Rome 5 | week 15

 Regan's birthday dinner in Rome with Daniel!!

 Gelato with Francesco and Nem

Pictures from Rome! 

7.14.2014

This week started off with a with an exchange with Anziano Morgan from Terni. He is our District Leader right now, and he is a really fun missionary to be around. Everyone who has served with him knows that. He always teaches me a lot of things about missionary work through his example, not the least of which is that it is always important to keep a good sense of humor and that this work can be fun. We taught some good lessons and made some huge fruit smoothies Monday and Tuesday night. 

We were able to teach Marilena again this week with Fratello Vaccorono, and was excellent. It is really the first time on my mission I have worked with a member to teach one of their friends, and it is so clear that it is the best way to do missionary work. Fra Vaccorono is a really humble guy who just wants the best for one of his friends and was so quick to invite us to meet with her when she had some questions about religion and his spirituality. Anyways, she is reading in the Book of Mormon excited to come to church as soon as her work slows down/after vacation. It might take a little time, but she is definitely headed in the right direction. 

This week we got invited to two sweet parties. One of the them was at Simona and Davides house ("ma dai!"), and the other was at a members house. First at Simonas house-they have a huge house in the country where her parents, sister, and cousins and their kids all live. It is a family house they have owned forever with a huge garden, horses, with several acres...the whole deal. So dinner was us with like 10 of them, and Simonas mom made 7 different types of pizza with stuff from their garde, and I had about 3 pieces of each. It was the most pizza I have ever eaten at once. After dinner I wasnt really sure how to teach a lesson so I just asked Simona if she read any of the Book of Momon last week and it started in awesome conversation about the gospel. At the end they asked us to come back this week and teach them the plan of salvation and have dinner again, so we are defintely looking forward to that. The other was the Guidara family. They had some friends who took the missionary lessons about 2 years ago, but werent able to continue after they faced a few really bad sicknesses coming over as well as members from all over the Rome East Stake. We got over and their house was the most beautiful home I have ever seen in my life. Their house is on the top of its own hill looking over mountains, olive trees, and fields and every side. We were there from 7 to 9 eating and talking with all of their friends and members, and it was a blast. The next day they told us the party went till midnight. Italians serisously know how to party and eat well. 

My birthday was on Friday and Daniel came up to Rome from Caserta! It totally made my entire day, that he came up for dinner and to spend the night. We met up at the station and walked around Rome for a little while looking for a good restaraunt to eat at, and the whole time Daniel was pointing at random American people and was like, "Anziano Smith do some missionary work, come on." It was really cool doing some finding on the streets with Daniel. He was talking with some people in English and he was really nice and sincere with everyone he talked to. It made me so happy. That night he spent the night with a member family in Rome 5 and they watched a movie and played video games all night. I feel bad there arent more youth down in Caserta for him and Antonio to hang out with. They are both super strong and good examples to me. 

Overall, this week was another solid week as a missionary. The schedule is always the same, but it never gets old or boring. I know with all my heart the Lord is watching over us each and every day, and I can feel His love every time we do our best to share it with others. Thank you so much to those who wrote me for my  birthday. Love you guys a bunch. 

Anziano Smith.

Rome 5 | week 14

7.7.2014


This week was the fullest week I have had here in Rome 5. I have to start by giving some background to the first story though...

So it was Elder Blairs first week in the mission, and English Course at Palace in finished at 8, so we still had an hour before we had to go home. Since we were in the car, we just decided to drive out in some random really nice neighborhood like 15 minutes away and knock doors which some nice scenery at least. I have never done that before, and I still have no idea why we did it. Anyways, the houses were pretty far apart cause this neighborhood was straight up in the country. All the houses had gates so we just rang the bell things outside and got nothing for about 15 doors. We decided that we would do one more door then go home. Earlier that day I was telling Anziano Blair that we needed to lighten up and joke with people a little, so when people said they werent intersted he should say, "ma dai!" which means, "but come on." It sounds wierd in English, but Italians say it all the time, and it is really funny. Anyways, he rang this doorbell and a guy walked out of the garage at the bottom of his drive way (probably 50 yards away), and we were kind of yelling to introduce ourselves. He said he was interested and then, and then Anziano Blair put his arms up and said, "Ma dai!" It was so funny. We were talking about it for days. Last week we met this awesome lady who works a grocery store by our house and we talked to her for about 20 minutes and we got her number and address. We started driving over and recognized the street. When we got there we realized it was the same house! That was her husband at the bottom of the driveway. His name is Davide, and he is way cool. Anyways, they totally committed to read the Book of Mormon and come to church next week, so we will see what happens with them. 

