Buongiorno a tutti! I hope your week has been fantastic! Mine sure was! The Lord has been blessing us so much in this little town.
We had the opportunity to teach another zone training this past Thursday (man, that seems like a lifetime ago). There are 26 missionaries in our zone, and so it was a great experience to have a discussion with them and teach them about the importance of the work we are here to do, and why we are here doing it. We also talked about setting baptismal dates with investigators on the very first meeting. The members here think we are crazy for doing it, but it works! (more on that later).
--Just a side note. I am SO full right now. So, there is this pizza place basically across the street from our house...it is so delicious. Really good. And they give you HUGE pizzas for the regular price of 5 euro. It is like double the size. Anziano Pinnock and I had the "brilliant" idea of getting one each (because usually you can eat a whole pizza by yourself here in Italy...the crust is really thin and amazing..). Long story short, we got about halfway-through each and I was like "man. There is a lot of pizza left still." And Anziano Pinnock said "oh, good! I thought it was just me being a wimp!" So we still have half a pizza (the equivalent of an entire pizza) waiting for us at home :) But if I start falling asleep while writing this...bear with me.
--We have been having some really full days recently. I have gotten a lot better at planning things in advance, (I know, that's a shocker for those who know me), and it has been great! We taught 23 lessons last week, and found 5 new investigators! (the average for the zone is about 8, and 0.7, respectively). So it was a great week! Thank you for your prayers, they are a big help!
--During one of the lessons with a man from Nigeria named Experience ( yes that is his name...it is actually a pretty common...yes, I was surprised as well.) , we read together 2 Nephi 31:10-13.
"And he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?
11 And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son. 12 And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do. 13 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel."
He sat there in silence for about a minute, and finally said, "wow. That hit me. This book hit my heart. I must be baptized." We were thinking "WHAT?! that never happens!" But it did! He is an awesome guy! We are helping him to prepare to be baptized the 23rd of May. Keep him in your prayers!
--We found a candy store outlet!! The outlets are the stores that other stores send their excess orders to for really cheap because they can't sell it all, and then they sell it instead, for really cheap! Usually it is just for clothes, but we found the jackpot! Needless to say, I was snacking on a nice Lindt chocolate bar about an hour ago. ;)
--I am so excited for General Conference. I have continued to listen to talks each morning while I make breakfast; it is so inspiring! I listened to one from Elder Eyring this week called "Man Down" (or something like that). I would recommend it! I am just so amazed at how inspired the leaders of the church are: they seem to know everything that is going on in the world, all the time.
--I had the chance this week to do a scambio with one of the new missionaries in our zone yesterday. His name is Anziano Lingardo. He is awesome. The only member of his family, and a convert of only one year and a half. His conversion story is inspiring. His best friend is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and has always been a good example to him. He ate often at their house for dinner. One night, they had the missionaries over, and it all started from there. He gained a personal testimony, and then told his parents that he wanted to serve a mission. They weren't supportive, but didn't prevent him from going. He is a good kid.
--While on scambio, Anziano Lingardo told me that he was a "pun-master". I took it as a challenge...For the next 15 minutes we spoke only in puns. It was a grape time. *ba dum ching*. Towards the end I just started putting emphasis on random words in a sentence and pretending it was a pun. "It's a good thing we are walking on the street!" "...That's not even a pun!" "What, don't you get it? Street?? Walking??" *he smacks his forehead*. Good times :)
--Josè came to church on Sunday!! It was amazing! He had a great experience. It was his first time attending any church for over 10 years! He turned to me during one of the breaks between classes and said "Everyone is so nice here...It really is just like a big family!" What a blessing!
--Miracle: This week was full of miracles! We have been seeing many blessings from the Lord as a result of working diligently and trying our best to talk to everyone. This week we have been blessed to set 3 baptismal dates with investigators, each on the first lesson that we taught with them! We expect great things from Benito, Jerry, and Umberto! Keep them in your prayers, especially Jerry! But besides that, I had a miracle while talking to a man on the metro the other day. I approached him to start a conversation, and he began to ask me, in very broken Italian, if I was from Italy. I immediately replied "do you speak English?" to which he replied, "yeah! I'm from Wisconson!" It's not every day that you get to speak to an American! We had a wonderful conversation on the metro, and he got off at the same stop as us. He, rob, is here in Italy for a business trip, but returns next week. He said both of his next-door neighbors are Mormons, and both served missions out of the country. He had always wondered when he would see some missionaries out and about, but didn't expect to see them in Italy! We had a great conversation, and I invited him to watch the church's new "Because He Lives" video on the 28th of March, and then talk to his neighbors about what he thought about it. He agreed. It was a great experience!
Everything here in Brescia is well. We are working on keeping our investigators progressing, and motivating the ward to be more missionary-work motivated. A few members have expressed to us that they need motivation. I can attest to that. But we are pumped up and ready to go, and so we will transmit that to them! We hope to inspire them, and I have a wonderful opportunity to give a talk this Sunday. It will be about "living off of your own light and testimony". Get ready Brescia...here it comes! ;) We expect great things from this ward. I love you all and hope you have a great week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Monday, March 23, 2015
Thursday, March 12, 2015
MARCH 11, 2015
Wow! This week has flown! But here we are again at the computer.
--So, we whitewashed Brescia, meaning that we took the place of an entire companionship. So getting to know the area and everything from scratch has been pretty fun. Challenging, but fun. The Lord has been blessing us abundantly; I am so thankful for His guidance and help as He has opened up doors for us that have not previously been available to the other missionaries.
--So, as we are beginning to discover, the missionaries that were here before us weren't the most dedicated missionaries, unfortunately. That is really unfortunate. There were a lot of things out of order in the apartment, in the teaching they were doing, and in the relations with the members. (My heart goes out to them, because when you are out here only to work when you feel like it and do what you want, you really get nothing out of it. You just lose two years, because you will never truly be changed into what the Lord knows you can be. Missions are to change you. They are to strengthen you. They are to mold you into who our Heavenly Father whats you to be. I am infintely grateful, fully recognizing my weaknesses and imperfections, for the great knowledge that the Lord has blessed me with, and for the man he is helping me become.) So I wanted to make sure and make a good impression with the members in the first sacrament meeting we went to. The bishop asked us to bear our testimonies (you could tell he wasn't expecting much), and introduce ourselves in sacrament meeting. I went up and read Alma 26:12, bore testimony that the Lord will make us into who we need to become, that I have seen that on my mission, and I concluded with "Brothers and sisters, I have been on my mission for 20 months, and I just want you all to know....my companion and I are here to work. We are here to be obedient. This is the Lord's work. He will help all bring our brothers and sisters home..." My companion bore a wonderful testimony as well. This has turned out to be a great blessing to us.
--For example, two of our members approached us right after the meeting and said "So you guys are the Zone Leaders? I appreciated your testimonies." We replied that we were happy to be here, and they immediately followed up with "oh good! I have been waiting for some good, obedient missionaries. Would you come over and teach my husband the gospel?" What a blessing! The other lady in the ward said, referring to her husband that has been coming to church on and off for about a year, "you two look like the kind of missionaries that can finally baptize my husband!" What a great blessing! I know that Lord will help us do it.
--We have been seeing some serious success talking to people on the buses and metros here in Brescia. It is amazing how many people are willing to talk about the gospel!
---One of my favorite encounters on the metro this week happened yesterday. We were riding the train from the station to our house, which gives us about 1 minute (two stops)...so we call it "professional mode.", because there is no time to dance around the subject; you get one chance to touch them with the Spirit and then either they are interested in meeting with us or not. As I stepped on the train I caught a glimpse of a man in the corner of my eye....south american! (that is like money in the bank). So I hurried over to him and started up a conversation about Jesus Christ. He told me that he was getting off at the next stop (so I'm thinking in my head, "oh man, game time!"), I immediately bore my testimony to him of the first thing that came to mind--God's love for each of us is unfailing. He asked which church I belonged to. I replied (in spanish ;) )La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los santos de los ùltimos dìas. He was like "los mormones!? Take my number!" And so I pull out my phone and we exchanged numbers.We are meeting with him later on this week! All this happened in the course of 20 seconds! What a wonderful experience!
