On July 9th at 9:30pm Anziano Wilson meets his 2 new companions that will serve with him for one more week...
Anziano Wilson will return July 19.
Sunday, July 12, 2015
JULY 9, 2015
Anziano Wilson is surprised at the mission home when he finds out that he is not going home on July 10.
On July 9th at 9:30pm Anziano Wilson meets his 2 new companions that will serve with him for one more week...
Anziano Wilson will return July 19.
On July 9th at 9:30pm Anziano Wilson meets his 2 new companions that will serve with him for one more week...
Anziano Wilson will return July 19.
Monday, July 6, 2015
JULY 1, 2015
Buongiorno carissimi. Questa รจ la
mia ultima email!! This is my last
email! I can't believe how the time
passes. I am so thankful for all that
I have learned on my mission; it
has changed me and refined me
into being closer to the man I know
the Lord expects me to be. But I
recognize that there is much more
in store; a new mission, if you will,
ahead of me.
This week has been wonderful, as
always. We are seeing doors open
and miracles every single day.
What a blessing it is to be a servant
in the Lord's vineyard in these last
days.
--We have been working a lot
recently with the Rossi family.
They are really great people, but are
stuggling with a lot of economic
and other difficulites. They
expressed to us recently, though,
that each time we come, they feel a
sense of peace and hope, and the
whole atmosphere changes. So
now they are sure to always ask us
to say a prayer for them together
before we leave their home. I am
glad that in our own little way, we
can help to bring peace to their
home.
--This week (I may have written a
little bit about them last week? I
don't remember) we met a Brasilian
family that owns a gelateria (ice
cream shop) in our town of San
Giovanni. They had heard about
Mormons, obviously, because in
Brasil, as they say, "there are 5
church buildings in our town". So
we started talking to them about
what we do as missionaries, and
why it is important to us. They are
such great people, and we are
excited to begin to meet with them
and share the blessings of the
gospel with them.
--We went again this week to visit
Alessio and his family. They are
such a great example of a solid
family in the gospel. Whenever we
go over there, it feels like they are
teaching us, not us teaching them.
Marcello was also there, which is
always a joy. He can talk and talk
for hours, so there is never a quiet
moment with him around...(that's a
good thing!) :)
--We went over to the Zuppardo's
house again this week to do
service. We are now certified,
expert, mold cleaners. They have
this staircase outside that, we
thought, was just covered in
sploches of dirt. It turns out, that
they are deep black splotches of
MOLD. Gross. So we got out two
scrubbing brooms, some gloves,
steel wool, and about a liter of
bleach. Long story short, 2 hours
later and after about 5 passes over
the staircase...it looks like new! It
was so worth it though, because as
Sister Zuppardo got out of the car
after a 12 hour night shift, she
walked over to the staircase and
screamed "Elders! These stairs look
better than they have in years!!
Thank you so much!" Bless her
heart, she has so much to do. It's
not easy being a widowed mother
of 7 and a doctor!
--Paul and Timothy are still doing
really well, despite a few obstacles
that have presented themselves,
resulting in the postponing of thier
baptisms. But I know the Lord will
help us all, and they will be
baptized in July. They are so ready,
and I rejoice with them in the
changes that have taken place in
their lives!
--Miracle: This week we have been
seeing many mighty miracles. One
of the miracles I would like to share
happened as we went to visit a less
active man in Arezzo this past
week. I was impressed and amazed
at how the Spirit taught us the
things that we needed to share to
help him in his struggles. We began
the lesson with a rough idea of
what we wanted to share, but we
were unsure about what he needed
to hear specifically. As we began
the lesson, a scripture in Moroni 7
about the light of Christ came to
mind, and we began a lenghty
discussion about the power and
influence of the light of Christ.
Then a Mormon Message came to
mind about the power of the
Atonement of Jesus Christ, which
turned out to be perfect to help this
man to feel that he is not alone in
this, and that he can be
strengthened in this time of trouble.
I am so thankful for the blessing
and promise that as we open our
mouths to share the hope of the
Gospel, they will be filled. What a
miracle it is to be a missionary!
Everything here is going well. We
have been working hard and
finishing strong, and I know that the
Lord has been with us. I am
infinitely grateful for the
opportunity and blessing I have had
to live in Italy for two years and to
help these precious sons and
daughters of Heavenly Father to
come unto Him. I will never forget
the people that I have met, the
experiences I have had, and the
things that I have felt. The
Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. I
have seen it work in my life as well
as the lives of countless people in
this special land. It amazes me
every day just how involved the
Lord and our Heavenly Father are in
our lives. They are so wonderful,
and they never leave us. I could go
on for hours about the things that I
have seen, and the lessons I have
learned. It truly is a miracle to be a
missionary.
--I love you all and hope you have a
wonderful week! Now is the
Lord's time, and I hope to use it the
best I can. I love you all :)
Love,
Anziano Wilson
mia ultima email!! This is my last
email! I can't believe how the time
passes. I am so thankful for all that
I have learned on my mission; it
has changed me and refined me
into being closer to the man I know
the Lord expects me to be. But I
recognize that there is much more
in store; a new mission, if you will,
ahead of me.
This week has been wonderful, as
always. We are seeing doors open
and miracles every single day.
What a blessing it is to be a servant
in the Lord's vineyard in these last
days.
--We have been working a lot
recently with the Rossi family.
They are really great people, but are
stuggling with a lot of economic
and other difficulites. They
expressed to us recently, though,
that each time we come, they feel a
sense of peace and hope, and the
whole atmosphere changes. So
now they are sure to always ask us
to say a prayer for them together
before we leave their home. I am
glad that in our own little way, we
can help to bring peace to their
home.
--This week (I may have written a
little bit about them last week? I
don't remember) we met a Brasilian
family that owns a gelateria (ice
cream shop) in our town of San
Giovanni. They had heard about
Mormons, obviously, because in
Brasil, as they say, "there are 5
church buildings in our town". So
we started talking to them about
what we do as missionaries, and
why it is important to us. They are
such great people, and we are
excited to begin to meet with them
and share the blessings of the
gospel with them.
--We went again this week to visit
Alessio and his family. They are
such a great example of a solid
family in the gospel. Whenever we
go over there, it feels like they are
teaching us, not us teaching them.
Marcello was also there, which is
always a joy. He can talk and talk
for hours, so there is never a quiet
moment with him around...(that's a
good thing!) :)
--We went over to the Zuppardo's
house again this week to do
service. We are now certified,
expert, mold cleaners. They have
this staircase outside that, we
thought, was just covered in
sploches of dirt. It turns out, that
they are deep black splotches of
MOLD. Gross. So we got out two
scrubbing brooms, some gloves,
steel wool, and about a liter of
bleach. Long story short, 2 hours
later and after about 5 passes over
the staircase...it looks like new! It
was so worth it though, because as
Sister Zuppardo got out of the car
after a 12 hour night shift, she
walked over to the staircase and
screamed "Elders! These stairs look
better than they have in years!!
Thank you so much!" Bless her
heart, she has so much to do. It's
not easy being a widowed mother
of 7 and a doctor!
--Paul and Timothy are still doing
really well, despite a few obstacles
that have presented themselves,
resulting in the postponing of thier
baptisms. But I know the Lord will
help us all, and they will be
baptized in July. They are so ready,
and I rejoice with them in the
changes that have taken place in
their lives!
--Miracle: This week we have been
seeing many mighty miracles. One
of the miracles I would like to share
happened as we went to visit a less
active man in Arezzo this past
week. I was impressed and amazed
at how the Spirit taught us the
things that we needed to share to
help him in his struggles. We began
the lesson with a rough idea of
what we wanted to share, but we
were unsure about what he needed
to hear specifically. As we began
the lesson, a scripture in Moroni 7
about the light of Christ came to
mind, and we began a lenghty
discussion about the power and
influence of the light of Christ.
Then a Mormon Message came to
mind about the power of the
Atonement of Jesus Christ, which
turned out to be perfect to help this
man to feel that he is not alone in
this, and that he can be
strengthened in this time of trouble.
I am so thankful for the blessing
and promise that as we open our
mouths to share the hope of the
Gospel, they will be filled. What a
miracle it is to be a missionary!
Everything here is going well. We
have been working hard and
finishing strong, and I know that the
Lord has been with us. I am
infinitely grateful for the
opportunity and blessing I have had
to live in Italy for two years and to
help these precious sons and
daughters of Heavenly Father to
come unto Him. I will never forget
the people that I have met, the
experiences I have had, and the
things that I have felt. The
Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. I
have seen it work in my life as well
as the lives of countless people in
this special land. It amazes me
every day just how involved the
Lord and our Heavenly Father are in
our lives. They are so wonderful,
and they never leave us. I could go
on for hours about the things that I
have seen, and the lessons I have
learned. It truly is a miracle to be a
missionary.
--I love you all and hope you have a
wonderful week! Now is the
Lord's time, and I hope to use it the
best I can. I love you all :)
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
JUNE 24, 2015
Buongiorno carissimi fanciulli:
Wow, it seems like forever ago that I last wrote. Missionaries do a lot in a week! But it has been a great week!
--This past Thursday we went to the Zuppardo's house to do some service for her. She needed her lawn mowed pretty badly am so I volunteered! It was awesome; it took me back to the glory days! ;P My shoes are now deep green; it's a good thing I am leaving them here! They have taken quite the beating over these past two years of service.
--Scambio: I had two scambi this past week. The one with one of the Assistants to the President was great. Anziano Anderton is in my group, and so we had a lot of fun reminiscing (spelling??) about the fun times in the MTC. He is hilarious. But i also learned a lot, and we saw some great success, including finding a new investigator! My scambio with Anziano Kormlyo in Firenze was great as well. He is in his first few transfers, and so for part of companionship study he asked me to share some "Wilson words of Wisdom" that I have learned throughout my mission. It was a wonderful experience, and I hope he will take something I said and remember it.
--That scambio in Firenze was insane though...imagine riding a bike down the most busy part of the center of town, constantly ringing your bell, hoping people will get out of the way. In the words of Anziano Kormylo "I thought the bell was a universal symbol for get out of the way...but oh no...those Asians don't even flince!" ha!
--We had a really awesome week this week. Miracles abound in this wonderful part of the Lord's vineyard. We were blessed to find 4 new investigators this week, and teach 27 lessons! I love to teach, and the Lord has helped me so much to improve that ability.
--Timothy and Paul are doing so well! They both passed their baptismal interviews this week with flying colors, and we are preparing together for them to be baptized on the 4th of July! Happy Independence Day, America! :) ....I have noticed recently, that living out of country for so long has made me so Patriotic. My companion and I started reciting the Pledge of Allegence each morning after Doctrine and Covenants section 4. So keep them in your prayers; especially that they can get a ride all the way to Firenze where the nearest baptismal font is for the Baptism! The train ticket costs as much as many people make in a full day of work :( But we will get them there!
--We went on Friday to help Christian move the rest of his house. Mamma mia I havent seen that much stuff since I was watching "Storage Wars" on TV! :P I have no idea how he amassed so many things. But it was a success; hurray for service!
--We went to go visit our Stake Mission leader up in the mountains this past week, and he showed us the prized possession of his little town: A soccer court. Those poor children in the middle of the mountains don't have much in ways of entertainment, and technically the government wanted to make them pay to use the court...but a bunch of kids cut a hole in the fence just big enough to fit through, and they are always on the court. Good on them, though, it was built with their tax dollars (euros).
-- I am so glad that I taught myself how to cut my own hair! So here in italy there are a lot of Chinese people...and so the options as far as haircuts go, you have the option of cutting your own hair, getting an Italian to do it for like 20 euro, or going to a Chinese place that will do it for cheap...but they don't speak hardly any italian. They are famous for the "ragazzaccio", or ...don't know how to translate that...the "bad boy" look. It is shaved sides and a short top. Basically all of my companions (over 5 of them), insisted on not cutting their own hair, and so, let's just say, it is always exciting when we go to get a haircut. :) Bless their hearts, they only speak Chinese!
--We were in Arezzo this past week a few times, and apparently they have some big cultural event going on with jousting(?), and so all week all the citizens have been getting hyped up about it. There are 4 seperate teams, depending on where you live, and they all got way into it and were bringing around with them flags and talking smack to each other all week. It was hilarious! We didn't ever get to see the joust event, but one of the members told us that is was quite the show! Italians.
--This past Sunday we had over 15 tourists from America visiting! Go Americans! It doubled the size of our branch. Translating was quite the ordeal, especially since I had to give a talk, and both the sisters here are pretty new and so it is difficult for them. I just told them to pick out key words and to make it up ;) Hey, that's what I did when I had to translate in my second transfer ;P So if you ever go on vacation and a young missionary is translating for you...he's probably making it up (but don't call him out on it!) ;)
--The sisters here in Montevarchi were a little bit down on theirselves this week, and so I figured they needed a good laugh. I taught the training for District Meeting this week on " Becoming a Missionary in the [Star Wars] Digital Age" A few parts are included below for your enjoyment :)
"Training: Wilson
"How Can I Use Preach My Gospel to do Missionary Work in the [Star Wars] Digital Age?"(Missionary Work in the Digital Age pages 23-25)
Include an Invite
15-20 Minutes
Bienvenidos a todos. Hoy tengo una buena messaje para nosotros. Es muy importante, intonces espero que somos listos para apprender. Soy guapo.
HCIUPMGTDMWITDA (How can I use Preach My Gospel to do missionary work in the digital age)?
"How can I best use PMG?"
