Ciao a tutti!

In a matter of days, I'm going to be on American soil again. These past two years have been incredible. I feel very different than the person I was in October, 2015. It's hard to sum up a massive portion of time in one word, but incredible does an adequate job. As I look back on that language-struggling, power-hungry, homesick lad in my early journal entries, I want to pat him on the back and tell him it's going to be all right.

Story time. On Monday morning, I did something to really hurt a member's feelings. Despite my innocent motives, this particular member called me and was very offended. After the phone call, I was very embarrassed. It's one thing offending someone outside of the mission, but when you offend someone while acting as a disciple of Jesus Christ, it feels a little different.

Anziano Montalto tried to cheer me up by giving me a hug and telling me that it was never my intention to wrong the member (he's a great companion), but regardless, I was feeling really down... About 15 minutes later, we received a telephone call from a Swiss phone number. The person at the other end of the line was a lady whom we had met the previous night.

On Sunday evening, a Swiss family called us and asked us to come to the local hospital. While on vacation here in Rimini, their two year-old daughter had suddenly become very ill. Despite being whisked away by an ambulance and receiving medical treatment, the baby girl had a very high fever and needed to remain at the hospital  overnight. They asked us to administer to the her.

We had changed our current plans and went straight to the hospital. At the hospital, I laid my hands on that baby girl's head and blessed her that she would have a speedy recovery. The mother was calling us on Monday morning to tell us their baby daughter was completely healed and acting completely normal.

The phone call was a miraculous tender mercy for me on that morning. I've made a lot of mistakes here in the mission, but being a missionary has helped me "get it". I can be pretty stupid at times, but the essence of the gospel is change! As I continue to repent and do my best, I'm going to be worthy of the Spirit and will be given the opportunity to serve others through my Priesthood service.

Our bishop was interviewing our terrific trio this week for baptism and I was the acting translator. In one of the interviews, he said, "Baptism is like opening a door. After the door is opened, there's not a chair waiting for you to sit on. Rather, there is a hill and you're expected to walk up it. It's not easy walking up the hill, but there are blessings you get to collect all the way to the top."

I know that's true. I've seen the blessings in my life as I've continued walking up the hill. I've also seen that the more my legs hurt and the sweatier I am, the bigger the blessing is that I get to collect as I keep moving forward.

Repentance has become more than a fancy word word used during Sunday school. Reading in the Book of Mormon has become more than a thing to cross off my daily checklist. Prayer has become more than a few thoughtless phrases that I recite before hopping into my bed. I would be ungrateful if I didn't recognize the magnificent spiritual experiences I had before leaving on my mission. However, I can confidently say that I didn't truly understand the essence of the Gospel before.

We can and need to repent everyday. The Book of Mormon has a converting power that I don't think we'll fully realize in this life. We can literally talk to our Heavenly Father and receive answers through our faith and sincerity. I'll be forever grateful for my mission and the blessings I've received. I believe it would be arrogant for me to say that there's not a possibility that I could ever leave this church as I reflect on the Bible story of Daniel, but I'm going try with all my heart to maintain my testimony and merit future blessings from the Almighty through my diligent, future Priesthood service. I know this church is true and plan on building off a Christ centered foundation at I commence my post-mission endeavors.

Ci rivedremo,
Anziano Anderson

p.s. In relation to the title of the email: Anziano Leavitt, my mission "son" is training in Bolzano! That makes me a "grandpa"! I'm so excited for him, he's going to kill it! 😏

1. Scambio gelato!
2. Three fine young men preparing to be baptized on my right, and one dapper young man seeking for a testimony on my left
3. His food is always a little too spicy, but he's always going to be a legend in my book!
4. We helped out the sisters in Forli earlier this week in a day of proselyting!
5. Goodbye dinner with Simone and Franci 🎉
6. Bazan!!!!!!
7. This is the street we generally do proselyting on... 😉
8. ❤️

