Taormina

Catania – Week 18

October 3, 2016 By Norm Leave a Comment

Ciao tutti!

This week went really well again and yet again I do not have too much time to email. This morning we had to give two rides to the airport to departing missionaries so that kind of ate out of our day some, but that is totally ok! I am just sorry because I know haven’t been able to get back to everyone!

Last P-day went really well and we were able to head over to Taormina as a district, which was a lot of fun and had a great time doing that. It was really cool to see the city again and climb the mountain to a different part of what we hadn’t seen yet. We had a great time and ate some really good cannoli and gelato together too. It all went really well! We then had a less active family home evening where we were able to discuss about the upcoming General Conference. It went really well and we were able to share a really spiritually inclined spiritual thought. We were excited about all the other things that we were able to do this week. It all went super well! We had a good time being able to do all that we had to do.

Wednesday I was able to have a great birthday and thanks to all those that wrote a birthday message! It went really well and we definitely stayed busy the whole day. We had district meeting in the morning and I brought these jelly beans that my family had sent me with 20 flavor of jelly beans, but the only catch is that half of them are gross flavors and half of them are good ones. They are identical in look so you have to really just guess and hope that you don’t choose a gross one. We put ten on a napkin and all ate them at the same time. It was a lot of fun watching everyone’s reaction. I was really lucky and got three good flavors instead of spoiled milk, dead fish, barf, or canned dog food. It was a lot of fun and then we were able to have a really uplifting and insightful addestramento from Anziano Nielsen which was really edifying. We were happy to hear from him and have a really great discussion speaking about all that we have learned in how to use our time wisely and really keep our purpose always at the front of our minds. It was really awesome. We then were able to all go out to eat together to a nice restaurant and ate some great seafood pastas, some steak or fish. It was super amazing to be able to do that with the district because you get really close to them as friends and fellow laborers in this work. We then had a less active family home evening with another member family that went super well again! We focused on teaching the children and talked about the importance of a living prophet on the earth and how that can be a guide for us. We are really blessed to have a man called of God to help us in this aspect of guidance and setting an example for us.

We are thankful as well that we had the opportunity this week to have a ward activity that went really well and everyone seemed to enjoy! The members here do an activity every 2 weeks and we were the ones in charge of the activity. We had a lip sync activity that went really well and everyone was really excited about it. We had people the whole activity asking for different songs they could lip sync to. It was super funny and we were able to see less actives, members, contacts, and investigators all there to join us and then they all had a meal afterwards. It was a lot of fun and such a great time to be able to spend with them all.

We made it over to the part member family this Saturday after helping a member move from the 4th floor to the 1st in the morning, which went really well too! I got my head slammed against the wall walking down the stairs with a dresser hahaha, but it really went well and we were pretty sore after that. The lesson though went so well with our investigator and we discussed the topic of real intent and how important it is that we live with real intent as well as read the Book of Mormon with the intention to act on the knowledge that will be revealed to us. We read a conversion story that is really touching on this subject and it went super well to see exactly where she is at and how we can help her. They were also so nice and made a cake for me as well as a piñata. It so sweet of them to do that. I am touched by their charity and this sisters stalwart faith.

We also received the news this week that we will be having a mission conference in Rome with President Russell M. Nelson, of the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Donald L. Hallstrom, of the Presidency of the Seventy, Bishop Gerald Causse, Presiding Bishop, and Elder Patrick Kearon, Europe Area President. We are definitely excited about that and look forward to hearing from them in a special conference. We really hope that we will also be able to prepare to the best of our abilities to be ready to receive anything that can help us improve.

We enjoyed General Conference this week and it was super edifying and powerful to watch. I love hearing from our church leaders in the inspired messages that they share with us to truly reach out in love and care. It is amazing to see how these talks are all meant for us and how we can truly learn from them all as we pay attention carefully to the messages they have prepared. I saw some really interesting themes of prayer, scripture study especially from the Book of Mormon, the plan of salvation, missionary work, the atonement, and as well as the joy the gospel brings. I am so thankful for these divine messages and the opportunity we will also have to study them afterwards as well. It will be very important to study them again and look to put into practice everything that we learned from the spirit. I am thankful that God has once again called prophets and apostles on the Earth to lead his church here. I am so thankful to know that the Savior leads and guides his church through them. That the keys, just like prophets of old, have been given to them to direct and guide this great work. I love them dearly and am thankful for their life dedication to the Lords great work and the help they give to help all of us. I know that they are truly called of God and that each of us can know that the truth in its fullness has been restored through this revelation that we have today once again. You guys can check out this site to watch the talks again and soon read them as well.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference?cid=HP_SU_2-10-2016_dPFD_fGC_xLIDyL1-C_&lang=eng

I love you all and am thankful for everything that you guys do for me. Love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week!

Love,

Anziano Garrett

Second birthday in the mission

District birthday meal

The district birthday meal

My birthday cake

Celebrating with my birthday cake

The birthday package

Second Taormina excursion

Anziano Nielsen with an awesome cannolo

Great cannoli!

District cannoli feast

View from Mt. Etna

On Mt. Etna

Catania District, September, 2016

Filed Under: Assignments, Catania, Food, Italy, Missionary Work, Places, Taormina, Tourist Sites, Transfers Tagged With: anziano nielsen, cannoli

Taormina

September 8, 2016 By Norm Leave a Comment

[Taylor sent this excerpt from Anziano LaPray’s message home this past Monday]:

Last Monday, we went to a city called Taormina. It’s about an hour north of here by bus and totally worth the trip. I will try to include some pictures; hopefully it works. Basically, it’s just this super cool city on top of a giant hill with a castle an old amphitheater and other pretty sites to see nearby. Another bonus was the incredible gelato in the downtown. So good. We had such a good time we might try to go again in a few weeks.

