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Catania – Week 19

October 10, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Ciao Tutti!

I hope that everyone had a great week and that all is well with everyone! We had a super week over here and we have just been all over the place. So to begin my email we received our transfer calls Monday night and I am staying in Catania for a fourth transfer! I have received Anziano Ponce from Lima, Peru. He is a great missionary and is super dedicated to the work and really gives it all that he has. I am super excited to be staying and able to work with everyone down here for another 6 weeks. We have a lot of great plans and good work going on that is starting to grow as well! We are excited to be here and look forward to working together and seeing a ton of miracles.

So this past week we had to take missionaries to the airport Monday and that went well! I received an email from Anziano Nielsen and he has safely made it back home to Salt Lake City. He was super fun to work with and really taught me a lot. I hope to be able to continue to apply all those things that I have learned from each of my respective companions here in the mission. We proceeded to play paintball with almost the whole zone after that and it was a ton of fun! We had some members there as well which was really nice. A lot of people came out with some bruises and welts, but I didn’t seem to get any for some odd reason. It was good though!

For half the week I was on scambio with Anziano Cox because Anziano Clasby also went home. We had a great time together and were able to have a really cool lesson with two of our investigators who accepted baptismal dates that we will continue to help them towards and all that they need to do in preparation for that. I am thankful for the sweet spirit that we feel with them and all that we can truly learn together as we are all edified during those lessons. They are super special and the daughter of this member is working hard at reading the Book of Mormon and praying. It is super awesome! We also had a some great less active work done as well.

Transfer day was crazy and started off super well with all the departures and what not! Sorella Gleave and Sorella McKenzie were in opposite companionships here in Catania and headed off to Cosenza. I thought that was such a super cool transfer call! I was able to make dedicas for all the members with photos that we had taken together. I was super excited for them to go there. We had some crazy traffic all day here in Catania so that didn’t help with getting everyone where they needed to go! Driving here is insane. It is just an organized mess if that makes sense. It is a good life skill though! We were able to eventually get everyone to where they needed to all go and help out everyone with all the bags and what not! It was super fun at the end of the day and we accomplished a lot!

Other things that we did this week were the fact that we were able to translate for a member with President Jarvis of Sigonella, the American military base. It was super fun to help out with that. We also had to go and find some spray for the cockroach infestation that the sisters have at their house. We were able to plan a lot and do all that we could to get ready for everything that we need to do. We have zone conference this week and it will be really great as well as the mission conference next week in Rome on the 20th! We will be driving up there so that we can switch out the cars. It will be a beautiful drive and will take roughly 9 hours. We will be headed to stay at the Villa that night so it will be great!

I had a great study this morning and it connected super well with everything that I was touching on. It was revolved around the atonement and I really love this quote from Bruce R. McConkie:

All things center in, revolve around, are anchored to, and are built upon the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no language given to men or angels to proclaim these truths with the power and verity and dignity that should attend them. Let it be blazoned in burning  fire  through all the sidereal heavens that salvation is in Christ and comes because of his atoning sacrifice.

I think that is so true and such a powerful statement on the Atonement. It is impossible to even imagine fully all that he did for us. I am so thankful for that sacrifice and that I have an older brother that did that for each and every one of us. I am so thankful for the knowledge of from the Book of Mormon and modern day revelation through prophets and apostles that continually testify of the divinity of Christ and his mission. It is something amazing to think that we have that. Those special witnesses just like in days of old. I love you all and hope that you all have an amazing week!

Anziano Garrett

Filed Under: Assignments, Catania, Companions, Exchanges, Missionary Work, Transfers Tagged With: , , , , ,

Catania – Week 18

October 3, 2016 By 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

Second birthday in the mission

District birthday meal

District birthday meal

District birthday meal

District birthday meal

District birthday meal

District birthday meal

The district birthday meal

The district birthday meal

My birthday cake

My birthday cake

Celebrating with my birthday cake

Celebrating with my birthday cake

Celebrating with my birthday cake

Celebrating with my birthday cake

The birthday package

The birthday package

Second Taormina excursion

Second Taormina excursion

Second Taormina excursion

Second Taormina excursion

Second Taormina excursion

Second Taormina excursion

Anziano Nielsen with an awesome cannolo

Anziano Nielsen with an awesome cannolo

Great cannoli!

Great cannoli!

