October 14, 2013 - Christmas Carols in October!

 

Fossacessia
 

Ciao famiglia e amici!!

Well we got transfer calls..... and I'm staying in Pescara!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a blessing!! Yesterday, we had an awesome ward fireside about ward missionary work and Fllo Giusti was the bomb. He and Bishop Conforte really got the members pumped about spreading the Gospel. Then the missionaries shared their testimonies about how the lessons and work in general go so much better whenwe have members with us. It's true. Member missionaries, and not just those formally set apart, but ALL members who assist in this work are angels. Their help is so precious, and the members in this ward are just awesome. Fratello Bosco has been in this ward for ever and ever time we look through our old area book, we find another old referall from him, some dating back to 2001!! Proof that even if you have lived and worked in the same place for 12 years, there are ALWAYS people to invite to hear the gospel!! And then there's Vescovo Conforte, who with all his Bishop responsibilities somehow manages to find time to go to at least 2 misionary lessons a week it seems. He is incredible. These people are truly angels!

Okay, time for the devastating news: Sorella Mistura is ggoing to Caglieri! That's in Sardegnia BTW... crazy. She will have now been to Sicily, the mainland Italia, AND Sardegnia! What a mission!! Except she has to leave Pescara which is really rough. This place is blooming and the ward is seriously incredible. It's hard to imagine another area like this one!

Well, gotta go! Have a fabulous week and pray for Franco to stop smoking!!



Fossacessia

 

Love you all so very much,

Sorella Patterson

PS every morning we sing a hymn together to get ready for companionship study and for the past few times that's it's been my turn to choose, I always choose Christmas hymns :) The other sisters are not as pumped about it as I am... Makes me think of Tanner William Low and how much he loves to sing Christmas carols at this time of year!!

Pictures: Fossacessia (Mom, you'll get more info in like two weeks)



"Sophisticated"





"Sophisticated fail"

October 9, 2013 - Conference was Awesome!

Editor's note (from Mom): Megan asked for a scripture from everyone for her birthday that has helped you through a hard time or been a standard for you. If you wouldn't mind telling how it has helped you, she would love to hear that. If you haven't sent me your scripture, please do. I am making a booklet and have to get it in the mail at the end of October to arrive in time. My email address is samuelsontl@ldschurch.org. Thanks for contributing to this project for her!

 

From Megan:

Ciao cari amici e famiglie!!

Come state?? I hope you all got the opportunity to listen to or watch General Conference this past weekend!! Those men are definitely called of God!!! Such an awesome Spirit that I felt when I listened to their words! We watched it in Italian, so I didn't understand it all, but the Spirit made up for what I couldn't understand, for sure! 

Making Don Julios at Conference---mmmmmm Nutella!

Conference Dinner with the Di Marzio family

So, Pamela is doing awesome! She has invited her husband, Franco, to begin taking the missionary lessons, and he seems excited for his baptismal date of November 2 (!!!). He needs to quit smoking and drinking coffe, but piano piano as they say here. They are a sweet couple and they both came to the church to watch general conference with us. 

The Di Marzio family is doing good! Lucia invited all the Sisters over for pranzo on Sunday, and invited her parents, who we are actually also teaching, so at the end of the meal we shared a big spiritual thought on some of the things we had learned the day before in conference and Antonio was able to bear his testimony for his parents, sister, and grandparents. They are such a strong, united, loving family!! It's always great to be with them. Please pray for them to accept the fullness of the Gospel!

So, Massimo didn't come to Conference like he said he would, and his wife keeps saying they don't have time every time we call. We are not worried yet, but please keep him in your prayers too that we will be able to teach him still. Also, his wife Gina and daughter Alexandra that their hearts will be softened.

Transfers are next week! I cannot believe how fast time is flying!! I don't think I'll be leaving, but then you never know. There have been quite a few changes in our zone recently, like transfers before the transfer date, which is a little weird. But I know that everything is guided by the Lord, because this is His work, so whatever happens will be a new adventure and exactly what we need!

Thank you for all of your prayers and love and support! I hope the weather there has cooled down! It is almost cold here! Well, it is cold at night, haha. It's awesome!

One last thing, tell everyone that as of October 14, pdays will be MONDAY.

Anyway, gotta go but I love you all with all my heart!!!

Love,

Sorella Patterson

For Dave...

"Dave can start packing for Italy!"

Sorella Mistura has been walking too much--
Maybe she walks in her sleep

October 2, 2013 - Smile!

Okay, I have about ten minutes and two more emails, sorry I never have enough time for everything!!! Please include whatever you want on my blog, but just be sure to put something because... we had a family move to Italy from America and they came to our ward and the mom said she googled 'church in Pescara' and saw my blog and knew all about me!!! haha, totally awesome! They have lived in California, Texas (Denton!), and I think Utah. Next is Germany, crazy. 

