Buona sera famiglia e amichi,
This week has been really, really great! I forgot to take notes about
what happened this week to write home in the email this week, so excuse me
if this is all over the place haha.
San Remo is a really wonderful place, I love it a lot! The people are so
kind, and just great people who are searching for the gospel. I wanted to
talk about our branch here! (since I don't think I have yet...haha) We
have around 35-40? members or so, and they are really great! Especially
our ward mission leader...he is really a great guy, and super excited about
missionary work. And he has only been a member for one year! i couldn't
believe that. We are really trying to focus on finding and baptizing more
priesthood holders for the branch, since they are pretty low with around 10
or 15 each week....but we are working on it! The ward council is really
great, and we are all working together to bring the elect to this branch,
so that we can grow it into a ward! There are only a few young men and
young women...in fact only one really active young man. He is a champion
though. We ate at his house the other night with his parents and Uche, and
he tried to convince me that when I liked the food I should say ''Questo
cibo is veramente un grande porcherilla.'' Which is NOT correct, and
actually means, ''this food is really really disgusting.'' haha, but
luckily I caught him in the act, because porquerilla means the same thing
in Spanish, and my roommate in college had told me what it meant...so I was
like ''aha! nice try!'' Haha thanks Connor :D But anyways...plus he gets
to be the only boy in sunday school with all the 5 young women every
week...no wonder he comes to church! ;) haha jk! but we are also trying
to organize activities for the young people, to help them find ways to
invite their friends to come and have a fun time.
In our last zone meeting we were told that President Monson had asked every
branch/ward under the direction of missionaries...I don't know if just in
Italy or what...to have a ward/branch activity! And this Friday we will be
having a Talent Night for the ward! I will be playing the nose flute and
interpretive dancing....not! Haha that will be my companion. Scherzando!
(kidding!) But we are all really excited, and we have 12 members signed up
to show their talents...and my companion (don't ask me how) lined up a
''professional'' Zumba instructer to come and do zumba with everyone
after...and by after I mean after we leave to go home of course haha...but
we are excited! Anziano Walden and I are going to karaoke sing ''Part of
this world'' from the Little Mermaid...in Italian. So that will
be...something, haha. No, it will be a good time slaughtering all the
pronunciations of Italian words in front of the branch..haha!
But yeah, everything is going so great here. There are hard days
and...harder days, but if this work were easy it wouldn't be worth it! We
have been doing a lot of strada, and actually have been having a lot of
success finding people! Little by little we have been seeing people become
more receptive to us as missionaries, and we are searching for ways to do
service for people in any way we can.
For example, we teach an English class for free every Thurday night here at
the church. I LOVE English class! Especially when I can teach the advanced
course, because we pretty much just have a conversation in English for an
hour...it's great! But we incorporate prayers and a brief spiritual
message at the end, so it really is a pretty good way to find investigators!
So something funny here is that apparently there was a movie in Italy about
the Amish people, but the title was translated badly from English to
Italian, so it said something like ''Mormoni''. And so one of our favorite
ways to start conversations now is to ask people if they have ever heard of
the mormons, and if they think that they all have long beards and don't use
electricity! And then we tell them, well, look at us. We have a cell
phone and no beards! And they look so shocked haha. It's a great
conversation starter!
Our investigators are coming along well! We are still teaching
Uche and Manuel and preparing them for their baptismal dates, and we also
have found a few more investigators along the way! We are really working
hard and praying hard for the Lord's help. One thing that I have really
learned this week is how important the Spirit is in everything that we do.
My Italian is really coming along, but I still only understand about 50%
of what people say (they talk SO fast haha...if it weren't for the hand
motions I'd be struggling even more)...so I have really had no other choice
than to try my very best to be in tune with the Spirit, to know what to say
to help them. I truly have seen miracles in our daily work, and we have
been teaching a lesson and the Lord has given me ''...in the very hour what
(I) should say.'' It is such a blessing, truly, to be a missionary.
I want to leave you all with a miracle that we experienced this
week! So a few days ago while we were out doing strada...we weren't
having a ton of success. We had been walking around for about 2 hours,
talking to anyone we could find that would listen, but noone seemed super
interested. So we had just finished talking to a man for about 5 minutes,
who agreed with everything we said, and was kind and nice, but just didn't
want to set up an appointment for a lesson. So we gave him our number on a
pass-along card, and went on our way. It was about 9:15, so we decided to
start walking home for the night, because we need to be home by 9:30 unless
we are teaching a lesson. We turned away from the man and his car, and
started walking on the sidewalk when, out of nowhere it seemed, a young
Russian man, here for work, started walking right beside us. I turned to
him and we started a conversation by asking him what he thought about
families and testifying that they can be together forever. We started
talking more, and began teaching him about the Restoration, about which he
was listening actively. We sat down on a bench and taught him the entire
first lesson, and he seemed genuinely excited about it! He told us that he
had met with the missionaries here in San Remo several months ago, who had
spoken with him and invited him to church, but for whatever reason he just
didn't end up going. So we invited him to our branch activity on Friday,
and to church on Sunday, and he seemed excited about it, apologizing for
not coming earlier with the other missionaries. We asked him if we could
set up another appointment with him to speak some more, and he readily
agreed, and gave us his phone number and asked if we could meet him
Thursday! as we walked away he excitedly said ''Ciao! Ci vediamo
Giovedì!'' So we will be teaching him again tomorrow! That was such a
testimony to me that the Lord truly puts people in our path that He has
prepared to receive the gospel. And also a reminder to me to never give
up, because you never know when these wonderful people are going to be
placed in your path. It truly is such a blessing to be a missionary; to be
trying to do the things that the Lord would do if He were on the earth. I
am so blessed.
I love you all, thanks for all you do! Love,
Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
SEPTEMBER 18, 2013
Buona sera tutti!
Italy is just going amazing still!!
I love it here so much. The people are great, and (even though the
drivers are NUTS-I could go on all day about that so I'll wait until I get home
haha-- and constantly I am breathing in smoke because EVERYONE here always has
a cigarette in their hand) it is just such a beautiful place to serve! I feel
so blessed. We are right next to the ocean, and can actually see the
ocean from our apartment balcony. At night I love to take a few minutes
to just ponder and look out at the ocean and the lighthouse. I have had a
lot of time to reflect about things...like why I am here, what the Lord expects
of me, and how blessed I truly have been in my life. Thank you so much all for
all you have done to help prepare me and raise me up until now. It is
such a blessing to be out doing the Lord's work and sharing it with these
wonderful people who truly ''are kept from the truth only because they know not
where to find it..''.
So! About a few of our investigators!!
1) Uche!! oh my goodness uche is just a champion! He is an african
ex-beggar, ex-drinker, who has just completely turned his life around since he
found the church. Some members helped him to find a part time home and a
job to get him by, but we are still looking for a full time job and apartment
for him. But wow. Talk about humble. To tell you a little about his
character, the other day we went over to his house to teach him a lesson...and
he had just gotten back from the grocery store where he works, where he had
bought two cantelopes. When we sat down, he cut up an enitre one of the
cantelopes, put it on a plate, and set in on a chair in front of us to give us
something to eat. I could hardly hold back the tears as I thought of this
wonderful man, and how even though he has almost nothing, he still wants to
give what little he had..to serve. What a great man! We have taught
him probably 4 or 5 times (in english luckily haha so i can actually teach)
since I have been here, and he has a baptismal date that we are working him
toward on the 28th of September! We are super excited for him! He already
knows sooo much about the bible, because he has studied it since he was little,
so most of the time I feel like he is teaching me, not the other way around! But
he has lots of questions that can be answered by the Book of Mormon, and so
that has really been a testimony to me of the real power of that Book, and the
countless truths it holds.
2) Manuel! Manuel is such a champion! He
is 27, totally ripped, and has his ears and tooth pierced, with arms full of
tattoos...but he is just such a tender, great guy! (reminds me of
myself!...welll minus the tattoos and piercings that is...haha) :) We
have been teaching him and his mom when she is home, because he is actually under
house arrest for a few weeks. But he is just so humble and great...and he
has a lot of time to read the scriptures and review our lessons! We have
been bringing one of his friends in the ward to teach him, he served his
mission in Rome and is just a great guy. There have been some really
powerful, wonderful lessons with him, including one where we talked about
President Monson and showed him a conference talk (like the only one we could
find in English without being able to go on youtube haha) about obedience...it
is the one where he talks about how as a little boy him and his friend
wanted to clear a circle in the grass, but instead of cutting it all down, they
decided that if they lit a fire, it would burn a perfect circle!...haha.
