Rome 5 | week 4 {Vatican, Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, all in 1 p-day!}

Piazza del Popolo

Vatican

Vatican

 Trevi Fountain

 Coliseum

 Coliseum

 Coliseum

Spanish Steps

Spanish Steps

Gelato!

 Trevi Fountain

Trevi Fountain

4.28.14

So, as you can probably tell from the pictures last pday rocked. We went to Rome and met up with the Anziani from Ostia which are Anziano Baggaley and Anziano Zemp. Zemp and Gemmell were companions in Bitonto and Baggaley and I were really close last summer in Brindisi/Lecce. It was so fun being in Rome all day with them. I also get to see Anziano Pizza and McCllelan every Tuesday at District Meeting. We drive to Terni to have DDM in their chapel every week and it is a lot of fun. It is so good to meet up with missionaries I have served with in the past. They are seriously like brothers to me. 

Unfortuately, most of the people we have been seeing were busy this week, but it still ended up being really fun and productive. On Thursday night we had a party for English Course in the Hotel. The Sisters made banana bread and all of the Italians wanted the recipe. It was really good. I totally forgot how much I loved banana bread. Anyways, the English Course at the church is the Sisters course, but we always go to do lessons/they need a ride home after because the buses dont run that late. Anyways, we went to their party and became good friends with some of the guys from the corso and I think we are going to get a pizza with them and do a lesson at the end of this week, so we are looking forward to that. After corso, we tried to go find a contact that the sisters have at eurohotel which was right across the street. We took the wrong exit on the roundabout and got an a freeway towards Napoli that had no exit for 30 minutes. We ended up paying 6 euro in tolls and took us forever to get back. We will use the nav for everything from now on. 

Friday night we got to go visit the De Nunzio family from a ward. They are so cool and live in a village on the top of a mountain that is sweet. They had some friends visiting from the North who are investigating the church, and we were able to leave a message on the Restoration. It went super well, and we are headed back over there on Thursday night. Fratello De Nunzio is from Tropany (in Siciliy) and he wants to make us arinchini (probably the most famous Sicilian food). It is a holiday here in Italy May 1st, so we will go there for dinner and a lesson with their friends who will still be in town. Should be fun.

Saturday morning we went to Rome so I could get certified to drive the car. In New Zealand they drive on the left, so Anziano Gemmell and I felt more safe about me driving the car, haha. We met President Waddoups at about 11. I thought it was going to be a 5 minute stroll around the block. Instead we drove around Rome for a solid hour, and he took us to the temple as well. It made me so happy to see the temple. It looks really good, and I think it will be done before I finish! 

On Saturday night we met with a man named Hector who the Sisters found a couple weeks ago. He was so nice to us, and he was really humble. He and his wife are from Albania, and they moved here and have 2 kids. We had a great Plan of Salvation lesson, and he really wants to come to church next week. Hopefully there is more to report on that next week.

Anziano Gemmell and I both started to get a little fatigued from journal writing this week. I have missed 2 or 3 days my whole mission of writing. Nontheless, at times when it is 10 oclock there is no desire to put any thought into writing. This week we came up with a game to make journal writing very amusing. We started writing in our journals using Book of Mormon language. Now it is the funnest part of the day. I will quote a few entries from my journal this week:

And it came to pass that Pres said, what doest thou desire to see? And we said, the house of the Lord. And thus we began to ascend to the mountain of the Lord. As we thus arrived, we stopped our journey for the space of 10 minutes for a picture. While I labored to release the parking break, Pres said unto me, art thou a wimp? And it came to pass that Gemmell began to mock me as well. Nevertheless, I heeded them not. 

The day was far spent, and we decided to stop to talk to 8 ragazzi in the piazza. A girl from the land of Napoli reached to hug me. I said, reach thou not youngblood. I am not yet released from my calling.

And it came to pass that as we began to journey towards EuroHotel, we did err. Or in other words, Anziano Gemmell did err insomuch that he put the navigation away. And it came to pass that we lost our journey towards the land of Napoli for 30 minutes and were taxed with 6 onti (which were equivalent to 6 euro, or in other words 2 nopton pizzas). And we humbled ourselves by grabbing the navigation we recommenced our journey towards EuroHotel. 

And while we were thus laboring with all our might, we began to obtain buckets. 

This is abnoxious. I know. However, we are having a lot of fun as you can tell. Hope everyone was a great week as well.

Anziano Smith

Brindisi | week 7

Anziano Jepson, Anziano Alvey, Anziano Smith, and Anziano Pizza

This week started by picking up the new missionaries from the train station. Their names are Anziano Alvey and Anziano Jepsen, and they are both legit. Our house is a lot different than before. I was very happy to find out that Anziano Jepsen is an awesome cook. He has been out a year, so he has learned a few things. Anziano Alvey is straight from the MTC, and he will be a fantastic missionary. He is really excited to be here and working really hard. 

So, on Thursday we met Jeri and Dedy who Anziano Andreason and Anziano Brown were teaching before they got transfered. They live about 2.5 miles away from our apartment, but it is so worth it to go and visit them. Jeri is an artist, and his house is full of his own work which is beautiful. They also live on the 10th floor of their building and have a  beautiful view of Brindisi. Most importantly, he has a really strong desire to come to know God. He and his wife are reading the Book of Mormon right now and they have made it to 2 Nephi 2. It was our goal to read with him, but we were having such a good conversation we did not get around to it. I cannot wait to get to know them better. 

