Alright. So this week was good, we are finally getting our
work back and all four of our investigators were in church yesterday! Viktor
and Sfitlana accepted a baptismal date (we think, a member translates those
lessons into Ukrainian for them so we aren't 100% sure) and Marco and Noemi
finally showed back up! Their mom said that "per forza" (by force, or 'forcefully') we have to
start meeting again, which is a really good sign. She is a less active member.
Does anyone recall hearing a story about Elder Perry talking to a woman at
general conference in perfect Italian and then apologizing and saying
"sorry, I don't speak Italian!"? Because if you do, that woman is
Rita. She is the best. She wants her kids to learn about the gospel and she
comes to all the lessons with them. I love her!! And I spent 6 hours on the
phone with the mission IT department in Salt Lake on Wednesday at the mission
office helping them with their computer problems. I am officially their IT
girl. I hope you are proud, Mom and Dad...at least I am using my talents,
right? :)
But here is the big
crazy story. The other sisters in our district live in Ladispoli, which is like
a 2 hour trip if you use public transportation. A while ago they noticed these
little brown cocoons in their apartments, in the bedroom (this is apart from
the plague of black mold in the study and a toilet that won't flush). They
called a member about it, and when they did deep cleaning for New Year’s they vacuumed
up all those little guys, which we are assuming were maggots. Obviously that
doesn't just show up without reason, so they decided to wait and see if they
came back. Well, three days later the maggots were back and crawling around the
fireplace in their room, which was boarded up from the bottom but not sealed at
the top. SO the anziani went over to open it up and see if they could see a
problem...and they found 20 dead bird carcasses in there!!!! SCHIFOSISSIMO. So
they called an exterminator dude, and they show up in collared shirts and
designer jeans with a bucket (A BUCKET!!) and ask where the problem is. They
go open up the fireplace, thinking they are all cool, and when they see inside
they pull out their phones and start saying how they have never seen anything
like this before. GREAT. They pull out the carcasses, and they are all just
bone, which means that one of the birds turned cannibal after being stuck in
there for so long.
They set of like a sanitization bomb to clean it out, and
the sorelle couldn't be there for at least 24 hours. So they have been with us.
And then they went to air the apartment out, but it still smells like mold and
death. So they have a mission car now and are living about a 40 minute drive
from their area, they are homeless and sleeping on mattresses on our floor. And
let me tell you, our apartment was little with two of us in there. With 5?
YIKES (they are a trio). We have one mattress in our room on the floor, one in
the hall and one in the kitchen. And we only have one little bathroom, so it's
been a real adventure. The worst part is that one of them is finishing her
mission this transfer, so instead of being able to just work hard and finish
really strong, she is stuck in this super gross situation. But she has such a
strong desire to finish her mission well and not give up, she has been a really
great example to me.
Other than that, not much to report. We made enchiladas for
district meeting this week, which was a miracle because Mexican food does not
exist here per niente. OH! And I had two dreams in Italian this week!!!! One
was really weird, I had served only 9 of my 12 transfers and I felt like I had
come home early for some reason, but everyone kept telling me that I had come
back when I was supposed to. But then I couldn't speak in English, like I was
trying and it just came out in Italian. Not a bad problem to have out here ;)
Thank you to everyone who sent me Christmas cards, it was a
joy going in to the office this week and finding so much mail for me! I love
you!!! Have a great week, and please pray that we find a more permanent
solution for these sisters!! Haha
Love,
Sorella Decker
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| Ostian sunsets! |
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| Super sketchy "grow shop" next to our house... |
Ha ha. I remember when Lucie said she had eaten this exotic food called, Chile Con Carne, and had I had it before? We made her some real good Chile! Maybe you could make that for your Italian sisters too! Our Christmas care package is still sitting here in my Dining Room, the good news is that the longer it takes to send it, the bigger it gets.............
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