But yeah Manuel is so great, he also has a baptismal date for the 28th,
but he hasn't been able to come to church and an investigator has to come to
church at least 3 times before he can be baptized....so we are working though
that. But all is going well! :)
We have a lot of other investigators and
potentials, which my trainer said isn't really typical for Italy...but our
mission president told us all the other week that now is truly the time for the
gospel to ''flood Italy''. The number of missionaries has doubled in the
past year, with 25% of all the missionaries only having been here for 12 weeks
or less! so we are all super young and inexperienced, but also fresh and
energized, and just so excited to do the Lord's work! Times are changing
in Italy, and I have seen how the Lord has prepared souls to hear our message.
I am so honored to be a part of this final huge wave of missionaries,
whom the Lord trusts and expects to bring the gospel to all of Italy.
So I have started a section in my
journal called ''Miracles happen every day'' where I record the miracles that i
have seen every single day. It truly is amazing how many miracles I have
seen as I am out among these wonderful people, standing and speaking in behalf
of the Lord Jesus Christ. I would like to share a miracle with you that I
experienced this past week: My companion and I were out doing strada,
and we came to this park bench with two old guys on it. One of them we
recognized from the day before, who seemed interested and to whom we had given
a restoration pamphlet and asked him to read it. so I asked him if he had
read the pamphlet, and he said yes and that he had enjoyed it very much.
so, in broken Italian i began to teach him about the plan of salvation
(lesson number 2) while my companion was speaking with the other man on the
bench. I talked about how he could be with his family not only in this
life, but for eternity. He seemed very interested, but was in a hurry to
get back to his grandchildren. As I was talking I thought to myself that
I should give him a plan of salvation pamphlet, but I knew that the only
pamphlet i had put in my bag was a law of chastity pamphlet (in english by the
way) for the lesson we were about to go to with Uche. But right as he was
walking a way I found myself saying ''oh, Aspeta un momento, Io ho qual cosa
per lei'' Wait one moment, I have something for you. As i dug
through my bag at the very bottom I found two pamphlets...the law of chastity,
and ''il Piano di Salvezza''. I pulled it out and gave it to him, and he
walked away. Truly a miracle in my eyes.
I love you all very much, and
thank you so much for the support and prayers in my behalf. I can truly
feel the Lord strengthening me as I give 100% to Him...no young man could do
these kind of hours without the strength of the Lord. I know that that is
true. For truly this is His time, and His work...and no unhallowed hand
can stop the progress of the Lord's true church here on the earth today.
How blessed I am to be a part of it.
Love you all,
Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
SEPTEMBER 11, 2013
boun giorno familgia!
I'M FINALLY IN ITALY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, I just love it here! But boy these keyboards are a tad different, so forgive me if my punctuation or spelling or whatever is off a little bit, haha. So anyways, where do I even begin! I'm so sorry that I couldnt email you all last week, I was on the planes for most of the day...I had like 14 hours or so of straight flying time, not including lay overs and stuff. but man it was great!
One funny thing about the trip here. So we rode on British Airways from Chicago to London and also from London to Milan, and so it was just so hilarious having all these british passengers and flight attendants and everything hahaha, I felt like I was in Harry Potter or something going to Hogwarts. Every time the lady was like (british accent) "Would you like some more water sir?" It was just all I could do to not just sit there and laugh or smile and say the accent was funny, haha. But she was super nice, actually a member of the church! When we were all boarding she was like "welcome elders!" and we were all like ....did she just...yep! haha :)
So, Italy!! Man I just love it here! My area is San Remo, and it is just such a cool town! The people are great, and even when they are not saying something nice, I cant understand them anyway so it is still fun for me! haha. My apartment is GREAT! Man, it is like staying in a hotel, seriously. All the floors here in Italy are tile or wood, and so it's pretty fancy shmancy, awesome. And yes Big L, they all have bedays...but also toilet paper!...for the americans i guess haha. So that was definitely a little comforting thing for me haha. But yeah I will talk more about what they have here later, this is gonna be a looong email I can already tell haha so i apologize in advance.
So my new companion is Anziano Lopez. He was born in Peru, but he has lived in Rome for 12 years before he came here, so I am basically pumped that I have a native Italian as a trainer, because not only does he know everything about the language, but he just knows a lot of general cultural things about Italy, which is handy. One down side though, is that he doesn't know english very well, haha. No, he actually is pretty good at it, he said he has studied english for 5 months, but the first time he heard it was when he started his mission with an american companion, haha. But he is great! I am teaching him english, and he is teaching me Italian, so it is good. It is funny because he has a funny accent and a lot of the time when I use an american phrase like "what in the world?" or something, he gets confused haha, it's a good time though, he is a great guy. Yesterday he spent like 5 minutes trying to figure out/remember how to say lightsaber. It was funny. By the way, it's spadalaser or laser sword in Italian, in case you wanted to know, which let's be honest...ya did ;) haha. But yeah, my Italian is coming along, little by little. Most of the time I just sit there and stare at them and only catch a word or two of what they say, and so if they look at me like they just asked a question I get the deer in the headlights look and then just look over at my companion haha. But I just love it anyway! I can talk more about the lessons, and that's really why I'm here, so it is alright.
Sooo, lets talk for a minute about my first surprise lunch appointment!...hahah ohhh man, was that a hoot and a holler. So me and my companion, and also Anz Kendrick and Walden, the other companionship in the San Remo area, were at the church meeting with the ward mission leader (not sure what for...because I had no idea what he said, haha). But when we were done some random guy (who I later found out is like the most active and best guy in the branch) came up to my companion and talked about something, and then all of a sudden I find myself in his car with him and his wife on the way to his house, and so...picture this...I'm just sitting in the back seat, crammed with 3 other missionaries, while everyone is speaking Italian all around me, and me and Anz Kendrick /(the other new missionary) are just staring blankly at each other laughing cuz we have no idea what is going on. So I'm just soooo confused, and we get to their house, all of a sudden they make me decide something about sitting inside or outside, so I just say ^fouri^ which means outside, so we all go outside, sit down at the table, and the wife starts bringing plates out. So finally I'm like Ohhhh, we are eating here!, like a lightbulb! So the conversation went on between my companion, Anz Walden (the other trainer) and the two people, and I'd catch a word or two here or there, like Lebron James or Miami or something like that, haha. And so the wife brings out a HUGE bowl of pasta, and just loads up our plates. And so we nearly eat ourselves to death with pasta, trying to eat it all between the 4 of us missionaries (which by the way, funny story! So Anz Kendrick was getting some pasta, and we were all super full because we had had like 20 pounds each of pasta, and the wife was dishing it out onto his plate, and she was like Ancora? which means more? ...but Anziano Kendrick didn't understand what she was saying, so he would just say "oh si!", and so she kept giving him more and more pasta and it was just SO hilarious cuz she was like shocked that he still wanted more pasta, but he kept asking for more, and we were all trying not to laugh because we would throw up from being so full! hahaha...so yeah, good times, good times.) But anyways, so then when i thought we were done, the wife takes our plate, and says "oh keep your fork!" and I'm thinking.... "oh no. I forgot! There are like 5 course meals in Italy" haha. so she brings out a bunch of salad, we eat that, and then she brings out a huuuuge sausage link thing and we eat that, and then! Watermelon! Haha sooooo yeahhhh, we experienced what the missionaries like to call "pasta shock" haha. When you are basically in shock from eating so much, haha. It was the biggest meal ever! But is was delicious! So yeahhhh, that was my first surprise lunch appointment haha
so anyways, another funny thing here is the elevators! They are like 1/4 the size of elevators in america, so literally we pack in there like sardines, standing sideways. It is pretty hilarious.
So shopping! Man, that was different! The shops here are small, and everything is foreignly labeled, the only thing i recognized was the bread and fruit...oh fruit!! I am SO glad that fruit is the same everywhere! Haha no matter where I am, an apple tastes like an apple! It's great! haha but my trainer is just like "okay. you need food for the week. and also two lunches that you can make for us during the week. good luck!" hahaha so I was prettyyyy lost. But the good news is that it can only get better from here!
But yeah, the food is great! Missionaries usually eat like cereal or yogurt or something for breakfast, and then a huge lunch, and then no dinner. So yeah haha. My trainer said that I will lose weight here, he's lost like 5 kilos so far, but that's okay! I bought a ton of snacks and stuff, so don't worry mom, I'm eating enough :)
Sorry this is so long, I have a lot to say! haha. But so we do a lot of Strada here...which means street or finding. We walk around and talk to people in the parks or on the street or wherever, and just talk and teach them about the gospel! It is so wonderful, I love it so much! there are tons of people that don't want to hear it, but the few that do make it so worth it! Being a missionary is just the best!
