DECEMBER 24, 2014

Buon Natale a tutti!  Feliz Navidad a todos! Merry Christmas to all!

Just a quick email home this week. Since it's Christmas Eve, our P-day time is severely limited with all the member visits and other activities we have to do today.  But I am having a wonderful Christmas week!  We have been seeing some amazing miracles, and have been really feeling the true Christmas Spirit. May we all strive to have more love in our hearts for those around us, and share willingly and freely the testimony that is in us, always remembering the Lord's promise in the Doctrine and Covenants "I will go before your face, I will be on your right hand and on your left, and mine angels round about you to bear you up." This Christmas season I bear you all my testimony that that is a true promise.  I have experienced it in my life, I know that it is true, and it is a promise for each one of our Father in Heaven's precious children. May we never be ashamed of the testimony that is in us, and may we go forward with trust and faith, even in the difficult days, that there are better ones ahead. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! :)
I love you all, and am excited to skype home tomorrow!
--Anziano Wilson

DECEMBER 17, 2014

What a wonderful week! Merry almost Christmas!!  We have been seeing so many miracles!!  It just seems like we are always in just the right place, at just the right time!
--Oh man, I am so exhausted. But this week has been great!  We have been doing this 12 days of Christmas thing (I think I wrote about that last week...?  The days go so fast I have to idea, it all meshes together...but it's where we leave a little present and a note on sister Capodicasa's doorstep each day for the 12 days before Christmas. Just for fun, and to show her a little love this Christmas (she has a really hard family situation), and it has been getting INTENSE!  In Italy it is not like in America where you can just walk up to someone's doorstep and leave the present, ring the doorbell, and run.  In order to leave something on someone's front doorstep without them knowing in Italy, you have to ring a random person's bell, make up some excuse (Noone will help you do anything nice...we tried explaining what we wanted to do to the first few people...and they were just like "no, no, non mi interessa!(I'm not interested)"...), and then walk into the Palazzo though another door, find the door of the person, ring that bell and then sprint out through like 3 doors to get out to the street!  And let's keep in mind here that Italians don't have doorknobs.  Instead, they have a stationary knob in the middle of the door, and there is a little tiny button hidden somewhere in the vicinity of the door, which opens it.  Needless to say, it is quite the adventure!  So two days ago, as we were going to ring one of the neighbor's bell, we hear it unlock by itself.  At first I am thinking "Oh, sweet!  We get in easy this time!"  And then the door opens, AND IT'S HER!! (Sorella Capodicasa, the person we are doing it to.) I hurry and shove the present (A little nativity scene) in my pocket, and button up my coat (this is where having a HUGE coat comes in handy...Thanks mom :) ),  and my companion blurts out "Oh hey! We came to visit you tonight for Family Home Evening!" (Genius!) To which she replies "oh, you two are so inspired!!! Great idea! (HA!)  I'll be back in 20 minutes, and then we will start!!"  But we were pretty sure she had already been suspecting that it was us who had been leaving these presents on the doorstep, and our "Deer in the Headlights" faces when she walked out of the front door, I'm sure, made her even more suspicious of us!  So, long story short, we call the other missionaries and organize a plan.  A genius plan, if you will.  While we were inside doing the Family Home Evening, she was asking us all these questions about what we have been up to the last few days, and told us about how she had been getting these presents on her doorstep for the past few days, etc, etc....and we just kind of play it off like "Oh, man! Great idea! What are the presents... I wish we had thought of that!" To which she was just kind of like "hmmmm...*suspicious face*.".  But about 20 minutes into the conversation,  the other missionaries did the whole doorbell ditch thing, and left the present right there on the doormat!  She runs to the door, sees the present, and is just like, "No!  I was sure it was you two!!!  Now I have no idea!!"  ...and then she told us all her secret plans to catch whoever it was!! haha!! We are so good.  She has really been appreciating the presents though. What a wonderful time of the year! :)
--Yesterday was a day full of miracles.  We were led to so many people who needed our help; including a homeless man who had holes in his shoes. (So, A member had given us these lightly used shoes on Sunday, saying, "Oh, just find someone who needs them!" ..we were a little confused, wondering how in the world we would find someone...but the Lord led us right to him!).  Also, while we were searching for someone to give the shoes to, we passed by the Dioquino family (members from the Philippeans) at the exact time when they were finishing this huge background thing for the Christmas program on Friday.  They had just finished, and said a prayer because they had no idea how to get it all the the church (it was raining and they have bicycles).  And it turns out, out of the 1 in 100 times we are out and about in the car (usually in Alessandria we just ride bikes), we had the car!  So we just put the stuff in the back and drove it to the church just in time! The mother was like "You see, kids?  The Lord sent us two angels to help us!"  It was a wonderful experience.
--We had to wait in line for an hour to use the email at this internet point today.  Gotta love it! :P
--The other day we went to go visit sister Gallio, a new convert in this ward.  She has two little kids, and is divorced.  But the special thing about her is that one of her kids, Eduardo, is about 14 years old and handicapped mentally.  He is a special boy. He is only handicapped slightly: he is able to get around by himself and do most things by himself, but he just needs some extra attention and care. Both Edo and Gretta (the daughter who is 11) are waiting for the permission from their father to be baptized (in Italy you need the permission of both parents if you are under 18).  Edo asked us this week to give him a Priesthood blessing to help him with school, and it was a wonderful experience.  You could just feel, so strongly, the spirit that was there, and the special spirit that is in him.  It was amazing because usually he is just up and down all over the place (most of the time he runs on all fours pretending to be some kind of animal), but during the blessing he was completely calm, and just listened intently.  He knew exactly what was happening. After it was over he looked over at us, gave us each a big hug, and then went back to his normal self, jumping around like a frog. What a privilege it is to hold the Priesthood of God, and to be able to serve and help others.
--It is starting to get SO cold!  (Well, Idaho winters are definitely way worse...I have just been softened up here in Italy...)  Plus it is just foggy all the time here.  If the ward weren't the best ward in all of Italy, Alessandria would be a tough place to serve!
--Speaking of the ward being the best in all of Italy...Our bishop is such a CHAMPION!  He is so engaged in missionary work it is insane.  If everyone in Italy were like him...two years from today everyone would be a member!  He is from Sicily, and just shares the gospel with everyone!! What an inspiration!
--Miracle:  This week we had a wonderful miracle: THE BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATION OF DANIELE!!!! What a miracle his whole progress in the gospel has been!  From a sign-seeking atheist, to a committed truth-seeker, to now a strong believer, it has just been a miracle to see his heart change and open so fully to the commandments. He has been an example to us missionaries and to his girlfriend as well. She, since participating in the lessons with us, has gained a greater desire to follow the commandments and become active in the gospel, herself!  At the baptismal service the Spirit was so strong, and Daniele bore a powerful testimony afterward.  We also had the chance to show a few mormon messages and bear testimony about the spirit of Christmas, and how we need to all share the Gift our Heavenly Father gave to us over 2000 years ago! There were some non-members in attendance, and it was a great experience for all. Daniele is such an amazing guy, and will be a powerful leader here in Italy.
--I was blessed with the opportunity of confirming Daniele and being the vessel through which he received the Holy Ghost.  The Spirit was so strong in that sacrament meeting. And daniele's entire demeanor just changed. He is so much more calm and peaceful; it just radiates! Those are memories I will never forget.
   Everything in Alessandria is going really well!  We are now on the lookout for more progressing investigators, but we have faith that as we continue to search we will be led to them, or them to us.  We have been having so many opportunities to give little, "random" acts of service to many people.  It has made this Christmas season so much more meaningful! Thanks for all your support and prayers, I love you all and remember you each day in my prayers. 
 Love,
         Anziano Wilson

