This past week was really good! No, we weren't able to get a ton of people to meet with us, but we got a lot of cool contacts and were able to hand off a few referrals. We were also able to set up some good stuff for this upcoming week, so we're looking forward to that as well.
"District photo"
Highlights of the week include...
- a lemonade stand we did yesterday in an attempt to talk to people about how Christ is the living water haha. It definitely wasn't the easiest thing we've done, but then again, we're missionaries and finding people is never the easiest thing. It was a lot of fun though! We met Davide, a 16 year old who's excited to play ping pong with us (and hopefully learn about the gospel, too☺🙏🏼) as well as Piero, a family man who wants to know how to have a better life.
- Finding a new favorite gelato flavor: peach! Ohhhh goodness it was so good. My favorite gelateria is still back in Reggio Calabria, but Palermo has a few good ones haha.
"New favorite gelato combination: peach and coconut"
- Doing a pass of the lesson with the zone leaders for Bernardo. Unfortunately, we won't be able to continue teaching him as he's in their area of the city. Fortunately, the lesson went well and he's excited to meet with them just as much as he was to meet with us! And it's Anziano Campbell who'll be teaching him anyway. I've known him for awhile, and he'll do just fine! I'm looking forward to hearing how they do with him.
- Jerry! It's been forever since we've been able to meet with him again. A few weeks back I mentioned that we'd gone over to his house and met his two non-member sisters. They're so cool! We were finally able to meet with him again and got him committed to reading the Book of Mormon once more. He's a great guy!
- Oh yeah I almost forgot that last week, we went hiking up to some caves as well as a WWII bunker out in a city nearby. It was really cool!
"We also went to see a WWII bunker"
"How we had to get into the bunker"
"Part of the view from inside"
"View from one of the windows in the bunker"
"Hiking to the caves"
"We were trying to get through to spaces like this"
"Inside!"
On the more spiritual side of things...
- I was reminded of how joyous this work was. Lately, it's been really hard for me to get excited about doing missionary work (finding and stuffs like that). It's so much easier to just go get gelato haha. But thinking back to the MTC, I remember a talk we watched where he said something along the lines of how our extremity is God's opportunity. I love that! Because as soon as we reach what we would deem our limits, God steps in and provides whatever it is we need as long as we're committed to just giving our all. When I reached those points this week, God always stepped in and made the work joyous. I'm so grateful for that!
- I gave a talk in church on Sunday about obedience, and as I studied for it, I was struck once again by how important the small things are. If we'll just do that, we can always be strong in the gospel. It's not about how good we are at the big things like not killing, not lying to get a million dollars, stuff like that. It's actually about how diligent we are in daily scripture study, how committed we are to personal prayer every morning and evening. That's what God wants. He wants the other stuff too, obviously, but meaningful obedience that changes lives begins with the fundamentals.
All in all, it's been a good week! Never the easiest, but far from the hardest and exactly what I needed. Work hard this week at the small things, homies. God will bless you for it.
So! This week was actually another really hard one, but it's definitely on its way up. Here's the thing...this last week, we lost all our work! Yay! Three people moved away and we need to pass off one person to some other elders because we found out that he doesn't actually live in our area. Oh man. Isn't that just the greatest?😂😭 so, all in all, it's been a week full of finding, and it's been great!
"Just me and homeboy"
Here's the thing about Palermo: if you don't want to do finding, the city is big enough and there's enough things to do that you can always be doing something else even though it may not be the most productive. This week though during our weekly planning session, we were able to address that need and get over it. A big part to moving off of the plateaus on which we currently find ourselves is simply acknowledging that we've stopped, acknowledging that there's still progress to be made, and then committing -- and I mean REALLY committing -- to making that progress happen. We've got ourselves a nice fresh start ahead of us☺
From Zone Conference the previous week
The Fourth of July this past week was so fun!! We had tons of food with the senior couple as well as all the other missionaries in the zone. Here's the picture that we took!
