Brindisi | week 4

So this week some very exciting things happened. On Saturday I went on an exchange with Anziano Brown to a city called San Vito. We visited a man named Victor and his wife Blessing who is a new convert. They have come to our Gospel Principles class 3 times but it was great to go to their home and get to know them better. They both speak English fairly well so we got to teach the lesson to Blessing in English which was a relief for me. We taught her about service and she committed to accept a calling soon. Then she made a delicious dinner. Also, they are moving at the end of the month, so it will be great to be able to help them out with that.

On Sunday we had two people we met last week come to church! They both had a great experience  and could feel the love of all the members in our branch. One of them is a man from Ethiopia. He showed up to church and told us the address on our passalong card was wrong. We looked it up it and it was. Missionaries have been using that stamp for passalong cards and pamphlets for the last year. I honestly do not know what to think about that. Anziano Pizza and I have under control now though. The other man is from English course and he has come to church the past two weeks. Anziano Brown and I got to teach him about prayer in Gospel Principles, and he committed to pray each night this week. At English course last night he said his prayers were going great. 

So on Sunday night Anziano Pizza and I met an awesome family. We were walking by the Marina where there is a ton of restaraunts and they were setting up for a concert. I have no idea why we decided to go there because no one was going to stop and talk to us, but for some reason we ended up down there. Out of nowhere I heard someone yelling Elders! Elders! There was an American family eating a restaraunt and they offered to buy us dinner. We told them we could not eat, but we could talk for a little while. At first I thought they were a member family on vacation, but it turns out they have lived here since December for work and they are moving back to Charleston this December. I am still not sure how they knew the missionaries or why they offered to buy us dinner, but they were a super nice familly. They live across the water and you have to get a boat ride to where they live and they said we could come over this Saturday or next Saturday so we are really excited about that.

Overall, we have been doing a lot of finding on the streets. We went to a new area that is close to the Marina which is super pretty, and we got an appointment to go back a talk with a lady this Friday. While we were exploring new parts of Brindisi, we happened to come across this market which we will definitely be going to in the near future. Also, we found a place here that sells Buffmozz (not sure on the spelling). It is a specific kind of cheese that is made from buffalo milk. We each bought a huge ball of it with a couple tomatoes each. I think it is better than the pizza.

Today for pday, we ended up going back to Lecce again for some shopping and soccer. We found small shop that was closing down and bought some soccer jerseys and funny nba hats. I got an awesome Italy jersey, but I have no skills to back it up. We grabbed a quick lunch and played soccer again. Brindisi came out on top this week. Next week will probably be our last game of the transfer.

This week I learned a lot about the power of faith in Jesus Christ. When I just trust what he says and try my best to do his will, miracles happen. This morning  I read a scripture in the Book of Mormon that said God will protect those who think of him and obey him like a father protects his son who serves him. There are a lot of voices that compete for our attention in the world. I have learned that when we just think of the Lord and try to do what he would do, we can find peace and joy that can come from any other source. It is by doing this that we can lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven. 

Anziano Smith

MTC | Week 4

The 4th of July was a great start to week 4! It was a regular day of class until 6:30, and we all go to go to have a big 4th of July presention with the whole mission. We started by singing a few patriotic hymns. It was really awkward because the two kids sitting next to me were from England. I was trying so hard not to laugh the whole time. I couldn't hold it any longer when the elder saying the opening pray said, "We are grateful that our forefathers had the courage to brake away from England." It was so funny. They were good sports about it. Then there was a man who spoke who served in the Air Force and he gave a really inspiring talk about his son-in-law who is also in the military. We then all got to watch 17 Miracles. For those of you who don't know, it is a movie about the Mormon Pioneers trecking across the counrty. I loved the scene when Levi Savage said, "I looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but I saw no one. It was then I knew the angels of God were with us." I can definitely relate that to myself here in the MTC so far. I have definitely been blessed with strenght beyond my own here. 

On Sunday night I went to the Character of Christ talk again, and I sat next to Jacob! It was awesome to be able to talk to him for a while. He talked to me in Chinese for the like 5 minutes and it blew my mind. He also showed me a bunch of characters he has learned. He said each word in can mean about 10 different things and it is purely based of the context. He seemed to be doing great with it though. O yea, before the Character of Christ talk, we had a devotional by Susan Easton Black. She was so incredible. She told a story of when she and a friend went to Salt Lake and found the prophet's house. Condensing a 20 minute story in a couple sentences, she knocked on the prophet's door and her friend ran away. David O. McKay opened the door and invited her in. She said for 15 minutes the whole world stood still, and she had no doubt that he was a prophet of God. From that moment on she hit the books. Since, she was the first female professor at BYU, she has written 130 books, and 300 articles for the church. She shared with us some of the knowledge she had gained and it was incredible. I'll give one examle and then move on. 

She said she had a friend who told her she was leaving the church and she asked why. Her friends said because some of her friends showed her an original copy of the Book of Mormon which said on the front cover that Joseph Smith was the author and proprietor-not the translator. Sister Black said, that's silly. You and you friends meet me for lunch tomorrow. Sister Black brought brought a book about New York publication laws at the time and the friends brought the original copy of the Book of Mormon. In New York in 1830, there was a law that no one could publish a book if they were not the author. Therefore, Joseph had to say he was the author for the book to be published. She flipped a couple pages and read the Testimony of the prophet in which he clearly stated he was the translator of the book. She then told us on our missions we will need to study, not just read about the gospel. A bunch of people will have questions, apparent contradictions, and othere things that my puzzle us if we haven't studied. It was really inspiring. 

On Monday Fratello Weller gave a really powerful lesson that I wanted to share a little bit about. He asked us what we depended on in high school for our happiness, enjoyment, success, or whatever else. We said the typical answers: family, friends, music, sports, internet/tv. We then read Moroni 6:4 together. "And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ...to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and finisher of their faith." Everything we listed on the board is gone now. On our missions, we have to depend solely upon Christ. It is him we represent. Therefore, we are promised his help. This helped me realize how humble I need to be to the will of the Lord. Every prayer, thought, and action I do is in his name, and it is upon him I must rely. I love this verse. 

The thing I have also learned is that the stories in the Book of Mormon and Bile are not just fiction for our entertainment or to help us feel good. They are true, and the principles are applicable in this day as in days of old. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He still works among the children of men in the same way he always has-according to their faith and humility. I know that the power of prayer is real. It isn't the duration of prayers that matter, but the depths of your desires. As we close out the world and spend time sincerely talking to our Father, we will learn of him and feel his love. God already knows everything about us. Prayer isn't for him, it is for us. Prayer is the key to personal revelation. I'm so grateful for it. 

Last night at our devotional, the speakers asked us all a qustion: "Are you serving time or are you serving the Savior?" I'm so grateful for these two years to set everything aside and give it to the Lord. I've been thinking a lot about Mosiah 2:17-25 this week. These verses give me the perspective of what can I give, not what can I get. The only way to truly find ourselves in this life is to lose ourselves in the service of our fellow man. 

The Italian is a work in progress. We learn knew concepts everyday, but I often find myself using the grammar I am comfortable with in our lessons. I'm trying to stretch myself now so it will be easier in 13 DAYS when we leave. It is so soon. I'm really excited to go. Elder Kuck just emailed me and told me to talk to every person I see on my mission. This will be quite the growing experience for me to say the least. Sister Black's husband told us that we can be bold on our missions not because we were born bold, but because we have been set apart by one holding authority from God as representatives of Jesus Christ to preach the gospel. It's great to know that I'm part of something so much bigger than myself.

Well that is about all the news I have for the week. Take care everyone!

Anziano Smith