Rome Time
Train ride to Bari, Italy for Stake Conference
Pictures from last Pday when they went to a circus that came to Brindisi!
Freaky! Tigers!
Haha looks like a good missionary opportunity going on!
Such a pretty horse! I'll bet it reminded Regan of America, specifically Utah :)
More tigers at the circus
This is my (McKenzie, Regan's sister) husband Rhett's friend Ettore Pappagallo that lives in Bari where Stake Conference was! He served with Rhett on his mission in Manchester, England. Small world!
Ettore and his wife with Regan. He is SO nice and took these pictures on Sunday at Stake Conference and emailed to us :) He said Regan's Italian was really good too!
This week started off with an eventful pday. We
went to the circus! Yeah you read that right. I had to call President to get
permission. Kind of an awkward conversation, but it was worth it. A lot
happened this week so I wont waste my time talking about it. I was pretty fun,
nothing spectacular though.
The next day was Thursday and
we had a bit of a rough morning. I was a bit discouraged and Anziano Pizza gave
me the talk "The Divine Gift of Gratitude." I totally changed my
perspective and decided I would say one prayer of only gratitude every day the
rest of my mission. I did right after I read that talk and it immediately
changed my day and whole week in fact. That night we talked to about 8 or 9
kids who were 14 to 16 years old. It was my first time talking to a group of
kids. They were all smoking so I thought at first they would just make fun of
us or something, but they ended up being super nice and asking some really
intelligent/deep questions. We gave them english course bigliettini and
hopefully they will come. We talked to another group of kids later this week
and I have found that it takes a certain level of humility to talk with/teach
kids because of the culture that surrounds them and the temptations which are
in the world, most dont have a basis for moral standards. We have to be 100%
real with them and let them know from our hearts that this is the way to true
happiness. It took a lot of guts. I need to get a lot better at it though. That
night something hilarious happened at English course. We were teaching a lesson
on how to order at a restaurant and we made a menu which included the word
"cheeseburger." Hearing Italians attempt to say the word cheeseburger
about killed me. I felt bad because Anziano Alvey and I were both laughing
uncontrollably to the point where it got a little awkward.
Friday we
contacted that American family we met about 5 or 6 weeks ago. They live far
away and are only free on weekends at night. It was amazing. The dad was home
with his kids and we got to talk to him for about 45 minutes. We found out he
served a mission in Argentina. We talked to him for a bit about his mission and
it was way cool. He is just found out last week he is getting transferred back
to Charleston to work but will still come back to Brindisi every couple of
weeks. There was a poem Anziano Alvey gave me earlier that day that we read and
discussed with him for the lesson. I sent it home to my family earlier today
and they will put it up on my blog when they get it. It was an amazing
experience. He said when he comes back to Brindisi he will bring back stuff to
make tacos and he will bring us some nutter butters. I cannot wait for that
phone call!! That night I thought about how God leads us to those children who
he needs us to bless. My Italian still isnt very great at all, and I thought
about the people I have taught. Verah, Victor, Blessing, and this man all speak
English. Like .0001% of the people in Brindisi speak any English. Maybe that is
an exaggeration, but you get point. He truly does place people in our path who
he needs us the reach out and help. We are only on his errand.
On Saturday we
taught Gery and Dedy and Gery said something that blew my mind. We asked him
how he could know for sure that our message was true. He said that he has been
meeting with missionaries for over 20 years and he knows how the moral standard
in the world is decaying so fast and it shows in peoples eyes. He said that he
can see light and purity in the eyes of every missionary who has been in his
home the past 20 years and it is not a coincidence. I thought that was so
powerful. It is amazing to be part of the this army of missionaries throughout
the world! It was sad though; we had to end the lesson early to catch our train
to Bari for Stake Conference.
Sunday was Stake
Conference! It was bomb! There were so many children, youth, and young adults I
was inspired. The church has a real solid future here in Italy and I saw it
with my own eyes. I will talk more about the meeting at the end of this letter.
Anyways, that day I met one of the coolest missionaries I have known yet on the
mission. His name is Anziano Esparza. He is from Equador, but he has lived in
Germany the past 10 years. He speaks fluent Portuguese, Italian, German, and
English. I asked him how long he had been on his mission and he said, "I
have no idea, I just enjoy every day out here." I asked again, and he
literally didnt know. He is hilarious too.
Monday night was
the highlight of the week. Anziano Kasper who is an AP came down to Brindisi
and went on a scambio with me. I literally felt like I was walking around with
the apostle Paul all night long. We left the apartment at 4:35 to go
to an appointment at 5. On the walk there he got 3 peoples phone numbers. That
is how many numbers I get on a good day. During the lesson we taught to two
Romanian girls we truly helped them feel the love that the Savior had for them.
I cant describe it in words. They asked us why we left home and paid to come
here and walk around all day to try to talk to people. He then bore an
incredible testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the truths that have been
restored to the earth about the nature of God and how we are his children. They
were both moved to tears as we prayed at the end of the lesson. We then did an
hour and a half of street contacting. Once again, unreal. We talked to so many
people and he applied to so well to each person according to their
needs/interests. Then we had another lesson around 7:30 in which we
taught of family of 8. There is mother of 102 and she has 6 kids who are around
their 70s. They are amazing. We also taught them the full Restoration lesson
and read some of 3 Nephi 19 about the Holy Ghost and Baptism. Once again, I
learned an incredible amount from Anziano Kasper.
Tuesday was Zone
Conference in Bari and I received a lot of amazing training. The assistants
gave a really inspiring lesson on obedience. They taught with such power and
authority that I really desire to develop on my mission. I was talking to
Anziano Bird who is the other assistant after the conference, and he told me
that he and Anziano Kasper have not had a pday in 8 weeks. That is consecration
to the max. I have truly been inspired.
Ok, spritual thought
for the week goes back to what our Stake President said at Stake Conference on
Sunday. He said I have 2 questions which may seem contradictory, but they are
not. First, Do you have the faith to be healed? Second, do you have the faith
not to be healed? At first I thought I misunderstood his Italian, but then I
asked Anziano Pizza and I understood him correctly. That second question is
very deep. Sometimes, we will do our best to show God our love for him and do
what he asks, and his answer may be no because he knows another way that is
better. Maybe he needs us to have a little patience. In the end, we will all
have times when there is situation or circumstance that is not right. In those
times, we need to trust God when it is not fixed immediately. Even if it may
not be fixed in this life. We need to press forward with steadfastness in
Christ with a perfect brightness of hope as it says in 2 Nephi 31. We need be
strong enough to keep our faith even if God doesnt heal us immediately. He will
heal us and that is the faith we can never lose.
Sincerely,
Anziano Smith
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