Sorella Rebekah Tiffany Acton: Week 14 Happy New Year

Monday January 6, 2020

Last Monday was p-day but it was only until 2:00 because we were going to have to do deep cleaning on New Year's Day because everyone is in their houses with their families after a late night. The work would not be effective so that is our deep cleaning day for our apartments. When we first woke up Monday we went grocery shopping, did our weekly's, and then went Christmas shopping for ourselves. I got a nice skirt, some personal products, and a nice sweatshirt from the Palermo store, which I'm actually wearing right now. It was raining a lot while we did our shopping and it was very cold out. We came home for pronzo, did some contacting and then went out to our appointment we had that night with Sorella Pizamenti. We showed her the "Forget Me Not" talk from Elder Uchtdorf. We also shared our testimonies which was a blessing because I was talking earlier to my momma about wishing that I was able to see my progress. I knew that the language was coming along but it was coming so slowly that I couldn't really tell. But from the testimony that I shared at that appointment I could see my progress because before I would have had to turn to my companion and ask how to say a lot of things but I only had to turn to her once. I was able to see that I am progressing, even if it is very slowly.
Tuesday was New Year's Eve and we were told that all of the missionaries in Palermo needed to be in their apartments by dark for safety because of all the fireworks and because people go a little crazy for New Years. However, we got special permission to go to our ward party if we had someone drive us home afterwards, well not after the whole party because we still had to be home before 10:30. We got up and had District Council. We talked about the spirit and how important it is to have it with us, especially as missionaries and teaching because it is the spirit that really teaches. Then we went and had pronzo together. After that my companion and I came home and did some contacting and studies and then we headed out to see if we could find the area where a lady that I was teaching with Sorella Johnson was. Unfortunately, we couldn't find it before it was getting really dark, so we came back to the house. We made some brownies for the New Year's party and then at 7:30 we walked with Catia and her kids to the ward party. And of course, the party was suppose to start at 7:30 but it didn't start until 8:45, that's just how it happens. We talked to a bunch of the people there and we ate food and then Bishop wanted us to dance. We tried to make it home by 9:30 but he made us stay there until 10:00 and dance with the members, which we were not complaining about. I literally love our Bishop here so much, he is so funny. We danced with him and then everyone else started to join in and then we did a lot of dancing with the members. We did some Italian and Latin line dance songs. We left and were home by 10:00. We relaxed for a bit, got ready for bed, and then played uno until it was time for the countdown for the new year. We went out on our balcony and counted down and there was tons of fireworks. We were only able to see a couple because of all the buildings but we could definitely hear all of them. It sounded like a gun fight going off for like 10-15 minutes. We got to bed around 12:30 that night.
New Year's Day we woke up and got to cleaning. We cleaned ALL day long, but at 1:00 we took a break and had pronzo at Catia's house with her and Ana. It was our first pronzo of the new year and she wanted to be the first. And then we went back to deep cleaning, very intensely, for the whole day until 7:00pm. It was also my five month mark so for new year's and my five month mark we went out and got a gelato to end the day. It was a good day and we started off the new year with a VERY clean house!
Thursday we got up and did studies like always and then went to Centro to find where they serve meals for the homeless but we couldn't find one. And then we did find one but it was closed. After that we headed over and visited Sorella Disalvo, who is a lady in our ward. On our way to her house we stopped and got some Nutella crepes, which were super yummy. After our meeting with her we went to pronzo with Giovanna and her family, which went really well. Giovanna and her husband actually became new people for us to teach. So that was awesome. That night we had English Course again after not having it for four times. It was great to start that back up again, I had really missed it.
Friday we went to Casa de Nina, that's the house where all of the handicapped people go to spend their days together. I LOVE going and spending my days with them, they are all so precious and sweet. For one of the activities there we turned down the lights, had relaxing music on and they closed their eyes to really think and meditate. We went around and massaged their shoulders. I felt so much love for all of them and I just thought of Christ and how He would be spending his time with the sick, the afflicted, and the handicapped. And how out here, as missionaries, we try so hard to be like Christ. It just felt so good to be close to Him in that moment because we were serving others as he would do. I felt the spirit so strong and was so grateful for the time I get to spend with them. After that we headed up to Monreale, which takes about an hour to get to, and we ate lunch up there. We did comp study and then we were going to go to a lesson but the lady was feeling sick so she cancelled on us. It was a real bummer since we had to travel so far to get out there but we just did some less active member contacting. That night we headed back and had an appointment with Angela and Bernadette and Giseppe. We ate, talked, and had a good time with them. They are a pretty crazy family so it's tough sometimes but we love them anyways.
Saturday we did studies and then headed to the church to help the members clean, but they wouldn't let us help because they are stubborn. So we just cleaned our part of the church that we use for English Course. Then we came back home and had pronzo then headed up to Villa Claudia which is an old folks home and we spent time with them. Before we went there we went to stop by the flower lady, which was a contact that seemed like she might be interested, so we went back there. Unfortunately, she wasn't there again but we talked to her husband and he said we could stop back by and visit them again. He told us about another spot where he works. After that we came home and we did some calls.
Sunday, it was Fast Sunday. We got up and went to correlation with our ward mission leader and the ward missionaries. Then we had Fast and Testimony meeting which went really well. After church we went and had pronzo with Catia and her friends Anna and Franci. Then we came home and I was able to call my Dad for his birthday, which was really awesome. Then we did some studies and some goal setting for the next week. We left to go meet the Elders to do some Zone Conference planning but they forgot. We waited at the church for almost an hour for them and then they showed up at the church for something else and told us they had forgotten. So we just went home.
The spiritual thought I wanted to share for this week is from a talk called "Continue in Patience" by Elder Uchtdorf. He says; "To wait and be patient is a key character trait that might predict later success in life. Patience is the ability to put our desires on hold for a time. It is a precious and rare virtue. Patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace. If children are ever going to mature and reach their potential they must learn to wait. Patience requires actively working towards goals and not getting discouraged when results don't appear instantly or without effort. Patience is far more than just simply waiting for something to happen, patience is a Godly virtue. Patience means being firm and steadfast and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord. Patience means to abide in faith, knowing that sometimes it is the waiting rather than the receiving that we grow the most." I love that because the mission does take a lot of patience, especially learning a new language. I just need to have more patience with myself and with the language and that it will come with my efforts.

Love you all,

Sorella Acton