Anyway, PAMELA GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pamela doesn't look happy, but Italians just don't smile for pictures!
Reference the picture of Lucia Di Marzio if you will.

 

It was totally awesome, and then she bore her testimony for the first time!! Then in church the next day when she received the Gift of the Holy Ghost, you could literally feel the power of the Priesthood in the room. So insanely awesome!!! ANDDDDDDDDDDD... we had three investigators at church that day and I KNOW they felt something.! One was Massimo, the Dad of a family we are teaching. He came with his 5yrold son, because the mom and 15 year old daughter didn't want to come. But he had promised to be there and we didn't actually think he would come but he showed up in Sunday School and I wish I could describe how happy I was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was incredible and the Spirit was so strong throughout all the meetings and he thanked us so much after church and told us that we were very brave for doing what we do (going into strangers homes to give them this gospel) and that it was a really good thing and that we are welcome whenever we want. It was awesome.

Luigi also got baptized! The Anziani were teaching him, but Sister Mistura found him, so we all helped in this one :)

 

So this week has been crazy and I wish I could tell you the half of it, but just know that when you see tons of flower looking things in the air, they could be ants, and if you think the Isaiah chapters are hard in English try them in Italian, and always bring an umbrella!!!

Love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorella Patterson!!!

Editor's note: These are pictures from Zone Conference from the mission president's wife's blog:

 

 

September 25, 2013 - Surprise Visitor

Okay, I wish I had time to respond to everything but I have 8 minutes and I type slow.

Buongiorno tutti!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, guess who found me?? That's right, the good ol' Byrnes!! Didn't see that one coming, haha. But for real, it was a surprise and it totally caught me off guard, but it was so cool to see them here and understand Debbie's Italian grandma for the first time. Debb is going to be a rockstar missionary soon!!

Debbie "found" me at Church on Sunday!

So, Pamela is OFFICIALLY getting baptized this saturday, like we picked out the dress and everything! It is going to be awesome.

Our ward mission leader finally returned from America; he has been gone the whole time I was here. The work is going to take off now, I know it. We have already seen tons of miracles and it's been less than a week! He divided our zone up since there are 8 of us, and S. Mistura and I will concentrate on Chieti, which means the famiglia Di Marzio!!!!! Also, crazy story, Lucia Di Marzio is the Sister of our ward mission leader, Fratello Giusti. Their mom and dad also live in Chieti and we found them yesterday, and it was so crazy and they want us to come back! The mom even wants to come to church! I seriously just love this family so much!

Tomorrow is zone conference! Love yall!!

Sorella Patterson

(Editor’s note here…I send her pictures of my garden every now and then, so today she sent me this)

Mom, I take pictures of my neighbor’s garden frequently. You'll see them in a year or two.

That's a big squash. This is taken from my

third story balcony.

September 18, 2013 - Conference in Rome

Buongiorno tutti!

I can't believe it's already pday again! The days are seriously going by so fast! Also, the weather is starting to cool down, and it even gets a little chilly at night! It is a truly glorious thing.

Thank you for all your prayers for Pamela!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After wanting it for 14 years, Pamela has a baptismal date for this Saturday, the 21st!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can hardly believe it!!!!!! It is truly a miracle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And another miracle, which I will also attribute to many of you and to the friend of Antonio Di Marzio, The Famiglia Di Marzio are now investigators!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A HUGE Miracle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love them more than life itself it seems and have been praying and hoping for this for quite some time, and finally it is a reality!!!!! Lucia Di Marzio is an incredible woman with an incredible family. Her husband is so loving and fun and Always calls me Megan which is weird because he is the only one in this country that does that, haha. Then there is Gioia (Joy) the daughter of 25 years. She is so sweet and I love her!! We could totally be best friends if I wasn't a missionary and more concerned for her salvation than her boy life right now. But seriously, I love them. I told Lucia she is like my mom right now. I think she liked that. The day I see them in white will be the happiest day of my mission, guaranteed.

Okay, so Sunday was ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.

We had stake conference and Elder Ballard came!!! He even took all the missionaries early in the morning and spoke just to us, and only the missionaries in the now TWO Rome stakes! He truly is an Apostle of Jesus Christ, I can testify with all my heart of that.

And now thereare two stakes in Roma, crazy.

Also, I saw Sorella Viazzo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3 <3 <3

Seeing Sorella Viazzo for the first time since leaving the MTC!

Okay, no time left, but thank you all for your prayers and keep them coming. I won't be calm until Pamela is actually baptized!!!

Love you all!!!

Sorella Patterson

September 11, 2013

Me and Lucia Di Marzio, the mom of Antonio Di Marzio.
She taught us the ways of the Italian Kitchen :)

Ciao e buongiorno tutti!!!!!!