Besides that, like I said, we just ended up doing quite a bit of finding. It's been fun to get back into the groove of it! We did a scambio (an....exchange? That's what they're called in English, right?) with the Bagheria anziani this weekend and it was a lot of fun! Saturday night, anziano Oswald and I bought €13 worth of chicken and fries and on top of it, the guy threw in some arancine for free.
"SO MUCH FOOD
"Under all those fries on the bottom is an entire chicken lol"
You'll have to look up what those are because I don't know how to describe them to you haha. In the end though, it ended up being wayyyyy to much food for the both of us and we felt sick, but it was worth it.
"Stuffs"
"More stuffs"
We also had a member talk in church the other day about peace in adversity. I really like that topic, because it's not peace FROM adversity, but peace IN adversity. When Christ said
"In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
he didn't mean to say that we won't have tribulation, but does promise us that in the midst of our afflictions, we will have joy and grace. And that's beautiful! One of my favorite quotes of all time as it (kind of) relates to this is by President Eyring (I think...I could be wrong!), who said (I could also be wrong on the quote...sorry I'm not on point today) "it's not to only weather the storms, but to choose the right while they rage."
(From October 2005 General Conference.
Talk: Spiritual Preparedness:Start Early and Be Steady)
With Christ, that's possible. And it's not only possible, it's joyful! And that's a beautiful message☺
I'm just going to jump right into to my bullet points and explain the week like this because I feel like it's v easy haha so I hope y'all are ready
"The anziani from the district!...minus mistretta cause they're over an hour away"
- About the first half of the title, my allergies kicked in full force this week and I've been getting bloody noses like no other hahaha. It's not as bad this time around. Last year was awful because I didn't have any allergy pills (thanks pops for getting those to me), and it was soooo obvious haha. Sneezing, itchy eyes, bloody noses, the whole package haha. This year is better though. It's all just bloody noses. Literally every time I even lightly tap my nose it starts bleeding haha. It's made for some pretty awkward situations this week though but also some miracles! We walked into a little shop near a member's house because I needed to buy tissues and the guy at the cashier asked where we were from and long story short, we're going to go back and give him a Book of Mormon! Thank goodness for bloody noses😂
- AFRICAN WINDS THO. So every year around and during the summer months, there are these hot winds that come from Africa that carry sand and dirt all the way across the Mediterranean (cause it's really not that long anyways) and it shows up here in Sicily. They call it sirocco. Oh man it happened this week and I just remember walking out the door and straight into a wall of heat and dust and I honestly thought I'd die that day🙃
- Anziano Misa and I are getting along really well!...too well, I feel like haha. We actually end up laughing so hard that we can't do studies or leave the house and it's making it hard BUT it's a good time. One time though we went off about how if Italians wanted to say lol it would sound something like "ell-eh ohh ell-eh" hahahahahaha.
- We started playing soccer as a house each morning! I don't know why but getting up here and working out is super rough but as soon as there's soccer, I'm there. Getting up at 6:30 just to get up? Nahh. But getting up at 6 to play soccer? IM THERE!! It's been fun:)
"I passed out the other day and this is what happened while I slept hahaha"
- Did an exchange this week with the other anziani in our house which was fun! Haha I was with Anziano Haws (who got here last transfer) and we got some good work done. Most importantly though is that we found and bought a guitar for 7 euro haha. We walked past it the first time and the guy said he was selling it for 10 euro and we said "nah we don't have that kind of money" but came back not three minutes later and offered him 7 euro haha. Here in Palermo a lot of people just pull stuff out of garbages and sell it again on the street, and that's probably where the guitar came from. It's in pretty good condition though, so we're happy😂
"Those buildings in the background, though"
- Seeing as how me and Anziano Misa are still both pretty new here, we spent a lot of time this week just trying to figure out the city and let's just say we discovered a lot of what doesn't work haha. Good news is though that we're happy and looking forward to this upcoming week!
Now for the more spiritual part of things! We've had some cool experiences and learned a lot!
