Buon giorno a tutti! :)
Wow, it was great to be able to Skype home and see so many bright, shiny faces for Christmas! :) I am so glad that everyone is doing well! This week has been pretty crazy, since our schedule was all switched up because of Christmas, but it has been good anyway! We spent Chrismas eve in the home of a huge Peruvian family with like 7 kids (reminded me of home!) and apparently their Christmas is at 12:00 midnight rather than in the morning...but we had to be home much earlier than that anyway). But yeah, it was a little...interesting for me, since my companion and all of them mostly spoke Spanish and talked about Christmas in Peru...but it was still an experience! :) haha
Christmas day was wonderful; we got to watch Monster's University since one of our roommates had bought it (hilarious!). And then we went to the Gerachi family's house for Christmas lunch. It was delicious! They are from Sicily, so we had a typical Southern Italian dish: Some delicious lasagna, and buttered brea with raw salmon and fish eggs. It was...interesting, but actually not all that bad! The lasagna was phenomenal though. And then after we had gorged ourselves almost sick we were invited over to the Tromeur familys' home for skype and Christmas dinner! (oh mannn!) haha. We were SO full by the end of the night it wasn't even funny! They are so nice though. The mom was like "We know that Christmas is a little hard on the missionaries, so don't worry, you don't have to eat everything that we have here (which was a TON). You should have seen the relief on our faces!
Well, as far as investigators go, it is going pretty well! A lot of them are still in their home countries until after the new year, but we have been able to meet with a few families who live here. The Michaels are still doing well, they continue to struggle a little because they are out of work, but their faith is so inspiring. They told us that all their friends are so amazed that they have been able to continue to live in their apartment for a few months, even without working. They Always express so much gratitude for the Lord and His goodness in their lives.
Martha is still preparing for her baptism, which we are still thinking will be a week from Sunday. But there have been a few things come up (like they Always do when an investigator is close to their baptism), but we are working through them together, and I know that her faith will pull her through.
We had a wonderful miracle this week! We had a HUGE success of a Christmas party for the ward (even though it was quite the struggle to fit everyone in the chapel--you'll see the video!), right after the block, and we had 7 investigators and 5 less active members that we were contacting and teaching, show up to sacarament meeting, and then stay for the party! It was Amazing! They just kept coming in, we were so happy to see them! We then watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional together. It was really a special time.
We also watched the video "O come Emmanuel" by the pianoguys as a prelude to the devotional...I would definitely reccommend that! Wow. It brought the spirit so strongly into the room! (Although I must be allergic to it because my eyes were welling up a little) hehe.
Everything else is going well, it finally stopped raining after 4 days of non-stop pouring rain! The lake is practically over-flowing! It's a good time.
Well, sorry this email is a little short, our email time got cut this week since it's nt technically P-day today. But I love you all tons, and am so thankful for your prayers. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
DECEMBER 18, 2013
Buon Giorno!
Well, things are going great here in Italy. It's almost Christmas!!!! I am pretty excited for it, since we get to watch a disney movie, and my companion bought me "UP" for Christmas. So we are definitley watching that! :D But in other news...it actually isn't that cold these days, it has either warmed up or I am just immune to the cold due to my superpowers. (I'm pretty sure it's the latter, though)...It's been really hard keeping my superpowers a secret from my companion, but I'm hanging in there. ;) No, but no snow STILL! Man, all I want is a white Christmas! So pray for snow in Lecco :)
Our investigators are doing really well! Last week was kind of a bummer because we couldn't meet with a lot of them, and a lot are still gone to visit family, but this week we met with a lot more, and met with two, Fanny and Hassa, that we hadn't been able to meet for over a month! So we are really excited about that, they are both really great! Hassa invited us over to his house after our lesson at the train station to come teach his family one day, so we are trying to do that; and Fanny has read all the way up to Alma in the Book of Mormon, even without us being able to meet her due to work! It is amazing!
Martha is still doing really well in preparing for her baptism on the 29th, Dallin expressed his excitement that both me and him are going to have a "White" Christmas. Get it? White. :) Haha, I thought that was pretty great.
The Michael Family has been so blessed this past month or so, thank you all so much for your prayers. They still need them. But the husband bore his testimony to us the other day about the Lord's hand he has seen in their lives. He told us that people that they have never met before will ring the doorbell, and say "Is this the Michael family?" and they will respond yes, and they will give them a huge basket of food, or 50 euro in a envelope to pay their light bill, or something amazing like that and say "We just felt like we would stop by and see how you are doing" And then they just leave. and they have no idea who they are. Or he said that he will be out and about looking for work, and someone will invite him into thier house to eat a nice lunch, and he realizes that he has never met them before, but they say that they had some extra food and wanted to invited someone in. Or he also related an experience where someone (who he assumed to be working for the gas company) called him out of the blue, and asked him how much his gas bill was. He told them (it was like 100 euro or something), and the next day he called the company back to see how he was going to pay it, and it had already been paid! There are so many amzing miracles going on. I just sit back awe-stricken at it all. The Lord is so wonderful!
All our other investigators are doing well, we are working with a few others to get a baptismal date set; this truly is a time when the Lord is hastening his work. As our mission president said a little while ago: " The time of the planting seeds is over, it's now time to harvest!" And we have seen such a wonderful "Harvest" of souls this past month. November was the highest baptizing month I think the Milan mission has ever seen (If I understood correctly in the conference), there were like 60 people baptized or something amazing like that. It is so wonderful to be a part of all of this, and to see the true happiness and joy that the gospel of Jesus Christ makes in the lives of these people.
Miracle: We saw a really wonderful miracle this week. We went to a less-active member's house to teach a lesson with her home teacher from the ward, and about 5 minutes into our lesson about the Plan of Salvation, her boyfriend came over to visit. She invited him to come listen to our lesson, and said "Come sit down, and become a Mormon!" haha. It was pretty funny, but an invite nonetheless! So we started the lesson again, and went over the entire Plan of Salvation. He, Ferdinando, seemed genuinely interested, and as I looked at his face while my companion was talking about the resurrection, his face was so focused, and I could tell he was really listening intently. Fratello Pelucchi from the ward bore a powerful testimony at the end of the lesson about the difference that the message of the Plan of Salvation has had in his life, and we concluded with our testimonies about it as well. The lesson went really well, and we invited them to pray about the truthfullness of it, saluted them and then went on our way.
Two days later we were walking with two investigators to the church for an activity we had planned to help them meet a few members of the ward, and we were stopped by Ferdinando, who was on h is way to do some shopping! We spoke for a few minutes, exchanged numbers, and he told us to tell him the next time we go over to Francisca (the less active member) 's house so perhaps he can come! It was such a miracle and a testimony to me that the Lord places people in our path, even when we are least expecting it!
Well, it sounds like everything is going great at home! I am so thankful for all of you; for the examples you have been to me, and for your love and prayers in my behalf. I have truly been given so much, and I kneel down in gratefulness each night to thank the Lord for all I have been given, and ask him to provide ways for me to give back to others. Everything here is going just great, I love being a missionary so much!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Well, things are going great here in Italy. It's almost Christmas!!!! I am pretty excited for it, since we get to watch a disney movie, and my companion bought me "UP" for Christmas. So we are definitley watching that! :D But in other news...it actually isn't that cold these days, it has either warmed up or I am just immune to the cold due to my superpowers. (I'm pretty sure it's the latter, though)...It's been really hard keeping my superpowers a secret from my companion, but I'm hanging in there. ;) No, but no snow STILL! Man, all I want is a white Christmas! So pray for snow in Lecco :)
Our investigators are doing really well! Last week was kind of a bummer because we couldn't meet with a lot of them, and a lot are still gone to visit family, but this week we met with a lot more, and met with two, Fanny and Hassa, that we hadn't been able to meet for over a month! So we are really excited about that, they are both really great! Hassa invited us over to his house after our lesson at the train station to come teach his family one day, so we are trying to do that; and Fanny has read all the way up to Alma in the Book of Mormon, even without us being able to meet her due to work! It is amazing!
Martha is still doing really well in preparing for her baptism on the 29th, Dallin expressed his excitement that both me and him are going to have a "White" Christmas. Get it? White. :) Haha, I thought that was pretty great.
The Michael Family has been so blessed this past month or so, thank you all so much for your prayers. They still need them. But the husband bore his testimony to us the other day about the Lord's hand he has seen in their lives. He told us that people that they have never met before will ring the doorbell, and say "Is this the Michael family?" and they will respond yes, and they will give them a huge basket of food, or 50 euro in a envelope to pay their light bill, or something amazing like that and say "We just felt like we would stop by and see how you are doing" And then they just leave. and they have no idea who they are. Or he said that he will be out and about looking for work, and someone will invite him into thier house to eat a nice lunch, and he realizes that he has never met them before, but they say that they had some extra food and wanted to invited someone in. Or he also related an experience where someone (who he assumed to be working for the gas company) called him out of the blue, and asked him how much his gas bill was. He told them (it was like 100 euro or something), and the next day he called the company back to see how he was going to pay it, and it had already been paid! There are so many amzing miracles going on. I just sit back awe-stricken at it all. The Lord is so wonderful!
All our other investigators are doing well, we are working with a few others to get a baptismal date set; this truly is a time when the Lord is hastening his work. As our mission president said a little while ago: " The time of the planting seeds is over, it's now time to harvest!" And we have seen such a wonderful "Harvest" of souls this past month. November was the highest baptizing month I think the Milan mission has ever seen (If I understood correctly in the conference), there were like 60 people baptized or something amazing like that. It is so wonderful to be a part of all of this, and to see the true happiness and joy that the gospel of Jesus Christ makes in the lives of these people.
Miracle: We saw a really wonderful miracle this week. We went to a less-active member's house to teach a lesson with her home teacher from the ward, and about 5 minutes into our lesson about the Plan of Salvation, her boyfriend came over to visit. She invited him to come listen to our lesson, and said "Come sit down, and become a Mormon!" haha. It was pretty funny, but an invite nonetheless! So we started the lesson again, and went over the entire Plan of Salvation. He, Ferdinando, seemed genuinely interested, and as I looked at his face while my companion was talking about the resurrection, his face was so focused, and I could tell he was really listening intently. Fratello Pelucchi from the ward bore a powerful testimony at the end of the lesson about the difference that the message of the Plan of Salvation has had in his life, and we concluded with our testimonies about it as well. The lesson went really well, and we invited them to pray about the truthfullness of it, saluted them and then went on our way.
Two days later we were walking with two investigators to the church for an activity we had planned to help them meet a few members of the ward, and we were stopped by Ferdinando, who was on h is way to do some shopping! We spoke for a few minutes, exchanged numbers, and he told us to tell him the next time we go over to Francisca (the less active member) 's house so perhaps he can come! It was such a miracle and a testimony to me that the Lord places people in our path, even when we are least expecting it!
