Some days are like that... even in Australia

Cari Miei!
 
I hope this letter finds you well.
 
This week has been a week with lots of fun. When I got here to Prato the bike that I inherited was...in interesting condition and I knew that soon it would die. So when it finally went the way of all the earth this week, I wasn't surprised. So after some minor inconvenience, we made it to a bike shop close to our house. I found a bike that I thought was decent, but I didn't want to buy it until I had checked out another place or two. So we walked about an hour to another place that was a warehouse type store for sporting goods and found some bikes there. They are really nice though, and the lowest one cost about 130 Euros...Keep in mind that this is the first bike I have to buy in the mission, and so I have to purchase it with my own money. So after sleeping on the decision for a night. I decided to buy the first one I saw for 60 Euros, It was pretty decent and for 60 Euros I was content with the purchase. That is until I started riding away.... The tires were wobbling from side to side and the back tire made the bike thump up and down.... but we were already late for an appointment so we kept on going; we had to go back Monday to get the receipt anyhow. So we continued throughout the day and as we were traveling to do some casa near the Church, the bike chain broke...like the chain didn't fall off...it broke. Snapped, severed. And the tire got shifted so that it was pressing against the rim... This was when the store had already been closed on Saturday night...I would have to wait till Monday to do anything about it. So we walked it back to the house and the next day we borrowed a Members bike to get to all our appointments. (His bike was also a...fun bike...You had to put in about 1000 percent of the effort to travel 1/10 of the distance of a normal bike...anyhow, different story that there.) So Monday we took the bike back to these guys they got it fixed, replace the chain and straightened the wheel. They did it for free so I had no complaints. Then after riding 100 Meters...the tire started rubbing against the back frame again. The tire was popping out of the metal frame of the bike. So we took what I now so affectionately call "The Lemon" (It even has a yellow accent painting) back to the bike shop. They put on a new tire...still a little wobbly buy the bumping had stopped...the chain was fixed... and they did it all for free as I thought was just...now...after that the bike was just fine. Minor wobbling but I couldn't complain. Until...last night when I was riding it, the back tire started again to pop out of place...and then after much much prayer and traveling. (My bike was upheld by the Grace of God at that point.) it was about 8;00 the bike had been deteriorating all day. And it started clicking really bad...don’t know what was clicking and also the tire was making this puffing noise...so It sounded like I was riding some contraption that ran on steam and coal from a scientist movie from the 1860's...It was worth a good laugh...So now I find myself in a pickle...I don't care much for that bike. Tomorrow we are going to take it to see if they will give me something back for it...highly doubt it. Then we are going to buy a new bike...for 130 Euro...My fault for not inspecting it well enough, not taking it for a test drive, and not being smart at all in buying it. Sometimes you have to burn your hand on the oven before you learn it's hot...
 
My catchphrase for all this (Whenever my bike broke down) has been, "I bet they don't have days like this in Australia." no one gets the reference to a favorite childhood book.  Other than all that fun stuff, the week has been normal, we are finding people and teaching people and having fun. Anziano Frustaci and I are getting along really well and I'm liking the Branch here.
 
Love you all so much and hope that you are doing well; I have to go because I'm running out of internet time and only have a little cash on me. Love you all so much!
 
Anziano Memmott
 

Life in the new area

Cari Miei,
 
I hope this letter finds you well.
 Well, let’s get started.
 We got to Prato and got settled in, the apartment is good, it’s about 3 times as big as the Alessandria apartment, but it is lacking in the Kitchen and the shower is...fun...just really...not easy to use. But, I really am liking it more and more as the time goes by. Anziano Frustaci and I are getting along really well. We will be good friends by the end of the Transfer. Also since the time we got into Prato, we have set 5 baptismal dates and things are really rolling along, it is really really beautiful in Tuscana. We actually drove down from Milano with Sienna, they have a car. They dropped us off in Prato, so I got to see a really beautiful drive. I really like the Branch President and the Branch is really good, we had about 70 people in church. So not as big as Alessandria's 110...but still decent.
 So a certain Wife of my brother will like this next thing a lot. Guess which city is in our District...yeah, Sienna. And so Anziano Frustaci is our District Leader and that means he has to do a Scambio with everyone in our district. That means I do a scambio with everyone in the District and so, yesterday, I went to Sienna for a day. It was REALLY beautiful and I saw more or less all of the Touristy sites, we just walked around the center of the city and did some street contacting all day, so I saw everything in Sienna (All the main attractions at least) 4 or 5 times. So it was a really really great day. Super excited to go back down, because my camera battery was dead and I got 0 pictures. So the next time I will be better prepared. Anyhow, it was ridiculously cool and I'm loving Tuscany.
 
