Sorella Charissa Black wrote:
4 months into my mission, 2 months in Italy!
9/24/2008 7:03 AM
Ciao tutti!
I promise there is a good reason I didnt write last week. I'm sorry, but hopefully that will be the last missing weekly email for a while. Again, if you are a friend who is emailing me and wants to hear an individual response back, I am happy to write you by snail mail but I need your address.
So last Thursday I was on a train all day and night to Torino; my companion needed to renew her permesso di sogiorno [visa]. In summary the trip was long and exhausting, but definitely beautiful scenery. My favorites were the traghetto from Messina to the continent, the coastline near Reggio and also near Livorno, a garden in Torino called Valentino, and these old Savoy castles half covered with fog. We got back to Ragusa Monday morning with our mission president and his wife for a zone conference here. One of the things we talked about (the missionaries from Gela, Siracusa and here) was the idea that the more knowledge we obtain, the more we notice is available for us to learn. As we act for ourselves and not just let other things control us we can better help others and ourselves improve.
...
After a bit of rain here it has cooled down somewhat. I am consistently excited to meet new people and trade ideas with them. I am learning everyday that the best sort of happiness comes only after hard work and effort. The things that cost your time, spirit, heart, mind--persevering and stretching ourselves is what brings real joy. And as I am serving others I can almost constantly have a smile on my face.
Best wishes from Ragusa to you wherever you are in the world,
Sorella Black
(Italian word of the week: bradipoloso-slothful)
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