Well, it sounds like everything is going great at home! I am so thankful for all of you; for the examples you have been to me, and for your love and prayers in my behalf. I have truly been given so much, and I kneel down in gratefulness each night to thank the Lord for all I have been given, and ask him to provide ways for me to give back to others. Everything here is going just great, I love being a missionary so much!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
DECEMBER 11, 2013
Buona sera a tutti!
It is actually a really wonderful day outside today (comparatively). It isn't hardly cold at all. Still no snow; I'm starting to think that it's just a myth....like salamanders... Haha just kidding! But it is going great! This P-day has been really relaxing, and I also made a scripture case for my triple out of a cardboard box, some pictures, and a BUNCH of tape! It looks pretty dang good if you ask me! :)
The work is going alright. We have kinda had a little harder week this past week, but we are pushing through it and still working hard. The mission, just like life, is like a big roller coaster, with lots of ups and some downs too. "What goes up must come down!" (Remember that B?) haha. But our investigators are doing pretty well. Martha is still progressing to her baptism on the 29th, so we are all excited about that! And we have a wonderful new investigator, Angela, who invited us and Fratello Pelucchi into her home to talk about the Plan of Salvation. It was a great lesson!
We had such a great zone conference this past Monday. We all went to Milan and had a big Christmas-themed conference (we also learned a lot too though, of course!) But we had a delicious ham and funeral potato (not as good as Idaho potatoes) lunch....mmmm! Also, we had that green marshmallow, whipped cream, desert salad thing with the meal, and the 3 Australians (one of which is in my district) were freaking out because they had no idea what this American food was. It was pretty funny.
As far as skype goes, I'm not 100% sure still on how it works. But we get (I believe) 30 or 40 minutes to skype home, and we will probably just try to find a member's house that we can go to to use it on Christmas. But I am excited to see you guys! :)
We also got a really sweet Christmas card from the 1st presidency! It was thanking the missionaries for their work and stuff, and had their signatures and everything. It was really thoughtful! I am still waiting for your cards, but the postage takes a little bit so I'm sure they are almost here....right? ;) haha.
Let's see...Christmas time! I just love Christmas time so much! Not only is it just a great time of year, but we can finally hand out the hundreds of pass-along cards we have with a picture of the manger that say Joy to the World on them! haha.
I was reading in Doctrine and Covenants chapter 35 this morning, in verses 13 and 14 which say "Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised, to thresh the nations by the power of my Spirit; And their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shield and their buckler; and I will gird up their loins, and they shall fight manfully for me; and their enemies shall be under their feet; and I will let fall the sword in their behalf, and by the fire of mine indignation will I preserve them." How poweful is that! I just love that so much; it reminds me who is on my team :) It's like playing a middle school basketball game and having Michael Jordan in the fourth quarter step in and make up the slack that we need. (I don't know why that just popped into my mind, but it did!) But really, it is just such a reminder to me that this work truly is the Lord's, and those that follow Him and seek to do good will be upholded by Him, and shall not fall. For the Lord will "Fight our battles", I know that is true. How thankful I am to be a missionary, and to have the privilege to declare the truth to those who need to hear it; and to be able to witness first-hand the difference that the Gospel of Jesus Christ makes in their lives. The Atonement of our Savior "makes bad men good, and good men better!" I know that is true.
Miracle: This week we have been working hard, and have seen a really wonderful miracle. We met with a man named Luca last transfer. He had already been familiar with the missionaries for years, and has a Book of Mormon, which he has been reading. The last time we met with him ( About 3 weeks ago) he told us that he wanted to read the entire book of Alma, and then he would call us back, and we could meet with him again. We were kind of a little doubting I guess you could say, since that is kind of a large task that not many investigators would undertake, especially it being their own idea. But surely enough, we received a text message from him this last week saying that he had almost finished Alma, and wanted to meet with us the next evening to discuss it! We met with him, and had a wonderful experience as we shared some of our favorite scriptures from Alma, and discussed the real comfort and help that the scriptures provide for us, especially as we liken them unto us, and apply the principles contained in them in our lives. He told us last meeting that he wants to finish reading the entire Book of Mormon before the end of January! So we are excited for him! This truly is the Lord's work.
Everything else is going well! I am working my very hardest, and am pushing through and trying my best to be a good missionary, even when it's hard; and even when I have to stand alone in being exactly obedient. I know that obedience brings blessings, but exact obedience brings miracles. I am thankful for your prayers on my behalf. I can feel your strength every day as I sink to my knees and pray for strength, and then get up with a renewed strength to take on the day. We are so very blessed. I love you all and always pray for you!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
It is actually a really wonderful day outside today (comparatively). It isn't hardly cold at all. Still no snow; I'm starting to think that it's just a myth....like salamanders... Haha just kidding! But it is going great! This P-day has been really relaxing, and I also made a scripture case for my triple out of a cardboard box, some pictures, and a BUNCH of tape! It looks pretty dang good if you ask me! :)
The work is going alright. We have kinda had a little harder week this past week, but we are pushing through it and still working hard. The mission, just like life, is like a big roller coaster, with lots of ups and some downs too. "What goes up must come down!" (Remember that B?) haha. But our investigators are doing pretty well. Martha is still progressing to her baptism on the 29th, so we are all excited about that! And we have a wonderful new investigator, Angela, who invited us and Fratello Pelucchi into her home to talk about the Plan of Salvation. It was a great lesson!
We had such a great zone conference this past Monday. We all went to Milan and had a big Christmas-themed conference (we also learned a lot too though, of course!) But we had a delicious ham and funeral potato (not as good as Idaho potatoes) lunch....mmmm! Also, we had that green marshmallow, whipped cream, desert salad thing with the meal, and the 3 Australians (one of which is in my district) were freaking out because they had no idea what this American food was. It was pretty funny.
As far as skype goes, I'm not 100% sure still on how it works. But we get (I believe) 30 or 40 minutes to skype home, and we will probably just try to find a member's house that we can go to to use it on Christmas. But I am excited to see you guys! :)
We also got a really sweet Christmas card from the 1st presidency! It was thanking the missionaries for their work and stuff, and had their signatures and everything. It was really thoughtful! I am still waiting for your cards, but the postage takes a little bit so I'm sure they are almost here....right? ;) haha.
Let's see...Christmas time! I just love Christmas time so much! Not only is it just a great time of year, but we can finally hand out the hundreds of pass-along cards we have with a picture of the manger that say Joy to the World on them! haha.
I was reading in Doctrine and Covenants chapter 35 this morning, in verses 13 and 14 which say "Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised, to thresh the nations by the power of my Spirit; And their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shield and their buckler; and I will gird up their loins, and they shall fight manfully for me; and their enemies shall be under their feet; and I will let fall the sword in their behalf, and by the fire of mine indignation will I preserve them." How poweful is that! I just love that so much; it reminds me who is on my team :) It's like playing a middle school basketball game and having Michael Jordan in the fourth quarter step in and make up the slack that we need. (I don't know why that just popped into my mind, but it did!) But really, it is just such a reminder to me that this work truly is the Lord's, and those that follow Him and seek to do good will be upholded by Him, and shall not fall. For the Lord will "Fight our battles", I know that is true. How thankful I am to be a missionary, and to have the privilege to declare the truth to those who need to hear it; and to be able to witness first-hand the difference that the Gospel of Jesus Christ makes in their lives. The Atonement of our Savior "makes bad men good, and good men better!" I know that is true.
Miracle: This week we have been working hard, and have seen a really wonderful miracle. We met with a man named Luca last transfer. He had already been familiar with the missionaries for years, and has a Book of Mormon, which he has been reading. The last time we met with him ( About 3 weeks ago) he told us that he wanted to read the entire book of Alma, and then he would call us back, and we could meet with him again. We were kind of a little doubting I guess you could say, since that is kind of a large task that not many investigators would undertake, especially it being their own idea. But surely enough, we received a text message from him this last week saying that he had almost finished Alma, and wanted to meet with us the next evening to discuss it! We met with him, and had a wonderful experience as we shared some of our favorite scriptures from Alma, and discussed the real comfort and help that the scriptures provide for us, especially as we liken them unto us, and apply the principles contained in them in our lives. He told us last meeting that he wants to finish reading the entire Book of Mormon before the end of January! So we are excited for him! This truly is the Lord's work.
Everything else is going well! I am working my very hardest, and am pushing through and trying my best to be a good missionary, even when it's hard; and even when I have to stand alone in being exactly obedient. I know that obedience brings blessings, but exact obedience brings miracles. I am thankful for your prayers on my behalf. I can feel your strength every day as I sink to my knees and pray for strength, and then get up with a renewed strength to take on the day. We are so very blessed. I love you all and always pray for you!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
DECEMBER 4, 2013
Buon quasi Natale! ...di nuovo. haha
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I'm sure that was a lot of fun! :)
The work here in Lecco is going SO well, I am really loving it! This time of year is so great; everyone is in just the best mood! Christmas time truly brings everyones' hearts to the Savior....plus I just love Christmas music. It really brings the spirit!
The snow STILL hasn't come! I can't believe it! It even rained again last week! haha. And unfortunately, I got a little sick a few days ago...the "colpa d'aria" or "the air's fault" got me sick. haha. But don't worry, I bought some soup and oranges and got a good day's rest and am feeling great now!
Oh so fun fact for ya!: Italians think any illness that isn't explained by other causes is automatically the cold air's fault. For example, last transfer one of the missionaries I was sharing a room with had an ear infection...and so he went to the doctor to diagnose it, and the doctor diagnosed it as "colpa d'aria", and said "try not to sleep with the fan on anymore". He then asked him how to say colpa d'aria sickness in English, and Anziano Walden just said "well...we..don't have a word." haha. It was pretty funny.
But our investigators are doing really well! We have had two move back to their countries (Bolivia and Peru) for Christmas, so that was a little rough...but besides that it is really going well! We are working hard out here, and I have really noticed a direct correlation between the amount of work we put in, and the amount of success we find. Missionary work really is work! I have seen the hand of the Lord so much in my life; for example when during a lesson a scripture or something to say will come to mind, and we will look back and realize that it was the exact thing that they needed to hear.
I also bought a scarf because it is so cold....Italians always wear scarfs (even the men), and I must admit, it's lookin prettyy good! haha. Just thought I'd throw that out there.