District cannoli feast

District cannoli feast

View from Mt. Etna

View from Mt. Etna

View from Mt. Etna

View from Mt. Etna

On Mt. Etna

On Mt. Etna

Catania District, September, 2016

Catania District, September, 2016

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

Catania – Week 17

September 26, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Ciao Tutti!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Feels like just yesterday I was in Rome on my birthday. Weird how another year passes by so fast! Sorry again I couldn’t get to every one last week! All of us Anziani were able to go and take a trip up to Etna with a member. It was a lot of fun and we had a really good time together. We got to hike a little bit and really enjoy all the scenery with him. It was really cool and we had a great day with our member. Had a nice and busy week again! We have been really staying busy throughout this whole week and we were able to see some really cool miracles.

We had a great week trying to see all the people that we have to see.

We were able to see a lot of new converts and less actives this past Tuesday and the lessons went super well. They were all really receptive to what we had planned for the and what we shared with them.

We have been doing our best to apply the counsel that was given to us at the President Kearon conference. For instance one of the families that we are working with we did our best to teach to their level and teach them and by doing so we can also at the same time catch the attention of the parents by doing so. It was really neat to see the receptiveness of the family as we taught them. It was also super neat to see them all make it out to church yesterday which was amazing.

We had a great District meeting this past week with an excellent addestramento by Anziano LaPray on love and charity which was super applicable to all of us to hear and learn from. I really enjoyed being able to talk about how that is the essence of the gospel. I am so thankful for the love that the Savior gives us and how we need to emulate that love to others. I love how it works as we serve others and pray continually for that charity we can be filled with the pure love of Christ that we can then offer to others. I am thankful that love is what can help fuel our desire to continue to do all that is right for our love for God. Something I really enjoyed learning was from this verse in the gospel of Matthew when Jesus Christ is asked which of all the commandments is the greatest.

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Here we may only think that two people are the ones we are showing love for, God and our neighbor, but Anziano LaPray underlined the fact that it states as thyself, meaning that we need to love ourselves. Of course not in a prideful or evil what, but in a way that really helps us remember that we are loved by others. This is really good for our own self esteem and was something that I really enjoyed.

That evening we were able to get over and visit a member at his house after a lesson outside of Catania and we had a good family home evening with them and they invited over some of their friends that the sisters used to meet with. It was cool to get an update on how they are doing and being able to share a little spiritual thought with them. It was a really cool spiritual evening with them all.

Thursday we went and did a scambio with Anziano Whitaker and Anziano Jackson in Reggio Calabria so we went to Messina and then crossed the straight to go and spend half of Thursday and Friday with them. The scambio went really well and we were able to see some really cool miracles from it. It was a lot of fun and a good time to get to know them better and work with them in their area. It was nice to get a little bit of finding in with them. We had a cool experience Friday morning where their investigator didn’t show up, and we finished up the scambio with some finding. The last couple that we ended up talking to were these moms on a bench in the park. It was super cool to see the progression of the conversation as we shared the restoration with them and then gave them a Book of Mormon and offered them to read it. After the Presdient Kearon conference I have been really trying to work on smiling  and being excited about leaving invites and it is really interesting to see how that is working. I think that when we know that the gospel has worked so much in our lives we need to be excited about all that we are doing and what we are inviting them to do. They were eager to read the Book of Mormon and also learn more. We got a return appointment and it was a really sick miracle.

That evening upon our return to Catania we had two lessons. We ended up sharing the same talk at both lessons. They really fit for each of them. We were able to explain to them a little of what General Conference is and why it is important and then share the last message that President Monson shared with the world. It was cool to see how this message applied to both groups personally. A lot as well with keeping commitments to read the Book of Mormon, pray, and come to church. I really enjoyed watching it with them. With the part member family that we are visiting the daughter was able to make a connection on how the message that he shared with the everyone ran in correlation with the chapter that she was reading in 1 Nephi 17. It was super cool to see her applying the things that she is learning and not just reading for curiosity, seeing how it works and can apply in our lives personally. I am so thankful for the converting power of the Book of Mormon and then help that it offers each and every one of us.

We were also able to visit some others over the weekend and we were able to see a baptismal service for one of the sisters’ investigators who is over 80 years old. It was wonderful to see him and how happy he was to be baptized and make this great covenant with the Lord. We are headed into our last week together for Anziano Nielsen and I. He will be headed up to Rome next Monday and head off home on Tuesday. It has been awesome to work with him and be able to learn all that I can from him. I am excited to see what we will be able to accomplish this week as well. It will be a lot of fun.

I am so ready for General Conference this week and being able to hear from the Prophet and all the other Apostles. It will be super special and I always get really pumped to hear the messages that they have prepared for us. I was studying a little bit about general conference in preparation for this weekend. I really love this quote from Elder Robert D. Hales.

