11/28/2012 - Pescara, Italy

Ciao Tutti! 

         Well I think I'd like to start maybe explaining the fotos I sent. There'a a picture of me thanksgiving with are nice little turkey =) i got to make the first cut. Than there is a panorama shot of Pescara from the top a huge bridge over the riviera. And last the president says we are doing such a good job here in Pescara that we get to upgrade the mission car to a......... yeah, so tell those missionaries back home that if they do a good enough job maybe the church will let them drive one too =) 

          Looks like you guys are all having a blast back home. There is one thing that made me flip out a little was how big everyone is. Don't tell Mike but Scott is HUGE is he has tall as me yet? I'm 6'1" so I'd like to think I'm still the tallest but in that family foto just kinda blew my mind. Anyways everyone looks a lot older except Mom and Dad haha you guys seem to not age. When I show people here fotos of you guys people think you guys are in your 30's and that its impossible that I can be your son. Your thing about me looking Italiano and stuff that you mentioned a while ago is something I seem to be noticing more and more also. People don't seem to believe I'm American anymore and I have to show them my California drivers license to prove it. Not only do I look it but apparently I'm acting like it a lot too. My companion says that I act more Italian than he does about some things. I ran into a very rude British lady the other day who tried to argue with me and I couldn't respond very well and sounded stupid because I don't speak English very well anymore. We are going to have a fun conversation in a couple weeks. Be sure you have google translate ready because I might say words you don't understand in my Englishtalian. Being with two Italian companions in the last 3 months has really had a toll on my English vocab. Maybe it would be better if I just stayed here after the mission and lived the rest of my life in Italia because I don't know how well I can integrate in to life back home in America =) ,.....just kidding. 

           We are going to have a baptism here this Saturday of a young boy named Andrea  I think I mentioned him last week though. I heard from Anziano Visintin yesterday that Fabio got baptized in Taranto. Here it's been raining a lot and I have only seen the sun for 2 days in the 2 weeks I've been here =( not something a boy from southern California is very used to. Work here is a bit easier though than, for example, Bitonto, We do a lot less finding work and the members take good care of us. We received 9 referrals last week (which for us is a lot). Me and my companion get along real well and have some fun. He's not a real risk taker though and is always worried about stuff that's not really important so I tease him a lot by putting him in uncomfortable situations =P 

          Well I hope you all have a great week and tons of fun. I'll keep my eye on the mail box for what shows up and don't send anything to crazy. You can never really trust Italian postage, It's run by the mafia. I blew up our microwave last week, this is the second microwave in 2 months =P Long story. I love and miss you all =) 

           con amore,     Anziano Kyle Hill

11/21/2012 - Pescara, Italy

Ciao tutti!

        

           Only one picture =( this is of a couple of my friends in Taranto the day I left. It’s all the young single adults and the Vescovo. I'm gonna miss that ward so much, I had a lot of fun there. Anyways I'm sure you are all curious about my new city Pescara. Well it’s another big ward full of bomb members just like Taranto! President is being very nice to me. I'm with Anziano Alessandro who I already knew from my Bitonto days because he was in Bari. He’s a funny little guy. He’s way Italian but at the same time not at all. He doesn't like cheese or fish which I find very strange because these are Italian classics. However he’s a strong believer in colpa d'aria and other strange only Italian sicknesses and is very concerned and picky about what he eats. We have quite a bit of fun. He's pretty excited also to be with me because his last companion was only a couple transfers with his American trainer and didn't really speak Italian at all so they never were really able to communicate with each other, and if you know Italians, that's a really important thing =) haha. He has a funny Bolognese accent too. I'll try and describe it to you when I call you all Christmas. Which is coming REALLY FAST =O holy cow. The members here rock and we have eaten at somebody’s house almost every day since I've arrived here and are getting to know everyone. Another thing is that I haven't seen the sun yet since I arrived here =( it has rained every day; 5 days straight. I hope by the end of the week I'll get to see my good friend the sun again. It's also getting quite cold here. Winter is gonna be rough. We have a scattered English course full of old people but we had fun yesterday. We are having a baptism on the first of December of a small boy whose has an interesting family situation but is practically already a member. There are quite a few investigators here and a bit of work. I just need to meet everyone first and know them and then I'll have a much more detailed update for you guys next week. We spend quite a bit of money on travel here too. We have a pretty big proselyting area. It’s all of Abruzzo except for L'aquila. We went to L'aquila Monday for district meeting which is a beautiful city in the mountains. It’s all destroyed though from a HUGE earthquake about 4 years ago. They are still rebuilding and many of the buildings are still abandoned and crumbling. Got to see my good bud Anziano Bradshaw again too. He's in Terni which is part of our district. A quick funny story, I honestly had the worst meal in my life here in Italy this Sunday that my companion almost barfed on his plate. I have always eaten the best food in the world here in Italy but this was defiantly not so. This member is notorious here in Pescara for not knowing how to cook really well and the members tried to warn us but being the nice missionaries we are we did what we had to do. We had uncooked pasta made with uncooked shrimp =P and then a plate of Fish that was not cooked so it was pretty much raw with raw potatoes. It's the thought that counts and I was able to get it down without any problems but my companion was green when we left, poor kid. The member who made it for us though did it with his heart and it’s the thought that counts right? He’s a nice guy and we didn't offend him and ate everything =) you would be proud of me mom. Okay I’m running outa time so have a great thanksgiving. We will be eating turkey tomorrow at a members house =) lucky us. Make sure to give Mike a good teasing about his girl friend and I know he’s meeting with the bishop and stake president about the priesthood but he should really talk about starting his mission papers asap. The sooner the better. And if he wants to wait for me all he has to do is put his availability date for April. I love you all and hope you all have a great week. I got an email from president that he sent you all an email about sending packages and stuff for Christmas. In the end don't send me stuff. I don't need any packages and I don't wanna risk anything getting lost.