I was listening to a talk the other day from Jeffery R. Holland (man, that guy can give a talk!) about the parable of the house builder and the workers. I must admit, I need to read about it still, so I don't know all the details, but what I got from the talk was this: The "boss" hired workers at 5 different times in the day to help him complete his work, At the beginning of the day, 9, 12, 3, and finally one hour before the work day was completed. At the end of the work day, when the work was completed, the boss payed every worker wages to equal work for the entire day. Elder Holland talks about that those who worked all the day long were initially a little frustrated, and felt "short-changed". But he goes on to explain that the workers who worked all day were still payed in full; there was no injustice being done. But rather, the owner of the house, in an act of kindness, chose to pay all the workers for a full day. He then goes on to add many wonderful things throughout his talk, but the line that stuck with me is this: "We are not diminished when others are added upon. Life is not a race, to see who is the most favored, or wealthy, or even the most blessed..." That really stuck with me, and was a reminder to me to be kind, and happy when others are blessed, even if we are working hard and maybe not seeing the same results. I really enjoyed that :)
Miracle: We have seen many miracles this week, it is hard to single out just one. But I would have to say that our miracle this week was with one of our investigators, Martha. We had a really wonderful lesson with her the other day about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and specifically, baptism. We have been working with her for over a transfer trying to prepare her for baptism, and have asked her to be baptized multipule times. The answer is always that she needs more time to think and ponder whether it is the right decision, followed by our invitation to pray about it, and a promise that the Lord will always answer the prayer of a sincere searcher of truth. But as we talked about it this time, we talked about the importance of setting goals, and her baptismal date is like a goal to be reached, that will help her to fulfill her true potential. She accepted the invitation to be baptized on the 29th of December! Merry Christmas to us! :) This past Sunday she also went up to the pulpit and bore her testimony about how grateful she was and is to have found this church. She talked about her strong catholic background, and the difference that she has seen in the members of this ward--the true friendship that she has found here in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Her testimony was so sincere, and just so touching. I am amazed at the differences the Lord's word can make in peoples' lives. What a blessing it is to be a missionary!
Well, I love you all very much, and am so thankful for your prayers in my behalf. I can feel your strength, I really can. I am so thankful for you, and for the examples you are, and for the sacrifices you have made to allow me the privilege of being out on this mission. The work is hard, there is no doubt about that. But I wouldn't trade the experiences I am having, and the peace and comfort, and happiness I feel at the end of the day for anything in the world.
Love,
Anziano Wilson
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I'm sure that was a lot of fun! :)
The work here in Lecco is going SO well, I am really loving it! This time of year is so great; everyone is in just the best mood! Christmas time truly brings everyones' hearts to the Savior....plus I just love Christmas music. It really brings the spirit!
The snow STILL hasn't come! I can't believe it! It even rained again last week! haha. And unfortunately, I got a little sick a few days ago...the "colpa d'aria" or "the air's fault" got me sick. haha. But don't worry, I bought some soup and oranges and got a good day's rest and am feeling great now!
Oh so fun fact for ya!: Italians think any illness that isn't explained by other causes is automatically the cold air's fault. For example, last transfer one of the missionaries I was sharing a room with had an ear infection...and so he went to the doctor to diagnose it, and the doctor diagnosed it as "colpa d'aria", and said "try not to sleep with the fan on anymore". He then asked him how to say colpa d'aria sickness in English, and Anziano Walden just said "well...we..don't have a word." haha. It was pretty funny.
But our investigators are doing really well! We have had two move back to their countries (Bolivia and Peru) for Christmas, so that was a little rough...but besides that it is really going well! We are working hard out here, and I have really noticed a direct correlation between the amount of work we put in, and the amount of success we find. Missionary work really is work! I have seen the hand of the Lord so much in my life; for example when during a lesson a scripture or something to say will come to mind, and we will look back and realize that it was the exact thing that they needed to hear.
I also bought a scarf because it is so cold....Italians always wear scarfs (even the men), and I must admit, it's lookin prettyy good! haha. Just thought I'd throw that out there.
I was listening to a talk the other day from Jeffery R. Holland (man, that guy can give a talk!) about the parable of the house builder and the workers. I must admit, I need to read about it still, so I don't know all the details, but what I got from the talk was this: The "boss" hired workers at 5 different times in the day to help him complete his work, At the beginning of the day, 9, 12, 3, and finally one hour before the work day was completed. At the end of the work day, when the work was completed, the boss payed every worker wages to equal work for the entire day. Elder Holland talks about that those who worked all the day long were initially a little frustrated, and felt "short-changed". But he goes on to explain that the workers who worked all day were still payed in full; there was no injustice being done. But rather, the owner of the house, in an act of kindness, chose to pay all the workers for a full day. He then goes on to add many wonderful things throughout his talk, but the line that stuck with me is this: "We are not diminished when others are added upon. Life is not a race, to see who is the most favored, or wealthy, or even the most blessed..." That really stuck with me, and was a reminder to me to be kind, and happy when others are blessed, even if we are working hard and maybe not seeing the same results. I really enjoyed that :)
Miracle: We have seen many miracles this week, it is hard to single out just one. But I would have to say that our miracle this week was with one of our investigators, Martha. We had a really wonderful lesson with her the other day about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and specifically, baptism. We have been working with her for over a transfer trying to prepare her for baptism, and have asked her to be baptized multipule times. The answer is always that she needs more time to think and ponder whether it is the right decision, followed by our invitation to pray about it, and a promise that the Lord will always answer the prayer of a sincere searcher of truth. But as we talked about it this time, we talked about the importance of setting goals, and her baptismal date is like a goal to be reached, that will help her to fulfill her true potential. She accepted the invitation to be baptized on the 29th of December! Merry Christmas to us! :) This past Sunday she also went up to the pulpit and bore her testimony about how grateful she was and is to have found this church. She talked about her strong catholic background, and the difference that she has seen in the members of this ward--the true friendship that she has found here in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Her testimony was so sincere, and just so touching. I am amazed at the differences the Lord's word can make in peoples' lives. What a blessing it is to be a missionary!
Well, I love you all very much, and am so thankful for your prayers in my behalf. I can feel your strength, I really can. I am so thankful for you, and for the examples you are, and for the sacrifices you have made to allow me the privilege of being out on this mission. The work is hard, there is no doubt about that. But I wouldn't trade the experiences I am having, and the peace and comfort, and happiness I feel at the end of the day for anything in the world.
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
NOVEMBER 27, 2013
Buon quasi natale! :)
I am SO excited already for Christmas time! It makes me miss home a ton, but it really is just a wonderful time to be a missionary too! People's hearts really are turned to the Savior this time of year, and everyone is just always happy! (despite the freezing weather, haha)
The work is going swimmingly ( well, not literally, *ba dum ching*....ok bad joke haha. uh oh, the Italian humoural- indifference is rubbing off on me! haha just kidding) :) But we are really having a great time working hard out here. My companion and I will still be companions this next transfer also (mamma mia), and will be staying here in Lecco! Finally I get to stay somewhere where we find investigators haha. The Lord has strengthened me so much these past few weeks, as i try my very hardest to fulfill this sacred calling and bring precious people unto Christ.
The snow hasn't come yet! I am starting to think that it's just a rumor around here to scare everyone...haha just kidding!
Lets, see...oh yeah! For English class this last week we played Family Fued! That was SO hilarious! There are some people in the class that know a lot, and so they answered almost everything, but there were a few that were just great sports about the whole thing, and when we asked them a question they would say whatever word in English that came to mind. "Name a food that rolls when it falls on the floor" "...a camera!" hahaha, it was a great time :)
Our investigators (well, the Lord's investigators) are really doing well! this week has been a little crazy with preparing for transfers and meetings and everything, but we are seeing a lot of success. I truly am humbled to be out here in the mission field, and truly have seen that when I just give all I have to the Lord, the Spirit has put words into my mouth.
I am kind of "hitting the second wall" in terms of learning the language. It is kinda hard being with a native-Italian speaker sometimes, because he is trying to learn English, so he almost never speaks to me in Italian. The only time he does is in lessons, and he can just teach the whole lesson without stopping and I won't get a chance to say anything until my testimony at the end. But I am studying hard and know that the Lord will help me grow and learn as I put my trust in Him.
Miracle: We had a wonderful miracle this past week. We have been teaching this family for a few weeks, and have taught them a lot about the importance of the family. There were 11 people the last time we met with them; all members of their extended family. But a few days ago when we met with them we were offered a ride home from one of the aunts and nephew, and on the way home we discussed the lesson, and gave them a book of mormon to read. We also exchanged numbers and are setting up a new appointment to meet with them again, because they live here in Lecco. They are such nice people, and very religious, and they really seem ready for our message. We hope that the Spirit will touch their hearts as we plan to invite them to be baptized this next upcoming appointment. Missionary work is just so great!
All else is going well. I have been praying a lot asking Heavenly Father to strengthen me and help me fulfill the potential that I know He sees in me, and the Lord is really helping me a lot to learn and develop valuable attributes, like patience, which is a trait that I was and still am lacking a little bit. I am so thankful for the trials He puts in my path that help me to grow.
I was reading the other day in Doctrine and Covenants chapter 78, the last few verses, and learned a lot about the love that the Lord has for us. I remember a part of it saying "...and ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along..." What a comfort that was for me, and is for all of us. I know that the Lord really will lead us along, even through moments of trial, and that we will always look back to see that we have grown from the obstacles in our way. It reminded me of a part of the talk that Trevor Westra's older brother gave a few years ago for his homecoming talk (with my memory I can't believe I still remember it!) about the Redwood trees. He said something about the fact that when he looked at the largest and strongest trees, he could always see burn marks, from when there would be a fire coming through and it woud scorch, but not burn, the trees. He related that to us. That as we are developing our testimonies into the "REdwoods" that they need to be for us to return and live with our Father in Heave, there will be trials. But they will always make us stronger. How blessed I am, and thankful to be serving as a missionary, even when it's a little hard :)
Well, I love you all very much, and you're in my prayers always! Thanks so much for all you do!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
NOVEMBER 20, 2013
Buon giorno tutti!
This week has been pretty amazing! (like always) We have seen so many miracles I can't even believe it! We have been doing really well, and we have some really wonderful investigators, 3 of which are already preparing for baptism! (and we think 3 more are ready for a baptismal date!) :) It is so wonderful to see the Lord's hand in our work, and the spirit touching hearts of those who we wouldn't expect at all...It is such a blessing to be a missionary!! § (whoa! check out that symbol! that was on accident but I'm definitely leaving it because it's cool haha)
So the weather luckily....has been the exact same! Haha I am so thankful for whoever invented the umbrella...what a saint and a scholar! It rains so much here, but sadly no snow yet! I am hoping that it snows before next week's transfers so I can see my companion's reaction to it (he hasn't seen snow in at least 15 years other than up in the mountains).
In other news, you will be delighted to hear that christmas music has already started among the missionaries! haha. I love Christmas time! (even though it's still november). But I will be able to skype home on Christmas for an hour and a half I believe, so I'm looking forward to seeing your bright, smiling faces! :)
I listened to a wonderful talk by President Uchtdorf the other day; when he talked about slowing down and enjoying life. It was so wonderful; a great reminder to me that even though we are hustling and bustling to appointments, and doing this and that, that it is important to "enjoy the journey", as they say. President Uchtdorf quoted from Psalms 118:24, which says "This is the day which the Lord hath made; rejoice and be glad in it." I love that! We should always remember that our life truly is a blessing, and despite how busy we all are, there is always a time when we can take just a moment and remember all that we have, and how blessed we truly are. As we have taught a lot of investigators here from very humble backgrounds, I have really been reminded how blessed I truly am, and we all are. The peace and comfort that the principles of the gospel bring truly is priceless.