- The first lesson is actually the same as the last bullet point I mentioned. Yes, its difficult and confusing, but we're loving it and learning that as we put forward foot, God is lightening the burden we feel on our shoulders. Matthew 11:28-30!
"28 ¶ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Christ's ability to strengthen us and lift us up is real, but we have to do our part and come unto him. That's where we've been living this past week -- trying to make sure that we are actively engaged in the work and showing our faith! Because it's nice to say we have faith, but faith is more than a word, it's a life style. And honestly we've been blessed with so much, its just come down to us using what we've been given.
"We ate at an American place for lunch one day"
- We also spent a lot of effort just seeking to overcome the natural man inside of us. It's soooo easy to be out at 8 o'clock with nothing to do and just say "okay let's go home. It's close enough that we won't be wasting too much time." But we allllll know where rationalizations come from. It's hard, but with God's help and the help of Christ, we've set some goals to use our time as best we can! It'll be rough, but it all comes back to that faith and showing Christ that we're willing. It's been extremely humbling, but I love it!:)
- There have been a few people this week where we've just done such a terrible job of sharing the gospel but somehow still end up with their numbers. It's been a testimony for me of how this is truly Christ's work! It's not at all about what we do or what we even feel like we're good at doing, but all about a willingness to just try. MAN HAS IT BEEN A WEEK ABOUT FAITH!
- Striving to understand studies and how I can do them better. I spent a lot of time this week praying and seeking to have better studies because I feel like mine have just been really bad. After studying a little in preach my gospel chapter two and D&C 11:21
"21 Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men."
"85 Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man."s
I've come down to this!: effective studies must begin with prayer, during the which we seek 1) the companionship of the Holy Ghost and 2) humility. During studies, we need to be studying for a specific reason (a question in mind for example) and also take time to ponder on what we read. Then comes the most important step...application! And sincerely seeking to change through Christ. It's been getting better, and during studies, I've honestly felt better prepared to teach:)
All in all, it's been a great week! Forgot to mention it, but I Skyped as well
and I just have to say how much I love my family! Especially my mum! Happy Mother's Day to you once again☺
Sorry I had to it wasn't a choice (also I lack creativity when it comes to titles my b)
Hey people how y'all doin
So I really liked typing out my email last week in bullet point format so I'm going to try it again this week and hope it goes just as well! Things worthy of mentioning that happened this week:
- Well this isn't like, a highlight or anything, but Anziano Adepoju has been pretty sick this week. In total I'd say that we spent about two and a half days inside the house. It was good though because it gave me some time to organize a lot of stuff and clean up the rest of the house, and that's only going to help us have the spirit with us even more! A clean house is a happy house. Aaannndddd I may or may have not also taken a few naps. That's just one of the perks of being a missionary -- you're able to fall asleep whenever you want wherever you want because you're typically exhausted😂
"It's the district!"
- I sang all three verses of the star spangled banner
while cleaning the kitchen this week and felt so patriotic that I ALMOST (not really...kinda just throwing it in for emphasis) cried. But really though the second and third verses are so good
"2. On the shore, dimly seen thru the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream;
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
"3. Oh, thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust!"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"
(Text: Francis Scott Key, 1779-1843)
why do we never sing them?🤔
- Visiting a sick member in the hospital!!....who was surrounded by Jehovah's Witnesses. Man they're trying hard to get this one. It was a little awkward because we actually needed their help to get up to the member's room, but they were pretty chill about it. We walked in though and apparently they'd been there all day and had brought her tons of stuff and food and even got loads of their members to sign a poster for her haha.
