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Roma 1 – Week 22

September 14, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Ciao!

Buongiorno tutti! Speriamo che avete avuto buona settimana. I have a bit of writer’s block for this weeks email so bear with me.

We got to see our investigator that can meet a lot and he is doing so well! We saw him one day last week and he was reading the Book of Mormon which was super cool and we were excited. He was in 1 Nephi 2 and then we saw him two days later and he was in 1 Nephi 15! We were super excited for him. I really hope that he keeps reading and really comes to know that the Book of Mormon is true. We are super excited for him and we had such an amazing testimony brought by the member that came with us on the last lesson. He told a story that I think really helped our investigator understand what real intent is. If we read the Book of Mormon with the real intent of acting on the answer we receive. When Joseph Smith wanted to know what church was true he had the intent to act and join the church that Heavenly Father would give him in response to his prayer. With the real intent we can truly all come to know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God translated by the power and gift of him.

We had another lesson with another one of our investigators we didn’t have the chance to meet with for awhile and we are really seeking to establish a plan to get him to read every day and really help him to develop the wonderful habit of daily scripture study and then as well as easing him into church attendance.  He is doing well with it and the last lesson we had with him went really well!

We didn’t have a chance to see anyone else this past week. We had stake conference on Saturday but we had to go up to Terni so that Anziano Rasband could do a baptismal interview since both the zone leaders had taught her. We went up there and did that Saturday and came back down after helping them do a little finding up there. It is so wonderful to see the beautiful Italian countryside and Terni is such a cool city. It would probably be about the size of Champaign.  It is a little slower than Rome but still has foot traffic. It was a really good time to go up there. Getting to see Anziano Calvagna is always a good time too.

We had plans fall through here and there but we had a great week and we were able to see some new faces at English course which is really exciting. Three of the new students are super awesome and we had this one kid that we stopped for street finding the other day show up. We were sharing the “Grazie Lui” video with people on the street and he passed it up, but we gave him an English course pass along card and he was interested and he came! That was a super cool miracle we had last week!

We did some district singing finding on the metro the other day that went well! It was the first time we tried something like that and we want to try it again with some of the members. Should be fun to get to try it with them. [Read more…]

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Roma 1 – Week 20

August 31, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Ciao!

This week went really well and we are really excited about this transfer that we have in front of us. We really want to hit it really hard and really plan well and execute our plans so we are helping as many people as we can come unto Christ.

So Monday night we couldn’t get appointments set at all so we had some Book of Mormon finding planned. We were traveling to the area to start it and we walked by these people, and the language was just hard to catch, but at the end I could have sworn I caught some English and they just looked like they needed help and I felt like we should go ask them if we could help. We did, and we asked if we could do anything for them. They had British accents so that threw me off at first. The metro stop we were at has 4 exits and it is a pretty confusing metro stop and they explained they had lost their two friends and they couldn’t find the couple. We tried to help them look and we took them to the last entrance they hadn’t checked and they said if worse came to worse they knew to meet in the restaurant. We asked what they looked like and they described the lady as being very tall, pink shirt, and bright blonde hair. We immediately went searching for is lady while walking to our finding area. Not too far down the street we spotted them across the street and they were going to cross the street and this street is split up by two cross walks with a place in the middle. They walked across to us and I just went straight into saying, “You guys are looking for two friends right?” And she just says, “No thanks. We are all right,” and just kept on walking past. I was like no wait like for real you guys are looking for these two people (went into description) and they then had these confused looks on their face on how we knew all this. I think she kind of felt bad hahaha and I just said wasn’t trying to pull your guys’ leg. It was super funny, but then a few days later Anziano Rasband said that when thinking about what I said to start that conversation off was probably pretty weird since they may have thought we were talking about ourselves. Hahaha it was a super funny service opportunity.

Last Tuesday we had our scambio and I was able to stay in Rome 1 with Anziano Calvagna and we are always learning something new and we continue to try our best to learn and grow from each other.  It’s always great to see him and he is just fun to be around. His laugh is so contagious too hahaha. Once you get him rolling it is so funny. Our plans for the scambio didn’t go as we had originally wanted and they got a little swapped around, but we were able to see a less active that really loves Anziano Clavagna and vice versa as well. We had a good scambio though for sure! [Read more…]

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Roma 1 – Week 19

August 24, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Buongiorno tutti!

I hope that everyone had a nice week and that everyone is enjoying the rest of their summer as it winds down.

