Caserta | week 6 {Transfer calls, New Years Eve, invitation for baptism!}

Anziano Heder and Anziano Smith 

Anziano Heder and Smith at New Years Eve dinner 

Grilling eel! 

Anziano Bird and Destiny 

With Anziano Graham and Cremonese

So, I have big news that I was not expecting. I thought I was going to be companions with Anziano Heder for the rest of his mission (two more transfers), but not so. We got transfer calls on Saturday afternoon and Caserta is going back up to a 4 man city! Anziano Hatch is going to be my new companion and Anziano Tingey is going to be Anziano Heders companion. I am so excited. Anziano Hatch and Tingey were both in my MTC group. They are both great missionaries and I cant wait to work with them. Anziano Tingey has been in Sciacca his first four transfers which is a tiny city in Sicily and Anziano Hatch has been in Catania. Im grateful he has been companions with an Italian for the last 2 transfers so Im sure he is a lot better than me at Italian. This is good news. Having a 4 man house will be fun as well. They come in Wednesday night. Looking forward to it. 

This past week I have gotten to know the missionaries from our district a lot better and really look up to them in many ways. So every Tuesday we have a district meeting in Napoli which consists of opening prayer/song, fun fact, italian tip, spiritual thought, 20 minute training, and then pizza at Sorbillos. Anziano Bennet is our district leader so he runs the show every week and blows my mind without fail with how amazing his lessons are. Anyways, he asked me to give the addestramento (lesson) last week. He is sure no easy act to follow, but he and the other Anziani made me feel good and seemed to appreciate it. I gave it on consecrating ourselves to the Lord based on a talk that Anziano Bednar gave at the MTC in 2011. That talk has really helped me understand how to fulfill my purpose as a missionary better and Im so grateful for living prophets and apostles who help us know how to be successful in happy as missionaries and throughout all of life. 

That same night was New Years Eve, and Joe and Vincenza invited us over. It was a lot fun. Vincenza went to college in the states back in the 90s and majored in art. She took us upstairs and showed us her portfolio which was super impressive. We then proceeded to eat the biggest meal of my life. We started of with some mozzarella di bufala with bread, ham, and salami, and olives, scones, green beans, and I ate a couple really good chocolate truffle things. Then we moved on to spaghetti which was followed by all of the sea food: clams, fried cod, fried squid, and fried/grilled eel. By that time we had to go, so it was probably a good thing I didnt get dessert. Joe is really nice and always drives us home even though they are only about a 20 minute walk away from our apartment. That was nice of him because it was a little dangerous here in Caserta on New Years Eve. Definitely the first time in my live I have heard legitimate bombs going off. 

So last week Anziano Birds companion had to get transferred early to fill another missionarys spot in Sardegna, so he was companionless. So...Anziano Heder and I went to stay with him all day on Saturday which just so happened to be the day that they had a baptism!  It was easily one of the best days of my mission. So we met Anziano Bird in Napoli that morning and then went to Pozzuoli and we were getting everything ready for the baptism all day. We cleaned to the church, made the program, got the clothes ready, and then filled up the font. It took 3 hours for the font to fill up and we couldnt leave it, so we just picked up some pizzas and ate while the font was filling up and talked about our missions for a couple hours. It was really cool, cause we never really have time to do anything like that ever. The Sister missionaries and Anziano Graham and Cremonese came down a little later as well. I feel so lucky to be able to serve with these missionaries here in the Napoli Zone. The longer I stay here, the more I realize that these kids are the most incredible people on earth. I love them all a ton. Anyways, the baptism was slated to start at 5 and Destiny showed up at 4 because he was so excited. He got all dressed and stuff and we just talked for a while and it was great to get to know him better. Everything went perfectly. A ton of members came and it was a really diverse crowd. The branch in Pozzuoli has a good amount of Nigerians, Ghanans, Americans (because of the military base), and obviously Noptons (not Italians-completely different thing). 

This week was also very exciting for us because we made a lot of progress with Salvatore and Alina. They accepted our invitation to be baptized at the end of this month on January 25th. We are going to have to push it back maybe a couple weeks because they have to attend at least 3 sacrament meetings first. Alina works Saturday night until 3:30am and has made it to church the past two Sundays at 10:30 which is right after sacrament meeting. She is so amazing for making that effort to come, however, we know they have to come to sacrament meeting as well. Overall, everything is growing great with them and the rest of Caserta. Definitley look forward to the new Anziani which should give the city a really big lift. Happy New Year everyone!