Use Preach My Gospel to meet your needs as a [Jedi striving to bring balance to the force, or as a] missionary. You can spend an entire study session on just [Learning to recognize the force by meditation, but it would be better if you read] a few paragraphs--or an entire chapter. You can study chapters in order or plan another sequence [of Jedi training exercises] that better meets your needs. This flexibility allows you to study what you need when you need it and as directed by your [Jedi master] mission president.
All of the chapters in Preach My Gospel will help prepare you to fulfill your purpose as a [Ninja Jedi Samurai] missionary. However, as you begin to study chapter 3, you may sense a [disturbance in the force, or a] difference in approach. [Dont worry about the disturbance in the force...you are merely becoming stronger.] Most of the chapters are addressed to you. Chapter 3 is addressed to a more general audience. You learn the doctrines in chapter 3 (a) to strengthen your own gospel knowledge and testimony and (b) to teach others and prepare them to make and keep commitments and covenants. [and c) so that your knowledge may be to you as a powerful light saber in your times of trouble.]
The doctrines in some of the other chapters may also help you teach [younglings and] investigators and new members. For example, chapter 4, “How Do I Recognize and Understand the [Force and the] Spirit?” may help you teach some investigators about how to gain a testimony by the power of the Holy Ghost. Chapter 5, “What Is the Role of the Book of Mormon" [is awesome].
Preach My Gospel focuses on the fundamentals of missionary work. It does not [instantly make you a Jedi. Or a black belt. Nor does it ]answer every question or situation you will encounter. You will be most effective as you follow the Spirit, search the scriptures, keep the commandments, and [Progressively work towards heavier belt/tunics...(remember, the darker the shade of color, the more heavy)...to train in as you prepare to face Darth Vader, while you ] apply what you learn.
Study the chapters throughout your mission [to Naboo and also other various missions]. Apply what you learn. Evaluate your work. Missionaries who strive to prepare themselves daily and seek to improve regularly will receive direction from the Holy Ghost and [slowly but surely become Jedi masters.]
1). We gonna do an activitay: "in your [planner], list every proselyting activity you have done in the past three days. For each activity, determine if it influenced one of the key indicators. If it did, write yes beside it. If it did not, write no. For each activity with a yes, describe how it had an impact. For each activity with a no, decide why you did it and whether you will continue to do the activity in the future. Discuss your list with your companion, and explain why you marked some activities yes and some activities no. Discuss which activities you may need to stop doing."
You have 4.25 minutes. No more. No less. Less is not more. More is not less.
...more or less
FINDINGS
2)pg 24 in da book says with great vigor, "...Family history work is [an epic way to get a boatload of investigators that will definitely be baptized]".
----How have we seen using FHW in our finding work TFNSTWBBBTAE (to find new simps that will be baptized because they are elect)?
"With your companion, [consider] creat[ing] a plan to use your fan charts as you talk with people this week, [and forever in the whole world cuz it's a kickin' tool]".
--let's consider this suggestion from PMG, "...[Anziano Johnson, show us your] fan chart [ and tell us why it's cool]".
USE IT...if you want.
TEACHINGS
"Become familiar with Mormon.org [and meet a lot of mormons]. Find ways it will help those you teach."
Why is Mormon.org "the...[cat's pajamas for] teaching...investigators..."? (PMG)
*discussion*
"...[Mormon.org] is the...[greatest tool in the] universe...[for relating with 'errbody]"
--President Uchtdorf, October 2014, "Receiving a testimony of light and truth [and teaching with the power of the Ancient Elven Scrolls]".
BAPTIZINGS
Always remember:
"The missionaries of the Italy Milan mission are the greatest missionaries in the entire world because they dominate in every aspect of the work." -A wise man
Poem time,
WHERE SHALL I WORK TODAY
"Master, where shall I work today?
My love flowed warm and free.
He pointed out a tiny spot,
And said, "tend that for me".
I answered quickly, oh no, not there,
Not anyone could see
No matter how well my work was done;
Not that little spot for me.
When He spoke He was not stern,
But He answered me tenderly,
Little one, search that heart of thine;
Are you working for them or for me?
Nazareth was just a little place.
And so was Galilee."
-A wise man, [probably an ancestor of Anziano Wilson]
Montevarchi is just a little place, too.
Invite: "Make a list of some great questions of the soul. Use your digital device to [own the answers] by finding them."
--Miracle: This week, apart from the fact that both Paul and Timothy passed their baptismal interviews with flying colors, and are preparing to be baptized on the Fourth of July, (Happy Independence Day, America!), we had a wonderful experience this past week with a South American man we met recently. He is a really great man, and even though he seems like a "rough character", with a bunch of tattos and whatnot, he is a really tender-hearted guy, and ready for the Gospel. It was a great miracle to meet him on the street, and when we set up an appointment to meet with him, his sister and mother were there as well! We taught them part of the Restoration due to lack of time, but we are excited to meet them again, preferably at their home, and teach them all about our unique and special message to the world. What a blessing it is to be a missionary!
Everything down here is really well. The Lord is blessing us greatly, and has especially been blessing me to remember how sacred this calling is, and to work hard to the very end. I am thankful to be a missionary. Thank you all for your support and prayers. I love you all!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Wow, it seems like forever ago that I last wrote. Missionaries do a lot in a week! But it has been a great week!
--This past Thursday we went to the Zuppardo's house to do some service for her. She needed her lawn mowed pretty badly am so I volunteered! It was awesome; it took me back to the glory days! ;P My shoes are now deep green; it's a good thing I am leaving them here! They have taken quite the beating over these past two years of service.
--Scambio: I had two scambi this past week. The one with one of the Assistants to the President was great. Anziano Anderton is in my group, and so we had a lot of fun reminiscing (spelling??) about the fun times in the MTC. He is hilarious. But i also learned a lot, and we saw some great success, including finding a new investigator! My scambio with Anziano Kormlyo in Firenze was great as well. He is in his first few transfers, and so for part of companionship study he asked me to share some "Wilson words of Wisdom" that I have learned throughout my mission. It was a wonderful experience, and I hope he will take something I said and remember it.
--That scambio in Firenze was insane though...imagine riding a bike down the most busy part of the center of town, constantly ringing your bell, hoping people will get out of the way. In the words of Anziano Kormylo "I thought the bell was a universal symbol for get out of the way...but oh no...those Asians don't even flince!" ha!
--We had a really awesome week this week. Miracles abound in this wonderful part of the Lord's vineyard. We were blessed to find 4 new investigators this week, and teach 27 lessons! I love to teach, and the Lord has helped me so much to improve that ability.
--Timothy and Paul are doing so well! They both passed their baptismal interviews this week with flying colors, and we are preparing together for them to be baptized on the 4th of July! Happy Independence Day, America! :) ....I have noticed recently, that living out of country for so long has made me so Patriotic. My companion and I started reciting the Pledge of Allegence each morning after Doctrine and Covenants section 4. So keep them in your prayers; especially that they can get a ride all the way to Firenze where the nearest baptismal font is for the Baptism! The train ticket costs as much as many people make in a full day of work :( But we will get them there!
--We went on Friday to help Christian move the rest of his house. Mamma mia I havent seen that much stuff since I was watching "Storage Wars" on TV! :P I have no idea how he amassed so many things. But it was a success; hurray for service!
--We went to go visit our Stake Mission leader up in the mountains this past week, and he showed us the prized possession of his little town: A soccer court. Those poor children in the middle of the mountains don't have much in ways of entertainment, and technically the government wanted to make them pay to use the court...but a bunch of kids cut a hole in the fence just big enough to fit through, and they are always on the court. Good on them, though, it was built with their tax dollars (euros).
-- I am so glad that I taught myself how to cut my own hair! So here in italy there are a lot of Chinese people...and so the options as far as haircuts go, you have the option of cutting your own hair, getting an Italian to do it for like 20 euro, or going to a Chinese place that will do it for cheap...but they don't speak hardly any italian. They are famous for the "ragazzaccio", or ...don't know how to translate that...the "bad boy" look. It is shaved sides and a short top. Basically all of my companions (over 5 of them), insisted on not cutting their own hair, and so, let's just say, it is always exciting when we go to get a haircut. :) Bless their hearts, they only speak Chinese!
--We were in Arezzo this past week a few times, and apparently they have some big cultural event going on with jousting(?), and so all week all the citizens have been getting hyped up about it. There are 4 seperate teams, depending on where you live, and they all got way into it and were bringing around with them flags and talking smack to each other all week. It was hilarious! We didn't ever get to see the joust event, but one of the members told us that is was quite the show! Italians.
--This past Sunday we had over 15 tourists from America visiting! Go Americans! It doubled the size of our branch. Translating was quite the ordeal, especially since I had to give a talk, and both the sisters here are pretty new and so it is difficult for them. I just told them to pick out key words and to make it up ;) Hey, that's what I did when I had to translate in my second transfer ;P So if you ever go on vacation and a young missionary is translating for you...he's probably making it up (but don't call him out on it!) ;)
--The sisters here in Montevarchi were a little bit down on theirselves this week, and so I figured they needed a good laugh. I taught the training for District Meeting this week on " Becoming a Missionary in the [Star Wars] Digital Age" A few parts are included below for your enjoyment :)
"Training: Wilson
"How Can I Use Preach My Gospel to do Missionary Work in the [Star Wars] Digital Age?"(Missionary Work in the Digital Age pages 23-25)
Include an Invite
15-20 Minutes
Bienvenidos a todos. Hoy tengo una buena messaje para nosotros. Es muy importante, intonces espero que somos listos para apprender. Soy guapo.
HCIUPMGTDMWITDA (How can I use Preach My Gospel to do missionary work in the digital age)?
"How can I best use PMG?"
Use Preach My Gospel to meet your needs as a [Jedi striving to bring balance to the force, or as a] missionary. You can spend an entire study session on just [Learning to recognize the force by meditation, but it would be better if you read] a few paragraphs--or an entire chapter. You can study chapters in order or plan another sequence [of Jedi training exercises] that better meets your needs. This flexibility allows you to study what you need when you need it and as directed by your [Jedi master] mission president.
All of the chapters in Preach My Gospel will help prepare you to fulfill your purpose as a [Ninja Jedi Samurai] missionary. However, as you begin to study chapter 3, you may sense a [disturbance in the force, or a] difference in approach. [Dont worry about the disturbance in the force...you are merely becoming stronger.] Most of the chapters are addressed to you. Chapter 3 is addressed to a more general audience. You learn the doctrines in chapter 3 (a) to strengthen your own gospel knowledge and testimony and (b) to teach others and prepare them to make and keep commitments and covenants. [and c) so that your knowledge may be to you as a powerful light saber in your times of trouble.]
The doctrines in some of the other chapters may also help you teach [younglings and] investigators and new members. For example, chapter 4, “How Do I Recognize and Understand the [Force and the] Spirit?” may help you teach some investigators about how to gain a testimony by the power of the Holy Ghost. Chapter 5, “What Is the Role of the Book of Mormon" [is awesome].
Preach My Gospel focuses on the fundamentals of missionary work. It does not [instantly make you a Jedi. Or a black belt. Nor does it ]answer every question or situation you will encounter. You will be most effective as you follow the Spirit, search the scriptures, keep the commandments, and [Progressively work towards heavier belt/tunics...(remember, the darker the shade of color, the more heavy)...to train in as you prepare to face Darth Vader, while you ] apply what you learn.
Study the chapters throughout your mission [to Naboo and also other various missions]. Apply what you learn. Evaluate your work. Missionaries who strive to prepare themselves daily and seek to improve regularly will receive direction from the Holy Ghost and [slowly but surely become Jedi masters.]
1). We gonna do an activitay: "in your [planner], list every proselyting activity you have done in the past three days. For each activity, determine if it influenced one of the key indicators. If it did, write yes beside it. If it did not, write no. For each activity with a yes, describe how it had an impact. For each activity with a no, decide why you did it and whether you will continue to do the activity in the future. Discuss your list with your companion, and explain why you marked some activities yes and some activities no. Discuss which activities you may need to stop doing."
You have 4.25 minutes. No more. No less. Less is not more. More is not less.
...more or less
FINDINGS
2)pg 24 in da book says with great vigor, "...Family history work is [an epic way to get a boatload of investigators that will definitely be baptized]".
----How have we seen using FHW in our finding work TFNSTWBBBTAE (to find new simps that will be baptized because they are elect)?
"With your companion, [consider] creat[ing] a plan to use your fan charts as you talk with people this week, [and forever in the whole world cuz it's a kickin' tool]".
--let's consider this suggestion from PMG, "...[Anziano Johnson, show us your] fan chart [ and tell us why it's cool]".
USE IT...if you want.
TEACHINGS
"Become familiar with Mormon.org [and meet a lot of mormons]. Find ways it will help those you teach."
Why is Mormon.org "the...[cat's pajamas for] teaching...investigators..."? (PMG)
*discussion*
"...[Mormon.org] is the...[greatest tool in the] universe...[for relating with 'errbody]"
--President Uchtdorf, October 2014, "Receiving a testimony of light and truth [and teaching with the power of the Ancient Elven Scrolls]".
BAPTIZINGS
Always remember:
"The missionaries of the Italy Milan mission are the greatest missionaries in the entire world because they dominate in every aspect of the work." -A wise man
Poem time,
WHERE SHALL I WORK TODAY
"Master, where shall I work today?
My love flowed warm and free.
He pointed out a tiny spot,
And said, "tend that for me".
I answered quickly, oh no, not there,
Not anyone could see
No matter how well my work was done;
Not that little spot for me.
When He spoke He was not stern,
But He answered me tenderly,
Little one, search that heart of thine;
Are you working for them or for me?
Nazareth was just a little place.
And so was Galilee."
-A wise man, [probably an ancestor of Anziano Wilson]
Montevarchi is just a little place, too.
