Sorella Nelson: Week 17

(Week 11 Caserta)

Happy Halloween!!!
 In Italy Halloween is not very big, so we
decided to hold a Halloween party for English Course and ward members
on Friday! It was a HUGE success!!!

Sorella Hamilton and I decorated the chapel/cultural hall all up and
made some good looking mugs for the winners of the costume contest and
food contest. Soooo many people brought food, some themed and others
just delicious! (We made brownies...) Lots of people dressed up too!
We didn't have a ton of time so we tried to pull off being Elsa and
Anna, we did pretty alright I'd say... We played games like musical
chairs, bobbing for apples, toilet paper mummy wrapping and others.It
was so much fun!!! Lots of people brought their husbands and wives or
family and friends and we ended up with some new phone numbers so we
will put the Caserta Missionaries Halloween Party in the books as a
success!!!





































Elsa and Anna

The actual day of Halloween we spent the morning cleaning the church
but we got a real nice taste of creepiness and gruesomeness when we
went to visit Maria Russo. If you remember from my emails this is the
woman who was burned and always cries when we go over. Last time she
was sewing and this time when we walked in it took us a minute to
figure out what she was doing... She was sitting in her bed with her
covers pulled over her legs and there were feathers around her while
her hands are busily doing something in a white garbage bag. To her
left, we could see feathers of some sort and to her right there was a
bag of bloody meat of some kind. She then pulls her bloody feathery
hands out of the bag to show us that she is plucking birds. I am
pinching myself and tearing up from holding in my laughter. I can tell
Sorella Hamilton is just as surprised and amused as I am. Thankfully
she tells us to go look at her fridge in her kitchen so we let out our
laughter there and then we plan how to document this crazy crazy
experience. We go back in and I've got my iPad at the ready and Maria
Russo demonstrates how to clean the birds (which looked like birds off
the street) and trim the legs and head and take out the intestines.
Hahahahaha it was CRAZY!!!!! THEN.... Her little grandson comes in to
give her a candy for Halloween and without wiping her hands or
anything, she is rubbing his face and digging in her wallet to give
him some money! She then gives US some candy with those same hands!
Hahaha I could not contain myself, it was the best "Haunted" house
experience!

This week we have not had very much work, we visited lots of less
active and part members. One lunch appointment it was proven to me
that Italy food is 100% better because she made pasta with peas and I
LOVED IT!!!! I've never liked peas but I could eat a whole can of them
here! Another woman gave us a bag FULL of MOZZARELLA BALLS! This area
is famous for the mozzarella, it's sooo buonissimo! Also, I eat raw
tomatoes all the time, which never happened before! Some things Italians
have a lot around these coming holidays are boxed cakes called
Penetone. They come in all sorts of flavors and the Italians always
have them on hand.

Funniest moment from the week with our Ghanian brother Evans!!!! We
were talking about the Godhead and really helping him understand who
the Holy Ghost is. He starts telling us about how when demons attack
you, you should yell "Holy Ghost fire"!!!!! Hahahahahaha it looked
like he was a Jedi with the moves he was doing!!! All three of us were
crying of laughter and it was soooo hard to stop because every time we
would say Holy Ghost again we would all start laughing!!!!

Our primary in Caserta...
Is sad really... There are two women who try to run it and normal
weeks they are combined the whole time and sometimes just sing
songs... It's hard because we have some American kids from the base as
well as the Italian children. We have probably 10 American primary
kids and then 5 Italian kids. When I taught the one woman took junior
into the other room and I had about 6 senior primary kids. They were
actually all English! I don't ever play the piano for them but I think
I'm going to ask if they'd like me to. I played once for sacrament but
if it would help these two women pull primary together a little more
then I can totally play for them. It's hard though because they
sometimes need us missionaries to translate for lessons in Sunday
school, YM, YW, priesthood and relief society. Sunday is crazy!



It was really such a good week. Something I realized this week as we
were finding people and teaching is the reality of agency. Sooo many
times this week I wanted to make these people just realize how
important the gospel is and choose the right, but I realized that is
how Satan wanted it to be. Everyone wouldn't have a choice and I have
learned to respect that I cannot take away the agency of others.
People will reject the gospel and choose another way but I can still
know that THE GOSPEL IS TRUE!!!!

Love you all and keep choosing to right!!!

Vi voglio bene!

Sorella Carrie Nelson





Grocery store. We buy all produce at little markets here and there.
Basically they are little rooms full of fruit and veggies. And SO
CHEAP. One day we got probably 10 lbs of produce for 4 euro! Then we
buy everything else at the grocery store. They are pretty normal
looking except there is always fresh bread meats and cheese with
someone there to cut them for you!!! And basically shelves and shelves
of olive oil! Didn't know there were so many kinds!