Being a missionary is soooo hard. But so worth it. I don't care about the hard times. Because every single rejection, every single hard time...every single step that hurts my feet...is one step closer to being able to feel some small portion of how Jesus Himself felt. As he did all he could to preach the gospel to those people whom he loved so much, but just didn't accept Him. They rejected Him, they mocked Him, they spit on Him. How privileged I am to be able to walk where he would walk, and try to do what He would do if he were here on the earth. As a missionary, I am literally His mouthpiece. And I have felt the Spirit work through me so many times, to touch the hearts of the wonderful people here in Italy. Every night I just kneel down and weep tears of joy for this glorious work, and the miracles I experience every single day. I love it here so much.
I want to leave you with a wonderful experience I had during a lesson this week. My companion and I, and the ward mission leader Stefano baccin, went to a member's house named Maia, who recently broke her leg in a scooter accident, because she wanted a blessing. Her mother in inactive, and so she invited her to come to our lesson, and listen about the Restoration. I was really nervous, because it was one of my first lessons, and I literally just couldn't understand a thing! But I said a prayer in my heart as we walked up to her house, with all the faith I could muster, and I asked Heavenly Father to help me to be able to express my testimony, that somehow it could help them and bless their life. I asked that I would be able to have the light of Christ in my countenance, that they would be able to feel really how much I love them and know that this is true. And so during the lesson, I understood probably 10% of what was said, and then towards the end my companion looked at me (which is the signal for "bear your testimony"). And so I bore my simple testimony, in broken Italian about how I knew that the restoration was true, and that God loves us and wants us to be happy, and a few other things. After i ended it..obviously I was crying, because I am a baby that way and almost always cry when I bear testimony, haha...but the mother had tears in her eyes and Maia was crying. And I wasn't sure what was going on, but then she said something about seeing a luce or a light when I bore my testimony. She talked about how I seemed so humble, and just how the simplicity of what I could say touched her heart. how wonderful of an experience that was for me. To me, that was a miracle. And it just was such a testimony builder to me, that it doesn't matter that I can't speak very well, or understand very well, or anything like that. Heavenly Father called me here to Italy, for a reason. And with Him, I can do anything. Anything. The Spirit is the true teacher, not me. I'll learn Italian in no time, and until then, the Lord will be here with me every single step of the way. I am so thankful for this opportunity to come here and share this message of happiness to the wonderful people of Italy. It is such a blessing to be a missionary!
Wow ho poccisimo tempo! (I have like no time left!) So sorry, I will write the rest next week! I love you all so much, and hope everything is going well! I'm taking lots of pictures and some videos :)
Love, Anziano Wilson
I'M FINALLY IN ITALY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, I just love it here! But boy these keyboards are a tad different, so forgive me if my punctuation or spelling or whatever is off a little bit, haha. So anyways, where do I even begin! I'm so sorry that I couldnt email you all last week, I was on the planes for most of the day...I had like 14 hours or so of straight flying time, not including lay overs and stuff. but man it was great!
One funny thing about the trip here. So we rode on British Airways from Chicago to London and also from London to Milan, and so it was just so hilarious having all these british passengers and flight attendants and everything hahaha, I felt like I was in Harry Potter or something going to Hogwarts. Every time the lady was like (british accent) "Would you like some more water sir?" It was just all I could do to not just sit there and laugh or smile and say the accent was funny, haha. But she was super nice, actually a member of the church! When we were all boarding she was like "welcome elders!" and we were all like ....did she just...yep! haha :)
So, Italy!! Man I just love it here! My area is San Remo, and it is just such a cool town! The people are great, and even when they are not saying something nice, I cant understand them anyway so it is still fun for me! haha. My apartment is GREAT! Man, it is like staying in a hotel, seriously. All the floors here in Italy are tile or wood, and so it's pretty fancy shmancy, awesome. And yes Big L, they all have bedays...but also toilet paper!...for the americans i guess haha. So that was definitely a little comforting thing for me haha. But yeah I will talk more about what they have here later, this is gonna be a looong email I can already tell haha so i apologize in advance.
So my new companion is Anziano Lopez. He was born in Peru, but he has lived in Rome for 12 years before he came here, so I am basically pumped that I have a native Italian as a trainer, because not only does he know everything about the language, but he just knows a lot of general cultural things about Italy, which is handy. One down side though, is that he doesn't know english very well, haha. No, he actually is pretty good at it, he said he has studied english for 5 months, but the first time he heard it was when he started his mission with an american companion, haha. But he is great! I am teaching him english, and he is teaching me Italian, so it is good. It is funny because he has a funny accent and a lot of the time when I use an american phrase like "what in the world?" or something, he gets confused haha, it's a good time though, he is a great guy. Yesterday he spent like 5 minutes trying to figure out/remember how to say lightsaber. It was funny. By the way, it's spadalaser or laser sword in Italian, in case you wanted to know, which let's be honest...ya did ;) haha. But yeah, my Italian is coming along, little by little. Most of the time I just sit there and stare at them and only catch a word or two of what they say, and so if they look at me like they just asked a question I get the deer in the headlights look and then just look over at my companion haha. But I just love it anyway! I can talk more about the lessons, and that's really why I'm here, so it is alright.
Sooo, lets talk for a minute about my first surprise lunch appointment!...hahah ohhh man, was that a hoot and a holler. So me and my companion, and also Anz Kendrick and Walden, the other companionship in the San Remo area, were at the church meeting with the ward mission leader (not sure what for...because I had no idea what he said, haha). But when we were done some random guy (who I later found out is like the most active and best guy in the branch) came up to my companion and talked about something, and then all of a sudden I find myself in his car with him and his wife on the way to his house, and so...picture this...I'm just sitting in the back seat, crammed with 3 other missionaries, while everyone is speaking Italian all around me, and me and Anz Kendrick /(the other new missionary) are just staring blankly at each other laughing cuz we have no idea what is going on. So I'm just soooo confused, and we get to their house, all of a sudden they make me decide something about sitting inside or outside, so I just say ^fouri^ which means outside, so we all go outside, sit down at the table, and the wife starts bringing plates out. So finally I'm like Ohhhh, we are eating here!, like a lightbulb! So the conversation went on between my companion, Anz Walden (the other trainer) and the two people, and I'd catch a word or two here or there, like Lebron James or Miami or something like that, haha. And so the wife brings out a HUGE bowl of pasta, and just loads up our plates. And so we nearly eat ourselves to death with pasta, trying to eat it all between the 4 of us missionaries (which by the way, funny story! So Anz Kendrick was getting some pasta, and we were all super full because we had had like 20 pounds each of pasta, and the wife was dishing it out onto his plate, and she was like Ancora? which means more? ...but Anziano Kendrick didn't understand what she was saying, so he would just say "oh si!", and so she kept giving him more and more pasta and it was just SO hilarious cuz she was like shocked that he still wanted more pasta, but he kept asking for more, and we were all trying not to laugh because we would throw up from being so full! hahaha...so yeah, good times, good times.) But anyways, so then when i thought we were done, the wife takes our plate, and says "oh keep your fork!" and I'm thinking.... "oh no. I forgot! There are like 5 course meals in Italy" haha. so she brings out a bunch of salad, we eat that, and then she brings out a huuuuge sausage link thing and we eat that, and then! Watermelon! Haha sooooo yeahhhh, we experienced what the missionaries like to call "pasta shock" haha. When you are basically in shock from eating so much, haha. It was the biggest meal ever! But is was delicious! So yeahhhh, that was my first surprise lunch appointment haha
so anyways, another funny thing here is the elevators! They are like 1/4 the size of elevators in america, so literally we pack in there like sardines, standing sideways. It is pretty hilarious.
So shopping! Man, that was different! The shops here are small, and everything is foreignly labeled, the only thing i recognized was the bread and fruit...oh fruit!! I am SO glad that fruit is the same everywhere! Haha no matter where I am, an apple tastes like an apple! It's great! haha but my trainer is just like "okay. you need food for the week. and also two lunches that you can make for us during the week. good luck!" hahaha so I was prettyyyy lost. But the good news is that it can only get better from here!
But yeah, the food is great! Missionaries usually eat like cereal or yogurt or something for breakfast, and then a huge lunch, and then no dinner. So yeah haha. My trainer said that I will lose weight here, he's lost like 5 kilos so far, but that's okay! I bought a ton of snacks and stuff, so don't worry mom, I'm eating enough :)
Sorry this is so long, I have a lot to say! haha. But so we do a lot of Strada here...which means street or finding. We walk around and talk to people in the parks or on the street or wherever, and just talk and teach them about the gospel! It is so wonderful, I love it so much! there are tons of people that don't want to hear it, but the few that do make it so worth it! Being a missionary is just the best!