Invite: "Make a list of some great questions of the soul. Use your digital device to [own the answers] by finding them."
--Miracle: This week, apart from the fact that both Paul and Timothy passed their baptismal interviews with flying colors, and are preparing to be baptized on the Fourth of July, (Happy Independence Day, America!), we had a wonderful experience this past week with a South American man we met recently. He is a really great man, and even though he seems like a "rough character", with a bunch of tattos and whatnot, he is a really tender-hearted guy, and ready for the Gospel. It was a great miracle to meet him on the street, and when we set up an appointment to meet with him, his sister and mother were there as well! We taught them part of the Restoration due to lack of time, but we are excited to meet them again, preferably at their home, and teach them all about our unique and special message to the world. What a blessing it is to be a missionary!
Everything down here is really well. The Lord is blessing us greatly, and has especially been blessing me to remember how sacred this calling is, and to work hard to the very end. I am thankful to be a missionary. Thank you all for your support and prayers. I love you all!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Monday, June 22, 2015
JUNE 17, 2015
Buon estate a tutti!
Man, it is getting hot, hot, hot in these days. The other day it was 95 degrees with 80% humidity.....that means HOT! At least we live out in the middle of the hills and trees though; I don't know how the Italians do it in the big cities!
This week has just been wonderful! Every week is such a blessing!
--We had a Zone Training last Thursday (mamma mia that seems like so long ago!), and it was really good. I had the opportunity to give my "finishing testimony" in front of the Zone...even though it was a month early :P But I cherish those kinds of privileges. I talked about the importance of the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ in my life; how it has changed me and those closest to me--be they investigators or family members. The mission has been an incredible blessing in my life. I have gained knowledge and understanding, understood more fully the importance of diligence and obedience, and have felt the love of the Lord for each and every person that I have spoken with. The mission is special. I am thankful for all the times that I have been able to testify to and help the missionaries in the three zones I have been in as a zone leader. It is such a privilege to associate with such wise and good people.
--To be honest this week has been pretty normal. We saw most of our investigators, but there was a wedding in Prato this past weekend, and since most of our investigators knew the couple, most everyone was out of town. But we had some great experiences with people on the street, including the fact that we found a family!! We were walking down the street when we saw this young couple walking a stroller with a little baby, and so we went up to them and started talking about the importance of the family, and how it can be eternal. They were touched, and agreed to meet with us during the week! We are going to go over there tonight, so we hope for the best! They are great people.
--It was American week at the supermarket this week....so guess who has two thumbs and got a great deal on a waffle iron (which I have never seen before in Italy)....this guy! All I can think about is waffles... ;)
--We had a great experience this week going to visit one of the families that is struggling in our branch. We felt like we should go over on Tuesday morning, and so we arrived and shared a spiritual thought together about how our Heavenly Father loves us and desires that we are happy. They really enjoyed the thought, and expressed to us that they felt especially important that day because both the Relief Society President and the Branch President had come to visit them that day! All three of us ended up visiting this family, without any of us knowing that the others would be coming! And we all showed up right after another, within 10 minute intervals! The Lord works in wonderful and mysterious ways!
--One of our investigators, Emanuele had a birthday dinner at his house the other day. He invited us to come and it was an...interesting...but good experience! His uncle woke up at 4am to start cooking this seafood pasta thing...which was...different. I unthinkingly told the mom, when she said that she didn't like seafood, that I didn't like it either, and he overheard it, so the Italian in the uncle made it so that he dropped everything and made it so his one goal in life at that point was to get me to like that food. He asked me probably 10 times if I liked the risoto, and explained to me how he was an expert fish-chooser and cook and the process of making the food, and how he is so good at it, and everything. I ended up just telling him that it was delicious, "the best seafood I have ever had!" ..which is true...it is definitely the best seafood I have ever had...but it was still pretty gross. Bless his heart, he is a really good cook and I feel for him that he cooked it for over 12 hours...but it was still octupus and squid and tentacles and all kinds of sea-nasty! Well, it wasn't the worst thing in the world...but the fish in Italy is a little different, and boy did it not sit well in my stomach! (Luckily I was praying thoughout the meal that I wouldn't get sick), so the Lord blessed me to not blow chunks. I even took a second helping....you should have seen the look on this man's face. He LOVED it! "EVERYONE! LOOK AT THIS GUY!! HE DIDN'T THINK HE WOULD LIKE IT! NOW LOOK AT THE SECOND HELPING!!!" He was so happy. The upset stomach was worth it.
--Miracle: This week we had a wonderful miracle. We went to visit a less active member with the Branch President, to encourage her to receive her Patriarchal Blessing and remind her of the importance of the sacrament. It was a tender experience as we spoke together of the blessings of the Gospel and the Savior's Atonement. At the end of the lesson the Branch President asked me to give her a blessing of healing for her back and of counsel. During and after the blessing, a great feeling of peace and love filled the room. I know that the Spirit was present, and that all there were touched. I cherish those special opportunities to use the Holy Priesthood to serve my brothers and sisters here on earth. It is a miracle to me each and every time I am blessed to take part in such an experience!
--Everything here in Montevarchi is doing well. The ride issue is still a little difficult, but we are all working through it and our investigators are doing their best to maintain their commitments. This is a special place in the Lord's vineyard. Thank you all for your support and prayers. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Man, it is getting hot, hot, hot in these days. The other day it was 95 degrees with 80% humidity.....that means HOT! At least we live out in the middle of the hills and trees though; I don't know how the Italians do it in the big cities!
This week has just been wonderful! Every week is such a blessing!
--We had a Zone Training last Thursday (mamma mia that seems like so long ago!), and it was really good. I had the opportunity to give my "finishing testimony" in front of the Zone...even though it was a month early :P But I cherish those kinds of privileges. I talked about the importance of the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ in my life; how it has changed me and those closest to me--be they investigators or family members. The mission has been an incredible blessing in my life. I have gained knowledge and understanding, understood more fully the importance of diligence and obedience, and have felt the love of the Lord for each and every person that I have spoken with. The mission is special. I am thankful for all the times that I have been able to testify to and help the missionaries in the three zones I have been in as a zone leader. It is such a privilege to associate with such wise and good people.
--To be honest this week has been pretty normal. We saw most of our investigators, but there was a wedding in Prato this past weekend, and since most of our investigators knew the couple, most everyone was out of town. But we had some great experiences with people on the street, including the fact that we found a family!! We were walking down the street when we saw this young couple walking a stroller with a little baby, and so we went up to them and started talking about the importance of the family, and how it can be eternal. They were touched, and agreed to meet with us during the week! We are going to go over there tonight, so we hope for the best! They are great people.
--It was American week at the supermarket this week....so guess who has two thumbs and got a great deal on a waffle iron (which I have never seen before in Italy)....this guy! All I can think about is waffles... ;)
--We had a great experience this week going to visit one of the families that is struggling in our branch. We felt like we should go over on Tuesday morning, and so we arrived and shared a spiritual thought together about how our Heavenly Father loves us and desires that we are happy. They really enjoyed the thought, and expressed to us that they felt especially important that day because both the Relief Society President and the Branch President had come to visit them that day! All three of us ended up visiting this family, without any of us knowing that the others would be coming! And we all showed up right after another, within 10 minute intervals! The Lord works in wonderful and mysterious ways!
--One of our investigators, Emanuele had a birthday dinner at his house the other day. He invited us to come and it was an...interesting...but good experience! His uncle woke up at 4am to start cooking this seafood pasta thing...which was...different. I unthinkingly told the mom, when she said that she didn't like seafood, that I didn't like it either, and he overheard it, so the Italian in the uncle made it so that he dropped everything and made it so his one goal in life at that point was to get me to like that food. He asked me probably 10 times if I liked the risoto, and explained to me how he was an expert fish-chooser and cook and the process of making the food, and how he is so good at it, and everything. I ended up just telling him that it was delicious, "the best seafood I have ever had!" ..which is true...it is definitely the best seafood I have ever had...but it was still pretty gross. Bless his heart, he is a really good cook and I feel for him that he cooked it for over 12 hours...but it was still octupus and squid and tentacles and all kinds of sea-nasty! Well, it wasn't the worst thing in the world...but the fish in Italy is a little different, and boy did it not sit well in my stomach! (Luckily I was praying thoughout the meal that I wouldn't get sick), so the Lord blessed me to not blow chunks. I even took a second helping....you should have seen the look on this man's face. He LOVED it! "EVERYONE! LOOK AT THIS GUY!! HE DIDN'T THINK HE WOULD LIKE IT! NOW LOOK AT THE SECOND HELPING!!!" He was so happy. The upset stomach was worth it.
--Miracle: This week we had a wonderful miracle. We went to visit a less active member with the Branch President, to encourage her to receive her Patriarchal Blessing and remind her of the importance of the sacrament. It was a tender experience as we spoke together of the blessings of the Gospel and the Savior's Atonement. At the end of the lesson the Branch President asked me to give her a blessing of healing for her back and of counsel. During and after the blessing, a great feeling of peace and love filled the room. I know that the Spirit was present, and that all there were touched. I cherish those special opportunities to use the Holy Priesthood to serve my brothers and sisters here on earth. It is a miracle to me each and every time I am blessed to take part in such an experience!
--Everything here in Montevarchi is doing well. The ride issue is still a little difficult, but we are all working through it and our investigators are doing their best to maintain their commitments. This is a special place in the Lord's vineyard. Thank you all for your support and prayers. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
June 10, 2015
Buongiono buongiorno, sweet mercy it is BOILING hot outside!!
So, basically this past week we have been cooking in the hot humid, 95 degree plus weather of Tuscany. But it has been a great week! (and let's look at the bright side, we have saved on gas for the stove, since I have been cooking eggs for breakfast on a rock outside instead this past week). ;)
--This past Thursday we went with our Branch President to go visit a family that is struggling in our ward. They have been having a lot of family issues, and a lot of arguments about doctrine in the church, but more than anything, I think, they just felt a little bit excluded and alone (they live about an hour up in the mountains in the middle of nowhere, and they don't come to church...so I can see why). But we had a really wonderful experience with them, talking about repentance, and the fact that the Lord "numbers His people". It reminded me of something that Bishop Saeli always said in Alessandria. He would always quote Moroni 6: 4-5,"And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith. And the church did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls." And then he would talk about the individual worth of each and every person. I know I have seen that in my mission. The Lord makes it possible for us to find and talk with these people, and last Thursday in particular, I felt the love that He had for them. All I could express to them was that they are important, and that the Lord has never forgotten about them. How true that is, for each and every one of us. The Good Shepherd knows His sheep, and those that hear His voice will be led back to him--every time.
--Timothy is doing amazing! I will talk more about him later, but he is just progressing so well. Everything that we teach him...it's like he already knew it (and, of course, he did...all of us did), and he accepts it so willingly. We talked this week about the organization of the church, and the importance and significance of having living prophets and apostles today. He was touched, and so was I, that the Lord loves us so much to organize the church in a way to make sure that each individual person receives instruction and attention, and is encouraged to participate. You know, now that I think about that...I had never really realized the importance of that, and how the Church was organized with that in mind. But as we talked with Timothy about these things, the Spirit taught me as well that this is why the Lord established it this way. To help indiviual families come unto Him. What a blessing it is to be taught when teaching!
--This past weekend was busy busy busy! We ran from place to place trying to meet with all the people we had scheduled to meet with, and it was amazing to see the miracles as the Lord's hand was in our lives, placing people in our path.
--We also had the privilege of attending Stake Conference in Firenze this past weekend. It was inspiring. Elder De Feo, the Area Seventy assigned to this part of the world, gave two very touching talks. One was about the wayward son, the lost sheep, and how they are never lost to the Lord. He quoted the story of the daughter of Jairus, when the Savior said, "she is not dead, but sleepeth". We are never lost, never "dead" to Him who sees all things. He also talked about how Heavenly Father is a God of miracles, but one who blesses us in the "fourth watch of the night". Because he waits to bless us until we will grow the most. That is true. I have been humbled as I learn that it is in the process of trials, not simply the overcoming of them, when we learn the most.
--We had Mission Leadership Council this past Monday. I'm not going to lie, it's a great experience, but for the little old Monevarchi Zone Leaders, it is quite the exausting journey trying to get to Milan. We are "blessed" to be able to pick up the Zone Leaders in Pisa in our car and drive them their as well...which, long story short, amounted to 9 hours of me driving (since my companion hasn't gotten the training yet) in the car and waking up at 4:45 to get to the meeting on time. But I saw the Lord's hand in that as well. Even though I was completely exhausted, I found it interesting that during the meeting I still felt completely alert, and even when we came back to teach one of our investigators, I was strengthened to be able to do it all. The blessings of the Lord in that regard have been amazing. Plus, it was a pretty fun car ride, because I had been companions in the past with all of the 3 other missionaries in the car: Anziano Johnson, Strang, and Mati.
--Scambio: I had a great scambio with Anziano Greene this past week. We worked hard, and saw some amazing miracles out on the street. He is a hard worker, and has had some great life experiences that he can share with investigators. He is a really funny guy from Florida. I heard so many "Gator stories" I couldn't believe it. That place in dangerous!
--Miracle: This week we had a wonderful miracle with Timothy, our progressing investigator with a baptismal date for June 27th. We had a couple of really powerful lessons with him this past week, and he has expressed to us multiple times his desire to share the gospel with his friends. We talked about the importance and effectiveness of using technology in doing that, with him, and the very next time we met together, he shared with us that he had gone on Facebook and "liked" the Mormon Channel, and shared it with all of his friends! One of his friends now wants to hear our message! What a blessing it is to be a missionary in the Digital Age!
