Ciao tutti!
I hope that everyone had a great week and that you are ready for Christmas this coming weekend! With the weather down here it still doesn’t feel like that Christmas season back home sometimes, but they got the lights going, the music, and all the festive decorations out.
We are excited how everything is going his Christmas season and we have been able to do a lot of great things with the Christmas initiate as well as trying some other new Christmas themed finding activities we thought of. We had a lot of things go on this week that we were able to do!
Tuesday after DDM we started a scambio with Caltanisetta which went really well! I was able to go with Anziano Lancaster back to Sciacca and we were able to have a nice full afternoon together even though some of our plans fell through unfortunately. We adjusted well and had back plans ready so we started working on this right away and we were able to see some nice success with some English group publicity as well as trying to share the video with some people in stores and on the streets. I was able to learn some great lessons on the scambio from Anziano Lancaster and it was great to be able to get to know him better because I have known him for a while but have never been able to spend an extended period of time with him. It went super well and the work in Caltanisetta seemed to be going really well too!
We were able to go back to do the switch in Agrigento and Anziano Campbell and headed back to Sciacca. We had a great lesson with our investigator that was sick/had back pain earlier in the week. He was doing better and we had a super great lesson with him. He is really doing well and we are doing what we can to help him keep his commitments. He has been reading more in the Book of Mormon and we are hoping to see some big steps made this week with the lessons that we will be teaching. In the middle of the lesson when we’re talking about the gospel of Jesus Christ he made some comments on having many different friends from different religions and expounding upon the fact that whatever be true it’s good he is here with us. We explained that he can know for himself with surety that these things are true.
He just has to continue to search it out. As the lesson went on he stated the fact that he really loves the way that we think and believe in what we do, and that he sincerely hopes that he is able to really come that point to know it is true.
We had some other eventful things happen like walking in a thunderstorm without umbrellas so Anziano Campbell fashioned a trash hat panoche and then I put one around my bag. We were soaked by the end of it searching for some less active houses that we hadn’t been to yet. It all ended well! We had a really great branch Christmas party that went really well! There were more non-members than members so that was really great! It was just a simple party where we did what Italians love to do most on the holidays! Eat! It was really great and there was some great food and we had great opportunities interacting with everyone there. It was cool to see that everyone enjoyed it and our branch president gave a really powerful spiritual thought that was super well done. We saw a cool miracle from that where one lady from the party that lives in the same apartment complex, because the whole first floor of the apartment is our church, came to church for all two and a half hours! It was really cool and the lessons were given in a great manner as well as the talks being well done. We had a good time for sure and left that table like 5 pounds heavier at least.
It was a great week and we finished off our Sunday night with some house finding where we wrapped a Book of Mormon with a painting from a Liahona. We were telling people that we had a gift for them so we could gift them something that means so much to us. We had someone get mad at us and the very next door the lady opened up and she was really touched that we were offering this gift. It was super cool even though we weren’t able to get in or get a return appointment we really pray that they will read the book. The husband was very touched by it and he said that he would definitely read the book. I really hope that they read it and will feel the converting power that comes from the Book of Mormon.
I am thankful for this week to be able to celebrate another Christmas here in Italy. This is a great time as we should do always to reflect on the gift of our Savior Jesus Christ that our Heavenly Father out of pure divine love gave to us. I am very thankful that we have an older brother that voluntarily came into this world to atone for all of us.
One who was without sin or imperfections. He who gave all that he had to sacrifice Himself for each and everyone of us individually and personally. I am thankful for the time that we have to always be drawing closer and knowing Christ more personally each and everyday! I love this scripture from Isaiah 9.
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of iPeace.
He truly was all this and more and I love how each name shows and describes a different characteristic that he had that made him so perfect and unique. I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas this Sunday and are able to enjoy a wonderful time at church Sunday and then some great time with family and friends! I love you all and am thankful for all the support and help that you guys offer me!
Buon Natale e tanti auguri!!!!
Anziano Garrett
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