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Sciacca – Week 9

Ciao tutti!

This week went really well and we really enjoyed being able to get some great work done here in Sciacca! The week seemed to have flown by once again. After a while of not seeing our investigator we were finally able to see him this past week with our branch president and the lesson went really well. We were really happy that we were finally able to get ahold of him and we hope that we will continue to be able to meet with him and be able to see where he is at right now. We still have a lot of confidence in him and we will keep working with him and seeing where we can get with him and everything. I really hope that he will continue to progress and make big strides.

We had a great scambio with Agrigento and I was able to be with Anziano Jensen, who is in my group, and we were able to get a lot of great things done. We were able to meet with someone that is originally here from Sciacca, but had lived in England for a long time so she naturally speaks English perfectly. The lesson went really well and she is in a perfect position to recieve the gospel and her daughter, who lives with her kids in Sciacca, sounds like she is in a similar position to really accept the gospel right now. I hope that she will commit to read the Book of Mormon and search for the answer that she really can receive from God. It was a little weird teaching in English, but it all went really well and we hope to see her again this week!

That night we were able to go over to a part member family’s house with the plans to teach the member’s husband and have him sit down for the whole thing. Anziano Campbell and I were unsuccessful in our latest previous attempt. Our member forgot that we were passing by and didn’t remember that we had set the appointment. We were still able to come in and we went into the living room, which was perfect, since that is where the husband usually is watching TV. We kept talking to him and he lingered long enough to sit down fro the lesson and we had a great restoration lesson with him. It was one of the most fun lessons because early on when Anziano Jensen found out at that he was a doctor we used this whole big analogy about doctors and hospital that flowed so well throughout the whole lesson involving both of them at the same time. We were really happy with the result and there was a sweet and special spirit that was there with us. We have seen some really big changes in Gaspare since he we have met him early on in our first transfer here, and we are really excited to see where we will be able to get with him and how we can be of help and assistance to him.

We had a great lesson with our new convert this week that went super well and we were able to talk about Joseph Smith and we started watching the movie with him which we will finish up on our next lesson with him. He is doing great and it has been so awesome to see how well he is continually progressing. We talked about sending the missionaries to his parents back home. We look forward to seeing where we can get with that and I really hope that his parents will be open to have the missionaries over to their home. We were also excited to see him at our ward activity, along with our other investigator, and some other nonmembers too! It was great! We had a karaoke night and this is surprisingly my first one! So Italians love karaoke and it is infamous here that most activities end up getting changed into some form of karaoke. We had a great time talking to people and watch how into it everyone would get while they were all singing. It was a great time. We even got an announcement in church that not this Friday. but the next. we will be doing an activity where we will split up into two teams and play some games, and President added that the end if we have some time we will pull out the karaoke stuff hahaha.

Sunday I had the opportunity to give the lesson in the combined relief society/priesthood meeting that we have where we go through all the lessons together. It was super cool to be able to talk about being an Ensign to the Nations and how our church is truly that light on the hill. It was really neat talking about the pioneer story of them arriving int he Salt Lake valley and how the church going from 6 members at the beginnings in New York and is still an ever growing worldwide church. It is amazing and it was so fitting because the members here in Italy are still like pioneers for the church, in their cities, and families. They are really doing their best to help give all their efforts to building God’s kingdom here in Italy. Anziano Campbell and I were both assigned talks this day too and we were able to give these and I was able to speak on the importance of the scriptures in our lives. It was a great opportunity to share my experience with gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon and how ever since my desire to read and study the scriptures has grown and grown and I am so very thankful for that. It was great too because the brother of the branch President’s wife came to church and has asked to be a part of our church and has a strong desire to change his life.

After church we went over to the branch President’s house for lunch and we were super excited because his brother in law was there too! We had a great lunch together and enjoyed being able to talk with one another and enjoy some wonderful food. They also told this really fun account of a famous Italian movie and a banana so that was entertaining to say the least. At the end of an amazing meal, with a nice cannolo to top it all off, we were able to have a great lesson sharing the restoration with them all. It went really well and we were able to hear this guy’s story and why he has a desire to change right now. We are so very excited for him and the spirit was there in much abundance with us all especially while talking about the atonement. We look forward to seeing him again tonight and finishing up that lesson with him. He is a great guy and we are looking forward to seeing where all we will get with him. He is really golden.

We went to Palermo and traveled to get to the church for our interviews that night with President and Sorella Pickerd. We got there and we were a little behind schedule so we had the opportunity to talk to the other missionaries waiting and get to know them all a little better. The interviews were super nice as always and I love being able to get to know them both better and get the advice and support that we are seeking from them too. I was able to get my temple recommend renewed which was super special and we did the whole thing in Italian!

It got me really excited again to be able to go to the House of the Lord which I have really missed for these two years. Super excited for that.

Zone conference was really great and we were able to feel a great spirit all together. We talked a lot about the importance of the spirit into our work and how essential it is that we have the Holy Ghost doing the teaching because that is the only way that we can help other people because he is the teacher. That is the way that God has ordained it. I was super happy with all that we learned and all the invitations that were given to us so that we can apply these things to help those around us. At the beginning of my mission I was able to bear my testimony in my first zone conference in Italian, and yesterday I was able to bear my departing testimony in English. I was thankful fro the Spirit that was present as me and three of the Elders that came in with me bore testimonies. It was a great zone conference and I love how President Pickerd is making sure that we are applying the things we learn for a lifetime not just for the next week, couple weeks, transfers, or missions, but a lifetime.

I really am thankful for this week and all we were able to do. One thing that I would love to share is from a talk that I used some quotes from in my talk this past Sunday.  It is from this past October, 2016, General Conference. The talk is entitled “Look to the Book, Look to the Lord.”