Anziano Smith

MTC | Week 5

My birthday was a solid start to my 5th week. Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to write me. It really meant a lot. I may not have the time to personally write everyone back, but please know that I love you all and appreciate your support. Pdays are getting busier and busier and will continue to do so when I actually go to Rome on Tuesday. The entire district enjoyed the huge edible arrangement I got for my bday. Many other districts were jealous. Also, Anziano Romano told his mom it was my bday and she sent me a Red Sox shirt. That meant a whole lot to me. In terms of gifts that we give, it really is the effort and thought put behind it that matters most. Romano also decided to throw a bday party for me that was prime. We had personal language study from 7:30 to 9 when we usually just sit at a desk and study out of a book. This night was much more fun. We found an empty classroom with a whiteboard and played a verb conjugating game. There are strict rules about no competition in the MTC so we never play any language games. However, due to the special occasion we had an intense game of conjugate that verb. No lie, it was actually a blast. 

This week at priesthood meeting President Willis gave a very powerful lesson on Repentance. We read in the Bible Dictionary that defined repentance as a change of mind. It is all about turning our hearts and desires toward God. He said something that really touched me. He said in the MTC you don't really have the opportunity to commit that many sins. In the mission field it is the same way. We are engaged in a good cause and we are constantly trying to build the kingdom of God. We don't do that many things that are rebellious or evil. However, he said we still have to get on our knees everynight and ask for forgiveness. He told us we must repent of everything we do that is keeping from coming closer to Christ-things that I have never even thought were bad. It might be a joke when it is not appropriate, not focusing as hard as I could during my personal study time, or something like that. Every single one of us has a great need for repentance everyday. He also talked about the people of Italy. They will have to repent before they are baptized. Before people are baptized they must make certain commitments. He listed 6 that will be specifically difficult for Italians. First, keeping the Sabbath day holy. He told us most Catholics in Italy go to church on Christmas and Easter for an hour or so. It is generally a day of recreation. We will ask them to come to 3 hours of church every Sunday and give up recreational activities for all of that day. We will ask them to live the Word of Wisdom. Italians take pride in their wine, most people smoke, and almost everyone drinks coffee. We will ask them to live the law of chastity. He told us it is common for couples to separate and move in with someone else without ever getting a divorce because they don't want to go through all that trouble. We will ask them to pray sincerely to Heavenly Father every morning and every night. He told us many Catholics pray to Mary and saints, and it is even rare for there to be prayer at meals. We will ask them to study their scriptures every day and seek personal revelation and inspiration. Many people there believe they can get all they need from the priest and rarely study. We will ask them to live the law of tithing. Most people contribute a couple euros at Christmas and Easter and feel that is good enough. These 6 committements are HUGE! How would they ever desire/be able to do this? President Miller promised us that through our testimonies of the Restoration of the Gospel and the infinite power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ these changes are possible. All things are possible through power of the Atonement. 

Yesterday our district read Judges 6-7 together. That is the story about Gideon leading his people to battle. The Lord cut his army from 30,000 down to 300. If there was 30,000 soldiers it wouldn't have been a miracle and a lot of people would have died. Instead, the Lord cut Gideons army down to 300. They won and nobody died. The Lord did this to show forth his own power. We then read Ether 12:27 from the Book of Mormon which says, "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is suffiecient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." After we read this Fratello Weller told us to never forget for one minute of our missions whose work this is. This is the work of the Almighty God and he is a God of miracles. The Book of Mormon teaches us that he can only work among the children of men according to their faith. I will probably never see a battle won by 300 people against an army of tens of thousands, I will never see a sea part or someone walk on water, but I will see miracles that are just as great. I will see people change their lives. I will see the effects and blessings of the greatest miracle of all time: the Atonement. I will see people's hearts change through repenting and keeping the committments listed above. I have already seen it, but it is amazing every time it happens. In Elder Bednar's "Character of Christ" talk I have watched the past two weeks he talked about the story of the brother of Jared in Ether 3. The Lord touched 16 stones one by one to light the 8 vessels so they could cross the sea. Each one alluminated as the Lord touched it, but the brother of Jared didn't see the finger of the Lord until they were all aluminated. He compared the stones to the people we will teach on our mission. When the first one lights up, we will be shocked and suprised. Each time we see a life change our faith will grow stronger and stronger until we have a perfect knowledge and then we will see the finger of the Lord like the brother of Jared. Our faith will be confirmed by evidence. This evidence will give us pure knowledge. Elder Bednar promised us that. If we have faith in Jesus Christ we will know him with a pure knowledge which is to have eternal life (John 17:3). 

