Ciao tutti!
So this week went really well and was a lot of fun. I hope that everyone else had a great weekend that you are all enjoying life. Summer is here, no doubt, and I hope that everyone will make the most of their time off school and enjoy the summer.
Last Monday on our p-day we didn’t really do much, but just kind of walked around and I saw some things that I hadn’t seen yet but it was fun all the same. We then had a lesson that night with a new convert family that was super fun. We shared a lesson on the importance of the Book of Mormon and they said that they would try to have us over for family home evening and get a referral for us. Super awesome! Their little girl is super cute and super funny, even though I don’t always know what she is saying, due to the lack of my vocabulary.
We had a lot of things and lessons planned out this week and it all just kind of went wack and fell through, unfortunately. So Tuesday we didn’t have any lessons, but we went and set up our iPads that day with the assistants. It was cool to get them and I am sure that they will help us a lot to be able to share messages with people and help us bring people unto Christ.
It’s something that has a lot of amazing opportunities to do a lot of good. I am excited to see what all we will be able to do with them and to find successful ways to teach, find, and study with them.
So Giacomo is awesome! We’ve had the chance to be able to teach him 4 times already and he has been prepared for us. He knows about things that we haven’t necessarily taught him yet and it is super cool. He is a really nice guy and has a strong desire to know how he can draw closer to God and he also wanted us to share our message with his wife. So after the 2nd lesson we talked to his wife and she was interested to listen and the next time she was there at the 4th lesson with Giacomo. We had a member with us and the member brought such a good testimony and I think that Giacomo’s wife was really interested and struck by it. We invited them to church but they weren’t totally sure if they were going to come. They made it though to most of sacrament on Sunday so we were super excited about that. We look forward to continue to meet with them. Oh, and I forgot to mention that Giacomo has a baptismal date!! Super awesome.
We had our zone conference this week and we talked about how we can continue to progress towards reaching our goals in this work as a way to push ourselves to reach out to as many of our brothers and sisters that we can. The iPads that we all got are great and wonderful tools to help us, but we can’t confuse them with the only way by which we can bring others unto Christ. This work is the same. We are just being offered this gift to help us in the work.
We didn’t get a chance to meet with other people this week or they happened to not show up to lessons or had to cancel, but we are working hard and doing what we can. Anziano Rasband is a really hard worker and we work well together in planning and trying our hardest to execute our plans. I am excited to see what we can accomplish this transfer as we continue to work hard and smart.
We are trying to improve our English course numbers right now and trying to get newer students to come so I hope as we work at that we will see more and more newer faces there every week.
I feel impressed to share about the Book of Mormon today in something that I have been studying lately. What has interested me lately are the last chapters in 2 Nephi regarding the prophecies of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon in the latter days and the restoration of the Gospel. I really like 2 Nephi 27 that is compared to Isaiah 29. I love the prophecies of the Book of Mormon and the fact that they have been fulfilled in these later days.
I love the verses Isaiah 29:4, 11-14.
4 And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.
11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:
12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
13 ¶Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
These verses just really interest me when put in correlation with the later chapters of 2 Nephi and then as well as what happened with Joseph Smith in the 1800s and how the prophecies have been fulfilled. It just is super interesting and I have been thinking about it a lot and that’s what has been in my studies this week as I have been reading the Book of Mormon. I know the Book of Mormon is true and I know that Joseph Smith really translated it through the power of God.
I know because when I read it I can feel feelings of peace and learn things that truly help me in my life. I love the Book of Mormon and am thankful that we have it on the earth today. I am thankful to have a living prophet on the earth today Thomas S. Monson that leads and guides the people on the earth today. He has truly been called of God.
God has not ceased to talk to us. This talk by Elder Jeffery R. Holland entitled “My Words…Never Cease” is really good and I would challenge you guys to read it.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/04/my-words-never-cease?lang=eng
Thank you to all who keep updated through my blog and I am glad that you guys enjoy to be updated as to what I am doing here. I love you all and hope that you guys have an awesome week. You guys can individually email me anytime and I will do my best to respond. I have an iPad so you can all send emails throughout the week and I will be able to read them, just not respond [until Monday]. Love you all and take care!
Love,
Anziano Garrett
Note: Taylor didn’t send any pictures this week. These photos are taken from Sorella Waddoups’ mission blog:
Rome East Zone, June 4, 2015
Singing at Rome East Zone Conference, June 4, 2015
Singing at Rome East zone conference, June 4, 2015
Singing at Rome East zone conference, June 4, 2015
Sorelle from Roma 1 at the Rome East zone conference, June 4, 2015
Rome East zone conference, June 4, 2015
Here are some older pictures, courtesy of Sorella Battezzato’s blog:
Rome 1 Scambi (from Sorella Battezzato’s blog)
Anziano Garrett and Sorella Battezzato (from Sorella Battezzato’s blog). Her mother helped Taylor learn Italian while he was in the MTC.
With Anziano Garrett. He didn’t know I was being a creep. (from Sorella Battezzato’s blog)
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