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
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
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
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