- I got mail! And the majority of it was really unexpected. Just so you guys know, for a missionary (especially in a foreign country), getting mail is like Christmas and makes our day! Am I suggesting that you send me letters? Nahhh absolutely not I'd never go that low...but I'm just saying you could be the difference in a missionary's day if you'll send them a letter☺👍🏼
- ALMOST going to Enna for a Palermo stake olympics activity with a ton of younger members and investigators. Unfortunately, Enna is too far away and is actually out of our zone and we couldn't get permission to go. Sad day☹️
- The Bagheria anziani (Bagheria is the city that neighbors Palermo) had a guitar in their house that another anziano brought from Catania when he was transferred there, and neither of them know how to play, so they brought it to Palermo! I MISS PLAYING GUITAR and I've basically been playing it with every free moment I have.
- We had a picnic this last week with some of our members and investigators on the Italian holiday "liberation day". Basically it's the day that the Americans freed the Italians from German rule during the Second World War and eeeveryone has a picnic that day. It was fun!
"A picture from the picnic we had"
- We went bowling on Monday
"Bowling"
for the birthday of one of the Anziani and during the first game I got the second highest score with 119😎 ...second game though, I didn't even break 80😭 meh. I had my moment of glory and that's what matters.
All in all it was a good week! Yeah, we could've done a lot of things better, but that's what this upcoming week is for! We'll take what we learned from last week and apply it here so we can be even better this week😊 Moving forward, here are some of the tender mercies/important things I learned this week:
- I was able to realize this week why I've never really worried about having a position of leadership in the mission. I realized that everything we go through in our own lives is what God needs US to go through personally in order to become the people he needs us to be. Yeah I could look at district or zone leaders and think "man I wish I could be one of them", but what's the point? The reason they are where they are isn't because they're better, but simply because God knows that during their time in that position, there's something they'll learn that will help them in their eternal progression. If God ever needs me to learn something by being a district or zone leader, then I'll do it and I'll do it with gratitude for the opportunity to serve and to learn.
- One of the huge tender mercies for me this week was getting the confirmation that everything will be alright for this upcoming transfer. My recent comp has been here for 5 transfers now, and the mission president basically told me that he's leaving. That makes me nervous because I still don't know the area very well and beyond that, I just feel like I won't be able to connect to the people here as well as my companion does. As I've been praying about it this week though, I received the strongest feeling that God is going to make good things happen. He reminded me that this isn't my work, it's His. It's not about what I can do or even what I feel like I'm capable of, it's about God watching over and caring for His children. And he will do that! All he needs me to do is give my best effort and not give up. It reminds me of a scripture that elder Bednar
shared in the missionary broadcast in January from Alma 26 which says
"Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing--unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance."
It doesn't say that it's by our faith and repentance that these people are brought to the truth, but it says unto people who exercise faith and repent, such things are GIVEN, implying that there's only one who can make it a success, and it's definitely not me. It's God. There's been a few other experiences as well during prayer where I've received strong impressions, and that's strengthened my testimony that God is listening. A key principle to prayer though is our meditation both during and after prayer. It's in those quiet moments that he can speak to us, because his voice isn't loud, but still and quiet.
- So as I've been reading the Book of Mormon with questions in mind, we've actually been blessed with opportunities to use those scriptures in both finding and teaching situations. It's been really cool to see how when we go the extra mile to be prepared, the Lord will use us!
- During zone conference we made a list of things that are good, better, and best with regards to different aspects of missionary work. One that came to mind this week was one that was offered for when we teach lessons. We decided that it's good to present doctrine, it's better to explain doctrine, but it's best to ask questions that allow people to feel the spirit and gain testimonies for themselves. And that's what I tried really hard to do this week! We actually only taught two lessons, but during one of them, I focused not on presenting or even explaining the doctrine, but on helping him remember, understand, and recognize the spirit through asking him questions. And that's something I love so much about this new booklet they have for teaching in the saviors way.
I've studied it a tiny bit, and that's what I feel this is all about. It's all about helping people grow and maintain their testimonies, and that's the best way to do it!