--Everything else is going really well here in Montevarchi. The members are all really excited for the chapel that will be coming next month, and they are already planning multiple activities that we will hold so they can invite their friends. We are also working with the members to get all our investigators to church. I thank you all for your love and support and prayers, I pray for you always! Have a great week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
So, basically this past week we have been cooking in the hot humid, 95 degree plus weather of Tuscany. But it has been a great week! (and let's look at the bright side, we have saved on gas for the stove, since I have been cooking eggs for breakfast on a rock outside instead this past week). ;)
--This past Thursday we went with our Branch President to go visit a family that is struggling in our ward. They have been having a lot of family issues, and a lot of arguments about doctrine in the church, but more than anything, I think, they just felt a little bit excluded and alone (they live about an hour up in the mountains in the middle of nowhere, and they don't come to church...so I can see why). But we had a really wonderful experience with them, talking about repentance, and the fact that the Lord "numbers His people". It reminded me of something that Bishop Saeli always said in Alessandria. He would always quote Moroni 6: 4-5,"And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith. And the church did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls." And then he would talk about the individual worth of each and every person. I know I have seen that in my mission. The Lord makes it possible for us to find and talk with these people, and last Thursday in particular, I felt the love that He had for them. All I could express to them was that they are important, and that the Lord has never forgotten about them. How true that is, for each and every one of us. The Good Shepherd knows His sheep, and those that hear His voice will be led back to him--every time.
--Timothy is doing amazing! I will talk more about him later, but he is just progressing so well. Everything that we teach him...it's like he already knew it (and, of course, he did...all of us did), and he accepts it so willingly. We talked this week about the organization of the church, and the importance and significance of having living prophets and apostles today. He was touched, and so was I, that the Lord loves us so much to organize the church in a way to make sure that each individual person receives instruction and attention, and is encouraged to participate. You know, now that I think about that...I had never really realized the importance of that, and how the Church was organized with that in mind. But as we talked with Timothy about these things, the Spirit taught me as well that this is why the Lord established it this way. To help indiviual families come unto Him. What a blessing it is to be taught when teaching!
--This past weekend was busy busy busy! We ran from place to place trying to meet with all the people we had scheduled to meet with, and it was amazing to see the miracles as the Lord's hand was in our lives, placing people in our path.
--We also had the privilege of attending Stake Conference in Firenze this past weekend. It was inspiring. Elder De Feo, the Area Seventy assigned to this part of the world, gave two very touching talks. One was about the wayward son, the lost sheep, and how they are never lost to the Lord. He quoted the story of the daughter of Jairus, when the Savior said, "she is not dead, but sleepeth". We are never lost, never "dead" to Him who sees all things. He also talked about how Heavenly Father is a God of miracles, but one who blesses us in the "fourth watch of the night". Because he waits to bless us until we will grow the most. That is true. I have been humbled as I learn that it is in the process of trials, not simply the overcoming of them, when we learn the most.
--We had Mission Leadership Council this past Monday. I'm not going to lie, it's a great experience, but for the little old Monevarchi Zone Leaders, it is quite the exausting journey trying to get to Milan. We are "blessed" to be able to pick up the Zone Leaders in Pisa in our car and drive them their as well...which, long story short, amounted to 9 hours of me driving (since my companion hasn't gotten the training yet) in the car and waking up at 4:45 to get to the meeting on time. But I saw the Lord's hand in that as well. Even though I was completely exhausted, I found it interesting that during the meeting I still felt completely alert, and even when we came back to teach one of our investigators, I was strengthened to be able to do it all. The blessings of the Lord in that regard have been amazing. Plus, it was a pretty fun car ride, because I had been companions in the past with all of the 3 other missionaries in the car: Anziano Johnson, Strang, and Mati.
--Scambio: I had a great scambio with Anziano Greene this past week. We worked hard, and saw some amazing miracles out on the street. He is a hard worker, and has had some great life experiences that he can share with investigators. He is a really funny guy from Florida. I heard so many "Gator stories" I couldn't believe it. That place in dangerous!
--Miracle: This week we had a wonderful miracle with Timothy, our progressing investigator with a baptismal date for June 27th. We had a couple of really powerful lessons with him this past week, and he has expressed to us multiple times his desire to share the gospel with his friends. We talked about the importance and effectiveness of using technology in doing that, with him, and the very next time we met together, he shared with us that he had gone on Facebook and "liked" the Mormon Channel, and shared it with all of his friends! One of his friends now wants to hear our message! What a blessing it is to be a missionary in the Digital Age!
--Everything else is going really well here in Montevarchi. The members are all really excited for the chapel that will be coming next month, and they are already planning multiple activities that we will hold so they can invite their friends. We are also working with the members to get all our investigators to church. I thank you all for your love and support and prayers, I pray for you always! Have a great week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
JUNE 3, 2015
This week has been a busy one!! But great! So is the life of a missionary in the Latter-Days!
--Transfer week was a little bit more exciting than normal this week, because we were put in charge of all of the missionaries that came in and out of Firenze....which was about 30 or so. I'm telling you, rounding up missionaries is like herding cats! ;P
--It didn't help that last week was the expo at Milano, which is one of the biggest events of the year, and so all the trains were off schedule, and most were cancelled coming in and out of Milan to Firenze. Long story short, we were in the train station from 7am to 8 pm keeping track of missionaries, sending them off, and carrying luggage. Not to mention that there were 3 sisters that got lost on their way to Pisa, with no phone! But everything worked out in the end, and everyone got where they needed to be, safe and sound.
--We went over to the Zuppardo's again this week to do service in the yard. Not to toot our own horn here, but that lawn is looking gooood! We showed up and sister Zuppardo says "hello, elders! I just got back from work...i saved 3 lives last night! Not a big deal though, I guess I am used to it by now." What a saint! Plus, they had another one of their cat's had kittens. While we were eating lunch the mom started carrying all of the kittens from the mat downstaris up the stairs onto Sorella Zuppardo's bed. She didn't realize it until half of them were up there. She was so funny: "Gosh dang it! First she gives birth on my bed, and then as soon as I wash the sheets she puts all the kittens right back on the bed! If I weren't a doctor and didn't have so much respect for mothers I would kill her!!" ha!
--Timothy is still doing really well! He has been so prepared I can't even handle it! Every single thing that we teach him, he remembers perfectly and makes the changes in his life that are necessary to live it! This past week we talked about the Priesthood, and he was touched. He wants to serve his fellow man so much, it made him so happy! It touched me as well. To think that our Heavenly Father trusts us enough to give him part of His power, and to think that we can then, if we are worthy, use that power to serve others...I can hardly take it all in. I marvel at the wonderful gift and privilege it is to hold such a power, and hope and pray that the Lord will bless me and all of us to hear the cries of those that are in need, that we may freely give and serve, just as we have freely received.
--Poor Paul needs our prayers! He has been having some serious trials in his life recently, and we haven't been able to meet with him because of it. He is so ready to be baptized though, and wants it.
--Marcello (the mountain man that I wrote about a few we2eks ago) finally was able to come to church this week! He rode his bike for like 5 hours to get there; what a champion! The Branch President was like, " Marcello, you know that I could give you a ride!? I live like 20 minutes from your house!" And he replied "Oh, I know. I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it on my own, so just in case you don't come, I can still make it!" And then he gave us 2 referrals...his friends that he has talked with about the gospel!
--So in case any of you were wondering, I will be flying home on the 9th of July. Still not sure when I will arrive home precisely, but I know that much! The office called me today and said that our group of missionaries is so big that they have to split it in half to send us home--we wouldn't all fit in the mission home! There are something like 30 missionaries going home with us. Whew! Can you imagine at the airport?? I'm glad they split us up :P
--It is getting SO hot and humid these days. I am dying!! But I have been prepared...we bought individual fans and everything! Bring it on summer ;)
--I have been reading in Alma recently, and really love chapter 26. There are so many verses that touch me in a special way. My attention was called this week to the last two verses again, which state, "Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people, who are a branch of the tree of Israel, and has been lost from its body in a strange land; yea, I say, blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, wanderers in a strange land. 37 Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of everypeople, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen."
What a special praise to our Heavenly Father, who is mindful of all of His children!
--I heard the news about Elder L. Tom Perry. He was in the same ward as one of the missionaries serving here. He lived a good life! And his last generl conference talk was powerful!! It is such a blessing to have an entire quorum of 12 apostles, and to have the knowledge that everything that happens within the Quorum in the will of the Almighty God. It is a great blessing to have living prophets today. They lead us and guide us and show us the way. And when it is time for one (or many) to leave this life, it is always in the plan of God. We'll see if my prediction is correct on who the new apostle will be..
--I just heard that one of the investigators that I found on the metro in Brescia is getting baptized soon! Jackson! What a blessing!
--Miracle: This week has been another busy, but wonderful week of miracles! The other day we were out in Montevarchi meeting with two of our investigators with a baptismal date, when we saw a man, Sylvester, that we had seen on the street a few weeks ago, but hadn't been able to contact. He motioned for us to come and sit down next to him and we had a wonderful discussion together about the Restoration. At the end he accepted the soft baptismal invite, and when we offered him his copy of the Book of Mormon, he paused. He seemed deep in thought for a few seconds, and said, "you know, I must tell you. I have been here in Italy for about 7 1/2 years, and this is the greatest gift I have ever received in 7 1/2 to 8 years." He is very educated, and told us that he would read it in less than a week for sure! We expect great things from him, and it is humbling to have been blessed by the Lord to meet him again.
--Things here are going really well. The biggest struggle continues to be the distance away of the members, coupled with the lack of rides to church. We are working as best we can with each one of our investigators with a baptismal date--they are all really dedicated and willing, but the hardest thing is that most all of them live in Arezzo and don't have the means to get to church on their own. We are doing our best to organize rides and create friendships with the members. There is a lot of work to do! Thank you all for your support and prayers. I love you all and remember you in many prayers! Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
--Transfer week was a little bit more exciting than normal this week, because we were put in charge of all of the missionaries that came in and out of Firenze....which was about 30 or so. I'm telling you, rounding up missionaries is like herding cats! ;P
--It didn't help that last week was the expo at Milano, which is one of the biggest events of the year, and so all the trains were off schedule, and most were cancelled coming in and out of Milan to Firenze. Long story short, we were in the train station from 7am to 8 pm keeping track of missionaries, sending them off, and carrying luggage. Not to mention that there were 3 sisters that got lost on their way to Pisa, with no phone! But everything worked out in the end, and everyone got where they needed to be, safe and sound.
--We went over to the Zuppardo's again this week to do service in the yard. Not to toot our own horn here, but that lawn is looking gooood! We showed up and sister Zuppardo says "hello, elders! I just got back from work...i saved 3 lives last night! Not a big deal though, I guess I am used to it by now." What a saint! Plus, they had another one of their cat's had kittens. While we were eating lunch the mom started carrying all of the kittens from the mat downstaris up the stairs onto Sorella Zuppardo's bed. She didn't realize it until half of them were up there. She was so funny: "Gosh dang it! First she gives birth on my bed, and then as soon as I wash the sheets she puts all the kittens right back on the bed! If I weren't a doctor and didn't have so much respect for mothers I would kill her!!" ha!
--Timothy is still doing really well! He has been so prepared I can't even handle it! Every single thing that we teach him, he remembers perfectly and makes the changes in his life that are necessary to live it! This past week we talked about the Priesthood, and he was touched. He wants to serve his fellow man so much, it made him so happy! It touched me as well. To think that our Heavenly Father trusts us enough to give him part of His power, and to think that we can then, if we are worthy, use that power to serve others...I can hardly take it all in. I marvel at the wonderful gift and privilege it is to hold such a power, and hope and pray that the Lord will bless me and all of us to hear the cries of those that are in need, that we may freely give and serve, just as we have freely received.
--Poor Paul needs our prayers! He has been having some serious trials in his life recently, and we haven't been able to meet with him because of it. He is so ready to be baptized though, and wants it.
--Marcello (the mountain man that I wrote about a few we2eks ago) finally was able to come to church this week! He rode his bike for like 5 hours to get there; what a champion! The Branch President was like, " Marcello, you know that I could give you a ride!? I live like 20 minutes from your house!" And he replied "Oh, I know. I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it on my own, so just in case you don't come, I can still make it!" And then he gave us 2 referrals...his friends that he has talked with about the gospel!
--So in case any of you were wondering, I will be flying home on the 9th of July. Still not sure when I will arrive home precisely, but I know that much! The office called me today and said that our group of missionaries is so big that they have to split it in half to send us home--we wouldn't all fit in the mission home! There are something like 30 missionaries going home with us. Whew! Can you imagine at the airport?? I'm glad they split us up :P
--It is getting SO hot and humid these days. I am dying!! But I have been prepared...we bought individual fans and everything! Bring it on summer ;)
--I have been reading in Alma recently, and really love chapter 26. There are so many verses that touch me in a special way. My attention was called this week to the last two verses again, which state, "Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people, who are a branch of the tree of Israel, and has been lost from its body in a strange land; yea, I say, blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, wanderers in a strange land. 37 Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of everypeople, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen."
What a special praise to our Heavenly Father, who is mindful of all of His children!
--I heard the news about Elder L. Tom Perry. He was in the same ward as one of the missionaries serving here. He lived a good life! And his last generl conference talk was powerful!! It is such a blessing to have an entire quorum of 12 apostles, and to have the knowledge that everything that happens within the Quorum in the will of the Almighty God. It is a great blessing to have living prophets today. They lead us and guide us and show us the way. And when it is time for one (or many) to leave this life, it is always in the plan of God. We'll see if my prediction is correct on who the new apostle will be..
