Malta | week 11

Azzures Window 

Boat ride to Gozo

Regan, Chati, Anziano Rivera, and Dayman

12.8.2014

This morning we took Anziano Rivera to the airport. He went up to Rome, and tomorrow he flies home. He finished really strong here in Malta, and he will definitely be missed. We will always think of him when we walk through the skatepark from now on as we look at his final mark he left on Malta. That would be a giant Book of Mormon graffiti. No worries, graffiti is allowed in skateparks here. We will see if any fruits come from this soon. 

Last Monday morning I had a really humbling experience. We went over  to Simons home and visited with him and his wife Elena. Elena was having bad back pains, and Simon suggested that she should recieve a priesthood blessing. She was reluctant at first, but then accepted the offer. Ok, this next part may sound gross, but it taught me an important lesson. Before I went into their home, I picked a scab on my finger and it started bleeding. I washed it off really good when I first got inside, but then I had to wash it again before I put my hands on her head to give her the blessing. It was a really spiritual experience, and she began to cry after the blessing because of the Spirit that came. It was a reminder to me that the only way we can ever invite the Spirit is if our hands and our hearts are completely clean. Just like I would have never layed a bloody finger on her head, I can never act in Christs name if Im not clean. It was a great motivation to me to always stay spiritually clean so I can serve in His name. 

The second really humbling event of the week was getting to hear the story of one of our Phillipino members this week. We cannot meet her at her house because she is a single lady, so we met her in the food court of a mall near her house. She ordered us food before we got there, because she knew we wouldnt let her buy anything for us. Then she told us she invited 2 of her friends to meet with us who would be there in 30 minutes. We asked her why she was so nice to us/engaged in missionary work even though she didnt even know us well at all. She told us that when she was a teenager, her 7 year old little brother had Lukemia, and her father used all of their savings to fly him to the best hospital in the Phillippines. He had prayed that if it was possible, God would take his life instead of his sons life. Long story short, 2 days after he flew his son up, he was murdered by some drunk men, and his son ended up being one of the only Lukemia survivors of the hospital. The next week she, her other brothers, and her mom flew up to see their brother, and visit and forgive the man in prison who killed their father. She told us that her family always taught her to share her blessings with everyone, especially the missionaries. It was one of the most tender moments of my mission by far. Then we taught her friends. Great day. 

So this week we were at Maltese course, and we were reviewing the progress we have made in our time here. As I compared my progress in Italian after 3 months to my progress in Maltese after 3 months I learned an interesting lesson. I remember learning Italian was one of the most stressful things I have ever done. I felt inadequate, not smart enough, and I messed up time and time again. Maltese on the otherhand has been different. We have been studying more the like the way we studied in high school. We have memorized words, studied grammar charts and so on. I have written it down and recited it back, but I havent been trying to use it other than in the class really. It hasnt pushed me out of my comfort zone, and because of that I have barely learned any Maltese at all. I realized that the growth I have made personally on my mission has been much the same. I have grown the most when I have fallen, made mistakes, and been taken out of my comfort zone. The difference with the mission is it is teaching us how to be like Christ instead of learning a language, and we will never fully achieve that goal. It is a constant process that will take much longer than 2 years. Im so grateful for the opportunity to serve full time for two years. It is teaching to be like Christ like the MTC taught me Italian-by immersion and making mistakes. Instead of earning a grade (like school style of learning), we are growing by his grace and mercy. I know that is true because I have felt his help in so many ways each and every day. 

Presbiteru Smith

Malta | week 10

Regan and Anziano Burkhart with Mount Etna (volcano) in the background

 Volcano!

 Regan at Thanksgiving dinner

A picture Regan sent home of one of his best friends Francesco (in the middle)

12.1.2014

After spending 3 days in Catania this week, I know why so many missionaries always say that Sicily is their favorite area. I loved everything about Catania. The best part by far was being able to see old friends. Some of them I hadn't seen since the MTC and others in just a couple of months, but it is always so good just to be able to talk and hear about others experiences and how they are doing. 

My second day there, I got to do an exchange with Anziano Fossa. He is from Venice and goes home next week. I didn't even know that he was going home next week until I asked. He was working like he was in the middle of his mission. It was the best example to me of someone who endures to the very end. We got to go and help a lady prepare her stuff to move back to Nigeria next week, and we also got to teach a less active family together. It was a great lesson about repentance, and I learned a lot from Anziano Fossa. He was a great teacher. That afternoon we went to an American family's house who lives near Mt. Etna for Thanksgiving lunch. I seriously lucked out on being in Catania at the right time. There were 40 Americans from the military base there who prepared a Thanksgiving lunch big enough for probably 100 people. They were so nice. There were the 4 Catania missionaries, 4 Malta missionaries, the 2 assistants, and a senior couple all invited. That night I got to teach English Course in the Catania church which was fun. It was the first time I taught English in forever, because we dont have it in Malta, and the sisters taught the course when I was in Rome 5. 