I hope you're all enjoying your Summer! For me, knowing that I'm going home next week has my mind in "on mode"- all the time. I have never had problems sleeping in the mission until this past week; I can't stop thinking! Last night, Giancarlo "il famoso", brought a cake and presents for me to the ward family home evening last night to celebrate my return. I don't deserve the love that man shows to me. I'm glad I got the opportunity to know him. Tonight we are going to his house to surprise him with gelato and a Mormon message video. We're excited! :) After church on Sunday, we stuck around in the church with Courage, Sunday, and Peace eating €0.90 frozen pizzas while watching On the Lord's Errand (side note: I love our prophet!). President Allen did a special church service in Ravenna and came down to Rimini afterward to interview our Nigerian friends for baptism. They all passed! All three of these boys have stories from Nigeria that will make you cringe, but now, all three of these boys are safe in Rimini with a testimony of the restored church of Jesus Christ. These guys are not the most educated Nigerian men I have ever met, but they all have an admirable faith. It's been an honor watching them sacrifice, struggle, and persevere for their testimony. Also, I've literally seen these guys learn Italian! Three months ago, they thought they were hot stuff saying "ciao" and "stammi bene". Now, we schedule appointments with them in Italian on the phone! I want nothing more than for these guys to have a happy and rewarding life. Anziano Montalto and I also went to my first Catholic mass service this week! I really enjoyed it. I was a little disappointed to see that the average age for the personnel there was probably around 60; I hope it's not an indication of the rising generation's lack of belief. That being said, the thing that impressed me the most was seeing these devout Catholics practice their beliefs. I know that we are members of the true church, but it's cool seeing other people's faith and the sacrifices they make to live it. I also enjoyed standing up every few minutes to recite another prayer (don't worry, I kept my mouth closed during the prayers)! I've been too a few different churches now and I've come to the conclusion that we are a church of sitters. Other church's stand up a lot more than just for the intermediate hymn! The miracle of the week happened at a less-active member's house. We had scheduled an appointment with the father, but when we arrived, his 18 year-old son was the only one home. Normally, this kid runs out of the room every time we come. We were excited when he invited us in and agreed to listen to our prepared message. We were able to talk about prayer and communicating with God. A couple days before going to this appointment, I had a really powerful experience due to a prayer and was able to testify with true and sincerity to this young man. I'm really grateful that I've been able to serve a mission. I'll send you guys my final adieu next week. Vi voglio bene, Anziano Anderson 1. My beautiful city! 2. This is the Catholic Church I went to for mass. 3. Hi, we're the missionaries! 4. Sometimes random 1,000 year old ruins are just chilling around these ancient Italian cities... 5. Giancarlo!!!! 6. We went to a nearby beach city for a p-day stroll today. 7. We had to score a picture with Miss Liberty! ;)

Ciao belli!

I hope you're enjoying your summer! :) I wish you could come over to
Rimini and take a little stroll around town with me one of these days.
I love this place so much! It was a surreal moment earlier this week
giving my "twinkling testimony" (at your last zone conference, you
bare your testimony for everyone to hear). A lot has happened over the
past 23 months! It was a little scary doing a companionship exchange
with the elders in Ravenna earlier this week because Anziano Gibb let
me know just how much I've changed. Anziano Gibb and I served in the
same city when I was in my fourth transfer so we know each other
pretty well. At a certain point during the exchange, he told me, "You
know, Anziano Anderson... You've gotten less funny and more mature
since we served in Bergamo together." HAHAHA, I wasn't sure if it was
a compliment or not, but I'll take it!

