It's been another exciting week in Bergamo... For starters, I just made my first ragù using wine this week! For Italians, using wine in your cooking is a MUST. I admit, it did feel a little weird being a Mormon missionary purchasing a big bottle of wine, but let me tell you, I made some pretty dang good ragù (my companion can vouch for me).

On a more missionary related note, our investigator, Alessandro, almost has a baptismal date! I say almost because although there isn't an official date set, he already told us the man he wants to be baptized by (a friend he met at a stake activity). He has read and prayed about the Book of Mormon, and knows it is true! However, he still doesn't feel like he knows enough to accept a baptismal date quite yet. Nonetheless, Anziano Stahali and I are beyond stoked! 

Now, on a half missionary related note and half just-pure-awesome note, Anziano Stahali and I had some quality family time with the Ghillardi family on Saturday. If you don't remember, Brother Ghillardi is the most incredible dry Mormon you'll ever meet (he's not baptized, but his family is). So, on Saturday morning, Anziano Stahali and I got to wear something other than a white shirt and tie in public, and go over to help the Ghillardi family do some painting at one of their relative's house (who is 94 years old)! It was exciting working side by side with Brother Ghillardi all morning because I really think our relationship with him grew quite a bit (even if the missionaries may not have been the best painters in the world ;p).

One thing I've been trying to work on this week is starting conversations with people on public transportation. On our way to appointments, it's been really easy just to sit back on the bus or the train and just enjoy the ride. However, I was pondering my mission this past week and if there is one thing that I might have regrets for when I go back home, it's my "forever finding" efforts (starting up gospel conversations with people at other times than the designated times you go out tracting). I've found it very uncomfortable starting up conversations with people on public transportation because I feel uncomfortable putting strangers in an inconvenient situations. When I say inconvenient, I'm referring to the fact that I have Jesus Christ's name on my shirt. People know I talk about Christ. However, the people I start gospel conversations with obviously don't have a black missionary tag on their lapel. So, when I engage someone in a conversation about a gospel doctrine, I'm forcing them to talk about their personal views in front of the other strangers on the bus. All this being said, I came to a realization this week. I realized that forever finding isn't just about helping others, or even helping me. I need to do it because it's what Jesus Christ wants. Christ wants me to have his name always on my lips, so I can stand as a witness of his atoning sacrifice. THAT is why I need to do forever finding.

Leapfrog!

Besides burning a batch of brownies on Saturday, I've had another great week in Bergamo! It's been unbelievable how much the missionaries here in Bergamo get fed by the members. We've had a dinner appointment for the past four nights (and a lunch appointment on Sunday).  And, considering we aren't allowed to go to a dinner appointment unless a non-member or investigator is present, Anziano Stahali are getting a chance to meet a lot of new people. ;)

It's been funny speaking so much Italian during the past week (during lessons and outside the apartment with my companion) because sometimes I feel like I've been speaking this language my whole life and other times I feel like it's my second day in the MTC. For example, I spent a solid five minutes this past week trying to convince a family in my ward during a lunch appointment that my favorite food was bean with bacon soup. I didn't think it was THAT weird of a food, but no one believed me. I soon realized it was because I was actually saying strawberry with bacon soup.

I want to fill you guys in on some of our investigators. First, I should probably mention that we have a baptismal date... Technically! There is a 9 year-old girl named Feiman who is being baptized on March 5. She's been active in the church for the past few years with her dad and other siblings, but the mom was always against her being baptized until just recently. She is an awesome kid and is beyond stoked to finally get baptized! Anziano Stahali has also been teaching a man named Alessandro. He is incredible! He was a self-referral after attending an single-adult activity and has been keeping all his commitments. At church this past week, it literally already seemed like he was a member of the ward. Vedremo. ;)

It's always been a really amazing experience getting to teach a few really solid, part-member families. There are two families that we teach where the fathers of the household aren't baptized yet. One of the the families in particular, the Ghillardi family, has just been a treat to teach. The father seems to really like Anziano Stahali and me, and we've been doing a ton of preparation and praying before each lesson we have with them. The father has been able to meet a ton of missionaries over the past few years, but has still yet to be baptized. He comes to sacrament meeting every week and  lives a very Mormon lifestyle already. Anziano Stahali have been focusing our lessons on the Book of Mormon and praying to receive an answer for himself. I really hope the turning point in his life is nigh.