Being a missionary is soooo hard. But so worth it. I don't care about the hard times. Because every single rejection, every single hard time...every single step that hurts my feet...is one step closer to being able to feel some small portion of how Jesus Himself felt. As he did all he could to preach the gospel to those people whom he loved so much, but just didn't accept Him. They rejected Him, they mocked Him, they spit on Him. How privileged I am to be able to walk where he would walk, and try to do what He would do if he were here on the earth. As a missionary, I am literally His mouthpiece. And I have felt the Spirit work through me so many times, to touch the hearts of the wonderful people here in Italy. Every night I just kneel down and weep tears of joy for this glorious work, and the miracles I experience every single day. I love it here so much.
I want to leave you with a wonderful experience I had during a lesson this week. My companion and I, and the ward mission leader Stefano baccin, went to a member's house named Maia, who recently broke her leg in a scooter accident, because she wanted a blessing. Her mother in inactive, and so she invited her to come to our lesson, and listen about the Restoration. I was really nervous, because it was one of my first lessons, and I literally just couldn't understand a thing! But I said a prayer in my heart as we walked up to her house, with all the faith I could muster, and I asked Heavenly Father to help me to be able to express my testimony, that somehow it could help them and bless their life. I asked that I would be able to have the light of Christ in my countenance, that they would be able to feel really how much I love them and know that this is true. And so during the lesson, I understood probably 10% of what was said, and then towards the end my companion looked at me (which is the signal for "bear your testimony"). And so I bore my simple testimony, in broken Italian about how I knew that the restoration was true, and that God loves us and wants us to be happy, and a few other things. After i ended it..obviously I was crying, because I am a baby that way and almost always cry when I bear testimony, haha...but the mother had tears in her eyes and Maia was crying. And I wasn't sure what was going on, but then she said something about seeing a luce or a light when I bore my testimony. She talked about how I seemed so humble, and just how the simplicity of what I could say touched her heart. how wonderful of an experience that was for me. To me, that was a miracle. And it just was such a testimony builder to me, that it doesn't matter that I can't speak very well, or understand very well, or anything like that. Heavenly Father called me here to Italy, for a reason. And with Him, I can do anything. Anything. The Spirit is the true teacher, not me. I'll learn Italian in no time, and until then, the Lord will be here with me every single step of the way. I am so thankful for this opportunity to come here and share this message of happiness to the wonderful people of Italy. It is such a blessing to be a missionary!
Wow ho poccisimo tempo! (I have like no time left!) So sorry, I will write the rest next week! I love you all so much, and hope everything is going well! I'm taking lots of pictures and some videos :)
Love, Anziano Wilson
AUGUST 28, 2013
Buongiorno tutti!!
The MTC is still going great!! Man, I just absolutely love it here! The spirit is soooo wonderful, I have had so many tender experiences here! ...By this time next week I will be in Italy!! That is so crazy, I can hardly believe it. My Italian is wayyy too far from adequate it seems, but I know with all my heart that as I work my very hardest, He will help me to be able to communicate with His precious children. I am so very blessed, I think back to all the times that the Lord has helped me and blessed me and strengthened me, and I just can't express enough gratitude for what I have been given. The Lord truly loves His children.
Every Monday afternoon, we have what we call TRC...Where my companion and I get to go and talk with a volunteer who is fluent in Italian for one 40 minute lesson. They are almost always members of the church, so it is a lot more of a relaxed setting, but as I learned from my wonderful teacher Sorella Miles, our purpose is to invite everyone to come unto Christ, no matter what stage of life they are in and no matter what kind of a testimony they have. We as missionaries have be set apart, truly endowed with power from the Lord, to be able to discern what people need to hear, and what will bring them closer to our Savior Jesus Christ. I had a very tender experience at this last TRC two days ago. We talked with two BYU students who were returned missionaries from Milan, Sam and Makayla. The lesson went well, we had each of them share their favorite scripture (and then explain why it was important because we understood maybe 50% of it haha), and then we discussed how it could personally help their lives right now. I felt a special love as we talked with them, and as I pondered in my heart that we are called to bring everyone, every single person we meet, some little bit closer to Christ. I tried my hardest to help them personally, in whatever way I could with my borken Italian. Near the end of the lesson, I felt impressed to bear my testimony of the true depth and power of the Love of our Heavenly Father for them. Now, let me just put a quick aside in here- I am okay at Italian, but the verbs are quiteeee the doozy and my grammar is downright awful haha-...but as I bore that testimony, words flowed out of my mouth, and tears welled in my eyes as my heart was truly filled with love for them, from our Father in Heaven. He loves us so much. Each and every one of us means the world to Him. How humbled I am to be a missionary, and to be able to feel of that love to such a degree. I just love it here!
We were privileged to hear from another apostle yesterday for our devotional! Elder Neil L Anderson! What a great guy. As he spoke to us he went through a slideshow about love and sacrifice. He just seemed so down to earth, like a normal guy. I can tell that he has a special spirit, and truly loves us so much. One quote that he said that really stuck with me is this: "We sacrifice for the things we love, and we love the things we sacrifice for." What a profound statement that was for me, especially as I contemplated the sacrifices that I have had to make in beginning this mission, and why I sacrificed them, and how much I love the people I sacrificed for. What a great reminder!
Well, I hope all is going well at home, I sure love you all so much! I leave Tuesday at 5:00 AM for Salt Lake! I am pretty sure that I get to call home when I arrive to the airport...but I'm not sure, it depends how early it is and stuff. So if you get a random call from a payphone make sure and answer :) Love you all!
The MTC is still going great!! Man, I just absolutely love it here! The spirit is soooo wonderful, I have had so many tender experiences here! ...By this time next week I will be in Italy!! That is so crazy, I can hardly believe it. My Italian is wayyy too far from adequate it seems, but I know with all my heart that as I work my very hardest, He will help me to be able to communicate with His precious children. I am so very blessed, I think back to all the times that the Lord has helped me and blessed me and strengthened me, and I just can't express enough gratitude for what I have been given. The Lord truly loves His children.
Every Monday afternoon, we have what we call TRC...Where my companion and I get to go and talk with a volunteer who is fluent in Italian for one 40 minute lesson. They are almost always members of the church, so it is a lot more of a relaxed setting, but as I learned from my wonderful teacher Sorella Miles, our purpose is to invite everyone to come unto Christ, no matter what stage of life they are in and no matter what kind of a testimony they have. We as missionaries have be set apart, truly endowed with power from the Lord, to be able to discern what people need to hear, and what will bring them closer to our Savior Jesus Christ. I had a very tender experience at this last TRC two days ago. We talked with two BYU students who were returned missionaries from Milan, Sam and Makayla. The lesson went well, we had each of them share their favorite scripture (and then explain why it was important because we understood maybe 50% of it haha), and then we discussed how it could personally help their lives right now. I felt a special love as we talked with them, and as I pondered in my heart that we are called to bring everyone, every single person we meet, some little bit closer to Christ. I tried my hardest to help them personally, in whatever way I could with my borken Italian. Near the end of the lesson, I felt impressed to bear my testimony of the true depth and power of the Love of our Heavenly Father for them. Now, let me just put a quick aside in here- I am okay at Italian, but the verbs are quiteeee the doozy and my grammar is downright awful haha-...but as I bore that testimony, words flowed out of my mouth, and tears welled in my eyes as my heart was truly filled with love for them, from our Father in Heaven. He loves us so much. Each and every one of us means the world to Him. How humbled I am to be a missionary, and to be able to feel of that love to such a degree. I just love it here!
We were privileged to hear from another apostle yesterday for our devotional! Elder Neil L Anderson! What a great guy. As he spoke to us he went through a slideshow about love and sacrifice. He just seemed so down to earth, like a normal guy. I can tell that he has a special spirit, and truly loves us so much. One quote that he said that really stuck with me is this: "We sacrifice for the things we love, and we love the things we sacrifice for." What a profound statement that was for me, especially as I contemplated the sacrifices that I have had to make in beginning this mission, and why I sacrificed them, and how much I love the people I sacrificed for. What a great reminder!
Well, I hope all is going well at home, I sure love you all so much! I leave Tuesday at 5:00 AM for Salt Lake! I am pretty sure that I get to call home when I arrive to the airport...but I'm not sure, it depends how early it is and stuff. So if you get a random call from a payphone make sure and answer :) Love you all!
AUGUST 21, 2013
Buongiorno famiglia!,
Thanks so much for all your letters and emails, they always just make my day! I love you all so much :)
The MTC is still going great! The weeks are all pretty much the same in terms of schedule, but it is amazing how somehow I always learn something new from each activity! We have been having a lot of study time to really figure out why we are here, and what our true purpose really is.
