Well, it's been just another good week here in Miracle Messina. That is to say... It's been busy and we were not able to spend that much time in Messina! Boh. So Anziano Stewart had to leave to go to Catania for a leader meeting and to do some baptism interviews for some people in Catania. I was then shipped over to Reggio, alone, again. Spent some good time with the Reggio missionaries and we did work there and Stewart did work in Catania. It all works out in the end, but it's kinda sad that we didn't have time to work our own city this week. But I will recount some of the tales and adventures that I had this week!
Italian Style BBQin'
As an English Class we were able to go up to the north
shore of the island and go to our one student’s house... More of a mansion
really... That is to say... It was a mansion! Our English class is actually
really, really close and a lot of them have been coming for years. We ate
sausages and hamburgers (they loved that they were cooking American
Hamburgers). The house overlooked the ocean and we ate dinner in their winery.
They loved showing us their winery and this huge 200 kiloliter fermenter they
had! The thing was huge, man. But yes. It was a grand ol’ time. Also really
nice to get out of the big, bad streets of Messina for a while and see the
countryside.
So this week we went visiting non-members houses and we
went way up into the hills of Messina to visit this really, really, really...
really, really, really old member who can't make it down to church. But where
she lived was super cool! Just above her house there were tons of little cities
on the hills and tons of houses literally just hanging from the cliffs. Classic
little Sicilian towns. But we got a member to come with us, Fratello Impolongia
(Impolonsta the Monsta we call him). But it was a darn tootin' good thing we
did to because she didn't speak Italian, only Messinese. Also, she couldn't
read, so that would have been really difficult. But Impolonsta was awesome and
translated for us. He really is such an awesome guy and he's always willing to
come do missionary Work. In fact, every morning he gets on his knees and prays
for a missionary opportunity that day. Fortissimo.
We also went to go gardening this week at the home of the
Underwear Shop owning member! She lives in like the inner city, so we really
were not expecting it to be very much work... But we go there and she literally
had a full-fledged garden, complete with a few fruit trees. It actually was a
two day project and she, along with every Italian I've ever met, loves to talk
and eat dinner, so when we try to leave it's at least another hour... Mamma
mia... So those two nights we got home at like 10:30 and I was just
wicked tired the next two days. But we love it and it was actually really fun.
She's funny.
And also I went alone to Reggio this week. Like last week,
it was weird to be alone for like 40 minutes without a companion, but the
Reggios met me at the docks. We had a lunch appointment that day outside of
Reggio in this little tiny town. But this lunch appointment was crazy. This
guy, Giatano, is infamous for his cooking. He has about 50 rabbits and 50 ducks
and geese in his garden that he raises and cooks. That day we ate one of his geese.
Also, Giatano is the biggest Italian man I have seen thus far... He's probably
400 pounds. He just kept feeding us and feeding us! Pasta and Goose and Pasta
and Goose. I was so bloated by the end of it I thought I might lose it on the
train ride home. He's a good guy and one of the strong members of Reggio.
So this week there is a big Festival in all of Italy! Tomorrow is
the peak of it and everything is shut down for the parades and fairs that are
going to take place. We as missionaries are encouraged to attend. Woot. But in
the city of Messina it is especially big! People tonight are having huge
bonfires and firework shows and tomorrow there is a huge parade with
these massive statue things that are like 80 feet tall! They started rolling
them out this week and I'm excited for it. They are honoring the Madonna and
everything has history or symbolism in the parade. You should actually google
these parade things... Fiera Agosto Messina... They are cool. It's good luck to
touch the black one’s feet! So the black guy is supposedly the reason why
Sicilians are all dark... The legend is he conquered Sicily from Africa and
through the course of time and babies the people of Sicily become marginally
darker than the rest of Italy.
So that's that!