So this week I accidentally left my wallet in the house. I always carry it around in my bag because then I don’t have to worry about pickpockets. So I keep my abbonamento (metro/bus pass) in there. The day before we had walked to the store to get more water for the house and I forgot to put my wallet back into my bag. We leave the house and catch a bus the next day and about 5 or 6 stops down bus workers start to get on to check if people have there passes or a ticket. I then realized I had forgotten my wallet so I got written up for a nice little fine. So they said to go to this bus office and they will waive it. So we travel over there and the lady tells me I have to pay it at a post office. So I went from having a €1.50 fine to a nice €56 fine. Well then Sorella Cano explained that I have to go back there and show them the abbonamento and they will waive it. So we head back again the next day and then tell the lady that I have the abbonamento, and she says of great we can waive that but the office to do that is closed today so you will have to come back next week. So now we have to go and travel all the way back for a third time. Well I definitely learned not to forget my wallet anymore. So we will head back there Tuesday and then start a scambio after with Anziano Calvagna and Anziano Palazzo. I will stay here with Anziano Calvagna and Anziano Rasband and Anziano Palazzo will head up to Terni. [Read more…]

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Roma 1 – Week 15

July 27, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Ciao Tutti!

This past week has been super exciting and it has been a really awesome week. We had a chance to see a lot of new people is week and we had another chance to meet with our new investigator from last week. We played zone soccer last week but I didn’t get any pictures from it. It was so hot though. It was really hot and I never thought I would miss swimming all that much while on my mission, but that sure sounded super nice right then. And it so happened we were on the field right next to the swimming pool… It was a fun time though! We had a scambio that night so I got to have two less active lessons with Anziano Calvagna and it was a good time to be with him. It is truly amazing how wonderful it is following the spirit when preparing lessons and really considering what that person needs and what Heavenly Father needs them to hear. I saw that evening that when we act on the promptings to prepare for them and be bold when sharing lessons it can really have a positive effect in their lives knowing that message was personalized through the spirit for them. The promptings of the spirit can be so subtle and we just have to do what we can to learn how they come for us individually and act upon them.

So this week I really saw how success is truly a gift from God and that everything is in accordance with his timing. We had a lot of really good lessons this week and they were with people that I am so excited to keep meeting with. They seem so ready for the gospel and I just really want to share this gospel with them because I know that it can bring so many blessings to anyone’s life as they choose to obey and follow the commandments. I think of a talk that I read this past week that explains why we as Latter-day Saints are sometimes so eager to share this message with others. It’s a talk from General Conference of October 2014 by Elder David A. Bednar entitled “Come and See.” I love the story that he tells in there about his two sons. I always thought that story was super funny and really does give a wonderful analogy of why we want to share this gospel with others. This is a quote from the talk, but I would really encourage you guys to read it.

“The invitations we extend to you to learn about and test our message grow out of the positive effects the gospel of Jesus Christ has had in our lives. Sometimes we may be awkward or abrupt or even relentless in our attempts. Our simple desire is to share with you the truths that are of greatest worth to us.”

It is true that when we share this gospel it does stem out of genuine love that we have for others. It truly is something that we to help people see and have the same blessings that we have received. I know that these things can truly bring so much happiness into everyone’s lives.

We saw a lot of amazing people this week and I look forward to being able to continue to meet with the them. They are all super nice and seem so fit for this gospel. I just hope that they will commit to the things we ask them to do so they may know for themselves that these things are true. In my study this week I am still in Alma and I actually wanted to share something that I thought about regarding Captain Moroni again. This is in Alma 50. [Read more…]

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Roma 1 – Week 13

July 13, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Buongiorno!

I hope that everyone has had a great week. This week for me was a little nuts. We were all over the place and it just all seemed like a lot of traveling and stuff.

So Monday night we went and picked up Anziano Calvagna and we were planning on going to Terni that night but we had to wait for the train so we went and grabbed some dinner while we were waiting. We went and ate at Asian Delight again which was so good. That place is really awesome. Well we were sitting there and felt like we should call the sisters because we knew that one of them could probably use a blessing because she had something happen earlier that day. So we went and did that and then got a call and we totally forgot that we had an appointment set that night but we got all thrown around with having to go to Terni for a couple of days. So we stayed in Rome 1 and then rescheduled that appointment with that sister for the next day and had a good service opportunity there as well. We then went to Terni after that and we got there to have enough time to get to an appointment. The lesson went really well and we taught about the Plan of Salvation and she was really struck by some things that she hadn’t heard before such as Spirit Prison and Spirit Paradise and the three different Kingdoms of Glory. Instead of just heaven and hell. It was really nice and the member was really good as well. We then had a good English course and we watched Legacy the movie about Joseph Smith. One guy seemed really interested about it so that was sweet!