--I met a man named Stanley on the bus this week. As we were riding to our next appointment, about 10 minutes away, I began a conversation with him about Heavenly Father. He is from Nigeria, and has great faith. We talked for the whole bus ride, and even said a prayer together right there sitting on the bus. He was touched, and gave us his phone number. We are meeting with him on Sunday! What a miracle!
---So many more amazing things have happened this week; the Lord has been placing people in our path left and right!
Miracle: This past week in Brescia has been amazing! The Lord has been blessing us so much. The miracle of this week is that we have found over 25 potential investigators since we have arrived here, and 7 of those have turned into investigators so far! The Lord has been placing so many people in our path, it is a great blessing. More than anything, I am thankful that the Lord has been blessing me with the ability to see people for who they can become, rather than who they are at present. For example, just yesterday we were at the train station waiting for an investigator to show up for our lesson, and we saw a young man with shaggy clothes, and over 10 piercings on his face, and a large bull-type nose ring. My first thought to myself was "wow, that is gross"....but then, feeling bad for judging him, I changed the thought to "wow, that boy must be seeking attention. He must be having a hard life. Let's see if we can help him." And so I went up and began to talk to him. I found out that he is a Christian, from Peru, and that he has been here for around 8 years. We talked about how the Savior of the world loves each one of us, and how He will never leave us alone. He asked us what church we belonged to, and after we replied he said...."los mormones!?" He then told us that back in Peru, when he was a young boy, he was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but that he had lost track of the church when he moved here. He said that he has seen many of us around, but was waiting for us to speak to him. He said that he felt loved when we spoke. We exchanged phone numbers and are meeting him again on Saturday. We are planning on inviting him to come back to church! It is amazing to me....you just would never guess that something like that could happen.
--Everything else here is going really well. Anziano Pinnock is a great man, (He is so hilarious! Finally someone that is just as sarcastic as me! We are having a blast cracking silly jokes all the time). We are doing some wonderful work, and have seen so many miracles. We are planning on really focusing on working with and strengthening the members here. Whitewashing has been a bit of a challenge, especially since we didn't have much to work with, but we are working hard and talking with everyone. More than half of the 7 new investigators we have found have been found on public transportation here. I know the Lord will bless us in this new area.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and support! I am so thankful for you, and remember you all each day. Have a fantastic week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
--So, we whitewashed Brescia, meaning that we took the place of an entire companionship. So getting to know the area and everything from scratch has been pretty fun. Challenging, but fun. The Lord has been blessing us abundantly; I am so thankful for His guidance and help as He has opened up doors for us that have not previously been available to the other missionaries.
--So, as we are beginning to discover, the missionaries that were here before us weren't the most dedicated missionaries, unfortunately. That is really unfortunate. There were a lot of things out of order in the apartment, in the teaching they were doing, and in the relations with the members. (My heart goes out to them, because when you are out here only to work when you feel like it and do what you want, you really get nothing out of it. You just lose two years, because you will never truly be changed into what the Lord knows you can be. Missions are to change you. They are to strengthen you. They are to mold you into who our Heavenly Father whats you to be. I am infintely grateful, fully recognizing my weaknesses and imperfections, for the great knowledge that the Lord has blessed me with, and for the man he is helping me become.) So I wanted to make sure and make a good impression with the members in the first sacrament meeting we went to. The bishop asked us to bear our testimonies (you could tell he wasn't expecting much), and introduce ourselves in sacrament meeting. I went up and read Alma 26:12, bore testimony that the Lord will make us into who we need to become, that I have seen that on my mission, and I concluded with "Brothers and sisters, I have been on my mission for 20 months, and I just want you all to know....my companion and I are here to work. We are here to be obedient. This is the Lord's work. He will help all bring our brothers and sisters home..." My companion bore a wonderful testimony as well. This has turned out to be a great blessing to us.
--For example, two of our members approached us right after the meeting and said "So you guys are the Zone Leaders? I appreciated your testimonies." We replied that we were happy to be here, and they immediately followed up with "oh good! I have been waiting for some good, obedient missionaries. Would you come over and teach my husband the gospel?" What a blessing! The other lady in the ward said, referring to her husband that has been coming to church on and off for about a year, "you two look like the kind of missionaries that can finally baptize my husband!" What a great blessing! I know that Lord will help us do it.
--We have been seeing some serious success talking to people on the buses and metros here in Brescia. It is amazing how many people are willing to talk about the gospel!
---One of my favorite encounters on the metro this week happened yesterday. We were riding the train from the station to our house, which gives us about 1 minute (two stops)...so we call it "professional mode.", because there is no time to dance around the subject; you get one chance to touch them with the Spirit and then either they are interested in meeting with us or not. As I stepped on the train I caught a glimpse of a man in the corner of my eye....south american! (that is like money in the bank). So I hurried over to him and started up a conversation about Jesus Christ. He told me that he was getting off at the next stop (so I'm thinking in my head, "oh man, game time!"), I immediately bore my testimony to him of the first thing that came to mind--God's love for each of us is unfailing. He asked which church I belonged to. I replied (in spanish ;) )La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los santos de los ùltimos dìas. He was like "los mormones!? Take my number!" And so I pull out my phone and we exchanged numbers.We are meeting with him later on this week! All this happened in the course of 20 seconds! What a wonderful experience!
--I met a man named Stanley on the bus this week. As we were riding to our next appointment, about 10 minutes away, I began a conversation with him about Heavenly Father. He is from Nigeria, and has great faith. We talked for the whole bus ride, and even said a prayer together right there sitting on the bus. He was touched, and gave us his phone number. We are meeting with him on Sunday! What a miracle!
---So many more amazing things have happened this week; the Lord has been placing people in our path left and right!
Miracle: This past week in Brescia has been amazing! The Lord has been blessing us so much. The miracle of this week is that we have found over 25 potential investigators since we have arrived here, and 7 of those have turned into investigators so far! The Lord has been placing so many people in our path, it is a great blessing. More than anything, I am thankful that the Lord has been blessing me with the ability to see people for who they can become, rather than who they are at present. For example, just yesterday we were at the train station waiting for an investigator to show up for our lesson, and we saw a young man with shaggy clothes, and over 10 piercings on his face, and a large bull-type nose ring. My first thought to myself was "wow, that is gross"....but then, feeling bad for judging him, I changed the thought to "wow, that boy must be seeking attention. He must be having a hard life. Let's see if we can help him." And so I went up and began to talk to him. I found out that he is a Christian, from Peru, and that he has been here for around 8 years. We talked about how the Savior of the world loves each one of us, and how He will never leave us alone. He asked us what church we belonged to, and after we replied he said...."los mormones!?" He then told us that back in Peru, when he was a young boy, he was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but that he had lost track of the church when he moved here. He said that he has seen many of us around, but was waiting for us to speak to him. He said that he felt loved when we spoke. We exchanged phone numbers and are meeting him again on Saturday. We are planning on inviting him to come back to church! It is amazing to me....you just would never guess that something like that could happen.
--Everything else here is going really well. Anziano Pinnock is a great man, (He is so hilarious! Finally someone that is just as sarcastic as me! We are having a blast cracking silly jokes all the time). We are doing some wonderful work, and have seen so many miracles. We are planning on really focusing on working with and strengthening the members here. Whitewashing has been a bit of a challenge, especially since we didn't have much to work with, but we are working hard and talking with everyone. More than half of the 7 new investigators we have found have been found on public transportation here. I know the Lord will bless us in this new area.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and support! I am so thankful for you, and remember you all each day. Have a fantastic week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Monday, March 9, 2015
MARCH 4, 2015
Well, this week has just been wonderful! I love being a missionary so much; by now it is all I remember how to do! ;P But today we are going to play basketball with the young single adults in the ward! I am SO excited I can't even say! I have been looking for a basketball court for so long...so get ready Brandon; I'm practicing up so come July I can take you! ;)
--Well, the first big news is....TRANSFERS! I am getting transferred! :( I kind of have had a feeling that this would be my last transfer here in Alessandria (It is strange how you just know sometimes), so I wasn't surprised. But I am really sad, because Guilliermo is going to be baptized on Friday! The day after I leave! :( So I won't be there to see it. It's like my first transfer from San Remo to Lecco all over again! But, that's okay. I am just so happy that he is going to be baptized, and that he is preparing with his wife to go to the temple and be sealed as an eternal family! I am going to be transferred tomorrow to Brescia. I am excited to serve there. President Dibb is opening up a new companionship of Zone Leaders there in the Brescia ward, and so I will be serving there instead. I have heard some great things about Brescia, but nothing is going to beat Alessandria. It is such a special place. REALLY ugly city, (dog droppings everywhere...not going to miss that!), but the people are amazing. So is the life of a missionary! I know that the Lord needs me elsewhere, and as Joseph Smith once said "When the Lord commands, do it." Wise advice from a good man.