DECEMBER 10, 2014

Buon to the Giorno everyone!
  Well, it is getting kind of ridiculous how fast time goes now.  It literally feels like yesterday I was just here writing home for last week!  But we have had a wonderful week, full of miracles!
--Right off the bat, let me share one of the greatest miracles! We went CHRISTMAS CAROLING!!!! And it was a HUGE success. We handed out around 300 pass along cards to people in a little under an hour!!  To give you an idea of how awesome that is, we usually go through maybe 75 every 6 weeks, depending on how willing people are to listen to us.  So, yeah, it was amazing!  We also (prepare for a genius idea) wrapped up a bunch of pamphlets and multiple copies of the Book of Mormon (did you like that? I didn't say Books of Mormon or Book of Mormons...because in that never-ending argument of what is more correct to say...I am like Switzerand...always neutrall! ;) ), and handed them out to people as Christmas gifts!  Brilliant, right?  We had us four elders and the two sister missionaries singing together, and one person would go around and talk to people while the others would sing.  It was so much fun, and the people loved it!  3 or 4 people stopped and started filming us. (Italians, bless their hearts, just aren't the best singers, and so it is pretty rare to see 6 people all singing on-key and actually sounding good, ha.)  They loved it! Christmas time is just the greatest!  We are definitely doing that again.
-- I had the opportunity to do a scambio with the district leader in Genova, Anziano Lindley, this past week.  He is a great missionary, and we were able to find two new investigators in the morning by teaching the Restoration and then immediately setting up a return appointment with them.  It was a great experience for him to see that it is possible to do that,and we hope that it will help him motivate the missionaries in the Genova district!
--You have no idea how difficult it was to find an open internet place today. We rode all around the city, searching for something that was open between 12:00 and 3:00 (which is like NOONE).  The Italian culture is great, but sometimes it's just like ".....GO TO WORK!!!..." 
-- Cars are so expensive in Italy. I would never be able to have one. Gas is like $7 a gallon here, so I'll just leave it at that.
--Transfer news!!!!  Nothing exciting, we are still going to be here in Alessandria, me and Anziano Taylor.  But 3 of the other 4 missionaries are getting transferred...and one is going to RIMINI!!! I am going to send him a letter to give to the ward down there from me. They are so great.
--So we were talking the other day about Christmas, and were just like "Man, noone has even invited us over yet!  I hope we get invited!"  And then the next Sunday we got mobbed by like 20 members right after sacrament meeting like "YOU TWO MUST COME TO MY HOME!!" "NO WE WANT THEM OVER!!"  Etc, etc. By the end of it we organized breakfast, lunch and dinner appointments for both Christmas and Christmas Eve.  Merry Christmas!
--Oh!  I saw an AMERICAN TRUCK the other day.  How does that thing get around?  It literally must ONLY drive on the main roads. It took up like 3 parking spots.  I got pictures of it beside an Italian car, so you can see the difference, don't worry!
--We got new "Mission bedding" for each missionary.  It is like a comforter (which is so warm!) with a cover and a  newpillow with a decorative pillowcase (which is purely for decoration...and also really uncomfortable even if you wanted to use it). I'll just say, if missionary apartments were featured in Better Homes and Gardens or Check Out My Crib...I'm pretty sure we'd make the cut.
--Miracle:  This week's miracle was definitely Daniele. This past Sunday in the GANS (Giovane Adulti Non Sposati...or  YSA) family home evening, we (all the missionaries in Alessandria) started a Hogwarts/Harry Potter event with the youth, which consists of the GANS being put into different teams, or houses, and them having to get the most points for their house by the end of next January.  The way they get points is by doing missionary work!  There are things like: Bear Testimony to someone-1 point,  Invite someone to come with you to church-2 points, and, share a mormon message on Social Media-1 point for each! They were SO excited about this, especially Daniele, our 19 year old invetigator who will be baptized  THIS FRIDAY!!! We are so excited for him.  He went around to all the GANS saying things like "I'm going to be baptized this Friday, that's 5 points!  And then I'm going to invite my friends, for 2 more points each!!..." He was one of the most excited.  And then, while we were setting up the tables and everyone was waiting, Daniele realized that he hadn't read our reading assignment for him (Moroni 7).  He immediately went out in the hall, sat down, and started reading...We recently heard from the Mecca family that last Monday he went over to their house for Family Home Evening (his girlfriend is the daughter) and he did the entire lesson on Moroni 7.  If that's not someone prepared to be a future leader in the church, I don't know what is!  What a blessing!
   We have been seeing some amazing miracles here, and we are excited for the new transfer, and the opportunity and blessing we will continue to have to try to motivate and inspire the missionaries in our zone. I thank you all for your support and your prayers, I remember you all!  Have a wonderful week! :)
 Love,
          Anziano Wilson

DECEMBER 4, 2014

Buongiorno! And almost Buon Natale!!
   Well, another week is in the books!  I can't believe how fast time is going by!  It is just such a blessing to be a missionary, I am so glad to be where I am.
   I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving!  WE DID TOO!!!  We had one of the members here cook us an AMERICAN Thanksgiving meal.  It was so good!  Way better than the McDonald's we had last year, haha.  But, by the way, McDonalds is considered a "high-class" place in Italy.  It is pretty hilarious!  They are like "ooo, American food. Fancy." ha!
   Let's see, nothing really too exciting has happened this week...or maybe I just can't remember...
  --Well, we had a wonderful Christmas Zone Conference...yesterday! Which is why it is Thursday and I am writing you all today.  We had to change our P-day.  But we did a big training on the new church message "He is the Gift".  It went really well!  It is such a wonderful time of the year to "Share the Gift", and bring others to realize the real reason for the season.  ( Oh by the way...side story about the zone conference-- So me and Anziano Taylor were assigned to do the training since it was here in Alessandria, and so we were helping President Dibb set up the projector before hand. We were struggling to get it to turn on and so I walked over to it and was like "Oh! Well I know what's wrong..you have to do it like this...*hand motion*  ACTIVATE! *push button* ....and it totally worked!  Haha! I was just going for the joke, but hey, whatever works.  President was like "well done Elder Wilson, well done."  I was like "well, it is my home turf here, so I can make things happen sometimes"... So there's a little insight into the behind-the-scenes daily life of Anziano Wilson) :)
   --My companion and I are going to start going around christmas caroling and handing out Pamphlets and Books of Mormon wrapped up in wrapping paper as gifts to everyone.  My companion is a big-time broadway/opera singer...so he is pretty good.  ...watch out Italy, here we come! 
  --We put up Christmas decorations!!  I put up all the snowflakes that you all made for me last christmas.  It looks so festive! We are excited for that, so thank you all! :)
--More on this later, but we had an majorly successful lesson with the Young Single Adults this past Sunday!  We talked about how great of missionaries they are because they have the most powerful tool for sharing the gospel ever invented...the internet!
--We made some pretty good pizza the other day. Except we made double what any person in their right mind would eat...and ate it all.  But it was good!
--Daniele, our investigator that is closest to baptism, is such a champion!  We found out this week that in addition to being a star kickboxer, singer, and painter...that he is also a part-time runway model!  What!?  He was like "yeah, I went into three competitions a while ago...but I only won two of them..."  No big deal. Add that to the repitour (not going to even try to spell that correctly), of the most amazing investigator ever!  December 12th is the day of his baptism!  :)
--I had the opportunity to do a scambio with Anziano Lefler, one of the assistants to the President this past week.  He is a great missionary, and it was a great chance for me to learn from him.  He helped me correct a few mistakes in my language that had been common mistakes I was making often!  At least now they are corrected!  We had some great experiences contacting people on the street; including talking to this awesome woman who always carries around a bible and reads it as she walks from place to place!  She was like "Noone serious about the word of God would walk around without a bible!..." We pulled out the bibles from our bags and she loved it!  Also, we taught a family that speaks only Spanish.  I don't know what that may sound like to you...but when I say "taught", I use that in a really general sense; we don't actually speak Spanish at all, so that was pretty interesting!  But fun!
Miracle:  This week's miracle is tied in with the mission's vision to help our members start using social media to share the gospel!  
    This past Sunday we had the opportunity to teach the lesson for the GANS' family home evening.  We decided to make it a game, and did JEOPARDY!  We had different categories such as " Facebook" "Twitter", or "A Day in the Life of a Missionary", that basically just emphasized the difference between how many people we as missionaries can talk to per day, and how many more people they can contact, with just the click of a button.  We watched a Mormon Message about our Savior with them at the end, and then invited them (using the last JEOPARDY question remaining) to each put a mormon message on Facebook!  They were really touched, and inspired after seeing just how many people (thousands) they can touch every single day.  It was a great success!
  Everything is going really well! We are working hard to share the Gift with everyone. It is a great time of the year! 
  I love you all a ton!  Thank you for your support and prayers.  What a great time of the year! Have a wonderful week full of gumdrops and candy canes and (oh my goodness...candy canes.  I miss candy canes.)  But have a wonderful week!
Love,
         Anziano Wilson