President Ezra Taft Benson expanded on those teachings of Joseph Smith. He said: “There are three ways in which the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. It is the keystone in our witness of Christ. It is the keystone of our doctrine. It is the keystone of testimony.”

President Benson further taught: “The Book of Mormon teaches us truth [and] bears testimony of Christ. … But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. … You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path.”

I know that to be true and that the Book of Mormon has truly been this big blessing in my life to really help me be able to have a strong testimony. I invite all to read it and ponder it in the hearts, and as Moroni exhorts us to have faith in God, a sincere heart, and real intent while asking our Heavenly Father if this book be from him or not. I know that we can all receive an answer that will be a blessing for the rest of our lives. I love you all and will talk to you guys next week!

Con tanto amore,

Anziano Garrett

Catania – Week 21

Ciao tutti!

This week was really awesome, but man it passed by super duper fast!

We were able to accomplish a lot of things that we needed to do and got it all done in a manageable amount of time. We had a family home evening last Monday evening that went really well with our part member family. We were able to address the questions that they all had and still teach what we felt was right for them in that moment. That is something that is so amazing about the gospel that it can be tailored, then taught, and applied to everyone initially. I really enjoy that we can be able to bring to the table exactly what the Lord knows will make people happy and live with joy in their lives.

We were able to visit a less active family at their house for lunch which also went really well. We had an interesting conversation about a dish of food found here in Sicily called parmigiana which is made with eggplant, tomatoes, cheese, and some other things that I am forgetting. It was interesting for the fact of the name and how we started talking about how much of a melting pot it is here in Sicily.

There is such a mix of cultures which makes it such an interesting and unique place. The food is a mix of certain dishes which causes even the cities in Sicily to have different dishes that are specially made in those places. For example when I was in Trapani they are famous for their cous-cous which comes from the country very close on the northern tip of Africa called Tunisia. Here in Catania there is a special dish called pasta alla’norma which is a ragu based pasta with melanzane and ricotta salata. It is super cool to me and I enjoy learning about all these things and being around it all. That is a little culture story for everyone! The lesson went really well though and we were able to talk about family councils which is something that Elder M. Russell Ballard talked about last April in general conference. It is where we can meet as a family and discuss situations and make goals as a family to continue to grow and progress in this life together. He explains how their are four different types of family councils and it is something I can’t wait to apply in my future family. Really something I want to do because it is something that is so special for the family. Here is the link if you are interested in reading more about it.

We had to wake up at 3:30 on Wednesday morning to make our way up to Rome. We got started nice and early and we made our way to Messina where you have to take the ferry across the strait with the car. It was a nice long drive and we were making good time and of course we had some stops for the restroom, gas and lunch. We stopped in Napoli on the way up for lunch and it was amazing to finally eat a pizza from Napoli. I will say expectations were high, but the pizza definitely lived up to what it was. I will put a picture in there. It was the best pizza I have definitely had. Not to say there isn’t good pizza out there, but it was awesome. We made it up to Rome and parked the car up at the mission office. Got on the Metro and headed down to the station to meet all the other Anzinai in the zone that had to travel up on the train. Unfortunately the train arrived late, and this caused us not to be able to make it to our Geso spot in Piazza Spagna. We were however able to make the best of our time and get down to a different spot where Anziano LaPray and I went finding for the brief 30 minutes that we had. The First Lady we saw ended up being a great conversation and we got her number which we really hope turns out to be a cool opportunity for the missionaries to teach her up in Rome.

We had another early morning in order to prepare for the conference and make our way down to the Rome 1 church. The conference was so amazing. Once they were all in the building we were able to go down the line and shake all their hands and meet them all. We had such a spiritually strong few hours with all the general authorities and their wives. We were able to here from every single one of them there.

It was super special and amazing to be able to hear and see some overall themes among them, but how they all each had some different things to take away form each individual talk/testimony. They all had so many great things said I don’t even know where to start. Time was a big theme that was talked about as well as just remembering how great and wonderful this calling is as missionaries. I will definitely keep close the things that the talked about and do my best to apply the things that I learned through the spirit. I loved that we were able to hear from them for so long. Sorella Nelson talked about a lot of great things and one thing that I really liked was if we were able to see a short 10 minute clip of who we were at any point in the pre mortal life that it would change the trajectory completely of our life on earth. We would know what are true purpose is and without a doubt would work with all our might, mind, and strength to accomplish what we know we need to accomplish. She also told a cool story about how once in Russia with members of the church she addressed a group and said she wanted to get to know them all a little better. She then asked the whole group to stand when she called out one of the 12 tribes of Israel. She found 11 different tribes that day! Every one except the tribe of Levi was there, but then the next day in their travels they were able to meet a missionary that was a Levite. Pretty cool stories.

President Russell M. Nelson was able to address us for about 45 or 50 minutes and his topic was very interesting, but applied so well to missionary work and who we are. One of the first things that he does though is the asks the whole room who had their paper scriptures with them. Most people didn’t since traveling with the iPad is more convenient and what not. He said that he likes and uses both, but said there is just something about the paper scriptures. He then told us how he just recently got that copy that he was holding. He then turned it in the inside where the date was written, May. He decided that he would read every word of the entire quad, in which he finished 2 weeks later. He talked about the 12 tribes of Israel and the Gathering of Israel which was amazing to see. We were so blessed to have him there and instruct us on something that we maybe didn’t know everything about, but something that was able to stick with us in such a way to open us up with a drive to find more. I am thankful that we were able to talk about this great gathering of Israel that is taking place and the Abrahamic covenant. We are able to participate in this great gathering in helping Heavenly Father’s children find the truth. I really loved all that we were able to learn from the conference and hope to retain the feelings and apply the knowledge that I have now.