The most unorthodox activity this week was our Saturday adventure.
Fratello Pini, the un-baptized father of a ward family, loves the
mountains. He told us that he feels closest to God whenever he is
doing a hike in the mountains. Considering he's had missionary contact
for the past 30 years and hasn't been baptized yet, Anziano Montalto
and I planned a trip with him in the mountains! We got another ward
member to drive the three of us to a local mountain on Saturday for a
spiritual hike. I was a little disappointed right from the get-go
because we went to a little sand which shop at the base of the
mountain before starting the climb and Fratello Pini bought a fat can
of beer! It wasn't the best start to the spiritual hike, but it got
better from there. During the journey, we talked quite a bit about
Tesla's, Netflix, and Joseph Smith. At a certain point, we were able
to stop and we shared a spiritual thought about the story of Enos!
There weren't any visionary or angelic experiences, but I think the
hike gave Fratello Pini an increased desire to read, ponder, and pray
about the Book of Mormon with a greater intent. :)

Another interesting lesson this week happened earlier this week with a
five year-old boy sitting on my lap. The Caramia family shared the
gospel with one of their extremely Catholic friends named Anna after
the recent loss of her husband. Anna wanted to learn more! We went
over to her house earlier this week and explained the restoration and
got her prepped for the plan of salvation. I wouldn't see she is super
interested, but she said she would read and pray about the Book of
Mormon, so we're excited. I'm not sure what it was, but her son,
Riccardo, loved me! He wanted to play with me the whole time. 

Another highlight we saw this week were improvements with Raff and
Sunny! Raff is an investigator, but has been making very slow
progress... Actually, up until this week, he's been making no
progress! He is this Italian guy in his 20's, but has some mental
difficulties. He's never been able to come to church because he can't
manage to wake up on time. We've taught the restoration to him a few
times and he can never seem to keep the story together in his mind
between our appointments (he gets Joseph Smith and Mormon confused).
And in the past month, he's received a job, gotten fired from that
same job, and got catfished by a "girl in Texas." This guy has some
problems! However, Anziano Montalto and I decided to switch things up
a couple weeks ago. We read the first chapter of the children's
stories Book of Mormon and asked us to teach the chapter back to us
for our lesson this week. This week he showed up to our lesson and
nailed it! It was really cool seeing some light stick in his mind.

As for Sunny, we saw a miracle during our lesson this week! He's a
Nigerian refugee that was baptized three years ago and is now working
nights washing dishing at a local club. For that reason, he never has
the energy to come to church. When he meets us for our weekly
appointment, he is always super depressed and doesn't talk much.
Normally, if you ask him any question about his personal life, he'll
give a one word answer. If you ask a spiritual question, he'll say "I
don't know." He also refuses to read any scripture we ask him to read
(we're pretty sure he's dyslexic) and will never offer the opening or
closing prayer. We've tried buying and making him food, inviting him
to play games with us, and sending him encouraging daily messages.
Nothing has improved the situation! HOWEVER, during our lesson
yesterday, Anziano Montalto and  I did everything we could to build him
up. We talked about how special he was and how happy we were that he
was baptized. We told him about our Nigerian friends Courage, Sunday,
and Peace that were preparing for baptism and told him how much it
would mean for them if he came to one of the lessons when we taught
them. He accepted the invite and then went on to say the closing
prayer for us!!!!

I remember when mom used to always repeat the words of Gordon B.
Hinckley about how to retain church membership. Anziano Montalto and I
were nourishing Sunny with the good word of God every week and were
doing our best to be a friend to him, but didn't see any success until
we gave him a "calling". Sunny just needed to feel a little
responsibility! Our prophets, and my mom, are inspired!

Lots of love,
Anziano Anderson

1. Classy picture of the Rimini zone
2. Goofy picture of the Rimini zone
3. A fat Italian panino on a pretty mountain
4. Post-lesson harbor picture with Anziano Crowther and my Nigerian bros
5. I asked Courage to be my model for a second and did a Nike photo shoot

Happy 4th of July!!! Tomorrow, we have zone conference, so our zone is
having a special 4th of July p-day here in Rimini today. We have a
grill, lots of meat, and a football. I don't like eating large
quantities of meat and I think football is only okay, but I'm glad I
get to celebrate our country's Independence with some great American
(and one Italian) friends!