Returning home on the train after a tiring day of missionary work

My new area - Bergamo!  

Well, I made it safely in Bergamo... And I must say, I already love this city! The city is gorgeous. The members are incredible. And, my "Swiss" companion is super rad. I'll start off by telling you guys about my companion, Anziano Stahali. He's 20 years old and is from St. George, Utah. On our first night together, he had me pretty scared because he told me he was metrosexual. I didn't know what it meant, but I knew it was a different sexual than heterosexual! Fortunately, I learned that him being metrosexual has nothing to do with his sexual orientation! ;p I wish you guys could meet him because he is literally the definition of the stereotypical "cool guy" (just with waxed legs and trimmed armpit hair). He's good looking, dresses fancy, is very witty and intelligent, and NEVER utters more than a slight chuckle (my goal during this transfer is to make him guffaw).

During this transfer, we have the goal of only speaking Italian outside the apartment. It's been really hard, but I have already seen improvements in my language! Anziano Staheli is going home in a few months and speaks and understands the language very well, so he's been awesome at helping me improve. In fact, he speaks the language so well that there is a missionary in our district (a greenie from the MTC) that thinks my companion is from Switzerland and doesn't know English. Needless to say, correlation and district meeting have been pretty fun. ;)

As for the work here, I am literally living every missionary's dream... Every day we're super busy! There was three areas in Bergamo, but they just closed an area last transfer. So, Anziano Stahali and I are in charge of two areas! We have a few pretty solid investigators right now, most of which are the fathers of families that are already members. It's been super cool being able to teach lessons in Italian (something I didn't get to do a whole lot of in Pistoia). 

In fact, Anziano Stahali and I just taught an awesome restoration lesson to a 25ish year-old and his mom on Monday night. The 25 year-old is named Pietro and he was an ex-investigator in our area book. However, Anziano Stahali had the impression that we needed to go visit him again, so we did. Pietro and his mom are Catholic, but they were very friendly and let us share the restoration message with them again. They seemed so open to everything! Pietro has already committed them to coming to church with us on Sunday. :D Pietro and his mom may become ex-investigators again, but I really hope that now is their time to accept the true gospel of Jesus Christ. :)

I should also mention that being in charge of two areas means Anziono Stahali and I have two different wards to attend on Sunday. Last Sunday was literally the fastest day of my life. We went to our 9:00 church meeting. Then, we had lunch at a member's home (the members rotate who feeds us and we have a lunch appointment EVERY Sunday). Then, we had our 3:00 church meeting. Then, by the time we were done fellowshipping and doing a few different things for some members, it was already time to go back to our apartment!

Also, dad, I have to mention that I just scored a pretty legit pair of shoes for €30. I know the shoes you bought me cost a lot of money and are basically indestructible. However, I've been receiving quite a bit of mocking from my fellow missionaries because of their dorkiness... So, now I'll be rotating some Italian shoes into my wardrobe when I'm attending an event where I'll come into contact with other missionaries to avoid being ridiculed. Thanks for all your prayers, family! I wish you all the best during the next week. Remember to keep reading in the Book of Mormon, saying your prayers, and counting your blessings. 

I have some AWESOME news to share with you guys and some TERRIBLE news to share with you guys. The awesome news is about the Hydes... They got their new mission call and they'll be serving in the Rome mission! They are leaving Prato in a few months and will be in America for about 6 months before coming straight back to Italy. They are so stoked! As for the terrible news, I found out this week that a guy in my MTC group is going to be going home... Apparently he got dumped by his girlfriend and mission life was more than he could take. I also feel pretty bad for the guy because he told his (ex) girlfriend that he was going to be going home from the mission before he told his parents; and then his parents found out the news from his girlfriend!