It was nice to see and catch up with some people after the conference and talk to everyone I haven’t seen in a long time. It was definitely just an all around amazing conference and interesting how it differed from the last mission conference when it comes to the aspect of knowing a lot more people in the mission now. We had to switch out our car after the conference and made our back home, but since we weren’t going to make it all the way we had to stop in Cosenza and stay the night. That was weird to be back in that city as well. Was able to get a nice run in Cosenza that next morning which was awesome. We made our way back after that and have had some awesome few days back here in Catania. We were able to go and have another lesson with our part member family, have a special broadcasted conference to our stake, and found 3 new investigators this past Sunday.

One of the new investigators we were supposed to go over and teach a lesson to our investigator that came to church, but at the end she wasn’t able to come down for the lesson. We had a meal, which was super good by the way, with a less active daughter of the family. She made this pasta with a sauce that uses the inc sac of a squid. It was super good! Sorry those are my food rants, but we were able to teach her boyfriend the whole restoration and we will be headed back there next Sunday to teach them. That was a super cool miracle! The other two were found at the Geso while Anziano Parkinson and Anziano Ponce went off to make sure there weren’t too many missionaries concentrated a small area when we were stopping people. They both sounds awesome too!

It was a crazy past week with lots of fun, spiritual, and instructive moments. I am so happy to be here serving in Italy with all the fellow missionaries and laborers around me as well. This past week I was able to be in 3 of my 4 cities, which is something super strange. I have had a ton of thoughts and memories flooding back to my head about many different experiences over my mission so far. I am so thankful for the cities I have served in, the people I have been able to meet and serve to the best of my ability, the people I have served with, the miracles, the lessons, all the experiences, lessons learned, etc. It has been such an amazing experience and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I can’t wait for the lessons and all the things I will do today and the rest of my time here in Italy as a full time missionary of the Lord. This makes me think of a few scriptures in Alma 29.

10 And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me.

11 Yea, and I also remember the captivity of my fathers; for I surely do know that the Lord did deliver them out of bondage, and by this did establish his church; yea, the Lord God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, did deliver them out of bondage.

12 Yea, I have always remembered the captivity of my fathers; and that same God who delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians did deliver them out of bondage.

I will always remember the wonderful things that the Lord has done and hope to always cling to those feelings and memories so they will always stay close to me. I am thankful for the great times and the difficult ones as well. It all is for our benefit and helps us to draw closer the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you all again for all the prayers and help that you all offer me. I love you all and am so grateful to know that we all as missionaries have so many people supporting us.

Have a great week!

Vi voglio bene!

Anziano Garrett

With Anziano Spencer, my companion from Trapani, at the Mission Conference in Rome, October, 2016

With Anziano Spencer, my companion from Trapani, at the Mission Conference in Rome, October, 2016

With friends at the Mission Conference in Rome, October, 2016

With friends at the Mission Conference in Rome, October, 2016

Some friends at the Mission Conference in Rome, October, 2016

Some friends at the Mission Conference in Rome, October, 2016

We stopped in Napoli to enjoy world-class pizza on our journey to Rome for the Mission Conference, October, 2016

We stopped in Napoli to enjoy world-class pizza on our journey to Rome for the Mission Conference, October, 2016

Napoli pizza - pizza doesn't get any better than this

Napoli pizza – pizza doesn’t get any better than this

Catania – Week 20

Ciao Tutti!

Hope that everyone is doing well and that you all had a great week!

This week was another busy one for us and we had a lot that we were able to accomplish this week. We had DDM this week on Tuesday and that went super well and we were able to have another really spiritual addestramento together about service and rendering service to others. We read some great things and something that touched me was reflecting on this verse.

8 And now my sons, behold I have somewhat more to desire of you, which desire is, that ye may not do these things that ye may boast, but that ye may do these things to lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven, yea, which is eternal, and which fadeth not away; yea, that ye may have that precious gift of eternal life, which we have reason to suppose hath been given to our fathers.

We are laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven as we serve our fellow man and those around us with our full heart and for the welfare of them. I am so thankful that God offers all of us the opportunities to serve those around us. It is always a blessing to be able to help those in need around us. I know that service is such a wonderful thing that we can render towards others.

We were able to have a great evening making sure that things were ready for the zone conference in the church and gave a ride to the church to President and Sorella Pickerd. It all went well and we finished off the night with a scambio with the Assistants to the Presdient. It was a great scambio and I was able to work with Anziano Rosenberg and I learned a lot from his boldness and his excitement that he has about the work. It is amazing to see his dedication and love to the Lord. We had a good lesson together and were able to give one of our former investigators a baptismal date. It went super well! We shuffled some people around after their interviews to finish off the night and we were all able to get settled down in order to be ready for the zone conference.

Zone conference went super well and we were able to learn from so many wonderful leaders. Sorella Pickerd talked to us a lot about attacking the day and I enjoyed talking about improvements on prayer and study which is something that I have been trying to put into practice continually. I know that working on and adjusting the little things help so much to see the big miracles in the work that we are doing.

The assistants talked about two things that I really enjoyed about studying and taking strength form the Atonement. The other was about being the message and being those Angels for others. We can present the message to them with joy and happiness showing truly that this is something that does work for us as we put it into practice. I am thankful for that blessed opportunity to be one to present that message to others. We then talked about the successes and the stories of the past baptisms in the mission. They were truly amazing and inspiring to hear about and it was really neat to talk about them and get us all excited about having our own stories.

This week we had a service project at our part member family’s house and it was super awesome. We helped gather the olives from their vineyard. It was super cool to work out there with them all together with all the other missionaries. We had a good time with the family and we really feel that we helped them with the little things that we could do for them in gathering the olives. We had lunch out there together. They had us break the piñata that she was so kind to make for my birthday a few weeks ago and we got back to work. It was a long day and it takes a lot more time to accomplish than we had anticipated. It was super interesting work and I was shocked to think that it takes 25 kili [kilos] to make 1 liter of olive oil. We shared a message at the end of the night before heading home and closing the night out.

