There Ya Go

The autumn days are cold and wet
In Reggio nell'Emilia.
The other elders here regret
The weather unfamiliar.
But I, from rainy Washington,
Pretend to be at home,
Even though my farming town
Is drier than a bone.

I just made that up right now.  Guess I've still got it, ha!  Reminds me most of English Class.  We've gotten to the point that people come just to hang out with us Americans, play games while they conversate in English, and hear the nice, feel-good spiritual thoughts we offer at the end of every lesson.  We've done classes on poetry and autumn lately, so there ya go.

I can't think of anything interesting that happened this week.  Oh, except TRANSFERS.  Heheh. Anziano Vaclaw is awesome.  He fits in super well and has a little bit of each of our personalities. Plus he's a really good singer, so we're harmonizing all over the apartment.  It's great.

I'm not the District Leader anymore.  At first I was really upset by that, and felt that I had done something wrong: it's not often that someone stays in the same city and has that position flat out taken away.  But Anziano Stoll and I had a nice conversation about it where he helped me realize that someone else needs to the experience now, and that President (and the Lord) trusts me to be a good missionary without any kind of special title.  So here I go, back into a world without responsibility (heh... yeah right).

I bought a super awesome sweater at H&M that I love.  This will remind me of Italy for as long as it lasts.  It's amazing how much we place our memories into objects, songs, or cities.  All I have to do is think the word "Verona" and a flood of delicious emotions and experiences come back.  Memory is amazing and so important, especially in the gospel.  Remember, remember...

We're going to Verona in a couple of weeks.  An Area Authority is doing a tour and our Zone is headed up there.  I've been assigned to call missionaries in five surrounding zones to organize a choir.  I have a week to decide who's in it and we'll have 30 minutes to practice before the meeting.  Uh oh.  Wish me luck.  Sometimes it's hard to be knows as the Musician.

Love,
Anziano Burton