As for me, I'll be leaving Pistoia tomorrow; however, I won't be going to America. I got my transfer call this week and I'm going to Bergamo! I haven't heard a ton about the area, but I was told that my companion has served as zone leader a few times and just finished training a new missionary. I'm pretty excited to be in a companionship with such a solid Elder! In fact, I'll get to hear how solid this guy is tonight. The new missionary that he just got done training is coming to Pistoia tonight and then I'm leaving tomorrow for Bergamo (apparently we are just switching places). So, tonight, I'll be able to interrogate the new missionary about my companion. ;)

However, with all this exciting news being said, I've been feeling pretty down since receiving my transfer call... It's going to be fun serving the Lord with different scenery around me and hearing people talk in a different accent, but I am really going to miss Pistoia! Pistoia is the only place I've ever lived in Italy and it really feels like my home. I really love our ward members and my work here doesn't feel finished.  Even though Pistoia may not have the same tourist appeal as some of the other places in the mission (Florence, Venice, Lake Como), it's always going to have a special place in my heart. It's been pretty sad saying goodbye to all the friends I've made here over the past few days knowing that I'll probably never see them again.

These are the Bani's (the woman Anziano Gibbons and I made cry when we
left her house before her husband got home)! It's awkward being a
missionary because there is never a good place to put your hands...

There's one man in Prato that I'm not sure if any of his will see again and I've been super worried. The man who thinks he is Jesus started his "mission" on Monday and hasn't been seen since. No one has been able to contact him and he hasn't returned to his home since Sunday night. I really hope he's okay.

On a less depressing note, we've been working a lot with Abel and Paul lately. Abel was starting to become a little flaky (Random side note: I taught Anziano Mastino the word flaky and now he uses it at least a few times per day! ;p) until we invited him to invite one of his friends to a lesson with us. Abel invited his friend, Paul, and now not only has Abel been keeping his commitments, Paul has been keeping all his commitments too! It's been really cool to hear Abel baring his sincere testimony to Paul regarding concepts that he was struggling to believe a month ago. We have an appointment scheduled with Abel and Paul tonight and I'm happy I'll get to say my goodbyes (and the new missionary will get to say his hellos) before I leave Pistoia! :D

All is well in paradise, family. I hope you're living the restored gospel to it's fullest. So many people I talk about the concept of happiness with think that happiness is derived from money. But, as we know from the good word of God, lasting happiness is found in righteous living. We have thousands of choices to make every day and as we righteously decide what paths we are going to take, happiness will come. And hey, God often has financial blessings for his righteous servants too. ;) 

Life has been a constant adventure with Anziano Mastino. ;) People have threatened to call the police on me a few different times in my life and earlier this week, I got to hear that threat in Italian. Anziano Mastino and I were visiting one of our African investigators for the first time at his house (normally we meet at the train station because he's a 40 minute bus ride from Pistoia). Not long after arriving at his house, some government workers came to make sure things were in order at the house for a routine, daily checkup. Unfortunately, the government workers didn't seem too happy that the Mormon missionaries were inside the house and told us to leave immediately (apparently, it's a rule that we can't preach inside some of the government owned African houses). Anziano Mastino and I readily complied and we left the house immediately. But, before we left the property, Anziano Mastino wanted to take a few pictures of the house (he likes taking pictures of places he's been). That's when all heck broke lose! The government workers came storming out of the house when they saw Anziano Mastino taking the pictures and started yelling at us! And since Anziano Mastino is a very by-the-law type of guy, he didn't want to leave until he could properly explain to the workers that he wasn't doing anything illegal. They weren't buying a word he said and were getting pretty riled up. Needless to say, I don't think they lied when they told us they were going to call the police on us. Fortunately, we took a bus within minutes and got out of there!!

I was feeling like a frustrated dad earlier this week as I took care of some "house maintenance". The office wanted all the mission apartments to get their hot water tank inspected, so Anziano Mastino and I had a repair man come take a look at our tank a few days ago. I used the terminology "frustrated dad" because the repairmen was in our house for less than 20 minutes and charged €110 for his services! I should also mention during the short time span the repairman was in our house, he was able to send TWO text messages... Hmmm! I felt like a frustrated dad because even though I'll be getting reimbursed for the money I payed the man (out of YOUR tithing money- thank you very much), it was ridiculous! I payed a man over 100 bucks to take off the cover of our hot water tank and spray some windex on the dusty inside. If you really want to put things into perspective, consider this: The Mormon missionaries teach people how they can obtain EXALTATION for FREE (a service infinitely greater for a price infinitely less).  