This week Hikmout introduced us to some more of his friends from Afghanistan and we helped teach them some English twice this week. His friend Emel is such an awesome guy (I may have written about him last week), but struggles speaking English and Italian, so it is kind of difficult. However, a total miracle happened Friday night. They invited us to "a dinner" that was across the street from the apartment. We went and their was a bar with a sign in front that said "Packistan and Afganistan Culture Night." There were like 30 people from Packistan and Afghanistan. The reason why we were totally suppose to be there was because we found our boy Mumtas!!! I wrote about him like 2 months ago or something. He got in a bad accident and was in the hospital in Rome for a long time, but he is finally better. He also was able to translate for us and Emel for a long time too which was sweet. After an hour a lady told us we had to leave cause we were Americans, haha. Coolest 4th of July ever though. 

I dont know if I have ever written about the Vaccorono family, but they have been the most supportive and helpful family ever towards us since I have been here. In church yesterday, he told us he had a friend who we needed to meet. That night we met with his friend Marilena and two of her other friends. It was one of the best missionary experiences of my life. Fratello Vaccorono is so humble. He told his friends that this gospel is the most precious he has, and then he told how we met two missionaries at an English Course 18 years ago, and his life has never been the same. He told his entire conversion story and then we were able to share our message. After our lesson we all ate a big dinner together (Marilenas kids and Fratello Vaccoronos kids as well). It was one of the first times on my mission I honestly felt at home. Marilena made a really good pasta, and then we picked a ton of figs of their fig trees in the back and just talked. Their house was up in the mountains and had an awesome view too. I asked her how long she lived their and found out it was her friends house on vacation in Greece, and she was crashing it while they were gone, haha. So awesome. 

Anyways, we are very grateful for the work we have been finding over the past couple of weeks. Summer here is often extremely tough because everyone goes on vacation in the summer. Like 10 have already told us to call them in September, but we are still being really blessed to find and teach amazing people. 

Anziano Smith

Rome 5 | week 13

 Anziano Smith and Anziano Blair at the Pantheon

6.30.2014

A lot of cool stuff happened this week. The highlight was definitely Laquilla. There was a family history conference there on Thursday night that we were invited to in which there were a few prominent Italian government leaders invited to as well. At first I thought it was going to be a waste of our time and money, but our leaders kept telling us to go. We didnt know anyone there, what to do, and it was going to cost about 50 euro in gas and 20 euro in tolls. We went anyways cause we were told to, and it ended up being worth every minute of time and every euro. The conference was really great. One of the Senior couples did a good job of explaing how familysearch works, and then our Stake President brought the house down explaining why we do it. Then he totally gave all the missionaries a shout out and told everyone visiting to talk to us. Right when the meeting ended, and woman came up to Anziano Blair and I and invited us over to her house to dinner. It was kind of random but we accepted. On the car ride over, we found out that she had a son who was baptized 3 years ago, and he has been on his mission in Portugal for 18 months now. She and her daughter never really investigated the church much at all, but were always respectful of the missionaries because of her son. We had a lot of fun at her house, and she taught us how to cook like 3 different things. After dinner, she broke down into tears and asked us why we served missions. It was one of the most tender moments of my mission teaching her about the Book of Mormon and promises contained in it. At the end of the night she and her daugther committed to read Ether 12 and then took us home. When we got to the Laquilla house, the other missionaries told us they have been trying to contact her for several weeks. It was totally a miracle (they didnt see her at the conference becuase they had to go to Rome for transfers). Anyways, it was a night I will never forget, and I hope I get to return one day. 

Saturday night we went over to a lesson with Lorenzo, and he was like, "you guys always work. take a break." Then he just started cooking pasta and turned on the World Cup. That totally happened like 3 other times this week. I feel kind of bad, but we cant really do anything about it. However, I have come to appreciate the game of soccer. As of 2 weeks ago I thought it was dumb, because the score was always 1-0. 