- I also had a cool experience this week with the sacrament. I studied the prayers earlier this week and realized something I'd never thought about before. Whoever is praying asks not for the emblems to be blessed to our bodies, but to be blessed to our souls. I know that we all already know this, but it reminded me that the partaking of the sacrament itself is not what's important. The ordinance itself means nothing UNLESS our hearts have first been changed. Taking the sacrament is merely the physical representation of a change that's happened internally throughout the week. It takes preparation and sincere repentance, but when we put in that effort, God blesses us even more.
- We also have an investigator who asked to postpone his baptism not because he doesn't want to be baptized, but because he wants to make sure that he's ready. I think it's so cool that he recognizes the weight of what he's doing!
God is moving his work forward, and I'm blessed beyond description to be a small part of that right now. I'm lovin it❤️❤️❤️
Make it a great week homies. VVB!
Che la gloria sia sempre a Dio
"So it's a sweet roll with gelato on it and it's soooo good"
Hope your guys' week was as good as mine was! Real talk though, this week flew by so fast haha. Honestly feel like just two days ago was Monday, but here we are again! Today for p day we're going to be bowling for one of the Anziano's birthdays! Haven't been bowling in such a long time haha. I'll update you with who won next week👍🏼
"There's just something about the super tight alleyway thing that's characteristic of Italy that I love"
Anyways, there's a lot of cool stuff that happened this past week. We've been working a lot on establishing relationships with people here, and it's been going really well. But let me just intervene for a second and mention how lucky you guys are at home! Sharing the gospel is so much nicer of an experience. Out here as a missionary, you feel really stressed with the amount of time you're given. It's hardly enough to build and maintain solid relationships, and when you share the gospel, it often comes off as just some random person trying to convince someone else that they ought to change churches. Obviously, as missionaries, we try to avoid and do everything we can to not come off like that, but it still happens often. As a member though, you're not pressured in any of those areas. You don't have to invite people right away. You're not pushed for time. You can just share the gospel in small and simple ways. We do that as missionaries as well, but MAN is it so much easier to do that as a member. People don't assume you're doing it solely for the purpose of trying to convert them😂 it actually reminds me of a quote that I want to share really quickly! It was elder Holland who said "Asking every member to be a missionary is not nearly as crucial as asking every member to be a member!"
Just something to think about😊
It's been a nice experience though being able to really get to know these people and just focus on loving them. It does mean we've been slacking a bit in picking up new investigators, but I feel like it'll be worth it as we've created real friendships with these people.
We also went to the catacombs here in Palermo this week! Hundreds and hundreds of skeletons and imma admit that I was a little creeped out haha. Here's a picture I took right before being chastened for not having read the "no pictures" sign.
My b I won't do it next time.
Other oddities from the week include
- Tripping for the first time in a long time while walking up a flight of stairs and getting a ginormous bruise on my thigh🙃
- Talking to a lot of Jehovah's Witnesses this week!...inside our members house🤔 hahaha we showed up to get one of the members sons to come with us to a food festival (didn't even end up coming), and while waiting for him, we talked with a different member until the JW's came knocking haha. It was only a little awkward. It got really uncomfortable though when they assumed we didn't speak Italian and began whispering to each other loud enough for us to hear that it was awkward for them as well😂
- EATING ARROSTICINI AGAIN!
Let me explain. In the region of Abruzzo (within the which Pescara (my first city) is located) they eat these things called arrosticini. They take tiny bits of lamb and put them on skewers and after cooking them, they brush them using rosemary sprigs dipped in olive oil and put on a little bit of salt. They're so good! The only downside is that they're not super filling and literally have to eat 100 of them to be full hahaha. I paid €2,50 for three skewers, but it was totally worth it.
- Speaking of arrosticini, we had the festival! It was super cool. For a couple days, they blocked off the Main Street and just filled it up with all these little tents of different cultural foods. They had English food (fish and chips, obviously), American food (hot dogs and hamburgers😂), Brazilian food, Hungarian food, Thai food, Pakistani food, and a lot of food from different regions in Italy. It was so cool!
- Attending a catholic choir concert where a friend was performing! It sounded really cool and the experience was one I won't forget. I mean, sure we only got there and caught the last few songs, but it was awesome!