--We had some MANburgers today for lunch! My stomach is not used to eating large quantities of hamburger...but it was worth it! 'Merica.
--This week has been a blast, but kind of sad. It's been since saturday since I have known that I will be leaving, so luckily I got to say goodbye to everyone in church. The members here are so special. It was fast and testimony meeting, and it was a really amazing meeting (more on that later). I got up to bear my testimony and said that I would be leaving and everyone was like "awwww!". I felt special :)
Miracle: This week we had a wonderful miracle. We decided, on a whim, to go to Asti the other day to go visit a less-active member, Roberto, who had invited us to stop by when we had time. We arrived at his house, and after he showed us his two "dogs" (bears!), we went inside to talk. Right off the bat, he said something like "Well, I'm sure I know why you're here. I've been a member for over 40 years, and you have come to tell me "Brother, why don't you come to church?"...and then, (before we had a chance to even respond) he started recounting why and how he came in contact with the church. To make a long story short, missionaries years ago came to his door, knocked, were turned away 3 or 4 times, and then were finally let in. He was touched deeply by the Spirit, read the Book of Mormon in two days, and he and his wife were baptized a month later. He began telling us about some of the most sacred experiences he has had, and the many tender testimonies he has been given. About 40 minutes later, before we had hardly even said a word, his wife jumped in and bore a powerful testimony of how the ward in Alessandria needs him (he has a deep doctrinal knowledge; he even used to be the branch president in the Asti branch years ago), and it touched him. We bore testimony of the same thing. The spirit was so strong; it was so intense. We invited him to come to church the next day, and to bear his testimony at the pulpit.....and he did! After over a year of not coming at all, or talking to any of the members, he came! He came and bore a powerful testimony of the goodness of the Lord in his life, and his desire to come back. What a miracle!
--We have been having some amazing experiences with the youth of the ward. Each week we go to Family Home Evening with them, and try to, as the bishop asked us to, spend time with them and show them how great it is to be a missionary. And just this past week, three young men who previously had no desire to serve a mission told the bishop that they want to begin to prepare to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and serve a mission! I have great confidence in them, and in the youth of the church in Italy. They are so strong; so prepared. It is a privilege to be around them!
--Thought of the week: This week, I have been taking a few minutes to read and ponder the book of Proverbs. I love it! It is like a giant quote book with short and powerful phrases! Here are some of the highlights; they have deep meaning if we will take the time to ponder about them (I don't remember all the references and forgot to write them, but here is what I can remember off of my memory:
"The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion"
"Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise: For with no guide or overseer, she goeth about doing her duty..."
"Ponder the path of thy feet, let all your ways be firmly established."
"The righteous man falleth seven times, and riseth again"
"And with all thy getting, get understanding; for wisdom is more precious than rubies"
I'll write more down next week; there are some seriously good ones!
Quote of the week: "There can be no good wind for the sailor who knows not to which port he is bound."
-A wise man whom I forgot the name of
Well, that's about all that I have for you all this week. Thank you so much for your love and support and for your prayers. They are needed, and they are surely felt. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
--Well, the first big news is....TRANSFERS! I am getting transferred! :( I kind of have had a feeling that this would be my last transfer here in Alessandria (It is strange how you just know sometimes), so I wasn't surprised. But I am really sad, because Guilliermo is going to be baptized on Friday! The day after I leave! :( So I won't be there to see it. It's like my first transfer from San Remo to Lecco all over again! But, that's okay. I am just so happy that he is going to be baptized, and that he is preparing with his wife to go to the temple and be sealed as an eternal family! I am going to be transferred tomorrow to Brescia. I am excited to serve there. President Dibb is opening up a new companionship of Zone Leaders there in the Brescia ward, and so I will be serving there instead. I have heard some great things about Brescia, but nothing is going to beat Alessandria. It is such a special place. REALLY ugly city, (dog droppings everywhere...not going to miss that!), but the people are amazing. So is the life of a missionary! I know that the Lord needs me elsewhere, and as Joseph Smith once said "When the Lord commands, do it." Wise advice from a good man.
--We had some MANburgers today for lunch! My stomach is not used to eating large quantities of hamburger...but it was worth it! 'Merica.
--This week has been a blast, but kind of sad. It's been since saturday since I have known that I will be leaving, so luckily I got to say goodbye to everyone in church. The members here are so special. It was fast and testimony meeting, and it was a really amazing meeting (more on that later). I got up to bear my testimony and said that I would be leaving and everyone was like "awwww!". I felt special :)
Miracle: This week we had a wonderful miracle. We decided, on a whim, to go to Asti the other day to go visit a less-active member, Roberto, who had invited us to stop by when we had time. We arrived at his house, and after he showed us his two "dogs" (bears!), we went inside to talk. Right off the bat, he said something like "Well, I'm sure I know why you're here. I've been a member for over 40 years, and you have come to tell me "Brother, why don't you come to church?"...and then, (before we had a chance to even respond) he started recounting why and how he came in contact with the church. To make a long story short, missionaries years ago came to his door, knocked, were turned away 3 or 4 times, and then were finally let in. He was touched deeply by the Spirit, read the Book of Mormon in two days, and he and his wife were baptized a month later. He began telling us about some of the most sacred experiences he has had, and the many tender testimonies he has been given. About 40 minutes later, before we had hardly even said a word, his wife jumped in and bore a powerful testimony of how the ward in Alessandria needs him (he has a deep doctrinal knowledge; he even used to be the branch president in the Asti branch years ago), and it touched him. We bore testimony of the same thing. The spirit was so strong; it was so intense. We invited him to come to church the next day, and to bear his testimony at the pulpit.....and he did! After over a year of not coming at all, or talking to any of the members, he came! He came and bore a powerful testimony of the goodness of the Lord in his life, and his desire to come back. What a miracle!
--We have been having some amazing experiences with the youth of the ward. Each week we go to Family Home Evening with them, and try to, as the bishop asked us to, spend time with them and show them how great it is to be a missionary. And just this past week, three young men who previously had no desire to serve a mission told the bishop that they want to begin to prepare to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and serve a mission! I have great confidence in them, and in the youth of the church in Italy. They are so strong; so prepared. It is a privilege to be around them!
--Thought of the week: This week, I have been taking a few minutes to read and ponder the book of Proverbs. I love it! It is like a giant quote book with short and powerful phrases! Here are some of the highlights; they have deep meaning if we will take the time to ponder about them (I don't remember all the references and forgot to write them, but here is what I can remember off of my memory:
"The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion"
"Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise: For with no guide or overseer, she goeth about doing her duty..."
"Ponder the path of thy feet, let all your ways be firmly established."
"The righteous man falleth seven times, and riseth again"
"And with all thy getting, get understanding; for wisdom is more precious than rubies"
I'll write more down next week; there are some seriously good ones!
Quote of the week: "There can be no good wind for the sailor who knows not to which port he is bound."
-A wise man whom I forgot the name of
Well, that's about all that I have for you all this week. Thank you so much for your love and support and for your prayers. They are needed, and they are surely felt. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Thursday, February 26, 2015
FEBRUARY 25, 2015
Wow! What a great week! Well, first thing's first, we just got some HUGE and AWESOME news! Elder David A. Bednar is coming to visit our mission in the end of April!! I am so excited and humbled at this great blessing and opportunity to receive instruction from one of the living prophets here on earth. It is such a blessing to be a missionary!
--This week has been a little bit different...but fun! There was a space transfer, and so we have been in a companionship of three for the past week! Anziano Kendrick, from my MTC group, came to serve with us until the end of the transfer! Like they say "Your first companionship of three is never your last!" ...this is my third! It is always a really great time, but also has it's downsides (like scaring the daylight out of basically everyone we try to stop on the street!) haha. No, not everyone...but we walked around a few corners and really scared a couple people! But it has been a great experience, and we have been seeing some miralces around here!