It has been a while since I wrote a formal email to all of you, so sorry about that, and also this one is going to be short, so sorry about that too :)

So last pday I learned how to make ravioli, the real kind, and I even learned how to make pasta!!! That was crazy.

 

So, I don't know if I have told all of you, but I have fallen in love and I am never coming home. I love Italy so much. I love the people, I love the culture, I love the families that we are teaching. I love the members in this ward. If I could serve in Pescara for the rest of my mission, I would be a happy Sorella.

Sorella Ricci came up to me on Sunday and asked when our 'party of thanks' is (thanksgiving) and that she was going to have all the missionaries over for a big meal because she had learned from the past missionaries that this day is important to us Americans. Keep in mind there are 8 missionaries here now, all American but my companion.

Sorella Di Iulio hates English but comes to the English course we teach so that she can meet the non-members that come and make them feel comfortable and answer their questions about the Church.

The Bishop, as busy as bishops always are, has come to three different missionary lessons in the last two weeks.

This ward is Amazing. They get the gospel. They get missionary work. It makes me miss my own ward a little because I know we have members just like those here who sacrifice everyday to make a difference in the lives of their children and in the lives of their families and friends with whom they share the gospel. No sacrifice is too much. What we receive in return is Always better.

This Sunday is Stake Conference in Rome, and we are all going :) It's another huge financial sacrifice for many members, and some investigators, but Elder Ballard, an apostle of the Lord, will be there and we know we need to hear what he has to say.

Thank you all for your prayers and letters and emails. I love you all so very much and I pray for you as well, so I hope you feel my prayers too!!

Have another fabulous week, Vi Voglio bene!!!

Sorella Patterson

 

 

August 28, 2013 & September 4, 2013

8/28/13 Ciao yall!!

Activity with the Giovane Family and Lorenzo

So, it has been raining here quite a bit which is awesome because the weather is great!

Also, Pamela is getting baptized in two weeks! I realize that none of y'all know who she is, but she is the sweetest woman ever and has a great desire to follow Jesus Christ. She is awesome.

Also, I am definitely getting tanner.

Well, we have been seeing miracles here, and I know we will see more as we put more faith and hope into this work. 

So, I feel bad that I never send pictures, so this week's email is gonna be just that! Enjoy!!

Sorella Patterson!

From the bus on the way back from L'Aquila



L'Aquila district meeting. Pizza was the bomb, even though
we had to eat it on the bus. Elder Carr
 (originally from The Colony, TX as well) is on the front left!

On splits in Rome with Sorella Wightman.
She is awesome!



9/4/13 The heat! It has cooled down a bit here so I can't complain anymore. It was even cold one night last week! The Church is not AC'ed but there are several units in some rooms. There are two in the Chapel and one in the Relief Society room.

 

So, Pamela has a baptismal date of the 14th of Settembre, but is not sure if she can make it because her family is kind of against it. She has a grand desire to be baptized and be a member of the church, but her family is also super important to her. Please pray for her!! She has been wanting this for 14 years and been taking the missionary lessons on and off for about 10 years. I have hope for her though! 

 

Transfers are this week but I get to stay here for at least another transfer, which I am really happy about. There is still a ton to do here. My companion is also staying which is good. I still have a ton to learn from her! Sorella Spicq and Anziano Alessandro are leaving, so we'll get two new missionaries, as well as two additional elders, making a total of 8 missionaries in Pescara, in one ward!!! Crazy!!! Also, Elder Carr is in my district, so we see him once a week at District meeting.

So, we have been working with this family for a little while. The son is the only member, he is like 30 I think. The mom, dad, and sister are not members, but are super friendly to us. We have been only doing Family Home Evening with them, but today we are going over there so that the mom can teach me how to make real Ravioli! Also, The son, Antonio, told us that his mom has started to read the Book of Mormon, so I think the Spirit is really starting to work in her. Every time we go over, she asks great questions. She wants to know what is right for her, and we want so bad to help her, and she is starting to let us I think. I have so much love for that family. They are some of the best people ever.  

Speaking of food, I am starting a recipe book with some of the recipes that Sorella Colella gave me. However, she asked for some typical American recipes in return, haha. So, mom will you send me some recipes that I can give her?? Simple stuff, nothing huge, but maybe some big ones too. Just whatever you think. Also, a recipe for how to make marshmallows. And Brownies. Italians LOVE brownies. and Marshmallows. (Editor's note here: Any great American recipe you want to send to me I will be happy to pass along--especially a recipe for marshmallows. I thought only Kraft made those!!)

Also, I need matt and Dad's home addresses.

 

By the way, the best address to write me is: 

Sorella Patterson

Via delle Querce 4

65015 Montesilvano, PE

Italia 

Okay, I am out of time, love you all, have a fab week, thanks for the emails and updates, keep them comin'! Feel free to write me too!! 

Sorella Patterson 

Picture:Sorella Colella and me with some American syrup her friends brought her!!