Haha also a funny story! So last night we were walking around, and on our way to an appointment we stopped a man, who spoke English! Haha I love it when the speak English! But we started talking, and it turns out that the reason he stopped to talk with us was because he had talked to missionaires a long time ago who had given him a Book of Mormon, and told him that through reading the book he could have all the things he ever wanted. He then asked us why he hasn't recieved a red Ferrari yet, because he read part of the Book and assumed that he would then have it. Haha! We had a good laugh, and then a really wonderful lesson about the book, and our Hevenly Father's plan for us, soon followed. It was great! :)
Miracle: We had a really wonderful miracle this week while implementing the teachings of an area 70, Elder Texiera, who came and talked about how to become "fruitful missionaries" last week. He said that if we are looking for new investigators, the Lord has really already given them to us! We should ask the investigators that we are presently teaching if they have someone in their life that we can pray for or help or share this message with. So we did that this past week. One of our wonderful investigators, Fanny, had a wonderful lesson with us as we helped her to overcome a trial in the family, and later gave us 2 referrals of people to teach. We contacted and taught both of those referrals, set a new appointment, and they became investigators! And the one of them, Anna, then asked us if we could contact her son, who is about our age. We did so, and invited him to English class, which he accepted, and he then passed his phone to a friend that was there with him, whom we spoke with and also invited, and he accepted as well! The "finding tree", as Elder Texiera called it, really works! What a testimony that was and is to me that the Lord truly does prepare friends and families together to hear our message, and if we will really be attentive to the needs of our investigators, and teach because we love them, they will notice, and desire this happiness and help for their closest friends.
Well, I hope all is going well at home, I love you all very much, and you are always in my prayers.
Love,
Anziano Wilson
This week has been pretty amazing! (like always) We have seen so many miracles I can't even believe it! We have been doing really well, and we have some really wonderful investigators, 3 of which are already preparing for baptism! (and we think 3 more are ready for a baptismal date!) :) It is so wonderful to see the Lord's hand in our work, and the spirit touching hearts of those who we wouldn't expect at all...It is such a blessing to be a missionary!! § (whoa! check out that symbol! that was on accident but I'm definitely leaving it because it's cool haha)
So the weather luckily....has been the exact same! Haha I am so thankful for whoever invented the umbrella...what a saint and a scholar! It rains so much here, but sadly no snow yet! I am hoping that it snows before next week's transfers so I can see my companion's reaction to it (he hasn't seen snow in at least 15 years other than up in the mountains).
In other news, you will be delighted to hear that christmas music has already started among the missionaries! haha. I love Christmas time! (even though it's still november). But I will be able to skype home on Christmas for an hour and a half I believe, so I'm looking forward to seeing your bright, smiling faces! :)
I listened to a wonderful talk by President Uchtdorf the other day; when he talked about slowing down and enjoying life. It was so wonderful; a great reminder to me that even though we are hustling and bustling to appointments, and doing this and that, that it is important to "enjoy the journey", as they say. President Uchtdorf quoted from Psalms 118:24, which says "This is the day which the Lord hath made; rejoice and be glad in it." I love that! We should always remember that our life truly is a blessing, and despite how busy we all are, there is always a time when we can take just a moment and remember all that we have, and how blessed we truly are. As we have taught a lot of investigators here from very humble backgrounds, I have really been reminded how blessed I truly am, and we all are. The peace and comfort that the principles of the gospel bring truly is priceless.
Haha also a funny story! So last night we were walking around, and on our way to an appointment we stopped a man, who spoke English! Haha I love it when the speak English! But we started talking, and it turns out that the reason he stopped to talk with us was because he had talked to missionaires a long time ago who had given him a Book of Mormon, and told him that through reading the book he could have all the things he ever wanted. He then asked us why he hasn't recieved a red Ferrari yet, because he read part of the Book and assumed that he would then have it. Haha! We had a good laugh, and then a really wonderful lesson about the book, and our Hevenly Father's plan for us, soon followed. It was great! :)
Miracle: We had a really wonderful miracle this week while implementing the teachings of an area 70, Elder Texiera, who came and talked about how to become "fruitful missionaries" last week. He said that if we are looking for new investigators, the Lord has really already given them to us! We should ask the investigators that we are presently teaching if they have someone in their life that we can pray for or help or share this message with. So we did that this past week. One of our wonderful investigators, Fanny, had a wonderful lesson with us as we helped her to overcome a trial in the family, and later gave us 2 referrals of people to teach. We contacted and taught both of those referrals, set a new appointment, and they became investigators! And the one of them, Anna, then asked us if we could contact her son, who is about our age. We did so, and invited him to English class, which he accepted, and he then passed his phone to a friend that was there with him, whom we spoke with and also invited, and he accepted as well! The "finding tree", as Elder Texiera called it, really works! What a testimony that was and is to me that the Lord truly does prepare friends and families together to hear our message, and if we will really be attentive to the needs of our investigators, and teach because we love them, they will notice, and desire this happiness and help for their closest friends.
Well, I hope all is going well at home, I love you all very much, and you are always in my prayers.
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
NOVEMBER 13, 2013
Buon compleano (sp?) familglia!
Haha just kidding, but happy birthday I guess anyways! So things here in
Italy are going really, really well! We have had some wonderful
experiences and I am really learning a lot--both in terms of the language
and also a lot about the wonderful principles of the gospel also. I
recently downloaded a lot of conference talks to my USB card, and have
enjoyed listening to a talk while I eat breakfast in the morning, and one
in the time we have to wind down at night. I have marveled at the
eloquence of those men of God, and have wondered how I could have possibly
overlooked some of the marvelous blessings promised to the faithful, and
some of the tender testimonies of the Savior that are bourne. My heart has
been touched many times as I have listened to those inspiried words. They
truly are of great worth, and I would encourage you all to read some!
As far as the work goes, we have been really working hard, and the
Lord has blessed us with many new investigators and lessons to teach, so we
are keeping pretty busy! Which is a good thing! Among those, we are
teaching a wonderful man, George. He actually plays professional soccer
here in Italy, which is pretty cool. It's funny, he will always say stuff
like "well my manager said this," or "my agent said that", and I just think
to myself "wait a minute...he actually does have an agent!" Haha because I
remember that I used to joke all the time to friends about calling up my
agent for stuff...but he actually can! So yeah, basically I am almost
famous I guess...I'll sign something and send it home for you guys to sell
on E-bay. Hahaha just kidding! But anyways, George has such a wonderful
heart, and great faith. He came to Italy from Africa, at which time he
didn't believe a lot in God and religion. But as we have been talking with
him, we can tell that his faith has grown so much, and we are preparing him
to be baptized in December if everything works out! It is such a blessing
to be doing the Lord's work, and to see the light begin to be visable in
his eyes, as he is inspired by the Holy Spirit. This truly is the Lord's
work.
Also the brakes went out on my bike last week, and so that was
pretty intense weaving through traffic and whatnot with practically no
brakes, haha. But don't worry mom, we took it to a bike shop and they are
repaired now :) It is pretty marvelous to me though...in retrospect,
every time we had to ride our bikes somewhere in high traffic, or had to
stop relatively suddenly, there was always a path for me to go so that I
could continue going off ot the side, or between stopped cars, or something
like that and still be safe even though my brakes were struggling...but now
that the brakes are fixed, the traffic and obstacles have been different! I
have to be on high alert because we have to slam on the brakes every once
in a while (Italian drivers...ohhh man, haha)! I guess the Lord's angels
decided that they can stop protecting me as much now that I have the
capacity to stop myself :) But as silly as that sounds, there really is no
doubt in my mind that I am being protected out here in the field. I have
felt at times, the influence of some unseen forces, stopping me, or helping
me in ways that I am able to always be safe. There were lots of "close
calls", I guess you could say. But anywaysss, the point is that I know
that I am safe! And don't worry, we're not as reckless on bikes as I have
made it sound, haha!
We had such a tender sacrament meeting last Sunday; it was the
primary program given by the young kids here in the Lecco ward. Tears came
to my eyes as the sung "Sono un figlio di Dio" and many other wonderful
primary songs. In between songs they had the little children bear their
testimonies, and it was jsut so beautiful. One little girl, around 5 or 6
years old, walked up to the microphone, pulled it right next to her mouth
and yelled "GESù CRISTO è IL NOSTRO SALVATORE" (which means Jesus Christ is
our Savior) just so loud and proud. It about broke everybody's eardrums
but she skipped back to her seat and then started jumping up and down just
so excited. It was so beautiful. Little children are so close to our
Heavenly Father; they have come from the spirit world just moments ago
where they lived with Him, and accepted his glorious plan for them. It
touched my heart to see how excited they were/are to declare their
testimony of truth. At the conclusion of the program, the 1st counselor in
the bishopric said that they are truly little angels. How true that is.
It reminded me of a scripture in Matthew chapter 19, when Jesus says "But
Jesus said, Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto
me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
Well, everything is going wonderfully out here in Lecco. The cold has
officially arrived! But this coat I have is SO nice and "swarm" (as B
would say), so I am just loving life! My companion is just so hilarious.
He has lived in Rome, where it is so hot, for 12 years, and so he is always
like "oh my GOSH it's SO cold! I need to buy a beenie, and big gloves, and
a new sweater!" And he goes out with his shirt, sweater, jacket, and coat
on, haha. At times it's a little toasty for me in my coat so I unbutton
it, and he just looks at me like I'm out of my mind. It's fun stuff!
So here is our miracle this week!: We had a wonderful miracle this week
with one of our investigators. We found her pretty "randomly" a few weeks
ago in the middle of the market, talked to her for only about 2 minutes,
exchanged numbers, and later set up an appointment. But we just recently
taught her the Plan of Salvation (wow, took me a second to think of what it
is called in English, uh oh, haha), and she just loved it so much. She
expressed to us her desire to be baptized, and we invited her to come to
church in order to help her prepare for this big step in her life. She
usually works every Sunday in Milan, but she expressed to us that she needs
to come to church, and is planning on working everything out so that she
can attend! It truly was such a miracle!
I am so very blessed, and so thankful to be in the Lord's army at
such a wonderful point in time; a time when the Lord is truly hastening his
work. I know that these things are true; I wouldn't be out here if I
didn't. I have seen the great peace and hope that this gospel brings to the
lives of the sons and daughters of God that we have taught, and have seen
great differences in the lives of people here. What a blessing this gospel
is!
