6/27/2012 - Bitonto, Puglia

Dearest family and friends,
 
                Another week goes by and well pretty much everything is still the same here =P exciting huh? We are trying to come up with cool and creative ideas to find people (being that me and Anziano Bradshaw are the two most creative guys in the mission right now according to our mission president) It feels like just about every day we do some finding, and some more finding, eat lunch and then go out and do some finding. Any missionary can tell you that finding is the funnest part of missionary work right? We actually got a pretty insulting letter a couple weeks ago which is a funny story. Some kid named Elder David Lichtenstien who is serving in Arizona wrote my companion and mentioned how they don't have to do much finding because the live in a "REFERRAL BASED MISSION" what the HECK DOES THAT MEAN!!!!!! If we get 1 good referral a week we are already above the mission average here!! So somebody explain this "REFERRAL BASED" phrase because I don't seem to understand it haha. Whenever something goes wrong for us or stuff is just not working out we will always scream into the air "CURSE YOU ELDER LICHTENSTEIN AND YOUR REFERRAL BASED MISSION!!" The funny thing to add insult to injury is that our friend Elder Lichtenstein had the audacity to ask us after making that statement how we do work here in Italy. Well.... Elder Lichtenstein, we are serving in a little city in the middle of nowhere with a proselyting area that extends about 50 miles in all directions and a branch of 15-20 members on a good day, so we do a lot of FINDING WORK. We can say we live in a "FIND AND TALK TO EVERY STINKIN PERSON AND THEY STILL DON'T GET BAPTIZED MISSION" haha. We had zone conference last week and ironically enough President chose to speak to us about how out of the mouth of President Eyring himself we are serving in probably the hardest mission in the world so we shouldn't get discouraged because no matter how many people shut us down or don't progress, as long as we do our best we are fine. People have their free agency we just need to get them to exercise it. He said a mission makes a boy a man, but that the Rome Italy mission makes a boy a saint =) hear that? You will all have to call me San Kyle when I get home. Haha just teasing. So yeah. President is being really great and always encouraging us because it's not easy here. We are made better though because of it and I am thankful that this isn't easy. If I was in any other mission i don't know if I would have learned the things I have learned here and have gained the character traits and new strengths that I have now. I am really a changed person. You are all gonna see that when I get home =) This mission was the greatest thing for my life. 
         So yeah back to what we do here. We are pretty much relying on our English course and a “Quit Smoking” program we just started. We have gone around the city posting advertisements on everything. So wish us luck with that. At zone conference I was once again united with all my old companions and my whole MTC district! That was awesome!! Got to talk with Anderson and Harris =) I'll send pictures to you guys. It's interesting now being in the older group in the mission. At zone conference more than half the missionaries were younger than us. These two years go by way too fast so I gotta get what I can before it’s gone. On Sunday Italy beat England in the Semi finals during Penalty kicks =P it was nuts so when we won at around 1130 everyone ran out onto the streets and for about 2 hours drove around honking horns, blowing stuff up, screaming, and someone had a fog horn. It was nuts. These people really love their soccer. We play Germany on Thursday in the final and I'm pretty sure we are gonna lose so there may not be the same craziness.
          I love you all and miss you all. Your letters arrive with-in days so post is really well here. Thanks for the package and I will let you know when it gets here. Vi voglio bene e Ci sentiamo!
                           Con amore,
                                      Kyle

6/20/2012 - Bitonto, Puglia

Ciao tutti!

          So as for stuff going on... well nothing much to be honest. Still doing a lot of finding work and stuff. This Sunday and Monday we got to exchanges and I got to see my old companion Anziano Harris! So that was way fun. I went out all day with his companion though doing work. That's pretty much it though for this last week =P I'm sorry if this letter seems boring =P maybe send me some questions and stuff for me to answer and then I might be able to elaborate more. Me and Anziano Bradshaw are having a way good time though, so even if things are slow we are still having fun with it. We have zone conference tomorrow and I will see a bunch of old missionary companions and old friends so it will be pretty exciting. I have my interview with the mission president tonight

        OHHHHH something crazy this week is that right now is the European soccer tournaments. Whenever Italy has a game everybody goes home and watches it haha it's funny because the streets are honestly abandoned. When Italy wins though people run up and down the streets for hours even if it's the middle of the night screaming and shooting fireworks and blowing whistles, air-horns and whatever! It is NUTZ! These people are INCREDIBLY passionate about this sport. So things are gonna be crazy for the next couple weeks until the tournament ends. FORZA ITALIA!!

