First off, WOW. Talk about rain. Earlier this week it was around the 100s. But Thursday night, Friday and Sunday were filled (literally) with rain. It was so cold I had to wear a sweater. In the middle of
July. What is this.
Imma be honest - work wise, it's been a slow week. Piano piano, you know? But it's okay. We're working hard and showing Heavenly Father we want to help bring people to his gospel, and we are 100% confident that he'll bless us for doing so. Like I said last week, it feels like Italy is about to explode with missionary work! Why? Because the missionaries and members here are working hard, and the Lord blesses those who are working hard and dedicating themselves to the gospel. It's not what we deserve, but when we do what he's asked us to do, the Lord is bound to fulfill his promises. IT'S AWESOME.
Anyways. This week has been slow but still good. A lot of it was preparing for Anziano Cowden to head out, which was weird, but we did our best to get things done. AH. AND MONDAY. THE VATICAN.
YES. I need to talk about that first. Monday we got up super early to get to Rome
so we'd have time to do stuff. We got there around 10:15 ish and went to the church where we met all the other missionaries we were going to be with for the day. One of them was Anziano Beesely, Anziano Cowden's trainer. It was super cool to meet him! Anyways we get everyone together and do emails for awhile before we head out to get to the Vatican. On the way the groups got split up, and while trying to get on the metro, guess who got left behind?
If you guessed anyone other than me, you're wrong. I was left. Alone. In termini. One of the biggest stations in Rome. It wasn't that too terrible though. All I did was jump on the next train and hope someone got off at the next stop to look for me. They did. All in all, I was alone for about two minutes. Nah biggie. The big lesson though? Shove your way onto crowded metros if you don't want to get left behind.
We eventually all get to the Vatican and first off, the line to get into the city is super short, so that was a huge blessing. The biggest blessing though was meeting one of the nuns there who one of the other
missionaries knew. They'd talked to her in the past and the last time they were here she gave them a complete tour of the city and everything. Anyways we accidentally bump into her and she toooootally
saved our lives. Instead of paying €8 each and waiting probably 2 and a half hours, she took us right up to the front and sent us up the elevator without paying a cent. And guess what! She's Maori! I wanted to get a picture with her but we needed to go, but man...there are some good people out there in the world.
The Vatican itself was awesome! We took the stairs,
and instead of explaining everything, I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.
The dome of St. Peter's Basilica, designed by Michelangelo
The Pieta, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Rome
"View of Michelangelo's dome and Bernini's baldacchino, a monumental canopy that covers the shrine of St. Peter. Made of dark bronze accented with gold vine leaves, it was sculpted from 1624 to 1633 under the direction of Barberini Pope Urban VIII, who oversaw the Baroque decoration of much of Rome. The spiral columns derive their shapes from the columns in the original St. Peter's Basilica built by Constantine, and legend had it that they came from Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem." (words cited from http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-st-peters-basilica)
"You know, just reading the bom (Book of Mormon) in front of the Vatican. No biggie,"
Anziani Martin e Hansen. Anziano Martin is from Provo, Utah
Wow wow wow. I've learned a ton from him already, and I can only hope he learns something from me. And it's not to say Anziano Cowden wasn't great, because he was. In fact, he was exactly the type of companion that I needed. But now that I've been here awhile, it's time to change and get a new comp, and Anziano Martin is exactly the person I needed! He's a really hard worker and loves to be obedient, so it's going to be an awesome transfer. I'm honestly hoping I'll stay and do at least two with him, because I want to see the fruits of our efforts. Either way though, whether I stay for 6 or 12 more weeks, I know it'll be what God needs.
I also Skyped this week!
Not a very clear photo, but one of him with his companion, Anziano Martin in the background
What a blessing that was. Brought so much peace and happiness to my heart.
We asked Anz. Hansen to share his "introduction" with us in Italian. Loved it! :)
Missionary work is fantastic, but everyone needs a boost of happiness!
We also asked Anziano Hansen to bear his testimony with us in Italian. :)
And those boosts of happiness can come from anywhere - family, friends, food (obvs), sights, sounds. Heck even just taking a moment to sit back and think about all the things God has given us is enough to make anyone happy. Ain't that true!
And there's something this past week Anziano Martin have been talking about a lot this week. What is it? Oh you know, only the thing that's more important than anything else in the world. Any guesses? Just take a second and think about it for a moment.
Ready? Okay. There's one thing that matters more than anything else, and it's our relationship with the Savior.
(Photo source: https://media.ldscdn.org/images/media-library/gospel-art/new-testament/jesus-christ-39623-gallery.jpg)
Think about it. There are other important things, yes. Family. Education. Our well being. Things like that. But without the Savior, none of that matters. He's the one who makes all of it possible. If we ever base our self worth on anything other than our relationship with him, we need to stop what we're doing, evaluate our lives, and refocus on him. It's a hard thing to do no doubt, but when we recognize that he's the only thing that really matters, our lives become so much better. Recently I've been basing my self worth on things like my numbers, how good of a missionary I am, how well I keep the rules, how good my planner looks, stuff like that. But will any of that matter in a few years? No. Yes I'm here to help people to come unto Christ, but numbers aren't the things that get people to him. It's their relationship with him. It's our relationship with him. It's my relationship with him. That's what matters. It's the only thing that ever has and ever will matter. When our relationship with him is on good standings, we'll have peace in our lives whether we face mountains or valleys, whether we're rich or poor, whether we're sinners or not (and tbh we're all sinners and that's that), whether we have a good view of ourselves or not. The first thing that has importance in this world is our relationship with him. And guess what? He loves us. He's there for us. If any of you doubt it, there's two things I'd invite you to do. 1) read the Book of Mormon. 2) pray. Simple as that. Those are the two best ways to create a better relationship with the Savior of the world. And from there on out, do whatever you feel prompted to do. Though I don't know much, I know our Savior lives and loves us. I know he anxiously waits for us to draw near unto him so he can bear us up, so he can give us strength and peace. Above anything else, I want all of you to know he loves you individually. Punto. Basta.
Praying for all of you and hoping you have a wonderful week!
Che la gloria sia sempre a Dio (grazie sorella Francom)
Vi voglio bene! Sempre! (I love you! Always!)
Anz Hansen
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