rising to a new sense of commitment

Sup.

You know, I remember back to those days when I used to get up on Mondays and think "well, dang. It's another Monday." But now, Monday's are some of my favorite days of the week because I get to write too all of you guys and see lots of bell'Italia 🇮🇹 yeah. I love this place! Today, we're in Messina with the missionaries here. Apparently, there's a member here who owns one of the biggest trampoline parks in Europe, and that's how we'll be spending p day. I feel badly for the people who have to do things like, I dunno, do water colors of avocados. It's just, what do you do for p day if you can't go see some thousand year old wall and then jump on trampolines, ya feel?

Happy carnival 😎👌🏼 

But that's besides the point. Today, I hope y'all are ready to hear about the week that is literally changing my mission. I probs won't be able to explain it well at all, but I hope in some way you'll be able to understand everything I want to say.

This week was really really good. As I mentioned in the last email, we had zone conference

Catania Zone, February 2017

from the which I learned a ton! I got a lot out of it for myself and our area. One thing I especially loved though was just from my own interview with president Pickerd. Recently, I've been having a rough time feeling completely committed to the Lord. It's not that I've been doing huge, terrible things, but I knew there were small things in my daily routine that needed to be fixed. It was hard to find the desire to do that, and I knew there was something that needed to be changed, I just didn't know where to begin. President Pickerd helped me begin though. He directed me to some studies that I could do, and beyond that, I started doing studies of my own. Some of my favorite scriptures with regards to this topic are from 2 nephi chapter one where lehi speaks to his sons. He says things like the following:

"O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep..."

"Awake! and arise from the dust..."

"And he (the Lord) hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence." 

"...arise from the dust, my sons, and be men, and be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity;" 

"Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust." 

After phrases like that, how could I not recommit myself to the Lord? And as I thought about it a little more, I realized the real reason why I've been struggling recently. It's really just because I was afraid of not being enough. I was afraid of trying again -- REALLY trying -- and failing. But there's a few things I learned with regards to this that calmed my mind and brought peace to my heart. One, learning to trust in the Lord. The big promise for me that I've been relying on is that when I open my mouth, it'll be filled. It's hard to begin, but when we do, the Lord helps us. That was actually demonstrated really well when on Saturday night we were riding a bus and I saw a guy with a New York hat. Whenever I see people with articles of clothing with cities in America, I always try to talk to them. It's typically pretty easy to approach them, but man I just did NOT want to talk to this guy. I was tired and hungry and a big part of me thought "nah he'll just brush us off anyways." But I tried. Turns out, he met the missionaries over 20 years ago and has read the Book of Mormon a few times. He mentioned as well that he's been having a rough time lately, and I honestly can't even remember most of what I said, but I remember that at the end he was committed to read the Book of Mormon again. No, he didn't want to meet with us again, but he said he'd read, and that's a start. And that's what it's about. It's about pushing ourselves beyond what we believe or even want to do and allowing the Lord to take over. I read a talk by Elder Richard G. Scott this week, in which he explains this concept beautifully.

"When you push against the boundaries of experience into the twilight of the unknown, the Lord will strengthen you. The beauty of your eternal soul will begin to unfold."

Cool, eh? And what I love so much about this is that we can completely and entirely trust the Lord. We can give Him our all, holding nothing back, because we know that His will is perfect, that he is perfectly capable of helping and strengthening us, and that he is perfect in keeping His promises. But it takes faith. Faith enough on our part to push past what we know and where we are comfortable unto the realm of what we can't understand. It's in that realm that miracles happen.

That makes me think of another quote. I don't remember who said is, but I've always loved it.

"If you only do what you can, you'll never be more that what you are."

Man if only that weren't true. Progression is uncomfortable. But when we take those steps and stretch ourselves, the Lord will strengthen us, and that's something we can be completely sure of.

That's really the big reason that helped me get over that bump of feeling lazy and uncommitted - trusting the Lord. There's a few other things that go into it as well, such as: loving the Lord and therefore having a desire to do his will, loving Christ and desiring to share my testimony of Him, and love for the Italian people. If you didn't catch the theme behind all of those, it's love. There's another quote that goes into this from the prophet Jospeh Smith. He said "“Love is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race. This has been your feeling, and caused you to forego the pleasures of home, that you might be a blessing to others, who are candidates for immortality, but strangers to truth..."