We had a good rest of the weekend with other various lessons and a great three hour block at church along with a wonderful Geso Sunday evening. The service that we were able to render though of course made me reflect on Jacob 5 in the Book of Mormon that talks about the allegory of the olive trees. It is something that made me think much about laboring in his vineyard over here in the Italy Rome Mission. I love these three verses that conclude the chapter.

75 And it came to pass that when the Lord of the vineyard saw that his fruit was good, and that his vineyard was no more corrupt, he called up his servants, and said unto them: Behold, for this last time have we nourished my vineyard; and thou beholdest that I have done according to my will; and I have preserved the natural fruit, that it is good, even like as it was in the beginning. And blessed art thou; for because ye have been diligent in laboring with me in my vineyard, and have kept my commandments, and have brought unto me again the natural fruit, that my vineyard is no more corrupted, and the bad is cast away, behold ye shall have joy with me because of the fruit of my vineyard.

76 For behold, for a long time will I lay up of the fruit of my vineyard unto mine own self against the season, which speedily cometh; and for the last time have I nourished my vineyard, and pruned it, and dug about it, and dunged it; wherefore I will lay up unto mine own self of the fruit, for a long time, according to that which I have spoken.

77 And when the time cometh that evil fruit shall again come into my vineyard, then will I cause the good and the bad to be gathered; and the good will I preserve unto myself, and the bad will I cast away into its own place. And then cometh the season and the end; and my vineyard will I cause to be burned with fire.

The Lord truly works and does his best to bring all his children to the truth to immensely bless their lives here and in the life to come.

I am thankful for this final hour that he has been working since the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ about 200 years ago. This work is truly a great and marvelous work. We all can partake of the blessing and be counted among his good fruit as we do all we can to learn of him, follow him, and then help by laboring beside him in this great work. It takes time and a lot of work and that is what he is willing to with each of us as it describes all the necessary steps stated in verse 77 for example. I am thankful to have found this gospel to be true and that it has truly changed me and who I am. I know it can do the same for all of you as well. I love you all very much and hope that you have a great week!

Vi voglio bene!

Anziano Garrett

Catania Zone Conference, October, 2016

Catania Zone Conference, October, 2016

The birthday pinata

The birthday pinata

Hitting the Pinata

Hitting the Pinata

The birthday pinata

The birthday pinata

Working Catania

Working Catania

Anziano Parkinson

Anziano Parkinson

Catania – Week 16

Ciao tutti!

We have been really busy this past week! We had a lot of conferences that we had to go to and then all in between that we did our best to get over and visit all the people that we needed to visit. We had a lot of fun and we really learned a lot as well.

Monday night we went and searched for less actives that we are trying to find, people that we can help and go visit. Tuesday we were really busy in the morning with three appointments. It was really nice and we had a good time visiting them all. One was the new convert that we are teaching the commandments right now. She is doing really well and gave her first short talk in church this week so that was really cool! We then visited a member we haven’t been able to see for a while and that went really well too! He is so nice and is a real deep thinker so it is always fun to see what is on his mind and what the has to say. Went and then visited another less active family and were able to eat and share a simple message on the scriptures with them. It went really well and they seemed to really enjoy that simple spiritual thought.

That night we had to go get the car appraised for repairs and then made it over to a member’s house where we were able to watch a young woman open her mission call. It was really cool to see the excitement and remember how it was at my call opening as well. She is headed to the England Manchester mission this December! It’s super exciting and we are pumped for her!

Wednesday we headed to Palermo early in the morning. It was a really pretty drive through the center of Sicilia. It was only supposed to take 2 hours and 15 minutes, but we got stuck in traffic for over an hour and then we went to the Palermo 1 church instead of the Palermo 2 church which is on the other side of the city. Needless to say we were late to the conference hahaha. It was pretty crazy. The conference went so well! There were so many amazing insights that we were all able to take out of the conference. I definitely can’t write all the things that we talked about. Some things that really stuck out to me was having a pioneer mentality and how we as a church have been able to be as pioneers and not take the persecution that they received early in this dispensation. President Kearon then talked about how we are a resilient people who thrive on adversity. I thought that was a very interesting point that we can really put to practice in this life. We are all exposed to adversity and surely Satan tries his best to get us to be anything that God wants us to be. I am thankful for that quality of resilience that we can try to emulate in our life. He also really had many things that we discussed together.

At the conclusion of the conference we took the assistants to the airport and then headed back into Palermo to pick up Anziano LaPray and Anziano Parkinson. Picked up a brioche from Brioscia (best gelateria in Italy) and headed off home. We arrived at home to plan a little and get to bed. Thursday we did our weekly planning session and then picked up Sorella McKenzie and Sorella Pinnegar, who are sister training leaders, and headed to he airport. Our flight was supposed to leave at 5:30 so we got there about an hour in advance or so. Well we then got a delay on our flight which was no big deal, but then it turned into another and another and another. Our flight didn’t leave until 11:30 hahaha. We were there for a long time! They at least gave us a free meal which was really nice. We got picked up by Anziano Guercio, one of the senior couples, about 1:00 a.m.. We passed by the temple at night and the lights were on the inside so that was real neat! We got back to the villa at 2:00 a.m. and went to bed as fast as we could.