- Talking with more Jehovah's witnesses who were infinitely cooler than the other ones we met haha. They also spoke English, and we talked the entire tram ride about the English premier league and soccer haha. Man I love just being friendly and talking with people! Best way to share the gospel you know☺
- Making and eating like, 6 pounds of fried rice.
We decided this week that we'd each just buy our own food to eat instead of cooking lunches together, and I thought "yeah I'll just buy a ton of ingredients and make loads of fried rice and eat that for most of my lunches and dinners.
I'm so sick of eating friend rice now hahahaha.
I think that covers the majority of the noteworthy stuff that happened this week haha...except for zone conference!
"The zone!"
"Me and my MTC comp at zone conference!"
I really really loved this zone conference. We focused all on the Book of Mormon and setting goals in the mindset of the talk "Good, Better, Best" by Elder Oaks
given a few years back. Here are some of the thoughts that came to mind as we discussed these things:
- We are our own investigators! I can't remember exactly what it was that made me think this, but I imagined how much I study and care about investigators and how hard I try to help them nurture their testimonies, and then thought about how I also need to be doing that for myself. It was an interesting thought. Am I nurturing myself spiritually to the point that I'm able to continue to progress and strengthen my testimony?
- We don't teach Mormon doctrine. We teach Christ's doctrine. That's an important distinction that I love about this church. We don't claim it to be the "Mormon" church. This is Christ's church. And what's so cool about our message is that it's all about Christ. He is the cornerstone of this church. He's the center of everything we do and say and it's awesome that I get to teach about that! It's also interesting inviting people to learn more about it. As they study and pray, they come to know for themselves that this is Christ's church and this is his doctrine. Love it!
- There was another super cool thing that was said by one of the apostles. I can't remember which, but it was in a mission president training seminar video that we watched where someone mentioned that behavioral change without Christ as the focal point isn't repentance. It's more than just a behavioral adjustment, it's a literal change of heart. I love how in the scriptures the heart is often portrayed as the total sum of our desires and wants. And that's what Christ can change! I don't understand how, but I have faith that Christ can change even those desires of the natural man that we have.
- We also talked about how as missionaries in Italy, we all get to the point where we say "eh. It's just another thousand year old building" or "eh. It's just another castle." We talked about the true beauty of Italy and how just because its old to us doesn't mean it's not beautiful. We then related that to the Book of Mormon and how we often forget its beauty and importance. We talked about how it answers specific questions and how we ought to use it as our main source for teaching, and I realized that I don't know it nearly well enough. So we all accepted the invite of asking ourselves a question each day before we began studies that we'd find an answer to, and it's been really cool thus far. I invite you to do the same!
I'm loving the mission life. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. This upcoming week we're going to be doing lots of finding, so expect to hear some miracles next week😉
"Just one of the hundreds of mentioned 'fancy cars' from the title. Never seen a car so nice😳"
(Forward note -- I actually had all this written out on Monday and tried to send it but we were all around the city so that never happened cause the city wifi is not so great, so here it is now. Soz. Buon Tuesday tutti☺)
Mornin peeps
So! This past week was pretty good. It went by suuuuper fast and I'm honestly not entirely sure how it's already Monday again but that kinda stuff just happens, so here we are again! The most exciting news is definitely that there was a baptism this week!
"From the baptism"
I talked a little bit about him last Monday and mentioned that he'd be baptized, and everything went smoothly this week. It was such a cool experience to see all of it done during Easter as well. I honestly can't think of a better time for someone to be baptized and confirmed as a member of the church than on Easter. I was able to officiate the confirmation as well, so that was a first and also a really cool experience for me. Having the priesthood on the earth once again is a great blessing that I'm only now coming to understand -- and that in just the smallest degree. God is good!