I thank you are so much for your prayers in my behalf and the support
that you are for me every day. I am so very blessed to have had a
wonderful family and friends around me to help me to prepare for this
wonderful time of service. I love you all!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Haha just kidding, but happy birthday I guess anyways! So things here in
Italy are going really, really well! We have had some wonderful
experiences and I am really learning a lot--both in terms of the language
and also a lot about the wonderful principles of the gospel also. I
recently downloaded a lot of conference talks to my USB card, and have
enjoyed listening to a talk while I eat breakfast in the morning, and one
in the time we have to wind down at night. I have marveled at the
eloquence of those men of God, and have wondered how I could have possibly
overlooked some of the marvelous blessings promised to the faithful, and
some of the tender testimonies of the Savior that are bourne. My heart has
been touched many times as I have listened to those inspiried words. They
truly are of great worth, and I would encourage you all to read some!
As far as the work goes, we have been really working hard, and the
Lord has blessed us with many new investigators and lessons to teach, so we
are keeping pretty busy! Which is a good thing! Among those, we are
teaching a wonderful man, George. He actually plays professional soccer
here in Italy, which is pretty cool. It's funny, he will always say stuff
like "well my manager said this," or "my agent said that", and I just think
to myself "wait a minute...he actually does have an agent!" Haha because I
remember that I used to joke all the time to friends about calling up my
agent for stuff...but he actually can! So yeah, basically I am almost
famous I guess...I'll sign something and send it home for you guys to sell
on E-bay. Hahaha just kidding! But anyways, George has such a wonderful
heart, and great faith. He came to Italy from Africa, at which time he
didn't believe a lot in God and religion. But as we have been talking with
him, we can tell that his faith has grown so much, and we are preparing him
to be baptized in December if everything works out! It is such a blessing
to be doing the Lord's work, and to see the light begin to be visable in
his eyes, as he is inspired by the Holy Spirit. This truly is the Lord's
work.
Also the brakes went out on my bike last week, and so that was
pretty intense weaving through traffic and whatnot with practically no
brakes, haha. But don't worry mom, we took it to a bike shop and they are
repaired now :) It is pretty marvelous to me though...in retrospect,
every time we had to ride our bikes somewhere in high traffic, or had to
stop relatively suddenly, there was always a path for me to go so that I
could continue going off ot the side, or between stopped cars, or something
like that and still be safe even though my brakes were struggling...but now
that the brakes are fixed, the traffic and obstacles have been different! I
have to be on high alert because we have to slam on the brakes every once
in a while (Italian drivers...ohhh man, haha)! I guess the Lord's angels
decided that they can stop protecting me as much now that I have the
capacity to stop myself :) But as silly as that sounds, there really is no
doubt in my mind that I am being protected out here in the field. I have
felt at times, the influence of some unseen forces, stopping me, or helping
me in ways that I am able to always be safe. There were lots of "close
calls", I guess you could say. But anywaysss, the point is that I know
that I am safe! And don't worry, we're not as reckless on bikes as I have
made it sound, haha!
We had such a tender sacrament meeting last Sunday; it was the
primary program given by the young kids here in the Lecco ward. Tears came
to my eyes as the sung "Sono un figlio di Dio" and many other wonderful
primary songs. In between songs they had the little children bear their
testimonies, and it was jsut so beautiful. One little girl, around 5 or 6
years old, walked up to the microphone, pulled it right next to her mouth
and yelled "GESù CRISTO è IL NOSTRO SALVATORE" (which means Jesus Christ is
our Savior) just so loud and proud. It about broke everybody's eardrums
but she skipped back to her seat and then started jumping up and down just
so excited. It was so beautiful. Little children are so close to our
Heavenly Father; they have come from the spirit world just moments ago
where they lived with Him, and accepted his glorious plan for them. It
touched my heart to see how excited they were/are to declare their
testimony of truth. At the conclusion of the program, the 1st counselor in
the bishopric said that they are truly little angels. How true that is.
It reminded me of a scripture in Matthew chapter 19, when Jesus says "But
Jesus said, Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto
me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
Well, everything is going wonderfully out here in Lecco. The cold has
officially arrived! But this coat I have is SO nice and "swarm" (as B
would say), so I am just loving life! My companion is just so hilarious.
He has lived in Rome, where it is so hot, for 12 years, and so he is always
like "oh my GOSH it's SO cold! I need to buy a beenie, and big gloves, and
a new sweater!" And he goes out with his shirt, sweater, jacket, and coat
on, haha. At times it's a little toasty for me in my coat so I unbutton
it, and he just looks at me like I'm out of my mind. It's fun stuff!
So here is our miracle this week!: We had a wonderful miracle this week
with one of our investigators. We found her pretty "randomly" a few weeks
ago in the middle of the market, talked to her for only about 2 minutes,
exchanged numbers, and later set up an appointment. But we just recently
taught her the Plan of Salvation (wow, took me a second to think of what it
is called in English, uh oh, haha), and she just loved it so much. She
expressed to us her desire to be baptized, and we invited her to come to
church in order to help her prepare for this big step in her life. She
usually works every Sunday in Milan, but she expressed to us that she needs
to come to church, and is planning on working everything out so that she
can attend! It truly was such a miracle!
I am so very blessed, and so thankful to be in the Lord's army at
such a wonderful point in time; a time when the Lord is truly hastening his
work. I know that these things are true; I wouldn't be out here if I
didn't. I have seen the great peace and hope that this gospel brings to the
lives of the sons and daughters of God that we have taught, and have seen
great differences in the lives of people here. What a blessing this gospel
is!
I thank you are so much for your prayers in my behalf and the support
that you are for me every day. I am so very blessed to have had a
wonderful family and friends around me to help me to prepare for this
wonderful time of service. I love you all!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
NOVEMBER 5, 2013
Cari famiglia e amichi,
I'm so sorry that last week I wasn't able to reply to anyone's
emails, my companion and I had a little bit of a fail in terms of planning
haha, and so we ended up with 1 hour of p day left and only one computer
here at the church...hurray for teenage boys planning :P (well actually my
companion is 26...but still, haha). But so sorry about that, we found a
place that has computers that we can use for just 1 euro an hour, so that's
pretty sweet :)
To answer everyone's questions, yes I do still have the same companion,
at least for these next 3 weeks. He or I will probably get transferred
after this though. We are working hard to grow closer together and teach
with more unity. I have seen these past few weeks especially the true
power that comes from a second testimony of the truth.
This week in Lecco has been so great! It is such a blessing to wake up
and think to yourself "What a blessing, I'm a missionary!" ...well, maybe
that's the second thing that we think. After "Wow! There is NO way it is
6:30...3 am maybe!" haha. But it is really just miracle after miracle and
great experience after great experience here in Italy. We have seen lives
touched, hearts changed, and have shed tears with our investigators while
declaring our testimonies of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We have found a few new investigators while out doing strada, and it
has been wonderful to see how the spirit lights up in their eyes, and they
have a desire to hear more about the gospel.
Let's see...what else. (I really need to start writing things down!
haha) Well, its getitng a little chilly around here (well, the Italian
think so. It's about September weather in Pocatello, haha.) Still no snow!
Also, we are still meeting with the Michael family. What faithful and
wonderful people they are. They shared with us a little bit about how they
came to Italy...on a boat with around 100 people. If I remember correctly,
the boat sunk...or had a leak...or something awful happened when they were
close to the shore. All I remember him telling us was that only about 23
of those on the boat survived, including him and his wife. It just
completely blows my mind the things that these two have been through...I
can't even imagine. We are actually going over there again tonight to meet
with them. It was a very special experience last time as we read together
from the words of Mosiah chapter 24, about how the Lord will strengthen us,
take his burdens upon us, and make us stronger than we ever thought we
could be. It was interesting that we were lead to talk about the fact that
the Lord never takes our burden away completely...but rather he strengthens
us to the point where we can bear the burdens that come upon us. The gospel
brings so much peace in this troubled world. Continue to keep them in your
prayers, as will I :)
So we had a wonderful miracle with one of our investigators the other
day. We were in the lesson (which was in English...I love it when they are
in English! Mostly because my companion doesn't speak a ton of English, so
I get to take the lead! :) haha Actually...we have been teaching a lot of
lessons in Spanish lately...which is odd haha. Because my companion speaks
Spanish, so that's...interesting, especially when he looks at me in the
middle and expects me to say something relevant...haha.), But anyhoo, when
this lady asked us about the Book of Mormon. She expressed her doubts
about it, and wondered how a book of scripture could just "come forth out
of nowhere". We were a little surprised at her questions, because we
thought that the other missionaries had already taught her about Joseph
Smith and the Restoration. So we began talking about it again, about how
Joseph Smith prayed to know the truth, was answered, inspired, and led by
God to bring forth from the earth sacred plates, written by ancient
prophets, and translated them by the gift and power of God...you all know
the story. Well sure enough, she began to remember what the other
missionaries had taught her. She asked many questions, which, through the
wonderful power of the Spirit, we were able to answer, and by the end of
the lesson she was grinning from ear to ear and just so excited about this
Book that could help her in her life. What a blessing it is to see the
power of the Lord work through us, imperfect, relatively immature and
unlearned, young boys, to touch the hearts of people for good, and help
them to realize that this life is hard but we never have to face it alone.
During our last lesson with the Michael's I was reminded of a story
that I'm sure we have all heard, that I heard in seminary a few years ago.
It was about a young man, who, if i remember correctly, was having a hard
time in life. He prayed fervently before going to bed, and had a dream
that night. He dreamt that he was on a beach, and he saw two sets of
footprints, side-by-side in the sand. He recognized that one set was from
him, and the other was from the Savior, who always walks beside us in this
life, ready to help us when we stand in need. But he noticed
something...that in the hardest moments in his life, there was only one set
of footprints. He asked sincerely, "Lord, in my hardest moments in life,
why did you leave me alone?" The Savior replied "I never left you alone,
my dear brother, I was carrying you."
I know that our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, are real.
They live, and have perfect, glorified, and immortal bodies. They watch
over us, and lift us up when we are not strong. And I have felt their
strength carrying me when I feel like I can't do it any more. What a
blessing it is to serve the Lord!
I'm glad to hear that everything is going well at home! I love you all!
Anziano Wilson
I'm so sorry that last week I wasn't able to reply to anyone's
emails, my companion and I had a little bit of a fail in terms of planning
haha, and so we ended up with 1 hour of p day left and only one computer
here at the church...hurray for teenage boys planning :P (well actually my
companion is 26...but still, haha). But so sorry about that, we found a
place that has computers that we can use for just 1 euro an hour, so that's
pretty sweet :)
To answer everyone's questions, yes I do still have the same companion,
at least for these next 3 weeks. He or I will probably get transferred
after this though. We are working hard to grow closer together and teach
with more unity. I have seen these past few weeks especially the true
power that comes from a second testimony of the truth.