I've entered the last month of my mission and I've noticed two things:
people try to feed you a lot more and everyone gives you relationship
advice. The whole getting fed thing more often has been pretty
pleasant, but some of people's relationship advice is ridiculous! We
have a less active member of the church we visit who owns an American
store. This dude is the biggest American fan you'll ever meet in your
life. If there is a memorabilia item with the word Trump, Texas, or
cowboy on it, he sells it! When we were visiting him earlier this
week, he was very adamant that my wife needed to be a cancer or fish
or the marriage wouldn't work. He's in his 50's and unmarried, but the
man did know a lot about horoscopes!

I'm lucky I could even hear his words of wisdom though because my
hearing has gotten terrible. I don't want to lament about my hearing
considering I can hear (a phenomenal blessing in itself). But, boy oh
boy, my hearing is not good! The missionaries in Ravenna called us and
invited us to their baptism earlier this week and we gladly accepted.
Then, on the phone, one of the elders told me something that I didn't
quite get. After asking him to repeat the phrase, I still couldn't
make out what he said. I assumed it was nothing important based on his
voice inflection and was a little embarrassed about not being able to
understand after two tries, so I played it off cool and ended the
conversation. Ten minutes later, I got the feeling I needed to call
them and find out what they told me. When I called them and explained
the situation, they said they had asked me to give a talk at the
baptism!! Hahaha, nuts right?! Well, after preparing the talk, they
called me at a later point and told me they were kidding about the
talk and in reality, couldn't remember what the inaudible phone phrase
was... Anziani Montalto and Leavitt (two companions that have
particularly noticed my bad hearing) will be happy to know that I have
decided that a hearing check when I get home is on the to do list. 😅

As for missionary work, can I just say I love members? Thanks to an
inspired bishop, members have been encouraged to give an hour to the
missionaries every week to help us teach/find. There is nothing better
than a lesson in the presence of a member. When visiting a less active
man with the bishop this week, bishop asked three questions to this
man before the lesson started and I kid you not, the less active man
talked for thirty minutes about his marriage and work problems. We
don't get that kind of openness (normally) when it's just us meeting
with someone. Then, fast forward to the next day, Brother Canutti (a
member of the bishopric that was baptized 5 years ago) bore the
PERFECT testimony to Paola after she expressed some doubts about the
church.

I was reading in Alma this week and wanted to share a verse with you
all. In the 26th verse of Alma 5, Alma proclaims, "And now behold, I
say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart,
and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask,
can ye feel so now?" I loved this verse because all of us have felt
that that change of heart and have felt to sing the song of "redeeming
love" at one point or another, but Alma asks a question that is a bold
call to repentance. Can ye feel so now? I think sometimes we can get a
little sloppy while walking on the pathway of discipleship. But, Jesus
Christ wants us to repent and get better! If we don't, those sweet
feelings we had will become less sweet over time. We are only going to
feel that change of heart on the basis of our continued
faith/sacrifice.

At the baptism this week in Ravenna, I had one of those change of
heart moments after I exercised faith! At the beginning of the
meeting, my thoughts were everywhere than what was being said at the
pulpit. But, I soon realized my laziness and started trying as hard as
I could to concentrate on what was being said (my act of Faith). Then,
during the baptism itself, I felt the Spirit (my change of heart). I
left the baptism with an increased desire to be better and more pure.
I know this is the true church and I know that faith and repentance
are the first principles of the gospel for a reason.

Vi voglio bene,
Anziano Anderson

1. With Noah the Cat!
2. Hi
3. When comp gets that fresh cut 
4. Volleyball with the squad

Happy Summer! Summer is a great time of year, but even more so in the mission. It's not everywhere that you can blast JamesTheMormon in your Toyota Yaris driving down a beautiful Italian street, have long conversations about the Mafia with your Italian companion, or eat Nigerian food off the same plate as seven other men with an unwashed spoon. It's been a really great week here in Rimini. 