I've reawakened to that, too. I remembered why I'm here, and it's because I love these people. That's nothing new to me, but something that I'd forgotten. I thought back though to what it was like when I opened my mission call.

I was by myself in my basement on a Saturday morning in October. When I read that I'd be serving in the Italy Rome mission, I knew of a certainty that it was where he needed me, and I knew that because I already loved them. Long before I got my mission call, long before I even knew I'd be graduating early and stopping soccer and making sacrifices to come out here, I loved them. The ones who say no, the ones who say yes, the ones who don't say anything. I love them all. It's amazing what love can do.

Sorry all that was really just about me and what I learned. Hopefully you'll be able to take away something from this email. I just love the mission and how much I'm learning and growing. Yes, it's uncomfortable and difficult, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Ahahahaha this was from one of the attempts when anziano governici messed up lol

"Hey beautiful" 

We got all the anziani who knew how to do backflips and attempted a photo. Ehh. Could've been better😂 

Anyways, to a little bit more of the work this week...there's not much. We've been trying really hard to be creative and get the work pumping here. It's been a long process, but I think we're finally getting there. Saturday we actually went out with a whiteboard trying to show people the gospel library app. We've been trying to reach out to the youth more and we felt like this would be a good way to do it. Ahahahaha it was so hard to transition from that to getting appointments, but it was really fun and we actually had more people stop and talk to us than we had that just said no. That's the first time that's ever happened on my mission where people have listened more than rejected us. It was a good day☺

We also had a lesson with a part member family yesterday evening. Anna, the wife, isn't a member but she's sooooo ready. She actually told us yesterday that she wants to be baptized and knows that it's the right thing to do, but she has some reservations and a few questions she needs to answer for herself before she's baptized. The lesson started out really hard though and I was praying SO HARD to know what to do and what to say because what we had prepared was not at all what we needed to teach and it turned out well. We just kept coming back and using the Book of Mormon to teach doctrine and answer questions and then pose questions of our own. It was a really cool experience to see the spirit working throughout that whole lesson, to see God do His work. She's definitely one step closer to making that commitment.

I also found out that this week that we get to go to Palermo on the 16th because anziano Peterson needs to get his permesso and I'll get to see anziano young AND anziano Anderson again and I'm SOOO EXCITED!

Sorry this email was v long. If you stuck it out to the end, here's a thumbs up to you👍🏼

Make this week something worth remembering.

Che la gloria sia sempre a Dio

Anziano Hansen

sick and rainy days

Gooooooood moorrrniinnggggg friends!

So! You're actually going to be getting this on Monday because right now we're in Messina and there's wifi here so here you go!

This week has been pretty hectic and this next week is going to fly by! This past week both Anziano Silver and I have been kind of sick. It actually only kept us home for one morning, because the other days we decided we were healthy enough to leave. It's still pretty cold though. It didn't snow again this week, but there was a bit of hail and a TON of rain. Ahahahaha it was funny. On Saturday it rained really really hard for about 5 minutes. Do you know where we happened to be for those 5 minutes? Outside, walking to the bus stop. Hahahaha we spent all the rest of the morning inside and then the five minutes where we're outside it desires to pour. We were soaked hahaha but we loved it.

This week I learned to appreciate the small things. Things like finding out our investigators actually don't need to work on sundays and can actually come to church. Things like eating pancakes and syrup for breakfast.

Things like members offering us rides home after church on sundays (<---- really grateful for that one actually. Home is a walk that takes about an hour so we were happy 😊). Things like having doterà cough drops my mum put in my suitcase months ago to help my sore throat. Things like getting fresh clementines from members after helping them put apps on their tablet. There's so many things to be grateful for if we'll just open our hearts to the love that surrounds us.