This week in Lecco has been so great! It is such a blessing to wake up
and think to yourself "What a blessing, I'm a missionary!" ...well, maybe
that's the second thing that we think. After "Wow! There is NO way it is
6:30...3 am maybe!" haha. But it is really just miracle after miracle and
great experience after great experience here in Italy. We have seen lives
touched, hearts changed, and have shed tears with our investigators while
declaring our testimonies of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We have found a few new investigators while out doing strada, and it
has been wonderful to see how the spirit lights up in their eyes, and they
have a desire to hear more about the gospel.
Let's see...what else. (I really need to start writing things down!
haha) Well, its getitng a little chilly around here (well, the Italian
think so. It's about September weather in Pocatello, haha.) Still no snow!
Also, we are still meeting with the Michael family. What faithful and
wonderful people they are. They shared with us a little bit about how they
came to Italy...on a boat with around 100 people. If I remember correctly,
the boat sunk...or had a leak...or something awful happened when they were
close to the shore. All I remember him telling us was that only about 23
of those on the boat survived, including him and his wife. It just
completely blows my mind the things that these two have been through...I
can't even imagine. We are actually going over there again tonight to meet
with them. It was a very special experience last time as we read together
from the words of Mosiah chapter 24, about how the Lord will strengthen us,
take his burdens upon us, and make us stronger than we ever thought we
could be. It was interesting that we were lead to talk about the fact that
the Lord never takes our burden away completely...but rather he strengthens
us to the point where we can bear the burdens that come upon us. The gospel
brings so much peace in this troubled world. Continue to keep them in your
prayers, as will I :)
So we had a wonderful miracle with one of our investigators the other
day. We were in the lesson (which was in English...I love it when they are
in English! Mostly because my companion doesn't speak a ton of English, so
I get to take the lead! :) haha Actually...we have been teaching a lot of
lessons in Spanish lately...which is odd haha. Because my companion speaks
Spanish, so that's...interesting, especially when he looks at me in the
middle and expects me to say something relevant...haha.), But anyhoo, when
this lady asked us about the Book of Mormon. She expressed her doubts
about it, and wondered how a book of scripture could just "come forth out
of nowhere". We were a little surprised at her questions, because we
thought that the other missionaries had already taught her about Joseph
Smith and the Restoration. So we began talking about it again, about how
Joseph Smith prayed to know the truth, was answered, inspired, and led by
God to bring forth from the earth sacred plates, written by ancient
prophets, and translated them by the gift and power of God...you all know
the story. Well sure enough, she began to remember what the other
missionaries had taught her. She asked many questions, which, through the
wonderful power of the Spirit, we were able to answer, and by the end of
the lesson she was grinning from ear to ear and just so excited about this
Book that could help her in her life. What a blessing it is to see the
power of the Lord work through us, imperfect, relatively immature and
unlearned, young boys, to touch the hearts of people for good, and help
them to realize that this life is hard but we never have to face it alone.
During our last lesson with the Michael's I was reminded of a story
that I'm sure we have all heard, that I heard in seminary a few years ago.
It was about a young man, who, if i remember correctly, was having a hard
time in life. He prayed fervently before going to bed, and had a dream
that night. He dreamt that he was on a beach, and he saw two sets of
footprints, side-by-side in the sand. He recognized that one set was from
him, and the other was from the Savior, who always walks beside us in this
life, ready to help us when we stand in need. But he noticed
something...that in the hardest moments in his life, there was only one set
of footprints. He asked sincerely, "Lord, in my hardest moments in life,
why did you leave me alone?" The Savior replied "I never left you alone,
my dear brother, I was carrying you."
I know that our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, are real.
They live, and have perfect, glorified, and immortal bodies. They watch
over us, and lift us up when we are not strong. And I have felt their
strength carrying me when I feel like I can't do it any more. What a
blessing it is to serve the Lord!
I'm glad to hear that everything is going well at home! I love you all!
Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
OCTOBER 30, 2013
Buon giorno tutti! Today it's a beauuutttiifffuulll RAINY day! Haha we are in the Church basically in the middle of a hurricane. It rains SO much here apparently right before winter, so we are in for a treat! Haha I took a video of us walking in the middle of it all, we got sooo drenched! haha it was to the point where the water was basically going through the umbrellas. Haha it's a good time. I actually love the rain, so it's okay for me. But our poor pamphlets are soaked. But anywayyssss... so the work here is going great! We have made soooo many calls, (like over 100) to potential investigators, and have set up some great appointments. We are really excited to be here, it's a city with a lot of need for missionaries, and a lot of people willing to learn. We are doing a lot of Street contacting (well, when it's not raining) which has been going well! The days pretty much roll together we are so busy, haha.
I read a wonderful quote the other day from Elder David A. Bednar (I have found so many great talks these past few weeks!). He said something to the effect of "We will see more success in our prayers if we pray not for our circumstances to change, but instead for the capacity to overcome the circumstances we are presently in." He talked about Nephi, when he was bound with rope by his wicked brothers. When Nephi prayed to be loosed he didn't pray for God to unloosen the bands, or to change his circumstances in any way (which is what I would have prayed for I'm sure), but instead he said " ...give me strength, yea even that I may burst these bands with which I am bound..." Wow. Can you imagine the faith that he must have had? He knew that God could give him the strength to change his own circumstances, even to burst the ropes that held him. That was a profound lesson that I learned...that we are going to have hard times. We just will. But that instead of pleading with God to change our circumstances, we should plead with him to give us the strength to confront and overcome the challenges that we are facing. I thought that was great :)
Wow, this computer is set to Italian, so basically all my words are underlined in red for misspelling...so forgive me if I don't spell stuff right, no spellcheck. haha.
So anyways..what else is new...oh! I read another quote in...I can't remember where,...awkward...haha oh well! But it was Thomas S. Monson who said "...Young men, I hope you appreciate the sacrifices your parents make for you to be able to come on a mission...Their labors will sustain you, their faith encourage you, and their prayers will uphold you. A mission is a family affair." So I just wanted to thank you all for your support. I know that you have made many sacrifices for me to come out here. and I have felt the strength of your prayers. I love you all!
So, our miracle! This past week we had a wonderful miracle with one of our investigators. We found her while doing strada (which in itself was a wonderful miracle also!) and set up an appointment with her. Our lesson About the restoration was wonderful; the spirit was so powerful as we bore our testimonies about the Book of Mormon and our Savior, Jesus Christ (which we later found out she had never known about), which in fact is our miracle. A few hours after our wonderful lesson we received a text message from her saying "grazie per conoscere me Gesù" which we took to mean "thank you for helping me to know about Jesus." Our hearts were touched as we thought back to during the lesson in the Church when she was staring at the big picture of Jesus coming out of his tomb with wonder in her eyes. There are wonderful people here in Italy who are kept from the truth only because they know not where to find it. I can't imagine what life would be like without knowing the we have a Savior who died for us, and now lives for us, who can help us through every single trial, every single hardship, because he has been there before. What a privilege it is to be a representative of Him, and declare His reality to those who simply have never been given the opportunity.
Well family and friends, I love you all and thank you for all you do for me. I am so thankful to have been blessed with such wonderful people in my life to give me strength in the tough times. Being a missionary is such a blessing, I wake up every day so thankful (and also exhausted...but still thankful! haha) for the opportunity I have to declare the truth all day long. I love testifiying of our Savior, and as a missionary we truly can feel a special part of the love that He and our Heavenly Father have for those we teach. We are all one big family, brothers and sisters, and we are all here to help each other find the light. What a special time we live in! :)
Oh! also, I was reading my setting apart blessing that I recieved before I left (thanks Aunt Raelyn, Tiffany, and Nicole for taking notes for me!) and part of it said "Ask you family for help in calling down blessings upon those you teach..." And so I wanted to ask you all a favor! So, we are teaching a wonderful family right now, the Michael (yes that's the last name) family. The husband is a member but the wife is not....yet :) They are both such wonderful people, their testimonies touch my heart. But the husband just recently lost his job. He has expresed to us his unbreakable faith that those who put their trust in God ill be blessed and provided for. He walks (because his bike is broken and he has no money to fix it) 10 miles every day looking for work and dropping off his resume, but times are just really hard here in Italy. They are such wonderful people and the husband deserves to be able to provide for his family. With tears in his eyes he expressed how difficult it is as a father, as a man, to not be able to provide for his family. So I just wanted you all to say a special prayer for them, that they may be blessed with means to pay for thier apartment and food, and find work. That would be wonderful. Thank you all so much!
All my love,
Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
OCTOBER 23, 2013
Buon giorno famiglia!! Everything is going great here in Lecco, we are
starting off pretty much "blind" because we don't know the area or any
members, but we are working hard, and it we are excited to do the Lords
work, even if it is difficult sometimes.
So you will all be interested to know that I am writing this email
from one of those "demo" computers in the computer store lol. It's called
Media World, and Anziano Francum (him and his companion Anz Guzzle are our
new roommates in Lecco) told us that he does it all the time, because there
is only one little computer at the church, haha. So this is quite the fun
time...I'm using the latest version of the Macbook or whatever it's
called...fancy schmancy! For P day today we had a little excursion to
Bergamo, and it poured rain on us all day, so we are soaked haha. "It's
all part of the experience Russ" ;)
But anyways, so about the work! We have been doing a ton of finding
work, fixing up our bikes (yes! we get bikes!), and definitely praying for
inspiration on what to do and where to go. There are 4 if us missionaries
in Lecco. It's quite the change from San Remo, but I don't mind it that
much. I'm not a huge fan of change in general, but I'm gonna get used to
it one way or another, haha :)
I read a few really inspiring quotes the other day from old general
conference talks that I wanted to share. One was from President Monson,
who said something to the effect of "Tax your talent...and the Lord will
make you equal to your challenges..." That really hit me pretty hard. Tax
your talent. I have had a lot of chances to ponder about this glorious
work and the gifts and talents that the Lord has given me, and how I can
best use them to bless the lives of others. I have been given so much; we
all have. To be a part of this glorious gospel is such a blessing, and
with that blessing comes 2 things. A responsibility to share and serve
others, and trials. God tries those that He wants to grow. We had an
investigator ask us the other day: "But why is it that the people who try
to follow God and do the right things always have such a hard life?..."
That question got me thinking about it myself...it's one of those
"questions of the soul" questions, that really comes from the heart. As I
was pondering about the answer, I came to this conclusion: that those who
manifest to God that they are willing to follow HIm, He must try, and
chasten, so that they can grow. Because He loves us, and knows that we can
overcome these things. So in a way...trials are kind of a "compliment" if
you will, from God. Saying "Well done my son (daughter), here, have this
trial and grow even more." Elder...D Todd Christopherson I think it was
said something like "those who God loves, He chastens...". I really have
seen that in my life, and in my mission. The "elect" souls, who always
desire to do the right things, always have trials and troubles that don't
seem fair. But the wonderful thing about trials is that they always make
us grow. How thankful I am for the trials that the Lord puts into my life,
to test me and help me to grow.
