Called to serve!

Friday night I was sitting in the relief society room for enrichment learning how to prepare and cook a turkey when I felt my phone vibrate. I reached down, looked at my phone and saw my Dad calling. The first thought that came into my head was, "he must be calling because I got my mission call!" and all of a sudden I wanted to be anywhere but sitting there learning about how I can make my own bread crumbs out of old bread to make stuffing. Then came the longest 10 minutes of my life. My only thought was to get out of there and then home. Finally, the teacher asked if there were any questions. I frantically started clapping in hopes that she would end it, but of course people had their questions. Once the questions were over, I start to clap again. And again, it was another awkward moment where the teacher announced she wasn't finished and that someone needed to say the prayer. Needless to say, once that prayer was finished I was up and out of my chair and that room to check my phone. I had a voicemail from Dad, "Jenessa, it's here!" I freaked out and ran to find Kristen and yelled, "GET IN THE CAR MY MISSION CALL IS HERE!!" The next 5 minutes of getting everything to the car were fast and frantic. I was so excited I had a death grip on the wheel. I seemed to hit every single red light. Finally, we were at the last light and I turned left...............down the wrong street! After only a moment of panic, Kristen helped me maneuver my way home.



Once in the garage I ran into the house and yelled "WHERE IS IT?!" My Dad said, "In here!" and I yelled, "MOM! CALL EVERYONE AND GET DOWN HERE!" After many tries we finally got Jonathan, Kent, and a sleeping Cherie on the phone. My plan for opening my mission call was to read where I was going and then start freaking out and not tell anyone, but things didn't really go all as I had planned. I ripped open the envelope, pulled out all my papers, and then heard mom say, "HELENA MONTANA!" I was in shock. Really? She didn't even let me read it? Then I realized it was a joke and I let out a nervous laugh. Then came the moment. I turned it over and started reading out loud, "Dear sister Jenessa Miles..." then I saw and I started screaming. I could not believe it! It was more than I could have ever dreamed of. ROME ITALY! One of the most amazing cities I have been to in my entire life, and by far the most interesting. All this pent up excitement had to come out somehow, and I spent about the next 5 minutes screaming and freaking out. The screaming stopped pretty fast, but the freaking out lasted all but 2 hours. I'm still kind of freaking out. This is a dream come true!!








There are a few things I have learned about the Rome mission from my friends that just served there:

• It isn't necessarily a mission where there are a lot of baptisms. If you're lucky, you get one. Two if you're really blessed.
• The large cities in the mission (that i've heard of, at least) include: Rome, Naples, and Florence.
• There are about 14,000 members in Italy (I think? I'm not sure if my memory is serving me correctly on this fact.)
• One of the first LDS missionaries to set foot on Italian soil was Wilford Woodruff.
• One of the first missionaries EVER to preach Christ's gospel in Italy was PAUL! (you know, that guy in the new testament?) And his bones are there too, but his head is in Prague. I hope this isn't an omen towards my mission. ;)
• Until the mid 1960's, Italy was closed to LDS missionaries by the government.
• Sister missionaries are not sent to Naples (the southwest area of my mission) because the city is run by the mafia, and there is a lot of poverty.
• In Saridina (the island that is included in my mission), they eat this illegal cheese that is full of maggots. Apparently these small, clear maggots eat the cheese and poop it out, and it creates a very strong cheese. I have been told that I WILL eat it even though it sounds completely disgusting.
• The Rome temple will not be completed while i'm there. I'll be lucky if i'm even there for the groundbreaking.
• In order to get a permit for the Rome temple, the 15-acres of land had to be inspected by the italian government for roman ruins. The day it was inspected the saints in Italy held a special fast. Ruins were not found within the temple site, but there were ruins found about 100 yards outside of the area.
• When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore.

There are a few words that I know in Italian from my last visit:

Bonjourno (hello), Ciao (hello/goodbye), bella (beautiful), bello (handsome), Molto (very), bene (good), male (bad), quanto coste (how much?), dove (where), banyo (toilet), prego (go ahead/you're welcome), arrivederci (goodbye), amici (friends), amore (love)

My friend Jordan gave me the advice to get preach my gospel in italian before I go into the MTC, and study it so that I can know the language and what I will be hearing better. Makes a lot of sense to me!