These conferences are always under the direction of the Lord, guided by His Spirit. We are not assigned specific topics. Over weeks and months, often through sleepless nights, we wait upon the Lord. Through fasting, praying, studying, and pondering, we learn the message that He wants us to give.

Then a quote by Jeffery R. Holland

If we teach by the Spirit and you listen by the Spirit, some one of us will touch on your circumstance, sending a personal prophetic epistle just to you.

I know that if we prepare for General conference we will be able to listen to the messages and receive the answers we so seek to our questions and concerns. I invite you all to tune in to a session of general conference and search for the spiritual answers and comfort you are seeking or may just plainly enjoy. Here is the website with the information, times, and how to watch from the comfort of your home!

https://www.lds.org/church/events/october-2016-general-conference?cid=HP_FR_16-9-2016_dCN_fEVT_xLIDyL1-C_&lang=eng

I love you all and am thankful for the love and support you give us all! Love you guys and have a great week!

Vi voglio un sacco di bene!

Anziano Garrett

This picture is from Anziano Scott's blog (far left). This is my comp, Anziano Nielsen (center) and 6 of the 7 companions he has had on his mission. Taken at the Mission Conference in Palermo.

This picture is from Anziano Scott’s blog (far left). This is my comp, Anziano Nielsen (center) and 6 of the 7 companions he has had on his mission. Taken at the Mission Conference in Palermo.

Filed Under: Assignments, Catania, Companions, Missionary Work, Mt. Etna, Places, Sicily Tagged With: , , , , ,

Catania – Week 16

September 19, 2016 By Leave a Comment

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

Filed Under: Assignments, Catania, Conferences, Food, Italy, Missionary Work Tagged With: , , , ,

Catania – Week 15

September 12, 2016 By Leave a Comment

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

Filed Under: Assignments, Catania, Conferences, Exchanges, Missionary Work Tagged With: ,

Taormina

September 8, 2016 By 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

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Anziano LaPray in Taormina, Sicily

Anziano LaPray in Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

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

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

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily

Filed Under: Assignments, Catania, Places, Taormina Tagged With: , ,

Catania – Week 14

September 5, 2016 By 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

Preparing an American breakfast for a ward party in Catania

Catania at night

Catania at night

Catania at night

Catania at night

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

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

Eating gelato selfie with Anziano Nielsen

Eating gelato selfie with Anziano Nielsen

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

Catania – Week 13

August 29, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Ehi tutti!

I hope that everyone is doing well! Crazy to think that summer has wound down back home and is winding down here. August is a big month for everyone in Europe to go on vacation. It has been great being able to see miracles continually though! We were able to get over to work with the members a lot this week and it was really nice!  The members here are amazing and they are wonderful people. We are really excited to see all the work that we can start doing with them as well. They have strong testimonies and desire to share the gospel with those around them. We had some planning to do for our activity and it went really well! Friday we had the American breakfast with everyone that came. We had around 40 people which is less than we had planned and expected for unfortunately, but it ended up being great! We had some trouble with all the griddles and skillets we had and only one out of the three worked so it took a while to cook everything unfortunately, but everyone seemed to really enjoy it. I thought that the pancakes would definitely be the crowd favorite but it happened to be that the hash browns with cheddar cheese were the go to for everyone, but it was unfortunate that they took so long to make. It was a great activity and we topped it off with a little church tour to finish off the night.

That night at the activity we found out from the Edgels that they had a service opportunity for us in Acireale, a small city outside of Catania, with a group that was going from the military base, Sigonella. So the community in Acireale has this old park that they finally are restoring and there were these hot spring baths that will be available once it is done as well. So we spent the morning picking up a ton of branches and pine needle leaves to clean up the park. It was super weird being around so many Americans and to hear so much concentrated amounts of English from others. It was an awesome opportunity and it was well appreciated by the group. They then took us out for granita and we got a little lunch as well. We had the oppurntiy to meet some really cool people and were able to make some cool friends. I really hope that we will continue to find these opportunities to serve others like we had the opportunity to do Saturday.

