February 17, 2014 - Headed to the islands!

ALOHA!!!

Why the island greeting?? This little Sister Missionary is going to the Islands!!!! of Sardegna to be exact. An island none the less. When President Waddoups called me to tell me about my transfer, he asked if I packed my swimsuit... Well, no, I didn't but hopefully I won't fall out of the boat and need it... Communque, I'm headed to Sardegna where instead of island princesses and leis there will be sheep and more sheep. Haha, I literally can't wait. Rome is amazing, but the sea is calling... Haha! Also, my trainer is out there and a sister that I lived with in Pescara: Sorella Knudsen... who will be my NEW COMP!!!!! Could a girl get any luckier?? Io vi dico: no.

Check out what's on the wall behind us!

Well, in other news, I will definitely be leaving this area better than when i found it. My comp and I have built up the work and gotten quite a few new investigators for her and her greenie (she will be training here when I leave!!!!!) to start teaching. I am pretty excited for her. It is going to be an awesome trasnfer for them! I will miss her a ton, and the members here. Especially Martina and Gamal, the coolest, most solid new converts the world has ever seen. We have all had 'visions' (I use that word very loosely...) of Gamal being a future bishop. He is SO solid. And they haven't even been members for a year. Crazy. 

Today, we had a picnic for Pday with Martina and Gamal and all the missionaries. It was awesome. I might be sunburned. :)

Coolest Nigerians ever. Doris (mom), Millicent and Divine

Painting - Oops!

Also, this week, Michele and Dario had us over to help them paint their house. The walls were white, and guess what color they chose to paint? White.    ..... Oh italians. Anyway, something happened and suddenly there was paint all over the place, and people. Luckily I found Dario's goggles from who knows how long ago... Haha, quite the time. 

More painting -- More oops!

Also, forgot to tell you. Last week we went to hard rock Rome!!! So cool. I took some pictures for the men in my family who appreciate the oldies. I'll send them... some day... It was really cool though!

So, Andrea left this week for Thailand. I won't get to see him again :( But we told him we might not be here when he got back... But it's okay, my leaving has been a great opportunity to get people to see us that usually can't. Funny how that works! 

Well, that is about all. We have to go buy groceries still and it's almost 5, so I love you all and hope you all have a great week! OH! We had a fireside about the Rome temple this week! When will it be done you ask? 2015. Maybe. Ah, Italians :) How I love them... But really, I do. I will return for the dedication, right mom? :) 

Vi voglio tantissimo bene!! Salutations from Roma for the last time!!! 

Sorella Patterson

February 10, 2014

Ciao Mama and everyone else too!! :)

Update on Muhammad: PLEASE pray for him. Life is really hard here for everyone, even Italians. But it is WAY harder for immigrants, especially Africans I think. But they also tend to be the most humble and most willing to talk to us. Ugh, it is just rough. But he is awesome. I have learned a little French for him. He is so great. And so ready. But the Lord's house is a house of order, and that's just how it is.

In other news, we found TWO new investigators this week!!! They are both so incredible and one of them lives literally across the hall from some really strong members who he is good friends with. They are just the best examples of humility and Christianity and I wish I could live next to them! Anyway, his name is Emmanuel, and we have only given him the Book of Mormon so far. But when he read the first verse, he became really serious and asked what he could do to have a copy. The next time we saw him, he said, 'I need you to help me read this book. I need to know what it is saying because I know that it is true!' Man, I just love Nigerians!! They are just so humble and so sincere. The Nigerians I have met on my mission have been some of the most incredible people EVER. I just love Italy!!!

Any letters that you want to send, send them to the mission office. It's the one at Piazza Carnaro. We go there pretty often, and if we don't they always bring the mail to Zone Conference so it is the only way to ensure that I will EVENTUALLY get things. Sorry that I never got the family Christmas cards. I hope that someone else at least got to enjoy them and Jared's handwriting ;) 

 

 

Well, I still haven't seen the Sistine Chapel. It will happen someday, but not today either. But someday. 

What else? Things are good here... We are getting transfer calls this Saturday which is just crazy. I can't believe how fast time is flying. I think that my companion might be training this next transfer, so that means I would be leaving. These are just guesses though, there is nothing to back them up. We always make our predictions the District Meeting before we get the calls, so tomorrow. Maybe I'll go down south now... who knows! Maybe Bitonto will finally open for sisters... chissà!