--I just heard that one of the investigators that I found on the metro in Brescia is getting baptized soon! Jackson! What a blessing!
--Miracle: This week has been another busy, but wonderful week of miracles! The other day we were out in Montevarchi meeting with two of our investigators with a baptismal date, when we saw a man, Sylvester, that we had seen on the street a few weeks ago, but hadn't been able to contact. He motioned for us to come and sit down next to him and we had a wonderful discussion together about the Restoration. At the end he accepted the soft baptismal invite, and when we offered him his copy of the Book of Mormon, he paused. He seemed deep in thought for a few seconds, and said, "you know, I must tell you. I have been here in Italy for about 7 1/2 years, and this is the greatest gift I have ever received in 7 1/2 to 8 years." He is very educated, and told us that he would read it in less than a week for sure! We expect great things from him, and it is humbling to have been blessed by the Lord to meet him again.
--Things here are going really well. The biggest struggle continues to be the distance away of the members, coupled with the lack of rides to church. We are working as best we can with each one of our investigators with a baptismal date--they are all really dedicated and willing, but the hardest thing is that most all of them live in Arezzo and don't have the means to get to church on their own. We are doing our best to organize rides and create friendships with the members. There is a lot of work to do! Thank you all for your support and prayers. I love you all and remember you in many prayers! Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
MAY 27, 2015
Buongiorno a tutti!
This week has been amazing! I am so thankful for the
opportunity and blessing it is to be a servant of the Lord in this wonderful
time when He is hastening His work! --First item of business...we are now
cleared to be using the Ipads! Missionary work with and iPad is pretty
awesome. We can watch a Mormon Message with anyone, whenever we want! It makes
it so much more focused on the needs of the investigator; I am thankful for
this inspired instrument!
--This week is transfers week!! dun dun dun... It is a
big deal for the missionaries! So my companion, who is finishing his
mission, is being transferred (surprise there!)...all the way to America!
So I will be staying here in Montevarchi to finish out my mission. This will be
my 6th transfer as a Zone Leader, and I am so thankful for the Lord's goodness
in allowing me to continue to teach, testify to, and help inspire the other
missionaries. I hope to be worthy to the call and responsibility to do so. I
will be getting a man named Anziano Johnson as my new companion. I am
excited about that. I have only met the man once, but he seems like a really
cool guy, and I am excited to work him hard before they send me home, too ;)
Montevarchi is a really special place, and we are expecting great things
in this next month!
--We have been so blessed recently! It just seems like
we always run into everyone at exactly the right times! More that 5 times
this week, we have run into a "random" person on the street that
Anziano Quinton wanted to say goodbye too and introduce me to before he
leaves. We have now met everyone that I need to have met before he
leaves. It is amazing how the Lord works...everything just falls into place.
--So many people have been placed into our path recently
that are ready for the gospel. Just a few days ago we were literally
standing in one spot in the middle of the park waiting for one of our
investigators to show up, when 3 people, one after another, walked up to us and
recognized us missionaries for the Church. We exchanged phone numbers in each
case, and have already met with one of them! It is incredible the kind of
miracles that happen when you are on the Lord's errand.
--Timothy is doing really well, still. We haven't been
able to meet with him recently because he is sick, but he continues to be an
inspiration to me of humility and great desire to follow Christ. This week he
invited another one of his friends to meet with us, and now he, Elliot, has a
baptismal date for the end of June as well! Timothy even lives close to
him, and offered to pick him up and show him how to get to church! What a stud!
--The Rossi family is doing really well. We went over
recently for dinner and they asked us all sorts of questions about what we do
as missionaries and why we obey certain commandments. Whenever we go over there
one of them yells "The mormons are here!!" They always hammer us with
questions, but we welcome it! That is why we are here! Last time it was
"Why do you dress so funny?" I replied it was because if we are
trying to represent the Lord, it is important that we maintain a clean, modest
appearance. They loved it and have never given us a hard time since!
--We are meeting with another man named Festus. He is a
Nigerian man who has been in Italy for 8 years. Never in 8 years has he been
able to see his family, and recently he lost a sibling in an accident. He
was overjoyed as we taught him that families can be together forever. He was
touched by the Spirit and accepted to be baptized on the end of June! What a
miracle!--One of our Italian investigators, Stefano, is about our age and has
been having a lot of questions about the importance and power of prayer.
We are working with him on that...but the real highlight is that this week we
discovered that he is one of the best guitarists in the world...seriously. He
is insanely good. Don't worry, I got a video ;)
--We read about the story of the 2000 stripling warriors
recently with Paul. He loved it so much. But it was also a great reminder
for me of that wonderful chapter. The words that I remember reading so
many times were just as inspiring as ever.
"Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear
death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did
upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did
not doubt, God would deliver them.And they rehearsed unto me the words of their
mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it...And now it came to pass
that when they had surrendered themselves up unto us, behold, I numbered those
young men who had fought with me, fearing lest there were many of them
slain. But behold, to my great joy, there had not one soul of them fallen
to the earth; yea, and they had fought as if with the strength of God; yea,
never were men known to have fought with such miraculous strength; and with
such mighty power did they fall upon the Lamanites, that they did frighten
them; and for this cause did the Lamanites deliver themselves up as prisoners
of war."
What an inspiration! They had been taught by
their mothers that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them. I know
that that is true.
--Miracle: This week has
been full of miracles. We are being so blessed in this special land; the Lord
has been placing people in our path left and right. One of the miracles that
happened recently I would like to share. We had just finished church and
decided to go to Arezzo to meet with the three investigators with a baptismal
date that were unable to attend church because there was a strike with all the
buses nearby the city. We tried to call all three of them, to no avail. None of
them answered the phone! So we sat on this bench, wondering what was the best
thing to do, when we saw a man turn the corner and walk towards us. I stood up
and stopped him, asking him about his beliefs in Jesus Christ. He answered that
it was one of the most important things to him, and that he would love for us
to come to his home and teach him and his wife and four kids. He is free
every Sunday afternoon, and so we expect some wonderful things! What a
miracle it is to see the hand of the Lord in guiding his children to us, His
servants!
--Everything in Montevarchi is really
going well. We are so blessed. I am excited for Anziano Johnson to come
down, we are going to do some good work and work hard. I really want to make
good use of the limited time I have left, and finish out my mission strong. I
thank you all for your love and support and prayers. I pray for you all many
times each day.Love Anziano Wilson
MAY 20, 2015
Buongiornoissimo!
What a wonderful week! We have seen so many miracles in this area! Especially as we prepare to see my companion off to the good old U.S of A, and welcome in my new companion, we have been seeing the area and the people prepared to receive this glorious message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This week we had a zone training...ABOUT IPADS!! We have finally received them to use for proselyting purposes. It is going to be such a blessing in so many peoples' lives. But with the implementation of these new tools come a lot of changes and more than anything, a need for a renewed sense of diligence and commitment. (not to mention trying to figure out how to set them up made me feel like an old geezer who had never touched technology in his life...that was difficult!) I welcome this new and exciting prospect, and can already see that this has been part of the Lord's plan from the very beginnning. It will help so many of our precious brothers and sisters to come unto Christ.
Timothy is doing really well...more about him later.
Paul is making some serious progress as well! He was preparing to be baptized on the 6th of June, but wasn't able to come to church this past week, so we had a meeting with him to talk about the importance of coming to church and partaking of the sacrament. He was really touched by it, and we are expecting to see some really great things happening in his life. It is such a blessing to be part of this whole process...to be able to see the changes that take place in peoples' hearts!
We also recently had a wonderful miracle, resulting from a miracle of the sisters! (Chain reaction!) They met a man from Brasil recently in a little town about 45 minutes away, who is a member of the church, but who had lost track of the church for over 10 years! He was so excited to see them, and to finally have the address of the church building that is closest to him. We recently met with him, and he is such a great man. He is the total definition of a mountain man. He lives up in the mountains in a little town where he is the only inhabitant left (there used to be 5 people, but one by one they all moved away). He has been faithful and diligent in living the gospel, despite not knowing anyone from the church, or knowing how to contact anyone. He expressed to us that he is in need of a ride to church, because he lives far away (about an hour)...but it turns out that he lives just a few miles from our Branch President! It is such a wonderful miracle! The branch has such a need of priesthood holders, and this truly is a heaven sent blessing.
On saturday we went up to Milan for Mission Leadership Council.. It was an amazing experience. We had a two hour discussion about the ways we can implement the iPads effectively, and it is amazing to me to see the wisdom that comes from a group of 20 year olds coupled with the Spirit of the Lord. Plus, on the way back, since we have a car, we were assigned to bring about 20 iPads back from Milan to Pisa (I hesitantly agreed to take that one for the team.....AND GO SEE THE TOWER OF PISA!!!) That was such an unexpected blessing! It is a really cool place.
Miracle This week we have had some really wonderful experiences, and have seen some great miracles! The one I would like to share is about one of our investigators, Timothy. He came to church again this past week and loved it! And to make the situation even better, we recently found out that despite the fact that he has been here in Italy for only a little over a year, he speaks and understands Italian really well! We asked a member to translate for him in sacrament meeting, and the member came up to us afterwards just glowing and happy, and told us that he is a special man. We met with him just last night, and he has been diligently reading in the Book of Mormon, and has arrived to the end of 2nd Nephi! He reccounted to us the story of Nephi building the boat, and how it was an inspiration to him of faith and diligence. He is really making some progress! What a miracle!
Everything is going well here in Montevarchi. We are seeing so many people placed into our path. I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week! I remember you in my prayers always!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
What a wonderful week! We have seen so many miracles in this area! Especially as we prepare to see my companion off to the good old U.S of A, and welcome in my new companion, we have been seeing the area and the people prepared to receive this glorious message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This week we had a zone training...ABOUT IPADS!! We have finally received them to use for proselyting purposes. It is going to be such a blessing in so many peoples' lives. But with the implementation of these new tools come a lot of changes and more than anything, a need for a renewed sense of diligence and commitment. (not to mention trying to figure out how to set them up made me feel like an old geezer who had never touched technology in his life...that was difficult!) I welcome this new and exciting prospect, and can already see that this has been part of the Lord's plan from the very beginnning. It will help so many of our precious brothers and sisters to come unto Christ.
Timothy is doing really well...more about him later.
Paul is making some serious progress as well! He was preparing to be baptized on the 6th of June, but wasn't able to come to church this past week, so we had a meeting with him to talk about the importance of coming to church and partaking of the sacrament. He was really touched by it, and we are expecting to see some really great things happening in his life. It is such a blessing to be part of this whole process...to be able to see the changes that take place in peoples' hearts!
We also recently had a wonderful miracle, resulting from a miracle of the sisters! (Chain reaction!) They met a man from Brasil recently in a little town about 45 minutes away, who is a member of the church, but who had lost track of the church for over 10 years! He was so excited to see them, and to finally have the address of the church building that is closest to him. We recently met with him, and he is such a great man. He is the total definition of a mountain man. He lives up in the mountains in a little town where he is the only inhabitant left (there used to be 5 people, but one by one they all moved away). He has been faithful and diligent in living the gospel, despite not knowing anyone from the church, or knowing how to contact anyone. He expressed to us that he is in need of a ride to church, because he lives far away (about an hour)...but it turns out that he lives just a few miles from our Branch President! It is such a wonderful miracle! The branch has such a need of priesthood holders, and this truly is a heaven sent blessing.
On saturday we went up to Milan for Mission Leadership Council.. It was an amazing experience. We had a two hour discussion about the ways we can implement the iPads effectively, and it is amazing to me to see the wisdom that comes from a group of 20 year olds coupled with the Spirit of the Lord. Plus, on the way back, since we have a car, we were assigned to bring about 20 iPads back from Milan to Pisa (I hesitantly agreed to take that one for the team.....AND GO SEE THE TOWER OF PISA!!!) That was such an unexpected blessing! It is a really cool place.
Miracle This week we have had some really wonderful experiences, and have seen some great miracles! The one I would like to share is about one of our investigators, Timothy. He came to church again this past week and loved it! And to make the situation even better, we recently found out that despite the fact that he has been here in Italy for only a little over a year, he speaks and understands Italian really well! We asked a member to translate for him in sacrament meeting, and the member came up to us afterwards just glowing and happy, and told us that he is a special man. We met with him just last night, and he has been diligently reading in the Book of Mormon, and has arrived to the end of 2nd Nephi! He reccounted to us the story of Nephi building the boat, and how it was an inspiration to him of faith and diligence. He is really making some progress! What a miracle!
Everything is going well here in Montevarchi. We are seeing so many people placed into our path. I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week! I remember you in my prayers always!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
MAY 13, 2015
Buongiorno!!!
Well, what a wonderful week! It has been full of miracles! There is some serious work to be done in this area, and we are excited at the prospect of many people entering the waters of baptism in the upcoming weeks.
To be honest the week has just melted by; I can't ever remember what happened on the specific days. But we have been working a lot with our members, the Zuppardo family, the Rossi family, and Timothy and Paul. They are all making great progress. Paul is preparing for his baptism on the 6th of June; he is so prepared! The other day we were teaching another Nigerian man on a bench and Paul walked up and said "Listen well to their words my brother, they are angels from God!" It was touching. He has great faith, and I am so happy for his progress. He came to church this past Sunday and loved it!
--Timothy also came to church this past Sunday; and loved it! He is a Ghanaian man that has been in Italy for 8 years. More about him later.
--The Rossi family is an Italian family originally from down south, and they are so awesome! They have invited us over for dinner twice a week for a number of weeks now. One of their sons, about our age is recovering from some serious drug addictions, but we have been seeing some real progress. They are always sure to ask us to say a special prayer for them when we come so that they can have peace in their home. They are good people.
