Thoughts and Reflections from the Mission Field
[This is a photo of all of the incoming missionaries this transfer, so Taylor will have one of these Elders as his new companion. We’ll update more later.]
MTC group that arrived in Rome on Tuesday, November 17th. I’ll be training one of them. Can’t wait to find out who it is.
Ciao Tutti!
I hope that everyone had a great week and that you are all enjoying life! Don’t know what the weather is like back home but it feels like the fall here. It is really nice during the daytime and is a good temperature. It cools off at night enough to throw a sweater on. People here though have been wearing pants, coats, scarves and what not for months it seems like though. So it definitely feels like the fall! We had a great week this week and we were super busy once again!
This week we had two awesome lessons with our part member family again and we are doing our best to help them out in any way that we can. It’s amazing to see their progress and all that they have learned and are putting into practice. We really feel the spirit strongly when we are all together and we know that they are really making a lot of progress spiritually. They have been keeping their commitments and we are just really trying to find a way for them to arrive in church.
That is the big struggle right now for all of us to try and figure out. We hope that we will find a solution and we are positive that Heavenly Father will bless them as they continue to do all they can to obey His commandments and continue to grow their testimony. I feel very privileged to have been able to know them and be able to work with them. They have such a big faith and are really doing what they can to change their lives through the gospel and working hard at it.
We had the opportunity to do two scambi this week that both went really well. For one of them we were here in Catania again and I was able to go and work with Anziano Parkinson in his work which went really well. We had a great time and were super busy the whole day with lessons and some other errands that were necessary to do. We had a great time teaching together and I felt like we did a great job clicking in the short time we were together. It was super fun and we had some really cool lessons. Anziano Parkinson is awesome though! He has a great fire about him and is willing to work super hard. He has been fun to be around in the house and he is a great kid. We are always messing around with each other like brothers so we always have a very supportive and fun atmosphere.
Traveling to Siracusa was nice this past Saturday to get down there for a scambio with the Anziani. It was a great time and they did a great job planning it out so we had some great lessons all together.
It is so cool how many youth they are meeting with and are helping down there. It is awesome to see these youth accept the gospel and commit themselves to such change. We have been able to feel a great spirit with them and we are all really hopping they will continue to move forward with all that they are learning and putting into practice. I love how excited and happy Anziano Andersen is and how he is always sharing the great miracles that they are seeing down there.
We had a cool P-day today and what we thought was a service project. We went to go and help pick apples off trees up on the mountain so it was really great to be able to go up with the these members. We felt bad thinking that it was a service project that we were headed to. We were able to get some Catania Jerseys that are throw back from the late 50s early 60s which is super awesome. It has been a great day and we are looking forward to a nice family home evening tonight and hope that the lesson on eternal families goes well. We have been super busy this whole transfer and I can’t believe how fast it has gone past. I would love to stay here and keep working here in Catania so I am really nervous about the transfer calls tonight.
This past Sunday I was able to give another talk, but this one ended up being a little different than normal. We were invited by our wonderful senior couple, the Edgels, to come and join them for church in Sigonella on the military base and we each gave talks. It was super weird to be around so many Americans and hear English in such abundance. I was able to talk on the importance of faith and it was a really good learning experience to be able to write and give the talk.
Something that came into my head in a lesson this week while teaching on faith was to ask an inspired question where I learned something really neat. I asked this guy what the fruits of faith are. I was really intrigued by this and was able to reflect on all the blessings that come because of our faith. I was intrigued to see and study about all the things that come because of our faith. These are just a few:
Hope, Charity, Repentance, Knowledge, Miracles, Answers to prayers, Guidance, increase of faith, etc. I really enjoyed speaking on the subject and learning much on faith and how important it is in our lives. I had some quotes that I shared and I want to share this one with you all. This is a quote from Anziano Neil L. Andersen.