After English course we had another lesson that went really well. This investigator really accepts things easily and she seemed super cool.

We taught on the word of wisdom there. It was a really good lesson. To finish off the night we went and picked up some pizzas from this place that cooks Napoli pizzas and the guy was from Napoli. That was the best pizza I have had while I have been here hands down. It was so good. Well the next day our appointments fell through so we headed back to Rome 1 with all three of us in the afternoon, and had a lesson with a less active and a new investigator. It went well but it will just be a slow process for sure. The next day were transfer days so we went and dropped off Anziano Calvagna in Termini where all the transfers basically go down and helped a little with the bags as well. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Food, Italy, Missionary Work, Roma 1, Transfers Tagged With: , ,

Roma 1 – Week 12

July 6, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Ciao tutti!

I hope everyone had a great week! It’s been nice and really hot here.  I really wouldn’t mind the heat too much if I could wear shorts and didn’t have a collar choking me, but I can’t lie it is pretty hot here.  It’s nice though!

Ok first things first.  TRANSFER CALL.  So we had transfer calls last Saturday on the 4th of July and we got our call at the beginning of companionship study.  So the big news is I am…. Staying!  I am staying in Rome 1 with Anziano Rasband and surprisingly Sorelle Nagliati, Cano, Kennedy, and Harmon are all staying too!  We are the only district in the entire mission that doesn’t have a single change!  I thought that was pretty sweet.  The Sorelle here in Rome 1 are really hard workers.  They get work done that is for sure.  They have awesome work going on right now and have some really cool investigators.  So yeah we will all be here for another whole transfer.

I am looking forward to this next transfer and I really want to keep working hard to do all I can do to help those the Lord has prepared.  This work can’t be done alone.  We have so much help and I am constantly seeing miracles and blessings that are always coming our way.  We see miracles that are made up of mini miracles and it just leads to things that are so rewarding and so cool to witness and experience.  I know that when we do all we can to live righteous lives and do all we can to follow Christ and obey God’s commandments He will bless us.  No sacrifice goes unnoticed.  He works on His own timetable and in His own way, but He will always follow through.  He blesses us with way more than we even put in sometimes.  I know that this is true for all of us.

We are still working to try to find some new investigators and we are really working to press forward and continue to find people to teach.  We only got to meet with a couple of people this week.  We are hoping to meet with some new people we have found and talked to earlier this week.  I am really excited to talk to some of them.  I have a super good feeling about some of these new people. [Read more…]

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Roma 1 – Week 10

June 22, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Ciao tutti!

This week went well!  I forgot to mention for last p-day we went to the Colosseum and it was really awesome!  I have always wanted to go inside so that was super cool to be able to do that.  If I do it again I would love to have more time to read and learn more about it.  We had a good time there, but didn’t have time to go to the Roman Forum afterwards, unfortunately.

Today was really awesome too because we just got back to the church from the Vatican and there is so much to see there and to learn about.  I got a lot of good pictures I will be able to send later.  It was really neat though.  Tons of really cool art, and I especially liked the rooms done by Raphael and in Michelangelo in St.Peters Cathedral.  It was super awesome.

So my grandpa had a few questions and I will answer some of them on here so others can no know.

So for food we usually eat at home everyday.  We will eat out occasionally, and then we also will get invited over sometimes for meals.  We usually make just simple things like pasta, meat, and what not.  We will get fruit from fruit stands that I still haven’t got a ton of luck with on the fruit I pick.  We will make pizza sometimes as well for dinner to make when we get home.  When we go out to eat it will be pizza and other things here and there.  There is this french fry place that started in Amsterdam, I think, and it is super good and cheap as well.  The food the members make is super delicious.  We had lunch yesterday with a member family and it was super good.  We had a little sandwich platter, then some fish and rice dish, then Sicilian pasta, sword fish, watermelon, pineapple, gelato, and flan with some fruit.  Needless to say it was a good meal.  The members are super awesome here and I am really getting to love them more and more every week.