--As far as cool things that have happened this week, it has pretty much been the same old routine. Not that that is a bad thing at all, though! We have been working hard and seeing some great things. Plus, not a lot of people are blessed with the privbilege of preaching the gospel in Italy. I turned to my companion the other day and said "ya know Elder, we are pretty blessed. We get to drive a car regularly through the rolling hills of Tuscany. What more can you ask for!?" It is so beautiful here!
--We had a pretty interesting conversation with a man the other day. He was convinced that you cannot know truth because we are commanded not to judge. I took out a piece of paper and wrote "2+2=4", and asked him if it was true. He agreed it was. I then went on to explain to him that it is not "judging" to say that 2 plus 2 is four, but, rather, a recognition of truth. It was a wonderful experience, and I was taught as well. I thought of an inspiring quote by a past president of the Church: "I know that I am speaking by the power of the Holy Ghost when I learn something from what I say."
--We have been seeing so many examples of great faith from people around us. I would like to underline the faith and goodness of our Branch President. President Sottili is fearless in defending the sacredness of the temple, and in maintaining the truthfullness and accuracy of the teaching in the church. He never seeks praise for what he does. In fact, much like Christ, he deflects the compliments to our Father in Heaven. what an inspiration.
--Miracle: This week has been a wonderful week! One of our investigators with a baptismal date, Timothy, is a miracle. He walked 25 minutes to the train station in Arezzo, where he was taken by a member another 30 minutes to the church in Montevarchi. He absolutely loved the entire experience, and shared with us that he has read over 80 pages in the Book of Mormon. As we asked him about how he enjoyed church he said "It was very good. you will see me every week!" This past week we met him and he brought one of his friends to meet with us as well, with whom we were blessed to set a baptismal date! They are now working together to be prepared to be baptized on the 27th of June. What a miracle!
--Everything here in Italy is going really well. I am so blessed and thankful for this opportunity and blessing that I have to be here. I have learned and continue to learn so many precious lessons that will stay with me forever. I hope you all have a wonderful week; you are always in my prayers!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Well, what a wonderful week! It has been full of miracles! There is some serious work to be done in this area, and we are excited at the prospect of many people entering the waters of baptism in the upcoming weeks.
To be honest the week has just melted by; I can't ever remember what happened on the specific days. But we have been working a lot with our members, the Zuppardo family, the Rossi family, and Timothy and Paul. They are all making great progress. Paul is preparing for his baptism on the 6th of June; he is so prepared! The other day we were teaching another Nigerian man on a bench and Paul walked up and said "Listen well to their words my brother, they are angels from God!" It was touching. He has great faith, and I am so happy for his progress. He came to church this past Sunday and loved it!
--Timothy also came to church this past Sunday; and loved it! He is a Ghanaian man that has been in Italy for 8 years. More about him later.
--The Rossi family is an Italian family originally from down south, and they are so awesome! They have invited us over for dinner twice a week for a number of weeks now. One of their sons, about our age is recovering from some serious drug addictions, but we have been seeing some real progress. They are always sure to ask us to say a special prayer for them when we come so that they can have peace in their home. They are good people.
--As far as cool things that have happened this week, it has pretty much been the same old routine. Not that that is a bad thing at all, though! We have been working hard and seeing some great things. Plus, not a lot of people are blessed with the privbilege of preaching the gospel in Italy. I turned to my companion the other day and said "ya know Elder, we are pretty blessed. We get to drive a car regularly through the rolling hills of Tuscany. What more can you ask for!?" It is so beautiful here!
--We had a pretty interesting conversation with a man the other day. He was convinced that you cannot know truth because we are commanded not to judge. I took out a piece of paper and wrote "2+2=4", and asked him if it was true. He agreed it was. I then went on to explain to him that it is not "judging" to say that 2 plus 2 is four, but, rather, a recognition of truth. It was a wonderful experience, and I was taught as well. I thought of an inspiring quote by a past president of the Church: "I know that I am speaking by the power of the Holy Ghost when I learn something from what I say."
--We have been seeing so many examples of great faith from people around us. I would like to underline the faith and goodness of our Branch President. President Sottili is fearless in defending the sacredness of the temple, and in maintaining the truthfullness and accuracy of the teaching in the church. He never seeks praise for what he does. In fact, much like Christ, he deflects the compliments to our Father in Heaven. what an inspiration.
--Miracle: This week has been a wonderful week! One of our investigators with a baptismal date, Timothy, is a miracle. He walked 25 minutes to the train station in Arezzo, where he was taken by a member another 30 minutes to the church in Montevarchi. He absolutely loved the entire experience, and shared with us that he has read over 80 pages in the Book of Mormon. As we asked him about how he enjoyed church he said "It was very good. you will see me every week!" This past week we met him and he brought one of his friends to meet with us as well, with whom we were blessed to set a baptismal date! They are now working together to be prepared to be baptized on the 27th of June. What a miracle!
--Everything here in Italy is going really well. I am so blessed and thankful for this opportunity and blessing that I have to be here. I have learned and continue to learn so many precious lessons that will stay with me forever. I hope you all have a wonderful week; you are always in my prayers!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Thursday, May 7, 2015
MAY 6, 2015
Buongiorno a tutti!
This week has been a wonderful, verrryyy hot week! Man, the weather just comes at you like a ton of bricks all at once! It is so hot and humid! But, hey, the Italians are all in a great mood now that summer has finally arrived.
We have had so many amazing experiences this week. We have been really busy lately going from place to place, and this Friday we have to go all the way up to Milan for Mission Leadership Council. That means 7 hours in the car...hurray ;P But it will be a great experience.
--This past saturday we went up in the middle of the beautiful hills of tuscany to help one of the members do some yard work and prune the olive trees -(that was so Italian.). Just imagine yourself amidst the rolling hills and forests up in the mountains. It was beautiful! Sister Zuppardo is such a saint! I could go on for days about her faith and goodness. The members of this small branch are so awesome! But anyways, sister Zuppardo has been sharing the gospel with a ton of her friends, and just recently invited us to come over for a Family Home Evening. We talked about Ether 12:27, and it was incredible. It turned into a huge discussion about weaknesses and strengths...the Spirit was greatly felt.
--Sunday was a fantastic day as well! We had gotten late the night before, and so had not had time to plan the day out very well, and so, on a whim (I say that, but now I realize it was a clear impression), we decided to drive out an hour and a half to go see this investigator and his wife that hadn't been answering our calls for over 2 weeks. He is amazing, though. So we weren't sure what was going on. When we arrived, they were miraculously home, just returned from the hospital...where, they expressed to us, their young baby had just passed away. We had planned on teaching them the Plan of Salvation, and it was perfect. They both broke into tears as we explained that families are forever, and we had a wonderful experience together. It was a miracle.
--I read this morning something really interesting to me, especially since at the conference with Elder Bednar we talked a lot about the word . "understanding". I was reading this morning about the correlation between understanding and feeling. A quote from the conference came to mind: "you don't truly understand something until you feel it with your heart. I read in Mosiah 12:27 where it talks about "applying your heart to understanding". That is so interesting to me. Only when we apply our hearts do we truly understand.
--As far as investigators we have a lot of wonderful potential. We currently have 4 progressing investigators, Paul, Stefano, Festus, and Harry. They are all great people with good hearts and great faith, and we hope to see them baptized in June!
--Miracle: This week has been full of miracles! The one that I would specifically like to share happened just yesterday. We went over to an investigator's house, Stephen, whom we had met on the street just a few days earlier. He warmly welcomed us in and we had a wonderful experience teaching the Restoration, and he and his friend that joined in on the lesson were touched. We extended the invitation to be baptized, and, though they were doubtful due to the fact that they have already been baptized, the Spirit moved quickly in us to address and overcome that concern. Festus' reply went from "for me, it is a no. I have already been baptized", to, after the explanation "yes. 100% yes." After the lesson Stephen tenderly thanked us for coming and changing his life. He has been praying for a long time for a change to come into his life. It is such a blessing to be a missionary!
--Everything down here is going really well. The biggest struggle is getting people rides to church--we have more people willing to go than are able get there--but the members are wonderful and helpful, and we expect great things in the near future. I have committed myself make a number of changes in my missionary work and my life because of the precious knowledge that Elder Bednar gave us. The Spirit has taught me a number of things that the Lord expects of me, and I welcome the invitations to improve that have come.
I love you all and thank you for your support and prayers. Things are going really well here; I am thankful for this precious time that I have to be serving the Lord. I hope you all have a great week In bocca al lupo!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
This week has been a wonderful, verrryyy hot week! Man, the weather just comes at you like a ton of bricks all at once! It is so hot and humid! But, hey, the Italians are all in a great mood now that summer has finally arrived.
We have had so many amazing experiences this week. We have been really busy lately going from place to place, and this Friday we have to go all the way up to Milan for Mission Leadership Council. That means 7 hours in the car...hurray ;P But it will be a great experience.
--This past saturday we went up in the middle of the beautiful hills of tuscany to help one of the members do some yard work and prune the olive trees -(that was so Italian.). Just imagine yourself amidst the rolling hills and forests up in the mountains. It was beautiful! Sister Zuppardo is such a saint! I could go on for days about her faith and goodness. The members of this small branch are so awesome! But anyways, sister Zuppardo has been sharing the gospel with a ton of her friends, and just recently invited us to come over for a Family Home Evening. We talked about Ether 12:27, and it was incredible. It turned into a huge discussion about weaknesses and strengths...the Spirit was greatly felt.
--Sunday was a fantastic day as well! We had gotten late the night before, and so had not had time to plan the day out very well, and so, on a whim (I say that, but now I realize it was a clear impression), we decided to drive out an hour and a half to go see this investigator and his wife that hadn't been answering our calls for over 2 weeks. He is amazing, though. So we weren't sure what was going on. When we arrived, they were miraculously home, just returned from the hospital...where, they expressed to us, their young baby had just passed away. We had planned on teaching them the Plan of Salvation, and it was perfect. They both broke into tears as we explained that families are forever, and we had a wonderful experience together. It was a miracle.
--I read this morning something really interesting to me, especially since at the conference with Elder Bednar we talked a lot about the word . "understanding". I was reading this morning about the correlation between understanding and feeling. A quote from the conference came to mind: "you don't truly understand something until you feel it with your heart. I read in Mosiah 12:27 where it talks about "applying your heart to understanding". That is so interesting to me. Only when we apply our hearts do we truly understand.
--As far as investigators we have a lot of wonderful potential. We currently have 4 progressing investigators, Paul, Stefano, Festus, and Harry. They are all great people with good hearts and great faith, and we hope to see them baptized in June!
--Miracle: This week has been full of miracles! The one that I would specifically like to share happened just yesterday. We went over to an investigator's house, Stephen, whom we had met on the street just a few days earlier. He warmly welcomed us in and we had a wonderful experience teaching the Restoration, and he and his friend that joined in on the lesson were touched. We extended the invitation to be baptized, and, though they were doubtful due to the fact that they have already been baptized, the Spirit moved quickly in us to address and overcome that concern. Festus' reply went from "for me, it is a no. I have already been baptized", to, after the explanation "yes. 100% yes." After the lesson Stephen tenderly thanked us for coming and changing his life. He has been praying for a long time for a change to come into his life. It is such a blessing to be a missionary!
--Everything down here is going really well. The biggest struggle is getting people rides to church--we have more people willing to go than are able get there--but the members are wonderful and helpful, and we expect great things in the near future. I have committed myself make a number of changes in my missionary work and my life because of the precious knowledge that Elder Bednar gave us. The Spirit has taught me a number of things that the Lord expects of me, and I welcome the invitations to improve that have come.
I love you all and thank you for your support and prayers. Things are going really well here; I am thankful for this precious time that I have to be serving the Lord. I hope you all have a great week In bocca al lupo!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
APRIL 29, 2015
Buonas dias!! What a beautiful day it is today!
This week has been wonderful! We have been really busy running from here to there, but it has been really rewarding!
--Firenze was amazing by the way. Such a beautiful city! I got a lot of awesome pictures.
--Thursday Anziano Quinton came down with the flu...that was a little bit rough. As our investigator would say in his african english "I am sick. I throw it. I throw it." But luckily he recovered really quickly and we were already back to work by the afternoon. We had a couple appointments that went really, really well.
--We found and are beginning to teach 6 new investigators this week, three of which have a baptismal date for the month of June! We are excited at the possibility of seeing many come into the waters of baptism.
--One of those investigators is named Timothy. He is a man from Ghana (which is the most elect country, from what I've seen, in Africa!) I have never met a ghanain that I didn't absolutely admire. They have such great faith, and sincerely desire to do good. After we taught him the Restoration, we invited him to follow the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized by someone who holds the restored priesthood of God. His response was immediate and inspiring: "YES!! I will do ANYTHING to follow Christ. He has saved my life, and now it is time that I give my life to him. I must take upon myself his name! I will do all that I must do to be ready for that!" What an inspiration.
-- Just this last Monday Elder David A. Bednar came to visit our mission, and held a 6 hour conference with us. I can't even begin to explain what a special experience it was. As he walked into the room there was a tangible change and Spirit. I instantly felt at home. As far as what he taught us, I felt extremely prepared and grateful because I have been studying a talk that he gave in February of 2006 named "Seek Learning By Faith", and he talked a lot about those principles--those of true teaching. That we, instead of trying to teach the investigators all by ourselves, should ask them questions that help them teach themselves. He used some direct quotes from his talk which I had memorized, and I freaked out my companion a little bit by finishing a few of Elder Bednar's sentences "Dude...are you a prophet!?" ;) It was amazing to me how he taught. He didn't ask any specific questions, either. There was never only one answer. That was because at the beginning he said something like "Alright, now today we aren't going to be playing a little game I like to call "guess what's in my head". Noone has ever felt the Spirit of the Lord playing "guess what's in my head". People feel the Spirit of the Lord when they are compelled to act and to reason and to think for themselves. We are agents here on the earth to act and not to be acted upon..." What an inspiring concept. Anziano Quinton and I have been practicing asking each other questions without playing "guess what's in my head."