NOVEMBER 26, 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!! Well, not quite...but Thanksgiving doesn't exist here, so that and Christmas have been what everyone is looking forward to for the past month...Italians!  I hope everyone in the good ol' U S of A is preparing their stomachs, though! :D

   Well this week has been Wonderful!  With a capital W! (that was actually just a typo but I figured I would be all clever and roll with it.)  We have been seeing some amazing miracles since I have been back here in Alessandria.  It is good to be back, by the way! (Except for that my companion snores like a chainsaw (he knows...I told him)...but I bought earplugs, so we are good to go now!)

--Fabio and Kembley, the young couple from San Remo that are getting baptized in two weeks, came to stake conference last Sunday.  (Which, by the way, was great!  The church rented out a theater [like a cinema], because they don't have a stake center or anything here.  It was pretty strange, but awesome, watching mormon messages in a movie theater.)  But we had they privilege of interviewing the couple  before their baptism.  They are so prepared it is incredible.  I interviewed Kembley, and I think she has the strongest testimony of any investigator I have ever taught.  We were both in tears, and it was just a wonderful, wonderful experience.  She was all like "I am so nervous!  I have been reading the Book of Mormon non-stop for the past week, studying all the answers!! I just don't want to blow it!" It was so funny. Bless her heart, she is so wonderful.  They are going to be a great strength to the little branch in San Remo. And the best part is!!!!:...her mother AND two sisters in Santo Domingo are coming to church this Sunday, and want to start taking the lessons from the missionaries!!  The gospel is for families, and so that just touches my heart.  Her younger sister was recently baptized a few months ago, and just is so solid and the nicest person you will ever meet! She has been a great strength to Kembley.  Fabio is just as wonderful!! Goodness, it is just so wonderful to see such a great couple, whose lives have literally been changed forever.  All because they met the missionaries on a bus, and asked them who they were! :)

--Stake conference was AMAZING! The Stake President told all about his mission and all the things that he learned and how it has changed his life. And about how nothing happens by chance. He gave a thousand examples of things in his life that happened "by chance", and how he sees now that everything was planned out perfectly in the end.  It was powerful!

--We went to a birthday party for the son of this couple from Napoli that we are meeting with.  They are angels! They are so nice.  It was hilarious because we showed up towards the end of the party, and so we offered to help take stuff down and help clean up, and Salvatore (the husband) was just so funny. He got all "offended" and was like "OH! No!  You guys didn't come here to clean! You came to EAT! *hands us each like 5 plates of food* All Italians from the south are just so warm and friendly!  Seriously, I have never met an italian from the south that hasn't offered to help us or buy us something, or who isn't just always willing to talk!  Those south italian missionaries...lucky!

--EVERYONE reading this right now needs to go to lds.org and watch "Because of Him".  RIGHT NOW!   (Yes Brandon...GO GO GO GO GO GO....if you can)

**Intermission while you all go watch it (Don't worry, I'll still be here when you get back!)**

That is BY FAR my new favorite video that the church has produced.  And we have had so many miracles when showing that to investigators or less-active members this week.  We watched it 3 times yesterday, once with a member, once with two less-active memebers (which with them...it totally changed their entire mindset!  They were at the beginning all like "yeah, well Jesus doesn't care about me" and then after the video in tears like "I know he loves each of us, I always knew! We're coming to church on Sunday!"), and then finally at a family home evening with the Napolitan couple I was just talking about.  The Spirit was so strong, we are all in tears!  It has amazed and inspired me the way that technology can be used for so much good.  I can't wait to go back and share mormon messages all the time with everyone! :)

--We had Elder Fingerle, from the quorum of the 70, come speak to us this week, and it was even more wonderful for me because at Mission Leadership Council, he came again! So we each got to meet and talk with him personally, since there were only like 20 missionaries there!  He brought a powerful message about....DOMINOES!!! It was so profound.  How we need to know our dominoes, place them correctly, and everything that had to do with how as leaders we can more effectively help others to feel important and loved, and communicate effectively the goals of the mission. He is such an inspired man!  And he's German! :D

--Miracle: We have been seeing wonderful miracles here in Alessandria this past week!  One of my favorites happened a few days ago while we were out contacting people on the street.  We had been walking around Piazza della Libertà for a few minutes, when we saw this young mother and child sitting on a bench! We started a conversation by asking how important the family was for her and why, to which she replied "Well, I don't know...why is the family important for YOU?"  I was so excited! Thinking "Yes!! Instant opportunity to bear testimony!" So we gladly bore testimony about how we are all an eternal family, and that families are truly forever.  Her heart was touched, and her entire demeanor changed.  She began talking to us warmly about  her life story, (how the family is the most important thing to her, that she gained a huge respect for the family through the trials she has faced with her husband while they were down in Napoli, etc.) and about how religion has helped her family.  Her young daughter, just 5 years old, was such a sweetheart, and was bearing testimony too, practically, of how God helps everyone and loves us! We had a wonderful discussion about the Restoration, exchanged contact information, and are planning on meeting with her and her family later on in  the week!  What a blessing!

--Quote of the week:  "Prayer is the key that unlocks every door of difficulty.  But a key is not to be used just once in a day; it is to be used everytime you come to a locked door."  -George B. Tullige (don't know who he is...but great quote!)

   Everything else is going really well. This week is what our mission president calls, "Consecration week", which I like to call "Take-it-to-the-next-level Week", which is where we just give extra effort to be true disciples, and give 100%! But it is coming along really well, and I really do feel a difference in my ability to be intune with the Spirit. It is a great time of the year to be a missionary! Thanks for all that all of you do, you are the best! You! and you! and you! Thank you for your prayers and support; I need them! I remember you all in mine!  Eat some extra turkey and pumpkin pie for me! 