Another huge miracle for me this week was learning that God can change our desires. As I was pondering this last week during a nightly prayer I had a thought come to mind about why I'm doing this mission. Is it because I really want to do it, or because I feel like it's my duty? And I realized that while my intentions were good, they weren't the best. That matters to me because I honestly believe that when my intentions and desires are correct, the spirit will flow that much more easily and I'll be that much more in tune with the will of God. But how can I change my desires? They're natural, aren't they? While that's true, God is able to work with even the smallest of desires. I think of two things when it comes to this. One is Alma chapter 32 when he speaks about the seed of faith. I believe it is the same thing for all desires to do good.

"Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell...ye will begin to say within yourselves--It must needs be that this is a good seed...for it beginneth to enlarge my soul...to enlighten my understanding...to be delicious to me." (Alma 32:28)

I love that it says "it beginneth" to enlarge, enlighten, and be delicious. Overtime, if we will allow God to do so, he will help us change our desires even until the point where those righteous desires manifest themselves in the way we live our day to day lives. It takes time, but it's possible.

Pday adventures!

The second thing that comes to mind is Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's conference talk from last April.

There's two parts I'd like to share really quickly.

"With the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the strength of heaven to help us, we can improve, and the great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don’t always succeed." He then continues, saying "Please remember tomorrow, and all the days after that, that the Lord blesses those who want to improve, who accept the need for commandments and try to keep them, who cherish Christlike virtues and strive to the best of their ability to acquire them. If you stumble in that pursuit, so does everyone; the Savior is there to help you keep going."

Isn't that one of the best things you've ever heard? God will not only bless us according to our desires, but He'll help us get to that point where our desires are correctly aligned with his will. He's in every step that gets us to eternal life, and it was meant to be this way. We were never destined to walk this path alone, but with the help of Gods. Our destiny is to succeed.

But, of course, we've got to go and ask for help first. It's when we kneel in humble prayer and ask Him to help us change  -- and REALLY mean it -- that we merit the help of heavenly aid in our daily lives. After that, all he expects is that we just do our best.

Man. I really just love this gospel.

"Us on the ferry to Messina this morning"

We're spending p day in Messina today, and then tomorrow we'll be heading down to Catania for zone conference, which will be on Wednesday. Looking forward to being in Sicily for a little while😎🇮🇹

I also just realized that we took like, zero pictures this week.

"I literally took this like two seconds ago and it's us emailing sorry it's not exciting😭 "

So here's a few pictures a took with my iPad super quick so you actually have something to look at hahaha.

Che la gloria sia sempre a Dio

VVB!❤

Anziano Hansen

Zone conference!

Goooood morning peeps😊 hope that all is well wherever you guys be finding yourselves this Monday morning!

Anziano Hansen sent this photo December 05, 2016, but I'm posting it now. :)

There were a lot of cool things I learned this week and a ton that happened and I'm afraid I won't be able to express it in the way I'd like to. Seems like that's my case nowadays haha. But in the words of God's Power (he's an African, and yes. That's his real name!) "The less you speak, the more you say", and I'd add "as long as you're testifying from your heart!" And why's that? Because when we speak from our hearts out of our own hard-won conviction, those words somehow become so much more meaningful -- regardless of how eloquent they may be or how many words we use to express ourselves.

With that in mind, here's the things I enjoyed most about this week!

During zone conference, we talked about miracles and about how 1) they still happen and 2) what we need to do to be worthy of them. Anziani Jacob and Brown, the zone leaders, are the ones who really covered these points. Anziano Brown began by sharing ether 12:12-17 

" 12 For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith.

 13 Behold, it was the faith of Alma and Amulek that caused the prison to tumble to the earth.

 14 Behold, it was the faith of Nephi and Lehi that wrought the change upon the Lamanites, that they were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost.

 15 Behold, it was the faith of Ammon and his brethren which wrought so great a miracle among the Lamanites.

 16 Yea, and even all they who wrought miracles wrought them by faith, even those who were before Christ and also those who were after.

 17 And it was by faith that the three disciples obtained a promise that they should not taste of death; and they obtained not the promise until after their faith."

with us. This has been one of my favorite scriptures for awhile now, but hearing it again reminded me of just how important faith is in our lives. Along with those, I'd like to throw on verse 18.

"And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God."

