CHRISTMAS

Anziano Bona has sent two very short emails since arriving in Vicenza due to the fact that it was Christmas and we would be speaking on the phone.

Recap letter #1: Dec 21
Anz Duque is an amazing companion. He was the bright light of the transfer. It was very hard to leave La Spezia and all the members there. I think that I will come close to crying, again, as I say goodbye to these good people and new friends. I must return here someday! We will be spending Christmas with a sr missionary couple who serve on the base, with Anz Lenhardt and Free. I love them both. It will be a good day. I am looking forward to talking to you on Christmas.

Recap letter #2: Dec 28
It was fantastic to talk with all of you on Christmas! It was great to hear your voices. I will be home soon. We are working hard and doing our best. Not much to write since we just spoke. We are going home to sleep for our pday, we are tired. New Year's in coming. We will be staying in. I will write more next week, when there is more to tell. Love you all.

Christmas phone call:
We had a wonderful phone call with Anziano Bona. He loves being with Anz Duque. They get along so well together and have a fun time laughing together and telling stories. He says that his companion is the best cook in the mission and that he will get fat this transfer. (Anz Duque is 28 yrs old and from the Philippines, but moved to the Rome area when he was 13, and speaks perfect Italian). Robert also told us that is is weird to have a companion who can actually speak so well and explains the gospel to perfectly. They are learning one another's teaching styles and it is going well. Anz Duque  (pronounced DuK) will go home the end of Jan 2012. We spoke with him for a few minutes and he is a fine young man!
We had a wonderful phone call with Robert just laughing and talking about things at home and the mission.
The one thing that he repeated several times was how thankful he was for his mission. He was so glad that he made the choice to go and for the experiences that he has had and the people that he has met. He expressed that it was so much better than he thought it would be. He is so thankful for the opportunity that he has had to serve.