The following is a detailed letter Katie wrote to her mom for her birthday because Katie knows how much her mother loves details.
Mom,
Hello!
Alright, I’ve decided to do something for you. It might take me awhile, but I hope you will
like it. It’s called “A day in the Life of Sorella Brunson.” It has lots of details, those things that you
love so much. I’ll do my best to give you
a day that will show you a lot about what I do as a Sister Missionary. I hope that it makes sense and that you
understand better how my life is these days.
Let me tell you, it’s AWESOME!
First I’m going to write out what my planner looked like last week, so
you can see what we did last week.
Monday
6-10 am: study, workout, etc
10-12 am: write family (hey, that’s you mom!)
12:20 take train to Rome
2-5 pm: hang out and see something
5:00 pm: come home
7:00 pm: appointment with a member, Taty. She has a referral for us.
Tuesday
6-8 am: study/get ready
9:00 am: take train to Ostia. This week we have our district meeting in
Ostia. We switch from having district
meeting in Rome, Ladispili and Ostia.
There are 2 Anzioni and 2 Sorelle in Ladispoili and same in Ostia.
6:00 pm: appointment with Valentia. Teach her son English and spiritual thought.
7:00 pm: teach Idda, new investigator
8:00 pm: English course
Wednesday
6-9 am: study/get ready
9:55 am: take train to Santa Mannella. This is a city in our area about 10 minutes
away by train. This day the train was an
hour late so that stunk. We talked to a
potential investigator. She is Muslim
(but not really) and escaped from Lybia.
3-5 pm: come home by train, Pranzo
6:00 pm: Lesson with Dara (daughter) and Tamara (mom)
8:00 pm: Member appointment: Deni Chachis.
She is the Relief Society President.
We asked her about some people in the ward.
Thursday
6-9 am: study/get ready
10:00 am: help an old lady. This lady always calls us to help her but
really she wants to talk about the gospel.
She’s like 90. She knows it true
too!
2-5:00 pm: Pranzo
6:00 pm: Visit Stella Silva, less active. She gave us a referral yay!
8:00 pm: English course
Friday
6-9 am: study/get ready
10:00 am: train to Rome. We had a genealogy meeting with the
missionaries close to Rome. It was cool!
2-4:00 pm: Pranzo.
It was Halloween so we carved pumpkins with the elders.
4:00 pm: lesson with Domenica
7:30 pm: lesson with Anna and Poala
Saturday
6-9:00 am: study/get ready
10:00 am: buy our monthly train pass
10:30 – 1:00 pm: weekly planning (normally do weekly planning
on Friday morning earlier)
2-4:00 pm: Pranzo
5:00 pm: Bendezus, they are the 8 year olds who got
baptized my first week.
7:00 pm: Rebecca
Sunday
6-9:00 am: get ready
9:30-12:30 pm: Church
12:45 pm: Correlation- We meet with the ward mission
leader and talk about what we are doing.
1:30 pm: Pranzo with members, the Glorgianis – salmon,
pasta and squid. So good!
6:00 pm: 12 weeks, my training program
Ok, now A Day in the Life of Sorella Brunson. It’ll be grand.
6:20 The alarm goes off. Sorella Marquis gets up and snoozes it for
ten minutes.
6:30 The second alarm goes off. Sorella Marquis gets up and goes to the
bathroom. When I hear the toilet flush
(approx. 6:31) I get up and pray.
6:40 – 7:00 I work out.
I go to our study room. I do
those workouts I printed before I left.
Sometimes I do abs, sometimes cardio (jumping jacks, lunges, ect). I always do pushups. I can do 30 in a row right now. I wish it was more.
7:00
I hop in the shower. It’s small
but it works. After the shower I pull on
sweats and a sweat-shirt because it’s FREEZING in our apartment. There is “centralized heating” which means
there is one heat control for the entire group of apartments we live in. The heat turns on November 10th. No part of our apartment faces the sun, so
it’s FREEZING. So so cold. Anyway, after the shower I read a Liahona
article (in English) while I eat breakfast, normally Kellogg cereal with
bananas, sometimes I eat this SUPER GOOD cereal called Master Crumble. I think I wrote about it in another
letter. After breakfast I do my
makeup. I do mine in the bathroom and
Sorella Marquis in our bedroom. I am
getting better at makeup. For my hair I
blow dry it a little and then let it do whatever it wants. After that I pick out what I will wear for
the day, but I don’t put it on because I’m too cold. Sometimes I have a little extra time before
it’s 8:00 so I do dishes, sweep the floor, write in my journal, or read the
Liahona.