My dear friends, your faith did not begin at birth, and it will not end at death. Faith is a choice. Strengthen your faith, and live to be deserving of the Savior’s approving words: “Great is thy faith.” As you do, I promise you that your faith, through the grace of Jesus Christ, will one day allow you to stand with those you love, clean and pure in the presence of God, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
I know that we can all have the choice to act on and grow our faith now, see, and reap the blessings the Lord is so ready and willing to give us. I am thankful for the gift of faith that we can all obtain in this life and cultivate as we go through our mortal journey. Thanks for all the messages this week and I will talk to you all soon!
Anziano Garrett
Catania Zone Soccer, Nov. 2016
Enjoying some Sicilian pizza
Catania Ward Halloween Party, October, 2016
Catania Ward Halloween Party, October, 2016
Catania Ward Halloween Party, October, 2016
Catania Ward Halloween Party, October, 2016
Catania Ward Halloween Party, October, 2016
Catania Ward Halloween Party, October, 2016
Catania Ward Halloween Party, October, 2016
Catania Ward Halloween Party, October, 2016
Catania Ward Halloween Party, October, 2016
Catania Ward Halloween Party, October, 2016. Playing musical chairs.
Catania Ward Halloween Party, October, 2016. Playing musical chairs.
Catania Ward Halloween Party, October, 2016. Playing musical chairs.
Catania Ward Halloween Party, October, 2016. Playing musical chairs.
Ciao tutti!
I hope that everyone is doing well and you had a great week! This week flew by for us and we were super busy once again! We had some really special lessons with people this week and look forward to being able to teach some more lessons this week! One lesson that sticks out to me in particular was last Monday night we talked about recognizing answers from the Lord and seeing the Lord’s hand in all that we are doing. It was super cool and special to be able to discuss how we feel the spirit when the Lord is trying to speak to us. It is something that is very interesting since I feel personally it comes in different layers of levels. It is not always the same feeling. I am so very thankful though to practice the opportunity to feel the spirit more.
It definitely took some time for me to recognize how I felt it at times. I have learned so much in how he speaks to me and I realize that this will also be a life long feat to accomplish fully.
We learned a lot this week in the moments that we were able to have with all the other missionaries of the zone. We did a scambio in Messina Wednesday to Thursday and then in Reggio Calabria from Thursday to Friday. It was super fun and we were able to have a great time learning and doing missionary work with them. Some of the lessons that I learned that I loved was precisely on love towards others. I was able to observe the great love that Anziano Brandon has for everyone and that was something that I was super touched by in observing that with everyone that he interacts with especially his companion Anziano Moscon. It was something that shows his love for the Lord in the way that he treats others. I loved being able to work with Anziano Jackson in Reggio and seeing his intuitiveness and all the time he spends looking for small ways to improve and adjust so he can be the most effective missionary that he can be. We had a great week on the scambi and had to use some money to buy food while on the road, but we definitely ate well which was really nice hahaha. I love being able to spend time with the other missionaries and learn all that we can from one another, seeing and observing the different styles of work and how to things is great for all of us.
We had some other great lessons with some less actives at the end of the week that we are working with. It was super cool that we were able to see one of the less active families in church yesterday along with two of our investigators and one of their husbands who is a less active. It was super cool and a big miracle/blessing for us. I really enjoyed church this past Sunday and had the opportunity to bear my testimony there. I was super happy in being able to listen and feel the great spirit that we can always feel when people share their testimonies. I love how testimonies work and how they are so different, but yet so the same each time we bear it. I love that we can think of so many things that we want to share when in the process of bearing testimony. I love the fact that the spirit can just give us the words that we need to say each time whether for the benefit of others or ourselves. It is so special to be able to listen to and bear testimony. I know that as we bear testimony that is when we can gain a stronger testimony as well. I love this quote from President Boyd K. Packer.
“Oh, if I could teach you this one principle. A testimony is to be found in the bearing of it! Somewhere in your quest for spiritual knowledge, there is that ‘leap of faith,’ as the philosophers call it.
It is the moment when you have gone to the edge of the light and stepped into the darkness to discover that the way is lighted ahead for just a footstep or two. ‘The spirit of man,’ as the scripture says, indeed ‘is the candle of the Lord’ (Proverbs 20:27).