        Well that finishes it. Sorry for this being so short =P i got short emails from you guys this week so just dishing back out what I got haha. Love you all and have a great week. Dio vi benedica! E VI VOGLIO BENE! 

              -con amore

                     Anziano Hill 

        

Bitonto, Puglia - 6/13/2012

Ciao Tutti,
       Well another week passed and I’m still alive! WOO! I got a horrible cough this week though for some reason and it's driving me nuts, can't sleep well or anything. I bought some cough syrup though and it seems to be helping. So things are getting better.
     I would like to point out that your letters arrived Monday! Way sweet huh? I guess mail travels fast here! I loved all your letters and thought especially because of the weird coincidence of the fact that you(mom) are in the same spot of the Book of Mormon as me (except mine’s in french haha) but same story right? That part of Alma, I always love
talking about because I consider it one of Alma's "awesome moments" as I like to call it. After the people of Ammoniah start throwing all their new converts in the fire Amulek does freak out a bit (probably because it includes his family) and this is right after Alma gives a huge talk on the power of the priesthood so It's only natural that Amulek would ask Alma to use the priesthood to save them. However Alma remains calm. Not many people can stay calm while watching a scene like that. This shows something about Alma, he is really connected to the Lord and knows his plan so he has no fear for the saints that are being killed. And his words to Amulek comfort him. Then Amulek’s
concern changes though. We find him concerned for the safety of himself and Alma and asking whether they need to do something to protect themselves. Once again Alma remains calm and says calmly and fearlessly that they have no need to fear because they still have work to do and the Lord will not suffer them to die yet. Alma shows an
amazing amount of confidence in the Lord in a scene of horror and destruction and I greatly admire that. He is an amazing example and this is why this is one of his "Awesome Moments". So thanks for sharing that with me mom. The scriptures are most totally excellent!
          So this week was stake conference for 2 days. Saturday evening we went to Bari and did member splits with all the leaders from the stake. I went out with the Branch Pres. of Brindisi and we did some great work. Than we had a conference where the stake president spoke to us. He is a way awesome dude! And he looks just like Robert Downey Jr. actually haha,  but he gave a great "object talk" about making our hearts grow like a garden of flowers instead of being like a rock. It was life changing I think. Then Sunday we had a general authority broadcast for Italy, France, Switzerland, Holland, and Belgium where Elders Eyring and Nelson spoke to us. A sister in my district, Sister Miles, is the granddaughter of Elder Nelson so he made a shout out to her during the conference and the whole congregation cheered because she was sitting right there with us. They spoke mostly about the family and raising children. It seems to be all I hear about from church leaders being out here on my mission. Raising a family and getting married, not things that should be on my mind right now haha. When come the talks on missionary work and all that good stuff? That’s what I need to hear! Another cool thing about the conference though is some english course students came to our surprise and....... had an AMAZING EXPERIENCE!  That makes 2 new investigators =) not bad huh? Our branch president did a lot for them too so they had a really great time and felt the spirit real strongly. WOO!
         So that’s about it for this week. Me and Bradshaw are doing great. Work’s moving forward slowly but surely. We have these things here called Panzaroti which are the most delicious things ever. It's basically a folded over Pizza that is deep fried =O yeah amazing. Just not very good for you. I love you all and love the letters. Scott is really being an ace at writing me so keep encouraging him because his letters are hilarious (full of threats of what will happen if I come home early) haha funny kid. Let him know that the only thing sending me home is if I get shot or struck by lightning, something along those lines so very unlikely =) Miss you and Arrivederci!!
       Con amore,  Anziano Kyle Hill

Bitonto, Puglia - 6/6/2012

Buongiorno!

                 So I have just about made a whole week here in Bitonto with Anziano Bradshaw and things are going great. Still trying to figure things out though. It's a little city and the streets here are a little confusing. I’m sending some pictures of all the rooms in our apt. just in case you guys are curious as to what I'm living in. The house here is awesome like I said last time. And the view from the roof rocks. I sent some pics of it. Got to meet the branch this Sunday and they are very little. Smallest branch I've served in so far. There is a bit of tension too here between members so there's a little bit of work to be done here. Other than that though the branch rocks and is full of ace members. I'm very excited for work here. As for investigators and stuff let’s just say there is nothing wrong with having to start with a clean slate =) we’ve got quite a bit of work to do here. As for now though that’s about all I can say.

              Got some news on some of my old friends from Catania this Monday because a sister in my district served there a couple months after me and told me that Samuel and Rose are ACE MEMBERS, giving 45 minute talks in sacrament meeting and everything! WOO! I was so happy to hear all this, I started jumping around. Rose had her child Israel too =) It was nice to see that they are still active and still rocking it!