Besides from feeling like a frustrated dad this week, I also was able to feel like Elder Holland for a minute. During companionship inventory this week, Anziano Mastino told me I need to stop using so many dramatic hand motions when stopping people on the street. He told me that I was being too bold and might be scaring some people. And considering a man born in Italy (the hand motion capitol of the world) is telling me that... Maybe I better switch my boldness from Elder Holland to Elder Eyring status during my street contacting efforts. ;p 

Life is good family, life is good! As a missionary, I haven't felt a ton of stress. But, as of lately, I've been worried about the man in my ward who thinks he is Jesus. It's getting really bad and he keeps on talking about an event that's going to occur THIS Monday. Considering last time we met with the man, he showed us the "nail prints" in his hand, I have a lot of anxiety of what the event is going to entail on Monday. 

Leaning Tower of Pisa

I have some sad news and some happy news to share with you guys this week. I don't know what type of news you guys like hearing first, so I'll start by getting the depressing news out of the way. Abel isn't going to be getting baptized anytime soon. His baptism was scheduled for the 9th and then pushed to the 24th, but he's got a ways to go before he can enter the waters of baptism. He has been a major blessing in my life over the past couple months because of his deep love for the Book of Mormon. He loves that book with a passion and it's been incredible getting to witness his testimony of the book grow! Unfortunately, Abel wasn't baptized on the 9th and won't be baptized on the 24th. Only God can say when Abel's real baptismal date will be. But as for now, Anziano Mastino and I will be like Alma the younger and continue to bare powerful testimony against him (take a gander at Alma 4:19 ;)). We've been teaching Abel a little bit with Solomon and it's been incredible to hear our new convert's powerful testimony. 

Now for the happy news... Anziano Mastino and I have been having a lot of success tracting this week! I'm not sure why we've been so successful lately (although I have been wearing a pretty rad beanie lately that may or may not have something to do with it), but it's been glorious. I don't have time to tell you guys about all the awesome people we met this week, but I'll tell you a about a woman we met yesterday. Anziano Mastino was talking on the phone to a member on our ward when I stopped a lady on the street and started talking to her. Our conversation was centered a lot on why faith is important and how faith can bring true happiness if you have faith in the right things. She talked about how she used to have that faith, but has since lost it. After about three minutes, I asked the big question: "Can we make a return appointment to talking about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ?" She happily agreed! I know this story doesn't sound like anything special, but I was so excited. For one, she seemed really prepared to hear our message. For two, she is ITALIAN! And for three, I didn't have any help in conversing with her and getting her contact information. B-)

In other tracting news, we met a 16 year-old girl the other day while tracting and she seemed super interested in the gospel. We set up a follow appointment for a few days later and thought we were about to start teaching a golden investigator. So, when she wasn't at the designated meeting location at the time our appointment was supposed to start, we were a little surprised. Luckily, our fears quickly subsided when we called her and found out that she was running a little late and would be there soon. Unfortunately, she never came. And even more unfortunately, she has yet to pick up another call from the Pistoia Anziani.

Comunque, Anziano Mastino and I had a pretty cool experience this past week when we decided to stop by the Hydes's house after we had visited one of our I investigators who lives pretty close to them. We didn't have much of a reason to stop by the Hydes, we just felt like we should. Upon arriving at their house, we found out that Anziano Hyde was really sick! So, we were able to give him a priesthood blessing! It was really cool to feel like an instrument in the Lord's hands. As our investigator Abel always says, "The Lord works through others to bless your life."

Also, I had my first interview with President Dibb this week and it was so scary! I thought mission interviews were just to make sure life was running smoothly and that there was no obedience or companion problems. However, during my interview, President Dibb asked me to pretend like he was an investigator and to teach him the restoration lesson! It felt very similar to 10th grade Olympia High School French class with Mrs. Soubois; I felt like he was grading my Italian skills Luckily, I think I walked out of the interview with at least a letter B grade. ;)

I want to start off by sharing a hilariously sad experience that happened to the Pistoia Anziani this week... After arriving at the train station to meet a man named Friday for our second lesson with him, we were happily greeted by a man who we assumed was Friday. After a little small talk, we started the lesson. It wasn't until 5 minutes into the lesson that the real Friday showed up to the train station! It turns out, we had been teaching Henry, a man who we had had a lesson with a long time ago, but never answered our calls for a second appointment. Anziano Mastino and I felt like fools! I still am a little confused why Henry didn't object when I asked if we could start the lesson considering we didn't have a lesson scheduled!! ;p Nonetheless, we finished our lesson with the fake Friday and had an even better lesson with the real one. ;) 