 Love,

 Anziano Wilson

NOVEMBER 19, 2014

BUONA PASTA!!!
   I hope everyone is having a wonderful week! I sure am!  :)
Well.  First of all, I am still in San Remo.  Until tomorrow.  Then I will go back to Alessandria! Thank goodness because we have an AMAZING investigator that is going to be baptized on the 29th of November. I was worried I was going to miss it!  He is 19 (looks like he is 25 with his full-grown beard), and is a kickboxer!  So yeah, he's ripped and pretty intimidating.  But he has such a good heart, and has been an absolutely golden investigator.  He comes to the YSA activities each Sunday, participates in the church classes, and has a girlfriend in the ward!  So he has an instant fellowshipper!  It has been such a blessing.  He has a profound testimony of the Book of Mormon, and shared with us a week or so ago about his experience in reading and praying about the Book of Mormon, and receiving a powerful confermation that it is true.  Woohoo!
   We have been seeing some wonderful miracles here in the "California of Italy".  Man, it is the middle of November and yesterday we were out with short sleeves, and still hot!  It is beautiful.  
--Except for last Friday and Saturday.  It was an "alert 3" in Imperia (where we live) which basically means a hurricane.  It was flooding pretty bad in all the cities, and all the trains and stuff were shut down. They told us to stay indoors.  So that was pretty exciting...good thing we have umbrellas! :)
--Sunday was such a blessing.  It was a wonderful opportunity for me to see all the members and new-converts that have been baptized since I served here a little over a year ago.  It is so much more fun to be around them when I can actually understand what they are saying and talk to them!  But it was so wonderful! (More on that later).
--We went over to eat at the new Branch President's house the other day to talk about missionary work in the branch. He is awesome!  He is a young returned missionary with a family and a two-year old boy.  That boy!  He seems like he is 5 or 6! Already talking and running around, and man he kicks the soccer ball farther than I can! Sheesh!
--Miracle: This last Sunday was a miracle for me.  Not only did I have the wonderful privilege and blessing of sharing a short, five-minute testimony with the branch as was requested of me by the branch president, but we all heard two powerful testimonies from Fabio and Kembly, who are soon to be baptized on December 6th!  The Spirit was almost overwhelming as Kembley shared her conversion story, including a powerful dream accompanied with a witness from the Holy Ghost that the message of the Restoration is true. Fabio shared a wonderful experience of being miraculously healed after offering a humble prayer soon after meeting the missionaries.  Both have firm testimonies of the gospel; it was a privilege to hear from them...everyone was in tears.
  --We went over to their house last night to share a message about the Priesthood. It was a powerful experience, and Fabio now knows just how important he is, and the great responsibility and blessing he has to guide his family and help them be strong. They are so awesome...they already act like members in every way, and call themselves Mormons.  What good people!
--Did you guys read about how Henry B. Eyring went to the Vatican and met with the Pope??!! It was big news around here. What a blessing! That is such a great opportunity for the Church to unite together with others in defending the sanctity of marriage. 
--We met this old lady on the street yesterday, and struck up a conversation about all that is going on in the world today. She expressed to us her concern for her family and those dear to her, and all of the trials she has faced.  She didn't want to meet with us, claiming that she was too old and already on her way home, but after our conversation she asked us to say a prayer for her, which we did.  She was in tears and thanked us as she walked away.  Tender Experiences like that make the mission so wonderful.
  Well, everything else is so great! We are working hard and the Lord has been blessing us so much!  I love you all and thank you for your prayers and support!  I remember you always each day!  Love,
                Anziano Wilson
Oh, P.S...  I read an AMAZING talk the other day, called "Seek Learning by Faith" give in 2006 by Elder Bednar. It was inspiring, and gave me an entirely new perspective! I reccommend it to everyone in the whole world! :)

NOVEMBER 12, 2014

BUONGIONO!!! 
  It is currently 8:43 in the evening, and we just got home from riding trains since 8:22 this morning.  Wooohooo!!  It has been a loooooong day!  Two lay over delays, and a lot of stuff!  Oh Italy.
  But, it has been a great week!  We have been seeing so many wonderful miracles!!  i just love love love being a missionary!  
--The ward in Alessandria is SO AMAZING!!!  I can't even believe it!  The leadership is so strong, and the members are so wonderful!  Plus, we haven't eaten at home for like 9 days, so that is also a plus :)  But they ward mission plan is so solid, and the members are just so excited to share the gospel!  What a blessed place!
--We went to Savona this past Monday to give a training to a few districts there.  It was about how much we are blessed with the knowledge of the gospel, why we should share it, and how we can be more motivated to do it! The Spirit was really strong.  It is such a blessing to be able to testify to other missionaries, encourage them, and just love them!  That has been such a big blessing.  Ever since I have come to Alessandria, I just have such a great love for the missionaries in the zone, and feel a great responsibility to help the feel loved and encourage them!  I remember hearing Thomas S, Monson in a talk say something like ''We must remember, brothers and sisters, that those we meet on the streets, and those walking all around us, are the portion of mankind that God has given us to love.'' I have been trying extra hard to put that into practice.  The Lord has always been so good to me, and has always surrounded me with people that love and support me.  Thanks you guys! :)
--So a TON of crazy things have happened these last few days, and I won't go into details...but to make a long story short, President called us the other day and told us that the next day (yesterday) we needed to split up and go with two seperate companionships for a few days...because there was a missionary that was sent home yesterday for being disobedient. (It hurts my heart so much when that happens.  I just love the guy, and hope he can still feel that love from all of us)....and so the other elder was without a companion. So Anziano Taylor is staying in Alessandria with the other two Elders, in a threesome for a while, and I AM SERVING IN SAN REMO!!!!!! AGAIN!!!!! Well, technically, Imperia, which is like 20 minutes away...but I am in the San Remo church right now doing email!! And hopefully I will get to go to church here this Sunday!!  It is such a blessing to come back and see all the members and actually be able to communicate with them!!! so I am excited (in case you can't tell) to be working in this area for a few days!  The Lord has been so good to me.
--oh, by the way,  I had my first opportunity to drive in Italy yesterday.  Man, that was harrowing at first!  I was freaking out!  But like 10 seconds in, I realized that it really isn't that hard.  Plus, I am sure, the Spirit really kicked in and helped me remember everything that I needed to do. It is pretty amazing.  I found myself driving not how I would usually drive...but driving like an Italian.  Which is the safest way to drive here!  But it was amazing.  I have some serious skills!  haha :)  But, besides a little bit of whiplash (Italian brakes are SO strong!), my companion is safe and sound still!
--Scambio:  I went on a wonderful scambio this past week with Anziano Pixton in Alessandria!  They had recently lost every one of there investigators due to circumstances beyond their control, and so Anziano Taylor and I prayed and planned hard to be able to do what needed to be done and give encouragement and help so that they could start seeing some success...and our prayers were answered!  We saw some wonderful success when a full day of finding work turned into two new investigators, three other potentials, and seven prayer lessons on the street!  People came out of the woodwork, just ready to hear the message of the Restoration.  I feel especially blessed to be able to have encouraged a young missionary, Anziano Pixton, and helped him to realize that he is doing great work.  He is a great elder, ready to work hard.
--Miracle:  The miracle I would like to share happened here in Imperia with Anziano Marin...yesterday!  We went to the Zappa family's house (the couple that have a baptismal date for December 6), for dinner and then had a great discussion about temple marriage and eternal families.  The branch president of San Remo and his wife came with us (they are a couple about the same ages as them...and they both have young sons around two years old!), and it was a wonderful experience to be able to testify together with such a powerful couple that families are forever.  The couple participated fully in the discussion, sharing their opinions and hopes for their family.  The Spirit was so strong, everyone was brought to tears.  That couple is special.  They are so prepared, and excited to be baptized and participate fully in the church.  I am excited for them!  I also count it one of the greatest blessings of my mission to return to San Remo, where I started the mission, and finally be able to testify in Italian to the few members we have met with about how wonderful they are, and the difference they have made in my life.  The Lord has been so good to me.
  Everything else is going well!  Anziano Marin is a great guy; I have met him once before and am excited to be serving with him for a few days! We are going to work hard and do all we can to keep this family on the right track! They are important!  The Lord truly leads this mission, and I have seen that. I love you all very much, and am thankful for you!  have a wonderful week!
-Anziano Wilson

