Giorno di preparazione a Roma!!

Well I am here in Rome this P-day, feels like I am always in a different city, but that makes it fun!  We had Zone Conference yesterday and it was incredible as usual.  Always super fun because the Rome Zone is huge so you get to see tons of people!  And it is always a very spiritually uplifting experience.  Our mission president is a great guy and I really enjoy his talks and instruction.  They told alot about how our mission is going to be changing and how we have 20 sisters now and by summer we should have about 50!  Wow!  Always a little sad because you make so many good friends really quickly and then they go home!  And everyone says it but the time goes so fast! 
     This week we had an amazing week in L'Aquila.  Mostly finding but we got let in 4 times this week!  Which is pretty incredible!  One of them was a family so I am super excited.  I had an interview with President Kelly yesterday (which we do every other conference)  and he told me that of course he is going to pray about it, but he feels like my time in L'Aquila is up in a couple of weeks.  There are a couple of cities I really have my eye on! haha Most of them is Sicily, but I will be happy wherever!  We travel a lot because my companion is the zone leader, so I have gotten the chance to do a lot of scambi (exchanges) with other missionaries and they are so fun!
     I am pretty excited for the next week, because we are starting up English Course and is an excellent way to find new investigators, not to mention it is just way fun and a good chance to just talk and have fun with the students.  They just want to hear about America and talk about how they dream of going there.  We truly are blessed.  I love ya'll a ton and hope everyone is doing amazing!

love,

          Anziano Bird

p day in pescara

Hey!

    I am going to have to make this email kinda short also because not a ton to report on and we are at this sketchy internet point and my computer keeps crashing!  This week we have been doing a ton of advertising for our English course, it starts back up on the 24th.  Besides referals from members it is the best way to find new investigators and get people comfortable with being in church.  I am very excited to start it again because it is super fun to teach English and listen to them so try and pronounce some words! 
     We have really been trying to work with the members and help them with sharing the gospel with thier friends, because we need their help if they want to become a ward before the Temple.  We have an appointment tonight with the Melone family in our branch, he is in the stake presidency and is an awesome guy.  Kinda reminds me of Gru from despicable me! haha 
     In other news I finished my first journal this week!  First time in my life I have written in one for more than a week, but feels good!  The second half of this week has felt like a party because Sunday night 2 Anziani from Terni spent the night because we had district meeting the next day, then we did exchanges with Pescara after, then they spent the night, then Tuesday evening we came to Pescara, did English course, and spent the night with them, now we are doing p day here! should be a lot of fun!  Love yall a ton, I pray for y'all everyday and hope that y'all keep the Temple in your prays and our entire mission.  love y'all a ton and hope y'all have a good week!

love,

          Anziano Bird

January-Week 2

Ciao Ciao,

     Not a ton of time this week but I will hit the highlights.  We got to go to Terni and do a baptismal interview, then headed to Rome because my comp is a Zone leader and they had a conference the next day.  So the night we got to Rome, we met up with a really cool member who is about to head on his mission.  He took us around and we got to see all the Christmas light and decorations in Rome!  It was great!  We ate some authentic Sicilian food and hope to get down to Sicily eventually!  While my comp was at his meetings I got to do exchanges in Rome and We did street and it was so fun! People actually talked to us and we gave out a ton of Book of Mormons and got a lot of contacts.

   On the way home our phone stopped working and so for about 3 days we had to use pay phones and they are expensive! haha we finally got everything worked out so now we can contact people again.  Got my packages and letter this week, thank you all so much!!  It is awesome to receive stuff, especially during Christmas time.  Since I got all the stuff after Christmas they were more like Befanna gifts.  Which is the Christmas witch that comes on January 6 I think and they have a second Christmas!  We of course did a ton of finding when our phone wasn't working because we couldn't contact anybody!

     Saturday night they had a giant market here and it was awesome and crazy, im pretty sure everyone in town was there!  It was nice to see people out on the streets!  And we are about to start up English Course again so we have been doing a lot of advertising for that.  Sorry this email is not very interesting, but I love ya'll a ton and everyone have a great New Year!

love,

           Anziano Bird

Third transfer! New Years!

Ciao!

     Happy New Years!  2013 has come!  Well I will start back at the day after I talked to y'all.  It was great, lots of fun to see y'all!  Then Wednesday and Thursday we were trying to get everything all ready for Anziano Fiala to leave, he got transferred to Siracusa, Sicilia.  I am pretty jealous! haha  So he got all packed up and and on Friday we headed to Rome for transfer day!  We got to the train station were everybody leaves from and comes in on at about 9.  Then missionaries just start slowly showing up.  Met an Anziano who went to Hillcrest and graduated the year ahead of me.

     Anziano Fiala headed out about 10:20 and it was strange but I am looking forward to changes, keeps life interesting!  My new comp. Anziano Esplin didn't get in until about 12:30 so just hung out with a bunch of missionaries which is always fun.  Anziano Esplin is from  Pocatello and is a really good guy.  We decided to take a train home and it took FOREVER!  When we got home is was later so we ate and he unpacked.  Saturday  we did weekly planning and he was sick so we were in the house almost all day which was terrible! haha So Sunday was Sunday and we were doing house and found a lady who investigated the  church for a year and a half...... 20 years ago!  Monday we had district meeting and that is always fun cause our district is really cool.  

     After we had a lesson with our golden investigator, Mirela, and it went terribly..... he husband has really talked her out of it, and she knows its all true so it was pretty sad to see, so she dropped us.  So, back to finding!  News years eve we had to be back in the house by 6 for safety........ I thought "ha, L'Aquila is safe" until we were doing house and we were ringing the intercom thing outside and someone started chucking m80's at us!  It was interesting! haha  So that night was boring, but got a lot of studying done.  Then Tuesday is a "deep cleaning" day, they have them 3 times a year when you just clean the house...... all day.....haha  it was also slightly boring, but our house is super super clean!

    Then today we were going to do  P-day in Rome, because my comp is a zone leader and he has a meeting on Thursday, but he has to go to a baptismal interview at 4 in Terni, but I am still excited because I have never been there.  Then we are still going to Rome tonight and might see some stuff.  And in a couple of weeks we might get to go to Napoli also because that's where my comp came from and he has an investigator that wants him to baptize her, so that would be sick!  Hope everyone had an awesome holiday season, and have a great year!!!

love,

              Anziano Bird