What it means to invite others to come unto Christ. I have learned so much about the power and strength that comes from the Lord as we put our trust in him. The MTC is exhausting, I am soooo tired all the time, especially when I am up late praying for help, and up an extra 30 min early for gym and service on Tues/wed. Yesterday was by far the hardest to get out of bed (at 5:45 might I add)...but just like every other day I just rolled out of bed and straight onto my knees. I have found that as I pour out my heart to my Heavenly Father, especially in the morning, as I stand up I can really feel strength beyond my own. I know that if it weren't for the fact that I am in the midst of the doing the Lord's work, there is NO way that, purely relying on my physical ability, I could do all this. But I have come to know, especially this week, that the Lord truly does love and strengthen his children. What a blessing it is to be doing the Lord's work, and to be humbled like that as the Lord helps me realize that really none of us could do it alone. But luckily we are never alone :)
So anyways, everything else is going great! I am getting to play a lot of basketball during gym time, it is such a blast! We have a bunch of kids in my district that played for their school teams in Utah, so it is
fun to be playing with people that actually give me a challenge ;) hahaha
jk! But it is a blast!
One of the most wonderful things about being in the MTC and being a missionary, is the chances we get to teach people, to teach investigators.
As you know, we have been teaching two investigators, Francesco and Daniella, and that has been a lot of fun! My companion and I had a really tender experience this week while we were teaching Daniella. We were talking about how Heavenly Father answers our prayers, and how it is just different for everyone, and she asked/told us (in Italian) "But I just have never had an answer. God has never answered my prayers. If he loves me, than why won't he answer?" Needless to say, we were a little taken aback...that's kind of a hard thing to answer. But as we sat in silence for about 5 seconds, a thought came to my mind. As distinct as any thought
I have ever had. "Pray. Have her pray right now." And my companion
looked back at me as I said "Daniella, would you be willing to offer a prayer for us, right now? And just ask. Ask God if he is really there, and if he hears your prayers. Ask if he loves you and wants to answer.
Would you do that for us?" And she seemed a little surprised, hesitated,
but then said "sure. why not." (we had taught her how to pray last lesson and encouraged her to pray every night before this lesson so she knew how) As she prayed, I asked Heavenly Father with all the faith I could muster, to please let this wonderful daughter of God know that you love her. As tears streamed from my eyes she finished the prayer, and we invited her to sit in silence for just 30 seconds to see if she could feel anything. The power of silence. It is real. After she looked up at us, we asked her how she felt. She said "While I was praying I didn't feel anything. But as I opened my eyes, and look at you missionaries, I don't know. It's weird. I feel something. In my heart. I don't know what it is, but I know that you two are genuine, and really care about me. I want to learn more about this
book (we had given her a Book of Mormon)" What a marvelous blessing.
After we concluded the lesson she seemed so excited to meet with us again.
I just can't wait for the field, (13 days...but who's counting ;) ) when there will be so many people like that; so many people that are only kept
from the truth because "they know not where to find it." I am so thankful
for the blessing it is to be a missionary of the Lord. for the trials that I go through, and for how they help me to grow. Every day when I wake up and put on that name tag, I look at the two names on it. Wilson, and Jesus Christ. How humbled I am to be in His service, feeling what little I can of what it was like for Him. I just love being a missionary!
Well, I hope all is going well at home, I pray for you all every night! Good luck with starting school soon! It is the best feeling ever to think "aww man, I have to go back to school...oh wait! no I dont!" :) haha I hope you all are doing well!
Io so che questa chiesa e vera. Con tutto mi coure Io so questo. Io so perche ho pregato, e Dio ha rispondera alla mi preghiera. Il dono della lingua e reale, quando noi abbiamo fede in Gesu Cristo, e nostri Padre celeste, loro aiutarci con tutto che noi facciamo. Sono molto grato per L'espiazione, e per la forza e la pace que lo da me en mi vita. Io so che Joseph Smith era un profeta di Dio, e lui pregato riguardo qual'e chiesa era la verita. Io so perche il Spirito dimonsta questo di mi coure, mediante sentimenti di pace e conforto. Sono molto grato per la mia famiglia, nel nome di Gesu Cristo, Amen.
Thanks so much for all your letters and emails, they always just make my day! I love you all so much :)
The MTC is still going great! The weeks are all pretty much the same in terms of schedule, but it is amazing how somehow I always learn something new from each activity! We have been having a lot of study time to really figure out why we are here, and what our true purpose really is.
What it means to invite others to come unto Christ. I have learned so much about the power and strength that comes from the Lord as we put our trust in him. The MTC is exhausting, I am soooo tired all the time, especially when I am up late praying for help, and up an extra 30 min early for gym and service on Tues/wed. Yesterday was by far the hardest to get out of bed (at 5:45 might I add)...but just like every other day I just rolled out of bed and straight onto my knees. I have found that as I pour out my heart to my Heavenly Father, especially in the morning, as I stand up I can really feel strength beyond my own. I know that if it weren't for the fact that I am in the midst of the doing the Lord's work, there is NO way that, purely relying on my physical ability, I could do all this. But I have come to know, especially this week, that the Lord truly does love and strengthen his children. What a blessing it is to be doing the Lord's work, and to be humbled like that as the Lord helps me realize that really none of us could do it alone. But luckily we are never alone :)
So anyways, everything else is going great! I am getting to play a lot of basketball during gym time, it is such a blast! We have a bunch of kids in my district that played for their school teams in Utah, so it is
fun to be playing with people that actually give me a challenge ;) hahaha
jk! But it is a blast!
One of the most wonderful things about being in the MTC and being a missionary, is the chances we get to teach people, to teach investigators.
As you know, we have been teaching two investigators, Francesco and Daniella, and that has been a lot of fun! My companion and I had a really tender experience this week while we were teaching Daniella. We were talking about how Heavenly Father answers our prayers, and how it is just different for everyone, and she asked/told us (in Italian) "But I just have never had an answer. God has never answered my prayers. If he loves me, than why won't he answer?" Needless to say, we were a little taken aback...that's kind of a hard thing to answer. But as we sat in silence for about 5 seconds, a thought came to my mind. As distinct as any thought
I have ever had. "Pray. Have her pray right now." And my companion
looked back at me as I said "Daniella, would you be willing to offer a prayer for us, right now? And just ask. Ask God if he is really there, and if he hears your prayers. Ask if he loves you and wants to answer.
Would you do that for us?" And she seemed a little surprised, hesitated,
but then said "sure. why not." (we had taught her how to pray last lesson and encouraged her to pray every night before this lesson so she knew how) As she prayed, I asked Heavenly Father with all the faith I could muster, to please let this wonderful daughter of God know that you love her. As tears streamed from my eyes she finished the prayer, and we invited her to sit in silence for just 30 seconds to see if she could feel anything. The power of silence. It is real. After she looked up at us, we asked her how she felt. She said "While I was praying I didn't feel anything. But as I opened my eyes, and look at you missionaries, I don't know. It's weird. I feel something. In my heart. I don't know what it is, but I know that you two are genuine, and really care about me. I want to learn more about this
book (we had given her a Book of Mormon)" What a marvelous blessing.
After we concluded the lesson she seemed so excited to meet with us again.
I just can't wait for the field, (13 days...but who's counting ;) ) when there will be so many people like that; so many people that are only kept
from the truth because "they know not where to find it." I am so thankful
for the blessing it is to be a missionary of the Lord. for the trials that I go through, and for how they help me to grow. Every day when I wake up and put on that name tag, I look at the two names on it. Wilson, and Jesus Christ. How humbled I am to be in His service, feeling what little I can of what it was like for Him. I just love being a missionary!
Well, I hope all is going well at home, I pray for you all every night! Good luck with starting school soon! It is the best feeling ever to think "aww man, I have to go back to school...oh wait! no I dont!" :) haha I hope you all are doing well!
Io so che questa chiesa e vera. Con tutto mi coure Io so questo. Io so perche ho pregato, e Dio ha rispondera alla mi preghiera. Il dono della lingua e reale, quando noi abbiamo fede in Gesu Cristo, e nostri Padre celeste, loro aiutarci con tutto che noi facciamo. Sono molto grato per L'espiazione, e per la forza e la pace que lo da me en mi vita. Io so che Joseph Smith era un profeta di Dio, e lui pregato riguardo qual'e chiesa era la verita. Io so perche il Spirito dimonsta questo di mi coure, mediante sentimenti di pace e conforto. Sono molto grato per la mia famiglia, nel nome di Gesu Cristo, Amen.
AUGUST 14, 2013
Caro mi famiglia,
Buona pomeriggio! (Good afternoon)! :) The MTC is going amazingly well, I am loving it so much! We have been pretty much doing the same thing as the last two weeks, it is awesome awesome. I can't believe I am already 3 weeks in, where did the beginning of August go! Time starts to fly one you know your schedule and can start really focusing on the work!
