Caserta | week 18 {baptism, transfer calls, going to Rome}

Elder Hatch, Daniel, and Elder Smith 

 Elder Smith and Elder Hatch with the Salvitti family!

 Casertavechia

View from Casertavecchia 

Dinner with the Cloves 

3.31.14

Unfortunately this was my last full week here in Caserta, as I will be transfered to Rome 5 this upcoming Thursday. It will certainly be bitter sweet to head out, as I have had experiences here that have certainly changed me, and I have made friends here that will last a lifetime. It is kind of ironic that we come on missions to help change the lives of other people, when in fact they change ours. Antonio and Daniel have seriously become brothers to Anziano Hatch and I. They were both planning on getting baptized this Saturday, but unfortunately Antonio is not able to be baptized at this moment because of his current situation. However, I will say two things. The first is that I have never witnessed anyone with more faith in Jesus Christ than Antonio. His faith and desire to do what is right is unbelievable. The second is that I know that the Lord always prepares a way that is wiser than our own when things dont go according to our wish. People become more spiritually refined and more people end up being blessed. Anyways, Antonio told Daniel to go ahead and get baptized instead of postponing the date for both of them. It was a really special experience. We went to Pozzuoli where they have a nice baptismal font and the beautiful view of the ocean. There were about 12 other missionaries there and they all invited their investigators and we had a great turn out from our ward as well. Everyone in our ward loves Antonio and Daniel because they are awesome, and we need more youth here. Antonio shared his testimony in church on Sunday, it it was such a powerful moment that it was difficult for Anziano Hatch and I to hold back tears. He has been the most incredible example to me of someone who was completely put his faith and trust in the Lord. I could talk for days about both of those kids. 

This week was also great as I got to see pretty much everyone who I have come close to since I have been here in Caserta. Marco, Anziano Hatch, and I went over to one of our investigators house last week before she went to work. She is an incredible example to me of someone who works so hard to bless other peoples lives without expecting anything in return. She works all day 6 days a week to help support her family that lives in another country and she always has a smile on her face. It always brightens my day when we teach her. Tonight we will teach her at the church for my last time and then we are going out for a gelato. It will definitely be memorable. 

Last week we had a missionary open house for all of our English Course students, investigators, members, and ther friends last Thursday night. It was a huge success as about 70 people showed up with good food, and our members were total champs. English Course students talked with a bunch of Americans and they also felt the love of the people in our ward here. 1 family even set a dinner appointment/lesson with 3 girls from EC. That is what I am talking about. Strangers seem to trust normal families than teenagers in suits. Actually they dont seem to, they totally do. All of the best lessons I have had on my mission have been with members who share personal experiences and conversion stories. Marco and the Salvitti family especially have helped us in our work and did things we never could have done. So, my people back in Peachtree Corners, help the missionaries out! Missionary work is the best. 

I have heard all good things about Rome 5. My new companion will be Anziano Gemmel. He is from New Zealand and has been out on his mission a little over a year. I met him at the mission conference a couple weeks ago and he is hilarious. I already know we are going to be like brothers. Probably going to love him so much, I am going to have to go back and visit him at his place after the mission. I know there are amazing members in Rome too and we will have a car. I am excited to head up Thursday afternoon, but I will certainly soak up these last few days with Anziano Hatch and Tingey. I love them like brothers and same with our friends here. Anziano Heder headed out for America this afternoon at 2. So weird. He was an awesome missionary and had a big influence on all of us. We will see him on the other side next summer. 

Anziano Smith

Caserta | week 16 {Pompeii, St.Patrick's Day, ugly ties}

Sister Salviti took the missionaries to Pompeii for P-day today and these are some of the photos she took!

Sunday lunch 

Anziano Hatch and Anziano Smith with the Fusco Family 

3.17.2014

This past week was seriously too good to be true. Anziano Hatch and I feel like we have found our long lost brothers in Antonio and Daniel. I remember the first time we met them at the train station in Maddaloni and I knew they were awesome from the beginning. They seriously just make everyone around them happy all of the time. It is incredible. Today after we go to Pompeii with the Salvitis, they are coming over for dinner with us and I can already guarantee it will be a night never to be forgotten. The thing that is most incredible about them though is their desire to learn the gospel. We taught them a whopping 5 lessons last week which included watching a talk by President Monson, church movies, reading from the Book of Mormon, and other stuff. Anziano Hatch and I try our best, but we arent necessarily the best teachers in the world. Their progress is seriously coming from within themselves and not from anything we are doing. We are nothing more the instruments in the hands of the Lord that are presenting the gospel. They will seriously be our brothers for life.