It's also interesting to me that President Monson said "..and the Lord
will make you equal to your challenges. Equal. We will be able to overcome
our challenges, but it won't be just given to us. One of the wonderful
things about this gospel is that it requires work. How thankful I am for
the people in my life who have shown me how to work, and have been examples
to me of diligence.
My short time as a missionary has been so wonderful, I have really
learned to "search" the scriptures and words of the prophets and apostles
here on the earth, rather than simply "read" them. I have been so humbled,
and I am thankful for the Lord putting these things in my life. We all can
be a little more humble. I truly am just so blessed, and thankful for all
of you. Your prayers in my behalf are felt, and I know with all my heart
that the Lord is strengthening me every single day. This time goes by SO
fast, I want to make the best of every minute of it. "Don't count the days,
make the days count". Thanks Uncle R'Dale (so sorry if I misspelled
that...blame it on the Italian...haha) :)
So we had a wonderful miracle here in Lecco yesterday. Like I said
before, we are basically starting from scratch, and don't have hardly
anyone to teach yet, so we have been doing a lot of strada (street
contacting). And yesterday, after about 20 "No me interessa" "Ciao"
"Grazie" and "no, no, no"s, we finally found someone receptive to our
message! We set up an appointment with her for Friday, and she is super
excited to speak with us! And so, we felt pretty awesome about that. So
we kept on walking and talking, and the next 3 people were the same way!
We spoke with each of them for 10 or 15 minutes, exchanged numbers, and we
are going to call them to set up more appointments! It makes me so happy
to go out and talk to people. Just talk about Jesus, and the blessing that
His gospel is in our lives. It's such a privilege to wear this badge. The
Lord truly does put people in our path; we find the most willing souls in
the most unsuspecting...if that's the word? haha oh no! My English is
fading! haha. unsuspecting places. It is such a marvelous thing to me.
The Lord's hand is in this work.
Well, I love you all so much, and hope everything is going well in
good ol' 'merica. I pray for you all every night!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
starting off pretty much "blind" because we don't know the area or any
members, but we are working hard, and it we are excited to do the Lords
work, even if it is difficult sometimes.
So you will all be interested to know that I am writing this email
from one of those "demo" computers in the computer store lol. It's called
Media World, and Anziano Francum (him and his companion Anz Guzzle are our
new roommates in Lecco) told us that he does it all the time, because there
is only one little computer at the church, haha. So this is quite the fun
time...I'm using the latest version of the Macbook or whatever it's
called...fancy schmancy! For P day today we had a little excursion to
Bergamo, and it poured rain on us all day, so we are soaked haha. "It's
all part of the experience Russ" ;)
But anyways, so about the work! We have been doing a ton of finding
work, fixing up our bikes (yes! we get bikes!), and definitely praying for
inspiration on what to do and where to go. There are 4 if us missionaries
in Lecco. It's quite the change from San Remo, but I don't mind it that
much. I'm not a huge fan of change in general, but I'm gonna get used to
it one way or another, haha :)
I read a few really inspiring quotes the other day from old general
conference talks that I wanted to share. One was from President Monson,
who said something to the effect of "Tax your talent...and the Lord will
make you equal to your challenges..." That really hit me pretty hard. Tax
your talent. I have had a lot of chances to ponder about this glorious
work and the gifts and talents that the Lord has given me, and how I can
best use them to bless the lives of others. I have been given so much; we
all have. To be a part of this glorious gospel is such a blessing, and
with that blessing comes 2 things. A responsibility to share and serve
others, and trials. God tries those that He wants to grow. We had an
investigator ask us the other day: "But why is it that the people who try
to follow God and do the right things always have such a hard life?..."
That question got me thinking about it myself...it's one of those
"questions of the soul" questions, that really comes from the heart. As I
was pondering about the answer, I came to this conclusion: that those who
manifest to God that they are willing to follow HIm, He must try, and
chasten, so that they can grow. Because He loves us, and knows that we can
overcome these things. So in a way...trials are kind of a "compliment" if
you will, from God. Saying "Well done my son (daughter), here, have this
trial and grow even more." Elder...D Todd Christopherson I think it was
said something like "those who God loves, He chastens...". I really have
seen that in my life, and in my mission. The "elect" souls, who always
desire to do the right things, always have trials and troubles that don't
seem fair. But the wonderful thing about trials is that they always make
us grow. How thankful I am for the trials that the Lord puts into my life,
to test me and help me to grow.
It's also interesting to me that President Monson said "..and the Lord
will make you equal to your challenges. Equal. We will be able to overcome
our challenges, but it won't be just given to us. One of the wonderful
things about this gospel is that it requires work. How thankful I am for
the people in my life who have shown me how to work, and have been examples
to me of diligence.
My short time as a missionary has been so wonderful, I have really
learned to "search" the scriptures and words of the prophets and apostles
here on the earth, rather than simply "read" them. I have been so humbled,
and I am thankful for the Lord putting these things in my life. We all can
be a little more humble. I truly am just so blessed, and thankful for all
of you. Your prayers in my behalf are felt, and I know with all my heart
that the Lord is strengthening me every single day. This time goes by SO
fast, I want to make the best of every minute of it. "Don't count the days,
make the days count". Thanks Uncle R'Dale (so sorry if I misspelled
that...blame it on the Italian...haha) :)
So we had a wonderful miracle here in Lecco yesterday. Like I said
before, we are basically starting from scratch, and don't have hardly
anyone to teach yet, so we have been doing a lot of strada (street
contacting). And yesterday, after about 20 "No me interessa" "Ciao"
"Grazie" and "no, no, no"s, we finally found someone receptive to our
message! We set up an appointment with her for Friday, and she is super
excited to speak with us! And so, we felt pretty awesome about that. So
we kept on walking and talking, and the next 3 people were the same way!
We spoke with each of them for 10 or 15 minutes, exchanged numbers, and we
are going to call them to set up more appointments! It makes me so happy
to go out and talk to people. Just talk about Jesus, and the blessing that
His gospel is in our lives. It's such a privilege to wear this badge. The
Lord truly does put people in our path; we find the most willing souls in
the most unsuspecting...if that's the word? haha oh no! My English is
fading! haha. unsuspecting places. It is such a marvelous thing to me.
The Lord's hand is in this work.
Well, I love you all so much, and hope everything is going well in
good ol' 'merica. I pray for you all every night!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
OCTOBER 16, 2013
Buona sera famiglia!!
This week has really been great! It is so wonderful out here! The work
is really going well, I am so excited to be a part of it! Our
investigators are doing really well. So some exciting news: I'm getting
transferred! (yay!...?) haha. Out here in the mission field apparently they
call it a ''Pink-wash'' , when the Anziani move out of the city (there were
4 of us), and the Sorrelle (sisters) move in and take their place. Haha my
companion was hilarious. ''Pink-wash!? Man, are you serious! I had
nightmares about these day!'' hahaha. I don't understand what the big deal
is, but apparently no one wants to get ''pink-washed''. Lol. So anyways,
my companion and I will be going to Lecco! I don't know much about it, but
apparently it is FREEZING there. And luckily we will be arriving in the
winter time, so I will be sure and pack my sunscreen and tanning oil and
everything for that. No, but seriously, thanks Mom for the coat :) haha.
But I am actually really excited to go to a new city, despite how
hard it is to leave this city and members and investigators that I have
grown to love. Especially since we were doing so well here! We had so
many great plans, and a ton of progressing investigators. For example, we
had a baptism for a man on the 12th of October scheduled, and all planned
out and everything. He was doing great great, but after a lot of prayer
and thought, my companion and I decided to postpone it for the 26th, just
to make sure he was ready for this crucial step. WE didn't exactly know
why, but only that the Lord wanted us to wait. So yeah, it is pretty hard
to leave after we have been working with him for 6 weeks to prepare for
this. He even asked me to baptize him, which I was pretty excited for. But
hey, that's life. Besides, as long as that wonderful, worthy man gets
baptized, it doesn't matter who does it :) I'm excited and will go wherever
the Lord wants me to go!
On a lighter note, there was a pretty crazy rally car...race?
This week. Haha I'm not totally sure what it was because obviously we
didn't go, but all week there have been these crazy suped-up rally cars
with numbers on their back windows flooring it around the city making a ton
of noise; it has been pretty intense. Also, I saw a Ferrari, a Maserati,
AND a Lamborghini this week, and all 3 times I didn't have time to take a
picture of it before they drove away! Bummer, huh? But yeah, there are so
many nice cars around here lately, it is basically like real life Need for
Speed. But we definitely give them a run for their money walking, we are
getting quick! Haha.
Well, that's about all that's new, I guess I'll leave you with the
miracle I saw this week!
Miracle: We had a wonderful miracle this week. As we were out doing
strada a few days ago, we found a couple sitting on a bench and started a
conversation. We talked for a while, and the husband seemed interested,
but the wife didn't seem to be. We talked and bore testimony of principles
for a few minutes while the wife stood a few feet away, listening, and then
asked for a return appointment, which they politely declined. So we left
them a card with our number on it. The next day, we were out walking and
ran into the wife again on the street and started talking. We were
surprised (but delighted) to hear that she had looked up a lot of
information about our church, and was interested to learn more! So we gave
her a restoration pamphlet and set up a formal appointment with her this
last Monday. That lesson went very well; she had so many questions (which
was great!) that we were happy to answer, and we bore powerful testimony
about the truthfulness of this gospel and the Book of Mormon. We invited
her to say the closing prayer to which she answered ''Do I have to?'' But
after we assured her that it was simple and that God truly wanted to hear
from her, she offered one of the most beautiful prayers I have heard. As
she closed the prayer tears were in her eyes, and she said ''I haven't felt
this way in a long time...'' What a humbling experience that was for me, I
sincerely hope that all goes well with her this next transfer, and am sure
the Sorrelle will take great care of her. It is such a blessing to be out
in the mission field, to see so many of these miracles. I am humbled every
day to be out here.
I know I sound like a broken record, but it is just such a
blessing to be a missionary! Every day is so hard, every day I am so busy
and so exhausted, but every day I see miracles. This truly is the Lord's
work, and as one called by Him through a prophet to declare the truth to
the people of Italy, I humbly testify that ''no unhallowed hand can stay
the work of the Lord'' ; that He is always wary of the progression of His
kingdom here on earth. He will help us, and He will never leave us alone.
Never. I am so imperfect, I have been truly humbled this week in so many
ways, but it is such a blessing to me to know that the Lord looks past our
weakness, and helps us to develop strengths. The Lord will not leave us
alone, and He will not rest until His work is finished, for truly, ''He
that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep'' -Psalms 121:4 How
blessed I am; how blessed we all are, to have the glorious gift of the
gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives.
