Brindisi | week 6

Regan and Anziano (Elder) Pizza in Lecce Centro

Anziano Brown and Regan in Lecce

Anziano Andreason and Regan

Lecce

More pictures of Lecce

Regan said they try to get a picture of this graffiti every time they ride the train to Lecce and he was the first one to successfully get it!

Anziano Smith, Anziano Brown, Blessing, Victor, and (don't know the name of their child!)

Their last gelato together before Anziano Brown gets transferred to Palermo and Anziano Andreason to Malta

The view from the balcony at Regan's apartment

Regan and Anziano Andreason with the Palma family for FHE (family home evening)

Regan with Anziano Baggaley

Regan with his friends from the English class they teach

The elders with Sina and her friend

Final goodbye to Anziano Brown and Andreason! 

Well, this week started with an awkward situation when I got my haircut without knowing any haircut lingo. He asked me something and I said “si” having no idea what he said and he started shaving the sides of my head super short leaving everything on the top like some Italians have. Then I had to tell him to cut everything on the top as well. It is all okay now though.

Anyways, the bad news is we had transfer calls this week and Anziano Brown is going to Palermo and Anziano Andreason is going to Malta. I am going to miss them both a lot. They will be great in each of their new cities. If anyone can learn Maltese quickly it is Anziano Andreason. He is super smart and has been fluent in Italian forever. Cool stuff to be trilingual. Anziano Brown had been here for 3 transfers, so we knew he would probably go, but I was still super sad when we got the call. Right after we went to visit Victor and Blessing for the last time together. They were also sad about the news. We had a great lesson with them about the Restoration and how it will bless their family and especially their kids as they grow up. From now on Anziano Pizza and I will visit them together. Anziano Brown and I also found a sweet park/center area in San Vito that we will do some work at this upcoming week. Exciting stuff. So, as we returned to Brindisi around 8:20 we noticed a ton of lights and everyone walking towards the water. We decided to check it out, and it ended up that the city decided to throw a massive party. I am not sure why, but it was awesome. They had a firework show, which I definitely underestimated. It was probably the best firework show I had every seen. The only bad part was I did not have my camera. Nonetheless, it was really cool. Now worries though, we still made it back to our apartment before curfew.

This week we helped the Arcaro family move. It was great. Fed us an awesome pronzo, then loaded their stuff into a truck and had to take three trips to get it to their new house which was about a 25 minute drive. It took all day, but it was a great use of time because I seriously came to love that family. They are really nice and super faithful. They have to drive about 35 minutes to get to church and they are the only members in their little city. They have a son who is about 1 and another one on the way. Them and Victor and Blessing are the only two young families in our ward. They both rock.

So on Monday I went on a scambio (exchange) with Anziano Baggaley who is our zone leader. He came from Lecce and worked with me Monday night into Tuesday afternoon. I learned a ton from him. He is seriously the man. He is an incredible teacher. Scambios rock because I learn so many new things from each missionary out here. Each one has unique talents and personalities. Speaking of which, tomorrow two new missionaries will be coming to join our Brindisi penthouse tomorrow night. Elder Jepsen who I met at our last zone conference and a greenie who flies in today. I finally wont be the baby anymore!!! Anziano Jepsen is awesome though. We will have a sweet house. We usually only get pizza once a week on peve so we dont get super fat. However, we have to take the greenie on his first night. I am excited for the special occasion-Thursday night pizza.

So every missionary has a book called a dedica that all the missionaries write in before they get transfered. Last night we all wrote in each others dedicas and it was super sad. We have had an amazing 6 weeks together full of hard work that has really united us together. Hopefully I will serve in the same zone as Anziano Brown and Anziano Andreason later in my mission and I will be able to see them at zone conference again.

So this week I finished the Book of Mormon. Moroni 10:32-34 was amazing. I love how the Book of Mormon starts and ends. It is beautiful. 1 Nephi 1:20 is like the thesis statement, and the end of Moroni is point of the whole book. The tender mercies of the Lord are over the whole earth. I have especially seen them here in Brindisi for me and for others. Victor has the most powerful testimony of the tender mercies of the Lord. He says that every month he pays his tithing right when he gets paid and he doesnt know how he will be able to pay rent, the bills, and food, but he always can. Also, through this mercy we can become perfected in Christ. That is the most beautiful truth that we should always hope for. Day by day we can slowly change and one day become perfect like Heavenly Father like Jesus taught us in Matthew 5:48.

"Today is the day I will open my mouth, I will shout from the rooftops the truth will come out. And I am sharing my soul in the words that I speak with the love that has made me this way. Yes today is the day that I proclaim what I believe."

Those are the lyrics to the chorus of the song that wakes us up every morning. I love it. Im officially a 2nd transfer!