“It is one thing to receive a witness from what you have read or what another has said; and that is a necessary beginning. It is quite another to have the Spirit confirm to you in your bosom that what you have testified is true. Can you not see that it will be supplied as you share it? As you give that which you have, there is a replacement, with increase!”
I know that we can really come to find a great testimony as we bear witness of the things that we know and the things that the Holy Ghost has taught us and will yet teach us in those many moments. Our testimonies should be living and continuing to thrive with the nourishment that we give it by reading, praying, learning, having experiences, obeying gods commandments, etc., and simply also bearing that testimony and sharing it with others. I am grateful for my testimony and I hold it dear to my heart, and I hope to always make it thrive and grow consistently throughout my life. Hope you all have a great week and a wonderful time with everything that you have going on! Go Cubs!!
Love,
Anziano Garrett
Mission conference with Elder Russell M. Nelson, October, 2016, Rome, Italy
Ciao Tutti!!
We had a great week and it flew by once again with how busy we have been! We are loving it and it has been a lot of fun for sure! We had a family home evening last week at the part member’s family and we were able to bring our new convert to the lesson who is a ward missionary and we think a super nice fit to our investigator who is around the same age. It was a great lesson and we were able to teach about obedience, the 10 commandments and following the prophet. It was a really good lesson and I am so thankful for the fact that Jesus Christ leads and guides his church through a living prophet today and helps us along our journey through mortality. We are very blessed to live in such a time where we have aide along the way through this life.
We had a good time Tuesday where we had a lesson after English group where we picked up a new investigator. He is super nice and was really open to listen to us so we will see where that will go. Wednesday we were able to go on scambi with the other Anziani here in Catania and I had the opportunity to be able to go on a scambio with Anziano LaPray again. We had a good scambio for everything that happened on it. We essentially got 3 bidones and were able to prepare for the Halloween activity while waiting on the people that never arrived at the lessons. We were really hoping have all those lessons, but we had different plans put before us though. Ended up being really cool and we were able to see little small miracles in running into some people on the street and had some good finding at a piazza. It was great to work with Anziano LaPray again and be able to observe his work ethic and his missionary characteristics that are so unique to each one of us.
Thursday we were given the chance to go and do some service on the military branch of Sigonella near to Catania with all the missionaries. We cleaned the chapel and that was a great moment for us to be able to serve those around us. We met some great people there and had a great time rendering that service in cleaning up the chapel.
It was interesting to have some American pizza there for lunch and then some Taco Bell as well. It was super weird. I enjoyed being able to see all the different religious faiths there and see the unity that we can still have as Christians and event others of other faiths. I am thankful for the fact that we have religious freedom where we live and that our founding fathers saw such a need to establish a land where we can each practice our religious beliefs as we see fit.
Friday we had another lesson with our part member family and then headed to the church for the Halloween activity that we were throwing in church. It ended up being super awesome and it was the best turn out I have seen here at any activity thrown. We were a little worried that not many people would be there at the beginning, but we were able to see a lot of people come and we had some really great activities for everyone to participate it. We had about 100 people there and a good majority of them were non members, almost half of them. We had pumpkin carving, candy fishing, cookie decorating, the guess how many jar game (where some guy started eating out of the candy hahaha), and then that game where you stick your hand into a box to feel brains and eyeballs. We had a last box labeled worms where it was empty and when they stuck their hand in there it was grabbed by my hand since I was hiding under the table where no one could see me. It was super funny to hear people’s reactions hahaha. The activity was awesome though and we had a great time putting it all together. We had a great spiritual thought on the Atonement and we hope that all the people that came were able to feel a beautiful spirit with us.
We had a great Saturday and had a scambio in Ragusa that went super well. I had a great chance to be able to go with a new missionary named Anziano Wright who comes from Long Island, New York. He is a great missionary and I was able to learn a lot from him! He did a great job in leading off on the lessons and taking the lead in his city. It was a great opportunity for him to grow and be able see that he is capable of doing what he needs to do. He is super focused and really working towards that standard of excellence to have a baptism per transfer. He is great at getting to the chase with people and I love that. It was super great working with him and I look forward to seeing how much he will continue to grow.