In less hilariously sad news, we had another family home at Solomon's house on Sunday night and it was a HUGE success! I don't want to knock the family home evenings I had at home, but I don't think I've ever had a more fun family home evening than the one I had with Solomon and the 10 other Nigerians that were there! ;p The Hydes came with us and brought a ton of food (hence the huge number of people that decided to take part in the fun). And after we ate, Anziano Mastino and I shared a message on faith and got a lot of our little makeshift-family baring their testimonies. :Then, we played a crazy game of Uno! I use the word crazy because that house got LOUD when we were playing. Hahaha, it was also quite fun watching my Italian companion trying to compete with the rest of us in Uno because he never quite caught onto the rules and was always a little lost at what was happening! All in all, I think the family home evening opened a lot of potential doors; everyone was begging us to come back soon for another family home evening soon! :D

Also, Anziano Mastino and I had a scambio with Anziano Kenney and Vasquez from Monday to Tuesday this past week and it was incredible! The church has started a new way of doing companionship exchanges, called blitzes. So, instead of Anziano Kenney coming down to Pistoia to work with Anziano Mastino, Anziano Mastino and I both went up to San Giovanni to work with them (while no one was working in Pistoia for 24 hours). It was basically like a big, stinky, spiritual sleep-over with the four Anziani sleeping in one apartment! ;p I worked with Anziano Vasquez during the scambio and we killed it. We had some really powerful lessons with investigators, handed out a lot of English class fliers, and even walked across the bridge that is featured in the background of the Mona Lisa painting! 

See if you can find this bridge in the Mona Lisa painting!  

I look up to Anziano Vasquez so much as a missionary because of his hard, effective, work ethic. You will never be a good missionary if you don't exert work! Anziano Vasquez has helped me realize that I've been carrying way to much about my day's numbers. It doesn't make me a good missionary if I teach 4 lessons during a day and I'm not a bad missionary if I don't teach any. What separates the good missionaries from the bad is their dedication to the missionary purpose, which is to bring souls to Christ. Am I really bringing souls to Christ if my day is filled with flaky investigators that will listen to our message, but not act? In my opinion, I think not. The hard reality is that for missionaries serving in the Milan mission is that long hours of tracting need to be put in. I didn't come here to Italy to share weekly spiritual thoughts, I came here to baptize new ward members and strengthen the current ones! When I become senior companion and have control over how my day is spent, I am going to be an Elder Vasquez missionary. This is the Lord's true church and for the next two years, it's my duty to let others know that. As a missionary for the church in these days, I don't need to seal the validity of my words with death like Abinadi or Joseph Smith. I seal my words through hard work as I courageously share this gospel. 

One of the cool blessing about having the sacred calling as a missionary is the outpouring of blessings I receive. This was made crystal clear to me last night when Anziano Mastino and I were headed back to Pistoia after the scambio. We were at the San Giovanni train station waiting for our train, and two minutes before it was supposed to arrive, Anziano Mastino looked down at his ticket and realized he had purchased the wrong ticket. My mind was instantly overcome with negative thoughts. There was no time to buy another ticket before the train came and the next train back to Pistoia wasn't for a few hours (meaning we would be arriving at our apartment at about 10:30 pm). With a heavy heart, we walked back to the ticket machine in front of the station to purchase a new ticket. When we arrived at the machine, my wallet was laying on the ground right next to the cash machine. It must have slipped out of my pocket after I had purchased my ticket 20 minutes earlier. That wallet had €60 cash, Pistoia and Prato bus and train passes, my driver's license, my mission and personal debit cards, and my Italian documents. You can argue that it was a coincidence that Anziano Mastino accidentally bought the wrong ticket on the same night that I left my wallet at the ticket machine. You can argue that it was super lucky that a ton of people walked passed my wallet without picking it up. But, I know that it wasn't a coincidence or luck. No one can argue the strong spirit I felt when I saw my wallet laying there on the ground. There's not a doubt in my mind that we are all being watched after by a God of miracles.