We also had the great opportunity to search some more less actives and we were able to see little miracles with it. Last night we had one where we were checking at this house to see if the less active still lived there. Before we were able to ring in this lady asked who we were looking for. This was a lady of at least 80 years old and it just so happened that the member would have been around that same age. We told her the name that we were looking for and she said, “Woah that is me!” It was so funny and we came up and talked to her and I don’t think that she remembers too much at all but she showed us some pictures and then we left setting another appointment where we could bring someone with us. It was only a few minute conversation, but she was super cute and it was a funny conversation because things kept lining up. At first the first name on the list we had was wrong but then we said the second name and she said that was her. It was super awesome. On the way home we were cutting through a neighborhood and on the way up a hill at this intersection this guy stopped and asked in English if we were lost. We went up to him and he was a young guy in his mid 20s. He offered a ride and said that the neighborhood that we were in wasn’t the nicest part of town. It was super nice of him to pick us up I and unfortunately he wasn’t super interested in religion at all but he spoke English really well so we hope that he will make it out to English group. It was a super cool miracle to finish off the week.

I am enjoying being here in Catania with Anziano Nielsen and really learning all that I can from him. He is a great missionary and really helps me realize where I can get better in my reasoning and decision making. He is super practical and helps me really see how important a all the little things we do that makes the big difference in what we do here as missionaries. It has been great to pick up conversations like it was yesterday with Anziano LaPray. It is funny how we can do that but it keeps everything really fun here in Catania together.

Anziano Parkinson is a sick [missionary-speak for “awesome”] new missionary and he played soccer before the mission so we will talk about that and he is just trying to learn everything that he can from everyone. I am loving it down here and really looking forward to seeing what we all can do to really bring this work forward here! I know many of you heard about the earthquakes here in Italy and thankfully all the members and missionaries are safe, but we do know that there are many that were killed and injured and we really pray for them and their families. I hope that each of you has a wonderful week and that you all will have a great start to September! I love you all and hope that you are doing well!

Love,

Anziano Garrett

Filed Under: Assignments, Catania, Companions, Missionary Work Tagged With: , , , ,

Catania – Week 12

August 22, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Ciao tutti!!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful week! This week was really bust and we really enjoyed being able to do all that we needed to do. It was pretty hectic with everything that we had going on. Monday night we had transfer calls and I found out that I am staying here in Catania with Anziano Nielsen. We were super excited and I am happy to be working with him! We get along great and have a lot of similar interests and everything! We have been running every morning so that has been great these past two transfers. He ran cross country in high school so it has been great to be able to run and try to get back into shape. Anziano Berger got blown in training to Pozzouli and I was super excited when I heard the next day that Anziano LaPray would be training here in Catania! It was super awesome and we have been enjoying being in the same house! It will be odd because at the end of this transfer will hit a year mark when we first got together in Trapani as companions.

We had a really busy week! We had to take care of transfers and be sure that everyone got where they needed to go and were on time for all their travel arrangements. It was a lot of fun and this time around very easy to handle and take care of. We had Anziano Brandon who is Messina with us for a few days and then we had Anziano Dunn and Anziano Clasby as well. I went on scambio with Anziano Brandon and Anziano Clasby during those day periods and it was super cool to be able to learn from them and get to see how they work and talk about how much the mission has grown and how different it is from the time that we first stepped into the mission. It is changing and only for the better! It is really awesome.

We had some good lessons this week even though we weren’t able to fully focus on the work a couple of times! Something that was really special and awesome was the fact that we were able to go over to the less active that I talked about a couple weeks back that is from Mexico, but she hadn’t been able to find the church. Her husband and daughter are not members of the church and it was super special to be able to go to their house and meet with them. They are awesome! The spirit was really strong and abundant during the lesson and they all listened so closely with so much intent. It was super cool! They showed us around their house and farm since they have mandorla (almond) trees and olive trees. They are super open also to have our help when they need to pick the almonds and the olives later in the season! That will be a lot of fun to be able to help them out with that! The sister has really been doing her homework too! In the past month and a half or so she has read the Book of Mormon, The Pearl of Great Price, and is now reading the manuals of the modern day prophets! So cool how she wants to be as fully active as possible and wants to even get her patriarchal blessing and prepare for the temple!

She even this morning was telling me how she was telling her aunt that the thing that is missing in her life is God and that He can help to solve our problems! They are so special! She even made us homemade Mexican food the other day and we had bean tacos and potato tacos!  They were so good and she spoiled us for sure!

We have been really seeing the greatest improvements with our relationship with the ward and it has been so awesome! We have been improving all the relationships that we can and it is really helping with us being able to work with them! We are excited to see what the next 7 weeks will have for us and how much good we will be able to do.

We have a ward activity going on this Friday and we are doing an American breakfast for dinner! It is going to be super awesome and we are really excited to see what kind of turn out we will have. We have some good and simple activities planned and we really are pumped to see our members bring and invite their friends as well! Should be really sick. We have had a great time together thus far and are really looking forward to the business that we will have together.