We had a wacky Sunday where we had to take one of our sisters to the hospital because she wasn’t feeling well. She is ok though and we were able to figure out that it wasn’t anything to grave, but they also didn’t give a solid diagnosis at all though. We were with them for the morning though and had the opportunity to bless the sacrament later that night for us and all the sisters that weren’t able to partake of it. I was thankful for that opportunity to partake of it and bless the sacrament. I am thankful for the wonderful ordinance of the sacrament and all the blessing that we gain from partaking it and renewing our covenants with our Heavenly Father. It was very special to see how personal that the Atoement is and as well as the sacrament. I am thankful for the chance to change and be better through our Savior Jesus Christ. I love this quote from the apostle Elder Dale G. Renlund last general conference talking about repentance.
Instead of making excuses, let us choose repentance. Through repentance, we can come to ourselves, like the prodigal in the parable, and reflect on the eternal import of our actions. When we understand how our sins can affect our eternal happiness, we not only become truly penitent but we also strive to become better. When faced with temptation, we are more likely to ask ourselves, in the words of William Shakespeare:
What win I, if I gain the thing I seek?
A dream, a breath, a froth of fleeting joy.
Who buys a minute’s mirth to wail a week, Or sells eternity to get a toy?
The fact that we can repent is the good news of the gospel! Guilt can be “swept away.” We can be filled with joy, receive a remission of our sins, and have “peace of conscience.” We can be freed from feelings of despair and the bondage of sin. We can be filled with the marvelous light of God and be “pained no more.” Repentance is not only possible but also joyful because of our Savior. I still remember the feelings that washed over me in the branch president’s office after the firecracker episode. I knew I had been forgiven. My feelings of guilt vanished, my gloomy mood lifted, and my heart felt light.
Brothers and sisters, as we conclude this conference, I invite you to feel more joy in your life: joy in the knowledge that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real; joy in the Savior’s ability, willingness, and desire to forgive; and joy in choosing to repent. Let us follow the instruction to “with joy … draw water out of the wells of salvation.”
May we choose to repent, forsake our sins, and turn our hearts and wills around to follow our Savior. I testify of His living reality. I am a witness and repeated recipient of His incomparable compassion, mercy, and love. I pray that the redeeming blessings of His Atonement may be yours now–and again and again and again throughout your lives, as they have been in mine. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
I really love that part of the talk and the fact that it is truly joyful that we can repent and forsake our sins. Change is real and possible only through our savior Jesus Christ. I have felt that change and am thankful for the utmost divine love I have felt that my Heavenly Father and redeemer Jesus Christ have for me. They have the same for you as well. I love you all and am thankful for all your support and help while I am out here! Talk to you guys again next week!
Vi voglio bene!
Anziano Garrett
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 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
Napoli pizza – pizza doesn’t get any better than this
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
The birthday pinata
Hitting the Pinata
The birthday pinata
Working Catania
Anziano Parkinson
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
Ciao tutti!
This week went really well again and yet again I do not have too much time to email. This morning we had to give two rides to the airport to departing missionaries so that kind of ate out of our day some, but that is totally ok! I am just sorry because I know haven’t been able to get back to everyone!
Last P-day went really well and we were able to head over to Taormina as a district, which was a lot of fun and had a great time doing that. It was really cool to see the city again and climb the mountain to a different part of what we hadn’t seen yet. We had a great time and ate some really good cannoli and gelato together too. It all went really well! We then had a less active family home evening where we were able to discuss about the upcoming General Conference. It went really well and we were able to share a really spiritually inclined spiritual thought. We were excited about all the other things that we were able to do this week. It all went super well! We had a good time being able to do all that we had to do.