"Just some random place in the city that I thought was really pretty"
We also kinda had another tiny trio this week because Anziano Haws (if you guys remember, he's one of the other anziani in the house with me and my companion) needed to go get his permesso (it's basically a residency permit saying he's legal) from Rome, so we were with Anziano De Feo for one day as well. During the scambio (the exchange) I was able to learn a lot actually about myself and what I can improve. I think it's really interesting how quick we are to forget God and forget our testimonies. When I read in the Book of Mormon about how quickly the nephites were to turn from righteousness to wickedness I always think "man they're pretty dumb. I'd never do that!" But the same thing happens to each of us in different ways, and it's the mindset of "no it'll never happen to me" that gets us. For me, it's that one week I'm super pumped about missionary work and I work hard and am diligent and then the next week, I'm completely out of it. That's what the scambio helped me
realize. It reminded me that I can be better, that God needs more from me, and that I needed to recommit myself to the Lord. And it was cool, because after recognizing that, the next time we left the house I just started striking up conversations with people on the tram. No, there wasn't anyone who accepted a baptismal date right then haha. But it was nice to just be friends and talk about why I'm here. I think that's one of the best ways to share the gospel - just being a friend. Eventually the time will come when they'll remember what I said or they'll meet other missionaries, and it's at that point that's they'll be ready. I don't need to worry so much about being the change but just doing my part in pointing them towards Christ. If I do that with all the love my wimpy heart can muster, whether they accept the gospel now or later won't matter to me. If I've loved them and shared the
gospel, I'm happy☺
We also had an inspired district meeting
"The district!!...without the anziani from mistretta, that is."
this week in which we talked about the importance of the Holy Ghost. Time and time again, I'm baffled by how important the spirit is in missionary work. During the meeting, Sorella Garrett, one of the senior couples missionaries, mentioned how when the spirit guided us, he never forces us. She then made the relation to how when we pray, we can't pray to take away someone's agency. We shouldn't be praying for those around us to do something specific or to feel a certain way. Beyond going against their moral agency, it could also be going against the will of God. We can pray for them to be sensitive, sure, but the rest is up to us. How much more willing would God be to help us if we'd pray and ask to be able to be instruments in his hands and do his will? I thought it was a cool thought.
Again, happy Easter! Hope it was fantastic for all of you and that you all had time to ponder about the Savior's sacrifice for us. I was actually asked to give a talk this past week in sacrament meeting about what it means to be a follower of Christ, and even though I only had two days notice to prepare the talk, I had some thoughts come to mind that I wanted to share with you.
Christ, in the New Testament, invited fishermen to be his disciples by uttering the simple phrase "follow me". Of those disciples, it was said that they "straightway left their nets" or "immediately left the boat" to follow him. I really like the analogy used a few years ago in general conference where one of the apostles compared the nets to anything that's preventing us from being entirely engaged in following Christ. I then thought about what my nets are. What's preventing me from following Christ? It can be anything! And more than just recognizing what it is that's holding us back, we need to do what it takes to let those things go. We don't need to understand perfectly, and we don't need to have perfect faith. We just need to act on the tiny faith we do have and let go immediately. If we do, we can make the Savior's sacrifice for us more meaningful, more worthwhile in our personal lives. Let's not allow his love for us to go to waste! On a large scale, his sacrifice will never be considered a waste, but it's up to is to make it worth something in our own lives. Just as we can't take away the moral agency of others, he can't take away ours.
"From zone soccer last week"
I think though that the best promise is that when leaving our nets becomes hard, when the road to following Christ goes where we don't feel we can go, we can remember that he never asked us to do it alone. It's more than just following the Savior, it's walking with him. Because he is our resurrected Savior, we can do that everyday☀️
This upcoming week, we'll have zone conference! That's going to be exciting, so look forward to hearing about that next week.
"We were trying to get the person to take the photo so you could see the rest of the street in the background but they just COULDNT DO IT and I was angry but this photo turned out okay"
Buona settimana tutti☺✌🏼
May the glory ever be to God
"I mean they did get this one but I don't like it as much cause I'm not smiling"