Which brings me to where I'm sitting at this moment. At an internet point in Florence, we are going to go the huge market after this and see some sights. So within the first week I've already seen Sienna
and Florence...I'm so happy that I came to Prato. There is in the Market, 2 Euro Ties...they are famous in the Milan Mission. It is a must go for every missionary, I will be heading back to Prato with 15 additional ties today... Also there is a rumored Subway here in Firenze. (Florence, But it is Firenze for me) So I’m super excited. Things are going really well.
Anziano Frustaci is a really great missionary, like I said last time he just got done being one of the Zone Leaders in Torino, so he is really good. I am super excited for this transfer. We are already doing so much good work and with the help of a really great missionary like Anziano Frustaci, I know we will be baptizing soon.
 OH yeah, my mission call has been changed, I’m now in the Milan, Italy,  Chinese speaking mission...Prato is about 30% Chinese people....There is one street in particular, I will take a picture, but it is just in Chinese...all the stores and signs they have the Italian name and then the Chinese translation...it is just infested with Chinese people...So, I will be learning Chinese...So far I only know how to say Jesus Christ.
 Anyhow, I love you all and you should see some postcards soon. Hope you are all doing well, I am doing VERY well.
 I miss you and love you,
 Love,
 Anziano Memmott

transfer

Cari Miei,
 
I hope this letter finds everyone well.
 
As for me, I'm leavin, on a slow train; I don't know when I’ll be back again. Yup, I'm leaving Alessandria. We found out this last Monday that I’m getting transferred. I will leave and Anziano Mendel stays here. We are both very sad, (Anziano Mendel and I) because we both really enjoy the company of one another. ALSO the work just accelerated here...so much...we found....11 new investigators this week...5 have baptismal dates and we fully believe that before the week is over another 3 or 4 will have dates....so yeah....there was just about to be lots of work to do... oh well. That's the way it works I guess. I will tell you one cool story about 2 of our new Baptismal Dates...well two of the Baptismal dates for Anziano Mendel and his new comp. so... So this Sunday we got Blitzed, this is where the Zone Leaders come and do a one day scambio with you and your comp, both in your city, so instead of 1 set of missionaries doing work in Alessandria, 2 sets are for a day. So Anziano Mendel went with Anziano Frustaci (Remember that name) and I went with Anziano Sciaretta. (Both Americans with Italian last names) anyhow, Anziano Mendel and Frustaci.  
Weird feeling to be leaving this place. I knew that one day, certainly, I would have to leave. But I never really realized fully that I would be leaving. It almost felt like I would be here my whole mission. There will always be something special about Alessandria. It is my first City in the mission so of course. But it really does feel like, in a smaller way, that I'm leaving home again. We ate Lunch at the Family Senigagliesi yesterday and said goodbyes. I love that family SOOO much. And Andrea (Fratello S.) said that there is always a place to sleep and free Pizza's for me and my Family, should I ever be back. Also that Night we went to Sorella Loti one last time, we ate with her and Gabriel Zito. Also two of my favorite people in the Ward. It was like saying goodbye to people I had known my whole life. Really a crazy thing to say goodbye to people that I never imagined I would be caring about this much. Friendships I didn't think I would make. It's bittersweet.
 I bet you are wondering where I am going...be patient,
 Things with me are going well, as always, I'm very happy and the work is...was...for Alessandria...is picking up. These last couple days we have been doing nothing but running from one appointment to another. The finding work is minimalized...we are teaching more than finding. This makes for a very very happy missionary. Ha-ha. Also something worldly but something very cool. SALDI STARTED!!! It is that time of year were the "Fashion" changes. So all the stores dump their clothing from "Last Season" for super cheap. Everything in the city (Clothing wise) is 50% of or very minimum 30% off...it's beautiful... I’m buying some ties today for cheap and maybe something else. Anziano Mendel only has 1/6 a year left so he is buying some real world clothes for super cheap...plus these clothes are 8 times more fashionable and higher quality than in the US...The things of the world are really good here in Italy. So instead of coming to pick me up...in the winter...let's just save our money and come back at this time in the summer when there is Saldi and everything is more beautiful anyways!
 
