still here

Hey all! I am still here in Trapani! Everything is going great! Anziano Melling has gone to Rome. My new companion is named Anziano Macdonald and he is from Blanding, Utah. 

So here in Italy, there is a cookie brand here called "Mellin." Whenever we would introduce ourselves to people Anziano Melling would say, "Hi, I'm Anziano Melling, like the cookie." Now, there's always someone who makes a clever comment when Anziano Macdonald introduces himself. People seem to remember my name pretty well, but they always leave off the "i" at the end, which then kind of sounds like the word "stucco" like the texturing stuff on walls. I decided I need a cool way to introduce myself but somehow saying, "Hi, I'm Anziano Stucki, like the stuff you smear on walls," doesn't seem like it would go that well. They still have fun with my name though. I love also telling people my name is from Switzerland since it's so close to Italy. 

One cool story from this week, my Italian is improving more and more but it still has a long way to go. But, I have seen so many instances where in the moment I needed it, I always understood just enough, or was always able to speak just enough to be able to communicate and get by. Without a doubt, I have seen the gift of tongues very powerfully this week. Just this past Sunday, a past missionary (from Utah) who served in Trapani 7 years ago came and visited with his family. I sat by his younger brother. None of them except this past missionary of course understand Italian, so I wanted to translate the meeting for them. I was hesitant though. I didn't think I could do it. However, as the first few testimonies came and went, I suddenly realized that I was understanding almost everything they were saying. I had the thought that God was blessing me with this gift and so I should take advantage of this opportunity and practice. So, I leaned over to the brother and asked if he'd like me to translate. At first he said not to worry about it, but I insisted. As member after member got up and bore their testimony, I did my best to translate. There were still many that were pretty hard to understand, but I did my best to at least summarize what they said into English for this brother. I loved it so much. I feel like God is blessing us immensely. I do not feel alone in this work. I really believe our ability to do this work really isn't so much about how much we can do with our own power and capability, but about our ability to subject our will under God's and rely on Him. 

That's all for this week! Love, Anziano Stucki.
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Our last lesson with Anziano Melling

Eating with the Garrets in Palermo. The Garrets are so awesome!

Anziano Macdonald and me!