--One of the other Elders' investigators, Alberto, was baptized this past weekend! What a blessing! It was a great experience, just like every baptism! Alberto is so funny...just picture a big truck driver with a long red beard and glasses, who never stops talking. That's him! He is great, though! We had the opportunity and blessing of bringing Guiliermo to the baptism. He had a wonderful experience! And after it was over...we went to the other room and picked out white clothes for him to use next time! He is so excited about it; it is a true blessing! We did the practice interview with him this past time we met with him...everything went well! His wife has been a big support to him, and they truly want to be a family for eternity!
--Thought: I was recently studying the parable of the two sons, and the first part, about the first son, stood out to me. It reads," 11) And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthyto be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry."
I was touched as I thought of the deep and enduring love that that Lord has for each of us. How much we truly mean to him. He loves us, and doesn't care that we make mistakes, sometimes big ones, every single day. He loves us the same. He rejoices when we kneel before him in repentance, and will rejoice with us as we abide with him. How thankful I am for the knowledge and understanding that the Lord has granted me about our Savior's Atonement. I have seen it change lives, just as it has changed mine. I know that He loves us. That He has experienced every sorrow, sadness, and difficulty that we will ever experience. And He rejoices when we stand shoulder to shoulder with Him on our journey back to our Father.
--Miracle: This week we have been experiencing many wonderful miracles in terms of finding, teaching, and preparing investigators for baptism. Guilliermo is progressing really well towards baptism, and we are rejoicing in investigators' (and in one case an 8-year-old's) baptisms from each coppia here in this wonderful city. There are some great things happening in Alessandria. But the miracle I would like to share was one from my personal studies this past week. I was reading from the teachings of Joseph Smith, particularly about the enduring patience and love he always had, and it touched my heart. I thought of his example, and all of the things he went through in his life: Constant persecution, multiple, extended, stays in prisons in unhuman conditions despite his innocence, being literally torn from his family--emotionally and physically--on multiple occasions, and many of his close friends betraying him. I was touched, and the Spirit reminded me of the things that are expected of all of the Savior's true disciples. Of the man that the Lord expects me to be. I am so thankful for the opportunity I have had and continue to have to be on the Lord's errand, and for all of the knowledge and understanding that He has been giving me. It is a miracle to be a missionary!
--Everything here is going really well. We have enjoyed a lot of success this past week, especially in lessons with members. I am doing really well and am thankful for the blessings that are coming into the work. We are all very excited to have Elder Bednar with us soon!! I love you all and thank you for the wonderful things that you do, the service you render to others, and for your support and prayers. Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
--This week has been a little bit different...but fun! There was a space transfer, and so we have been in a companionship of three for the past week! Anziano Kendrick, from my MTC group, came to serve with us until the end of the transfer! Like they say "Your first companionship of three is never your last!" ...this is my third! It is always a really great time, but also has it's downsides (like scaring the daylight out of basically everyone we try to stop on the street!) haha. No, not everyone...but we walked around a few corners and really scared a couple people! But it has been a great experience, and we have been seeing some miralces around here!
--One of the other Elders' investigators, Alberto, was baptized this past weekend! What a blessing! It was a great experience, just like every baptism! Alberto is so funny...just picture a big truck driver with a long red beard and glasses, who never stops talking. That's him! He is great, though! We had the opportunity and blessing of bringing Guiliermo to the baptism. He had a wonderful experience! And after it was over...we went to the other room and picked out white clothes for him to use next time! He is so excited about it; it is a true blessing! We did the practice interview with him this past time we met with him...everything went well! His wife has been a big support to him, and they truly want to be a family for eternity!
--Thought: I was recently studying the parable of the two sons, and the first part, about the first son, stood out to me. It reads," 11) And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthyto be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry."
I was touched as I thought of the deep and enduring love that that Lord has for each of us. How much we truly mean to him. He loves us, and doesn't care that we make mistakes, sometimes big ones, every single day. He loves us the same. He rejoices when we kneel before him in repentance, and will rejoice with us as we abide with him. How thankful I am for the knowledge and understanding that the Lord has granted me about our Savior's Atonement. I have seen it change lives, just as it has changed mine. I know that He loves us. That He has experienced every sorrow, sadness, and difficulty that we will ever experience. And He rejoices when we stand shoulder to shoulder with Him on our journey back to our Father.
--Miracle: This week we have been experiencing many wonderful miracles in terms of finding, teaching, and preparing investigators for baptism. Guilliermo is progressing really well towards baptism, and we are rejoicing in investigators' (and in one case an 8-year-old's) baptisms from each coppia here in this wonderful city. There are some great things happening in Alessandria. But the miracle I would like to share was one from my personal studies this past week. I was reading from the teachings of Joseph Smith, particularly about the enduring patience and love he always had, and it touched my heart. I thought of his example, and all of the things he went through in his life: Constant persecution, multiple, extended, stays in prisons in unhuman conditions despite his innocence, being literally torn from his family--emotionally and physically--on multiple occasions, and many of his close friends betraying him. I was touched, and the Spirit reminded me of the things that are expected of all of the Savior's true disciples. Of the man that the Lord expects me to be. I am so thankful for the opportunity I have had and continue to have to be on the Lord's errand, and for all of the knowledge and understanding that He has been giving me. It is a miracle to be a missionary!
--Everything here is going really well. We have enjoyed a lot of success this past week, especially in lessons with members. I am doing really well and am thankful for the blessings that are coming into the work. We are all very excited to have Elder Bednar with us soon!! I love you all and thank you for the wonderful things that you do, the service you render to others, and for your support and prayers. Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
FEBRUARY 18, 2015
Buona mattina a tutti! What a wonderful day!
This week, like always, has flown by, but been amazing. We are seeing some serious miracles in Alessandria as well as all over in the zone. We get to do a scambio at least once a week, so we get to see the best of all the cities!
--We had the wonderful opportunity to go to do an exchange with the Elders in Imperia and San Remo this past week, and we saw some amazing miracles, including finding 5 new investigators in one day! One of them is named Alberto. He is from the Domenican Republic, here to play basketball (he is a big boy). We stopped him on the street and he immediately recounted to us a dream that he had just had. Where he saw two "angels" with tags, and how we helped him to be happy through his trials. That is what you call MONEY IN THE BANK....or a really prepared child of God. Either one. He is so awesome, though, and the Anziani in Imperia will be blessed to be able to teach him.
--While I was back in San Remo, I had the chance to meet with Manuel, a man that I was teaching over a year and a half ago, when I first arrived in Italy. At the time, he was on house arrest, recently out of prison, and had some serious anger issues. Nonetheless, he was searching, and to a great extent, finding God in his life. I called him up out of the blue (he hadn't been meeting with the missionaries for a few months), and set up an appointment to meet with him the next day. When we arrived, he recognized me, told me how surprised he was that I could now speak Italian, and recounted to us that he had just been thinking about how so many things in his life had been going wrong, and asked Heavenly Father why, when the phone rang. Needless to say, we had an amazing discussion with him about the love of God, and Helaman 5:12. Since I met him last he has turned his life around even more for the better. He now has his own little apartment, is on probation rather than house arrest, and has even settled down, engaged, and wants to start a family. It touched my heart to see a big, ripped rugged man like him turn to God, and as he told us "It has come to the point where I can't even be around the people of my old life. They are throwing their lives away. God gave me another chance, and I hope to take advantage of it." We agreed with him to start meeting with the missionaries once again, him and his fiancè. I am excited for him, and for the changes he has made and will continue to make in his life.
--I also had the opportunity to meet with Uche again! His story, and the changes that have come to his life, have touched me deeply. When we first started teaching him many months ago, he had no home, no job, no food. Nothing. And slowly, but surely, as he began to put God first in his life, things have been getting better. He now has an apartment, a job, a drivers license, and is preparing to go to the temple! We went over to his house and shared a message with him from Alma 42:27. He loved it! The Lord has been so good to me, letting me come back each month to visit those I taught over a year and a half ago.