Our visit to Victor and Blessings last Saturday was probably the highlight of my mission so far. It is funny how we come over as the missionaries and teach a lesson, but Victor does all the real teaching. He is the most grateful person I have have ever met. I truly believe the key to happiness is learning to be grateful for what you have. They live in very humble circumstances, yet he finds so much joy in providing for and leading his family down a path that will bless them all forever. Getting to know Victor has humbled me a lot, because I know that I have so far to go as a person. It has been an honor and blessing to help teach his wife every week. 

On Sunday I gave my first talk in church. So, I was really well prepared and had my talk all written out and I was ready to go. We show up to church and an American family in our branch asked Anziano Jepsen to translate for them. This was the first of my 7 weeks here there was a translator. They were on the 3rd row and it was so hard to concentrate while someone was talking whenever I did. Nonetheless, it was a good experience and I think everyone got the point I wanted to get across. My talk was one President Eyrings talk from last general conference called "We Are One." Love that talk. 

Sunday night we passed by Corridinos house. He has been on vacation in the north for the past 10 or so days. He was home, and we got to teach him about the Restoration. He was really receptive and wanting to know more. Last night we met with him again he started the Book of Mormon! We taught him before english course about prophets and the word of wisdom and he committed to live the word of wisdom which was huge. That is such a big step for someone who lives in this culture. His faith blows my mind. 

Monday night was kind of crazy. We met a guy on the street who heard us speaking english to each other, and he learned english in England a couple years ago. We asked him where we could grab a quick bite for cheap and he took us to his friends restraunt which was super cool. However, it took longer than we expected. The good news was the owner and his friends want to learn english and we are going back to the restraunt next Monday to have an English lesson and a spiritual thought. Should be good stuff. 

The most important lesson I learned this week is the need for a humble heart. The most humbling things I have ever done have been here in the last 7 weeks. Asking people to change their lifestyle (aka live the word of wisdom), teaching a bunch of adults english, and street contacting. These are all things that I never would have been able to do 3 months ago. This morning I read D&C 112:10 which says "Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers." When I am truly humble, God is able to guide my words and steps. Humility is key to recieve divine guidance and find courage to do otherwise impossible things. 

I love and miss you all!

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

Regan is officially in Italy!

Regan with the Italy Rome Mission President and his wife

The group of new missionaries that arrived in Italy with Regan

Regan officially arrived to Italy last Wednesday! I meant to post this last week, but I was out of town and am just getting back home. We are so happy he made it there safe and sound, along with the rest of the missionaries. We received the long awaited phone call from Regan when he was at the airport before his flight (the ONE phone call missionaries are allowed to make home, besides on Christmas Day and Mothers Day!) We sent him various calling cards and tons of quarters just to make sure he had everything he needed to use the payphone at the airport! We were overboard excited about this call :) When we saw an unknown number come up on my mom's phone, we knew it was Regan. When we answered, we put him on speaker phone and connected Allie in. We all spoke to him for about 25-30 minutes. We were so grateful for that amount of time because we thought he would only have around 5 minutes.

It was so good to hear his voice, and get a majorly condensed version of his MTC experience. He sounded so happy, and even more excited to finally go to Italy. He gave us advice about things we could do to further strengthen our personal testimonies, based on various lessons he learned during his time at the MTC. He closed the phone call by sharing his testimony with us. It was extremely powerful and left us all in tears. We are so proud of Regan and could not possibly miss him any more than we do already! 

A day later we received an email from the mission president's wife, attached with the 2 pictures above. They took pictures with all the missionaries and let them email home saying that they arrived safe and sound. Words can't describe how grateful we were that the mission president and his wife did this for all the missionaries and their families! They seem like extremely nice people :) After arriving at the mission home in Rome, all the missionaries received letters telling them where in Italy their first assignments were (I only know this from reading the blog of the mission presidents wife!). We are anxiously awaiting his Pday email this Wednesday letting us know where he was assigned to go!

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

Regan's Mission Farewell Open House

Regan and Jacob Winters both gave their farewell talks on Sunday June 9th. They both gave amazing talks and were followed by returning missionary Nathan Harries. It was one of the best meetings I have ever been to! After church, we held an open house for Regan and Jacob. Numerous friends and family members attended and it was a special night. Afterwards, Regan was set apart as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Viva Italia! 

Pam Winters made a variety of desserts, including these mini-missionary cookies!

Jacob's mission call to Richmond, VA speaking Mandarin Chinese & Regan's call to Rome, Italy

Jacob Winters, Nathan Harries, Regan Smith, Matthew Harries

Regan Opens His Mission Call!

Regan opened his mission call on March 1, 2013 right when he got home from school. Mom, Dad, and his two friends Joe and Allan were there in person, but Allie (Regan's other sister) and I had to be on Skype since we were in Utah. I was the only one taking pictures, so that is why these are pictures of him on our iPad! They still do a good job of capturing the moment :)  I don't think our family has ever felt that type of joy and excitement that we experienced when Regan read his call. We all went crazy when he read that he was going to be serving in Rome, Italy! We are all so proud of Regan for his life-long dedication and preparation to serve a mission. I am truly happy for the people in Italy that will have the opportunity to be touched by such a special spirit.