Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone has a fun halloween! I remember this time last year I was just days from going into the MTC! Tomorrow is my 1 year mark on the mission, November 1st! Crazy how fast time has flown... seems like just yesterday that Jourdan was putting curlers in my hair to make me the best lion anyone has ever seen! And then when Tom walked in the door and saw me!... haha, that was the best! Anyways... HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Wow, to tell the truth I don't really know where to start with this weeks email. Hope this comes out coherent...

I got all packed up last wednesday and left my beloved Livorno. Gosh that was a good city! My cool comps, Sister Olmstead and Sister Call took me to the train station and I boarded the train all by myself and headed to Rome. I finally got situated on the train in a compartment with just one other man. That's when it got hard and all my emotions started trippin me out! I cried a little because I was leaving one of the best transfers of my mission and was just overwhelmed of the situation that was ahead of me. Luckily I got to travel by myself so I had the whole 3 hour train ride to get it all out and think things through.

I got to Rome and met my new companion, Sister Harvey who had come from Firenze. She's amazing and full of faith and really hard working. We waited there for a while and then headed out with about 6 other missionaries who were also headed to the island, to a little city called Civitavecchia and got on the huge ship. We were on the boat from 7pm to about 10am the next morning. The boat was rocking all night and I didn't sleep well. I was glad to get off in the morning. We met the ZL's and headed up to my new little (big emphasis on little!) home of Oristano. Sardegna is a whole other world! I'm definitely not in Tuscany anymore! I think it's safe to say that I've served in about the three most ugly cities in the mission! Oristano takes the cake! Anyway, they showed us the apartment, which is really nice, and then they left and we unpacked a little and moved things around how we wanted it.

That same night, Friday night we met back up with the ZL's and had a meeting in the church with the branch president here, President Angius and his wife. They are amazing people and are about the only one's who haven't lost hope for the branch here in Oristano. They talked about the inactives and just the branch and what they hope we can do.

Church on sunday was so interesting and I couldn't tell whether I was so emotional because I felt sorry for these people or whether I was so impressed with they're faith and perserverance. Let me explain a little more... we showed up at church and found the relief society room. Refief society consisted of my companion and I, Sorella Angius, and then 2 africans... Patricia and her daugther who is my age, Zuma. Patricia was baptized a year and a half ago (she's lived here for 5 years about), and told her children who were still in Nigeria about the church. Zuma and her brother Aminu were baptized about 2 months ago in Nigeria and came here to Italy about 3 weeks ago. Allora, the 5 of us had relief society together, with us translating for Zuma. Then we had gospel principles... my companion sister Harvey taught the lesson on faith. This class consisted of the nigerians... Patricia, Zuma, Aminu, and their unbaptized brother Hussien. We are working with Hussien and his brother Asan because they have a baptisimal date of the 17th of November. In sacrament meeting there were 12 people, President and Sister Angius, the 1st counselor Fratello Ledda who's like 70 years old, the nigerians, and then one other couple who's sort of inactive, the Mulas. That's pretty much the branch of Oristano. Sister Harvery and I both gave about 10 minute testimonies, and then President Angius filled up the rest of the time. They are happy to have sisters here... they've said it's been about 10 or so years since there were sisters.

We have some people, inactives and other contacts that we have been trying to see this week and that we will continue to try to see. Everyday Sister Harvey and I just look at each other like, "holy cow, what the heck are we supposed to do!" We've already walked the whole city and are "racking our brains," (as Andy would say) trying to think of new approaches and ways that we can get inactives back and find new people to teach.

But we both really want to work hard and find a family to bring into the branch and get things rolling here. It's easy to be discouraged right now but somehow, probably through lots of faith and lots of prayer we'll begin to see some miracles... cause let me tell you they really need them here!

I hope this email doesn't seem like I'm down because I'm really not. I'm just a little overwhelmed and feel a lot of responsibility. But I'm so grateful for this opportunity. It's stretching me a lot and helping me to grow my faith. Any extra prayers are welcomed and know that I'm praying for all of you as well!

I love you all and am so greatful for this mission in my life. Big salute to cousin Katy who is finishing her mission soon!

Love ya,

Care