Vi Voglio Bene! e ci sentiamo

     Con amore,   Anziano Kyle Hill

11/14/2012 - Pescara, Italy

Ciao Tutti, di nuovo =)

            Well I've been transferred again. Now to Pescara which is in Abruzzo. It's on the opposite side of the boot as Rome on the Adriatic Sea. I will be serving once again with another Italian, Anziano Alessandro who I know pretty well actually. He's from Bologna which is about an hour and a half train ride from Pescara so it should be interesting for him serving his mission so close to his home. I'll be sure to get you my address and everything asap but I’m in the Rome zone now so still mailing stuff to the office in Rome isn't a problem because I'll go there every once n' a while. I've heard many good things about Pescara and it has a pretty good sized ward there of about 100. Still I am gonna miss Taranto. I didn't think I would get so attached to a city being only here for 1 transfer. Every moment I get with president I'm actually gonna try and see if he'll let me come back down here to finish my mission, I still have 3 transfers left =) I forgot my camera at home so I can't send you guys any pictures this week =( sorry, you'll get a ton next week I promise. 

             I'm glad you think I look Italian mom =P it’s because I haven't cut my hair for a while because I've been a bum this transfer, I'm cutting it tonight though and I will look totally American again =) and people don't notice I’m American from the way I look but from the way I talk. It’s almost impossible to master the Italian accent, especially for us Americans so I have an accent that they can pick up pretty fast. There have been a couple times though when I have to take out my driver’s license to prove to people I'm American. I have issues teaching English course every once and a while because I can't remember words in English or how to spell things. Last night I couldn't remember door bell and chandelier. It was a disaster. Oh and tell the Carpenters that there isn't much yellow here and I have no idea why the Macaroni Grill painted themselves yellow. It has nothing to do with Italy =P Maybe I could get a job there after the mission singing for peoples birthdays in Italian =) haha.

           I can't think of anything else to write. I'm having one of those blank moments. The work here in Taranto goes forward and there isn't really anything new from last week. I hear that the week I arrive in Pescara there is already a baptism and work is exploding there so I’m pretty excited. I miss and love all of you. I got a letter from grandma and the Quirroses this week. Always love when my cousins draw me pictures =) have a great week everyone and VI VOGLIO BENE.

     Con Amore,  Anziano Kyle Hill

11/7/2012 - Taranto, Italy

Ciao tutti,

      Well I'd like to make it clear that I did vote and I did mail my ballot in okay? That's what’s important right? Obama won in California by one vote huh? Must of been mine, haha. Didn't know you gave birth to a liberal?  I thought you would of figured it out by now! mwhaha! No, I voted for Romney but I think Obama winning isn't the end of the world. I think we have a tendency to blow things out of proportion sometimes. Saw also the results of the propositions. Looks like un-regulated unions are still running the state of California.  Maybe us Californians will figure it out sooner or later that they’re the reason our state is such a mess. There were some weird things on the ballot this year too haha. Me and my companion had a good laugh about some of the state and county measures, the ridiculous things some people manage to stick on ballots. 