Well, I have a lot of packing to do and we want to get out shopping. Also I need to say goodbye to a few more members and get some addresses. So I guess I will let you all go and have a good time. Hope everyone is eating a ton of Cafe Rio for me (the only thing I will accept to eat for the 1st week I return) and reading your scriptures!
 Well,
 Love you all and mi...Wait what? I didn't tell you where I was going...oops silly me.
 
I have been called to serve in the city of Prato! What's that you say? No Idea where that is? It's in freakin Tuscany!!!! It's about 15 minutes in train outside of Firenze (Florence for all you Americans!  ;) )!! I’m going to Tuscana! So...Super excited. My companion will be Anziano Frustaci. He just got done serving as Zone Leader in Torino. So here is the thing. We are doing something called White-Washing that is when they take both the missionaries from the city and send in 2 new ones...not sure why...yet, usually means the work is low or a problem with the ward or morale...not sure. But we will fix whatever it is. So neither of us will know the city, neither of us will know the branch...only a branch there. New adventures abound and await in Prato. We go to Milano tomorrow and it should be about a 4 or 4 ½ hour train ride down to Prato...Longest one yet. Alessandria to Milano is about an 1 and 20 minutes. Super Excited. Oh, I’m also killing Anziano Frustaci...He will be going home in 2 transfers so he will Die in Prato. Finally I’m getting my hands dirty. So!! I will send you the Address of the Prato apartment next Wednesday. Hold off on mail till then!
 Hope you are all ready for some SICK pictures and awesome stories about the best part of Italy.
 
Miss you all and love you all so much!
 Prato or Bust!
 Love,
 Anziano Memmott

Happy 1/2 year mark

Happy Birthday America!
Happy 1/2 Year Mark Anziano Memmott!
 
Cari Miei!
 
Hope this e-mail finds everyone well!
 
Well, I've arrived at the half year mark. Pretty crazy! A lot has happened in the last 6 months. I've come a long way and learned many a hard lesson. But I'm happy and still breathing, so I can't really complain. We are in Genova today, doing a little touring. I will try and take some pictures and stuff here and send them next week, we are actually in Genova right now and so I'm trying to make this quick so we can go and see some really cool stuff and take pictures and still get back to Alessandria in time to do our other P-day chores. I will take plenty of pictures but, they don't do it justice in the least, and there are about 1,000,000 things I could take pictures of so I'm not really sure what to do...we will see.
 
Hope that you are all doing well, my condition has improved this last week. One night after another long day of trying to find somebody to listen, we decided that we would follow some foreigners back to their
house...let me explain. We had noticed an unusually large concentration of Africans, Chinese, South American, Albanian, other Non-Italian peoples, coming from a certain part of the city, so one night we followed a few back to where they lived; it turned out to be this huge apartment building full of Stranieri. (Foreigners) and so we found like 6 new African investigators... we have seen them about 3 times and things are going well. It’s in English of course but...We are sent to find those who will hear us. I Love Africans. They believe so much in God and they will listen to you. Whether they will keep their commitments remains to be seen....they are a bit whiffy. But people of great faith regardless, and they love to have us come and talk about God...So, in my book they are amazing. That has really been the change, we have some investigators now (Also a few Italians) and we are teaching lessons instead of doing straight finding work.
 
Things are really good here, Better if you hold off sending hard copy letters for a while, this is my 3rd transfer in Alessandria and in a week we will have transfer calls...I might go but I hope I Stay.
Usually at 3 transfers you have a chance to go, at 4 you are gone. (In General, of course transfers can come at 1 transfer or 2.) Anyhow, I hope that I don't leave yet. I haven't had time to say goodbye, and I
really like Anziano Mendel. SO I hope that I don't go, but it's not me who decides.
 Hope you are all having fun, sounds really dry and hot, sorry to hear about all the fires. I hope that everyone is happy and doing something constructive with the summer. I'm going to go see Genova and get some lunch! Might even buy a tie when we get back to A-Town.
 
Vi voglio tanto bene, mi mancate un sacco, e spero di sentire da voi presto.
 Love you all, miss you a ton, and hope to hear from you all soon.
 
Love,
 Anziano Memmott