. It is really sad.

I have slowly been learning the importance of goals. Every Friday we plan for the next week. Part of that is we set goals, personal and companionship. At first I really did not like this part, it was really hard for me to find good goals. This week was the first week I have liked and been happy with my goals. We should all have goals in our lives to help us to improve and have fun. A goal should help give you motivation to improve. Without good goals how will we ever stretch ourselves and find what we are truly capable of. To set a SMART goal, it needs to be:

• Specific, if it is some abstract idea, how will you be able to know when you have reached it and how far you have improved? 
• Measurable, if you do not have a way to measure your progress it will be easier to give up because you are unable to feel you have improved. 
• Attainable, if you know can not attain it at the time, you will never have the drive to improve. 
• Relevant, if it is not relevant to your life, it will not help you to improve your life. 
• Time-Bound, if it doesn't have a due date, it will be easier to push it back and procrastinate. 

Goals are to help you in your life. They help you to reach your full potential. There is a quote from Elder M. Russell Ballard that says

"I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don't set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life."

Today I would like to challenge you to pick something in your life that you would like to change or improve and make a goal to get you there.

On Sunday I had the opportunity to conduct the music in Sacrament Meeting. This was because the chorister was out of town, and I was the only one of the four missionaries who knows how to do it. It was a good experience. The wards and branches here depend on the missionaries for the musical talent a lot here. Sorella Bray and Anziano Kennedy did a musical number. They got asked Saturday night if they could do it. They sounded amazing!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Letter dated August 10, 2015
*Elder M. Russell Ballard's quote is from a talk given to young adults in Salt Lake City on 18 October 1981. You can find articles based on this talk in Go For It! and Do Things That Make a Difference, both written by M. Russell Ballard.

Ostia Week 5: More Pictures of Saint Paul's Basilica

Visited on Preparation Day, August 3, 2015

Ostia Week 5: More P-Day Photos from August 3

Miscellaneous photos from Preparation Day, August 3, 2015.

Basilica Parrocchiale Santa Maria del Popolo

Basilica Parrocchiale Santa Maria del Popolo

Near Basilica Parrocchiale Santa Maria del Popolo

Look closely! Seen near a metro station at Via del Risaro

Seen in Ostia, near Via del Velieri

Happy Sorelle

Ostia Week 4

Strange things happen 

This has been a very interesting week. On Monday I had to to the police station to get finger printed for my permesso. We were there for thee hours waiting. The police station reminds me of the DMV. We had gotten our p-day extended so we did our emails in the evening. We decided that we like doing it better at night. So we have decided that emails will be the last thing we do on p-day instead of the first. The important part is that my permesso is finished and I should get it in about three months.

We went to Rome for DDM on Tuesday. It was really good and a lot of fun. When it was over, we did not have enough time to go home before leaving for a lesson, but it was to early to go to our appointment. We decided to go get lunch. We found out that there was a Queens Chips in the direction of where our appointment was and decided to go. At the metro station we met a member who absolutely loves missionaries. She was so nice and fun to talk to. We were getting off at the same stop and she asked if she could join us for lunch, we said yes. She was so kind and paid for our lunch as well. We sat and talked with her while we ate. It was a little blessing! When we got on the metro to go to our appointment we got a text from the person we were going to see. The person had to cancel so we went back home.

That evening we got a referral from the sorelle in another area. We rearranged our plans so we could go and visit her in the morning. The next morning we could not figure out how to get to her house. We looked at the map for ages, but eventually we gave up and called to reschedule. We had a lesson in the afternoon and needed to get the keys from the anziani. They told us that they would leave them for us at one of the members houses. On our way to get the keys we ran into the member, who didn't know anything about the keys. We called the anziani and found out that they had decided not to leave the keys, but had forgotten to tell us. They were waiting for the metro at the station near their house. We had to run to the other station to get the keys from them. Their train had already passed but they had gotten of the train and were waiting for us.

The beautiful station of Lido Nord

On our way to the church we called Giuliana to remind her about the lesson. She had though that the lesson was on Thursday and would not be able to make it. We rescheduled for Thursday. We still needed to go to the church because we had another lesson scheduled after hers. We stopped and got a gelato on the way... a very large gelato. Gelato is a blessing! The person we were suppose to teach never showed up. One of his friends is a member and he was going to help us with the lesson. We ended up talking to him about what Giuliano needs, because he has been learning about the church for about a year. We were able to plan what we should teach him and we figured out his needs. Another little blessing!

No more gelato! :(

We had a lesson with Laura Thursday morning. When we got there her mother, Clara, had made us more jello and there was another treat in the oven for us. I always love going over there. They are both wonderful! We had a really good lesson. On our way out the door Clara gave us some Popsicles for the road. They are a blessing! We headed straight to our appointment with Giuliana.

We had corso after our lesson. We only had three people at corso. They were all old men, two of them are advanced and really good. The other one has come for years just because he likes it. We got done with our lesson early and had to figure out something to do. I ended up teaching the head shoulders knees and toes. It was really amusing to watch. They are an amusing group. They are another blessing!

On Friday we had a lesson with a member. When we got there, they were not home. Instead we had a lesson with Victor. We were able to move up his date for baptism. That was a great blessing! Sorelle Bray and I could not sleep at all that night. I don't know what was wrong. Eventually we did fall asleep.

We went with the anziani to do Caritas in the morning. Caritas is like a soup kitchen. Our job was to make sure no one stole anything, and that the water was full. We met a group of teenagers from northern Italy. They were volunteering as well. We went and got food afterwards. We then went out to see Laura again. Unfortunately, she was sick so we just taught Clara. This time she made rice pudding for us. It was really good. She calls us her little sisters. It is so cute. Before we got there we were exhausted, but by the time we left we felt much better.

Sunday Sorelle Bray was sick. So we stayed home and I cleaned the house. I also made soup for lunch.

Even though it was an interesting week, and nothing really seemed to go as planned it was still a good week. It doesn't matter what happens during the day, the thing that is important is how you handle it. Do you let it discourage you and make you frustrated? Or do you look for the blessings and the good times. I had a wonderful week this week. I had a lot of fun with Sorella Bray and we made the best of it.

How in your life can you look for the good? Especially when you feel like nothing is going the way you want it to? This week try and find ways to stay positive when things don't go the way you wanted. Look for the small ways that Heavenly Father has blessed your life. I promise that there are always blessings, even in the most difficult and frustrating of times.

Letter dated August 3, 2015.