The other highlight of the week was meeting 2 new friends Hikmout and Emel.  Hikmout is 19 and has  been here in Italy for 18 months and speaks 7 languages. Emel on the other hand has only been here for 8 months, but he has traveled around all of Europe for the best 7 or 8 years. Both of them are from Afghanistan. We first met Hikmout on a bench at the beginning of last week, and he invited us over to his place later in the week. He opened up to us a lot and told us the story of his childhood, and it was really sad. I have never met kids who have lived through things that he has seen, and I really felt a lot of compassion on him. Sometimes I miss family and friends, but in the end I know that I am going home next summer and everyone will still be there. There are some people that miss family and friends and literally dont know if they will ever see them again. That is totally a different thing. Anyways, we were able to explain a little bit about our purpose as missionaries, and then he shared a little bit about his religious background. He is Muslim and after he finished explaining some of the basic beliefs they have, he asked if I followed/understood anything. I was like, uhh...no. Then he said, ya I dont really understand what you guys are talking about either. Then he showed us some video by a Muslim man for a few minutes and he said next time we can bring a talk by President Monson. It was really cool. Then he called us the next day and said his friend Emel wants to learn English, so we went over and met with him and it turned out he barely speaks Italian or English, so communicated was a bit challenging, but we figured it out. We taught him a little about introducing yourself in English for like 20 minutes, then he did his best to tell us about the last 10 years or so of his life. I dont think I have ever felt more compassion on anyone in my life. We were able to testify of the love of God in the simplest language we could and then knelt and said a prayer together before we left. When we left his house, I saw the people I was walking by on the street differently. I realized that everyone has their own problems and their own way of seeing the world based off of different circumstances, experiences, and choices instead of just people. More importantly, I knew that all of them were sons or daughters of God. Getting to know them gave me a stronger desire to share the gospel because I felt the need of it. It also made me really be grateful for a lot of things I take for granted, more respectful towards others, and less judgmental. Overall, this week was great. Ciao!

Anziano Smith

Rome 5 | week 12

 Saying goodbye to Elder Pizza! 

 Regan with Elder Pizza (his first companion in Brindisi)

  

6.23.2014

So last Monday right after we finished writing home, something incredible happened. We know the lady who works here at the Internet Point pretty well cause we come here every week to write home. Last Monday she showed us her glasses that she just bought for 365 euro and how they already had some scratches on the frames that were hurting her nose and the place she bought them from said they wouldnt replace them. She asked if we could do anything about it, and we were totally blank on ideas. Then I remembered that there was a guy who came to English Course 2 times when I first got here who worked at a glasses store here in Monterotondo. We went to his place to tell him what was up and then they met the next day and she got her frames replaced for free! That was the first time I had helped anyone with a practical problem my entire mission. I literally have no idea how I remember about that guy, and the cooler thing was that we found is store in about 15 minutes and we werent even sure where it was. Cool experience. 

This was the last week of the transfer, and we will be getting some new missionaries in the district. Anziano Blair and I will be staying together for another which is what we expected and we are both happy about. Sad news was that it was Anziano Pizzas last District Meeting ever. He is flying home tomorrow! It was like yesterday when we met and he was going into his 9th transfer and I was a greenie, now Im going into my 9th transfer. The mission goes by super fast. Before we left we got some family photos: grandfather, father, son (Pizza, Smith, Blair). They are pretty epic. I have really come to love all the other missionaries who I have served with and that has been one of the greatest blessings of my mission. Everyone here is strong in the gospel and loves the Lord, but everyone has a different story, personality, interests, etc. It has showed me that this gospel really is for everyone. 

