Rome Time
Elder Smith with his new companion Elder Heder
View from pozzuoli church
Lunch with the Willies
So this week started off by helping with a
move, and it actually ended up being a lot of fun. Brother Sorrentino has a
daughter who was living with him and she and her son got a place of their own
that is in a really pretty little town about 20 minutes outside of Caserta. It
was a little difficult to move her in because she lived on the third floor of
the apartment and there was not an elevator. They were extremely appreciative
of our help and fed us an awesome pronzo at their house afterwards.
Friday night we
had an appointment to go over to the Nilssons for dinner and that was my first
time being on the base. It seriously is like mini America, and I loved it.
Anyways, the Nilssons were too kind. They talked to my mom and sister earlier
that week and found out my favorite dinner and made it for Anziano Heder and
me. It was the nicest thing ever! I definitely felt a little piece of heaven in
their home. After dinner Anziano Heder and Brother Nilsson were practcing
"O Holy Night" for the Branch Christmas Party coming up this week. We
also left a spiritual thought for their family and Sister Nilsson shared a
really profound thought that touched me. She talked about how when she was our
age she had her own goals and ambitions, but when she had kids, then her dreams
and goals became that of her kids. She compared that to Heavenly Fathers love
and how his happiness and joy comes in our successes. Overall, it was an
incredible experience for me to see such a family like them and eat my favorite
dinner!
Church was really
special on Sunday because the Stake Presidency came along with
President and Sister Waddoups. It is always humbling to have meetings with such
powerful men and then have them say, "The Lord has sent Anziano Heder and
Anziano Smith here to help you follow Elder Ballards counsel to fill the Rome
Temple with Gods children." They all talked about missionary work and the
things that Elder Ballard told them at a recent meeting up in Rome. Another
cool thing that happend at church was that we had an invesigator named Giuseppe
come. During the third hour he came with me into young mens. Everyone in our
young mens class speaks English other than one, and so I translatd for him.
However, Giuseppe speaks very good English so he could definitely understand
and communicate just fine. One of the boys in the class was suppose to give the
lesson, but he forgot and so it kind of turned into a question and answer
session between Giuseppe and the boys with questions like, "What
experiences have made you want to grow up Mormon? Why would you consider
leaving everything behind to serve a mission for two years?" It was a
sweet experience to hear our 5 young men share their testimonies with him. Most
of them talked about how it was not one single moment that gave them a
testimony or a knowledge that the church is true, but it has been consistently
coming to church, reading the scriptures, and praying that has helped them
little by little. Then when they look back on the years they can see the growth
and progression they have made and how gospel has brought them real, lasting
joy. They will all make stellar missionaries one day. I thought of myself when
they were talking. I have come so far on my mission, but I cannot attribute it to
any one experience. I have grown and learned with time, a little here and a
little there. It made me think of a scripture President Monson quoted last
General Conference: the battle is not to the strong or the race to swift, but
the prize is for him that endures to the end. It is so true. Life is an
endurance test. It is the same with a mission, school, sports, or whatever
else. Meaningful growth and change take time and work.
Monday we had
specialized training (shortend version of zone conference) in Pozzuoli which
was a lot of fun. We were all assigned another elder in the zone to bring a
present for a gift exchange. I definitely got the sweetest present in the zone.
Anziano Hansen hooked me up with a bonzai tree. Yep, it is definitely the new
center piece to our kitchen table. Other than the gift exchange, it was a
pretty standard meeting. We had awesome instruction from the district and zone
leaders. To finish it off, the Waddoups had us act out the nativity. There are
pics on her blog of it. It was fun. Also, the First Presidency sent all the
missionaries throughout the world christmas cards with Luke 2:10-11 (I think)
and a short testimony of the joy Christ brings during this season and for the
rest of the year. It was so simple, but it almost brought me to tears. The
front had a really pretty pic of the Salt Lake Temple and the inside had a
picture of the First Presidency. It made me think of a lesson we taught to
Salvatore earlier this week about the Restoration of the gospel. We read him
Ephesians 2:19-20 which talks about how the church is built upon the foundation
of prophets and apostles with Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.
I have no doubt that President Monson is a prophet of God and that he holds all
the keys of the priesthood necessary to guide and direct Gods church on the
earth today. I hope all is well back in Georgia. Christmas is the best
time of the year! Enjoy it!
Anziano Smith