Love,

Anziano Smith

Brindisi | week 3

In Lecce last P-day playing soccer with some other elders

This gelato looks amazing! 

Italian pizza looks so good! 

Regan's study desk in his apartment

They really love watermelon there!

First I would like to start by thanking those who wrote me. It seriously meant the world to me. As far as mail goes, I can get letters here at my apartment. However, every 6 weeks we have transfers, and I will not know until 3 days before if I am getting transferred. The next transfer date is September 6th, so if you are sending me a letter within three weeks of my next transfer, it would be safer to send mail to the mission office in Rome and the mission president will bring it down for zone conference which is towards the beginning of each transfer.

My third week in Italy followed a very similar schedule to my first two. Most people here go to the beach all day and come home at night or are on vacation. However, we did meet some incredible people this week that we hope to be able contact next week or the week after. It is easy to feel of the goodness of these people during a conversation that lasts only a few minutes. Honestly, I am very excited for summer to be over.

Last night at English course something big happened for me. So, as you all know, I am with Anziano Pizza literally all the time. It is a lot easier for me to understand him than Italians so usually can decipher what I should say based on what he is saying. Last night I was on the other side of the room, and a man who came started talking to me. I held a conversation with him for about 10 minutes with no help. This gave me a huge confidence boost. My language abilities grew a lot this week.

As far as teaching opportunities, we had our first two formal lessons this week that were great. They were both with members who have not been able to come to church the past couple months because of work. Our first was with a lady named Taurisano who is extremely kind and faithful. She invited us into her kitchen and told us she wanted to read the Book of Mormon with us, and we read Mosiah 5 to 7. She then gave us gelato and told us about her family. She is awesome. Next we met with a man named Richard who is equally as awesome. We got to know him and his friend Kwame a little better, and they told us they want to read the Book of Mormon together because sometimes they have a hard time understanding it. Desire is the first thing one needs to come closer to Christ, and I know he has a strong desire and a humble heart.

This week my testimony of the Book of Mormon has grown incredibly. Every night during our planning session we plan what we will study for personal study and companionship study. Each of these studies are meant to last 1 hour. Every night I planned to study 30 minutes in the Book of Mormon and 30 minutes in Preach My Gospel. This is what President Waddoups encouraged at Zone Conference. Every morning these week I completely failed at this plan because I could not put the Book of Mormon down. When 9 came and Anziano Pizza asked me if I was ready for companionship study I was kind of annoyed because I did not want to stop reading the Book of Mormon. There is a Spirit that will come into your heart which cannot be denied when you prayerfully and diligently study that sacred book. It is one of Gods most precious gifts to the world.

As far as other things are concerned, all is well here. As watermelon season is about to end, last night we each bought a 18 or 20kg watermelon. We have about 75kg of watermelon in our fridge. Also, we found a boss pizza place last night that is right next to the church. It is our new go to. We got out for pizza every Tuesday night after English course (Peve Pizza). That is pretty much standard throughout the whole mission. Also we have become pros this week at managing our resources. Between our 2 stovetops, washer, 2 fridges, oven, we can only have 3 on at a time or the power goes out. The only time this is a problem is during lunch. We have the system down now though. That is about it for the week. Also, last Wednesday we played Soccer in Lecce with the four missionaries there. They won 3 to 2. The series is still young though. They are coming to our field next week. Tomorrow is deep cleaning day which happens three times a year, so we will be cleaning our apartment all day tomorrow. Fun stuff. Take care at home. I hope all is well.

Love,

Anziano Smith

Second letter home from Brindisi!

Second week in Italy was awesome! We got to work a lot more this week since the first week we were getting situated a lot. The day after a wrote last we had a solid english course at the church. Out of the 7 people who usually come, 4 can speak very well, so we just teach by having conversations. They wanted to know about American food so we each told them about a restaurant we liked at home. I told them all about double stamp Tuesdays at Cheeseburger Bobbys. I am becoming really good friends with everyone that comes. There is a man named Antonio who comes each Tuesday and Thursday, and he is one of the nicest people ever. We saw him on Saturday night, and he came up to us and was like the Mormon missionaries on the prowl. I could see you from a million miles away. He was on his way to church and we asked him if Saturday night was usually when he goes. He told us that he tries to go every night. I am really glad I will get to know him better, and have someone to talk to in English.

We had the branch service project again last Saturday. About 20 people showed up, and it was great. It truly is just like one big family here. All of the members show us so much love by giving us rides, feeding us, and being patient with my language skills. They try to have conversations with me even though they know I am still very new. I am learning a ton everyday. What I have learned is that I can understand a lot because I am always listening to the language, but my ability to speak will only come as I practice speaking. I just have to not worry about mistakes and try to do my best.

