Anziani Hansen e Young, Brindisi area
Transfers week is officially over, and I've been moved to Brindisi!
Source: World Atlas dot com
Brindisi (Anz. Hansen's photo) area, I think?
It's in Puglia,
(Source: http://www.harat.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/harat-net-italia-travel-20-Reasons-to-travel-puglia-apulia-italy.jpg)
just a little south of Bari.
(Source: https://rockinredblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/puglia-map-via-infobellezza.gif?w=504&h=371)
Aaannnndddd I'm training. He's not a completely new missionary though. He (Anziano Young) was with his original trainer for one transfer, but he was then called out to be a zone leader, so president asked me to step in and finish the job. I was a little surprised, but I'm happy to be here! Not just that, but Anziano Young is awesome! He's already a fantastic missionary and speaks Italian better than I do😅😭 ah well. Anyways! This week has been a little strange due to the fact that it was transfers and everything, but there were still a few cool things I learned.
- There are no accidents. I initially felt overwhelmed at this new task for transfers - that of training and being in a new city. I'll be honest I didn't feel adequate. But God sent me here for a reason. I still feel inadequate sometimes, but I rely on the Lord. Everything's going to work out just fine! And it goes the same for all of you. There's no mistakes in this life, only opportunities to grow. Whatever God has called you to do or whatever it is you're facing, there is a reason. How much more quickly would we all learn and become the people God needs us to become if we would ask ourselves daily who it is he's trying to make of us? Also it's been a really cool experience here thus far. Because we're both so young in the mission, we rely on the Lord really heavily and we've already seen many miracles because of it! We are unique. We all have something to contribute, to learn, and to gain. There's something God is trying to make of us with our experiences, and I think that's so fascinating. I've taken it to heart and instead of being afraid of this task, I feel confident in facing it head on.
- Making general conference a lasting experience is actually really hard. Elder Kearon
Elder Patrick Kearon (Source: www.lds.org)
in the conference a few weeks ago said something along the lines of how "it takes a great conference to get past Tuesday." As funny as that is, we all need to be making general conference a lasting experience. General conference does not last for two days - it lasts for six months. It is a well from which we can continue to get water. I hope you'll all take time to study it again and prayerfully set just one goal for yourselves. Then, review that goal frequently to see whether you're actually progressing towards it or not.
- Relying on the Lord and 1 Nephi 17. I read through this chapter last week and was reminded of something anela (older sister aka big example)
said. "Just keep making fire with the rocks you have (even when it feels daunting that the Lord wants you to build a ship) and he'll take you there." I love this. I can't even begin to imagine what Nephi must have been feeling. Of all things the Lord asks him to build, it's a ship! Could he have just picked Lehi and his family up and taken them to the promised land? Of course! But he didn't because he knew there was a lesson to be learned. It was one of the many times in which the Lord helped Nephi to realize his on dependence divine help. That's for all of us. We all need help. When God calls us to do something we feel we're not capable of, it's not because he wants to shut us down. He's not trying to make us feel hopeless. He's trying to help us realize our complete and total dependence on His help and more importantly, His son. While I don't know everything about missionary work or what I need to do to help the work here in Brindisi, I do know how to pray, how to study, and how to bear a testimony. That's enough for the Lord. Use the simple tools you've been given with trust enough in God to keep moving forward. He'll take you there.
Other than that, we had a p day with the district last week! We went to the mall in Chieti and then got two sandwiches that were three feet long each.
Time lapse video of District Anziani eating TWO sandwiches!
All in all it was €60 but it was totally worth it. Saying goodbye to everyone was hard. I really love Pescara and all the people I've met there. It's sad to leave, but I know I'll go back someday. They'll still be there! Aaannddd there's always modern technology which means instantaneous communication😎 leaving on Thursday was sad. The trio was officially over...
until my companions ended up getting stuck on the train with me haha.
It was a freccia rossa too, so the next stop wasn't for 40 minutes. We said goodbye eventually though. Really going to miss them, but overjoyed to be where I am! Also missed my connecting train in Bari and was a little stressed until I saw sister missionaries. I've never been so happy to seem before in my life! They helped me figure out where I needed to go and let me use their phone to inform the zone leaders I'd be arriving in Brindisi late. Worked out just fine✌🏼️
Also can I just say how much I love the Italian people? They're SO nice. Yeah they don't always want to talk about the gospel with us, but that's alright. The biggest thing for me is just letting them know I love them. I hope they understand that. And I hope you guys understand it, too. I love you all and can't even begin to express how grateful I am for each and every single one of you. And don't forget: each one of you is a child of God, and he loves you. If you'll focus your life on that, I promise you - along with Elder Nelson - that you'll find incomprehensible joy.
Che la gloria sia sempre a Dio
Anziano Hansen
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