curvvveeeeballl

Title from this week refers to all the stuff that happened haha. Man right when I thought I was starting to get the hang of Reggio Calabria, the Lord decided to send me away.

"New comp! His name is Anziano Adepoju. From Nigeria. Gonna learn how to make some good fufu😎"

Side note: This is Anziano Adepoju's story:

So the first question that might come to mind: where is Anziano Hansen now? For your information, I'm in Palermo 3 now. Palermo 3 is apart (hey mum you see how I spelled 'apart' correctly this time? Yeah that's right, I'm learning English still lol) of the Palermo zone, and is in Palermo itself. I mean, that's probably kinda obvious, but I figured I'd clarify just in case. It's one of the biggest cities on Sicily,

(Source: http://www.vacationstogo.com/images/ports/maps/173_w.gif)

and it's now the biggest city I've served in. That doesn't seem like so much of a curveball, right? I mean, it's just another city.

To a degree, that's true. But here's the twist: I'll be speaking English. The second question that comes to mind is probably: but Anziano Hansen, you're in Italy! Why would you speak English? And the answer to that is pretty simple: Palermo 3 is the international branch for the people who speak English. That means a few things. 1) it means that my sacrament meetings will be in English for the first time in almost a year 2) it also means that for the most part, I'll be teaching in English 3) I'll be spending almost all my time among foreigners.

Initially I had a lot of doubts and fears and I'll be honest, I was also kind of angry. I had all these reasons that justified me in being upset. For one, I was called to speak Italian and preach the gospel to Italians, right? Secondly, I was just getting to know how to do the work in Reggio and we had good things going for us. Why take me away now? What about all the people that I'd worked with and loved and had found and was teaching? Thirdly, what about my Italian? What if I lose it? Heck! I don't want to speak English! And for all you guys, all these reasons will seem petty. And you're right. They were petty, and I was being childish. I really just didn't want to go. I don't know what it was about it that made me not want to go, but I had an unwilling heart.

I had some experiences though that were really humbling for me and got me thinking about what humility really is and the role it plays in our conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

One of the first things I learned was something that Anziano Governici (my district leader while I was in Reggio)

"Last pic with these guys for awhile (Anziani Vance and Governici [middle]...homies!)" 

mentioned to me. As I was talking with him about it, he said something that I'd honestly never taken thought for. He said "You weren't called to speak Italian or to teach the Italian people. You were called to labor in Italy." And to that, I'd add that I was called to labor in Italy under whatever circumstances he deems I'm in need of for my own spiritual progression as well as that of those around me. The lesson I got from that was that we first have to put aside what we want. We truly have to sacrifice our will and put the Lord's will first. That makes me think of the Italian word 'sacrificare' (to sacrifice), which derives from the Latin words ...(I actually can't remember the Latin words but I remember that we had a Sunday school lesson where we talked about this. Just look up the Latin words yourself okay😭)... which mean "render" and "sacred". That's pretty cool. In that sense, when we're sacrificing something, we're making it sacred. So cool!

I was also reading through Alma this week for some studies and came to chapter 37 in the which he talks about prayer. I love verse 37 where he says

"Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day."

I've been working really hard this week and trying to have good prayers and beyond that, it's been quite the experience trying to just allow what I want be swallowed up in what he wants. And we can do that all the while understanding that he only has our well being at heart. I'm so grateful for that. Humility isn't my strongest point, and in no way do I claim to be an expert on it now after these few days, but I have a clearer understanding of how God functions now and how much he actually loves me. I'm still a little nervous, but I'm so excited for these new challenges and opportunities that I have to learn and grow. How blessed am I to be a missionary!

Other than that, there's not much to recount. It was a hectic week with transfers and trying to get around and say goodbye and what not.

"One last pic with anziano Peterson"

It was actually a huge blessing to get around and see all the members in Reggio before I left, and I'll really miss them. It was a good closure though. I'll really miss the district I was with as well. Mannnn those guys were so cool! I'm now in a 10 man district though, so I don't have much reason to complain haha. This district is about half as big as my last zone haha. It's a good life, peeps.

I'll have a better email for you guys next week telling you more about the area and what not. For today though, it's enough to say that we went to a beach and played frisbee because today was our last day to be at the beach. IT WAS SO PRETTY!!

"Went to the beach for p day today! Such nice weather!"

Here's some other pictures as well from just walking around the area.

"I feel bad for all you Americans who don't know what focaccia is"

"We ate Sunday lunch at the senior couples' house in our area. They're so cool! And the food was so good!😧"

I feel like there's so much more to say hahaha but all I hope in writing all this is that in someway, it'll help you guys. Maybe not today, this week, or even these next few months. But I know that humility is important and needs to play a major role in our gospel experience in order to be truly converted. That will mean different things for each one of us, so I won't tell you what to do. But I invite you all to study humility and ponder on it. And then maybe even bring a question about it to general conference because that's THIS WEEK WOOOOOO!

I love you all and hope ya have the greatest week!

May the glory ever be to God

Anziano Hansen