       Okay enough silly politics talk. I'm glad to hear everyone remembers sister petroni.  I'll be sure to let her know asap and try and see if there is any facebook or way to contact her. Her name sister DeGorgio now though. She's been married for quite a few years and has young two daughters. Her husband is in the Bishopric here in Taranto and they are ace members. She'll be happy to know that people back home remember her. It is funny how these things happen. It really is a strange coincidence because I'm not supposed to be here in Taranto anyways, president told me it was a last minute thing that popped into his head. BTW speaking of transfers, they are this week and it is very likely that I am leaving Taranto =( already. So once again. Letters should go to the office in Rome the second you get this email. I'm most likely going there anyways president said in our interview that it’s most likely, however he has been known to go back on his word for transfers every once in a while and be a little unpredictable so who knows. 

       This week has been very interesting. In the fotos you will see some of me running around with some anziani at a service activity. We pushed people around in wheel chairs at the cemetery for 2 days. Last Thursday and Friday were  national holidays here in Italy, the day of the dead it’s called. So every year the 2 wards out here get together and since the cemetery is loaded with people that day we stand outside with wheel chairs and offer to push old people around. The cemeteries here in Italia are huge and like small cities full of thousands of tombs and chapels and all kinds of things. Here they don't bury people like we do in the Untied States, but they entomb people here above ground or in giant catacombs. So we spent the whole day doing that. I got a cool Italiano "Helping Hands" hat =) 

        As for the work here in Taranto things are going pretty well in my opinion. We should have several baptisms the end of this month =) First being a little Romanian boy we are teaching named Adrianno who is 11. He's a funny little kid but wants to do everything. He even, to our surprise, randomly stood up this Sunday in church and bore his testimony about how he hopes his mother lets him get baptized because he loves this church. The other baptism we have to see still but it’s one of those random little miracles that happens sometimes. Last Sunday these two random guys showed up in church named Fabio and Vesco. Vesco is a member from Bulgaria who served a mission in Germany and Fabio is his co-worker who’s Italian.  Actually originates from near Taranto. They have been traveling and living in Bulgaria for the last couple years but Fabio has received all the lessons and a testimony in Bulgaria and Spain with the missionaries and the only thing he's missing is baptism. Now that they will be here in Taranto for a month or so they are hoping that they can get it done here asap =) How random is that? Defiantly not something a missionary sees every day. We are working hard here and I think the Lord is blessing us for it. 

        Well that’s about it for my email here. Glad to hear the missionaries back home are having baptisms and that Papa O is kicking them into gear haha I can't wait to work with the missionaries when I get home. Hope Scott gets better(he’s had the flu) and that you are all doing well. I miss and love you all.

        Con amore

                Anziano Kyle Hill     

10/31/2012 - Taranto, Italy

Ciao!

         Allora, what to write?  First off I haven't gotten my ballot yet but once I do I'll fill it out (along with the whole ward watching anxiously) and mail it in ASAP.

          I have a funny story for you guys this week. I need to ask Grandma Carolyn or the Larkin’s if they remember a "sister Petroni". This week while eating at a member’s house they asked where I was from and I said Los Angeles. The wife of this family then explained that she served at temple square but served for 4 months in a small city close to L.A. called SANTA CLARITA in the year 2000. She served in the singles ward out in canyon country! She opened her foto album and to my surprise there were a good 50 pictures of her with the Larkin’s or with GRANDPA HOWARD haha I yelled “THATS MY GRANDFATHER”. It was the craziest coincidence. I saw a foto of her with the whole Larkin family including Spencer at 10 years old and our bishop. Pictures at grandma’s house and everything. So her name is Sister Petroni and she served here in the year 2000. How crazy huh? We spent hours talking about people and everything back home. She knows the whole stake pretty much. So let me know if grandma or the Larkin’s remember because she asked.

          Alright I gotta go.  This week we are getting real nice and fat eating at members homes. The work goes well here and I love it here in Taranto. Have a great week everyone and I miss and love you all.

        Con amore,

               Anziano Kyle Hill