Anziano Rasband and I have started to run.  He ran track and cross in high school so that’s what we do in the mornings.  We usually go just 4 but today only 3.  It’s been nice.

Well back to last week.  After the p-day was over we went on a scambio (companion exchange) with our zone leaders.  So Anziano Calvagna and I were together again for that night and the next day.  It was super fun to be back together again.  We had 3 appointments that day and so we were busy after our District Meeting and pranzo [lunch time] hours.  It was a great scambio. [Read more…]

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Roma 1 – Week 7

June 1, 2015 By 4 Comments

Ciao Tutti!!!

This week has been fun and we saw a lot of really cool things happen to us!  Monday we had our p-day and it was a lot of fun.  We had the chance to eat lunch with Tony Oliver and his sister, which was a lot of fun and a good time.  It was super nice of them to get us lunch and spend a little time with us.  We had a great lunch and a great time talking.

We then went and had to go find a picture thing for Sorella Arnold, who was going home, and we had a good time hunting for one of those and running around to get it in time.  Those painting things that the people sell on the streets are actually really sweet.

We then ran back to the Metro and made it back to the Villa all while running into different missionaries along the way.  It was a really fun day and we got to see how packed the Villa was with the 23 missionaries going home.  It was a fun day.

We then went back and had a lesson with Alessandro.  He is super awesome.  We, unfortunately, didn’t get to meet with his wife because she was busy, but we hope that we can next time.  The lesson went really well and I can see a strong desire in him to draw closer to God.  Heavenly Father really blessed us this week with that miracle of Alessandro texting us and us getting the chance to talk with him. [Read more…]

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Roma 1 – Week 6

May 25, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Ciao!!

This week has been really nice and sorry I don’t have a ton of time to write today, but I will tell you about my week and what all we did.

Well last P-day was a lot of fun and we just walked around Rome and saw some things, since Sorella Arnold is headed back home this week from her mission.  We ate at Subway (which was really expensive for Subway), but it hit the spot for sure.  We then just went around to some other significant places and such and didn’t do anything too new, but I still love just getting to walk around.

We received a fair amount of biedones (where we get a lesson cancelled), but that is OK and we just keep on working.  A lot of our investigators are about the same as last week.  We only got to see a couple of them this week.  We saw Riccardo and he is just still struggling to find his faith and it’s hard.  We are trying our best to help him find it and understand that faith is action (Peter 2:17).  We have to have action to exercise our faith.  Without it we won’t receive testimonies or answers if we never pray and ask Heavenly Father.  He wants to hear from us and has so many blessings in store.  We just have to sincerely ask for them with real intent. [Read more…]

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Roma 1 – Week 3

May 4, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Buongiorno!!

Ciao tutti!!  Today was a fun P-day, but before I get to that I want to pick up a little where I left off last Thursday, so some other things i wanted to share about Elder Bednar’s conference.

He was super funny and definitely had some great jokes, don’t know why that popped into my mind, but I really wanted to share that.  He knows so well how to be guided by the spirit when he teaches.  He wants to be sure that he addresses people’s needs and I really like that.  Through the QandAs he is able to address what people need and give us answers and then I love that he makes the point not to write down everything he says but to write down the things that the spirit teaches us.  We can receive teaching from the spirit that no one else can receive.  It can be so very specific and personal to us.  This makes me think of how it is with investigators that we can’t always know exactly what they are learning if they may not be comfortable sharing everything, but as we teach through the spirit, and their hearts are softened, the spirit can touch their hearts.

I just realized that I forgot my journal at the apartment, but I will share something that he said that I really liked.  An elder asked the question pertaining to how we can best prepare now for being fathers and mothers.  Then he asked if he could add to the question.  His response was that we first have to make sure that we are good husbands and wives and that really struck me.  I really loved what he said.  We have to make sure that we are good husbands and wives and then the fathers and mothers part will follow.  I love that.  He talked about how we have the responsibility to raise our children and raise them knowing the Gospel, and I thought that was really cool.  It reminds me of this past general conference, with the focus on families.  Family is so important to me.  I love my family so much and I am so grateful to know that through God’s plan I can be with my family for eternity.  That is so powerful.  God has ordained marriage.  The important bonds we make here can be bound and sealed for eternity.  I love that.  That is such an amazing part of God’s plan for us. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Assignments, Food, Italy, Missionary Work, Roma 1, Tourist Sites Tagged With: , , , ,
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