--As far as our investigators go, Guiliermo is still doing amazingly! We went over and met with him this past Monday. There are some people that you teach, and there are some people that you just review the doctrines with. He knew basically all that we had to talk about, and has already read much of the Book of Mormon, and basically all that there is to read on lds.org. What an inspiration! Keep him in your prayers--that all may go well for his preparation for baptism on the 7th of March! We are also still meeting with Diego and Federica, who are AMAZING. They have recently been sick, but the felt the Spirit so strongly, and love to meet with us! Francesco is still doing well, but needs your prayers. All of them are going forward in their path towards Christ.
--Thought of the Week:Alma 42:27,
"Therefore, O my son, whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely; and whosoever will not come the same is not compelled to come; but in the last day it shall be restored unto him according to his deeds."
--What a powerful verse! our Heavenly Father wants all of us to return to live with Him. But He does not push. He does not force us. He loves us so much that he allows us to have our own free agency--to choose for ourselves, and thus truly grow. But he does not leave us alone. He gives us the power to make the right decisions, and to come out victorious. All are welcome to come and freely partake. The way is paved and prepared, we need only to walk it!
--Miracle: This week I had a wonderful experience and miracle. I will quote from portions of my journal entry for last Friday. " I have had a very sacred and wonderful experience today.... we were out of the street talking to everyone we could, when we began a conversation with a somewhat hostile man, Paolo. He defiantly stated that he knew that the Book of Mormon was untrue (to drastically tone-down the wordage he used), that Joseph Smith was a liar, and that it was all made up. He declared that he had studied every religious book there is to read, and that surely he knew better than a couple of 20-year-olds. I was unsure what to do or say to help him realize what he had missed. So I bore my testimony to him that I have received answers from directly from God, and that I know that what we are here to say is THE truth. The ONLY way. I testified to him that he, too, can pray directly to God to ask if it is true....after this, his whole demeanor changed. I challenged him to ask God, right then, right there, if the things we said were true. He agreed, and prayed and asked if Joseph Smith was really a prophet. As soon as he finished the prayer, the Spirit hit ME like never before. Never in my life have I felt so strongly a confirming witness of the Holy Ghost. An indescribable feeling surrounded us all, and in that moment, I knew. I knew, again, that what we had said was true....what I already knew has been yet again confirmed, directly upon my soul...the Good Shepherd will never leave us alone. He loves us and will protect us, giving us the witnesses and answers we need, at the very moment we need them. He will protect us, just as he protected me..."
It was an amazing experience. His heart was softened, but he did not accept a return appointment. But he took a pass-along card, and he will never forget that experience.
Everything is going well here in Alessandria. There is a baptism coming up this Saturday, and we are hoping to get everyone we are teaching to that sacred event. Hopefully one leads to another, just like dominoes We are focusing on keeping the investigators we have, and really making sure they are progressing, even as we seek new investigators through our efforts and the help of members. President Dibb has recently challenged all the missionaries to teach 15 lessons each week, and I will gladly accept that invitation and strive to really become a consecrated disciple of the Lord. I know the He will make it possible as I put my faith in Him. This will be the best year ever in the Italy Milan Mission!
Thank you all for your prayers and support. I remember you all in my prayers many times each day. Have a fantastic week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
This week, like always, has flown by, but been amazing. We are seeing some serious miracles in Alessandria as well as all over in the zone. We get to do a scambio at least once a week, so we get to see the best of all the cities!
--We had the wonderful opportunity to go to do an exchange with the Elders in Imperia and San Remo this past week, and we saw some amazing miracles, including finding 5 new investigators in one day! One of them is named Alberto. He is from the Domenican Republic, here to play basketball (he is a big boy). We stopped him on the street and he immediately recounted to us a dream that he had just had. Where he saw two "angels" with tags, and how we helped him to be happy through his trials. That is what you call MONEY IN THE BANK....or a really prepared child of God. Either one. He is so awesome, though, and the Anziani in Imperia will be blessed to be able to teach him.
--While I was back in San Remo, I had the chance to meet with Manuel, a man that I was teaching over a year and a half ago, when I first arrived in Italy. At the time, he was on house arrest, recently out of prison, and had some serious anger issues. Nonetheless, he was searching, and to a great extent, finding God in his life. I called him up out of the blue (he hadn't been meeting with the missionaries for a few months), and set up an appointment to meet with him the next day. When we arrived, he recognized me, told me how surprised he was that I could now speak Italian, and recounted to us that he had just been thinking about how so many things in his life had been going wrong, and asked Heavenly Father why, when the phone rang. Needless to say, we had an amazing discussion with him about the love of God, and Helaman 5:12. Since I met him last he has turned his life around even more for the better. He now has his own little apartment, is on probation rather than house arrest, and has even settled down, engaged, and wants to start a family. It touched my heart to see a big, ripped rugged man like him turn to God, and as he told us "It has come to the point where I can't even be around the people of my old life. They are throwing their lives away. God gave me another chance, and I hope to take advantage of it." We agreed with him to start meeting with the missionaries once again, him and his fiancè. I am excited for him, and for the changes he has made and will continue to make in his life.
--I also had the opportunity to meet with Uche again! His story, and the changes that have come to his life, have touched me deeply. When we first started teaching him many months ago, he had no home, no job, no food. Nothing. And slowly, but surely, as he began to put God first in his life, things have been getting better. He now has an apartment, a job, a drivers license, and is preparing to go to the temple! We went over to his house and shared a message with him from Alma 42:27. He loved it! The Lord has been so good to me, letting me come back each month to visit those I taught over a year and a half ago.
--As far as our investigators go, Guiliermo is still doing amazingly! We went over and met with him this past Monday. There are some people that you teach, and there are some people that you just review the doctrines with. He knew basically all that we had to talk about, and has already read much of the Book of Mormon, and basically all that there is to read on lds.org. What an inspiration! Keep him in your prayers--that all may go well for his preparation for baptism on the 7th of March! We are also still meeting with Diego and Federica, who are AMAZING. They have recently been sick, but the felt the Spirit so strongly, and love to meet with us! Francesco is still doing well, but needs your prayers. All of them are going forward in their path towards Christ.
--Thought of the Week:Alma 42:27,
"Therefore, O my son, whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely; and whosoever will not come the same is not compelled to come; but in the last day it shall be restored unto him according to his deeds."
--What a powerful verse! our Heavenly Father wants all of us to return to live with Him. But He does not push. He does not force us. He loves us so much that he allows us to have our own free agency--to choose for ourselves, and thus truly grow. But he does not leave us alone. He gives us the power to make the right decisions, and to come out victorious. All are welcome to come and freely partake. The way is paved and prepared, we need only to walk it!
--Miracle: This week I had a wonderful experience and miracle. I will quote from portions of my journal entry for last Friday. " I have had a very sacred and wonderful experience today.... we were out of the street talking to everyone we could, when we began a conversation with a somewhat hostile man, Paolo. He defiantly stated that he knew that the Book of Mormon was untrue (to drastically tone-down the wordage he used), that Joseph Smith was a liar, and that it was all made up. He declared that he had studied every religious book there is to read, and that surely he knew better than a couple of 20-year-olds. I was unsure what to do or say to help him realize what he had missed. So I bore my testimony to him that I have received answers from directly from God, and that I know that what we are here to say is THE truth. The ONLY way. I testified to him that he, too, can pray directly to God to ask if it is true....after this, his whole demeanor changed. I challenged him to ask God, right then, right there, if the things we said were true. He agreed, and prayed and asked if Joseph Smith was really a prophet. As soon as he finished the prayer, the Spirit hit ME like never before. Never in my life have I felt so strongly a confirming witness of the Holy Ghost. An indescribable feeling surrounded us all, and in that moment, I knew. I knew, again, that what we had said was true....what I already knew has been yet again confirmed, directly upon my soul...the Good Shepherd will never leave us alone. He loves us and will protect us, giving us the witnesses and answers we need, at the very moment we need them. He will protect us, just as he protected me..."
It was an amazing experience. His heart was softened, but he did not accept a return appointment. But he took a pass-along card, and he will never forget that experience.
Everything is going well here in Alessandria. There is a baptism coming up this Saturday, and we are hoping to get everyone we are teaching to that sacred event. Hopefully one leads to another, just like dominoes We are focusing on keeping the investigators we have, and really making sure they are progressing, even as we seek new investigators through our efforts and the help of members. President Dibb has recently challenged all the missionaries to teach 15 lessons each week, and I will gladly accept that invitation and strive to really become a consecrated disciple of the Lord. I know the He will make it possible as I put my faith in Him. This will be the best year ever in the Italy Milan Mission!