Okay, well I don't have anything else for ya this week. Have a great one, thank you all so very much for the emails and letters, they are so wonderful to get! I love you all with all of my ital-american heart!

Sorella Patterson

 

February 3, 2014 - Just pictures

Megan said next week she will have a good email. They did some sightseeing today during their free time so she didn’t have much time to write. She mostly sent pictures. She did say that getting a haircut in Italy is so different and she was so scared. But now she wants more cut off! We'll see!

She is hoping to go in the Sistine Chapel next Monday. That is the plan so far. So here is her latest week of pictures:

Just me outside the Colosseum!

30 minutes in the back seat with my two
new heart-throbs... Levi and Sam

Another backseat date shot

Dinner at the Peregos (half-American family
 who fed us on Christmas) with special guest BATMAN

Me and Sara Perego after being STUFFED

January 27, 2014 - First haircut in Rome!

Buon giorno da Roma!

This week has been awesome! We have this new investigator named Muhammad that I want to tell you a little about. He is from Africa and speaks mostly French, but can only really read Italian. In his lessons, we always try to have a translator, though when we can't, he responds to us in English. There is quite the language barrier with him, but after our very first lesson, he said to us "I can't understand everything you are saying to me but I believe it. I believe what you are saying about Jesus Christ." This week, he accepted a baptismal date of February 23rd! He is incredible!!! He is so prepared and so humble! We watched a movie about the Restoration and he said that when God and Jesus Christ talked to Joseph Smith he felt that it was true. He is so awesome.

ANDREA CAME TO CHURCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a struggle it has been with his work and busy life to get him into that building on Sunday morning!! :) But he made it, and on time!! He had some questions during the lesson in Sunday School, but the teacher did great with him and we got to talk to him after church for a while. He really did love it and wants to come back, he just doesn't know when he can. That's a huge struggle here: finding work is near impossible and when you do, you work when they tell you you can. It is so sad. Heart-breaking. Itlay is having a very hard time. But they are getting a temple! God does look out for everyone! We gain spiritual and temporal blessings from worshiping and making covenants in the temple, and now Heavenly Father is giving them access to more blessings. He REALLY loves the Italians, no joke. He has been preparing them for His gospel for a very long time. I am SO incredibly lucky to be one of His servants here right now to help with His precious children in Itlay. I think He really loves me too ;) 

Well I really love YOU all as well! I hope that you are constantly looking for ways to serve God (AKA serve others). I hope that you are sempre anxiously engaged in a good cause and that you seek to do good continually. These wise words are not coming from Sorella Patterson, that is for sure, but from our loving Father in Heaven! The more that I learn about Him, the more I love Him, and the more I love Him, the more I want to serve Him. Which is great, because that is literally all I do right now...  

Alright, guarda. La missione e la vita sono a volte tanto difficili. A volte, pensiamo che o non ce la facciamo, o non vale la pena. Magari pensiamo di essere da soli o che non possiamo cambiare perché siamo fatti così. Invece non è vero. Lo scopo della vita è di avere la gioia, e l'uomo naturale non è mai stato felice. Quindi, dev'essere un modo in cui ci possiamo cambiare la natura. E vi dico che veramente c'è. Si chiama l'espiazione di Cristo. Tramite quest'atto, noi possiamo cambiare la nostra proprio natura, il nostro comportamento, e qualsiasi cosa che non sia in armonia con gli attributi di Cristo. So che questo è vero. So pure che ci vuole il tempo; non succede in un giorno. Magari! Ma con la preghiera sincera, l'obbedienza, e la pazienza, mi sto cambiando la natura, anche se ci vorrà tutta la mia vita per farlo. Vabbè, non fa niente. Devo adesso soltanto enjoy the ride :)

Vi voglio un mondo di bene!!! Grazie per tutto ciò che fate per me e i miei simpatizzanti!

Translated by Microsoft Translator:  Alright, look. The mission and life are sometimes so difficult. Sometimes, we think or do not, or it’s not worth it. Maybe we think we are alone or that we cannot change because we are made so. Instead it is not true. The purpose of life is to have the joy, and the natural man has never been happy. Therefore, it has to be a way we can change the nature. And I tell you it really is there. It's called the atonement of Christ. Through this Act, we can change our own nature, our behavior, and anything that is not in harmony with Christ's attributes. I know that this is true. I know that it takes time; doesn't happen in a day. Maybe! But with sincere prayer, obedience, and patience, I am changing the nature, although it will take my whole life to do this. Oh well, does nothing. I only enjoy the ride now:)

I want a world of good! Thanks for everything you do for me and my supporters!

