Ciao Time: Week 69

Hewo everybody! I'm still alive. But things around here are getting carazzy! We are basically quarantined here in Northern Italy because the zombie apocalypse has started. It's crazy, like a week ago was the first time we heard anything about the coronavirus and now the mission has said that we cannot go out and do missionary work given that we as missionaries have a lot of contact with a lot of different people.

There are like 300 different confirmed cases of the virus here in Italy. Mainly in the North. But where we are at in Trentino and Alto Adige there is only 1 case and I'm pretty sure it's way down in Trento. We are pretty safe I think. But since there are different hot-spots of the virus spread throughout the mission they decided to have all of us stay close to the apartments and not to have appointments or do street contacting. It's been crazy. Crazy boring. I hate staying inside. It's been good to have some time to study and to paint (I took up a new hobby) and to write in my journal and stuff but I get bored really easily and I don't like being cooped up in the house. They have given us some suggestions about what we can do to keep busy and stay productive inside and that is gud.

An update came in-between the last paragraph and this one. The missionary executive counsel in collaboration with the quorum of the 12 apostles have made the decision that our mission needs to reduce the number of missionaries in the field and so everyone that is scheduled to go home in May is instead going home now and all of the senior couples are going home. CARAZY!!!!! so there's me, then the group that came in a transfer before me, and then anyone who came in before that is leaving. I barely made the cut!!!! It's really insane and it kinda has me worried about what's gonna happen in the future if things with the virus don't get better

🤮🤢

I think maybe everyone is overreacting (especially the Italians) but then again I trust the 12 apostles and you can never be too careful.

But yeah that's what's up here. I hope everyone at home is staying safe and having fun and enjoying life!

I have been surprised this week about how even though everything isn't going perfectly and the ride is a bit bumpy right now, I am still really really happy. before the quarantine we had some kinda miracles and we were able to deliver some very powerful messages of hope to people who were struggling to have hope especially in this time of disease.

When things aren't going well, there is always always always hope. Thanks to Jesus Christ who is the Light of the World. So next time you lose hope remember Him. When things were hard for Him what did He do? He turned outwards and loved and helped His fellow man. When He had just suffered the pains of every sin of every creature that has ever lived and ever will live, when he has just been crucified by His own people, what did He do? He went to the spirit world and for the three days that His body was in the tomb he preached to spirits there. (1 peter 3:18-19 which is also evidence of the spirit world in the bible). I love Jesus Christ and His example of diligence in service and His message of hope when things get hard. I have loved sharing that message in the mission field.

So keep on keeping on everyone! Don't catch the virus