Thank you all for your prayers and support. I remember you all in my prayers many times each day. Have a fantastic week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
FEBRUARY 11, 2015
Buona pesca! Happy peach! :)
Well, this week has been AMAZING. That about sums it up.
--This past week we went over to Guiliermo's house (the one whose son, Luis, is a New Convert, and whose wife is reactivating in the church), and had an amazing lesson on the Restoration, and invited him to be baptized on the 7th of March. He felt the Spirit so strongly, was in tears, and told us that he knew it was the right thing to do, but that he wanted to pray together with his wife to make sure, and that he would tell us on Sunday. So we show up on Sunday morning, and he is alreadying sitting in the chapel, silently reading his Spanish Book of Mormon. He looks up at me, smiles, and the first thing he says is "Elder, yes! 7th of March, I'll do it!" :) We had a wonderful lesson with him after church, and gave him a baptismal calender, marking the dates of things like when we would meet, the scriptures he can read and pray about, and the things he will have to do to prepare himself to be ready for that day. He loved it! The next day, Monday, I was on a scambio with one of the Assistents to the President, Anziano Gneiting. Total stud. He is also HUGE (6'6", 245 lbs). We went over to his house and taught him about the Plan of Salvation. He loved it! As soon as we mentioned the Celestial Kingdom and that families are forever, he and his wife both looked at each other in tears and just smiled. It was golden!! I loved every minute of it! He is so prepared, it is insane. His whole family is so prepared.
--We had so many miracles during my scambio on Monday. Another awesome one was when we went to visit one of our investigators, on a whim, named Max. We showed up at his real estate business, and he was so happy to see us. "Elders!" he said, "I was just talking to my workmate about religion. Explain to her what you believe!" So we were just like "well, twist my arm!" We had a wonderful discussion with them. His friend is a super nice young muslim woman, who is surprisingly open to learning new things! She even told us that she was very open to Cristianity, but had just not found the answers to the questions she had yet. We answered a few of her "tough" questions, and then gave her a Book of Mormon and told her to read and pray about it. She excitedly accepted it and told us she would! What a great experience!
--Thought of the Week: I was reading in Mosiah 2, and loved this part:
17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God. 18 Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another? 19 And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King! 20 I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another— 21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants. 22 And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keephis commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.
What a great reminder that our Heavenly Father truly has given us everything, and that we should give thanks to him every day that we have another day to live! We are so blessed to have what we have!
--We had a Zone Conference Training this past Monday. Now that I get to do most of the training, it is so much more entertaining, but so much less of a surprise. (President Dibb tells us all the points beforehand that he wants us to teach.) We talked about teaching on the street, like our Savior always did, and we talked about loving our companions, investigators, and message. It was great! We made Zone Cards for our zone, with a picture of Jesus on the front with some awesome scriptures about having faith (Heb. 11:6, 1 Nephi 7:12), and then on the back we made up quotes for all 26 missionaries in our zone. We just made up funny stuff like "Faith is the cat's pajamas!" "Faith or bacon? I'll take faith!" "Faith said the little stream", "I love having faith!", etc. It was quite the hit. Everyone was laughing for like 5 minutes when we passed them out, including President! haha :)
But this past Conference...WE MET THE MORMONS! Yes, yes, we watched "Meet the Mormons". That was an amazing film! Especially the part when they played football!!! ...I am so sports deprived. I was jotting down a note but during that part where they were showing the Navy Football's game highlights I couldn't break eye contact, so my notes ended up slanting down like three lines. ;) But it really did have such an inspiring message as well. During the first part they are describing a young bishop from Atlanta, Georgia, and one of the members of the ward said something that hit me. He said "It's not an age matter. It is a matter of being in tune with the Spirit of God." It made me think of being a missionary. It is the same thing. I have seen that as I have learned to be in tune with those promptings, and really listen to what the Lord would have me do, I have been blessed with wisdom and understanding far above my own ability. And it is the same with each of us. I would reccommend that film to everybody! :)
--Miracle: We had some amazing miracles this week. One of the biggest miracles happened during scambio on Monday. We were finally able to meet with that young couple that we had met a week or two earlier on the street, and we decided to take Daniele with us. That turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life! We gave them a tour of the church, and then as soon as we say down at the beginning of the lesson (before we had even started teaching) Daniele bore a HUGE testimony about his conversion story, searching for answers and finding them, and how he knew that this message was true because of the feeling that came to him from deep inside his heart while reading the Book of Mormon, taking it as a challenge directly from God. It was so powerful, and brought the Spirit right away. We started with a few of the How To Begin Teaching points and then right into the Restoration. They were both fascinated the entire time, asking questions and participating fully in the lesson. But the greatest miracle was Daniele's participation. There were a couple of the points, like the Apostasy for example, where he just took it away, and explained it perfectly! Simply, powerfully, and with tons of testimony! He answered most of their questions himself, and did so in such a real way. Federica and Diego were deeply touched, and when we gave them their own copies of the Book of Mormon, Federica looked down intently at it and stroked it as if it already had great value to her. We commited them both to read and pray about it's truthfulness Also, Daniele talked several times about his baptism; to the point where they started asking us about how we performed baptism, and if they could see one done. Amazingly, we have a baptism coming up in Alessandria on the 21st of February, so we are going to invite them to see it! It will be a powerful experience for them! What a miracle!
Well,everything else is going really well. Thank you so much for your prayers, they are felt! I remember to pray for you all each week! Have a fantastic week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Well, this week has been AMAZING. That about sums it up.
--This past week we went over to Guiliermo's house (the one whose son, Luis, is a New Convert, and whose wife is reactivating in the church), and had an amazing lesson on the Restoration, and invited him to be baptized on the 7th of March. He felt the Spirit so strongly, was in tears, and told us that he knew it was the right thing to do, but that he wanted to pray together with his wife to make sure, and that he would tell us on Sunday. So we show up on Sunday morning, and he is alreadying sitting in the chapel, silently reading his Spanish Book of Mormon. He looks up at me, smiles, and the first thing he says is "Elder, yes! 7th of March, I'll do it!" :) We had a wonderful lesson with him after church, and gave him a baptismal calender, marking the dates of things like when we would meet, the scriptures he can read and pray about, and the things he will have to do to prepare himself to be ready for that day. He loved it! The next day, Monday, I was on a scambio with one of the Assistents to the President, Anziano Gneiting. Total stud. He is also HUGE (6'6", 245 lbs). We went over to his house and taught him about the Plan of Salvation. He loved it! As soon as we mentioned the Celestial Kingdom and that families are forever, he and his wife both looked at each other in tears and just smiled. It was golden!! I loved every minute of it! He is so prepared, it is insane. His whole family is so prepared.
--We had so many miracles during my scambio on Monday. Another awesome one was when we went to visit one of our investigators, on a whim, named Max. We showed up at his real estate business, and he was so happy to see us. "Elders!" he said, "I was just talking to my workmate about religion. Explain to her what you believe!" So we were just like "well, twist my arm!" We had a wonderful discussion with them. His friend is a super nice young muslim woman, who is surprisingly open to learning new things! She even told us that she was very open to Cristianity, but had just not found the answers to the questions she had yet. We answered a few of her "tough" questions, and then gave her a Book of Mormon and told her to read and pray about it. She excitedly accepted it and told us she would! What a great experience!
--Thought of the Week: I was reading in Mosiah 2, and loved this part:
17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God. 18 Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another? 19 And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King! 20 I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another— 21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants. 22 And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keephis commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.
What a great reminder that our Heavenly Father truly has given us everything, and that we should give thanks to him every day that we have another day to live! We are so blessed to have what we have!