The last two weeks I have been able to share my testimony in church and say a prayer. All of the members are so supportive. Everyone here gives all their attention and respect to the speaker. From now on, 1 missionary will always be a speaker in sacrament meeting so within the next 3 and half weeks I will have to give a 10 minute talk in church. That should be exciting.

So August is apparently the hardest month of the year for missionary work because of a major holiday coming up that I do not know much about. A lot of people take of the whole month and go to the beach or to visit family elsewhere. It is so true. We have about 10 people we have contacted this week that have told us to call back at the beginning of September. Their lifestyle and culture is totally different than the US. However, there are still people to talk to each day. I do believe it will be much better when September rolls around and everyone is home and the weather is not so hot. A lot of people are just in a hurry to get inside because it is so hot outside.

As far as our apartment goes, things are great. Anziano Brown and I bought a 17kg watermelon five days ago and finished it last night. We are going to buy another one tonight. It will be a sad day when watermelon season ends. Anziano Browns companion is Anziano Andreason, and he is a fantastic cook. He makes a different pasta for lunch everyday. Yesterday I helped him make the pasta (which I should have been doing earlier). From now on I am going to start helping him make pasta everyday. It is fun and feels good to be able to serve the other missionaries. This morning he surprised me and made eggs with ham, three different veggies, and really good cheese. They were the first eggs I have had since before the MTC. It was unreal. I am fortunate to have such amazing elders to live with and work with.

Also, we had zone conference in Bari on Monday which was fantastic. There are 26 missionaries in our zone and we all met and had a great lunch and 4 hours of training. I loved getting to meet all the missionaries in the nearby cities. 3 sister missionaries performed I Know That My Redeemer Lives in Italian, and it quickly brought tears to my eyes. That simple phrase can bring peace that surpasses all understanding. It is eternal truth that the world is longing to know, and it is a sacred privilege to testify of it to everyone we can. While this knowledge is incredible, it is not everything. It is through the application of what we know that will help us truly become converted to Jesus Christ and his teachings. I am drawing nearer to him than I ever have before as I am trying my best to do what he would have me do and constantly relying on him for guidance, peace, and happiness.

Love,

Anziano Smith

Smith and Pizza in Brindisi!

Regan with his first companion in Italy, Anziano Pizza! 

Regan's first apartment in Brindisi, Italy. His desk is the one on the right, and I think his bed is one on the floor!

 Construction of the Rome Italy Temple, scheduled to open September 2014

 Mission home villa in Rome where Regan spent his first night in Italy. The villa was built in 1924 by Mussolini for his niece!

Italy is incredible! I have no idea where to begin. The past week has been the most eye opening and exhilarating time of my life. First of all, the travel from Provo to Rome seemed like 10 minutes for some reason which is very weird. Our first night in Rome we stayed at the mission home which was absolutely beautiful. There was complications with baggage for some missionaries so I got to leave early with Anziano Rigby and on of the assistants. We stopped by the Rome Temple which is massive. It is going to be the third biggest temple in the church! I cannot wait until it is completed. It means so much this place. Anyways, our first night at the mission home was incredible. A local member came over and cooked us the best pasta I have ever tasted by a million miles. We then had gelato which was to die for. About 10 missionaries had to drive back to the airport to pick up bags. They got back around 11 and then all 21 of us sat in the living room and we recieved our assignments one by one and we pointed to our cities on a giant map. I was so excited when I learned my first area is Brindisi!!! Brindisi is incredible. I will talk about it more in a minute.

I woke up the next morning at 430 to catch a 7 hour train ride down to Brindisi. I met my companion Anziano Pizza at the train station with about 25 other missionaries. Every missionary I have met so far is such an inspiration to me. This truly is a special mission. I was nervous when I first met Anziano Pizza because he has been serving on Malta for the last 7 months, and they do not speak Italian in Malta. He has only been speaking Maltese and English. However, it is incredible how fast it is coming back to him. He served in Palermo for 3 transfers before Malta so he has the language down fairly well. Language skills aside, he is a great missionary. He is so humble, and everyone can feel is love and sincerity every time he talks. I have learned so much from him. He truly just wants other people to be happy. He is super easy to get along with and we are already great friends. I have gotten to know about 6 other missionaries pretty well. I wish I had time to write about them all.

We had a great trainride down to Brindisi. I was in awe the whole time. The vineyards and ancient cities here are a sight to behold. I sat next to two Italians on the train who were so kind. One of them spoke really good English and the other did not speak any. I talked to the two of them for a solid 4 hours. I instantly gained a love for the Italian people as a whole just after talking to those two men. I have come to know that they are some of the most genuine and kind people on earth.