8:00
Personal study. I look at the
lessons we are teaching for the day and think about them. I find scriptures to use or write questions
to ask. I also think about the needs of
the person individually. Then I read
scriptures (The Book of Mormon) and Preach My Gospel.
9:00 Companion study. This is normally the first time me and
Sorella Marquis talk. She’s not really a
morning person haha. We sing a hymn,
then pray (in Italian). Then we say the
missionary purpose and D&C 4 (in Italian).
Then we read a little from the white missionary handbook. Then we talk about what we studied and plan
our lessons for the day. Sometimes we talk about how to say things in Italian.
10:00
This is when the day starts. Now,
we are supposed to have something to do until 1:00. Sometimes it’s really, really hard to do that
haha. Mostly though, we can fill our
time. As you saw form my weekly
schedule, we don’t always leave right at ten.
Sometimes we have to leave earlier to catch a train or whatever. But on a normal day we do studies and then do
stuff at 10:00. If we have an
appointment we almost always walk.
Ladispoli is really small. But
our area covers a lot of cities, more than just Ladispoli. We don’t have many investigators that don’t
live in Ladispoli. Some members live in
the cities far away like to Sana Marinella (that’s like 10 or 15 minutes away
on the train) or Rome (that takes about 2 hours). Mostly though, we walk to all our
appointments. Sometimes while we walk we
practice Italian or we just talk about fun things. Sorella Marquis and I are super good friends
so it’s really fun. We are kind of like
adults on a date though. You all go out
to get away from your kids, but then you all end up talking about on your date
is your kids. We almost always end up
talking about our “kids” (investigators) while we are walking. Haha.
When it’s 1:00 we come home for Pranzo.
That’s LUNCH. Pranzo is from
1:00-4:00. From 1 to 2 we eat. From 2 – 3 I study language. From 3-4 is our dinner hour so I do kind of
whatever. Sometimes I take a tiny nap or
read scrips, write letters or read Jesus the Christ. We don’t always have this full hour because
if we have an appointment at 4 we have to leave around 3:30. Literally if we tried to do missionary work
from 1-4 we would get nothing done.
There is no one on the streets during that time. I HATE Pranzo because it’s so dumb that
Italians just stop working for 3 hours hahah.
But Pronzo time is nice to chill a little bit and take a deep
breath. We normally eat pasta, or rice
with tomatoes, onions and cheese. It’s
really yummy. After 4 it’s time to get
back out again! Now we have the hours
from 4-9 to fill. Our dinner hour is
during Pranzo because Italians eat at like 8ish but they don’t really eat a big
dinner so from 4-9 is prime work time for us.
Sometimes we eat dinner with members (for example, the Bendezus always
want to feed us) or investigators if that’s how it works out. Our big meal appointments would be during
Pranzo. They don’t pass around meal
sheets or anything here though. There is
only like 80 people in our ward and lots of them are related so it would be
hard for the ward to feed the missionaries every day. Also there are 4 of us which makes it hard
too. After our evening appointments we
go home. I’m starving, pretty much
always haha. We either get home at 9 if
we weren’t in a lesson or 9:30 if we were.
Then we do nightly palning. That
opens with a prayer. Then we go over our
numbers for the day (we taught one less active lesson, one lesson to an
investigator, etc.) then we talk about what we are going to do the next day,
and plan for stuff. We call people if we
need to. Then we say a long prayer and bless
all the people we are working with and their individual needs. At that point, the rest of the night is OURS!
Sometimes it is an hour and a half maximum.
We have to be doing missionary work till 9:00. Sometimes (for example last night) it’s 15
minutes. When we have time we normally
eat something (same stuff we eat for Pranzo).
Then we lie on our beds, throw on some music and talk. It happens 3 times a week probably and that
time really helps me. Sometimes it’s
hard to sleep because your mind is literally going 1,000 miles an hour. So if we listen to music and just chill for a
bit it really helps. I normally don’t
have too much of a problem getting to sleep though. Then I say my night time prayer and hop in
bed! Phew. Haha.
I have never been so happy in my life.
Throughout the day I feel constant peace. I’m not tired (ok sometimes I am) but I’m
just so HAPPY. I love the people we are
working with and all that I’m learning.