We leave on Tuesday morning at 7:30 for the airport. Last night we had a devotional which was perfect for us right before we leave. It was by President Hinckley's son. He told us that the absolute worst thing that could possibly happen on a mission is that you come home with regrets. He said you will come home and say "I wish I had" or "I'm glad I did." I'm so glad I have my whole mission before me. I have never learned so much in 5 weeks in my life. I certainly have never worked this hard in my whole life and I have never been closer to Christ either. There is nowhere I would rather be than right here. I most likely will not be writing next week since my plane lands in Rome on Wednesday at 2:20pm. We got our travel plans. There are 49 elders total flying to Italy that day ( 22 Rome, 27 Milan), but I am only flying with 10 others. I can't wait. It's alphabetical order so I will be with Anziano Rigby, Romano, and Robinson. Three of my all time favorites. So long for two weeks. 

Love,

Anziano Smith

Pictures | Week 1

First Week in the MTC!!!

Hello Everyone!

My first week at the MTC has been quite the experience. When I first got here, I was picked up by an Elder from Tonga. He was so nice and helped me with my luggage and find my class. I walked into the the class and my teacher, Fratello Mortenson, said some stuff to me in Italian, and I kind of laughed but it wasn't a joke. We are only allowed to speak Italian in class. It really stressed me out the first two days, and I kind of got frustrated because I couldn't understand anything or express myself. However, they definitely know what they are doing at the MTC because immersing myself in the language has helped me learn a ton in only one week. Anyways, I first need to introduce you to the district. There are 10 of us. 6 going to Rome and 4 gong to Milan. My dorm room is all of the Rome missionaries. It's pretty tight since we all have two years worth of luggage, but we are having a blast.

First, we have Anziano Kelley. I feel so blessed to have him as my companion. He is probably the hardest worker at the entire MTC, yet he is still really funny and is also smiling. He brings an enthusiasm to the work that is contagious. We get along great, and we are both pushing each other to be the best missionaries we can be. All is well here.

Next, we have Anziano Gardenhire. His personality is a lot like mine. We have gone on short exchanges with each othere twice this week. Once to chior practice for the world wide missionary conference thing this Sunday, and we sang Called to Serve and Hark All Ye Nations with 1400 missionaries. It rocked. We also went to pick up something I left in the cafeteria one day, and we stopped in a classroom and he played a sweet rendition of Be Still My Soul on the piano. That really calmed me down when I was super stressed about the language.

That brings us to Anziano Rigby. He is the spiritual giant of us all. He is from Idaho Falls, and he told me that he built his own truck. I thought that was pretty cool. More importantly, I have learned a lot from him. The first thing we learned to do in Italian was share our testimonies and pray. Even though we don't know the language, he still does so with so much sincerity and power. He has definitely made each one of us take this work more seriously.

Anziano Rigby's companion is Anziano Jones. He is probably the most gifted kid I have ever met. We nicknamed the book we are learning Italian out of the purple dragon. Don't ask why. Day 2, Anziano Jones earned the nickname "The Purple Dragon Slayer." He can teach the first 3 discussion in like perfect Italian already. We are all jealous.

Lastly, and surely not least, we have Anziano Romano from Boston. He is going to be the best missionary of us all. He is also the funniest kid I have ever met. We have class 3 hours every morning, 3 hours every afternoon, and 2 hours a couple nights a week. Not one minute of it is boring because of Elder Romano. Yesterday I talked to him for the first time about life back home. I found out a couple things. He was his student body president, the starting quarterback, has Red Sox season tickets, and was the Elders Quorum President his freshman year at BYU. Nuff said. He's the man.