Some pretty amazing things have happened for me this week. Each Sunday night after our MTC devotional (which was really good this week! the MTC director talked about the story in 1 Nephi about the tree of life, and how it applies to our lives and especially how we can use it to help our investigators. His talk was entitled "The purpose of the purpose.") we get to go to a church film to help reinforce our purpose. Everything we do here, as I have learned this week, really is focused on our purpose. As it says in Preach My Gospel (hopefully I can remember this in English...lol "To invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel, through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." Which in Italian (for Big L) is "Invitare le persone a venire a Cristo aiutandole ad accentare il vangelo restaurato mediante la fede in Gesu Cristo, il pentimento, il batessimo, del dono della Spirito Santo, e perserverando sino alla fine" (disclaimer: I am not responsible in any way shape or form for misspellings, etc. in the aforementioned purpose statement.) haha :) It has helped me so much in all that I do to remember that this time really isn't for me. It is for the people of Italy. And it is my responsibility to prepare myself, with the help of the Lord, so that when I come across a beloved child of our Heavenly Father, I will be able to do all I can to invite them to come to Christ. Come. Not go. He waits for us patiently, and he is nearby always. He waits for us to come to him.
But comunque (anyways) after Sunday night devotionals we have an hour to watch a special church film. This week it was a talk from President Monson many moons ago while he was still the 1st counselor in the first presidency. He talked about faith, and how we can develop and grow our faith. He spoke of a special family he met, who had 4 children with a very rare form of muscular dystrophy, which caused all to die early in life. But he talked about the faith they had. When he met with that family, the young girl, who was only 5 years old, wanted to sing him a song. Even though her lungs were very weak, and she struggled to get enough air, she had told her mother that she wanted to try. I was touched as he described the tears that flowed freely from everyone who listened to a humble song from a little girl, who died at the age of 14. How blessed we truly are, take advantage of every single day!
The crowning event of this week had to be last night for our Tuesday night devotional. It was the first ever MTC devotional to be broadcasted to every MTC world-wide! We were privileged to hear from Elder Richard G. Scott, of the quorum of the twelve apostles. Wow. How do I begin to describe such an experience. I was singing in the MTC choir for the devotional (we sung Jesus Once of Humble Birth), and as we all stood as he walked in, everyone around me grew so quiet. You truly could feel of the spirit that he had, being a servant of the Lord. As he spoke I couldn't help but see a sort of glow around him, as he beamed with love towards us. He spoke on prayer, and the true privilege that it is to speak with an all-powerful, all-loving Heavenly Father. How wonderful it was! While he was walking out at the end of the meeting he turned around, cupped his hands around his mouth, and yelled "Be good! We love you!" :) You just can't help but love that man.
I am thankful for your guys' emails! I am glad to hear that everything is going well at home! Tell Gramps I said Happy Birthday!
We are teaching two new investigators this week, Francesco and Daniella. It is so wonderful to be able to role play and feel of even just a portion of what it will be like to bear pure testimony to people who have no idea who God is, or how much He loves them. It just...amazes me that there really are people that don't know. It makes me feel horrible. Missionary work is such a blessing, being able to share the love and joy that the gospel brings is amazing.
I love you alll so much! Thanks for being an amazing family! You are all in my prayers every night, I hope you are doing well! Questo lavoro e il lavoro di Dio. Io so che questo e vero! Sono molto grato per l'opportunita di stare qui, e di essere un misionario! Cosa un benedizione! Ci videamo!
Buona pomeriggio! (Good afternoon)! :) The MTC is going amazingly well, I am loving it so much! We have been pretty much doing the same thing as the last two weeks, it is awesome awesome. I can't believe I am already 3 weeks in, where did the beginning of August go! Time starts to fly one you know your schedule and can start really focusing on the work!
Some pretty amazing things have happened for me this week. Each Sunday night after our MTC devotional (which was really good this week! the MTC director talked about the story in 1 Nephi about the tree of life, and how it applies to our lives and especially how we can use it to help our investigators. His talk was entitled "The purpose of the purpose.") we get to go to a church film to help reinforce our purpose. Everything we do here, as I have learned this week, really is focused on our purpose. As it says in Preach My Gospel (hopefully I can remember this in English...lol "To invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel, through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." Which in Italian (for Big L) is "Invitare le persone a venire a Cristo aiutandole ad accentare il vangelo restaurato mediante la fede in Gesu Cristo, il pentimento, il batessimo, del dono della Spirito Santo, e perserverando sino alla fine" (disclaimer: I am not responsible in any way shape or form for misspellings, etc. in the aforementioned purpose statement.) haha :) It has helped me so much in all that I do to remember that this time really isn't for me. It is for the people of Italy. And it is my responsibility to prepare myself, with the help of the Lord, so that when I come across a beloved child of our Heavenly Father, I will be able to do all I can to invite them to come to Christ. Come. Not go. He waits for us patiently, and he is nearby always. He waits for us to come to him.
But comunque (anyways) after Sunday night devotionals we have an hour to watch a special church film. This week it was a talk from President Monson many moons ago while he was still the 1st counselor in the first presidency. He talked about faith, and how we can develop and grow our faith. He spoke of a special family he met, who had 4 children with a very rare form of muscular dystrophy, which caused all to die early in life. But he talked about the faith they had. When he met with that family, the young girl, who was only 5 years old, wanted to sing him a song. Even though her lungs were very weak, and she struggled to get enough air, she had told her mother that she wanted to try. I was touched as he described the tears that flowed freely from everyone who listened to a humble song from a little girl, who died at the age of 14. How blessed we truly are, take advantage of every single day!
The crowning event of this week had to be last night for our Tuesday night devotional. It was the first ever MTC devotional to be broadcasted to every MTC world-wide! We were privileged to hear from Elder Richard G. Scott, of the quorum of the twelve apostles. Wow. How do I begin to describe such an experience. I was singing in the MTC choir for the devotional (we sung Jesus Once of Humble Birth), and as we all stood as he walked in, everyone around me grew so quiet. You truly could feel of the spirit that he had, being a servant of the Lord. As he spoke I couldn't help but see a sort of glow around him, as he beamed with love towards us. He spoke on prayer, and the true privilege that it is to speak with an all-powerful, all-loving Heavenly Father. How wonderful it was! While he was walking out at the end of the meeting he turned around, cupped his hands around his mouth, and yelled "Be good! We love you!" :) You just can't help but love that man.
I am thankful for your guys' emails! I am glad to hear that everything is going well at home! Tell Gramps I said Happy Birthday!
We are teaching two new investigators this week, Francesco and Daniella. It is so wonderful to be able to role play and feel of even just a portion of what it will be like to bear pure testimony to people who have no idea who God is, or how much He loves them. It just...amazes me that there really are people that don't know. It makes me feel horrible. Missionary work is such a blessing, being able to share the love and joy that the gospel brings is amazing.
I love you alll so much! Thanks for being an amazing family! You are all in my prayers every night, I hope you are doing well! Questo lavoro e il lavoro di Dio. Io so che questo e vero! Sono molto grato per l'opportunita di stare qui, e di essere un misionario! Cosa un benedizione! Ci videamo!
AUGUST 7, 2013: Salve Antonio Wilson continued
This week has gone really well at the MTC, boy time is just flying by now! Thank you all so much for the letters and emails and all that you have sent, I love to read them! And yes i got our packages today with the pants and blessing and stamps, thanks so much! Most other things i can just get here at the bookstore, and since missionaries get 40% off, it's super cheap! But anyways...yeah the MTC is going great! The work is so hard, and it is basically as much studying, if not more, than it was for me while I was in college. But what makes it wonderful is what I get to study: The words of the Lord. It is such a great time, and even though it is hard it is SO worth it! It really is like what Grande L (lol) said in his message. It's like living in the temple for six weeks! What a privilege it is to be here.
So, our last "investigator", Nico is no longer being taught by us, we are assigned to teach two new investigators, but we aren't quite sure who yet. Teaching Nico was an amzing experience, and he (Fratello Weller is his real name) is actually now teaching us Italian for half of the day! He is a great guy! I am excited to start teaching more investigators, and even more excited to speak with il popolo da Italia. They are great people, and I know that the Lord has prepared them for what we have to teach. Missionary work is just so great!