--We had a Zone Conference Training this past Monday. Now that I get to do most of the training, it is so much more entertaining, but so much less of a surprise. (President Dibb tells us all the points beforehand that he wants us to teach.) We talked about teaching on the street, like our Savior always did, and we talked about loving our companions, investigators, and message. It was great! We made Zone Cards for our zone, with a picture of Jesus on the front with some awesome scriptures about having faith (Heb. 11:6, 1 Nephi 7:12), and then on the back we made up quotes for all 26 missionaries in our zone. We just made up funny stuff like "Faith is the cat's pajamas!" "Faith or bacon? I'll take faith!" "Faith said the little stream", "I love having faith!", etc. It was quite the hit. Everyone was laughing for like 5 minutes when we passed them out, including President! haha :)
But this past Conference...WE MET THE MORMONS! Yes, yes, we watched "Meet the Mormons". That was an amazing film! Especially the part when they played football!!! ...I am so sports deprived. I was jotting down a note but during that part where they were showing the Navy Football's game highlights I couldn't break eye contact, so my notes ended up slanting down like three lines. ;) But it really did have such an inspiring message as well. During the first part they are describing a young bishop from Atlanta, Georgia, and one of the members of the ward said something that hit me. He said "It's not an age matter. It is a matter of being in tune with the Spirit of God." It made me think of being a missionary. It is the same thing. I have seen that as I have learned to be in tune with those promptings, and really listen to what the Lord would have me do, I have been blessed with wisdom and understanding far above my own ability. And it is the same with each of us. I would reccommend that film to everybody! :)
--Miracle: We had some amazing miracles this week. One of the biggest miracles happened during scambio on Monday. We were finally able to meet with that young couple that we had met a week or two earlier on the street, and we decided to take Daniele with us. That turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life! We gave them a tour of the church, and then as soon as we say down at the beginning of the lesson (before we had even started teaching) Daniele bore a HUGE testimony about his conversion story, searching for answers and finding them, and how he knew that this message was true because of the feeling that came to him from deep inside his heart while reading the Book of Mormon, taking it as a challenge directly from God. It was so powerful, and brought the Spirit right away. We started with a few of the How To Begin Teaching points and then right into the Restoration. They were both fascinated the entire time, asking questions and participating fully in the lesson. But the greatest miracle was Daniele's participation. There were a couple of the points, like the Apostasy for example, where he just took it away, and explained it perfectly! Simply, powerfully, and with tons of testimony! He answered most of their questions himself, and did so in such a real way. Federica and Diego were deeply touched, and when we gave them their own copies of the Book of Mormon, Federica looked down intently at it and stroked it as if it already had great value to her. We commited them both to read and pray about it's truthfulness Also, Daniele talked several times about his baptism; to the point where they started asking us about how we performed baptism, and if they could see one done. Amazingly, we have a baptism coming up in Alessandria on the 21st of February, so we are going to invite them to see it! It will be a powerful experience for them! What a miracle!
Well,everything else is going really well. Thank you so much for your prayers, they are felt! I remember to pray for you all each week! Have a fantastic week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Monday, February 9, 2015
FEBRUARY 4, 2015
Buona sera a todos!
Whew! What a wonderful week! I recognize that a million things have happened since last week, but it still seems like just yesterday I was writing about last week!
--I'm going to start a new "Thought of the week" section (we'll see if I remember to put it each week!):
--Thought of the week: I was reading this week during my Personal Study time in the book of Mosiah, chapter 1, and a new thought came to mind about the first 8 verses. They read: 1 And now there was no more contention in all the land of Zarahemla, among all the people who belonged to king Benjamin,so that king Benjamin had continual peace all the remainder of his days.
2 And it came to pass that he had three sons; and he called their names Mosiah, and Helorum, and Helaman. And he caused that they should be taught in all the language of his fathers, that thereby they might become men of understanding; and that they might know concerning the prophecies which had been spoken bythe mouths of their fathers, which were delivered them by the hand of the Lord.
3 And he also taught them concerning the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, saying: My sons, I would that ye should remember that were it not for these plates, which contain these records and these commandments, we must have suffered in ignorance, even at this present time, not knowing the mysteries of God.
4 For it were not possible that our father, Lehi, could have remembered all these things, to have taught them to his children, except it were for the help of these plates; for he having been taught in the language of the Egyptians therefore he could read these engravings, and teach them to his children, that thereby they could teach them to their children, and so fulfilling thecommandments of God, even down to this present time.
5 I say unto you, my sons, were it not for these things, which have been kept and preserved by the hand of God, that we might readand understand of his mysteries, and have his commandments always before our eyes, that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief, and we should have been like unto our brethren, the Lamanites, who know nothing concerning these things, or even do not believe them when they are taught them, because of the traditions of their fathers, which are not correct.
6 O my sons, I would that ye should remember that these sayings are true, and also that these records are true. And behold, also the plates of Nephi, which contain the records and the sayings of ou rfathers from the time they left Jerusalem until now, and they aretrue; and we can know of their surety because we have them before our eyes.
7 And now, my sons, I would that ye should remember to search them diligently, that ye may profit thereby; and I would that ye should keep the commandments of God, that ye may prosper in the land according to the promises which the Lord made unto ourfathers.
8 And many more things did king Benjamin teach his sons, whichare not written in this book.
(I added Italics to underline some of my favorite parts)
These verses taught me a few really wonderful things:
1) Continual peace in the land always resulted from a righteous king; a king who remembered God and his commandments.
2) King Benjamin, though a king with many responsibilities, made sure to fulfill first his most important responsibility/calling: that of teaching his children, "that they might become men of understanding...".
3) Specifically, King Benjamin taught his sons and his people the importance of the scriptures.
I have seen in my mission the true importance of the Lord's words to us through the scriptures. They are a fountain of revelation to any who seeks answers. They were painstakingly written and passed down from generation to generation, protected by the grace and power of God, so that in these, our days, we might "profit by them"; learn from them, and apply them. That we might find hope and happiness and healing. May we all (myself included) remember the true importance of those things we can read and "know of their surety, because we have them before our eyes." What a blessing it is to have the scriptures!
--We had a wonderful experience going over to a less-active family's home this week for Sunday dinner. The Malaspina family is just so nice! The wife is from the Domenican Republic, and the husband is Italian. They both are really active in the gospel, just can't make it to church because they work all day every day, basically. We shared with them the "Christlike Attributes" Mormon Message, and they loved it! It is so awesome how it can say so much and bring so much of a Spirit, with very few words. The Spirit was really strong, and we downloaded it onto their computer along with "Because of Him", so they can continue to watch them during the week!
--Scambio: I had a wonderful scambio this week with Anziano Carter, down in Varazze. What a beautiful place! Their apartment is basically beach-side. It feels like they are living in a hotel! It was a nice break from the foggy Alessandria-ness. :) Anziano Carter is a fantastic missionary, I was impressed! He works hard and we had some real success hitting the streets to help find them some investigators (they have recently lost every single one of them...happens.) to teach, including a wonderful man, Ben, from Kenya!
--During our scambio, we taught a man from Sicily! I love Sicilians! They are so warm and friendly, and hilarious, too! So we were talking a little bit about the Plan of Salvation, when he randomly asked us where in Italy we lived. I said that I lived in Alessandria, to which he said (in English) "...Alessandria...kind of a...sad...place." I started laughing. Not all of us can live in the South where it is beautiful all the time! Bless his heart.
--I was sick with a pretty bad fever starting Thursday evening until Friday. Thankfully it only lasted about 24 hours, but that one was pretty rough. I couldn't hardly move I was so sore all over. But the worst part was the delusional night sleep Thursday night. I had a continuous nightmare on and off the entire night that I was stuck inside a Ferrari that wasn't mine and every time I moved I broke something new . And then it magically rebuilt for me to break it again...fever dreams are intense. Glad that is over! :)
--Speaking of dreams, I will share the funniest one I have had in a loooong time! So it was while I was down sleeping in the luxury Varazze apartment! I dreamed I was in a track race (4x400), and that it was only me and one other teammate that showed up, and so we had to switch off twice each. We ended up just dominating everyone, but I hadn't realized up to this point who my teammate was. The very last leg I was up last, and look back to see my teammate ...Gordon B. Hinckley! Haha! He was doing this old man shuffle, going so fast! We had an awesome high-five moment when we won. So yeah, I've basically met a prophet.
