Including my eyes. It started with my right eye. It kind of looked
like it had pink eye, so i wore glasses, then it was fine. Then it
happened to my left eye, wore glasses again. Then it happened to my
right eye AGAIN. Glasses again. What is going on?? I don't know.

Anyways....

Easter was super awesome and there was a special feeling when I took
the Sacrament that day. We sang Beautiful Savior in Sacrament and then
after church, we had lunch with some of the ward. For the next 5
courses, we talked and laughed and I was still full when I woke up the
next morning.

But the real story comes the next day. Italians have a holiday called
Pasquetta. It is the day after Pasqua (Easter). Here's how ours went:

It starts off with us walking to try to find this lady, Asunta, that's
picking us up for a Pasquetta party. We look back and see a tiny,
broken fiat FLYING down the street and comes to a screeching stop next
to us, Asunta hops out and bacis us as we get into the car.

She takes off flying and talking to her friend in the passenger seat.
I look over and Bacher and we're both scared out of our minds and
there weren't seat belts, so we just held onto our backpacks and each
other. We start going up a mountain (just keep in mind, Italian roads
are big enough for one truck.) and we've got cars going up and down
this mountain and around curves without stop signs or slowing down.

Fortunately, the mountains were beautiful, but the road was way to
bumpy to get a good picture, so we just soaked in the view. Next thing
we knew, we we're driving on the grass and parking in the middle of
nowhere. We got out of the car and what do we see?

Italian rednecks.

Those 2 words should never be put together. But there they were.
Sitting around a table and having a BBQ. Long story short: we ate nast
food, everyone got really drunk and they were spilling their wine
everywhere, and I did a grateful circle and everyone was dying
laughing. It was a blast and I will never forget my Pasquetta on the
mission.

Tuesday, we spent the morning with Grazia, a less active, and we
listened to her life story. We had lasagna and fruit cake, and then
after a long, emotionally draining lesson with her, we head to
Silvana's and what happens?

In a few words, the member that we brought and the husband started
yelling at each other about the Catholic Church. Things got heated and
hands were flying, but we got it calmed down and we were able to end
it on a good note. However, Bacher and I left that lesson pretty
broken and went home and ate our feelings. For me, that was warm,
chocolate milk with peanut butter... #ragrats

But the lesson I learned from that is perfectly explained in this quote:

"Remember how the Savior handled tough questions...
He remained calm,
He showed respect,
And He taught truth,
But He never forced anyone to live the way He taught."

Our invite for them was to PRAY to know of the truth of the Book of
Mormon. That is also my invite for y'all today. To read and pray to
know if the Book of Mormon is true. If you don't do it, you'll never
know. If you do it, do it with real intent (Moroni 10:3-5). He will
answer you. He is listening.

"At the very moment we say, “Father in Heaven,” He hears our prayers
and is sensitive to us and our needs. And so His eyes and His ears are
now connected to you. He reads our minds, and He feels our hearts. You
cannot hide anything from Him. Now, the wonderful thing is that He
will see you with eyes of love and mercy--love and mercy that we
cannot fully understand. But love and mercy are with Him the very
moment you say, “Father in Heaven.”"

Pray. Just do it. It might feel awkward. You might not know exactly
what to say, but I testify that there is a peace that comes into your
heart knowing that the God of the universe is listening to your very
words/ thoughts. I testify that God lives, He loves, and He listens.

Con amore,
Sorella Meager