Ciao tutti!
Hope that everyone is doing well! This week was really awesome! We had a good week trying to get our work rolling and find those solid investigators that are willing to act on the message that we are bringing. I really hope that we will be able to do our best to really find those that are willing to choose for themselves to come unto Christ through the invites that God wants them to do.
One really cool miracle that I saw this week was when we were park finding. I was having a rough morning and the families hat really looked so sweet turned us down pretty fast when we went up to them, but it was cool to see that the lord puts us through trials for a reason and the last guy we stopped before going back in for lunch was willing to listen to us and was willing to act. He is a very intelligent man and is a sincere guy. He was really happy to meet us and I am so glad that we had he chance to get to know him. He will be coming back to town this Thursday and we will hopefully be able to see him at the end of the week. We really think that he will be keeping to our invites and be willing to search to find the truth. He said intellectually these things don’t sound crazy at all and could be true, but it has to be something done within his heart. Such a great guy though and it strengthens my testimony to know that God gives us little obstacles for our own good and to test us to see if we will continue to do the things he asks when it may be hard or tough.
Last week President and Sorella Pickerd arrived to the mission field and went to 4 different conferences around the mission in 4 days to introduce themselves to everyone. It was super fun to get to meet the, and feel the great love that they have for each one of us. We are all definitely looking forward to working with them and doing all we can to work hard here together in Italy.
So I failed to mention a few weeks ago when the Roman forum (missionary newsletter thing that comes out every transfer) came out that there was a new senior couple coming into the mission with the name Anziano and Sorella Garrett. I thought it was cool because Anziano Garrett really liked running but I didn’t really know if we would be related or not. I wasn’t sure where they were assigned to serve but I found out that it was in Palermo.
This was a combined conference of our zone with the Palermo zone, so they were able to come. After conference I asked if we could take a picture since I thought it was cool either way that we had the same last name. We had talked earlier but made no family connections at all. They then asked what my grandpas first name was. I responded it was Norman and they wondered if it was possibly the same one. Then I said that His sister and his moms name was Barbara and Betty. That sealed the deal and we made all the connections. So I found out that Anziano Craig Garrett is my grandpa’s first cousin! I thought that was so cool! Learned a little more about my family history and found out as well that my Great-Grandpa is still alive in Draper, Utah! That was super cool to me. It was very interesting to see how the lord truly works in so many marvelous ways.
I am thankful for God’s love and all that he does for us. I know that he lives and has given us a perfect and simple plan. Jesus Christ’s gospel is truly simple and the restored gospel is truly simple and special and there is the opportunity for each one of us to know for certain within our selves whether or not these things are true. He doesn’t want us to have to guess or wonder or have doubts. I know that his gospel is true simply through putting Moroni’s promise to the test and reading the Book of Mormon and asking god if it is true or not. I am thankful that I can continue to always do that as well. I am grateful today to remember the fact that we have a special opportunity to live in a country with religious freedom and believe in the things that we want. I know that God prepared the stage for Jospeh Smith to restore the gospel through many different things such as the Reformation, more specifically the translation of the bible into English, the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, the Revolutionary War, the writing of the constitution and much more. He divinely prepared the stage for Him to be able to call Joseph Smith as a prophet of God. This talk is really wonderful and I would invite you all to read it!
I am thankful for my country and the opportunity I have to live and grow up in America. I know that is truly a blessing to grow up in a place where we have so much liberty and freedom. I am thankful for all the sacrifices that our founding fathers and ancestors have made to make this possible for today. I am thankful for those like Moroni who defend our liberty and freedom, who protect us all. I am thankful for that truly! Love you all and Happy Fourth of July!!!🇺🇸 Have a great day and week!
Anziano Garrett
[Norm’s note: My step-father, Jay Garrett’s younger brother was Eugene B. Garrett, who passed away a few years ago. He and his wife, Norene, had several children, of which Craig was the oldest boy, which would make him my step-1st-cousin. Gene and Norene were always stalwarts in the church, serving in many capacities, including serving a mission in the Washington D.C. area. On their way home from that mission, they stopped by and visited us when we lived over on 11th street in Charleston. It must have been in the early 90’s, before Taylor was born. It was a great visit with Anziano Craig Garrett’s parents and the last time we were able to see Gene before he passed away. Craig comes from great stock! It’s great to have two Garretts in the same mission. These pictures were posted by Sister Waddoups shortly before her return home. I think Craig is a spitting image of his dad.]
Anziano Craig Garrett and Sorella Garrett.
Anziano Craig Garrett and Sorella Garrett
Eugene B. Garrett
Pres. and Sister Pickerd, our new mission president and his wife
Combined conference, Palermo and Catania zones, July, 2016.
Catania missionaries, June, 2016
Catania missionaries, June, 2016
[Here are some pictures from Cosenza that Taylor didn’t have a chance to upload until he got to Catania. Apparently, the Internet connection in Cosenza wasn’t good enough for mass picture uploads]
Teaching a lesson in Cosenza
Street in Cosenza
Cosenza
Cosenza missionaries, April, 2016. Anziano Nessen, Sorella Pinnegar, Sorella Carver, and me
Walking the streets of Cosenza
Walking the streets of Cosenza
The famous Cosenza pet rabbit
Ready to work in Cosenza
Good pasta
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