NOVEMBER 5. 2014

BUONGIORNO FROM ALESSANDRIA!
Well I sure hope everyone is having a wonderful week; I sure
am! Being a missionary is such a blessing! These past few
days (and it is looking from what we have planned, the next
six weeks), have been and will be the busiest days of my life!
We have so much to do for the zone and the mission, and I
am just so thankful for the wonderful opportunities we have
to teach and serve and testify to the many missionaries we
are called to serve. In our zone are the Gennova, Imperia,
Savona, and Varaze districts. Each has some amazing
missionaries, and we are looking forward to doing
companionship exchanges in each of those areas!
--We had a wonderful opportunity this past Monday to go to
mission council down in Milano, with the other zone and
sister training leaders, as well as the assisstants and the
mission president and his wife. It was an amazing
experience! Let me just tell you one of the highlights! So we
were about halfway through the training, and the assistants
were talking about how we need to inspire our zones to
ALWAYS open their mouths and talk to people, even on the
buses and trains and other public trasportation. So we were
all pumped up about talking to everyone, and feeling the
Spirit, when the assistants were just like "Alright, we are
going to all go out. right now. for one hour. And talk to
EVERYONE! Get on the metro and talk with everyone!" And
then they start handing us all a ticket for the metro, and we
all just rushed out ina huge wave of motivated missionaries.
They caught us completely off-guard.

wonderful! Those people had no chance! Everyone between
the church and the station got stopped two or three times,
and so many people on the metros! We saw SO many
miracles! There were so many people that were ready to
hear the gospel, and I personally handed out multiple
pamphlets and talked to so many wonderful people. Many of
them said they had wondered for a long time who we were
and when we were going to talk with them! The Lord
prepares hearts! And the best part!!!...The best part is that
President Dibb and his wife paired up with missionaries and
went out to contact people as well!! It was so wonderful to
be sitting on the metro speaking with someone, and then see
five feet away, my mission president walk up to and strike up
a conversation with someone else on the tram. It was such a
testimony builder for me. As we all returned, we were all
sharing the miracles that had happened, and the Spirit we
had felt. And it was FUN! It was just, fun!
--Since then we have been to Genova twice, once for a
baptismal interview that we conducted, and once to give the
training in district meeting. After that district meeting, we did
the same thing! We caught everyone in the district off guard
by mixing everyone up and telling them to go out for 45
minutes (with us!) and see miracles! And we saw so many
miracles! I was with one of the elders from Genova, and we
saw a man on the street, talked with him, told him where the
church was, and invited him on a tour of it! He walked in and
was like "This is your church!? I work in the floor just above
this! (Because the church in Genova is in a skyscraper, on
one of the floors.) And he gave us his number, was so kind
and wonderful, and told us he would come down one of these
days to see what the meetings are like! What a blessing!
--Whew! I Have a lot to write and not a lot of time! My
fingers are already tired! But this week is going so
wonderfully. My companion is so great! He is the most
spiritual missionary I have ever met, and he is helping me
reach new heights as I pursue my goals to truly become the
missionary and man that the Lord needs me to be.
--The computer I am using sounds like it is going to blow
up....good old internet points here in Italy.
--Oh, yeah! By the way, on the bike ride here to the internet
point, one of the other missionaries got hit by a car! He is
perfectly okay though, but the car had some damage. That
doesn't surprise me because Anziano Pixton is 6'10" and 280
pounds. He is a HUGE man! Size 17 shoes!..i think that's
what he told me.. All the Italians go crazy when they see
him. He came up to us the other day "This is awesome! All
the members want us over for lunch! They take it as a
challenge...to see if the can make enough food to fill me up. I
mean, I can even compete with the sister missionaries in
getting lunch appointments!" haha! Sisters. They get so
many lunch appointments.
--Miracle: This week we have been seeing some wonderful
miracles! One of the greatest happened this last Sunday
evening. We had about 2 hours of space, and were excited
for the chance to do some street contacting. We set goals for
the session, and started with a prayer, and went to work. It
was amazing how the Lord had prepared so many people to
be set in our path. We didn't even make it around the block
once; everywhere we turned there were people to talk to, and
we had some really wonderful gospel conversations! We
ended four of them with prayers, and are excited to follow up
with two of them, whose contact information we obtained.
We paused for a moment as we finished those few hours and
went to unlock the bikes, and just realized how much the
Lord does for His missionaries, and in preparing the hearts of
the people we meet. What a blessing it is to be a missionary,
and to be able to go out on the street and share the good
news with so many of our brothers and sisters, who need it!
--Fast: I was so thankful for that opportunity to participate in
a mission-wide fast we had this past Sunday. We were asked
to fast to become more in-tune with the spirit, and to rise to a
new sense of love for the people and commitment to the Lord
and His work. As I have arrived here in Alessandria, and
been blessed with a wonderful ward and companion, I have
been noticing something inside myself growing. I find myself
thinking about our investigators almost all the time, and often
spontaneously bursting into singing a hymn, without even
thinking about it. This fast has helped me so much to follow-up on the goals I have set and the effort I have been making
to truly become a disciple of Jesus Christ, in my heart as well
as in my mind. It was a great experience!
Everything is going really well here in Alessandria. Anziano
Taylor is a special missionary, and I feel very blessed to be
with him. The ward here is wonderful (The bishop is from
Sicily, and he is a TOTAL stud! He is a convert of eight years,
and just so fired up to do missionary work and to work with
the young people. And the second counselor in the
bishopric, Fratello Zito, is amazing! He is one of the greatest
people I have ever met. He served his mission is England,
and just has such a vision of what things need to be like.),
and though we have been so busy and hardly had a chance
to take a breath, the Lord has helped and blessed us so
much, and we are seeing miracles! I feel blessed and
humbled for the opportunity and blessing that is mine to
testify to and serve and see first hand the changes that are
occuring in the lives of the missionaries in our zone.
I love you all so very much, and am thankful for your love
and support in all that I do. Thank you so much for your
letters and emails, and for your prayers. I rememeber you all
each day! I hope you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson

