Ehi tutti!
I hope that everyone had an awesome week and that you were able to find the time to do everything that you had to do.
This week went really well for Anziano Spencer and I and we were able to see a lot of cool things happen in our work. We really hope that we will continue to see awesome things as well.
This past Monday we had another good lesson with that family and we were able to watch the restoration video together and it went really well. We really think they understood at least the major differences between our church and theirs and we hope that they will continue to search out this for themselves. We really love them a lot and they are super awesome and we really just want to help them as much as we can, but it is up to them to act and keep the commitments that we leave to find out for themselves whether or not it is true. We had a good lesson after that with another family and it went well. It was kind of a crazy dinner with a lot of random things happening hahaha. It was short because we got done eating dinner so late, but they invited us to come over again Thursday night so we will see how it goes.
Tuesday after our DDM we started our scambio and Anziano Trejo and I were able to ride back to Trapani with the Wurdles who are a senior couple in Mistretta right now. They are super nice and they had to come down to do another apartment check so that went well and we were able to enjoy getting to know them better and chat with them the whole way down. They are super awesome. Anziano Trejo and I had a good night of finding, English course, and then we went over to visit a member’s home. It all went really well and I always enjoy learning everything that I can from all the other missionaries, since there are so many things that we can learn from everyone. Which is why I like so much that we have different people speak in church each and every week and never the same people each week. We can all just learn from everyone.
Wednesday we got two bidones and then we went to visit this member house for lunch but things got swapped around so they gave us food as they watched us eat because we had to get back to Palermo. She wasn’t going to allow us to leave without eating something so we sat their and ate a quick lunch before heading back up to Palermo to swap back.
The scambio went really well and I can just see how much Anziano Trejo cares about the members and the people he works with. He is also really good at being super bold with everyone he meets which is a super good quality that he has, that really helps him in so many different aspects of the work. I was really kind of having a rough day that day as well and we were on the bus home and I just was kind of down. I was really hoping as the bus filled up that I would get someone to sit next to me and on the last stop the last guy to get on sat down next to me. It was super awesome and was able to have a really good conversation with him that really helped me a lot. It went really well. It is just unfortunate that he lives on one of the islands off the coast of Tràpani so seeing him is near impossible. Well I really wanted to get him a Book of Mormon so we exchanged numbers and said that we could possibly meet the next morning down near centro where he would be staying before going on a boat to his home. We finished off the night trying to find some less actives and trying to visit all of them if we can.
So we started off for centro doing more less active finding which went pretty well and we were able to find out that a lot of them didn’t live at the places the list said they did. Centro is like a jungle and the roads here in Italy are really weird because it can be one long road with three different streets on it. Makes finding things really hard sometimes haha. We were traversing the streets on the hunt for our next less actives house and we didn’t have any success in contacting the guy I talked to on the bus the day prior. All of a sudden I heard, “Taylor!” Takes me a little bit to respond to my first name now, but it was the guy from the bus!! It was really cool to just see how that all worked out and how we were able to meet him and he really appreciated receiving the Book of Mormon. It was a really cool experience. We were able to have a lesson with another English course student who loves running which is cool. It went well and we have another one planned with him this week. That night we had English Course and it went well as usual and we were having a good old time with all the super awesome people there. We are going through the Plan of Salvation lesson as our spiritual thought and today was the creation. Well, arguing commenced as they were talking about respecting the environment and all the animals that live in the world because we have the opportunity to live here as well. Well, we cut that up and shared our scriptures which says.
2 Nephi 11
7 For if there be no Christ there be no God; and if there be no God we are not, for there could have been no creation. But there is a God, and he is Christ, and he cometh in the fulness of his own time.
1 Nephi 17
36 Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it.
Then I was bearing testimony on the things that we read and the fact that this world was created for us and how we, children of God, are the greatest creations that he has made. We can really see that art in all of God’s creations. Then I finished what I needed to say and all of sudden they started clapping and cheering. It was really shocking and took me by surprise hahaha. It was pretty different hahaha. Then we had a student that said that she had written out a prayer that she wanted one of us to read and the handwriting was really hard so her boyfriend read it and it was really touching. She said so many nice and wonderful things in the prayer, and it was really special to see all the students agreed with it. They were talking and adding their comments during the actual prayer, but that is ok. We just hope that the lady that said she could bring a written one next time too doesn’t do it. We need to teach them to pray haha. We toyed around with the idea of laser lights and fog machines the next time and maybe we will get a standing ovation. No I am just kidding haha. It was a special night for us though because they really mean a lot to us.
Friday we had a lot of planning and then ended the night with our family home evening in the church that didn’t get a good turn out but the thought went really well. It was a lot fun and we were able to improve our relationship with those that could make it out. It was really nice.
Saturday we had another lesson with a different English course student that unfortunately can’t come any more right now because he is taking a German course. We met with him last Saturday and he has already finished 1 Nephi, which we were pumped about because he is remembering it and it is so very awesome!! We look forward to continue helping him out. Later that night we had an awesome dinner and spiritual thought with our other investigators that went really well. The spirit was really there and we were able to set a return appointment for this week.
Sunday went really well and we had a nice time in church and we are excited because a younger couple has moved into the ward and they are both returned missionaries so that will help the branch out a ton. They will hopefully get them all excited about missionary work. We are pumped about it. Finished off the night with a lot of less active finding with no success in getting to them yet. We will keep on going though.
One thing that I really enjoyed from my study this morning in fact was reading in King Benjamin’s address in Mosiah 3 and how he had knowledge on the Plan of Salvation. I had never caught this before until this morning in verse 11, 16, and 18.
11 For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned.
16 And even if it were possible that little children could sin they could not be saved;
18 For behold he judgeth, and his judgment is just; and the infant perisheth not that dieth in his infancy;
I really enjoyed seeing this and knowing that the Plan of Salvation is so true and I am so thankful for the infinite and eternal sacrifice, the Atonement, that Christ completed for each and everyone of us. It is through him that everyone will be given the chance to accept him as his Savior and have the saving ordinances done on this earth in order for them to receive salvation. The Plan of Salvation is truly made by Him who knoweth all things and that is just and merciful. I am so thankful for the latter day revelation that we have to know that it is in fact possible to live with our families forever. I am so thankful for that knowledge and that we can find so much more thanks to the Book of Mormon and a living prophet today.
Thanks for bearing with me if you made it down this far. Thanks for all your support and help through emails and especially through all the prayers you offer. I love you all and miss you guys! Hear from you all soon!
Love,
Anziano Garrett
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