So I am basically falling asleep here at the monitor; every P day we "get" to wake up at 5:50 to be ready for our service project at 6:05. But it is okay, doing service for the MTC really actually puts me in a good mood. But I am so excited for the one hour "cat-nap" we are allowed to take on P day. So relaxing! :)
I had a really wonderful experience the other day in class. We had a substitute teacher come in to show us a "teaching demonstration" of how to teach a lesson, while the other missionaries listened in and thought of ways to improve and whatnot. But we all thought that he was just gonna come in and teach, since he is fluent in Italian and all. But out of the blue he asks me to be his companion! and so we went in the other room to plan for about 5 minutes, and then we started teaching an entire lesson and getting to know "Valeria" entirely in Italian! But wow. I was so surprised at what I actually could say! I don't know how to say everything exactly the way I wish I could say it, but I can usually take a round about way to get at least some of my point across. And when in doubt, bear testimony. It is amazing the things that will come to your mind, through the Spirit. And at the end of the lesson, we invited Valeria to pray (for the first time she had ever done so) and ask if what we said were true. Even though she had no idea how to pray, and sure we taught her a brief overview of how to start and end a prayer, her heart was so sincere, and as she spoke tears came to everyone's eyes. The spirit was there so strongly, and I truly felt our Heavenly Father's love for her. What a great place this is!
The food here, yep. Top notch! And Brandon you will delighted to know that they have...wait for it...blueberry "smuffin stops". Yeah. I have had a bowl of those for basically every meal. Luckily we get like an hour a day to exercise, things are going good in that regard haha.
So my companion! haha, what a champ! He is a nut, but I love him. his name is Brennan...errr, Anziano Dean. He has sooo many entertaining stories, he is a character. We have a ton of fun together! Like the other day, we started making up a song to fit the pokemon TV show theme song, but instead of saying "Po-ke-mon!" We said "con-ver-sion!" It was a good time! Our district is so awesome! We all are sooo close, and everyone is just awesome to be around. the first week or so whenever we would see each other we would yell "CIAO!!" in a spirited, happy way. It was hilarious. We have some russian missionaries in the class next to us, and the other day we overheard one of them in the hall "Man! What is up with the Italians! All they know is ciao and anziano and they say it alllll the time!" It was hilarious, but we toned it down a tad.
We have had so many good times! The other day we were walking with our teacher to another building during class time, and she told us to be especially reverant, so one of us had the idea to line up single file behind her like birds and fold our arms like the primary kids and look down reverantly. Everyone stared as 10 grown men walked around like primary children around the MTC, it was funny. And also, (and okay, we got in a little trouble, and felt bad about it.) we had a "pudding cup challenge" on P day. Anziano Skinner's mom had sent him like 45 snack packs, and he wanted to get rid of them, so he challenged anziano anderson to a pudding eating contest. (don't worry, I got pictures) But in about 7 minutes they downed 15 pudding cups...right in a row. it was nasty! Anziano skinner ended the contest by losing his lunch in a trash can. But it was hilarious. boys will be boys, haha.PART 2:
man, I am good at hitting the enter and tab or whatever it is combination that makes it send!
to continue: yeah it has been a really fun place! also a wonderful place where the spirit of the Lord can be felt. We had a special experience the other night after we had a lesson about Enos, and how he didn't just pray "to" our Heavenly Father, he prayed "with" him. So we were challenged to really pray with our heavenly father last night. It was so wonderful. Heavenly father truly does speak back if we will pray sincerely and open up our hearts to him. I know that is true.
I love you all so much! You are in my prayers, and thank you so much for remembering me in yours. i can feel the strength that comes from the Lord. I am glad to hear all is well at home, "keep frolfin', keep livin'" As they say. "they don't say that mom." "well I do!" -The R.M (brandon knows what I'm talking about haha)
So, our last "investigator", Nico is no longer being taught by us, we are assigned to teach two new investigators, but we aren't quite sure who yet. Teaching Nico was an amzing experience, and he (Fratello Weller is his real name) is actually now teaching us Italian for half of the day! He is a great guy! I am excited to start teaching more investigators, and even more excited to speak with il popolo da Italia. They are great people, and I know that the Lord has prepared them for what we have to teach. Missionary work is just so great!
So I am basically falling asleep here at the monitor; every P day we "get" to wake up at 5:50 to be ready for our service project at 6:05. But it is okay, doing service for the MTC really actually puts me in a good mood. But I am so excited for the one hour "cat-nap" we are allowed to take on P day. So relaxing! :)
I had a really wonderful experience the other day in class. We had a substitute teacher come in to show us a "teaching demonstration" of how to teach a lesson, while the other missionaries listened in and thought of ways to improve and whatnot. But we all thought that he was just gonna come in and teach, since he is fluent in Italian and all. But out of the blue he asks me to be his companion! and so we went in the other room to plan for about 5 minutes, and then we started teaching an entire lesson and getting to know "Valeria" entirely in Italian! But wow. I was so surprised at what I actually could say! I don't know how to say everything exactly the way I wish I could say it, but I can usually take a round about way to get at least some of my point across. And when in doubt, bear testimony. It is amazing the things that will come to your mind, through the Spirit. And at the end of the lesson, we invited Valeria to pray (for the first time she had ever done so) and ask if what we said were true. Even though she had no idea how to pray, and sure we taught her a brief overview of how to start and end a prayer, her heart was so sincere, and as she spoke tears came to everyone's eyes. The spirit was there so strongly, and I truly felt our Heavenly Father's love for her. What a great place this is!
The food here, yep. Top notch! And Brandon you will delighted to know that they have...wait for it...blueberry "smuffin stops". Yeah. I have had a bowl of those for basically every meal. Luckily we get like an hour a day to exercise, things are going good in that regard haha.
So my companion! haha, what a champ! He is a nut, but I love him. his name is Brennan...errr, Anziano Dean. He has sooo many entertaining stories, he is a character. We have a ton of fun together! Like the other day, we started making up a song to fit the pokemon TV show theme song, but instead of saying "Po-ke-mon!" We said "con-ver-sion!" It was a good time! Our district is so awesome! We all are sooo close, and everyone is just awesome to be around. the first week or so whenever we would see each other we would yell "CIAO!!" in a spirited, happy way. It was hilarious. We have some russian missionaries in the class next to us, and the other day we overheard one of them in the hall "Man! What is up with the Italians! All they know is ciao and anziano and they say it alllll the time!" It was hilarious, but we toned it down a tad.
We have had so many good times! The other day we were walking with our teacher to another building during class time, and she told us to be especially reverant, so one of us had the idea to line up single file behind her like birds and fold our arms like the primary kids and look down reverantly. Everyone stared as 10 grown men walked around like primary children around the MTC, it was funny. And also, (and okay, we got in a little trouble, and felt bad about it.) we had a "pudding cup challenge" on P day. Anziano Skinner's mom had sent him like 45 snack packs, and he wanted to get rid of them, so he challenged anziano anderson to a pudding eating contest. (don't worry, I got pictures) But in about 7 minutes they downed 15 pudding cups...right in a row. it was nasty! Anziano skinner ended the contest by losing his lunch in a trash can. But it was hilarious. boys will be boys, haha.PART 2:
man, I am good at hitting the enter and tab or whatever it is combination that makes it send!
to continue: yeah it has been a really fun place! also a wonderful place where the spirit of the Lord can be felt. We had a special experience the other night after we had a lesson about Enos, and how he didn't just pray "to" our Heavenly Father, he prayed "with" him. So we were challenged to really pray with our heavenly father last night. It was so wonderful. Heavenly father truly does speak back if we will pray sincerely and open up our hearts to him. I know that is true.
I love you all so much! You are in my prayers, and thank you so much for remembering me in yours. i can feel the strength that comes from the Lord. I am glad to hear all is well at home, "keep frolfin', keep livin'" As they say. "they don't say that mom." "well I do!" -The R.M (brandon knows what I'm talking about haha)
JULY 31, 2013 - 9:49AM: Buon Compleanno! (Part 2)
so I accidentally sent that last email, but this is a continuation haha. I'm not super technologically savy apparently. But just really quick, if you could send me some stamps and a pair of jeans that fit me (I accidentally have Brandon's haha, and a copy of my patriarchal blessing sometime that would be so great! Whenever you have time though, no rush!
So anyways, MTC life is so wonderful! The spirit of the Lord is so present, it is just amazing. Every single day I come home, kneel down, and thank my Heavenly Father for the most wonderful day so far. My branch president down here is a great guy! He told us one of the first days that there are three thirds of a mission: 1) the first four days in the MTC 2) the rest of the MTC 3)your mission in Italy....so apparently I'm over a third of the way done already! He was excited when he interviewed us on Sunday that noone had "jumped the fence" yet, haha.