We had a lesson again with Lorenzo on Saturday and he told us the reason he invites us over is because we are exactly the opposite of all the other kids in the world-the way we dress, how we spend our time, our values, etc. He straight up told us that he wasnt very interested in the Book of Mormon or our living day prophets, but he was just happy to know young kids who serve God. His words seriously touched both of us, then he taught us how to make a really good pasta that Im going to start making all the time. Anyways, his words towards us were super geniune and respectful, and helped me learn about the Italian culture in general. I realized that although not all Italians are as open as Lorenzo, they are genuine and loving people. They are also very logical, and I really respect that. Today for pday Anziano Blair and I took a guided tour of the Coliseum in English, and the tour guide was really getting the point across that the construction/purposes of the Coliseum reflected a lot about the Italian culture. He said a lot of stuff I dont have time to write right now, but he was basically saying that Italians were the most logical people on earth who put all the Greeks ideas into practice. The principle of logic and reasoning is still the same today, which makes it hard when we are contacting people on the street telling them about angels appearing to a 14 year old boy in America 200 years ago. Nonetheless, I have seen how they are some of the most loving and genuine people towards their families, and the members here who have come to the knowledge of the Restoration of the gospel are the strongest saints on the earth. Im so glad they are getting a temple next year, which I know will open up the curiosity and interst of many Italians. Serving here has definitely been the best experience of my life, and helped me learn so many things I could have never learned at home. 

Anziano Smith

Rome 5 | week 11

6.16.2014

Last Monday night after pday Anziano Blair and I got calls from a couple people we were teaching who told us they dont want to see us anymore, and it destroyed us. We were both really down, and decided to just go get some pizza. In the next 10 minutes, 3 people stopped us to talk. It was such a tender mercy. The first guy was 89, and he fought in WW2. We visited him twice last week. So cool, he literally knows every person who has ever lived in Passo Corese. He has lived here his entire life. Guy number 2 was the young priest from the Catholic Church in the middle of the city who we are tight with. He stopped us and asked us if we discipled anyone that day. It was pday, so I told him we did nothing all day, and he cracked up. Third lady was the Ethopian lady who invited us to that party thing I wrote about 2 weeks ago or so. She is seriously like our best friend. I thought it was a miracle that God put 3 people in our path right when we were really discouraged. It really let me know that he is always watching over us. 

Other cool stuff about this week - I had a record breaking 2 service opportunities this week! The first was with Sorella Vaccorono putting up a bunch of water games that we set up the week before for the kids getting out of school party. We put all the games up with her and a man named Asim from Albania. Afterwards, she invited all 3 of us to her house for dinner last night. Sorella Vaccorono made us a great dinner, and then we had a spiritual thought on the Book of Mormon. We found out that he has a son that died a few years ago, and we left him with some chapters about the plan of salvation to read this week. Overall, it was a really good night, and a good spiritual experience. 

Next, we got to help Marco donate some of his old stuff. He is someone the missionaries have known for several years, and we have recently started seeing him again. He lives in Poggio Mirteto where the Anziani use to live. It hast he most beautiful view ever. I got a picture with him after from a castle that was near the place we dropped the stuff off. At the end of the night we asked him if he knew anyone he thinks is searching for a stronger relationship with God, and then we rang his neighbors doorbell. She was busy, but I respected him so much for that. He is the man. 

Friday night, Anziano Blair and I got our feelings hurt. We have a neighbor who is 11 years old, and he is a really cool kid. We run into him about every other day, and we always talk and joke together. Friday night we were walking around Passo and we saw him with a group of about 10 friends. We tried to say hi to him, and he pretended like he didnt know us. Our next encounter outside the house will be really awkward. 

One of the coolest things I have seen my entire mission happened on Saturday night. We took Nem out to a mall right by his house where we met one of his friends who works their and invited her to church, and then we bought a massive tub of gelato to go back to eat at his house. When we got back, there were 3 guys chilling there waiting for the World Cup to start. One of them was 51 year old man who was worked with Nems dad for several years and considers Nem his son. He told us that he and the rest of Nems family was against his baptism, but he did it anyways. He said Nem has become a completely different person in the last year since he has been "praying with the Mormons." He invited us to come over to his house next Sunday to teach him, his wife, and his kids how we are different from other Christian churches. Nem is seriously an inspiration to me. His example has blessed so many people. 

Last week we figured out how to hack the wifi at the Hotel and downloaded all the Bible Videos on our phone. This week Anziano Blair and I have been watching them during lunch and before bed. Those videos are so inspiring. There is one in particular that I have watched every day this week: "My Kingdom is not of This World." They are such a good way to brighten someones day and really easy to send to people. I would definitely recommend it. Have an awesome week!

Anziano Smith