--We have a pretty big area, and so that includes a lot of driving. And to the Bednar conference we had to drive a total of 8 hours in the car. That was a little bit taxing on 6 hours of sleep ;P But we are safe and sound and rested now!
--So, the big announcement at the conference is that in about two weeks the Italy Milan Mission is receiving iPads to use in missionary work. Each missionary will receive their own, to use and then return at the end of their mission. This is going to completely change missionary work in Italy. I am so excited! I can't even say how many times I have wanted to show a Mormon Message or use the Gospel Library with investigators! What a huge step in building the kingdom of God in this land!
--Elder Bednar quoted a scripture a few times that I really liked. It is found in the 88th section of the Doctrine and Covenants; verse 122: "Appoint among yourselves a teacher, and let not all be spokesmen at once; but let one speak at a time and let all listen unto his sayings, that when all have spoken that all may be edified of all, and that every man may have an equal privilege." He explained to us that the teacher that needs to be appointed is the Holy Ghost. What a profound doctrine.
-- Miracle: This week has been incredible. Not only did we have a full, spiritually-guided week, but we were visited by an Apostle of the Lord. Clearly, that is that biggest miracle of the week. But I would like to share something that I learned specifically. I noticed that Elder Bednar, despite being in front of an audience of almost 250 people, took time for and focused on one person at a time. I marvelled as he asked follow-up questions to, and looked directly into the eyes of each individual, without once looking at someone else. He, as did our Savior, taught and blessed one at a time. It was an inspiration to me and a reminder that this work is about touching hearts one at a time. What a miracle it is to be a part of this divine work.
Everything is going really well down here in Montevarchi. We are searching for more ways to get our members involved in the lessons that we teach, and in helping the new investigators receive baptismal dates, and continue to act in faith as they progress on the path to eternal life. Thank you all for your love and support and prayers. I remember you each week in my personal prayers.
Love,
Anziano Wilson
This week has been wonderful! We have been really busy running from here to there, but it has been really rewarding!
--Firenze was amazing by the way. Such a beautiful city! I got a lot of awesome pictures.
--Thursday Anziano Quinton came down with the flu...that was a little bit rough. As our investigator would say in his african english "I am sick. I throw it. I throw it." But luckily he recovered really quickly and we were already back to work by the afternoon. We had a couple appointments that went really, really well.
--We found and are beginning to teach 6 new investigators this week, three of which have a baptismal date for the month of June! We are excited at the possibility of seeing many come into the waters of baptism.
--One of those investigators is named Timothy. He is a man from Ghana (which is the most elect country, from what I've seen, in Africa!) I have never met a ghanain that I didn't absolutely admire. They have such great faith, and sincerely desire to do good. After we taught him the Restoration, we invited him to follow the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized by someone who holds the restored priesthood of God. His response was immediate and inspiring: "YES!! I will do ANYTHING to follow Christ. He has saved my life, and now it is time that I give my life to him. I must take upon myself his name! I will do all that I must do to be ready for that!" What an inspiration.
-- Just this last Monday Elder David A. Bednar came to visit our mission, and held a 6 hour conference with us. I can't even begin to explain what a special experience it was. As he walked into the room there was a tangible change and Spirit. I instantly felt at home. As far as what he taught us, I felt extremely prepared and grateful because I have been studying a talk that he gave in February of 2006 named "Seek Learning By Faith", and he talked a lot about those principles--those of true teaching. That we, instead of trying to teach the investigators all by ourselves, should ask them questions that help them teach themselves. He used some direct quotes from his talk which I had memorized, and I freaked out my companion a little bit by finishing a few of Elder Bednar's sentences "Dude...are you a prophet!?" ;) It was amazing to me how he taught. He didn't ask any specific questions, either. There was never only one answer. That was because at the beginning he said something like "Alright, now today we aren't going to be playing a little game I like to call "guess what's in my head". Noone has ever felt the Spirit of the Lord playing "guess what's in my head". People feel the Spirit of the Lord when they are compelled to act and to reason and to think for themselves. We are agents here on the earth to act and not to be acted upon..." What an inspiring concept. Anziano Quinton and I have been practicing asking each other questions without playing "guess what's in my head."
--We have a pretty big area, and so that includes a lot of driving. And to the Bednar conference we had to drive a total of 8 hours in the car. That was a little bit taxing on 6 hours of sleep ;P But we are safe and sound and rested now!
--So, the big announcement at the conference is that in about two weeks the Italy Milan Mission is receiving iPads to use in missionary work. Each missionary will receive their own, to use and then return at the end of their mission. This is going to completely change missionary work in Italy. I am so excited! I can't even say how many times I have wanted to show a Mormon Message or use the Gospel Library with investigators! What a huge step in building the kingdom of God in this land!
--Elder Bednar quoted a scripture a few times that I really liked. It is found in the 88th section of the Doctrine and Covenants; verse 122: "Appoint among yourselves a teacher, and let not all be spokesmen at once; but let one speak at a time and let all listen unto his sayings, that when all have spoken that all may be edified of all, and that every man may have an equal privilege." He explained to us that the teacher that needs to be appointed is the Holy Ghost. What a profound doctrine.
-- Miracle: This week has been incredible. Not only did we have a full, spiritually-guided week, but we were visited by an Apostle of the Lord. Clearly, that is that biggest miracle of the week. But I would like to share something that I learned specifically. I noticed that Elder Bednar, despite being in front of an audience of almost 250 people, took time for and focused on one person at a time. I marvelled as he asked follow-up questions to, and looked directly into the eyes of each individual, without once looking at someone else. He, as did our Savior, taught and blessed one at a time. It was an inspiration to me and a reminder that this work is about touching hearts one at a time. What a miracle it is to be a part of this divine work.
Everything is going really well down here in Montevarchi. We are searching for more ways to get our members involved in the lessons that we teach, and in helping the new investigators receive baptismal dates, and continue to act in faith as they progress on the path to eternal life. Thank you all for your love and support and prayers. I remember you each week in my personal prayers.
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Thursday, April 30, 2015
APRIL 22, 2015
Buongiorno a tutti da Firenze!!
So, I'm in Florence!!! It is going to be a beautiful day!! I'm excited! :)
(side note--I have never been surrounded by so many tourists!! Everyone is speaking English...I feel like I'm in America! ...It is pretty amazing after being in Italy for so long, how obvious it is when you see a tourist. They stick out like a gorilla at a cat festival! ;)
--This week has been wonderful! Montevarchi really is a special place. There is a branch here of about 15 members, but they are all really strong in the gospel, and are all actively engaged in missionary work. To be honest, I much prefer small branches to big wards...the mindset of the Italian members in a branch is "we have work to do to grow our branch!" rather than "well, we made it! We are a ward!" kind of thing. It is a great blessing to be a part of a little branch like this, where it really is like one big family! There is some serious work to be done here, and I am excited to get it all rolling!
--The Branch President is an absolute champion! He is an inspired leader. Him and his wife speak almost every day with someone new to tell them about the gospel!
--So, we are back to holding church in a hotel!! Welcome back to Morbegno! haha, we are getting a church building soon, but for now we rented out two conference rooms in a four-star hotel. It is pretty nice....and there is even free bottled water and candies! I feel like a high-class business man standing at the pulpit. This is the life!
--Montevarchi is so beautiful! Imagine rolling hills and green all around....it's like I'm in the middle of Lord of the Rings mixed with Sound of Music!
--President Dibb called the other day to let us know that he has confidence in us and to tell us that "there are tens of thousands of future saints in that area"...what an inspiration! That is so true. There are so many people that are prepared. It has been amazing to me to see and realize the work of the Lord in this place. He truly truly does go before us to pave the way and to open hearts. President also added that this is one of the most beautiful areas of the world...I believe it! I am so blessed to serve in this wonderful part of Italy ;)
--So, I am in toscana, which is really distinguished in Italy for 1)the amazing food! and 2) having a thick accent. It is hilarious! The c is silent, and so it just sounds so....funny! (imagine Coca Cola being pronounced "ho ha ho la") I, personally, prefer the Sicilian accent, and thus have been working on it (I started it as a joke, but now I really prefer speaking that way!). I have gotten multiple comments asking if I was half Italian from the south ;) I am so thankful for the gift of tongues!
--This past Sunday I was asked to give a talk! My first sunday here, why not! It was a great experience. I talked about not waiting to share your testimony, and the importance of growing it right now, instead of "later on". There are a few investigators that have been coming to church for years, and so I figured it would be a nice little "push" to let them know that they are needed right now. It went really well with the lesson that we had in Gospel Principles: We watched a mormon message called "waiting on the road to Damascus". It was touching, I reccommend it!
--Speaking of Gospel Principles, our teacher is amazing! Apparently he is a recent (5 years ago) retuned missionary from the Milan mission, and was the Assistent to the President for 5 transfers (that is a lot). I can tell he is a man of deep faith. And he already is married with three kids...he wasted no time! ;P He will be a great strength to this branch.
--We have been running around from appointment to appointment these days, it really is wonderful. Yesterday we were blessed to be able to teach 9 people. There are a lot of people in this area that are searching for something, they just aren't sure what!
--In less than a week Elder Bednar is coming to visit our mission!! I am so excited I am jumping out of my shoes! It is going to be such a wonderful and unique experience to sit at the feet of a living Apostle of the Lord, and to hear what he has to tell us. I hope and pray that I may prepare myself spiritually to fully take-in all that he has to teach us.
--I have been having some really amazing insights lately about the power and value of humility. I know that the promise in Ether 12:27 is true, that if we will come unto Christ and acknowledge in humility our weaknesses before him, we will be made strong. I have seen that so much on my mission--both with investigators and with myself. What a profound blessing is the Atonement of our Savior!
--Miracle: Yesterday we had a wonderful miracle. As we were out and about finding and teaching, we decided to pass by a less active member, who has some serious struggles with a few commandments. We stopped by and he welcomed us in right away. He expressed to us right off the bat, that he knew he struggled with these things, and that he wants to change. but just doesn't feel like he can do it. I was humbled and deeply touched as the Spirit completely took over the lesson, and we were able to address each one of his concerns. Using scriptures such as Ether 12:27, comparing the church to a hospital, and bearing testimony of the infinite and everlasting Atonement, I could see in his eyes the change. He finally understood. And he expressed to us that he has known for a while that he needs to start reading the scriptures daily again, and praying for the strength to overcome these things. We expressed confidence in him, and are expecting some wonderful things. It is such a miracle to be an instrument in the hands of the Almighty God, in giving comfort and encouragement to one of his precious children.
--Everything here in Montevarchi is going really well. The members are so excited to do missionary work, and we are thrilled to be able to help them. This really is a special place. And I know that we are going to see people coming into the waters of baptism and following our Savior Jesus Christ. I can feel it. Thank you all so much for your support and prayers. They are needed and they are felt. I ask that this week you remember to pray specifically for Daniel, Wilman, and Paul--three of our investigators that are preparing for baptism in the near future. Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
So, I'm in Florence!!! It is going to be a beautiful day!! I'm excited! :)
(side note--I have never been surrounded by so many tourists!! Everyone is speaking English...I feel like I'm in America! ...It is pretty amazing after being in Italy for so long, how obvious it is when you see a tourist. They stick out like a gorilla at a cat festival! ;)
--This week has been wonderful! Montevarchi really is a special place. There is a branch here of about 15 members, but they are all really strong in the gospel, and are all actively engaged in missionary work. To be honest, I much prefer small branches to big wards...the mindset of the Italian members in a branch is "we have work to do to grow our branch!" rather than "well, we made it! We are a ward!" kind of thing. It is a great blessing to be a part of a little branch like this, where it really is like one big family! There is some serious work to be done here, and I am excited to get it all rolling!
--The Branch President is an absolute champion! He is an inspired leader. Him and his wife speak almost every day with someone new to tell them about the gospel!
--So, we are back to holding church in a hotel!! Welcome back to Morbegno! haha, we are getting a church building soon, but for now we rented out two conference rooms in a four-star hotel. It is pretty nice....and there is even free bottled water and candies! I feel like a high-class business man standing at the pulpit. This is the life!
--Montevarchi is so beautiful! Imagine rolling hills and green all around....it's like I'm in the middle of Lord of the Rings mixed with Sound of Music!
--President Dibb called the other day to let us know that he has confidence in us and to tell us that "there are tens of thousands of future saints in that area"...what an inspiration! That is so true. There are so many people that are prepared. It has been amazing to me to see and realize the work of the Lord in this place. He truly truly does go before us to pave the way and to open hearts. President also added that this is one of the most beautiful areas of the world...I believe it! I am so blessed to serve in this wonderful part of Italy ;)
--So, I am in toscana, which is really distinguished in Italy for 1)the amazing food! and 2) having a thick accent. It is hilarious! The c is silent, and so it just sounds so....funny! (imagine Coca Cola being pronounced "ho ha ho la") I, personally, prefer the Sicilian accent, and thus have been working on it (I started it as a joke, but now I really prefer speaking that way!). I have gotten multiple comments asking if I was half Italian from the south ;) I am so thankful for the gift of tongues!