This reminds me of something I heard awhile ago. I don't remember who it was or exactly how it goes but it's something along the lines of: "faith is never in anything other than Christ." I really loved that, and the scriptures in these few verses (even on down until verse 22) clearly support this point. It's not by our strength that miracles are wrought. It's not by our obedience that miracles happen. It's not even because we believe in miracles that they happen. It's simply because we believe in Christ. That's where it all begins, and that's where it ends, too. He is the beginning and the end. Christ is literally "the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2)

"I was sad because there was no pizza man that day

...but I had to smile because no one likes frowny faces. 

Still trying to figure out how to smile good tho"

We also talked about what miracles really are. We mentioned how it's by small and simple things that great things are brought to pass, and that really struck me; not because it was a new scripture, but because I realized I've been looking for miracles that spark conversion in an instant. I've been looking for the perfect miracle investigator. But that's not how it works (not always, at least). What I learned is that there are miracles happening all around us everyday, and if we grasp hold of those and help them grow (instead of throwing them away thinking "nah this miracle isn't good enough") they'll become the miracle of conversion in the long run. I've made a conscious effort this week to look for miracles, and it's 1) helped me to be happier and more grateful and 2) be a better missionary.

"One more time...

...ah there we go"

"We took like, 8 different photos trying to get his shirt to stay tucked in lol"

"This is one of my favorite pieces of graffiti in the city"

Anziano Jacob then talked about obedience and how without that, even though we may have faith, the miracles won't happen. Why? Because we need to be worthy of them! There was a lot he said, but there's something even more important that I'd like to point out that applies to all of us (missionaries in terms of obedience, and all of us as children of God). I think it's best summed up by a quote from a talk president Pickerd shared with us. President Hinckley,

(Source: https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/gospel-library/manual/09797/portrait-gordon-b-hinckley-1995_84011_inl.jpg)

at the close of the October 2002 General Conference,

said "As we return to our homes and to our daily activities, each of us should be a better individual than we were when the conference opened." He continued by saying "I challenge every one of you who can hear me to rise to the divinity within you." That's the purpose of the church -- to make us better people. But we can't just go to church and expect that change to occur. We can't be half-hearted members and full participants in the joy that is this gospel. We need to be making conscious, daily effort to become better. Every time we go to church, every time we read the scriptures, every time we listen to general conference and whatever else you can think of, we should come away with something we can do better and the desire to make that change happen in our own lives.

Lastly from zone conference, we talked about the church's "light the world" campaign

and how we can really use that to our advantage. We then talked about Christ and how he is the source of all light. How? D&C 88:6-13 explains it.

" 6 He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth;

 7 Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made.

 8 As also he is in the moon, and is the light of the moon, and the power thereof by which it was made;

 9 As also the light of the stars, and the power thereof by which they were made;

 10 And the earth also, and the power thereof, even the earth upon which you stand.

 11 And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings;

 12 Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—"

Of the mentioned verses, 13 is my favorite:

"The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things."

Or, in other words, Christ is the light of all things. Along with that and how we can be greater partakers of His light, there's 1 Thessalonians 5:5-11.

" 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

 7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

 9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

 10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

 11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do."

I encourage you all to read it on your own!

I don't want to make this the longest email in the entire world, so I'm just going to share a few more thoughts with you.

I believe that happiness can change the lives of people around us. I've made a big push this week in that direction because 1) we're commanded to be happy (D&C 19:37

"37 And speak freely to all; yea, preach, exhort, declare the truth, even with a loud voice, with a sound of rejoicing, crying—Hosanna, hosanna, blessed be the name of the Lord God!"

and like, a million other scriptures) 2) it's our purpose on this earth to be happy  and lastly 3) because this is a gospel of joy -- if I don't show that how will anyone else ever know it? There's one last scripture I'd like to share from the same section in D&C, verse 39.

"Behold, canst thou read this (we could also say 'hear this' or 'see this') without rejoicing and lifting up thy heart for gladness?"

While being happy doesn't mean being crazy and always laughing hysterically and having a good time, it does mean finding joy in the small things. Most importantly, it means remembering Christ. Surely, when we think of Him, we can experience joy regardless of what our circumstances may be. So be happy!😊

"Focaccia is SO good..especially when it's free...