The conference was so great up in Rome too! We had a great time at that and there was a really special spirit. We were able to discuss insights and highlights that we felt like we had during he two conferences. We discussed them a little more in depth and President Pickerd went through with all of us and we were able to set goals as a mission to work towards. I am so excited about them, and really think they will help us all be able to reach where we need to be. I am very excited about it and know it will really help us reach our standard of excellence as a mission to have one convert baptism per transfer per companionship. I will go into more detail next week on those steps that we are taking and I sure hope to have some cool experiences as well to go along with that. President Kearon was amazing to have at the conference along with Anziano Sabin and his wife. We were able to gain so much from the insights and the stories they shared with us.

President Kearon shared a really tender and amazing experience when he was a branch president about two years into him being in the church. It was a beautiful experience where I felt there were many lessons to learn and much to just look forward for, have faith, and hope for all the best.

It’s been a great week and I really enjoyed my studies and everything that we were able to do and especially going and preaching the gospel as servants of the Lord. Last night we met an inactive member for the first time and as we listened to her we did our best to make sure that we were involved and engaged in what she was saying and the experiences she was sharing with us. I couldn’t think of something to share when I felt it was right to go for the scriptures. I struggled for a minute as just 2 ideas came into my head. As I offered a short silent prayer and pondered while Anziano Nielsen was talking one of my chapters in Mosiah came to mind from the Book of Mormon. Is is when Abinadi is teaching a wicked King Noah and reads from the book of Isaiah. He reads this to him.

1 Yea, even doth not Isaiah say: Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him.

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

6 All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all.

I know that the atonement is real and heals us. All that is unfair in life can be made right through the atonement. I am so grateful for this sacrifice and the love that the savior showed to put his life on the line for us. It is truly through the charity that he possess that he offered his life so we can be saved and clean. So he knows how to comfort us because he has suffered with us in a sense. He knows what you are feeling and you can draw on his love, healing, and strength always. Always. I know that is true. I love you all and am sorry I didn’t have time to get to everyone at all this week! I hope you all have a great week and enjoy yourselves!

Love,

Anziano Garrett

 

Here are a couple of pics from the Rome leadership conference (from Sis. Pickerd’s blog):

 

Mission leadership conference in Rome, September, 2016

Mission leadership conference in Rome, September, 2016

Mission leadership conference in Rome, September, 2016

Mission leadership conference in Rome, September, 2016

Catania – Week 15

Ciao tutti!

I hope that everyone is doing super well! We had another busy week and were able to do a lot this week as well. We had a good lesson Monday night with two of our investigators and a member and it went really well. We hope that they will be able to really get rooted in the Book of Mormon. We were able to have another good lesson with the girl that Anziano Goode and Anziano Berger baptized a couple of months ago. She is doing really well and has been in church almost every week since! I think yesterday was the first time I have seen her miss. We also were able to go and visit our part member family in Castel Di Judicha which went really well! They are so much fun to visit and we are really able to feel the spirit in abundance when we go over. That was a really interesting lesson because the daughter asked a pretty profound question on why she needs to believe in something in her life and why this religion would be the right one to pick and go with. We studied for a few days about it and felt that we were prepared to address the question going into the lesson. It started out really rough and it was just not going like we though it would. We weren’t on the same page teaching, but then it seemed that once we took a step back and approached it doing our best listening and trying to feel the spirit it went so much better. The spirit was really strong in the lesson and it ended up being a really cool experience.

This week Anziano LaPray and I were able to go on a scambio and be companions again for another day which was a lot of fun and just felt normal quite honestly hahaha. We were able to work on their part of the work and go to go and visit some people that will hopefully turn out to be some investigators here in the near future. We had a good time together and I always love seeing Anziano LaPray’s love for the scriptures and the gospel and how much he dedicates to studying the gospel and really applying it in his life. We of course had a good amount of time laughing and enjoying being back together too! Had some good stories to reminiscence on and talk about. Crazy to think we were together like a year ago at this transfer. The time just flies by.

We were granted the opportunity this week to travel down to Ragusa to grab the Anziani from there and then make our way to Gela so that we could do a baptismal interview for someone down there that will be being baptized this Friday. He has an amazing story and it was really nice to get down there and do all that for them. It was a long time in the car about 5 hours. I was really sore from sitting down that long, but maybe that was partly due to the fact that I did an ab workout the morning of that I haven’t done in like months hahaha. We got back and had a family home evening with a less active family at their house and we made pancakes with them and it was a blast. We had a good time and shared a good spiritual thought and everything! We then had another scambio here in Catania and it went really well! The Messina Anziani came down for it and I had the privilege of going on a scambio with Anziano Jacob who was in my group at the MTC so it was cool to get to know him better and we were able to work hard and learn a lot from each other. We had a great time for sure.

We then went again to our part members family’s house and shared another lesson with them and we watched the restoration video together. It went really well and it was good to be able to help them see more of Joseph Smith’s life and how we can learn not only about him and his experiences, but also learn from him in examples of faith, humility, courage, and love. It was a good lesson and went really well. They are such a special family and we are excited to see that the daughter is reading and they both are thinking when we are teaching and helping them understand the gospel. Yesterday in church I was able to give a talk and I was able to talk about observing the commandments. I am so grateful for the commandments and I really love that it is through obedience to them that we are able to receive all the blessings that Heavenly Father has for us. Just like loving parents give rules to their children it is only for protection and in their best interest so they are happy and can experience the most joy possible. Heavenly Father gives us to them so that we are happy and that we can make sure we are receiving all that we can. In the talk I used a quote from President Uchtdorf’s last General Conference talk that talks about obedience that I really love.

Obedience is the lifeblood of faith. It is by obedience that we gather light into our souls.

But sometimes I think we misunderstand obedience. We may see obedience as an end in itself, rather than a means to an end. Or we may pound the metaphorical hammer of obedience against the iron anvil of the commandments in an effort to shape those we love, through constant heating and repeated battering, into holier, heavenly matter.

No doubt about it, there are times when we need a stern call to repentance. Certainly, there are some who may be reached only in this manner.