I was studying in Helaman this past week and a verse really popped out to me.

Helaman 7:

17 O repent ye, repent ye! Why will ye die? Turn ye, turn ye unto the Lord your God. Why has he forsaken you?

I thought this was such a powerful and interesting work. We read in the bible dictionary that

“…repentance comes to mean a turning of the heart and will to God”

That is so cool to me that Nephi the prophet at this time is inviting them to turn unto God. I think that is so very interesting and really special because that is the only way to true and everlasting change.

It is only through the Savior that it is possibile and I am thankful for the opportunity to change and turn unto him for the help to change. He can shape and mold us into who we need to be. I am thankful for that and know that the Atonement is real and it is something that we need to be applying consistently in our lives. I love my Savior and Redeemer and am thankful for all that He went through for each and everyone of us on a personal scale.

Thank you guys for all that you guys are doing and all the love and support that you guys have been giving me in every moment of my mission! I love you and miss you all!

Love,

Taylor

Filed Under: Assignments, Catania, Exchanges, Missionary Work, Transfers Tagged With: ,

Catania – Week 11

August 15, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Ciao tutti!!

I hope that you all had a great week and that you are all doing really well! So today was deep cleaning and that is why this email will be getting to you guys a little late. Today is a big national holiday here in Italy where there is nobody out and a good time to do some summer cleaning! The house looks really good now and feels nice to have been able to have the time to work on a few things we needed.

This week passed by really quickly and was really good! We weren’t able to see everyone that we wanted to see nor as frequently as we had hoped to see them. We did get to see one of our investigators that went really well. We had originally invited him to a dinner with some members, but then he had to cancel on us and we saw him the next night. He is doing well and he kept his commitment to read the introduction to the Book of Mormon and the testimonies like we had asked him too. He is really awesome and it is so amazing to see his real intent and desire to grow his spirituality. I really hope that he will continue to push himself and that he will search really hard for all that is in front of him. I am excited to see where he will go.

We were able to visit with some members this week and we are continuing to do our best to align our efforts with theirs and work hard together. We are trying really hard to work on getting over to their houses more to continue to encourage them in all ways to share the gospel with everyone that they know. It is something that I have been definitely trying hard to learn and do the best way. It is really amazing to see the growth in the relationship that we have seen grown with everyone here in Catania. I really love the members here and they are definitely really special to me. I really hope that I will be able to stay here at least another transfer. Only two transfers would be really fast here in Catania.

I can’t believe how fast summer has gone by, but we have been enjoying all that the summer has to offer here in Sicily. I really hope to continue to push myself over these next months and grow and learn all that the Lord needs me to learn. I know that this is just a moment here in the mission field, but I really want to do all I can to apply the lessons that I have learned from the successes the failures and all that I have had the opportunity to experience here on the mission. I know that there is so much to do and give to the Lord. I am thankful for his guidance and his help that he is so willingly and so freely offers us. I loved this scripture that I came across this morning.

29 Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked–

30 And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out.

I really loved this because my mind was drawn to the fact of the Lord leading Lehi and his family through the wilderness and guiding them on the course they needed to be on to experience the things that they needed to experience and learn all they needed to learn through that.

I know that the scriptures will offer us the correct courses in life.

That doesn’t mean that it will be easy. Living the gospel isn’t always the easiest thing. Sometimes it is much harder and takes much more commitment than other paths in life. I know that it was probably pretty lonely also for Jesus Christ at times during his ministry. I love the words he offers of the reality of what he experienced during his mortal ministry.

Luke 9

58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

I know that isn’t always the easiest but I promise it is the path for each one of us and the path that we have to walk to matter the troubles and the difficulties. I know that he has given us the instruments necessary and the help that we all need in order to make it there on the right hand of God. I love you all and thank you for all your support and the love that you offer all us missionaries.

Love,

Anziano Garrett

[We received an email from Daniela B. in Boston, forwarding some pictures from her sister-in-law in Catania, taken on Sunday at church.  She also sent word that Taylor will be staying in Catania for this next transfer but switching companions to serve with Anziano Nielsen as one of the zone leaders there.  He’ll even get to stay in the same house!  Thanks to both Sister Battezzatos for the pics.  Very thoughtful of them and much appreciated.]

Anziano Albello and me with the Battezzato family at church on Sunday in Catania.

Anziano Albello and me with the Battezzato family at church on Sunday in Catania.

Filed Under: Assignments, Catania, Missionary Work, Transfers Tagged With: , ,
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