Btw those are tomatoes and not pepperoni pieces"

"English people are weird" ;)

"Sorry my pictures are sucky today...

But hey here's a pasta al forno I made that was pretty good...

Forno means oven. All it means is I put it in the oven afterwards lol"

This week we were able to commit our investigator to both read the Book of Mormon

(Source: https://media.ldscdn.org/images/media-library/member-missionary/sharing-book-mormon-1379950-gallery.jpg)

everyday and pray more about it too! We've also been working really hard at figuring out what the will of the Lord is for us in Brindisi. We know he sent us here for a reason, and we're trying our best to figure out what that is. We've met with a few members this week (who are a little less firm in their faith) as well, and we were able to have some really cool lessons in which they talked about how they wanted to begin sharing the gospel with their families and friends! That was so so happy for us. Other than that, we've been sharing the gospel with anyone who'll listen in the best way we know how. While we don't know everything, we definitely know enough to keep moving forward!

We're also really excited for an exchange we'll do this week with the zone leaders! That'll be really good for us and we're hoping and praying that they'll be able to help us get our work sorted out.

But more on that next week:)

tl;dr -- if you made it here, good on you😉

Buona settimana e buon finals week tutti😂

VVB!

Che la gloria sia sempre a Dio

Anziano Hansen

PICTURES!

Sorry, but the zone conference pictures will have to wait until next week😐

"a voi"

On being authentic

"We planted onions for a member yayy"

This past week I read an interesting talk from elder Cook in the October 2014 general conference entitled "Choose Wisely".

Highlight of "Choose Wisely" by Elder Quentin L. Cook

If you have time (and let's be honest, who doesn't?), I encourage you to read it.

The whole talk! :)

It helped me a lot with regards to figuring out what it is I really want to do and how I can align my DAILY LIFE with reaching those long-term goals. It's really important for me as a missionary to actually become who the Lord wants me to be and not just do missionary things. It's equally important for us all as members of his church to take a step back and measure our own conversion to the Lord. Are we actually Latter-day Saints? Or do we merely do Latter-day Saint things? How can we increase and deepen our conversion to the Lord and ensure our foundation is unshakeable?

Just some thoughts☺️

There was another part of the talk that stood out to me though, and it was a part about being more genuine in our digital communications (if you read the talk you'll see what part I'm mentioning(and that's totally not me trying to trick you into reading it btws)). It's so easy to just mention the good parts about life and about missionary work. We came to earth not only to be have joy like Nephi says (2 Nephi 2:25), but to prepare to meet God by being tried and tested (Alma 34:32). Why shy away from talking about one and not the other?

So! I'm going to try to be more authentic in my emails -- focusing on both the joys and sorrows in the everyday lives of missionaries.

Italy!

Italia Italia Italia!

"It's a church. Kinda hard to see in the dark, but you can see some of the most important saints portrayed as statues on the top"

"It's cool"

With that in mind, I can keep writing about the week.

This week, in all honesty, was wonderful. I have nothing to complain about. Did every single person we talk to on the street stop and listen to us? Nah. Did my shoes break? You could say that. Did we do everything we wanted to do? Not even close.

All in all, the week wasn't perfect. And while that's sometimes hard to accept (I know it's actually impossible to have perfect weeks but I have high expectations mkay), we'll learn what we can and strive to do better this next week.

"Anziano Young look"

"But now I'm not looking"

"Yay we did it"

"We ate gelato and looked at this"

I've been feeling pretty confused in the work lately though. I want so badly to fulfill my missionary purpose

(Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEDsKM_GtVuGDedC7gVrQAVEf5Y805ebaQcqRi0FOk0U_S4FuYoSZNOGgSKjqrxoQL-cehwYFc9YK5q8kByP4zTvEg0vP64mMBYjO3gnAn4Htmm3bSIETOSe8TjYcMFQ3327J_B1ZaK5I/s1600/purpose1.jpg)

and help others come unto Christ. I want to teach, speak, and follow the spirit well. I want to find the people who are prepared to accept the gospel. I want to have better studies and greater concentration. I want to be more outgoing, more loving, and more consecrated. When it comes down to it, I want to be more like my Savior. But in that pursuit, I feel somewhat lost. I want to be effective in using time, but I feel as though I don't know where or how to begin. Especially with it getting colder here (it seriously feels like it dropped 40 degrees this week in two days), the streets are becoming less and less crowded. Heck we went to centro on Saturday night and it's typically crowded, but there were only a few people. Yeah sure we can walk around for five hours everyday stopping people on the street, but that's not the most effective way to get work done. It's great fun, sure, but it's not helping us get to where we need to be.