Our friend Sunday is not going to be getting baptized tomorrow, but it's okay. He's having some eye complications and he'll be getting baptized on the 28th of July with Courage and Peace! It's kind of funny how it all worked out because I'll be on the plane ride home when they all get baptized. I heard from the office that there is wifi on the plane, so I'm planning on Skype calling them before the meeting starts. It's been my dream in the mission to find, teach, and then baptize someone and although it's not going to happen, I couldn't be happier about the way things worked out. :) 

Speaking of Sunday's eye problem, I wanted to express a few thoughts about our Nigerian brothers. Sunday is having complications with his eye because he was kidnapped in Nigeria and had his eye stabbed with a knife. The only reason why he is even here in Italy right now is because he managed to make a "blood pact" with his captors that he wouldn't run away when he wasn't being supervised; luckily Sunday doesn't respect Satananic rituals and ran away at the first chance he got. After hearing what happened, the Nigerian police recommended he flee the county and with divine help, he made it here to Italy. Sunday's story is crazy, but not unusual. 

I've worked with a lot of Nigerian men on the mission and am so grateful for it. I've learned a lot of lessons from them. It's not easy for them to be church members here in Italy because most of them speak very little Italian and as a result, don't have a job. Despite their difficulties, the Nigerian people are so humble and have a strong desire to learn about the Gospel. Chances are, in five years, Courage, Peace, and Sunday won't be living in Rimini anymore. But, the cool thing is, they'll take the gospel to wherever they end up! God's hand is truly in this work.

With all this Nigerian talk, I think it's appropriate to share my awkward African moment of the week. In church this past Sunday, I told Daniel (our new convert) that it was the birthday of an Italian lady in our ward. After learning how to say happy birthday, Daniel went up behind the lady and tapped her on the shoulder. The lady whirled around. Daniel then got really close to her face (he's a jokester) and shouted buon compleanno! ...The lady in the ward didn't have the reaction that I think Daniel was expecting. She was pretty offended because she interpreted Daniel's "buon compleanno" as a very different thing than happy birthday. I think Daniel and the rest of us Native English speakers can agree that anno's pronunciation is WAY too close to the pronunciation of ano.  

Another Nigerian highlight of the week was when Peace brought his Italian teacher, Carla, to our lesson. Without even being baptized, Peace is already a better missionary than I was for the first 18 years of my life! Peace's Italian teacher is 60ish and literally doesn't speak English. We did the lesson in English for Peace's sake and translated everything into Italian for Carla. The question needs to be asked, how are these Nigerian men supposed to learn Italian from people that don't know English?! But regardless, the lesson was phenomenal! Carla was so interested that she asked to learn more, so we referred her to the sisters. 

Mission life isn't always easy, but teaching the gospel to people is so great. If seminary didn't need to be taught at an unholy hour in he morning, I would hassle my future bishop until he made me a seminary teacher. I know this church is the church of Jesus Christ and it's beautiful helping others come to the same conviction.

1. When you drive around in a car all day and then need to walk up some stairs... 
2. After Italian class pic with the squad (Courage, Sunday, Daniel, and Peace)

What's up? It's been a great week here in Rimini (...and in Forlì,
Bologna, and Milano). We've been all over the place this past week and
have made a few friends along the way. Anziano Montalto and I have
been feeling like pretty hot stuff because our phone has been
exploding with messages. Thanks to the missionaries in Pesaro (long
story), we have a new contact named Giancarlo!

Giancarlo is basically the Italian, mentally handicapped version of
Kip (Napoleon's uncle). I love him!!! His mom died a couple months ago
and because he was quite the momma's boy, he's been taking it really
hard (to the extent where he carries around a picture of his mom in
public). After a little confusion, Giancarlo understands that we can't
call/text him all day and meet with him more than once a week. But, we
told him to feel free to text us and text us he does! By the end of
the day, we have a BOOK to read of messages that he's sent to us
during the day. Yesterday, we invited him to our ward's family night
and he brought something to share with everyone. When he lifted up the
lid to the special surprise he brought, it didn't appear to be edible
(there was definitely no recipe followed when making the unique food
item). A couple brave church members ate a piece! Hahaha, he's the
man!