Sorella Patterson

First haircut in Rome!

 

January 20, 2014 - New Companion

Cara Tutti! 

Okay, I know I haven't written in a while, scusatemi. Allora, this week was one of miracles! We found 3 new investigators and taught a ton of lessons and just did work! We are seeing a lot right now, my comp Sorella Haynie and I, how much our obedience to the commandments and to mission rules plays a huge role in our work. We are being SO blessed because of it! It is wonderful!



Me and my new companion Sorella Haynie

Luisa and Claudio are the newest investigators. They are so sweet and so humble! I am so excited to teach them more about Jesus Christ and the Gospel! 

My comp and I are doing so well together. Davvero, she is just awesome and is teaching me so much. I am excited for this transfer and hope that we get more together! 

More scarves!
 

We had zone conference this week and it was so great, just exactly what I needed. Our leaders are so inspired!

Everyone wears scarves here!
Me modeling mine.



Zone conference studying

Singing at Zone Conference

Sorella Sartena forgot her tag that day but luckily
I had two--That seems to happen a lot!

MTC district reunited

 

Hmmm, what else....

I can't think of anything else to say...

I love you all though!! Thank you for the support, OH and thank you to everyone who sent me a Christmas card! I am still getting some and it just feels like Christmas all the time!! I love it!!! THank you so much!!!

New convert Michele (the dad) and his son Dario

Hope everyone has a great week!! I love you all!!!

Sorella Patterson 

 

January 6, 2014 - Happy New Year!

Buon anno tutti!!! 

I hope everyone's feste went bene and that tutti voi are full of some delicious cibo!!

Okay just kidding, I still speak perfect English believe it or not. Okay, not perfect, but I'd say at least a mark above average. 

Ping Pong with Mohamed

Anyway, I do really hope that everyone had a great Christmas and New Years. I bet you are all SO happy that it is over and you can stop eating Pandoro cakes and Chocolate truffles and multi hour meals! Oh wait, maybe that is just me... 

And today is another holiday, so I guess I am not there yet... Have any of you seen Eat, Pray, Love? It's a pretty good movie, but anyway, there is a part when she is in Italy, and her experience is a near perfect replica of what it is like here, minus falling in love: that is not happening. But the most poignant part, I'd say, is when she buys new jeans because her old ones are significantly tighter than they used to be... Today I am proudly sporting new jeans ;)

Anyway, the holidays are interesting for missionary work. Pretty much everyone went out of town, so there was not a lot of teaching our investigators. However, we got an awesome call from one of our investigators and he said he has been thinking about baptism lately... We haven't even asked him about it! And another one who we met with on Saturday is just trying to quit smoking and then she will be pretty much ready. Also, she needs to find a way to get to church each Sunday. She is a bit older, and taking the mezzi (train, metro, and then a bus) is a bit hard for her. She doesn't have a car and one of her sons does but it is in the shop and he has never been to church. Maybe he will just have to start coming with her now :) Magari! Her name is Fiorella and she is awesome. She is so sweet and has the most awesome testimony of Christ! What is better is that she turns it into action and does whatever she can to be more like Him and to help others. She is always trying to feed us and she gave us an umbrella last time and tons of baby clothes for anyone we thought could use them. These people sometimes have very little to give, but they give so much anyway and they give from their heart! I LOVE ITALY.

On New Years we set the alarm for 11:45 and woke up and watched all the Fireworks. It was INSANE. And we are nowhere near any kind of firework show. It was literally just everyone standing on their balcony shooting off all KINDS of fireworks they had been buying for weeks. It was crazy. We wouldn't have been able to sleep through that, so it was good we woke up to just enjoy it :) I took some videos, so you'll all get to hear it in a year :) 

Crazy that I only have a year left! 

So, transfers... We got the call on Saturday. My dearest companion Sorella Pancheri is going to Sicilia!! Siracusa to be exact. She will love it. She is a little sad to leave her first area where she has been for about 7 months, but she is also excited for a change. I will stay here and Sorella Haynie is coming up from Siracusa. Sorella Pace who currently lives with me, is going to... PESCARA!!!!! I couldn't believe it!!! I am currently writing tons of letters for her to give to people, as well as take a gift back for Gianni. I sure do miss him and the members and people of Pescara. Probably always will. They are all just so wonderful!! She is a lucky Sister missionary, that is for sure.