OCTOBER 29, 2014

BUON-PASTA!!
  Well, this week has been amazing!  I am so thankful to be a missionary!  I fall to my knees each night (mostly because I am exhausted, and kneeling more gently takes more effort ;) ), and thank the Lord for this wonderful opportunity and privilege to share the gospel with my precious brothers and sisters in Italy. There are so many wonderful people here, that deserve the peace and happiness that comes only from knowing our true purpose in life.  I am thankful to be here, sharing this knowledge with as many as I can.
--These past few months, as I have met hundreds of different people from all walks of life and all kinds of situations, (I think the different nations from which I have taught people is up to like 23 or 24 now) I have come to realize just how blessed we are in the United States. And in the Church.  There are so many people who work 12 hours a day just to get by, and even then, they still have problems paying the bills. (I won't go into it a lot, but let's just say the Italian government is a little...different.  As in, people get paid basically whatever the employer feels like paying.). So a lot of people are having a really rough time, and my heart has been touched as I have looked into the eyes of so many people who have been through so much.  We are so blessed to have what we have. Don't ever forget that.
--We had some AMAZING pizza today. Man. That was some of the best pizza I have ever had.  Just thought I'd let you know :)
--So, the big news for this week.  We got transfer calls last Saturday!!  Let me paint a picture for you of what it was like...because it got intense, really quickly.  So, we are sitting at our desks, doing companionship study, and we get a phone call...and it is just the other elders in the district calling to let us know something really quick. So we put the phone back down and go back to studying (we assumed that we would be staying the same, since we have only been together for 6 weeks, and that is like nothing).  Then the phone rings.  So, side story...we set a different ringtone for the mission president, President Dibb, so when he calls we will be sure to answer it. (But he hardly ever calls...like never.)  So the phone rings, and it is the special, intense ringtone of President Dibb.  I look at my companion, and I'm like "That's President.  That is definitely President." And he was just like "Whatever, man, no way..." (Because President only calls if someone is getting called as a Trainer, space transfer, whitewashed, or Zone Leader.)  So, long story short, I have been called to serve in Alessandria as a Zone Leader.  From what President told me over the phone, Alessandria is one of the highest baptizing zones in Italy, and they "are doing a lot of things right, right now."  He encouraged me, saying " Well, Elder Wilson, I'll let you in on a little secret...usually I don't like to call zone leaders until they have trained a missionary before...but you're the Elder for the job, and I know you'll do great."  I am still in shock, and so humbled by this call to lead the missionaries there. I was not expecting that at all. And It didn't help that President's next sentence was "So, it looks like from your records that you have a drivers license..." WE HAVE A CAR IN ALESSANDRIA!! Ahh!  I am so nervous to drive in Italy. Italians are really good, but really crazy drivers.  And the roads are so small.  But, anyways. I am so nervous, but grateful for this call to serve.  I need your prayers, as I will try my very best to teach, testify to, and be the example for the valiant missionaries there. I am excited, but humbled for what awaits me in Alessandria.  I take heart in knowing that the Lord will help me, despite my weaknesses, to become the missionary and leader that he expects me to be. (Ether 12:27)
--The greatest miracle about this transfer is that I WILL BE TEACHING GIULIANO AGAIN!! He is the man that we met in Morbegno about a month ago, on the street, who had lost everything and couldn't see his kids.  Now he is in Alessandria being taught by the missionaries, and has turned his life around. He has a job, stays with his nephew, and has been coming to church each week. It will be such a wonderful blessing to meet with him again, and to again share my testimony with him! The Lord is so kind.
-- I had a great scambio (companion exhange) with  Anziano Horne this week. He is in his 1st transfer! The greenie and I had a great scambio! :)  We worked hard and saw some great success during our street contacting.  He is a great new missionary, with a great spirit, and I was thankful for the opportunity I had to learn from him and to help him realize that this mission is a special place, with a need of special missionaries, with faith and love for the people.
Miracle: We have seen some wonderful miracles this past week.  The one that sticks out to me in my mind happened on the scambio with Anziano Horne.  As we were walking through centro, talking to everyone we could, we saw this young business man walking up the stairs from the metro. He was about halfway up the stairs by the time we got there, so it was a little awkward at first, but we talked with him and began a conversation by saying, simply, "Scusi, cosa si rende felice?" as we held up our whiteboard with a big smiley face drawn on it.  He smiled and said that that was a great way to start off a conversation! He is a very active Catholic, with a lot of faith. And he is young! Probably not yet in his 30s.  He was running to an appointment, but we quickly shared with him the importance of Christ in our individual lives, and the eternal nature of the family. After we ended a prayer for him and his family, he was elated, and excitedly gave us his contact information, asked us about where our church was, and invited us to call him later on in the week.  As he walked away, Anziano Horne and I looked at each other, thinking "Wow.  That guy is awesome!"  And he is!  I am excited about that wonderful find; I'm sure the missionaries here will do a great job teaching him. The Lord places such wonderful people in our path! My testimony of that has grown so much in these past months as I have tried to put aside my fear, and instead love the people, trusting that the Lord has gone before us; we just need to open our mouths and say whatever comes to mind!
  Everything has been going really well; we are taking care of all of the things that need to be done, people to be met, and places to go before I depart for Alessandria. We have been seeing miracles in that aspect, as well.   I love you all very much, and am thankful for the love and support you continue to show me.  I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Love,
     Anziano Wilson

OCTOBER 22, 2014

Buongiorno!!!! Oggi è una bellissima giornata!!

Wow.  This week has been so wonderful, I can't even put it into words!  We have seen so many miracles in this special little town, and my faith and love for my Savior and his glorious gospel, and particularly the peace and hope that it provides to the human heart, has grown so much.  We are so very blessed to have this knowledge.

--Let's begin with the exchange I did, back in my old area of Lecco.  The same companionship that I served in one year ago! We had the privilege of going to visit the Huamacto family (from Perù).  Nelly, the wife, is a recent convert to the church, who I taught as an investigator while I was here!  They are having a really difficult time right now, and I was so thankful for the opportunity to visit with them.  We talked about patience and faith, and the true peace and blessings that come from trusting in the Lord and particularly His timing.  He hears our prayers.  He is not unaware of the trials we face, and of the tears we shed.  We shared with them Alma 34:40-41, which says something to the effect of "...have patience, and bear with your afflictions with a firm hope that one day ye shall rest from all your afflictions." The Spirit was so strong as we testified to them that even though the days seem very dark..the Lord knows.  He loves us.   We were all in tears as we remembered the great blessings each of us has had, and how we have all been led through the dark tunnel of trials, only to immerge into the bright light of growth and peace.  What a blessing it was!

--It is getting freezing cold these days!  Good thing I have a nice, warm coat! (Thanks mom :) )

--We had the wonderful opportunity to visit our new convert, Ruggero, in prison last week.  As we showed up and said that we were "priests from his church" (you basically get whatever you want in Italy if you can prove you are a priest from a church), I was praying so hard that the Lord would soften their hearts and that they would let us in, because Ruggero has been requesting it for about a month now. They looked down at the list of all the people that can get into the prison without authorization, for religious purposes, and President Dibb was the only one on there that wasn't Italian.  After about 20 minutes of discussion amongst themselves, the head guard (who, you can tell from the accent, is from the south--I love southern Italians!) turned to us and was like, "look, I know you guys aren't technically on the list, but I can see your nametags, and it's pretty obvious that you guys are missionaries, and I just would feel too bad sending you home for nothing...we will make an exception this time!"  What a miracle!  We entered in, got searched and whatnot, and had a wonderful lesson with Ruggero.  We talked with him about the importance of trials, and the peace and comfort that comes from remembering the life of the Savior. It was a wonderful experience for me, and the Spirit was there...even in a prison cell.

--I have been noticing recently the great and wonderful blessings that the Lord has been blessing with me.  As I have learned to trust in the Lord and in His promise that if we are faithful and diligent, we "shall not be confounded before men" and that he will give us the words to say "in the very hour" that we need them, I have noticed that I just feel so confident in answering any question that is asked to us.  I find that even if I don't know the answer, I open my mouth and begin to speak, and I somehow find the perfect answer.  I have learned so much, from the answers to questions that have been given to me. I am now so excited when people say "I have a question for you." because I learn something each time. We were meeting this week with an investigator named Lucky, and after asking us some difficult questions, he paused and said, "I know that what you say is true, you know why?  Because when you speak, I just know. Somehow I know that it is truth. The way you say the words...it is different than the other missionaries (he has met with many other missionaries from other churchs).  I was touched and humbled by that realization this week.

--Our English class that we teach in Sondrio is so hilarious. We brought a bunch of random objects for the class to describe, to help them learn adjectives.  The best word was "folkloreistic."  ha!  Italians. :D

--We had a wonderful experience with the Vasquez family--a less active family from Bolivia.  They fed us dinner, and we had a wonderful discussion about the importance and role of the church in our earthly life, and our eternity. Brother Vasquez has served a mission as well, and he bore a powerful testimony about the importance of staying true and faithful to the knowledge that you have, and trust in the Lord. He talked about how life after the mission is different, but that we should never forget the wonderful experiences we have, and the spirit we feel while out on our mission.  They are amazing! It was a great meeting!

--Miracle: This week has been full of miracles!  The one I would like to share is about a man named Cletus.  He is a Nigerian man, who has been in Italy for 6 months.  We met him on the street in Sondrio walking with a few other people we had met before. As we introduced ourselves he asked what church we were from--missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  He responded with, "That is my church! The Latter-Day Saints! I have been searching for you for a long time!" At first we were kind of hesitant, thinking that he probably thought we were from a different church, but then we talked for a few more minutes about his story.  All of his family are members of the church. His older brother is a second counselor in the bishopric in his hometown, and his little brother is currently serving a mission in Ghana!! He showed us all these pictures of him and his family. He left Nigeria 2 years ago and has been searching for the Church ever since! We exchanged information and contacted him the next day to help him come to church. Even though he lives 2 hours from the church in a small town by Tirano, he came to church! He was so excited, and it was such a miracle.  As he partook of the sacrament, I was filled with the spirit so strongly, and I was so thankful that he was able to come to the church and renew his baptism covenant.  What a miracle!

