NIENTE SULLA TAVOLA!!

Letter 22~

Colosseum!

We're down to T-minus 2 weeks until Sorella Clyde goes home. 

It's the bottom of the 9th. 

It's 5-5 in tiebreak. It's PK's. 

It's sudden-death in overtime. 

And we are leaving NOTHING ON THE TABLE- NIENTE SULLA TAVOLA!!

We went to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum for PDay last week! 
We had a total blast even though I GRAVELY UNDERESTIMATED HOW COLD IT WAS GOING TO BE. 

Inside the Colosseum CAN YOU TELL HOW COLD I AM

Those winds, man. I saw sun and thought it would be warm, so I just brought a little cardigan but man was I wrong! Anyhow. It was a total blast. 

When I get back to BYU I think I'm going to take like a Greek and Roman Antiquities class so I can actually appreciate all this ancient  stuff I see.  I want to be like "Ah, an Etruscan bas-relief!" and "What have we here, fellows, a Corinthian pillar?" Right now I feel like Bill and Ted, just ignorantly wandering through all this history and being like  "Excellent! Party on, dudes!"

P-Day at the Roman Forum 

Roman Forum!

Thursday this week was one of the craziest days I've had. I was with Sorella Jones because our companions went to do exchanges in Pescara. It started with us leaving the house early to be able to take 2 buses to Sorella Shakir's house, where we do Skype new-convert lessons with her friend Safaa who lives in Egypt (the Church isn't allowed in Egypt). Anyhow we were waiting for the second bus and we both looked down for just a split second at the lesson, and we missed our bus! So we just started walking, got there a half an hour late. We had tons of technical problems and then Sorella Shakir gave us some Egyptian cookie-type things so by the time we were leaving we had 15 minutes to get to our next appointment at the Church with Risa, our perpetually ecstatic Filipina investigator. 

We speed-walked from Sorella Shakir's house to the street where we were to catch the bus, and when we got there it was driving by so we SPRINTED AT FULL SPEED to the next bus stop a couple blocks away and got there just in time. 

We got to the lesson with Risa only 15 minutes late, had a great lesson and then afterwards Risa says "You eat pranzo yet, signorina?" and pulls out a loaf of white bread, a stick of cream cheese, and a can of tuna. What I always wanted! We each got 3 sandwiches. Yay.

           Lunch with Risa, shortly before the entrance of the French lady

A few minutes later Risa starts choking on her white-bread-tuna-fish-cream-cheese sandwich so Sorella Jones goes to get her water and comes back with an exuberantly dressed French old lady. Amidst the confusion of it all I come to understand through her heavily accented Italian that she has met with missionaries back in France and is looking for someone to counsel her in a personal financial matter that she has here in Rome??  I call the bishop and he says he could be there in a half hour. In the mean time we invite her to take a seat and our lunch continues. Risa continuously humbly offers her a sandwich; Frenchie somewhat-politely declines and blathers on about how she was a professor in Italian and French literature and taught piano at a conservatory. 

Later we got locked out on the gated patio at the Church and had to call someone to come let us out. At English Course that night, these two grandpas Franco and Fabrizzio sang us this old Italian love song called Grazie dei Fiori. We got a video. :)

As far as the work goes we are still chugging along with Romanian Nico, Iranian Hossein, Filipina Risa and Peruvian Livia. 3/4 came to Church this Sunday! I think doing lessons in Church instead of at their house has really helped them warm up to the idea of coming to Church and now they love it. 

We also started teaching an adorable family that we met last week! She and her 15 and 9 year old kids are Peruvian and the husband is Italian. He and the 9 year old didn't want to stick around to hear our message but the mom and especially the 15 year old loved it! We haven't found any new investigators for a while so this is exciting news. Stay tuned.

Well yep we're just working hard and loving it here in Rome 1! I know this is the Lord's work and as we throw ourselves in 500% we see miracles! 

SHOUT OUT TO JT ON HIS MISSION CALL TO THE ADRIATIC NORTH MISSION! He's going to be just across the Adriatic sea from me! Love you bro!!

Made cookies for Valentines Day!

Love love,

Sorella Frandsen

brianne.frandsen@myldsmail.net

Sorelle Missionarie Frandsen

Via Villata, 28

00166 Roma, ITALIA