But perhaps there is a different metaphor that can explain why we obey the commandments of God. Maybe obedience is not so much the process of bending, twisting, and pounding our souls into something we are not. Instead, it is the process by which we discover what we truly are made of.

We are created by the Almighty God. He is our Heavenly Father. We are literally His spirit children. We are made of supernal material most precious and highly refined, and thus we carry within ourselves the substance of divinity.

Here on earth, however, our thoughts and actions become encumbered with that which is corrupt, unholy, and impure. The dust and filth of the world stain our souls, making it difficult to recognize and remember our birthright and purpose.

But all this cannot change who we truly are. The fundamental divinity of our nature remains. And the moment we choose to incline our hearts to our beloved Savior and set foot upon the path of discipleship, something miraculous happens. The love of God fills our hearts, the light of truth fills our minds, we start to lose the desire to sin, and we do not want to walk any longer in darkness.

We come to see obedience not as a punishment but as a liberating path to our divine destiny. And gradually, the corruption, dust, and limitations of this earth begin to fall away. Eventually, the priceless, eternal spirit of the heavenly being within us is revealed, and a radiance of goodness becomes our nature.”

This is longer then I quoted in the talk, but thought that it added some more weighted value that I loved. I know that obedience is what pushes us down that path and it is how that we can really come to know who we truly are. I am thankful for that and am grateful for the love that he offers us through his commandments. I know that he loves us and he is only watching over his in all that we do.

We have a busy week ahead of us and we will be driving down to Palermo on Wednesday for a mission conference where we will be visited by President Kearon. I am really looking forward to it and the opportunity to feel such a rejuvenating spirit from all that we can learn and understand together. It will be really edifying and I hope to continue to prepare in any way that I can. It will be such a wonderful opportunity. Then Anziano Nielsen and I will be headed to Rome this Friday for a leadership conference. I am excited about that for sure! Will be cool to see Rome again, but it will be super cool to be with President Kearon again and hear from him on an even smaller scale. Thank you for all that you guys do! Hope that you guys have a great week!

Vi voglio bene!

Anziano Garrett

Catania – Week 5

Ciao tutti!

Hope that everyone is doing well! This week was really awesome! We had a good week trying to get our work rolling and find those solid investigators that are willing to act on the message that we are bringing. I really hope that we will be able to do our best to really find those that are willing to choose for themselves to come unto Christ through the invites that God wants them to do.

One really cool miracle that I saw this week was when we were park finding. I was having a rough morning and the families hat really looked so sweet turned us down pretty fast when we went up to them, but it was cool to see that the lord puts us through trials for a reason and the last guy we stopped before going back in for lunch was willing to listen to us and was willing to act. He is a very intelligent man and is a sincere guy. He was really happy to meet us and I am so glad that we had he chance to get to know him. He will be coming back to town this Thursday and we will hopefully be able to see him at the end of the week. We really think that he will be keeping to our invites and be willing to search to find the truth. He said intellectually these things don’t sound crazy at all and could be true, but it has to be something done within his heart. Such a great guy though and it strengthens my testimony to know that God gives us little obstacles for our own good and to test us to see if we will continue to do the things he asks when it may be hard or tough.

Last week President and Sorella Pickerd arrived to the mission field and went to 4 different conferences around the mission in 4 days to introduce themselves to everyone. It was super fun to get to meet the, and feel the great love that they have for each one of us. We are all definitely looking forward to working with them and doing all we can to work hard here together in Italy. [Read more…]

Catania – Week 3

Ciao tutti!

I hope that everyone has had a great week! This week has gone by pretty fast for us and we are really trying are best to find as much new work as we possibly can. We did a lot of finding this week and were able to have a good amount of lessons with people on benches and in the parks.

I am thankful for the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the opportunity that we have to bring this beautiful news to the world. It truly is an amazing and unique thing that we are offering people to come and find out if it is true. We are really trying to work at finding the elect of God here and find those that are truly ready to receive us and will listen with the intent to know and find the truth that we bring forth.

So we recovered well from last Sunday’s nice run and then the next day at zone soccer my callus decided to rip off on one foot and then a nice big blister formed on the other. It wasn’t too bad at all thank goodness though. It was a good time being with the zone and then doing a blitz with park finding and an English group Geso afterwards. It was a lot of fun and we are really hoping to see more people come to English group these next couple of weeks. So then we had to have 17 Anziani stay at the house the night before our specialized training.

It was a packed house for sure and I am thankful that we had enough mattresses for everyone. It was packed hahaha. The specialized training went really well though! It was really bittersweet though because that was the last time that we were able to see Presdient and Sorella Waddoups here in Italy. It was a really special and good conference and I am so thankful for the opportunity that I had to get to know them and love them over this past year. I am so thankful for all the work that they did here for the people of Italy and also for us. It is really awesome to see all of the miracles they have witnessed and  the love they show everyone and especially all the missionaries.

I saw two really big miracles this week that were really awesome. The first was when I was on scambio with Anziano Goode and we did some park finding and we saw these two ragazzi [boys] sitting on this bench and they were smoking and we didn’t really know how it was going to go. We were able to share the whole restoration with them and they were really pumped to learn and know more. We set a return appointment for two days later. I was a little nervous because they weren’t there on time and I called three times and they said they were coming. They finally showed up an hour late and it was cool to hear that they took that much time to come to the park to learn more. We started off the lesson with a prayer and one of them offered it and it was almost just right. It was super special and very heartfelt. They are cousins and one of them commented on how that was better than the one they offered the other night. That was super cool  and the lesson on the plan of salvation went really well  and they are excited to read the Book of Mormon. The other miracle that I saw was on the way to the church. I started talking to this guy and he opened up with me. We ended up sharing a video and testified of the love of the Savior and how he is always here for us. I am thankful for that knowledge. He then said that he wanted to try to make it out to church. Saw him again a couple days later and he said that he would see us Sunday when he came. Well Sunday morning I was really expecting him and he didn’t show up until like 40 minutes into sacrament meeting he came! It was super cool  and I really hope that he will be open to start meeting with us and coming to church more.