Now I’m going to talk about a couple
extra things you might want to know about that I mentioned. Then I’m going to end this fantastic
letter. Ok, first I’ll tell you about
District Meeting. This is every Tuesday
morning. There are 2 Anziani and 2
Sorelle (me & Sorella Marquies) in Ladispoli and the same in Ostia. So there are 8 people in our district. We switch where we go for DDM (district
meeting) every week. We go to Ostia,
Ladispoli and Rome. Anziano Kunz is the
district leader and one of the Anzioni in Ladispli. He is one of the best people I have ever
met. He is literally so nice to everyone. He always has a smile on his face. Since he is my first district leader in the
mission he is called my dad.
Hahaha. He’s a great dad, let me
tell you. Sorry my handwriting stinks, I
hope you can read it haha. Anyway, here
is how DDM goes. Hymn, prayer, activity/game
(for example a get to know you game) then we talk about the work that we are
all doing. Then there is a spiritual
thought. Thne Anziano Kunz or someone
else he asked to do it, gives a “training” about missionary work. Like about anything really. It’s pretty much like church for
missionaries. Then we eat a snack or
sometimes have Pronzo together. It’s
like 2 hourish. I really like it!
I’m trying to think of other details
you might want. I’ll talk about the
language for a second. Everyone tells me
I speak really good Italian. But I’m
never super sure because if you want someone to do something better, you
encourage them and tell them they are really good at it haha. Like obviously no one is going to tell me
that my Italian stinks. But I really do fell like it’s coming along really well.
I understand almost ALL of what people say and it’s getting much much easier
than it was. And I’ve only had one “this
language stinks” mental breakdown which is pretty good for a Greenie. Sorella Marquis said she cried all of the
time when she was a greenie. It’s funny,
before my mission I would read new missionaries emails and think, “how is it
possible that they didn’t mention the language once in that email?!” But really
there isn’t much to say besides, “it’s coming along.” Haha. The only hard thing is it’s hard to have relationships
with Italians when it’s hard to speak the language. But I still find a way to make them laugh or
find something in common with them. So
it’s seriously all good and really doesn’t stress me out very much.
Alright, another thing missionaries
do..FINDING (other missions call I tracking).
Finding is….kinda bleh. Haha. At
any given point in the day, if I’m doing something I would probably rather be
teaching a lesson. I wish I could wake
up and from10 to 9 I would just teach straight lessons. But, as a missionary in Italy, that doesn’t
always happen. So, if we don’t have any
lessons or can’t think of any other way to use our time, we go finding. Normally we go to a park and hand out things
that have information about the free English course that we do. Then we try to have conversations with people. Sometimes people are super rude and as we
walk up to them say, “No No No No” haha
it’s funny. Another problem we have are
TJ’s (Jehovah witness). There are a TON of them
in Italy for some reason. They walk
around and talk to people and wear skirts and suits, so people always think that
we are TJ’s. And TJ’s are super duper contentious
so that’s why I have a problem them. Because
people think we are TJ’s so they think that we are contentious. It’s terrible. Also TJ’s come up and talk to us just to be
ANNOYING. Also they have really strange
beliefs. Sigh. They are good people with a bad
religion. Another thing we do to find people
to teach is go from house to house. Here
in Italy everyone lives in apartments.
In order to get into the complex, you have to get “buzzed in” by someone that lives there. They answer and you say, “Hi, we are missionaries
and have a message about Jesus Christ” and normally at that point they start
going “NO NO NO NO” haha. It’s really
funny. If they do let you in you go to
their door and normally they still say they aren’t interested. Needless to say, the best way to find someone
to teach (actually pretty much the only way) is through members or English
course. That’s all. Finding is a good way to get people to English
course, or to help them hear about the church.
It isn’t 100 percent a waste of time.
But the way to get people baptized is through English course or
members. That’s why the missionaries
always ask you for referrals haha. The
good news is we have lots of investigators right now so we don’t really have to
do finding that often.
Ok the weather. It was super hot in October. I couldn’t’ even wear a cardigan. And then all of the sudden I woke up one day
and it was cold. And it’s been that way
ever since. But it is still 50-60
degrees. It’s pretty cold though. I always wear tights. Everyone says it stays cold till January and
then warms up. Non vedo iora! (I can’t
wait!)
Here is a map of the church. I thought
it would be fun for you. It’s very, very
small haha. People (2 families) live
above the church (they aren’t members).
Also I can’t remember if I told you but we have a ping pong table. It’s totally awesome!
Maybe I’ll tell you what the trains
are like. They have 4 seats, 2 facing
2. Some trains have an upper level, some
don’t. Some trains get really full. From 1-4 they are empty (or from 2-3
actually) and in the morning & evenings they are super busy, especially going
to Rome in the morning and coming home from Rome in the evening. A lot of people live in Ladispli but work in
Rome. Living in Rome is SUPER DUPER
expensive, as you might imagine. They
have about an 1½ or 2 hour commute each way, every day. Be thankful Dad’s work is only 20 minutes.