I love you all and wish the best in all you do! You're in my
prayers!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
This week has really been great! It is so wonderful out here! The work
is really going well, I am so excited to be a part of it! Our
investigators are doing really well. So some exciting news: I'm getting
transferred! (yay!...?) haha. Out here in the mission field apparently they
call it a ''Pink-wash'' , when the Anziani move out of the city (there were
4 of us), and the Sorrelle (sisters) move in and take their place. Haha my
companion was hilarious. ''Pink-wash!? Man, are you serious! I had
nightmares about these day!'' hahaha. I don't understand what the big deal
is, but apparently no one wants to get ''pink-washed''. Lol. So anyways,
my companion and I will be going to Lecco! I don't know much about it, but
apparently it is FREEZING there. And luckily we will be arriving in the
winter time, so I will be sure and pack my sunscreen and tanning oil and
everything for that. No, but seriously, thanks Mom for the coat :) haha.
But I am actually really excited to go to a new city, despite how
hard it is to leave this city and members and investigators that I have
grown to love. Especially since we were doing so well here! We had so
many great plans, and a ton of progressing investigators. For example, we
had a baptism for a man on the 12th of October scheduled, and all planned
out and everything. He was doing great great, but after a lot of prayer
and thought, my companion and I decided to postpone it for the 26th, just
to make sure he was ready for this crucial step. WE didn't exactly know
why, but only that the Lord wanted us to wait. So yeah, it is pretty hard
to leave after we have been working with him for 6 weeks to prepare for
this. He even asked me to baptize him, which I was pretty excited for. But
hey, that's life. Besides, as long as that wonderful, worthy man gets
baptized, it doesn't matter who does it :) I'm excited and will go wherever
the Lord wants me to go!
On a lighter note, there was a pretty crazy rally car...race?
This week. Haha I'm not totally sure what it was because obviously we
didn't go, but all week there have been these crazy suped-up rally cars
with numbers on their back windows flooring it around the city making a ton
of noise; it has been pretty intense. Also, I saw a Ferrari, a Maserati,
AND a Lamborghini this week, and all 3 times I didn't have time to take a
picture of it before they drove away! Bummer, huh? But yeah, there are so
many nice cars around here lately, it is basically like real life Need for
Speed. But we definitely give them a run for their money walking, we are
getting quick! Haha.
Well, that's about all that's new, I guess I'll leave you with the
miracle I saw this week!
Miracle: We had a wonderful miracle this week. As we were out doing
strada a few days ago, we found a couple sitting on a bench and started a
conversation. We talked for a while, and the husband seemed interested,
but the wife didn't seem to be. We talked and bore testimony of principles
for a few minutes while the wife stood a few feet away, listening, and then
asked for a return appointment, which they politely declined. So we left
them a card with our number on it. The next day, we were out walking and
ran into the wife again on the street and started talking. We were
surprised (but delighted) to hear that she had looked up a lot of
information about our church, and was interested to learn more! So we gave
her a restoration pamphlet and set up a formal appointment with her this
last Monday. That lesson went very well; she had so many questions (which
was great!) that we were happy to answer, and we bore powerful testimony
about the truthfulness of this gospel and the Book of Mormon. We invited
her to say the closing prayer to which she answered ''Do I have to?'' But
after we assured her that it was simple and that God truly wanted to hear
from her, she offered one of the most beautiful prayers I have heard. As
she closed the prayer tears were in her eyes, and she said ''I haven't felt
this way in a long time...'' What a humbling experience that was for me, I
sincerely hope that all goes well with her this next transfer, and am sure
the Sorrelle will take great care of her. It is such a blessing to be out
in the mission field, to see so many of these miracles. I am humbled every
day to be out here.
I know I sound like a broken record, but it is just such a
blessing to be a missionary! Every day is so hard, every day I am so busy
and so exhausted, but every day I see miracles. This truly is the Lord's
work, and as one called by Him through a prophet to declare the truth to
the people of Italy, I humbly testify that ''no unhallowed hand can stay
the work of the Lord'' ; that He is always wary of the progression of His
kingdom here on earth. He will help us, and He will never leave us alone.
Never. I am so imperfect, I have been truly humbled this week in so many
ways, but it is such a blessing to me to know that the Lord looks past our
weakness, and helps us to develop strengths. The Lord will not leave us
alone, and He will not rest until His work is finished, for truly, ''He
that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep'' -Psalms 121:4 How
blessed I am; how blessed we all are, to have the glorious gift of the
gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives.
I love you all and wish the best in all you do! You're in my
prayers!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
OCTOBER 9, 2013
Wow! This week has been really great (like always of course!), I just
love being a missionary so much. We had some struggles this week with a
few things, but that is just typical of missionary work; if it weren't
hard, it wouldn't be worth it! :) I always remember this quote when I am
feeling down by...oh no! I can't remember! haha. but it says something
like ''If you feel down, pray. And if you don't feel like praying, pray
until you feel like praying...'' What a comfort prayer has been in my life,
and especially in these difficult times of the mission. It is such a
blessing that we can kneel down and speak with an all-loving, all-knowing
and all-powerful Father in Heaven. And the best part...he always listens.
Always. Not a single prayer will ever go unanswered, that is a divine
truth. Last P-day I watched a mormon message called ''Early Father,
Heavenly Father''. Wow. I would encourage you all to watch it; it
especially inspired me in terms of what fatherhood really means. At the end
there is a quote that says something to the effect of ''Of all the titles
in the universe that we could call God, He has asked us to address him, as
Father.'' Isn't that amazing! :) And we all have a Father, who loves us
more than we can imagine. What a comfort that is! :)
Man, the weeks just fly by here in the field; where did September
go? Times flies when you're having fun! It truly is so great to be able
to work 24/7 for the Lord, and not have to worry about anything other than
bringing people closer to Christ.
This week has been...interesting, because as part of the training
for new missionaries, the 5th week of the 1st transfer the new missionary
has the phone and keys and is the senior companion. So I have been
answering phone calls from a bunch of rapid-talking Italians, and the
Branch President, and calling our member families, and...yeah! It's a good
time. Needless to say, I've been saying a lot of ''Ripetere per favore?''
haha. But it's good, stretching makes you grow! :)
So, our miracle this week! :)
This week we decided to focus our finding efforts more heavily on
the area book, to see if we could find people who are willing to hear our
message. One of the people we called was very excited to have been called,
and we set up an appointment to meet with her for a few days after. We had
a wonderful lesson about the Restoration, and she said that her and
possibly her three children would be happy to hear the discussions, and we
set up another appointment with her tomorrow! The Lord's way of
organization is just so amazing to me! There truly are people out there
searching for this message.
Oh my goodness, I almost forgot! So General Conference...WOW!
Right? How great was that! A ton of it was about missionary work, about
how now is the time for members and missionaries to work together in
harmony, because this is a new time, when the Lord will hasten his work
like never before. I remember one of the talks by Elder...Nielson...I
believe, (the one who was quarterback at BYU a while ago) but he said
something like ''This period of time will be comparable to all of the other
of the greatest events in church history, including the first vision,
etc...'' Wow. Doesn't that just make you marvel. As I think about it I
just want to fall to my knees and thank my Heavenly Father for sending me
to earth at this time, so I can take part in this glorious ''harvest of
souls'', when countless numbers of our Heavenly Father's precious
children--our brothers and sisters-- will be brought to the fold of Jesus
Christ Himself, and will have to opportunity to feel the unfathomable love
and mercy and peace that comes from His wondrous gospel. Truly, how
blessed I am...how blessed we all are. We can all take part in this
wonderful period of time, of missionary work, and of preparation for the
glorious Second Coming of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.
I love you all so much, thank you so much for your prayers and love.
You are all in my prayers, and I hope all is well!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
love being a missionary so much. We had some struggles this week with a
few things, but that is just typical of missionary work; if it weren't
hard, it wouldn't be worth it! :) I always remember this quote when I am
feeling down by...oh no! I can't remember! haha. but it says something
like ''If you feel down, pray. And if you don't feel like praying, pray
until you feel like praying...'' What a comfort prayer has been in my life,
and especially in these difficult times of the mission. It is such a
blessing that we can kneel down and speak with an all-loving, all-knowing
and all-powerful Father in Heaven. And the best part...he always listens.
Always. Not a single prayer will ever go unanswered, that is a divine
truth. Last P-day I watched a mormon message called ''Early Father,
Heavenly Father''. Wow. I would encourage you all to watch it; it
especially inspired me in terms of what fatherhood really means. At the end
there is a quote that says something to the effect of ''Of all the titles
in the universe that we could call God, He has asked us to address him, as
Father.'' Isn't that amazing! :) And we all have a Father, who loves us
more than we can imagine. What a comfort that is! :)
Man, the weeks just fly by here in the field; where did September
go? Times flies when you're having fun! It truly is so great to be able
to work 24/7 for the Lord, and not have to worry about anything other than
bringing people closer to Christ.
This week has been...interesting, because as part of the training
for new missionaries, the 5th week of the 1st transfer the new missionary
has the phone and keys and is the senior companion. So I have been
answering phone calls from a bunch of rapid-talking Italians, and the
Branch President, and calling our member families, and...yeah! It's a good
time. Needless to say, I've been saying a lot of ''Ripetere per favore?''
haha. But it's good, stretching makes you grow! :)
So, our miracle this week! :)
This week we decided to focus our finding efforts more heavily on
the area book, to see if we could find people who are willing to hear our
message. One of the people we called was very excited to have been called,
and we set up an appointment to meet with her for a few days after. We had
a wonderful lesson about the Restoration, and she said that her and
possibly her three children would be happy to hear the discussions, and we
set up another appointment with her tomorrow! The Lord's way of
organization is just so amazing to me! There truly are people out there
searching for this message.
Oh my goodness, I almost forgot! So General Conference...WOW!
Right? How great was that! A ton of it was about missionary work, about
how now is the time for members and missionaries to work together in
harmony, because this is a new time, when the Lord will hasten his work
like never before. I remember one of the talks by Elder...Nielson...I
believe, (the one who was quarterback at BYU a while ago) but he said
something like ''This period of time will be comparable to all of the other
of the greatest events in church history, including the first vision,
etc...'' Wow. Doesn't that just make you marvel. As I think about it I
just want to fall to my knees and thank my Heavenly Father for sending me
to earth at this time, so I can take part in this glorious ''harvest of
souls'', when countless numbers of our Heavenly Father's precious
children--our brothers and sisters-- will be brought to the fold of Jesus
Christ Himself, and will have to opportunity to feel the unfathomable love
and mercy and peace that comes from His wondrous gospel. Truly, how
blessed I am...how blessed we all are. We can all take part in this
wonderful period of time, of missionary work, and of preparation for the
glorious Second Coming of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.
I love you all so much, thank you so much for your prayers and love.
You are all in my prayers, and I hope all is well!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
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