Last night we went over the the Fusco family's home and it was a very special experience. That family is beautiful and they are incredibly nice. We stop by their bakery to talk and see how things are going almost every day, but Sunday is their only day off of the week. Last night we spent a solid two hours at their house getting to know them better and then we had an incredible lesson with a Plan of Salvation puzzle thing that Anziano Hatch has. Then we read the Family Proclamation together. It makes me so happy to see families like them who are so happy and such good people. Anyways, two weeks ago Anziano Hatch and I went to Napoli, and we found a tie stand near the station that was selling the ugliest ties I have ever seen for 1 euro. We bought a bunch and have  been wearing them every day the past two weeks. Last night I think our ties were hurting Maurizios eyes so he brought each of us a tie from his closet. He gave me this white and black checkered tie that is honestly my new favorite tie. It is something I will wear the rest of my life and I will never forget that family. Teaching in their home last night really helped me understand the importance of having charity, or the pure love of Christ. If I dont have charity for those I am teaching, then I am really just saying words. But last night was really special because we really felt love for that family and we were not just saying words. We were sharing the things of our soul and the Spirit was really strong. It has been an incredible blessing to get to know them and teach them.

Last night Hatch, Tingey, and I read our mission journals to each other from our first week in the MTC and it was absolutely hysterical. It is funny to look back and see how far we have come. Reading statements like "The gift of tongues is real" from day 5 and "The days are flying by already" on day 8 were some of my favorites. Coming on the mission was the best choice that I have ever made for several reasons. One of which being the personal growth that I have made, but more importantly for the relationships that I have made and the joy of sharing the gospel with other people. It fills me with incredible joy to here about mission calls that are being received by those who will leave this summer. It is really humbling to know that missionaries are working hard all over the globe the bring this glorious message to all who are wanting to learn more about Jesus Christ. Im am sincerely grateful to be a part of this work.

Anziano Smith

Caserta | week 12 {transfer calls, Reggia Garden, charity}

Fratello Izzo's garden

Fratello Izzo's basement (set up like a church with a baptismal font!)

Waiting at the train station 

Transfer guesses!

2.17.14

We got our transfer calls last week, and all four of us are staying together 1 more transfer! This was excellent news because our house is seriously amazing. Anziano Tingey is the funniest kid in the mission, Anziano Heder is always serving everyone and making delicious food for everyone, Anziano Hatch is the best all around missionary I have ever met, and I am just trying not cause any problems. Suffice it to say, we are all having the time of our lives right now.

So last Monday Anziano Tingey and I went on a run in the Reggia Gardens which was a total blast. Right when we got outside the gates, this guy stopped us because he saw are tags and was super excited to see the missionaries. It was a Nigerian man named Prince who was baptized in Germany a couple years ago and had not been able to find the church in Caserta. He is the coolest guy ever. We walked with him to the church and showed him around. Two days later he taught Adam with the two other Anziani. Adam is getting baptized this Saturday in Pozzuoli and he was really excited to help teach him. It has been cool to see him get excited about missionary work and we are hoping to meet some of his friends this upcoming week.

This week was our last week with Marco which was kind of sad for us. He left for Spain for two months or so, but I must say, it was an amazing last week with him. He had an oral exam which he has been studying for the last couple of months and he asked us to give him a blessing the night before the exam. The Spirit was really strong and we were praying for a week or so that he would do his best. We found out the next morning that he made a 30/30 with Honors-the best you can possibly get. It really strengthened my testimony of two things. First, that the power of the priesthood is real, and secondly, that Heavenly Father loves us and is willing to help us with things that he knows our important to us. Whether it be a test, an athletic event, or whatever. Even though these things dont always have eternal significance and consequences, Heavenly Father still wants us to counsel with Him and rely on Him. That night we went out and Marco treated us to pizza and gelato. Hopefully I stay another transfer after this one and we will have some more good times working together.

This week we went back to Sorella Palmieris house for lunch, and we got to meet her daughter Erika. Anziano Hatch and I showed up first and talked for a while about where we have served and stuff like that. Then the others came and totally lightened the mood and we instantly became solid friends when they got there. Erika was asking us about our hobbies and we pointed out the fact that Anziano Tingey likes to rap. He rapped for us one of his best/funniest raps in English thinking that she couldnt understand. She was laughing so hard and then she told us she majored in English and speaks it perfectly. So funny. Anyways, we had a really special lesson after lunch about praying to know that God is our Father and he is wants to listen to us and help us through everything in life. It was a special lesson that helpled my testimony grow a lot and I hope she remembers it. I know she definitely felt the Holy Ghost in the room when we were sharing personal experiences with prayer.

