Email from Sara 11/12/08

Mama mia!!! What a week!!! I have so much to tell you and I'm just not sure how it's all going to fit in this email. First of all- I'm going to go to Word to write this, just in case. So I'll copy and paste a letter in in a few minutes...

Okay- where do I start. Okay, I’m serving in one of the districts in Rome. The Rome 2 district. I think there are 3 districts and then a few more close by that are in our zone. Our area is HUGE and there are SO SO SO many people. It’s crazy. We ride the bus everywhere and it makes for not many appointments because sometimes it takes a really long time to get somewhere. I am actually in a three-some, yes, that’s very unusual for a trainee to be in a threesome, but it’s fine to me. I told president in my interview that I hoped he had a good trainer picked out for me because I would need a lot of help, so apparently he believed me. Not only do I have two companions, but the mission home is in my district, so we have the Assistants, the Office elders, the senior couple, a set of elders, and us in our district- so I think that’s twelve. The mission president is actually in our ward- so I have lots of help and supervison close by.

My companions are amazing. The official trainer is Sorella Ross. She is from Ohio and this is her last transfer. She is amazing and in any pictures she is the one that looks very Italian (for a reason- her mom is actually Italian). My other companion is Sorella Bennion. She is from Oregon and has been serving for about 8 months. She is absolutely amazing on the piano and can play anything by ear and transpose like it was nothing. They are fabulous and I’m very fortunate to be able to serve with both of them. In any pictures she’s the tall blonde-ish one. Alright- well I only have half an hour before p-day is over so I have to type fast. I’ll just tell you that I’m not sure exactly what time I’ll be writing every week. We are actually using the office computers, which is nice because we don’t have to pay, but we have to schedule with all of the other elders to make sure we all get a chance to write. We don’t have a set time limit, but we’ve been asked to not be extreme and not abuse the privilege, so I understand that we try not to take more than 45 min-1 hr. Also- I can get emails from anyone, but I can only respond to family. It would be really fun to get real mail so that would actually be a great way to communicate with the non-immediate family people :).

I’m going to just try to give you a rundown of what my first week has been like- this will not be a grammatically correct listing but the general ideas. I’ll try to include details for some of the funnier things, but I don’t know if I’ll have time today. But this week: I have had my first Italian pizza (it’s different, but very good- obviously); fallen asleep in really random places (jet lag is a beast); seen the colosseum (but only from the outside); I washed my hair in the sink at the London airport; me and my companions were asked on a date by one one of the bus-drivers and his friend (he wasn’t driving at the time, and we’re pretty sure they were high); exchanged many dollars for euros (the rate isn’t really that good right now, but it’s getting better); endured two bus strikes- it’s really obnoxious; lost my coat; found my coat; ridden a train, three metros, and too many busses to count; ate lots of delicious Philipino food at a part-member family’s home; got yelled at by a silly teenage boy; stared blank faced at several Italians who I tried to talk to, and then they responded- the language is coming, but slowly; had stake conference; been kissed (on the cheek) by a very drunk old man- it was incredibly awkward; had my first District meeting; been to a baptism for Raphael- he’s Philipino and AMAZING!; helped teach an English class (we have the advanced class which really means we just talk to people in English- perfect!); we’ve gone running/walking a few times and the sunrise is absolutely amazing- I’ll try to take a picture one morning; oh yeah, and Sorella Ross and I sang at Raphael’s baptism and the sorelle gave a little presentation on the restoration. I’m sure I’m forgetting some things. Aside from that we’ve visited with several inactive members and gotten some referrals. Thankfully there are actually a lot of people here who speak English- or at least try to, so we can usually communicate somehow :). My companions help me a lot. Wow! there just isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done- I already feel like the time is flying.

It’s been good though. An adjustment, but not too bad. It’s a little frustrating to not be able to understand people, but all in all I can get by. Everything here is so old- I’ve been able to see some amazing things already. St. Paul’s cathedral was beautiful (that’s where we went on the first day). It’s amazing to see these structures and think that this is where Paul taught so long ago. It’s amazing to see some of the symbolism in the statues and artwork. It makes me appreciate the restored gospel so much more than I already did to know that we have the same authority that was on the earth with Christ.

Okay- Well I’m running out of time and I still have to get some pictures attached so I’ll try to do that really quick. I love you all! I know that you’re praying for me because I can feel the blessings come. Sorry this letter is a bit short on good details, but ask me if you have any questions and I’ll try to give you all the details you could want.

Vi voglio bene!!

Sorella Leckie

Explanation for the pictures... I wanted to send more, but it takes a really long time to attach each one. I have lots of really fun ones from halloween in the MTC, too. So maybe another day when I have more time I'll send some of those. I'm already past 6:00- mama mia!! pic 212- me and S. Hawkey. This was about 3:30 in the morning before we left for Italy.

This is where I live.

This is the Colosseum

I'll try to send more pictures another day!! Love you!! Oh no! I have to take off some of the pictures-- there's a size limit. Sorry!

(a separate email):

So, apparently I can only send like one picture with each email, so I'll send lots of little emails next week. I'll also have a christmas list for you- I've already been trying to think of things.

Love you!!