[Excerpt from Wikipedia]:

Taormina is a hilltop town on the east coast of Sicily. It sits near Mount Etna, an active volcano with trails leading to the summit. The town is known for the Teatro Antico di Taormina, an ancient Greco-Roman theater still used today. Near the theater, cliffs drop to the sea forming coves with sandy beaches. A narrow stretch of sand connects the mainland to Isola Bella, a tiny island and nature reserve.

[Here are some of the pictures Taylor sent]:

Taormina, Sicily

Anziano LaPray in Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Anziani at Taormina, Sicily: Anziano Parkinson, Anziano LaPray, Anziano Nielsen

Taormina, Sicily

Filed Under: Assignments, Catania, Places, Taormina Tagged With: Anziano Lapray, anziano nielsen, anziano parkinson

Catania – Week 14

September 5, 2016 By Norm Leave a Comment

Ciao Tutti!

I hope that everyone had a great week! This week flew by again and it seems like we are always having something to do and getting busier and busier. We were able to have some cool lessons this week and it went really well. We also had a scambio mixed in there with Ragusa where Anziano Clasby and Anziano Cox are serving. I went with Anziano Cox and he is one transfer younger than I am. We were able to do some good less active work and it was a really fun time to work with him and have the lessons that we had. He is really good at teaching directly and simply where he puts the ball in their court and leaves it up to them to decide if they want to do it or not. I really enjoyed seeing that simplicity with directness.

Another lesson that stuck out to me this week was from our part member family that we are visiting. The member is so amazing and ever since she found the church she has made a complete turn around in a ton of things. She is just coming back full strength and it is inspiring to see and witness. Her husband is very nice and their daughter, who is our age, is very inquisitive and they both ask great questions and desire to understand. They both kept their commitments to read and it was great to go and visit them again. We were able to start off our visit helping them with a little bit of service. We helped take off the outer shells of almonds and then throw them in a crate to allow the sun to dry them later. It was a very interesting service and was a ton of fun. We had great conversation with them and got to them a lot better and they kept asking questions and we were able to discuss the gospel a lot throughout that time too. They are wonderful people and have a special place in my heart. I really hope that we will really help answer their questions and that they will trust in the Lord and the plan that he has prepared for each one of us. I know that the plan is perfect and sometimes we may not understand every small detail of it or every answer to the questions we have but if we have faith and trust that is all it takes to feel the comfort, hope, and peace that plan brings into our lives.

We have had a great time being able to work with these members here and we are seeing our work starting to grow now and we really hope to see that continue as well. The members are awesome and are super supportive of the missionaries here. This week we will have many members out of town because they are taking their yearly trip up to the temple. I am super excited for all the youth and members that get to go up there. It will really be an amazing experience for them and a time always to remember. This verse from Isaiah 2 comes to my mind where he is prophesying of the temples in the latter days.

2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

I think that this is such a wonderful scripture and we see that the early saints did truly flow unto Zion where the temple was be constructed in the Salt Lake Valley. I think that is just so neat and that we see that now the Lord has blessed us with temples all over the world for people to go to and to perform the ordinances for the living and the dead. It is such an amazing work and we are truly blessed immensely with temples. The only place that we can go to be sealed in marriage with our families for not only this time on earth, but also for eternity. I love these excerpts from the talk given by Thomas S. Monson in April 2015:

“As I think of temples, my thoughts turn to the many blessings we receive therein. As we enter through the doors of the temple, we leave behind us the distractions and confusion of the world. Inside this sacred sanctuary, we find beauty and order. There is rest for our souls and a respite from the cares of our lives.”

“As we attend the temple, there can come to us a dimension of spirituality and a feeling of peace which will transcend any other feeling which could come into the human heart. We will grasp the true meaning of the words of the Savior when He said: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

“Such peace can permeate any heart–hearts that are troubled, hearts that are burdened down with grief, hearts that feel confusion, hearts that plead for help.”

“The blessings of the temple are priceless. One for which I am grateful every day of my life is that which my beloved wife, Frances, and I received as we knelt at a sacred altar and made covenants binding us together for all eternity. There is no blessing more precious to me than the peace and comfort I receive from the knowledge I have that she and I will be together again.”

“May our Heavenly Father bless us that we may have the spirit of temple worship, that we may be obedient to His commandments, and that we may follow carefully the steps of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

I love the temple and am so very thankful for the steps that are clearly laid out for us to achieve that happiness in our lives personally as well as in our families. I am so very thankful for the blessings we receive as we go there and know that the sacrifices to build these great and wonderful houses of the Lord do not go unnoticed. The early saints knew that the sacrifices were worth it because the blessings that they would receive therein would be priceless. I know that His temples have been established in our day for our own benefit. I know that he lives and love us beyond comprehension.

I love you guys and hope that you have a wonderful week!

Con tanto amore!

Anziano Garrett

Preparing an American breakfast for a ward party in Catania

Catania at night

Catania District (Anziano LaPray is taking photo), August, 2016

Eating gelato selfie with Anziano Nielsen

Filed Under: Assignments, Catania, Exchanges, Missionary Work, Taormina Tagged With: Anziano Clasby, Anziano Cox

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Catania – Week 18

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