Yesterday was Father’s Day and I am so thankful for fathers everywhere. The divine role of fathers is so important and it is a calling that we are never released from. Lately I have been able to see how the characteristics of our parents here on the earth correlate with the feelings that our heavenly parents have for us. I am thankful for the undying love that they have for us and always trying to provide what is best for each of us. I am thankful for my dad and his example for me that has truly changed my life, his love, support, kindness, humor, unselfishness, charity, and so many other qualities and attributes that I have been able to learn from him. He has truly done so much for me and I am thankful that we have a day to recognize all that they do for us as well. Elder D. Todd Christofferson talked about Fathers this past General Conference. I love this quote.

Perhaps the most essential of a father’s work is to turn the hearts of his children to their Heavenly Father. If by his example as well as his words a father can demonstrate what fidelity to God looks like in day-to-day living, that father will have given his children the key to peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come. A father who reads scripture to and with his children acquaints them with the voice of the Lord.

My dad has truly done that for me and aided me in finding my love and testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I will never forget the example that he has set and continues to set for me and for others.

Examples are powerful. I know that we can teach the gospel at all times and then when necessary use words. I am so very grateful for that. I love my dad so much and am thankful that Heavenly Father has blessed me with such amazing parents. My mom and dad truly rock. Well I hope that you all had a wonderful Father’s Day. I would invite you to check out that talk as well as this awesome video.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/fathers?cid=HP_TU_7-6-2016_dPFD_fGC_xLIDyL1-A_&lang=eng

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-01-002-earthly-father-heavenly-father?lang=eng

Love you all and talk to you next week!

Vi voglio bene!

Anziano Garrett

[Here are some pictures from the Catania Zone specialized training, posted by Sister Waddoups]

Catania Zone, June, 2016

Catania Zone, June, 2016

Catania Specialized Training, June, 2016

Catania Specialized Training, June, 2016

Catania Specialized Training, June, 2016

Catania Specialized Training, June, 2016

Catania Specialized Training, June, 2016

Catania Specialized Training, June, 2016

Catania Specialized Training, June, 2016

Catania Specialized Training, June, 2016

Catania Specialized Training, June, 2016

Catania Specialized Training, June, 2016

Pres. and Sister Waddoups, last meeting with them.

Pres. and Sister Waddoups, last meeting with them.

Our goodbye note to the Waddoups, who leave for home on June 29th.

Our goodbye note to the Waddoups, who leave for home on June 29th.

Cosenza – Week 9

Ciao Tutti!

This week went by super fast and it was super good as well! We had a nice scambio on Tuesday with Anziano Pingree and Anziano Pineau. It was a lot of fun and I was able to learn  a lot form Anziano Pingree in a lot of different areas of life and missionary work. It was super cool and a really great time well spent together. We had a miracle lesson where the guy was called through a past contact sheet and he said he would be down to meet. We tried to meet in a pizazz with his girlfriend but the dog was going to crazy so we went to a different one and he still went crazy! So we had to give the lesson standing up on a side street on the corner. Not the most ideal place for a lesson but it went really well and they really understood and wanted to learn more and know if it is true. He even offered the prayer at the end and then his girlfriend told him how he needed to fold his arms and close his eyes next time hahaha. It was awesome.

We had a really nice zone conference on Tuesday and we were able to hear from the Assistants, President, and Sorella Waddoups. It went super well and it was a Restoration themed training with a big focus on planning. There was really a special spirit there and we were able to really feel the spirit strong as testimonies were born and the spirit witnessed of the truthfulness of those testimonies. We look forward to taking those lessons away and rolling with them as we implement them in our work.

We saw a a lot of cool miracles this week and one was with our investigator that hasn’t been making much progress. We went into the lesson knowing we may have to drop him. The lesson went super well and he agreed to read for 10 minutes a day and come to church every day for the next 3 months. Was super sick!

I am out of town.  Love you all and will talk to you next week!

Anziano Garrett

 

Taranto Zone Conference, May, 2016

Taranto Zone Conference, May, 2016

Taranto Zone Conference, May, 2016

Taranto Zone Conference, May, 2016

Taranto Zone Conference, May, 2016

Taranto Zone Conference, May, 2016

Taranto Zone Conference, May, 2016

Taranto Zone Conference, May, 2016

Taranto Zone Conference, May, 2016

Taranto Zone Conference, May, 2016

Taranto Zone Conference, May, 2016

Taranto Zone Conference, May, 2016

Taranto Zone Conference, May, 2016

Taranto Zone Conference, May, 2016

Taranto Zone Conference, May, 2016

Taranto Zone Conference, May, 2016

Taranto Zone Conference, May, 2016

Taranto Zone Conference, May, 2016

Cosenza – Week 8

Ciao tutti!

I hope that everyone had a great day and as well as a great Mother’s Day yesterday! Hope you are well! This week went well for us even though some things didn’t go as planned. We were able to see our investigators and it went really well with the lessons that we had with them. We are still looking to help them keep their commitments and realize that is the key for knowing for themselves whether the things that we are telling them are true or not.

