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Catania – Week 11
Transfer 12, Mission Week 76

August 15, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Ciao tutti!!

I hope that you all had a great week and that you are all doing really well! So today was deep cleaning and that is why this email will be getting to you guys a little late. Today is a big national holiday here in Italy where there is nobody out and a good time to do some summer cleaning! The house looks really good now and feels nice to have been able to have the time to work on a few things we needed.

This week passed by really quickly and was really good! We weren’t able to see everyone that we wanted to see nor as frequently as we had hoped to see them. We did get to see one of our investigators that went really well. We had originally invited him to a dinner with some members, but then he had to cancel on us and we saw him the next night. He is doing well and he kept his commitment to read the introduction to the Book of Mormon and the testimonies like we had asked him too. He is really awesome and it is so amazing to see his real intent and desire to grow his spirituality. I really hope that he will continue to push himself and that he will search really hard for all that is in front of him. I am excited to see where he will go.

We were able to visit with some members this week and we are continuing to do our best to align our efforts with theirs and work hard together. We are trying really hard to work on getting over to their houses more to continue to encourage them in all ways to share the gospel with everyone that they know. It is something that I have been definitely trying hard to learn and do the best way. It is really amazing to see the growth in the relationship that we have seen grown with everyone here in Catania. I really love the members here and they are definitely really special to me. I really hope that I will be able to stay here at least another transfer. Only two transfers would be really fast here in Catania.

I can’t believe how fast summer has gone by, but we have been enjoying all that the summer has to offer here in Sicily. I really hope to continue to push myself over these next months and grow and learn all that the Lord needs me to learn. I know that this is just a moment here in the mission field, but I really want to do all I can to apply the lessons that I have learned from the successes the failures and all that I have had the opportunity to experience here on the mission. I know that there is so much to do and give to the Lord. I am thankful for his guidance and his help that he is so willingly and so freely offers us. I loved this scripture that I came across this morning.

29 Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked–

30 And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out.

I really loved this because my mind was drawn to the fact of the Lord leading Lehi and his family through the wilderness and guiding them on the course they needed to be on to experience the things that they needed to experience and learn all they needed to learn through that.

I know that the scriptures will offer us the correct courses in life.

That doesn’t mean that it will be easy. Living the gospel isn’t always the easiest thing. Sometimes it is much harder and takes much more commitment than other paths in life. I know that it was probably pretty lonely also for Jesus Christ at times during his ministry. I love the words he offers of the reality of what he experienced during his mortal ministry.

Luke 9

58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

I know that isn’t always the easiest but I promise it is the path for each one of us and the path that we have to walk to matter the troubles and the difficulties. I know that he has given us the instruments necessary and the help that we all need in order to make it there on the right hand of God. I love you all and thank you for all your support and the love that you offer all us missionaries.

Love,

Anziano Garrett

[We received an email from Daniela B. in Boston, forwarding some pictures from her sister-in-law in Catania, taken on Sunday at church.  She also sent word that Taylor will be staying in Catania for this next transfer but switching companions to serve with Anziano Nielsen as one of the zone leaders there.  He’ll even get to stay in the same house!  Thanks to both Sister Battezzatos for the pics.  Very thoughtful of them and much appreciated.]

Anziano Albello and me with the Battezzato family at church on Sunday in Catania.

Anziano Albello and me with the Battezzato family at church on Sunday in Catania.

Filed Under: Assignments, Catania, Missionary Work, Transfers Tagged With: , ,

Catania – Week 9
Transfer 12, Mission Week 74

August 1, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Ciao tutti!

I hope that everyone has had an excellent week and that you are all continuing to love the summer! It is definitely hot and humid here and we haven’t seen rain in over 2 months if I am not mistaken, but I am fine with that since it would make it even more humid. There has been no shortage of sweat that is for sure. We are really loving it though!

We were able to see some really cool miracles this week and are still working at trying to blow up our work right now. We were able to go and travel to see our investigator that lives a little outside of Catania. He is so sick [missionary-speak for awesome] and has been doing well in reading the Book of Mormon and really enjoys meeting with us and learning more and more.

He shows such a big faith and has a big desire to find the truth and follow the will of the Lord. He works every Sunday and work is something that is hard to find here in Italy right now so we are trying to figure out how to go about this and how we can help him have the faith that the Lord will help him make it to church. I think that we will teach him about fasting and prayer and that he will be able to receive more and more guidance on what to do. He is doing super well though and we had a really special lesson about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the simplicity of the doctrine contained within. Faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and enduring to the end. It is such a simple plan that allows us to receive so many wonderful blessings in this life and the blessings that we can receive percent after this life if we do all we can to live worthy to receive them here.

We had another cool miracle when we were finding the other day! We were sitting in the park for a minute and I was trying to find something in the scriptures. This lady then came up to us and asked us if we were Mormon. She had met with the sisters about 2 years ago and then after transfers she must have gotten lost sort of and she was happy to be able to find us again. It was really cool and special that we were able to have a lesson with her and set up a return appointment. Another one was that we missed the bus we were running to get and did finding in the park next to it while we were waiting for the other one and the first people we stopped about English course ended up asking questions about who we were. It was cool and when I asked if they would want to meet up sometime one of the guys was super excited. He has a sick beard and is a really cool guy. We have a lesson with them this evening and he is bringing two friends as well!

We are enjoying Catania for sure and are loving all the members and the work that we have going on. I hope that we will continue to see these wonderful miracles as well! Tonight we get to go on scambio with the Zone Leaders which will be a wonderful opportunity to get to see these two awesome missionaries work! I am definitely excited for it!

We will have zone conference tomorrow which will be really good! Hope that you are all doing well and enjoying life. There is a scripture that I would like to share that is from Alma 38 where the prophet Alma is teaching to his son Shiblon and sharing with him his conversion story. He says.

8 And it came to pass that I was three days and three nights in the most bitter pain and anguish of soul; and never, until I did cry out unto the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, did I receive a remission of my sins. But behold, I did cry unto him and I did find peace to my soul.

9 And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness.

I love those verses and the testimony he shares of the reality of what happened to him. I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real and will cleanse and purify each one of us as we turn to him and do all we can to obey his gospel. I love my older brother Jesus Christ and all that he has done because it is truly only through him that we can receive salvation. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Vi voglio bene!

Anziano Garrett

[This photo is courtesy of Sister Daniela Battezzato, whose daughter, Stefania (center in blue dress) returned from the mission two months ago.  She and Taylor both served in the Rome East Zone when Taylor was a greenie]

 

Sorella Battezzato (center) returned to Italy to visit family in Catania and this is a picture of her with our district at church on 7/31/16.

Sorella Battezzato (center) returned to Italy to visit family in Catania and this is a picture of her with our district at church on 7/31/16.

Filed Under: Assignments, Catania Tagged With: ,

Roma 1 – Week 8
Transfer 2, Mission Week 14

June 8, 2015 By Leave a Comment

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. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Assignments, Conferences, Missionary Work, Roma 1 Tagged With: , , , , , ,