Brindisi | week 9 {half of this letter is about food, haha!}

Brindisi sure looks like a beautiful city!

Regan said this was a crepe stand! That huge jar of nutella sure gives it away

Anziano Pizza, Anziano Jepson, and Anziano Smith after helping someone move in San Vito :) 

Fried melonzana that Sorella Crudos made for the missionaries...looks really good!

I cant remember if I said this last week, but our English course is taking off. We are getting around 30 people every Tuesday and Thursday. Last Tuesday there was a ward council meeting at the church until about 7:15 and the members here all got way excited about how many people are coming. Sorella Crudo lives in a little town called Mesagne about 15 minutes away and she is trying to find a place for us to teach a course in Mesagne on Fridays. There was also another lady from our course who said she would like us to come teach some of her friends on Mondays. English course has been by far our most effective way of meeting people and being able to share our message with others. Each week we have a different poster that teaches them how to do something different in English (introduce yourself, go shopping, ask directions, etc.). This week the poster was on how to say a prayer in English! English course last night ended up being a 30 minute conversation about prayer and what we do all day as missionaries. It was way cool. 

Anways, this week was the first time on my mission I way overate. We helped Victor and his family move into a new apartment right down the street and he fed us the biggest dinner I have ever had. I ate about 4 bowls of this amazing rice with chicken and mushrooms, then 2 chicken sandwiches in this fresh bread from a bakery across the street, and then meatloaf. It was absurd. Then the next day we had an appointment with a family at 4 for pronzo after church. Church ended at 12 and the Palmas said we were coming over to their house for pronzo at 1:30. Sorella Palma started making the ragu for the pasta the day before so there was no backing out. I ate two full pronzos Sunday! Pronzo is no lie as much food as I would eat in a whole day at home. We always pray before we leave the house and when we were leaving Sunday around 1:15 Anziano Alvey prayed that we would be able to eat all of the food the members gave us. That prayer was answered. I barely ate on Monday and Tuesday. 

Corridino and Verah both made a lot of progress this week. There is nothing like seeing the light of the gospel shine in someone elses eyes. Teaching them is a great blessing. It is not enough just to know the doctrine and present it. It is amazing to explain why these things are important to me and how they have blessed my life. Why and how is so much more important than what. The why of the gospel is what motivates us to act and follow the Savior. 

I dont have much time this week, sorry this letter is short. I just realized half of it is about food. Everything is going well in Brindisi. I am loving this city and the people here more and more every week. I cant wait for stake conference this week and general conference the next week! Zone conference is Monday, so I will get letters. 

Take care,

Anziano Smith

Brindisi | week 8 {free pizza for english lessons!}

This is the pizzeria where Regan and the other elders got free pizza for teaching an English lesson. They were invited to come back every Monday to make the exchange! Regan said this place could have been straight out of Pirates of the Caribbean :)

Anziano Pizza, Anziano Alvey, Anziano Jepson, Anziano Smith

This week started off my meeting an amazing couple named Maria and Batista. We met them on the street and got their number. We called two days later and they actually said we could come over which was a first. They live in a super nice apartment right off the center. They told us they respected us so much for leaving our homes and learning a new language to share this message they would at least take the time to hear us out. Turns out they already knew a lot about the church from the internet, and we got to explain a lot about how we have the Book of Mormon and why it is so important. They also had a question about Adam and Eve so we read pretty much all of 2 Nephi 2 which they really enjoyed. They said they would invite us over to Pronzo and we could talk more. I am super excited. Hopefully we get a call soon.

The next day was miracle day. We have been teaching on average about 3 lessons a weeks since I got here. Lame, I know. Last Friday we taught 5 lessons. First we taught Corridino who is making unreal progress. He is keeping all of his commitments: reading from the Book of Mormon and praying each day and he is also smoking less and less. I am so happy for him. I know he is taking the steps he needs to make to come closer the Savior. Next, we taught Verah. It is a true shame I have not written about her earlier because she is amazing. However, we have only been able to meet with her once a week the past 3 weeks and she cannot make church on Sunday. Nevertheless, I can feel how special she when we teach her. She is from Nigeria, and she learned English in school so it is great to be able to teach someone else in English. Our last visit with her we taught about the importance of prophets and we read a lot from King Benjamins address to his people in Mosiah 2-4. She loved it and we left her with the talk "The Race of Life" by President Monson. We then went to Fratello Grecos house to give a message to him and his wife who is not a member. We had an awesome lesson on faith center around Alma 7:11-13 and how this is the absolute core of our faith. We left that lesson and went outside and there were three rainbows on top of each other. It was so legit. Then we taught two more lessons to English course people. Our English course got up to 25 people this week!

On Saturday we had a branch activity in the morning which ended up being walking to a park that was about 15 minutes away and then shooting some hoops and having a spiritual thought. It was kind of random, but I liked it. Right after the spiritual thought an American guy named Tim showed up. We met him earlier that week and told him we would be playing bball possibly and we gave him the address. We didnt call him or anything and he just showed up. He wanted to hang out with us really bad because his two best friends growing up were Mormon and served missions, so he just wanted to see what mission life was like I guess. He was awesome. We ended up staying to play basketball with him longer with some other people at the park. We ended up having on odd number so I said I would just go on a jog around a little trail they had that went around the bball court cause I missed running a lot (no worries, I was within sight and sound of Anziano Pizza). I ended up going 62 minutes and almost 8 miles. It felt so good in the moment. Sunday morning my legs ceased to function. Today I am finally almost healed. That night we taught Victor and Blessing. It was bomb as usual. Victor is an amazing cook and always gives us dinner. On Saturday he made us really good chicken to go over some rice and really good fruit. I love them more and more every week.

Monday night we went and taught English course at that pizzeria I talked about last week. We taught a 20 minute English lesson to the 6 people that worked there and then they told us to sit down and brought all of his free pizzas. They said they wanted us to come back every Monday night from now on. We will so be there for English course, spiritual thought, and hopefully more free pizzas.

So, I have gotten to know Anziano Alvey and Anziano Jepson a lot better this week. They are both amazing guys. The past 2 weeks I have been super locked in and focused so my personality/sense of humor hasnt really come out with them yet. However, Anziano Alvey is the funniest missionary I have met yet. Today he was like Smith do you have a girl writing you and if so is her name Barbara? Haha, Im glad I get at least 4 more weeks with them.

So, yesterday I was reading in PMG in the first chapter about my purpose as a missionary. One sentence really stuck out to me. It said, your desire to share the gospel will increase as you understanding of the Atonement increases. Then next morning I decided to study the Atonement out of Gospel Principles. I realized that I can gain knowledge about the Atonement when I read from there and the scriptures, but understanding of the Atonement only comes through personal experience with it. I need to try to have more experiences with the Atonement through my faith and repentance. When I use the Atonement through repenting a becoming better and feel the fruit from it, then I will desire to share it more and have more power behind my words. Everyone take care! Love you all!

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

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