The next night we taught English course which was so fun. We teach it every Tuesday and Thursday at the church. About 6 or 7 people usuallly show up and they are all really good, so we just talk about America and our families and then leave with a spiritual thought. Last night I gave the spiritual thought about why I chose to come on a mission and how I can have joy walking around with slacks and a tie in the burning hot all day. I have become really good friends with 2 of the men who come the English course each week and I am glad I got to share my testimony with them.

The church here is on the second floor of a bank. There are 20 active members, and I already feel like family. On Saturday about half of the branch did a service project at a less actives home. We are cleaning out her old home and building a new one for her. We all worked really hard for about 4 hours then we ate Pronzo together. Pronzo is unreal. Every day, all of Italy shuts down from 130 to about 5. I kid you not, there is not a soul on the street. Not even one. Everyone goes home and eats a huge meal. We ate a 7 course meal for lunch. We had pasta, foccocia, about 4 different kinds of fruit from the vineyard in the backyard, salad, fish with mushrooms, gelato, and I cannot remember what else. It was one of the best meals I have ever had. One of the members drove us home after they all took their naps. We studied.

Church on Sunday was incredible. The members are seriously just like one huge family. I got to introduce myself. I mumbled for about 2 minutes in Italian then sat down. I could somewhat understand the messages of the three speakers. The lesson in Gospel Principles class was awesome. It was about the Fall which I studied a ton in the MTC so I could understand it all. Next week Anziano Brown and I are teaching Gospel Principles which will be exciting. O yea, so Anziano Brown and Anziano Andreason are the two other missionaries in Brindisi with us. We live in an apartment in the back corner of the city. We live on the 6th floor and can see the whole city. It is beautiful. There is a pazzeria right across the street and the people there literally love us. Last we each bought a pizza they gave us a free one too just because we are awesome. A whole pizza costs 3 euros and they are so good. Anziano Pizza and Andreason both said Brindisi has the weakest pizza they have had Italy and I think it is incredible. That blows my mind. It is so awesome to come home after a full day working and eat a pizza on our back porch. It is super hot and we walk between 8 to 10 miles a day. Since I am a greenie and Anziano Pizza is new here we did not have anyone to teach this week. We have just been walking around stopping people on the street and knocking doors all day. Monday night and Tuesday night we had incredible experiences. Monday night it was 830, and I was about to drop. We were right by our apartment, and I was just like do you want to call it a night? Anziano Pizza said the Lord needs us to work for 30 more minutes. We found two ladies sitting on their porch and we taught an awesome lesson about the Plan of Salvation. It was the highlight of the day, and I would have missed it if we went back. I am so glad Anziano Pizza is pushing me. Last night was the best. So the apartment complexes here are literally like 3 feet away from the street and most people have their windows open at night. We were walking down a street and we started talking to a lady who was in her kitchen from the street. At first I did not think the conversation would go anywhere, but we ended up talking to her for about 45 minutes. We usually teach people about the Restoration of the Gospel and the Book of Mormon initially, but Anziano Pizza started talking about Gods plan for families. We found out about 15 minutes later that her husband died 8 months ago and she does not believe in God anymore. We both shared our testimonies that we will live again because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and his gospel is meant to give and strength and peace during trials. She started to tear up. We have a return appointment this Friday.

Preparation day was solid today. First we cleaned our apartment for like 2 hours. It really needed it. Then we went and picked up a stamp we need with our names, number, and address which was like a 25 minute walk. Then we went grocery shopping. I would be wrong if I did not tell you about my grocery shopping. Last Friday I bought 2 kilos of yogurt. That is 4.4 pounds. Gone 4 days. I do not plan on slowing down. The fruit here is absolutely absurd. It is seasonal so they bring it in fresh every morning and I bought a bag of pears, oranges, blood oranges, peaches, and grapes to last me for the whole week and it was like 8 euros. It is heavenly. Their pasta, pizza, and gelato is unreal too. Then a member brought me a bed and a desk that I needed which was super nice of him and we reorganized our apartment. He also brought us a new fridge. We are officially in business. After that we just went shopping here which is just as amazing as the food. Now I am finishing my email and it is back to work for the rest of the week.

I almost forgot, last thing. There is a city which is a 25 minute train ride away called Leccia. It is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. We went there for District Meeting Monday morning and I got a rustica which is like a hot croissant with lasagna in the middle and some gelato. This city is unbelievable. We are going next Wednesday to go shopping their and then play soccer.
Everything is great here. I love this city, my companion, the members here, the other missinoaries, and all the people I have met. Most importantly, I am coming to know the Lord like never before. It is a joy to serve him all day every day!
Love,
Anziano Smith