  Things are going really well here. We are having some wonderful experiences, and working hard! I am doing really well, and have been so thankful as I take time each night to record and think about the miracles and the Lord's hand in our lives each day. This is a special place.  I love you all very much, and thank you for the support and love that you all give me.  I consider it one of the greatest blessings of my life to have a family that loves me and wants the best for me. You are all the best!  I remember you all in my prayers each day!  Have a great week!

Love,

      Anziano Wilson

OCTOBER 15, 2014

Buongiorno!!!!
Well, it has been another wonderful week in the neighborhood!  Today has been a little hectic because we were supposed to go visit one of our new converts, that is currently in prison, on charges for something that he did back in 2011 (apparently that is normal for the Italian justice system--they punish people years after they actually committed the crime.  There is one person in there with him that did something in 2009, and now has a wife and a kid, has changed his life around, and now he is in prison for 6 months....We are so lucky to live in America.
   But anyways, he cancelled, because they aren't allowing visitors on different days than Saturday now. So we are going on Saturday!
  --We had a wonderful little miracle a few days ago.  We were out doing door-to-door contacting, which in Italy consists of ringing the doorbell, getting answers through the...citofono (don't know the word in English), and saying one sentence before getting cut off by them hanging up.  I have been let in to a house five times my entire time here.  But we felt like doing it, so we were there, across from the hospital where we had just visited a friend.  I had rung about 15, and so it was my companion's turn. The FIRST one he rings, the lady is just like "Who is it?" "We are missionaries, from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and we bring a message about him". "Come in! Second floor!"  And so we got in!  We went upstairs and it was this sweet old, 80-year-old widow, Luisa, who let us in and we talked for about 20 minutes about her family (she has 4 sons...2 engineers, a lawyer, and a doctor), and about her husband who she lost 7 years ago.  He had been the mayor of the city for 25 years (there house was pretty fancy...), and sounded like a great man. She misses him a lot.  I shared with her my testimony that families are forever--that we will see our loved ones again, and live with them forever if we follow the Plan that our Heavenly Father has prepared for us.  She agreed whole-heartedly with all that we said, and said that even though her priests had never agreed with her when she said that (she is Catholic), she has always believed it in her heart. She said she still feels that he is there, in her heart.  As we shared with her the glorious truths that have been made known to us through the Plan of Salvation, she was in tears.  She accepted a pamphlet we left with her, and we set up an appointment to return this Friday to talk some more! She said that all of her family is really religious, and that her son (lawyer) eats lunch with her every day! So we will try to set something up with both of them together!  She is such a sweet old woman, and you can tell that she really raised her children right.  They all sound so kind and sincere.  We are expecting great things from that! :)
--Our English class in Sondrio is hilarious!  There are like 10 other kids, all our age, who are all just hilarious! We just talk in English and make jokes all the time. It is the best! AND...Gabriele, one of the kids in the class--who is an investigator--raised his hand and was just like "I have a question. Why are you guys here? Like, why are you missionaries?"  And we had a wonderful opportunity to bear our testimonies of the difference that the gospel has made in our lives, and how we want to share the happiness and joy we have found, with everyone!  It was a great experience.  Quote of the day from English class came from a guy named Vasco.  "So vasco..what are your favorite kinds of movies?"  "Nature.  I love to watch the trees!" haha!
--Today we met with Giuliano again! The man that we met on the street about a month ago--that was crying and distraught because he hasn't seen his children in a year because his ex-wife won't let him.  He didn't have a house or a job, or anything really. All he had was a backpack full of clothes.  But since then, he has moved to Allessandria to live with his nephew,. who owns a business and gave him some work to do.  And he has been meeting with the missionaries in Allessandria!  He went to General Conference and has been to church several times. He called us today to say that he was in Morbegno because he was able to schedule an appointment for this afternoon to see his children!!! He was so happy he was in tears.  He called us to ask if we were in town, and so we took a break from baking cookies and lunch, and went to talk with him for a few minutes!  He is such a wonderful man.  As we ended with a prayer, he was in tears and thanked us again for everything.  "Ever since we met on that cold, dark night, things have been getting better; little by little",he said.  What a blessing!  He is special!
--I went on a companionship exchange this week with the zone leaders...and they have a car!! Man, I am glad we don't have a car.  I would get FAT! We drove everywhere! It was really convenient, especially since it was pouring outside, all day long.  It was a really great experience, though! Italians are scary drivers! And the roads make no sense whatsoever! Thank goodness every mission vehicle has a GPS!
--My companion's mom sent him a step counter about a week ago.  So that has been fun!  We have been averaging about 15,000 steps each day, which is something like 2 hours of walking, and 7 miles.  We hit the streets around here in Italy!
--Fast sunday was so wonderful!  I loved being able to go back to Lecco.  4 of our African investigators (named, Prince, Odion, Andy, and Innocent) came with us, and we introduced them to Samuel and Martha.  Martha was the one that was baptized while I was here serving in Lecco!  Her husband, who was baptized a few months earlier, baptized her! They both come from Nigeria, and have amazing faith. What a blessing it was to see them again! I just feel so much love for them; what great people!
Miracle:  This week we had many wonderful miracles!  But the miracle that I would especially like to share happened while I was on scambio with Anziano Horrocks!  We went to a Brasilian member's house for a lesson with one of their investigators, Eugenia.  She is a 23 year-old newly-wed from Napoli (Italians from the south are always awesome!), and has such a sincere desire to learn and find answers to her questions.  Questions that she couldn't find answers to in the Catholic church.  The Brasilian sister shared a powerful testimony about how she was Catholic before as well, and had a lot of the same questions--where did we come from? Why are we here? Where do we go after death?.  She shared how she found the answers in the Book of Mormon, and that it changed her life.  The Spirit was so strong, and both the sister and Eugenia started to cry.  I was blessed to be able to bear my testimony to her that it was the same thing with me.  That I had questions and I wanted answers.  I testified with all my heart that our Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers, and that He loves his children.  That the Book of Mormon has changed my life.  And then Anziano Horrocks boldly testified of the same thing, and told her that if she wants answers, she has to work for it. She has to ask.  She was in tears, and told us that each time we spoke, she felt a "force" in her heart.  That she knew it was true.  We invited her to bring her husband, who works in Milan, to the next lesson, so that they can joy in the blessings of the gospel together.  She agreed to do so! I feel very blessed to have been a part of that wonderful lesson!  There are people that are so prepared!
  Everything else is going well in Morbegno.  We have been seeing so many littles miracles everywhere, that has confirmed to me that the Lord is mindful of us, and as we try our best, even when we don't see a lot of direct success, He will lead us to those that are searching. He certainly has done that this past week!  I love you all very much, and pray for you always!  Thank you so much for your support and prayers!  Buenos dias!
--Anziano Wilson