Zone Conference the next day was the bomb. Anziano Romano and Fossa are the zone leaders,  so they were responsible for the conference. Each zone conference, they are allowed 3 euro a person for lunch which would have been around 120 euro. Instead Romano cooked by himself for 40 people using 35 euro, and it was really good too. It was a dish he learned from a member-dont know what its called in English. It was quite impressive. The conference itself was one of the best I have been to. Every transfer, the messages are exactly what I need to hear. Im so grateful for the leaders in this mission-both the missionaries and the Waddoups. I seriously couldnt do it without them. 

We came back to Malta Saturday morning and had a miraculous day. We got to meet with our friend Paul for the first time outside of church. He is originally from the Congo, but he just moved here a couple weeks ago from the France. The night before I slept on the floor of the Catania apartment, and I woke up at 5 to leave for the airport without taking a shower. My clothes werent really clean either. We met with Paul 2 hours after our plane got in, and right when we met with him, I wasnt tired or anything. We had a great lesson, and he committed to read the Book of Mormon, and he came to church Sunday. I cant forget experiences like that. When the Lord needs us to be somewhere or do something, we strengthens us so we can do it. Saturday afternoon we found 2 new people who agreed to meet with us again. In both occassions we applied what we learned from our leaders at zone conference. 

Sunday was a really special day in church as well. Anziano Orfila and I teach young mens which just consists of Damyan for the moment. This week we taught the lesson on work and self-reliance. At the end of the lesson we watched the video "A Work in Progress" about Tyler Haws. It made me think of all the things I have worked for in my life. I especially thought about basketball, school, and scouting.. None have been nearly as rewarding as serving a mission. None of the other things have been nearly as challenging either. Not only is it worth it, but it is one of the greatest blessings of my life. I know that the blessings we receive from the Lord always outweigh any effort or sacrifice we make for him, and on the mission we leave everything behind and give all we have. Basically, I could never thank the Lord enough for all he has done for me.  

Sincerely,

Anziano Smith

Malta | week 9

11.24.2014

This week we got to help 2 people write their first talks ever. The first was Chaty. I think I wrote about him a couple weeks ago. He is from Ghana, and he just moved down here from Italy. He gave his talk on charity, and we outlined the whole talk for him (what it is, scriptures, quote from the prophet, ect), and then just told him to tell a short experience or example at the end. He closed by talking about the charity the missionaries had who found him, taught him, and baptized him. He talked about the sacrifices they made leaving school, family, and friends to serve. While he was talking, I tried to put myself In Chatys shoes. He never had the chance to go to school, and he left his family and friends in Ghana to find work so he could hopefully find a better life. He knows that we have families, and we will soon go back to them and school in America. When Moroni said, "charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own...believeth all things, hopeth all things, [and] endureth all things" he was describing Chaty perfectly. His talk touched everyone. Then we helped Damyan, who is giving his talk next week on faith. When we finished, we formatted it like a general conference talk-his picture in the top left, name, title of the talk, with the thesis sentence writen in italics on the top. He is good to go. 

This week we also recieved our first member referral in a long time. It was from a lady named Marjorie from the Philippines. She is friends with most of the Philippini on the island, and she has brought 3 different friends to church in the past 2 weeks. We taught one her friends last week and it was really great. It makes all the difference in the world when people have a good friend to be there with them to support them and help them understand everything.  

In our district meeting this week we learned about following the promptings of the Holy Ghost. A couple days ago we were on a crowded bus with a ton of people standing up. There was a really short girl in the back trying to get off. When she was behind me she tapped my foot and I moved so she could get by. The next guy was wearing some really big beats by dre. She tapped his foot and he didnt move. She nudged his foot a little harder and he still didnt move. Then she kicked his foot, and he still couldnt feel anything. I thought it was crazy that he was listening to his music so loud he couldnt feel someone kicking him. It made me think of the commandments, how they help us in ways we dont fully understand. It didnt make sense to me how someone couldnt feel a kick in the foot because of their music. I realized that it is the same way with spiritual things. It is really hard for some people to see and recognize Gods love because of the worldly things they are surrounded by even when God is trying to kick them in the foot spiritually to let them know he is there. 

Hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving. We are going to Catania for zone conference this week, and we will be having an American Thanksgiving on the military base there! I cant wait. Take care. 

Anziano Smith