This week I started the Book of Mormon again studying for the topic of charity. It has been incredible to study looking for examples of this attribute. I read and pondered Moroni 7:45-48 before I started this study thinking about what I wanted to get out of it. I realized that this verse gives us the definition of charity, but we have to search the scriptures diligently to find examples of people like us who had this gift. In 1 Nephi I have studied some of the best examples of charity ever, especially in chapters 5 and 7. I could write for days about Lehi and Nephi and how their love for the Lord was evident in how they treated their family.

My ability to express myself in Italian continues to grow. Usually when we have a good conversation on the street, we ask if we can set up a return appointment to see them again. I have been using the word appuntamento my whole mission which does mean appointment. However, when used in the form of a question, it can also mean date. It was quite a revealing experience this week when I figured out I have been asking everyone out on dates for the past 7 months. Cool stuff.

I seriously have come to love my mission and treasure each day here. I love the anziani I am serving with more than anything. They are so close to the Savior and amazing examples of how to serve Him. I want to share one funny example. Last night at 2 in the morning, Anziano Tingey woke up and said, "Anziano Heder, I just had a dream, and I just figured it out. The key to this life is faith in Jesus Christ. Ill explain the rest to you tomorrow." Man, I love him way too much. Honestly, I am way too blessed to be here right now with these missionaries.

Sincerely,

Anziano Smith

Caserta | week 7 {new companion, miracles, happy in Caserta}

Regan's companion sent us this picture labeled "Anziano Smith preaching the good word!" 

Regan's new companion Anziano Hatch! 

Regan: "We met these two ladies at the entrance of the Reggia Gardens and the Lord truly just placed them right in our hands. They began asking questions and we ended up becoming great friends, taught them almost the entire restoration, and then left with an invite to read and pray! Awesome! And they gave us Nutella sandwich's in return. Preachin the good word on P-Day!"  

Anziano Smith and Hatch at Reggia Gardens 

 Beautiful waterfalls at Reggia Gardens

 More waterfalls!

Regan's previous companion Anziano Heder making pretzels! (even though they aren't companions anymore, they still live in the same apartment)

A new haircut! He kinda looks Italian to me! 

Pizza man!

 Kebabs

Regan's first Napolitano pizza that he said was amazing!

I do not know where to begin for my email this week. This week has been absolutely amazing. In the mission call letter it says that more happiness and joy than you have yet experienced awaits you as you serve the Lord with all of your heart leaving behind all other personal affairs. I can honestly say that the past 4 or 5 days working with Anziano Hatch have been the best days of my whole life. Anziano Heder and I went to pick up Anziano Hatch and Tingey from Napoli Centrale on Thursday night and it was so good to see them. I got to know both of them fairly well in the MTC and it is incredible to see how different they are after 6 months. Seriously, they are both men. They are both extremely humble kids who work really hard. They also both have an incredible sense of humor which makes are house super fun. Anyways, Anziano Hatch came to Caserta really optimistic that we were going to do amazing work and see a lot of miracles here. The last 4 days we have not seen anything but miracles. It has been amazing and over all it has strengthened my faith and trust in the Lord. I seriously cant write the least part of which I feel about the work we have been doing the past few days. All I can say is that I know that this church is true and Heavenly Father wants all of His children to feel the blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. This knowledge has changed my attitude that this service is a privilege rather than just a responsibility or a duty.

So this week has been a new experience for me as well because this is the first time I have been the missionary who has been in the city longer. For the first time I kind of had to lead the way around the city and lead lessons. However, it is kind of ironic because Anziano Hatch has taught me more in the last 4 days about missionary work than I have like ever known. It is such a blessing to be able to work with him in this city. It was really neat because we have not done any English Course publicity since I have been here and on Thursday night we had about 7 new students. I dont know how that happened, but it did. We split the course into two groups and Anziano Hatch and I took the new students. We had a really fun lesson and for the spiritual thought we decided to leave it open to questions which I have never done before. That was the best idea ever. Instead of guessing what people need to hear, just ask them. It was great and hopefully we will be able to have success from English Course going forward.

We had a linger longer (lunch) after church on Sunday and we dont even really have to introduce Salvatore and Alina to the ward anymore. They are tight with everyone. It is so cool. We also had a couple other investigators in church who we found Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and we have really high hopes for them.

Aside from all the awesome work, we have also had a lot of fun this week. I got a haircut and just told the guy to make me look good. I didnt think he would give me a fro, but he did. I rocked it for one night then when back to the normal. The people of Caserta are awesome. They make me laugh and smile every day, like when old women ask me to escort them past a park with scary dogs, haha. Anyways, I am excited beyond belief for this transfer and hopefully a few more here in Caserta with Anziano Hatch. Sorry for the short letter. There will be more next week for sure.

Love,

Anziano Smith