It's a work and progress though, and we're not giving up. Until the time comes that we finally understand what it is we need to do to be as effective as possible, we'll keep walking these streets and talking to everyone we can.

We have an investigator who's really really cool and we love teaching her. She's a little hesitant when it comes to baptism, but what I love about our relationship is that we're really open to talking about our beliefs. We had two super solid lessons with her this week. While at times it's a little difficult to keep teaching people when they're not fully grasping it, I've felt such a great love for her this week that I know it's not my own. Being a conduit for the love of God is one of the coolest things there is, I think.

I learned a lot this week about Christ. I've been reading Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage

(Source: https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/gospel-library/magazine/liahonlp.nfo:o:72d.jpg)

and I have two things to say 1) I miss books (I love scriptures don't get me wrong but there's something about reading an actual book that just speaks to me) and 2) the closer we are to the Savior, the happier we are. Why? I think it's best and most simply stated by President Nelson,

(Source: https://www.lds.org/church/leader/russell-m-nelson?lang=eng)

who, in this past general conference, said the following: "When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation, which President Thomas S. Monson just taught us, and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening--or not happening--in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him. He is the source of all joy...For Latter-day Saints, Jesus Christ is joy!"

Along with that I had a cool experience on Saturday. We were up at a members house in another city (it's about a 20 minute train ride to the station. From there they need to pick us up and drive another 15 minutes or so) and we got to a point where we weren't going to be able to make it back in time for an appointment we'd scheduled. It was really hard to not be anxious and frustrated because this was a really important meeting to us. We ended up needing to call him though, which we did, and everything was okay. I was still a little on edge though until I realized what I was doing. I was allowing the worries of the future prevent me from enjoying the present. And for what cause? I'd done everything I could to be there, but it wouldn't happen. And that's okay. So I let it go and I just allowed myself to enjoy the moment (which was actually really happy and special because she's an amazing member and made us a ton of food). As I let go of those worries, I was more able to completely enjoy the present and see the hand of God in all he was doing for me. Don't let your worries about the future distract you from the joys of the present! Yes, plan for the future. Prepare for the future. Counsel with God on what you should do, and do the best you can. But after that? Just enjoy the present. No stress😊

Later that night, as I was writing in my journal about this experience, I felt the spirit confirm to me that this was the lesson God had wanted me to learn that day. That made me wonder how often it is God is trying to teach us a lesson, and how often do we recognize it? I honestly feel that everyday, there's something He wants us to learn. If we will just humbly kneel down each morning and ask for His help in learning what it is He wants us to learn, I know He'll help us.

Other than that, we did a scambio this week with Lecce. I went with Anziano Mariucci to Lecce while the others stayed in brindisi. That was a lot of fun! We were also invited to a thanksgiving lunch with an American member next week😎 woot! Besides that, we're really just talking with everyone and meeting lots of awesome people...even though the majority of people we talk to only want to know our opinion on Trump winning the elections😂 ah well. I did eat pizza

"Era buona"

5 nights in a row though

"Saturday night pizza yayyy"

so there's that for you all. (<-----that's really authenticity right there just fyi) #wheninrome #actuallyinbrindisi

Vi voglio bene☀️

May the glory ever be to God

Anziano Hansen

Mi piace scrivere in italiano perché non mi capite

I'm at a loss when it comes to email subjects today. Soz.

Hello dear ones!

There are not very many things I want to say today. We just finished playing paintball and I'm more than a little sore haha. But I do have two thoughts I want to share with you all.

