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! :)
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
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