Okay, well, I need to go. We are not going to the Vatican today, I will just have to do that another time. Instead, we are going to ride bikes through Villa Borghese. On the first day of Sunshine in quite some time!! What a miracle!! Sorry for all the cold weather in Texas. Sure are the last days when Texas freezes over...

Kay, well I love you all with all my heart! Thank you all for all that you do for me and for the Lord!!! Buon anno, buon salute, e buon appetito!!

Sorella Patterson

Pictures: Me ping-pong-ing it up with Mohamed

The New Years ward party! Which we had to leave extremely early, but it was fun none-the-less and great to see so many people that don't usually make it out to church. Loved it! Love fellowshipping!!

 

December 30, 2013 - Christmas Pranza

Editor's note here:
We got to Skype with Megan on Christmas day. It was awesome to see her and to feel her joy for where she is and what she is doing. Here's my favorite picture of her through Skype:

Skyping with Megan on Christmas morning!

She didn't send a lengthy email today, but she did describe her Christmas celebration to us. Here is her email this morning:

So, I have a good amount of time today since just a few peopled emailed today. So, I will try to answer most of your questions. The post Christmas was interesting, haha.

Our little tree on Christmas morning

We were all exhausted and just wanted to sleep and stop seeing people, but that's not what missionaries do, so we went to our pranzo the day after Christmas and then had our weekly District Meeting right after a long and exhausting Pranzo. That district meeting was very special though. Our District leader, Anziano Barone, knew we were all very tired and knew we probably would not get much out of a long and intense training, so instead, he said he wanted to do somehing special for Christmas and give us each something. What followed was something I will probably never forget. He then went around the circle we were sitting in (we had been too tired even to bring in tables) and told each of us what he admired in us as missionaries. It was incredible. I could not believe it. His kind words and honest praise brought such a spirit of love and unity to our district and helped us each to see the good qualities of those we work so closely with. It can be hard, when around someone 24/7, to appreciate all of their good, because you also get to see most of their bad. But after he finished, Anziano

Barone told us about how it always helped him to love his companion and others more when he first looked for the good in them. At the end, he began to cry when he expressed his love for all of us and how grateful he was to be in this district and to have the chance to work with all of us. It was beautiful. It changed the whole feel of the meeting, and the whole feel of our district. That's what can happen when you have a servant of the Lord who fulfills his promise to be obedient: he or she can be guided by the Spirit to say exactly what God's children need to hear. And it can change a lot. 

The next day, I got very sick and the next day I stayed in bed all day. But then I had Anz. Barone and Rigby give me a blessing and I went to church yesterday and today we are going to see the Colosseum! So don't worry, I am on the mend :) 

For New Years Eve our ward is having a party at church, but it starts at like 7:30 and we have very strict orders to be home by 9 PM. It is going to be a crazy night! We have been hearing fireworks for the past two weeks, so that night is going to be something else! We will be safely watching from inside our top floor apartment :)

 

I will attach pictures of the rest of my 4 course, multi-hour Christmas pranzo:

 

3rd course

4th course!

Megan from the viewpoint
of a 7 year old on Christmas

Editor's note again: I took pictures of Megan's friends at church yesterday as the twins are now home from their missions to Ecuador and Mexico City. We had to take the standard twin picture of them kissing Megan. I sent them to her last night and here is what she responded:

 

I miss the twins so bad!! I wish that I could have been there when they got home!!! They BETTER be there when I come home!!!!!!!!  Everyone just looks so HAPPY!! I love it so much!!! I could not ask for a better group of friends!!! 

Mykle, Megan, and Kyle

Okay, so this is probably the last week with my companion. She has spent 5 transfers in this city, so she is likely leaving. I have no idea how to get around Rome, no idea where anything is, no idea about a lot of stuff, but I know the Lord will help me if He takes her away! Who knows, maybe He will throw me and Sorella Viazzo together after all! Magari!

Okay, well I can't think of anything else... I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and will have a fabulous new year!! I will be starting a diet, possibly, since I now only have one year to get in good shape and work off all this bread. Yeah, we'll see. 

Okay, gotta go for real now. Love you all!!!