First off, I was having a pretty hard time this week feeling like I was a good teacher. We had a lesson where at the end, I had a really hard time feeling like I was a good teacher. So for this week I focused on the basics of teaching. I studied in preach my gospel and the scriptures and searched for how I could improve. It all came back to the basics of teaching. It doesn't need to be complex. You don't need to speak the language perfectly to have good lessons. Ask questions. Make it applicable to them. Bear testimony.

But I also found a really meaningful scripture to me in 2 Nephi 33. Verse four. It says

"And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my people. And the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it persuadeth them to do good; it maketh known unto them of their fathers; and it speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the end, which is life eternal."

I am weak. I am not perfect. But when I try, God will magnify my effort. What I do in my weakness, as I do it in faith with the intent to build faith in Christ, he will make those words powerful.

"Sun sets here at 5 PM

But it's still pretty so it's okay"

Secondly, there was another scripture that got me this week. D&C 64:33.

"Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great."

Just because I'm doing the will of the Lord right now doesn't mean I'll always be able to see the results that I'd like. And that's okay. I promised the Lord that I'd go where he wanted me to go. The words of "I'll go where you want me to go"

come back to me in this moment. I sang them and thought "no he wouldn't actually send me to the stormy sea".

But what if he does? What if that's our lot? Will I still go?

"Most of the zone (missing the missionaries from Foggia)"

"The homies who owned the place"

And that's really been the big question for me this week.

A few other thoughts have been figuring out how I can show faith in every decision I make, and also how I can continue to experience true conversion to the Lord. More than anything I want to make these two years worth it. I want to go home and be able to apply all I've learned out here, because if I don't, these two years for me will have been a waste. Not for those around me that I've helped, but for me, there's no point if I don't become better because of it. So really trying to apply this gospel to me - BECOMING a missionary and not just doing missionary things - is a big thing I'm trying to work on. I think that's a key for all of us. Becoming a disciple of Christ; becoming a member of the church; becoming a (whatever your calling is); because it's so much more than just doing things that are the defining characteristics of such people. We must put these things in our hearts and allow that seed to grow.

Also. (Sorry last thought then I'll be done with this really terrible email)

I was sitting in fast and testimony meeting yesterday and read through the words. I love verse four.

4. He lives! All glory to his name!
He lives, my Savior, still the same.
Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives:
"I know that my Redeemer lives!"

It's truly a joy to know that he lives. That's what makes all this worth it to me, really. My testimony of the Savior has grown, and for that reason alone, my mission for me will always be a success.

Here's a few photos from the week!

"This is a fritta.

It's essentially a deep fried pizza, and it's delicious."

"Where we played [paintball]"

VVB e ci sentiamo presto, eh?

May the glory ever be to God

Anziano Hansen

Happy Halloween 🎃 🎃

First off, if you've heard about the earthquakes and you're worried, you don't need to worry! All the missionaries in both the Milan and Rome missions are safe. We all good☺️

Zone Conference

That aside, good morning! And happy Halloween! Man. It was a year ago today that I got my mission call.

Feels like it was forever ago haha. Weird to think I am where I am now though. Before the mission, everything in life for me felt like that's what it was leading up to, and now I'm here! And that only makes me want to use my time better, because I know it won't last long.

Anyways, we had a super good week this week! I'll talk more about the actual week towards the end, but there was a big theme and a lot that I learned about myself this week that I'd like to write about first.

I am very independent...or at least I like to be. That's something I've always known about myself. I've never liked having to rely on others or being a burden to them because 1) I didn't want them to deal with my problems and 2) I didn't like relying on others because it made me feel weak. It showed that I actually wasn't able to make it on my own. This is still a trait I carry around out here sometimes. While being independent it nice and good in certain situations, there's also such a thing as being independent to a fault, and that's where it becomes a hindrance to our progression.

This past week though, I read through some of the letters I'd received before the mission from family and friends. I can't even begin to explain the joy, strength, love, and peace that they brought to me. From the inspiring words of my older sister to the happiness in the words of a new friend, I realized I'd been trying too hard for too long on my own. This all initiated a study that also ties in with a topic from zone conference this week. I took some to read and pray about the purpose of our dependency in this life on those around us and more importantly, on the Savior. Here's what I learned!

"Sometimes before we go to bed I dress up in normal clothes. Ees for fun."

