Hey everybody!
I just hit my two week mark today and its really crazy because it doesn’t feel like it has been that long at all! Time is super weird here. It feels like forever, but all the days kind of blend together all the same.
This has been another nice and fun week. I have been able to keep up on my running and the food here hasn’t started to really bother me as there is a lot of variety so you can pick from an assortment of different things.
I forgot my journal in the room so I am going to have to go off memory on all that happened this week that is noteworthy to talk about.
The Italian has been coming along nicely. It’s frustrating at times when you want to express something during a lesson but can’t for the life of you think of one word that is essential. But the spirit helps you explain it in another way, which is awesome. At times during the lessons I can see that I don’t remember, or even think I don’t know a certain word, and it will come to me in a different way or I will get a whole different way to explain things. I have been working hard at trying to use Italian every day when not in the classroom and its hard sometimes but we try to use all the Italian we know then throw in English along with it.
During a class this week we were supposed to have the strong baptismal invitation memorized and I had it down, but some of the others didn’t have it all the way down. Our teacher, Fratello Gessell, kind of took this as a time to explain the importance of why we need to try our hardest to do what they ask us. They know that we will be using a lot of this a ton and they want to make sure that we have it all the way down. He explained it in a way where he asked us, “How do you feel when the investigators don’t follow up on their commitments?” He replied with a quote from Elder Holland, “we should be devastated.” It hit me where we should be strong and do and work at the things we ask us to do, much like Nephi in Nephi 3:7:
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
The Lord gives or asks of us nothing unless he knows that he can give us a way to accomplish it in some way. They aren’t giving us anything that they know we can’t do. They are trying to push us to the point where we will grow and develop and ultimately change. It reminds a lot of the first day that we were here during orientation. They said, “There isn’t much growth in a comfort zone. And there isn’t much comfort in a growth zone.” We should all be developing in some way and when we mess up we should never fall back down further than where we developed the last time. We are all going to mess up in some ways but its having that strength and power to change and do what is right to be able to bounce back from our shortcomings.
There are so many analogies in this gospel to running. When you are training and you know that you are putting in your best effort and giving it all you got, you will see results. You have to tell yourself, just a little farther, just a little more, not too much longer to go. There are times all of us want to throw in the towel, but we need to keep going and know that the blessings that are in store are of great worth even sometimes more than we can imagine. This is a gospel of change and we should constantly be changing and asking ourselves, “Can I do a little better today than I did yesterday?” We will struggle and suffer a little bit but that’s what it takes to change through the help of Jesus Christ and his infinite Atonement.
Our lessons have been going well and we are facing new challenges when teaching. We taught a first lesson to a to someone that is playing a 75 year old Italian lady. We tried getting to know her the first lesson a little better and tell about how our message is centered around Jesus Christ and how that can help her in her life. It was interesting because my conversation skills are very limited. She said that she loves to eat and listed off things like, pasta, fish, and horse. I said I like to eat too and she then asked us what we liked to eat and I agreed to much of the same thing then she asked if I like horse. I told her I had never had it and then she went on to say something about the horse. Sometimes, when I don’t fully understand something I will just nod my head and say “si.” So I did and I don’t have a clue what I agreed to because then she started smiling and saying stuff like she was going to cook for us. I need to stop doing that so much hahaha.
We had two really good devotionals this week and the first was given by Brother Radenbough (I think that’s how you spell it). He grew up in Urbana and he is a Branch President here at the MTC. He talked about conversion and how we have to help people stay converted to the lord and help them truly change their lives and stick to that change. He told the story of his father with the help of his wife a little. He flew B-17 bombers in WWII and he saw, many times, God’s hand in his life. His departure to Hawaii was delayed by a week and that happened to be the week leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Then he was in Australia and took off right as the remaining Japanese went to attack there. He consistently survived skirmishes and saw the Lord helping him in his life. It reminded me a lot of Louis Zamperini. The Lord may have work for us to do in this life and He helps and aids us so that we may be able to have the opportunity do it. His dad married his mom and she was a member of the Church but he wasn’t. He investigated the Church for over 40 years, 48 if I am not mistaken. Late into his life he asked Brother Radenbough if he could baptize him as he was, but Brother Radenbough said “No dad, you would have to live the word of wisdom.” From that point he really started to work at it and he would call every week and tell how Brother R. how he was progressing. He reached the point that he could be baptized and they did it as a surprise for their family reunion. This was such a good talk and it showed that conversion doesn’t always happen the same for everyone.
There was girl from Korea that came here and has only been here for a little over 10 weeks. She signed up for the TRC [I think this is the Teaching Resource Center in the MTC, which is staffed by volunteer native speakers who role-play for the missionaries learning a language] in the MTC and took lessons from training missionaries. Most people are members [of the Church] in TRC so the people teaching her found outs she wasn’t a member a couple days after the first lesson with her. She learned and grew through the spirit and she was baptized a couple weeks ago. She had to learn a lot and when she was taking lessons from actual missionaries and she speaks little to no English at all. They set up a baptismal date for six weeks out. In English she said “Are you crazy!” It was pretty awesome.
We had a talk last night from Brother and Sister Clarke of the First Quorum of the Seventy. He gave 10 key points to being a successful missionary but also having a successful life in general. I can’t go into detail of that one due to time though.
I am growing closer to my district. They are all pretty goofy and funny and I love getting to know them a little better. I am growing closer to them.
I was reading and studying in 2 Nephi 4 and i like the verses from 15-16 and then also 27-35. They are awesome verses and it is when Nephi put all his trust in the lord to the end of his days. He says “yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation. We need to trust in the Lord and give it all we’ve got and He will help us make up our shortcomings and help us strengthen our weakness and truly answer our prayers when we pray with exceeding faith unto him. Faith like Enos had whereby, because of his faith, the Lord would answer his prayers because of his exceeding faith (Enos 12:12).
I love this work and it’s not easy, but I know that I am going to Italy for a reason. Keep praying, keep reading your scriptures, and keep doing all you can do to be converted through the help of Christ’s atonement.
Ce Vediamo!!
Anziano Garrett
The funny cereal names at the MTC
Eating Girl Scout cookies
This is my whole district Anziano Suowan, Anziano Grant Just, me, and Anziano Bickmore
Care package contents from certain cousins
scegliere il giusto (choose the right)
The Italy zone. Eleven are going to the Italy Milano Mission, and nine to the Italy Rome Mission.
Our district
Speak Your Mind