So I started writing this letter on
Monday the 3rd of November and right now it’s Saturday the 8th. And some where in the middle of this week I
realized that your birthday is on the 16th which is a Sunday this
year. So that means I will send you this
letter on Monday, the 10th.
Which means this letter is ALSO your birthday letter. Hence why the envelope is decorated how it
is. And the reason why there is
chocolate included in this baby. I hope
you like it!
I think I’ve finished with all of me
telling you about my life. I’m not sure
what else to tell you about…oh yeah! Clothes.
I’m SO THANKFUL for the clothes you sent me in the MTC. They rock.
Also in the mission there is something awesome called the death
closet. The death closet is where the
sisters put all the clothes they don’t want to take with them to the next
area. Or the skirts that get too small
for them. I love the death closet. I got a cute winter pencil skit in there that
is from Zara, a really cool store in Rome.
I also found a scarf with the tag still on it. Guess how much the tag said the scarf was?
$44!! Whop daddy. It’s a really cute scarf. So death closets are nice because you can mix
up your outfits with them. Oh and I got
the coat I’ve been using in it as well.
It’s not really a coat, more like a heavy jacket. But it’s super cute. Don’t worry, I wash everything before I wear
it. My bag works out great, it is the
perfect size ever. There aren’t any rips
or tears in it yet. Ok last things
probably, unless I think of more. This
letter could quite possibly be boring you to tears haha.
List of cool member in the ward.
Vescovo (Bishop) Armelie: He is awesome and he has a daughter named
Emma who is so cute.
Presidente Dinichuchi: Stake President. Speaks perfect English and so do his
kids. He is super scary but also really
nice. His wife is also really nice.
Gustavo Bendezu: 22 and baptized Ricardo and Noemi (from my
first week). He is the most hipster
person ever and brought me and Sorella Marquis Dr. Pepper from Rome last week
(that’s the only place you can really get it).
Giorgionis: The husband literally seems American. Speaks English without sounding Italian at
all. So weird. He is super funny and reminds me of Dad. I think I wrote about him in my email.
The Garcias: A HUGE family. Eva is the mom of the fmily and is the one
that teaches Spanish course. They are from South America so pretty much that
means they rock already. Everyone from
South America rocks. They actually have
a son named Eduardo who served with Justin Fowers on his mission! How crazy! There are 5 Garcia daughters in our
ward.
Rob Squarcia: So cool.
Served a mission recently and then got married and they just had their
first baby!! He is always down to help
us do whatever and is super funny.
Those are some of my favs. Our ward is really, really cool though. We
just wish they would give us more referrals!
It’s funny, I used to think my friends meeting with the missionaries had
to be this huge deal. It’s totally not
though haha. I hope I can be a good member
missionary when I get back.
Alright. I think that is everything to tell you. Oh wait.
Ok sorry I keep thinking of things haha.
I’ll tell you more about Sorella Marquis. I’ve said she’s awesome, which she is. She in one of those people that doesn’t care
what people think. She just does what
she feels is right between her and the Lord.
We both love Harry Potter and making puns. She is very crafty and good at cooking and
good at doing makeup. Haha so kind of
opposite of me a little hahah. So she has been able to teach me a ton. She has worked really hard on her mission and
is going out strong. I’m making a list
for her of “100 things Sorella Marquis taught me” so I’ll send them to you guys
when I do. Also she is super small. Like 100 pounds. So she reminds me of you. She is studying film at BYU and her Dad makes
Granite Flats and works closely with Elder Ballard. So she’s kind of famous haha. She will make some cool stuff in her life I’m
sure. One of our favorite past times is
seeing who can “shoot” the stray cat first.
Today I’m up three so that’s exciting.
We also like eating cuscus together on our beds and talking. Sometimes she flips through her journal and
tells stories. She has lots of options
in the male category when she goes back.
I’m glad I’m staying here away from boys for a while haha.
Alright mom, I think I’m finally done
talking about myself I hope that you
have enjoyed this letter thus far. For
the last point I want to focus on YOU!
(note from DaLene…I will not include the rest of her nice letter).
Lots of love, (I can’t believe I’m
finally ending this letter after a week of writing it haha)
Sorella Kathryn Joy Brunson
Have
a good-great-greater than great Birthday!
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