Every night we have an hour in our dorm before we go to bed, and I don't think I have ever laughed harder or had better deep conversations. I feel so blessed to be able to serve with these 5 Elders. They are so great!

Anyways, I will talk some about my teachers now. I'm not even going to lie. My second day in the MTC was one of the most discouraging days I have ever had. I couldn't understand a word that Fratello Mortenson or Fratello Weller said. About 4 of us were almost in tears cause we didn't feel like we were going to be able to do this. Fratello Weller whipped out D&C 90:11, and I don't know if I have ever felt more peace and assurance in my whole life. It says, "For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear the fulness of thegospel in his own tongue, and in his own language, through those who are ordained unto this power, by the administration of the Comforter, shed forth upon them for the revelation of Jesus Chirst." We then read Ether 12:27. I've read it a million times, but this time it was different. I have been ordained of God to learn this language and bring these people a message they have been waiting for for a long time. The grace of Christ is sufficient to give me power to do it. It's not in me, it is only through me. That is so humbling. The first night at the MTC, we learned about our purpose as missionaries for a couple hours. Now I know why they did that. If I don't remember my purpose, I would give up. My purpose, "Inviting others to come unto Christ" is such a simple statement, but there is more power behind that invitation than we can comprehend much less put into words. However, I can feel the love of God through the gift of the Holy Ghost. The gift of the Holy Ghost is how we are learning so fast. I have learned this week that God endows us with power when we work our absolute hardest to do his will. I have studied Italian a ridiculous amount of hours and humbled myself before God more than I ever have in an attempt to learn this language. Every day at 3, Anziano Kelley and I teach a girl named Valeria who acts as an investigator for us. The first 2 or 3 times is was a trainwreck. I was reading of questions and scriptures the whole time and I couldn't even pronounce the stuff right. Yesterday, I was able to pray, share my testimony, and 4 or 5 principles without notes. I can't believe that happened in a week.

Other notable experiences from the week: our entire hall wanted to sing Called to Serve one night, but we couldn't fit anywhere with enough light, so we went into the bathroom haha. There are about 60 missionaries on my hall (probably 40 Italian and 20 Romanian). Singing Called to Serve in a bathroom with 60 missionaries was pretty awesome. Devotional last night in the Marriot Center was great. Elder Gay of the First Quorum of the Seventy spoke. There were 4,000 missionarieis there. I feel so much better when I see the kids with Russian, Chinese, or Finnish tags. I know they have it way harder than I do, haha. Today our whole district went to a session at the temple together today. It was so great! I have been worried a lot about the language, but it was great to enter the House of the Lord and just ponder the big questions: Where did we come from, why are we here, and where are we going? That is why we are going on missions. We know the truth to the answers of these questions. The temple always gives me so much perspective/motivation to keep going.

Also, thank everyone who sent me emails/letters. All the missionaries sprint to the mailbox every day like kids running down the stairs on Christmas. Mail is worth more than gold here.

I almost forgot, Fratello Weller wrote the most powerful thing on the board ever when we were all pretty discouraged. "Italiano non e un muro. E non vi blocca." Italian is not a wall. It does not stop us. This gave me so much hope. When I get to Rome, my words will be simple, but they will be powerful because the Spirit will be with us. That's what it is all about.

Take care everyone. Please keep sending letters. I only get 60 minutes every Wednesday to email so letters are preferable because reading emails cuts out of my emailing time. Love you all!

Pace,

Anziano Smith

He is Off!

Hi everyone! Regan went into the MTC (Missionary Training Center) yesterday June 12th! It was an amazing experience, but quite hard for the family. We are just going to miss him so much. We know he is so happy to be where he is, and we are especially proud of him. You can reach him at his email address throughout his entire mission. His email address is: Regan.Smith@myldsmail.net

He will be in the MTC through July 23rd, and his address for that location is:

Elder Regan Smith

JUL 23 ITA-ROM

2007 N 900 E

Unit 97

Provo, UT 84602

AFTER July 24th, he will be in Rome and can receive packages and letters can be sent to the following address:

Elder Regan Smith

Italy Rome Mission

Piazza Carnaro, 20

00141 Rome RM
Italy