--Miracle: We had some amazing experiences this week, but the miracle I would like to share was on Sunday! There is a recent convert from Milan, Luis, who is a young man of 18 years, that recently moved from Milan to Novi Ligure, in our ward boundaries. He is still relatively active in the church, but has been having a little bit of a tough transition change--having to find new friends, feel included, etc-- and on top of that his mother is less active and his father is not a member. Our bishop, being the incredible man that he is, immediately committed himself to finding this boy and bringing him to church, and we have been doing the same. We met with Luis this last week and this past Thursday Vescovo Saeli and his counselor went to visit the family, had a great discussion, and committed them all to come to church....and they came! It was an amazing experience. Because of the lack of trains on Sunday, they had to take one that arrived in Alessandria an hour and a half early at 7:29. But that gave us a chance to meet with them at the church and have a lesson with them before church even started (jackpot!). We watched the Restoration film, and then talked about how our church was restored. Guiliermo, the father, was really touched, and asked us where he could find a Book of Mormon. I ran and grabbed him one in Spanish, and while we were setting up the chairs in the chapel, he was reading intently. They all had a wonderful experience in church, and are interested in meeting with us more. They even called the bishop this last week to ask if they could come with the ward to the temple trip in September! What a miracle! We are going to do all we can to make sure they stay!
--Everything else is going really well. Anziano Lewis and I had a great week last week, despite me coming down with a fever (thankfully the Lord took it away after just under a day). We are seeing some real success. The couple we met last week hasn't been able to meet with us yet, but we are trying to set something up for tomorrow. We expect great things from them! Thank you all for your support and prayers, I pray for you all many times a day! Have a fantastic week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Whew! What a wonderful week! I recognize that a million things have happened since last week, but it still seems like just yesterday I was writing about last week!
--I'm going to start a new "Thought of the week" section (we'll see if I remember to put it each week!):
--Thought of the week: I was reading this week during my Personal Study time in the book of Mosiah, chapter 1, and a new thought came to mind about the first 8 verses. They read: 1 And now there was no more contention in all the land of Zarahemla, among all the people who belonged to king Benjamin,so that king Benjamin had continual peace all the remainder of his days.
2 And it came to pass that he had three sons; and he called their names Mosiah, and Helorum, and Helaman. And he caused that they should be taught in all the language of his fathers, that thereby they might become men of understanding; and that they might know concerning the prophecies which had been spoken bythe mouths of their fathers, which were delivered them by the hand of the Lord.
3 And he also taught them concerning the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, saying: My sons, I would that ye should remember that were it not for these plates, which contain these records and these commandments, we must have suffered in ignorance, even at this present time, not knowing the mysteries of God.
4 For it were not possible that our father, Lehi, could have remembered all these things, to have taught them to his children, except it were for the help of these plates; for he having been taught in the language of the Egyptians therefore he could read these engravings, and teach them to his children, that thereby they could teach them to their children, and so fulfilling thecommandments of God, even down to this present time.
5 I say unto you, my sons, were it not for these things, which have been kept and preserved by the hand of God, that we might readand understand of his mysteries, and have his commandments always before our eyes, that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief, and we should have been like unto our brethren, the Lamanites, who know nothing concerning these things, or even do not believe them when they are taught them, because of the traditions of their fathers, which are not correct.
6 O my sons, I would that ye should remember that these sayings are true, and also that these records are true. And behold, also the plates of Nephi, which contain the records and the sayings of ou rfathers from the time they left Jerusalem until now, and they aretrue; and we can know of their surety because we have them before our eyes.
7 And now, my sons, I would that ye should remember to search them diligently, that ye may profit thereby; and I would that ye should keep the commandments of God, that ye may prosper in the land according to the promises which the Lord made unto ourfathers.
8 And many more things did king Benjamin teach his sons, whichare not written in this book.
(I added Italics to underline some of my favorite parts)
These verses taught me a few really wonderful things:
1) Continual peace in the land always resulted from a righteous king; a king who remembered God and his commandments.
2) King Benjamin, though a king with many responsibilities, made sure to fulfill first his most important responsibility/calling: that of teaching his children, "that they might become men of understanding...".
3) Specifically, King Benjamin taught his sons and his people the importance of the scriptures.
I have seen in my mission the true importance of the Lord's words to us through the scriptures. They are a fountain of revelation to any who seeks answers. They were painstakingly written and passed down from generation to generation, protected by the grace and power of God, so that in these, our days, we might "profit by them"; learn from them, and apply them. That we might find hope and happiness and healing. May we all (myself included) remember the true importance of those things we can read and "know of their surety, because we have them before our eyes." What a blessing it is to have the scriptures!
--We had a wonderful experience going over to a less-active family's home this week for Sunday dinner. The Malaspina family is just so nice! The wife is from the Domenican Republic, and the husband is Italian. They both are really active in the gospel, just can't make it to church because they work all day every day, basically. We shared with them the "Christlike Attributes" Mormon Message, and they loved it! It is so awesome how it can say so much and bring so much of a Spirit, with very few words. The Spirit was really strong, and we downloaded it onto their computer along with "Because of Him", so they can continue to watch them during the week!
--Scambio: I had a wonderful scambio this week with Anziano Carter, down in Varazze. What a beautiful place! Their apartment is basically beach-side. It feels like they are living in a hotel! It was a nice break from the foggy Alessandria-ness. :) Anziano Carter is a fantastic missionary, I was impressed! He works hard and we had some real success hitting the streets to help find them some investigators (they have recently lost every single one of them...happens.) to teach, including a wonderful man, Ben, from Kenya!
--During our scambio, we taught a man from Sicily! I love Sicilians! They are so warm and friendly, and hilarious, too! So we were talking a little bit about the Plan of Salvation, when he randomly asked us where in Italy we lived. I said that I lived in Alessandria, to which he said (in English) "...Alessandria...kind of a...sad...place." I started laughing. Not all of us can live in the South where it is beautiful all the time! Bless his heart.
--I was sick with a pretty bad fever starting Thursday evening until Friday. Thankfully it only lasted about 24 hours, but that one was pretty rough. I couldn't hardly move I was so sore all over. But the worst part was the delusional night sleep Thursday night. I had a continuous nightmare on and off the entire night that I was stuck inside a Ferrari that wasn't mine and every time I moved I broke something new . And then it magically rebuilt for me to break it again...fever dreams are intense. Glad that is over! :)
--Speaking of dreams, I will share the funniest one I have had in a loooong time! So it was while I was down sleeping in the luxury Varazze apartment! I dreamed I was in a track race (4x400), and that it was only me and one other teammate that showed up, and so we had to switch off twice each. We ended up just dominating everyone, but I hadn't realized up to this point who my teammate was. The very last leg I was up last, and look back to see my teammate ...Gordon B. Hinckley! Haha! He was doing this old man shuffle, going so fast! We had an awesome high-five moment when we won. So yeah, I've basically met a prophet.
--Miracle: We had some amazing experiences this week, but the miracle I would like to share was on Sunday! There is a recent convert from Milan, Luis, who is a young man of 18 years, that recently moved from Milan to Novi Ligure, in our ward boundaries. He is still relatively active in the church, but has been having a little bit of a tough transition change--having to find new friends, feel included, etc-- and on top of that his mother is less active and his father is not a member. Our bishop, being the incredible man that he is, immediately committed himself to finding this boy and bringing him to church, and we have been doing the same. We met with Luis this last week and this past Thursday Vescovo Saeli and his counselor went to visit the family, had a great discussion, and committed them all to come to church....and they came! It was an amazing experience. Because of the lack of trains on Sunday, they had to take one that arrived in Alessandria an hour and a half early at 7:29. But that gave us a chance to meet with them at the church and have a lesson with them before church even started (jackpot!). We watched the Restoration film, and then talked about how our church was restored. Guiliermo, the father, was really touched, and asked us where he could find a Book of Mormon. I ran and grabbed him one in Spanish, and while we were setting up the chairs in the chapel, he was reading intently. They all had a wonderful experience in church, and are interested in meeting with us more. They even called the bishop this last week to ask if they could come with the ward to the temple trip in September! What a miracle! We are going to do all we can to make sure they stay!
--Everything else is going really well. Anziano Lewis and I had a great week last week, despite me coming down with a fever (thankfully the Lord took it away after just under a day). We are seeing some real success. The couple we met last week hasn't been able to meet with us yet, but we are trying to set something up for tomorrow. We expect great things from them! Thank you all for your support and prayers, I pray for you all many times a day! Have a fantastic week!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
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