This was our first full week together and it was a lot of fun.  Anziano Nessen is super funny and I am really enjoying working hard with him each day and we are excited to see what we will be able to do together this transfer. We have some great work going on right now and we just want to keep finding more and more and rely on the Lord to help us in all that we are here to do. We had some good lessons this week and I am just so thankful for the Book of Mormon in my life and how it really testifies of so many things. I am thankful for those in ancient times for keeping records and then for Mormon to bring to pass a work that was truly amazing and compile all the needed records to make the Book of Mormon. I am thankful for this scripture when Lehi teaches his son, Joseph, about Joseph of Egypt who prophesied of Joseph Smith and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. This scripture lays down one of the missions of this wonderful book.

12 Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord.

I like how it states that it will confound false doctrine. Then if we go to another scripture in the Book of Mormon where Moroni explains that it is written to help us believe the things in the Bible.

8 Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be set before you, not only in this record but also in the record which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews, which record shall come from the Gentiles unto you.

9 For behold, this is written for the intent that ye may believe that; and if ye believe that ye will believe this also; and if ye believe this ye will know concerning your fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them.

10 And ye will also know that ye are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; therefore ye are numbered among the people of the first covenant; and if it so be that ye believe in Christ, and are baptized, first with water, then with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the example of our Savior, according to that which he hath commanded us, it shall be well with you in the day of judgment. Amen.

It does such an amazing job of showing us that the Book of Mormon is there to support the Bible. I know that is true and the more I study the more I can see this is so true. It will confound false doctrine and helps give us a single interpretation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those that truly want to learn more of Christ simply have to pick up the Book of Mormon and read it. That is how you will know that anything the missionaries say is true. We never ask anyone to believe our words and just follow us blindly in what we practice in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We ask that they read and ask God for themselves to receive a testimony of truth and light. The Book of Mormon truly blesses our lives more than we can imagine.

We are working with some really cool people and they want to know if these things are true and we are enjoying being able to meet with them. We know that the Lord continues to prepare people to receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and we just want to continue to work to find those that are ready to accept our message.

The weather has been cold and rainy a lot of the days with the occasional really nice and beautiful day sprinkled in. I hope that will start to become the norm soon. This week we have zone conference so we will be leaving to go to Taranto tomorrow morning after studies and doing a scambio with them there before Wednesday and then continue that afterwards and finish up Wednesday after conference with a zone blitz. Should be a lot of fun and we look forward to helping all the missionaries in Taranto.

So I was able to talk to my family for the third time on my mission and it went really well! We had a good time talking to each other and catching up on just little things, but overall it just felt that I got to hang out with my family for a while. It was super funny and just time well spent together. Definitely miss them and so many others, but I am very happy to be here and doing this work. Can’t believe how fast the time has gone by here and how many amazing experiences that I have been blessed to be a part of. I know that this work is true and it is so worth being away from home for a short 2 years to help those over here in Italy receive blessings beyond imagination through Christ’s restored gospel. It is truly amazing.

Yesterday we had a special day for all moms everywhere and I am so thankful for my mom and all that she has done for me. As well as my grandmas and the love they show their kids as well as us grandkids. I am extremely thankful for them and all the love that they give us all that is truly undying and always there. Moms go through so much with us and are there every moment helping us along the way. I love this video that was made for Mother’s Day, but I would like to still invite you all to check it out. It is really special to think of the divine roll that mothers have! It was so nice to talk to my mom yesterday and I would encourage you all to get to know your moms and continue to grow that special relationship always.

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-00-1440-it-was-mom-a-mothers-day-tribute-to-moms?category=topics/mothers&lang=eng&cid=HP_FR_6-5-2016_dMIS_fMLIB_xLIDyL1-A_

I hope that you all have a great week and thanks for all the support help and love that you send this way! I love you all and will talk to you guys soon!

Love,

Anziano Garrett

Cosenza – Week 3

Ciao Tutti!!!

Today we didn’t have much going on so we walked around down in centro and enjoyed the weather with some gelato too. We did get to go running this morning which we are planning on continuing to do all month. It was a nice 5.5 mile run, but we were in the middle of it and we heard these stray dogs start barking in the woods. They are common here and will sometimes hurt people. Never had any problems with them, but yeah we totally turned around and sprinted in the opposite direction hahaha. It was super funny and I am sure the look on my face was priceless.

This week went by super fast and we had a great time doing all that we could do this week. We had a lot on our plate this week, but it was really awesome and super fun. So we started off the week with the deep cleaning last Monday of course and then Tuesday morning we were planning on going to Taranto early so that we could do a scambio with Anziano Pingree and Anziano Pineu which ended up with us getting denied getting on the bus which was the first time according to Anziano Borner. The bus lines had no more spots free the rest of the whole day so we had to take a train and bus combo around mid day to get down there. We made it down and went to the church and were able to start the scambio. I was with Anziano Pineu who is in his second transfer and from Oklahoma. We were able to do a lesson together along with English course as well. It was really cool and went really well!

It was a good start to the scambio and I had fun working with him a lot. Got some pizza for dinner and headed back to the apartment. 4 missionaries live there and they have two greenies who are both awesome and they are super funny. Anziano Raimondi is from northern Italy and his companion is Anziano Haroldsen who is from California.

They are both super cool and are doing really well together. It was a lot of fun to be down there.

Wednesday we were able to have our specialized training and it went really well. We talked a lot about reaching new heights and it was really awesome to see that the addestramenti all flowed together. It was really cool. Sorella Valencia talked about the unity of companionship and the fact that we have to be one and work together in all that we do. We were able to really learn a lot from her and how we can work together to be more obedient and have our voices sound as one trump together. We talked about reaching new heights with self control, good attitude, and trusting in divine power. We based ours off a talk by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf called “On the Wings of Eagles.” It was super good and we were able to involve flying and the fact that we can truly meet these new heights with the spirit and the counsel that President Uchtdorf offers in this talk. Then President and Sorella Waddoups talked about finding new investigators. It all went super well and we really learned a lot and were able to come away with a lot of thing that we could do to improve and push the work. [Read more…]