OCTOBER 8, 2014

Buongiorno!! :)
 Wow!  What a great week!  I feel so blessed to be where I am--surrounded by beautiful mountains and wonderful people! I have felt like these past few days, I have just been so...happy!  Which is strange because I am SO exhausted! All. the. time.  I was riding on the train back from a zone conference in Milano the other day, and I put my head down and closed my eyes to recite a few things in Italian I am trying to memorize...and I wake up to the phone ringing like 25 minutes later.  I was like "oh man.  I am so tired!" I looked over at my companion and he was laughing like "yeah you were totally out. Mouth hanging open and everything. I was like 'Should I wake him....nah' " heh.  Whoops!  But I just feel so much joy!  It reminded me of a scripture I read recently in Alma chapter 36, versees 25 and 26.  They read, "Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors; For because of the word which he has imparted unto me,behold, many have been born of God, and have tasted as I have tasted, and have seen eye to eye as I have seen; therefore they do know of these things of which I have spoken, as I do know; and the knowledge which I have is of God."
  What a wonderful reminder to all of us that we find such great joy in bringing our brothers and sisters back to the knowledge and joy they once knew.  I am so thankful to be where I am!
--Each zone conference we have something called "dying testimonies" from all the missionaries that are "dying" (going home).  This week there was one of my good friends here in the mission, Anziano Garcia, from Perù.  He is the current assistant to the President, and he is in our zone, so we got to hear his final testimony.  What a blessing. He is a good man, and talked about the fact that we are here to be changed.  "Just let the mission change you", he said.  I know that I have been changed already in every good way, and continue to change and grow as the Great Blacksmith molds and shapes me into the instrument He needs me to become.  I have really learned what the phrase in my setting-apart blessing meant when he said, "The Lord is not just sending you on a mission for the benefit of those you serve, but so that he can bless you more."  That is so true.  The mission isn't just for the investigators.
--Conference was AMAZING!  What a great session! I still need to watch the Sunday evening, because it is at like 10:00 p.m. here, so we don't get to watch it.  We had an investigator from Nigeria named Lucky come with us to Lecco.  He loved it!  After Anziano Holland's talk, he was like "that man has much power!" haha!
--I bought some sweet Italian shoes in Milan for like 70% off!  Only 30 euro for real italian leather.  Needless to say, they look *Christmas vacation: *click* real nice."  I am going to try to not wear them during the winter though, I want them to stay nice for when I return.  I heard they are good for returned missionaries, too. To help find "investigators".  Whatever that means. :)
--"Just love every day"  Quote of the week for me, given by a sister in her dying testimony.
--Miracle: This week's miracle for me was the zone conference! I left feeling so inspired! Something that touched me especially was the role play. We did a role play about contacting someone in a form of public transportation, in this case a bus. I have really been trying my best to talk to everyone wherever I go, but sometimes it is just hard! Because it was...strange. But I came to the realization that it just doesn't have to be weird at all! I feel like a lot of times I catch myself thinking "Okay, right now I'm going to go talk to that person over there about the gospel, and it will probably be a little weird, but it is the right thing to do, and so it will all work out." And then I just do it. But this time I realized something: It doesn't have to be like that! Something that Anziano Holland said a few conferences ago came to mind...about how when we truly love the people and want them to have what we have, "the gospel will just tumble out!" Like when a grandmother talks about her grandchildren, he says. That struck me. We don't have to worry about going up and saying some incredibly powerful statement that will change their life right away. We just have to try. Just talk to them and show them that we are different; happy. That we have something that they need; and then invite them to learn about it! We had some wonderful success on the train rides home, talking with people. We met a wonderful Bolivian woman on the metro, who asked us to give her a pass-along card and write the website on it. And we met a man from Ghana who had met with the missionaries many years ago in Africa. He knew all about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon! There are wonderful people all around us, we just need to talk with them!
Things are going well. We are working hard to have faith and the obedience that this area needs from it's missionaries. I know there are people prepared; we will find them!  Thank you all so much for your love and prayers and support.  I love you all and pray for you each night!  Have a fantastic week full of gumdrops and peppermint and scented pre-halloween candles!
Love,
       Anziano Wilson

OCTOBER 1, 2014

Buongiorno a tutti i miei cari amici e famiglia!  Spaghetti, fusili, tortolloni!
This week has been such a wonderful week for me. Man, it flew by though! Where did September go?!
   I am so very blessed, and thankful to be a missionary for our Savior.  I have been really trying recently to forget myself and just go to work.  Rely on the Lord and trust that as long as I am doing my very best, the Lord will do the rest. We have seen some amazing miracles in this special place.
--We held district meeting entirely in Italian this week!! woohoo! President Dibb wants the missionaries to improve dramatically in Italian (which I completely agree with. There are a lot of missionaries that unfortunately don't put a whole lot of effort into really mastering the language. They just learn enough to kind of get by.  Don't do that!!)  so we are  supposed to hold meetings and stuff once a month entirely in Italian. I feel bad for the two new missionaries in our district, though!  They looked so scared when I asked them what it means to pray with real intent. (In Italian).  And so I just said it in English too, and then they gave great responses! :)
--We did shopping for the entire next month, today!  That was a project!  The closest grocery store (that has good prices...missionary prices) is like 10 miles away, but luckily we had a member volunteer to drive us there and back!  That was a blessing!  So we now have full shelves!! :)
--This last week I finally finished reading the entire Book of Mormon, cover to cover, in Italian!!!!!  What a wonderful experience. It took me a little bit of time, but it was worth it!  630 pages of masterful teaching! (It's a little longer in Italian). I have grown so much closer to my Savior, and have improved dramatically not only my capacity to speak and read the Italian language, but also my knowledge and understanding of the Savior's teachings. It is funny, because at the beginning, like the entire book of first Nephi, you can tell how much I understood...(nothing!)...there isn't a single thing marked except the scripture masteries I found when I was in the MTC. :) But it was such a blessing to read it! Reading the testimonies of those ancient prophets in a different language for some reason just made so many things click.  It is so much more clear; the things that they were saying make more sense!   As I was about to leave, I will admit that one of my greatest fears was that I just didn't know very many things at all, doctrinally! I am so thankful for the knowledge and understanding that the Lord has given me as I have studied and prayed to understand. I consider it one of the greatest blessings of my mission.
--We had a dinner the other day...actually yesterday, with three investigators from English Class. What a great time that was!  I have finally arrived at the point where I can make jokes in Italian!! FINALLY!!!  I have been anxiously awaiting this day!!
--
Miracle:  This week we had a wonderful miracle after church services on Sunday!  We had about an hour between the end of church and the start of lunch, and so we decided to go to centro and hand out these things called "Sorriso del Giorno" that Anziano Strang and I came up with in Rimini.  They are little pieces of paper with a quote from an Apostle or Prophet and a big smiley face next to it.  They are great, especially in little towns like Morbegno!  We handed out one to a middle aged man named Gianluca walking a little out of the way, just in passing, and didn't really think much of it...and then about 10 minutes later we crossed paths again, and he walked up to us all excited and said that he had read the back of the paper (where we had stamped it) and saw our church's address, and wanted to know where it is.  We began a conversation about how much God loves us and how we are his children, and he gives us a church to help us get back to him. Then we tied that into the Restoration through Joseph Smith.  As I said "Joseph Smith had great faith, but he just didn't know which church was true.  He was searching for a long time for the church that would bring him closest to God..." and he interrupted me by saying,  "Oh, kind of like me!..." What a golden comment!  I was taken back by his preparation and faith, and his sincere desire to learn!  He works all day 6 days a week, but we agreed on meeting him again this next Sunday, to watch some of the General Conference together. (We also made little hand-outs for general conference, so that made it really easy to tie that into the conversation.)  He was so excited.  As we finished praying together he looked up with the biggest smile.  He will be a future leader of the church someday here in Italy, I am sure of it!  We will meet him again on Sunday, and I am planning on giving him a call Friday just to see how things are going and everything.  It was a special miracle.  The Lord places people in our path, we just need to be available to him!
       Things are going really, really well. We are working hard to find investigators to teach...and get them to church!! We made some outstanding (If I may say so myself) pass-along cards for General Conference this next week!  AHHH!! General Conference!!! I almost forgot that it is in like THREE DAYS!!! I love General Conference! (I just hope they don't change around the members of the seventy and everything too much...that would mess up my general authority game ;) ) What a blessing to hear the voice our Father in Heaven through his chosen servants in these latter-days.
   I love you guys a ton! I remember you always in my prayers and thank you so much for yours! I can feel the strength that comes from your prayers.  I need them!  Have a wonderful, fun-filled week! :)
Love,
        Anziano Wilson