God never meant for us to go it alone. We have weaknesses for a reason. All those around us have weaknesses for a reason. Their purpose is not so we can throw a pity party, but so that we can draw from each other's strengths. In exodus 4, God talks to Moses about how his brother Aaron will be a spokesman for him. God has given us the people around us so we can work more effectively together. There is always something we can do to help those around us, and there is always something to learn from them as well. The Lord also commands us in Luke 22 by saying

"But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren."

Sometimes though, we are the one who stands in need of strengthening. And that's okay. So! I first just wanted to say thank you for everything you've done for me. You have all been a great support, and I've failed to express enough gratitude for that. I promise to try harder from here on out!

Ultimately, however, we must rely on the Lord. Helaman 5 has one of my favorite scriptures.

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." (Helaman 5:12)

His foundation is the only foundation that is everlasting. And it's not that we only turn to him when our strength runs out. We rely on him always. I know that's something I need to work on. I've tried for a long time to try to do this work without him because I feel like he's already done enough and I want to show him I can do good things. But every time I try, I seem to fall short. And there's a reason. We cannot get to heaven on bridges built by our own hands. We cannot reach his standards on our own. It has always been and will only ever be possible with Christ, and that's something to be happy about. Why? Because he loves us. It's okay to be independent to a point, but we must never allow our pride to get between us and the Savior. It's difficult admitting that I cannot do it on my own, but when I know when we embrace that truth, love and strength come pouring into our lives.

Also, like I said, we had zone conference! We went up Thursday and came back Friday afternoon. There were a lot of good things said, but my favorite was the thought that God has literally given angels charge concerning us. We talked about the scripture in D&C 84 where it talks about how we'll have angels on our right and on our left to bear us up. That is a literally promise. It reminded me of one of my favorite stories in the Bible, in 2 Kings chapter 6. There's a war going on and it's Israel vs. Syria so it's already a scary time. Elisha keeps telling the king of Israel what the king of Syria will do and it gets to the point where the king of Syria things he's got a spy or traitor amongst his servants. He finds out it's actually the prophet who's telling the king of Israel what's going on, and he sends an army - an entire ARMY - to get this guy. The encamp the city by night, and this happens:

"15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? (Btws this is us in our moments of panic and despair when we feel like hope is lost)

16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."

The big point for me here is that we can cover our eyes with the cloud of doubt and fear all we want, but when the day comes that we are ready to see, God will show us the heavenly hosts that have always surrounded us. Just know that in whatever moment or situation you may find yourself, as long as you're doing the right things, you're never alone. He's with you always. So don't fear to do good, but actually do good with the confidence that He's watching over you.

Yeahhhhh this is long so I'm just going to wrap up with a few quick happenings of the week.

"A really terrible picture of Rome I took from Villa Borghese when we were there for the Nelson conference. That bigger building in the distance is the Vatican"

"When you're taking longer exposure pictures

"you have to be really good at keeping your hands still

"but I'm really terrible at it"

We also went to Bari on Monday for p day and played zone soccer! Ah man I miss soccer so much😭 anziano Young and I also only spoke Italian this week, and it was so much fun! Italian is such a beautiful language. You all should learn it😉

we also had stake conference yesterday!

Again, it was in Bari. Yup. Went to Bari three times this week😂 Saturday was a really hard night for both me and anziano young, and we didn't seem to be having much success. It got to the point where we stopped trying to talk to people for a few minutes. We were near the church anyways, and that's where we were trying to go. A thought came to my mind again though to keep on trying. We tried talking to a family, and they actually stopped and talk to us for awhile! Yeah a crazy guy came and distracted us and the family ended up walking away, but we did have enough time to just explain that families are extremely important to us as members of the church. Keep trying even when you don't feel like you can! Also read a super good talk this morning called "Finding Joy in Life" from April 1996 by elder Scott.

If you have a few extra minutes, give it a read.

We were also walking home one night when we could hear someone watching Harry Potter in their home.

Man I love Halloween.

Don't forget that today can be something special, aye?

Vi voglio bene! Sempre e con tutto il mio cuore!

May the glory ever be to God

Anziano Hansen