My companion is such a champion! He reminds me exactly of Uncle Ryan! When you see pictures of him you will know what I mean. (and I have plenty of room,like over 2000 pictures left on my camera so no worries there) He looks, acts, and even laughs like Ronald, it's the funnest thing ever! He is a great Elder; we laugh a ton, but we also know when it is time to study and time to feel the spirit and teach. Which reminds me! We are teaching our first "investigator"! His name is Nico Gallini. What a wonderful guy! I can truly say that even though he isn't "real", I really do love him as a brother, for we all are truly children of our Heavenly Father. Meeting with him is the best part of the day! We had to teach him a lesson, completely in Italian by the way, the second day! We have taught him three times so far! The very first lesson was hilarious...We literally had noooo idea what he was saying, and so we would just "deer in the headlights" stare at him, and say b"molto bene! (very good), and keep reading off in broken Italian what we had written down. We had a zone leader tell us in our tour thing, that when in doubt, just say "Dio lei ama." (God loves you), and it's allll good. It was funny. Good times. But actually, we are getting to where we can talk a lot better in Italian. The spirit is so present in the lessons, it truly is amazing. The gift of tongues is so real. We had a really really good lesson the other day about why we are learning the language. We learned that we aren't learning the language for us. We are learning it for the investigators. For those real people out there who deserve this happiness, and this closeness with their Heavenly Father. They deserve to hear this glorious message of the gospel in their own tongue, and they are searching for this truth that we have the privilege to bring to them. What a wonderful privilege.
Sorry i am jumping all over the place, I just have so much to say and not a ton of time to say it! But MTC life is hard. it is really, really hard. We study in the classroom for like 14 hours a day. But it is SO worth it. One of my favorite things to say at the end of the day when we get into bed is "Sono stanco, ma feliche." I am tired, but happy. The joy that comes from being immersed in the Lord's work is so amazing. There truly is nothing else like this in the world. I am so tired a lot of the time, but it really doesn't bother me, because the Lord had strengthened me so much. I have learned that when we truly give all we have to Him, and realize that we are so weak by ourselves, He will strengthen us so far beyond our own ability.
As far as the learning Italian goes, it is complete immersion. Our teacher, who by the way has such a tender heart and testimony, speaks only in Italian, and only when we are learning principles of the gospel and things does she say it in Enlgish, but even then only after she says it in italian first. We are encouraged to talk as much as we can in Italian, and say all our prayers in Italian. I, with the help of the Spirit, have come so far. I think I know more Italian already than the Spanish I learned in two years of school. When you are exactly obediant, and try your best to always be humble, the Lord will bless you with so much. Obedience is such an important thing here. There are a lot of rules...and some are hard to understand. But I know that every single rule is for a reason, and that as we are perfectly obedient, the Lord will bless us so much more. Obedience brings blessings; perfect obedience brings miracles.
I love you all so so much. Your birthday card was wonderful, and yes don't worry I was sung to in our class. What better way to spend a birthday is there than in the service of the Lord! and don't worry mom,
the food here is really good! :) Also, fun fact for you...there is a tree here, that we call the "smelling tree", that smells exactly like orange creme bars! Crazy right! But anyways, I would like to end with my brief testimony in Italian. Big L's homework is to translate is for you all :) (and i dont know how to put accent marks, so some of the "e"s mean is and some mean and)
Io so che Gesu Cristo e il filgio di Dio, e Io so che la Chiesa di Gesu Cristo dei santi degli ultimi giorni e vero. Completemente vero. Con tutto mi coure Io so questo. Sono molto grato per l'opportunita essere un missionario. lo Spirito Santo e qui, e aiutarmi con Italiano. Io so la donna della lingua e reale. Io so che il libro di mormon e un libro da Dio, e e un libro con scritture da profeti di Dio. Sono molto grato per mi familglia, e per l'opportunita stare qui. Io so per che ho pregato a Dio, e si po anche. Nel nome di Gesu Cristo, Amen.
I love you all so much. I am where the Lord needs me to be.
Love, Anziano Wilson
So anyways, MTC life is so wonderful! The spirit of the Lord is so present, it is just amazing. Every single day I come home, kneel down, and thank my Heavenly Father for the most wonderful day so far. My branch president down here is a great guy! He told us one of the first days that there are three thirds of a mission: 1) the first four days in the MTC 2) the rest of the MTC 3)your mission in Italy....so apparently I'm over a third of the way done already! He was excited when he interviewed us on Sunday that noone had "jumped the fence" yet, haha.
My companion is such a champion! He reminds me exactly of Uncle Ryan! When you see pictures of him you will know what I mean. (and I have plenty of room,like over 2000 pictures left on my camera so no worries there) He looks, acts, and even laughs like Ronald, it's the funnest thing ever! He is a great Elder; we laugh a ton, but we also know when it is time to study and time to feel the spirit and teach. Which reminds me! We are teaching our first "investigator"! His name is Nico Gallini. What a wonderful guy! I can truly say that even though he isn't "real", I really do love him as a brother, for we all are truly children of our Heavenly Father. Meeting with him is the best part of the day! We had to teach him a lesson, completely in Italian by the way, the second day! We have taught him three times so far! The very first lesson was hilarious...We literally had noooo idea what he was saying, and so we would just "deer in the headlights" stare at him, and say b"molto bene! (very good), and keep reading off in broken Italian what we had written down. We had a zone leader tell us in our tour thing, that when in doubt, just say "Dio lei ama." (God loves you), and it's allll good. It was funny. Good times. But actually, we are getting to where we can talk a lot better in Italian. The spirit is so present in the lessons, it truly is amazing. The gift of tongues is so real. We had a really really good lesson the other day about why we are learning the language. We learned that we aren't learning the language for us. We are learning it for the investigators. For those real people out there who deserve this happiness, and this closeness with their Heavenly Father. They deserve to hear this glorious message of the gospel in their own tongue, and they are searching for this truth that we have the privilege to bring to them. What a wonderful privilege.
Sorry i am jumping all over the place, I just have so much to say and not a ton of time to say it! But MTC life is hard. it is really, really hard. We study in the classroom for like 14 hours a day. But it is SO worth it. One of my favorite things to say at the end of the day when we get into bed is "Sono stanco, ma feliche." I am tired, but happy. The joy that comes from being immersed in the Lord's work is so amazing. There truly is nothing else like this in the world. I am so tired a lot of the time, but it really doesn't bother me, because the Lord had strengthened me so much. I have learned that when we truly give all we have to Him, and realize that we are so weak by ourselves, He will strengthen us so far beyond our own ability.
As far as the learning Italian goes, it is complete immersion. Our teacher, who by the way has such a tender heart and testimony, speaks only in Italian, and only when we are learning principles of the gospel and things does she say it in Enlgish, but even then only after she says it in italian first. We are encouraged to talk as much as we can in Italian, and say all our prayers in Italian. I, with the help of the Spirit, have come so far. I think I know more Italian already than the Spanish I learned in two years of school. When you are exactly obediant, and try your best to always be humble, the Lord will bless you with so much. Obedience is such an important thing here. There are a lot of rules...and some are hard to understand. But I know that every single rule is for a reason, and that as we are perfectly obedient, the Lord will bless us so much more. Obedience brings blessings; perfect obedience brings miracles.
I love you all so so much. Your birthday card was wonderful, and yes don't worry I was sung to in our class. What better way to spend a birthday is there than in the service of the Lord! and don't worry mom,
the food here is really good! :) Also, fun fact for you...there is a tree here, that we call the "smelling tree", that smells exactly like orange creme bars! Crazy right! But anyways, I would like to end with my brief testimony in Italian. Big L's homework is to translate is for you all :) (and i dont know how to put accent marks, so some of the "e"s mean is and some mean and)
Io so che Gesu Cristo e il filgio di Dio, e Io so che la Chiesa di Gesu Cristo dei santi degli ultimi giorni e vero. Completemente vero. Con tutto mi coure Io so questo. Sono molto grato per l'opportunita essere un missionario. lo Spirito Santo e qui, e aiutarmi con Italiano. Io so la donna della lingua e reale. Io so che il libro di mormon e un libro da Dio, e e un libro con scritture da profeti di Dio. Sono molto grato per mi familglia, e per l'opportunita stare qui. Io so per che ho pregato a Dio, e si po anche. Nel nome di Gesu Cristo, Amen.
I love you all so much. I am where the Lord needs me to be.
Love, Anziano Wilson
JULY 31, 2013 - 9:03AM: Buon Compleanno!
Caro mi famiglia e amichi,
I seriously LOVE the MTC!! It is sooooo amazing here, I am doing really well. Thank you all for the happy birthday wishes and everything. I getone hour of email time each week on WEdnesdays so I will try to keep you updated on life as much as I can. Please forward this email to whoever needs it, or put in on a blog, or whatever you want to do :)
I seriously LOVE the MTC!! It is sooooo amazing here, I am doing really well. Thank you all for the happy birthday wishes and everything. I getone hour of email time each week on WEdnesdays so I will try to keep you updated on life as much as I can. Please forward this email to whoever needs it, or put in on a blog, or whatever you want to do :)
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