MTC - WEEK 5

Ciao!

Another stressful yet successful week. I got the Easter package yesterday =) I opened it already because I didn’t know what it was so sorry if I was supposed to wait til Sunday to do that. Well this week has been pretty crazy. We've memorized Doctrine & Covenants 4 in Italian and have moved into speaking only Italian in the classroom. We also have to teach in Italian now too which I quickly found out how easy it is to mess up a couple words and you change the whole context of your statement and end up with a very very confused investigator. We were role playing the other day and our investigator was reading the Book of Mormon and was confused about the part where Nephi has to kill Laban because God told us not to kill. Well I had her read the verse before it and here’s where I messed up; after she read it I apparently said "When the spirits tell us to do something break the commandments than we need to kill each other" HAHA - A couple misplaced pronouns and wrong letters can change a harmless statement into something that’s gonna freak somebody out. My companion couldn't stop laughing. So keep me in your prayers that I can learn proper grammar so when I'm teaching real Italians I won’t say something like that. Other than that though I’m surprised how well we can teach the first lesson in Italian already. I pretty much have it down and we taught it yesterday without any problems. So I guess that’s kinda awesome. =)

There are quite a few missionaries in our zone that are struggling quite a bit whether it be with depression, companionships, or health and being a zone leader I get the privilege to address all of it. It’s very stressful and makes me quite sad sometimes. I honestly pray everynight for maybe 10 to 20 minutes for the members of my zone who are struggling. No one has gone home yet but we have one elder whose health is deteriorating quite a bit and he has to get a couple MRI's because he is getting migraines and they keep getting worse and worse. He expressed to us the other day how much he doesn’t want to go home; but I don’t know how much longer he can go. He’s really struggling and has missed alot of class. So I'd just like to ask all of you to just keep not only me but my fellow missionaries in your prayers because faith is really all we have going for us right now. But miracles happen everyday so we can only wait and see.

On a happier note, I was able to get a picture with all the missionaries from our stake last Sunday. Elders Scott and Norris left yesterday to the field, what lucky guys, and Sister Elliot came in on Wednesday so we all met after the fireside Sunday and got some pictures. I will send them probably next week. Please do not send me anymore food. I have more than I know what to do with. I honestly have enough candy and cookies to survive a nuclear fallout. I love letters though, and love to hear what’s going on with you guys. I realize Scott’s birthday was 2 weeks ago and I forget to say anything. =P we were learning how to talk about our family and I said I have a 14 year old brother and than I realized oh wait! He’s 15 now! holy cow. Well Happy late birthday Scott, and note to mom (in his last letter he asked me if I would tell him how to make a certain kind of bomb. If you see him or any of his friends with 2 liter soda bottles, aluminum foil and toilet bowl cleaner stop him at all costs because I know he’s not going to do anything responsible with it.)

Well I love you guys and miss you all. I’m the only Lakers fan in my whole district and everytime they lose it gets rubbed in my face but they will only get what’s coming to them. Haha. Keep sending letters and pictures too =)

vi amo,

Anziano Hill