              All the pics of Mike all grown up make me sad =( I can't believe that little Mikey is going away to college. It's crazy to think that I graduated high school 3 YEARS AGO! I'm so old =P it feels like just yesterday. Before we know it, Mike will be out here in Italy preachin' the good word haha =) and working at six flags too!?!?! I am more than proud of him! Batman huh? I gotta see all the new stuff they've done with the park when I get home. Well that’s about all I can think to write you guys right now. I miss you all and hope you all have an awesome week! VI VOGLIO BENE! E CI  SENTIAMO!

Con amore,

         Anziano Kyle hill

P.S. I almost forgot. Got an email for Uncle G! Let him know that after his surgeries I am more than down for another crazy adventure when I get home! Tell him I wish him a good recovery with everything.

Bitonto, Puglia - 6/1/2012

CIAO TUTTI!
      Well i am now in Bitonto with my awesome new companion Anziano Bradshaw. We are going to have way to much fun this  transfer. The house here is honestly the coolest house in the whole mission i think. It's on the top floor so the balcony is the roof of the building and it's huge!! It has a gazebo on it too =P so random but it really is so cool. The city of Bitonto is way small about 50,000 inhabitants and the branch is of about 20 members so my smallest so far. It's funny though because about 20 minutes away in the city of Bari there are 2 wards of over 100 members. I'm in a stake here too. We can safely say i am no longer isolated far away on a little island but now more in the middle of things =) This place reminds me a bit of a way small catania for some reason but I haven't really discovered why yet. So thats a little bit on that. Oh and as for the work here we are pretty much starting from scratch so way psyched for that =) 
       So I back in Sassari I got to spend this week saying goodbye to alot of awesome members but my camera went out last wednesday and is having charging issues so my comp had to take all the pictures. So waiting on Lacey to send them to me. I'm gonna miss all those members a ton. That was honestly such an amazing branch! half of them made it very clear that "when" I come back to Sassari with my wife one day how many spare rooms they have and stuff haha. Adhemar and I shed some good tears at parting. Outa everyone I'll probably miss him the most. We also had a pretty emotional lesson last tuesday with him. I won't go into detail because it was pretty intense stuff but just remember to keep him and his family in your prayers. Things with his JW family and stuff are creating some major problems betweens them and It's sad to see. So once again. Keep him and his family in your prayers. He has got a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon too. I'm just bummed I won't be there to see the baptism. He promised me a free adventure and place to stay in Bolivia though if I ever go down to find him there one day. I have so many connections around the world. I never thought that serving in Italy would give me friends to pass by in Kenya, Philippines, Ghana, and now Bolivia! not to mention all the good friends who are missionaries I gotta visit back in america, germany and here in Italy after the mission. I have quite a travel life you could say =) It's good because one of my goals one day is to go through every temple in the world before i die. So the more connections the easier that will be =)
         My travels started Wednesday morning driving to Alghero with Anz Luke (my travel buddy headed to rome to be the new assistant) and anziano Lacey and Schwing (He's german and way awesome) Germans are actually some of the coolest people in europe according to me. All the ones I've met have been way awesome and remind me the most of americans in the way they think and live their daily lives. I have gained alot of respect for that culture. So back to traveling. We said good bye to our old comps and jumped on the plane to rome. Me and Anz. Luke landed after a way smooth about 40 minute flight. We met the Assistants there and I played Assistant for the rest of the day picking up the new missionaries with the mission pres and driving everybody around with Anziano Gatchel. We honestly went everywhere around rome passing all the cool old stuff going from the airport to the train station to the mission office to the mission home and back and forth again. It was nutz. I have no idea how the assistants do it. I got to see alot of missionaries I hadn't seen for along time being stuck on the island so it was also a really nice reunion too seeing tons of old friends. The next morning we picked up a greenie and then me and two other elders got an a bus and made the 6 hour bus ride down to Bari. It was LONGGGGGGGG but i got to see a ton of beautiful Italian landscape. This place is SO BEAUTIFUL! I LOVE  IT!! Yesterday evening I got here in bitonto after a short train ride with anziano Bradshaw. So nothing to crazy went down on the trip haha no crazy boat jumping or airplane crashing madness or anything like that =) 
         I'll leave it at that. I got some of your letters when passing by the mission office. Can't believe mike is graduating already!! congrats LITTLE BRO!  And i know there are a ton of birthdays so i send my love and best wishes to all of you! TANTI AUGURI A VOI!! VI VOGLIO BENE ed ci sentiamo

           Con amore,
                     Anziano Kyle Hill