Giancarlo wasn't even the only referral we got this week. The
missionaries in Milano sent us a referral for a man named Michael
Zadok (look him up on Google). We had a lesson yesterday and were
getting to know each other... In my companion's introductory remarks
he said, "I'm Italian. I'm from the city of Sciacca in the province of
Agrigento". There was a little pause and then Michael exclaims, "Oh
Agrigento! I was in prison there for 5 years!" HAHAHA! WHAT?! Michael
was wrongly imprisoned for 5 years and now is going to get some big
bucks from the European Union. It's obvious that he's a very
intelligent man but it's also very clear that 5 years in an Italian
prison as an English speaker has had some mental affects on him too...
Fortunately, despite the difficulty of the last several years of his
life, he's obtained a testimony of Joseph Smith and has made it very
clear that he wants to be baptized.

Speaking of baptism, our friend Peace has a baptismal date for the
28th of July.  We're stoked! He's been reading in the Book of Mormon
and is still praying for his answer, but has July 28 as his
goal right now. Courage (the friend of Daniel that had a baptismal
date for June 30) will also be getting baptized on that day
too! Courage is one of the most sincere men I have ever met. He is
beyond excited to be baptized, but will need to work a few things
about before the 30th comes around. Anziano Montalto and I are really
grateful for the growing African community we have in the Rimini Ward.
In an Italian speaking country, it makes it so much easier for these
men to stay active and faithful in the church where there is adequate
support for them.

I am really rooting for Paola (the companion of Roberto) and Paolo
(the man with a member wife and daughter) right now! It's been such a
neat experience working with these part member families. I love being
in an environment where I'm able to bear my testimony to someone and
then have it backed up with one of their loved ones. We were teaching
the restoration to Paolo this week and the Spirit was definitely
present during the story of Joseph Smith. As I was baring my testimony
about the power of the Book of Mormon in our conversion, it was also
like I was baring testimony to myself.

The Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the gospel, but also a lot
of war stories. Paolo was skeptical that reading the FULL Book of
Mormon was necessary in gaining a testimony of the first vision
because there are a lot of "useless" parts about war and stuff that's
not applicable to us today. Well, in my testimony I talked about how
maybe there isn't a logical answer for our human mind that gives us
the answer to why there are so many war episodes in the Book of
Mormon, but it's God's way for us to gain a testimony in this
dispensation of Joseph Smith. We need to read the Book of Mormon,
ponder in our hearts the message it contains, and then ask God if it
is true. Being saved by looking at a brass serpent seems a little
weird based on human logic, but it was God's way for the people of
Moses. God's ways aren't always our ways, but we can be sure that His
way is always the perfect way. I walked out of the lesson with a
desire to plow through the Book of Mormon and act on Moroni's promise.

I love you guys! Keep reading the Book of Mormon and eating delicious
American food (predominantly Campbell's Bean with Bacon Soup and
Goldfish crackers).
️Anziano Anderson

1. After cleaning the Forlì apartment after sending off the elders, we
grabbed a gelato with the new Forlì sisters! The sister sitting right
next to me just came from the MTC and was good buddies with Logan
Anderton! So cool. :)
2. I had to take a little picture when Daniel walked into the church
building earlier this work wearing the same socks as me. Courage is to
his left!
3. The man himself, Giancarlo!
4. Fratello Silenzi
5. Franci (the daughter of Paolo) and her boyfriend (a recent convert
of the ward) eating American food with us
6. We waxed our baby girl this week and she was looking goooood. She
also has a nice lavender aroma wafting around the interior.
7. Mission council up in Milano
8. We're funny
9. Zone p-day!