--This past Sunday I was asked to give a talk! My first sunday here, why not! It was a great experience. I talked about not waiting to share your testimony, and the importance of growing it right now, instead of "later on". There are a few investigators that have been coming to church for years, and so I figured it would be a nice little "push" to let them know that they are needed right now. It went really well with the lesson that we had in Gospel Principles: We watched a mormon message called "waiting on the road to Damascus". It was touching, I reccommend it!
--Speaking of Gospel Principles, our teacher is amazing! Apparently he is a recent (5 years ago) retuned missionary from the Milan mission, and was the Assistent to the President for 5 transfers (that is a lot). I can tell he is a man of deep faith. And he already is married with three kids...he wasted no time! ;P He will be a great strength to this branch.
--We have been running around from appointment to appointment these days, it really is wonderful. Yesterday we were blessed to be able to teach 9 people. There are a lot of people in this area that are searching for something, they just aren't sure what!
--In less than a week Elder Bednar is coming to visit our mission!! I am so excited I am jumping out of my shoes! It is going to be such a wonderful and unique experience to sit at the feet of a living Apostle of the Lord, and to hear what he has to tell us. I hope and pray that I may prepare myself spiritually to fully take-in all that he has to teach us.
--I have been having some really amazing insights lately about the power and value of humility. I know that the promise in Ether 12:27 is true, that if we will come unto Christ and acknowledge in humility our weaknesses before him, we will be made strong. I have seen that so much on my mission--both with investigators and with myself. What a profound blessing is the Atonement of our Savior!
--Miracle: Yesterday we had a wonderful miracle. As we were out and about finding and teaching, we decided to pass by a less active member, who has some serious struggles with a few commandments. We stopped by and he welcomed us in right away. He expressed to us right off the bat, that he knew he struggled with these things, and that he wants to change. but just doesn't feel like he can do it. I was humbled and deeply touched as the Spirit completely took over the lesson, and we were able to address each one of his concerns. Using scriptures such as Ether 12:27, comparing the church to a hospital, and bearing testimony of the infinite and everlasting Atonement, I could see in his eyes the change. He finally understood. And he expressed to us that he has known for a while that he needs to start reading the scriptures daily again, and praying for the strength to overcome these things. We expressed confidence in him, and are expecting some wonderful things. It is such a miracle to be an instrument in the hands of the Almighty God, in giving comfort and encouragement to one of his precious children.
--Everything here in Montevarchi is going really well. The members are so excited to do missionary work, and we are thrilled to be able to help them. This really is a special place. And I know that we are going to see people coming into the waters of baptism and following our Savior Jesus Christ. I can feel it. Thank you all so much for your support and prayers. They are needed and they are felt. I ask that this week you remember to pray specifically for Daniel, Wilman, and Paul--three of our investigators that are preparing for baptism in the near future. Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
APRIL 15, 2015
Buon Aprile!!! Man, what a beautiful day it is today! I hope the weather in the states is as beautiful as here!
Well, this week, like always, has 1) flown by and 2) been amazing. We have been seeing so many miracles!
--This past Thursday my companion and I had the privilege of training the missionaries in our zone up in the city of Bergamo. We talked about how we can use scripture chains in our teaching and finding efforts, and about the power of memorized scriptures. I remember a phrase said by one of the Bretheren that I heard in my youth: "A memorized scripture is like a friend that you can call upon in times of need....the more scriptures you memorized, the more friends you have!" How true that is. I am so thankful for the scriptures that I learned in seminary and institute and primary and all throughout my life--they have helped me much in my life. It was a wonderful experience to teach and testify to our wonderful missionaries.
--In other news, It's transfers time! For a missionary it is an exciting and important time: we find out where we will live for the next 6 weeks! I was basically postive that I was going to be called to train a missionary since 1) I haven't trained anyone yet, 2) I have two transfers left, just the amount it takes to train, and 3) I have already served 6 months as a Zone Leader which is usually the maximum that President Dibb keeps someone in that position (and everyone trains before becoming a Zone Leader anyway). So we get our call on Friday night from President Dibb, and the first thing he says is "Elder Wilson, it's transfers time. I know you have only been in Brescia 6 weeks, but, I need you." And I'm thinking, "Alright, where am I training?" (Side note: I have been telling my companion for the past month (kind of as a joke) that I am going to be training in Firenze (Florence), because it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL, and there are so many cool things there (including really nice 100% silk ties for dirt cheap). Basically all of the missionaries dream of serving in or near Firenze so they can see it.) And then President Dibb explained to me that he needed me to keep being a Zone Leader to train the missionaries. "I'm sending you to your third zone as a zone leader, because I need you to bless as many missionaries in this mission as is possible..." I was totally shocked! Noone does that! But then he told me where I'm going....Montevarchi!! Which is 20 minutes away from where??? FIRENZE!!! Oh yeah! I am going to go there so many times. So my new calling is to be one of the Zone Leaders down there, and my companion, Anziano Quinton, is in his last transfer. So that will fun! I really am humbled and thankful for this continued opportunity to serve and help the missionaries to realize how important we all are to the Lord. I am excited for the new opportunity I will have, but realize that I am dependent on the Lord if I want to be able to make any kind of difference. Montevarchi is a group of little towns all far away from each other, so it is a little bit different in terms of finding people to teach. But I am excited and ready to work!
--This past Sunday was AMAZING! We had Stake Conference in Verona, and Elder Kearon of the Seventy came to visit and to teach. It was a powerful experience. I was especially touched by the fact that during his talks, he would often stop in the middle of a sentence, pause, and then say something extremely direct and completely different that applied directly to the Italian saints. He took pauses to seek inspiration, and then powerfully declared things that were exactly what the members needed to hear. He is a powerful teacher, and it was a privilege to be taught by him.
--Speaking of the privilege of being instructed by inspired leaders, the mission is still preparing for the visit of Elder David A. Bednar, for a 6 hour conference in less that two weeks! I am so excited, and hope to consecrate myself and my efforts between now and then, so that I may be prepared and ready to receive instruction from an Apostle of the Lord. What a great blessing this will be!
--Monday we had the "blesssing" of riding the train for 4 hours to Lecco, to pick up the Permesso di Sojourno (His permit to live in Italy) of Anziano Pinnock. It was fun to be able to return again to the city I lived in over a year and a half ago, and have the memories flood back of talking with all kinds of people on the street. It was a good experience!
--Last night we had an awesome missionary activity in the church. It was about how to share the gospel with our friends. It was especially cool because we brought Umberto, one of our investigators, and he loved it! He came up to me afterwards and was like "It is so easy to share the gospel with our friends! Can I do it too even though I'm not a member?" I told him that of course he could! And we are working with him now to share what he is learning with his whole family!
--As far as investigators go, Umberto, Innocent, and Jackson are really progressing. We have been meeting each of them a few times a week, and they will be baptized within the next month. What a blessing that is!
--We were meeting with Innocent the other day, and he is currently a preacher for the Evangelist religion, who has been touched and enlightened by the new things he is learning about the Love of God and especially his detailed plan for each of us, The Plan of Salvation. He shared with us a powerful testimony of how the Lord has led and guided him to Italy and to us, to find the truth. What a privilege it is to share the gospel!
--Miracle: This week has been wonderful. We have been preparing everything to be ready for the coming of new missionaries, and we have been seeing some serious miracles. I will share just one of many: A few days ago we were teaching one of our investigators, jackson, on a bench near the mall. We were having a wonderful experience with him talking about the Word of Wisdom, when out of the blue a young man of about 20 years walked up to us. We began talking, and I recognized him as someone I had talked to on the bus about a month ago. He is a boy of faith, but insisted on finding his own way. I remember bearing my testimony to him about the Book of Mormon, and he seemed very interested, but insisted on him calling us. So I left him with a pass-along card about the Book of Mormon. As we talked outside the mall, he said that he went to the website and researched it, and he wants us to give him a copy! We exchanged phone numbers and have an appointment set up with him Friday to deliver it and explain it. What a blessing!
--Everything is all set for the new Anziano Pinnock to come here to Brescia. We are excited for the work that there is to do here. I am excited as well to go down to Montevarchi and help in my small way to build the kingdom. I appreciate the trust and confidence that you all have expressed in me, and I hope to do all that the Lord expects me to do down there, and prepare myself well to sit at the feet of an Apostle of the Lord. Iove you all and remember you always in my prayers!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Well, this week, like always, has 1) flown by and 2) been amazing. We have been seeing so many miracles!
--This past Thursday my companion and I had the privilege of training the missionaries in our zone up in the city of Bergamo. We talked about how we can use scripture chains in our teaching and finding efforts, and about the power of memorized scriptures. I remember a phrase said by one of the Bretheren that I heard in my youth: "A memorized scripture is like a friend that you can call upon in times of need....the more scriptures you memorized, the more friends you have!" How true that is. I am so thankful for the scriptures that I learned in seminary and institute and primary and all throughout my life--they have helped me much in my life. It was a wonderful experience to teach and testify to our wonderful missionaries.
--In other news, It's transfers time! For a missionary it is an exciting and important time: we find out where we will live for the next 6 weeks! I was basically postive that I was going to be called to train a missionary since 1) I haven't trained anyone yet, 2) I have two transfers left, just the amount it takes to train, and 3) I have already served 6 months as a Zone Leader which is usually the maximum that President Dibb keeps someone in that position (and everyone trains before becoming a Zone Leader anyway). So we get our call on Friday night from President Dibb, and the first thing he says is "Elder Wilson, it's transfers time. I know you have only been in Brescia 6 weeks, but, I need you." And I'm thinking, "Alright, where am I training?" (Side note: I have been telling my companion for the past month (kind of as a joke) that I am going to be training in Firenze (Florence), because it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL, and there are so many cool things there (including really nice 100% silk ties for dirt cheap). Basically all of the missionaries dream of serving in or near Firenze so they can see it.) And then President Dibb explained to me that he needed me to keep being a Zone Leader to train the missionaries. "I'm sending you to your third zone as a zone leader, because I need you to bless as many missionaries in this mission as is possible..." I was totally shocked! Noone does that! But then he told me where I'm going....Montevarchi!! Which is 20 minutes away from where??? FIRENZE!!! Oh yeah! I am going to go there so many times. So my new calling is to be one of the Zone Leaders down there, and my companion, Anziano Quinton, is in his last transfer. So that will fun! I really am humbled and thankful for this continued opportunity to serve and help the missionaries to realize how important we all are to the Lord. I am excited for the new opportunity I will have, but realize that I am dependent on the Lord if I want to be able to make any kind of difference. Montevarchi is a group of little towns all far away from each other, so it is a little bit different in terms of finding people to teach. But I am excited and ready to work!
--This past Sunday was AMAZING! We had Stake Conference in Verona, and Elder Kearon of the Seventy came to visit and to teach. It was a powerful experience. I was especially touched by the fact that during his talks, he would often stop in the middle of a sentence, pause, and then say something extremely direct and completely different that applied directly to the Italian saints. He took pauses to seek inspiration, and then powerfully declared things that were exactly what the members needed to hear. He is a powerful teacher, and it was a privilege to be taught by him.
--Speaking of the privilege of being instructed by inspired leaders, the mission is still preparing for the visit of Elder David A. Bednar, for a 6 hour conference in less that two weeks! I am so excited, and hope to consecrate myself and my efforts between now and then, so that I may be prepared and ready to receive instruction from an Apostle of the Lord. What a great blessing this will be!
--Monday we had the "blesssing" of riding the train for 4 hours to Lecco, to pick up the Permesso di Sojourno (His permit to live in Italy) of Anziano Pinnock. It was fun to be able to return again to the city I lived in over a year and a half ago, and have the memories flood back of talking with all kinds of people on the street. It was a good experience!
--Last night we had an awesome missionary activity in the church. It was about how to share the gospel with our friends. It was especially cool because we brought Umberto, one of our investigators, and he loved it! He came up to me afterwards and was like "It is so easy to share the gospel with our friends! Can I do it too even though I'm not a member?" I told him that of course he could! And we are working with him now to share what he is learning with his whole family!
--As far as investigators go, Umberto, Innocent, and Jackson are really progressing. We have been meeting each of them a few times a week, and they will be baptized within the next month. What a blessing that is!
--We were meeting with Innocent the other day, and he is currently a preacher for the Evangelist religion, who has been touched and enlightened by the new things he is learning about the Love of God and especially his detailed plan for each of us, The Plan of Salvation. He shared with us a powerful testimony of how the Lord has led and guided him to Italy and to us, to find the truth. What a privilege it is to share the gospel!
--Miracle: This week has been wonderful. We have been preparing everything to be ready for the coming of new missionaries, and we have been seeing some serious miracles. I will share just one of many: A few days ago we were teaching one of our investigators, jackson, on a bench near the mall. We were having a wonderful experience with him talking about the Word of Wisdom, when out of the blue a young man of about 20 years walked up to us. We began talking, and I recognized him as someone I had talked to on the bus about a month ago. He is a boy of faith, but insisted on finding his own way. I remember bearing my testimony to him about the Book of Mormon, and he seemed very interested, but insisted on him calling us. So I left him with a pass-along card about the Book of Mormon. As we talked outside the mall, he said that he went to the website and researched it, and he wants us to give him a copy! We exchanged phone numbers and have an appointment set up with him Friday to deliver it and explain it. What a blessing!
--Everything is all set for the new Anziano Pinnock to come here to Brescia. We are excited for the work that there is to do here. I am excited as well to go down to Montevarchi and help in my small way to build the kingdom. I appreciate the trust and confidence that you all have expressed in me, and I hope to do all that the Lord expects me to do down there, and prepare myself well to sit at the feet of an Apostle of the Lord. Iove you all and remember you always in my prayers!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
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