Wednesday I was able to have a great birthday and thanks to all those that wrote a birthday message! It went really well and we definitely stayed busy the whole day. We had district meeting in the morning and I brought these jelly beans that my family had sent me with 20 flavor of jelly beans, but the only catch is that half of them are gross flavors and half of them are good ones. They are identical in look so you have to really just guess and hope that you don’t choose a gross one. We put ten on a napkin and all ate them at the same time. It was a lot of fun watching everyone’s reaction. I was really lucky and got three good flavors instead of spoiled milk, dead fish, barf, or canned dog food. It was a lot of fun and then we were able to have a really uplifting and insightful addestramento from Anziano Nielsen which was really edifying. We were happy to hear from him and have a really great discussion speaking about all that we have learned in how to use our time wisely and really keep our purpose always at the front of our minds. It was really awesome. We then were able to all go out to eat together to a nice restaurant and ate some great seafood pastas, some steak or fish. It was super amazing to be able to do that with the district because you get really close to them as friends and fellow laborers in this work. We then had a less active family home evening with another member family that went super well again! We focused on teaching the children and talked about the importance of a living prophet on the earth and how that can be a guide for us. We are really blessed to have a man called of God to help us in this aspect of guidance and setting an example for us.
We are thankful as well that we had the opportunity this week to have a ward activity that went really well and everyone seemed to enjoy! The members here do an activity every 2 weeks and we were the ones in charge of the activity. We had a lip sync activity that went really well and everyone was really excited about it. We had people the whole activity asking for different songs they could lip sync to. It was super funny and we were able to see less actives, members, contacts, and investigators all there to join us and then they all had a meal afterwards. It was a lot of fun and such a great time to be able to spend with them all.
We made it over to the part member family this Saturday after helping a member move from the 4th floor to the 1st in the morning, which went really well too! I got my head slammed against the wall walking down the stairs with a dresser hahaha, but it really went well and we were pretty sore after that. The lesson though went so well with our investigator and we discussed the topic of real intent and how important it is that we live with real intent as well as read the Book of Mormon with the intention to act on the knowledge that will be revealed to us. We read a conversion story that is really touching on this subject and it went super well to see exactly where she is at and how we can help her. They were also so nice and made a cake for me as well as a piñata. It so sweet of them to do that. I am touched by their charity and this sisters stalwart faith.
We also received the news this week that we will be having a mission conference in Rome with President Russell M. Nelson, of the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Donald L. Hallstrom, of the Presidency of the Seventy, Bishop Gerald Causse, Presiding Bishop, and Elder Patrick Kearon, Europe Area President. We are definitely excited about that and look forward to hearing from them in a special conference. We really hope that we will also be able to prepare to the best of our abilities to be ready to receive anything that can help us improve.
We enjoyed General Conference this week and it was super edifying and powerful to watch. I love hearing from our church leaders in the inspired messages that they share with us to truly reach out in love and care. It is amazing to see how these talks are all meant for us and how we can truly learn from them all as we pay attention carefully to the messages they have prepared. I saw some really interesting themes of prayer, scripture study especially from the Book of Mormon, the plan of salvation, missionary work, the atonement, and as well as the joy the gospel brings. I am so thankful for these divine messages and the opportunity we will also have to study them afterwards as well. It will be very important to study them again and look to put into practice everything that we learned from the spirit. I am thankful that God has once again called prophets and apostles on the Earth to lead his church here. I am so thankful to know that the Savior leads and guides his church through them. That the keys, just like prophets of old, have been given to them to direct and guide this great work. I love them dearly and am thankful for their life dedication to the Lords great work and the help they give to help all of us. I know that they are truly called of God and that each of us can know that the truth in its fullness has been restored through this revelation that we have today once again. You guys can check out this site to watch the talks again and soon read them as well.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference?cid=HP_SU_2-10-2016_dPFD_fGC_xLIDyL1-C_&lang=eng
I love you all and am thankful for everything that you guys do for me. Love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Anziano Garrett
Second birthday in the mission
District birthday meal
District birthday meal
District birthday meal
The district birthday meal
My birthday cake
Celebrating with my birthday cake
Celebrating with my birthday cake
The birthday package
Second Taormina excursion
Second Taormina excursion
Second Taormina excursion
Anziano Nielsen with an awesome cannolo
Great cannoli!
District cannoli feast
View from Mt. Etna
View from Mt. Etna
On Mt. Etna
Catania District, September, 2016
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!
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.
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
