Goodbye to Rome

Pictures

Duke

Hey guys! I just emailed a few days ago so this email might be a little shorter. Today we went to a beautiful little island called La Maddalena. It is in our area just to the north and just south of Corsica. It was really cool. We went hiking along the coastline of the island. The water was soo blue! The island is also very, very laid back. There used to be a branch of the church on that island when it was an American military base. There is an Anziano in our mission who was baptized there. But the Americans closed it and the branch got consolidated into Olbia. I believe we have a few less actives there. It was an awesome P-Day. This area is an absolute playground. Soo many tourists!

This week we found a family and were able to teach them a lesson. They called us actually to get lessons. It turns out one of the 8,500 pass along cards I have given out this transfer actually worked! They are awesome. Mom, dad, 26-year-old son, 22-year-old daughter, and a 16-year-old daughter. It was a good first lesson as well. I hope we can see them again soon. I want to do service at their home. It was destroyed in a flood that happened here about 1.5 years ago.

The branch here is great. Small, small. They do their best. One of the most incredible men I have ever met is here. His name is Duke Tanner. He served a mission in Korea and owns a Bed and Breakfast on Costa Smeralda. He is awesome. Right now he is working to put his life in order so he can be baptized. It takes a lot of humility to do what he is doing. We go do service for him once a week and help him out. His B and B is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. His parents live in Utah and his brothers live in Salt Lake City. He really makes me feel like I’ve done something as a missionary.

As things are winding down I can't help but wonder if I helped anybody these last two years and not just stopped 10,000 people on the street and annoyed them. Duke gives me hope for missionary work here. He will be so clutch for this branch.

Well that's about it for me this week. I will see y'all Sunday at 4. My time. Ciao.

Mission Conference with Elder Bednar

Hey guys! I am doing really well here in Olbia. For the past 3.5 days we were in Rome for a big conference with all of the missionaries in our mission. It was chaos but the conference part was really instructive. Elder Bednar came and gave us a training about many different things. It was interesting because he didn’t come with a prepared theme. He just asked us questions and we asked him questions. We talked for about 30 minutes about the use of technology in our mission but mostly we talked about life. It was really good. Elder Teixera the Area President came, as well as the head of the missionary department. I think this new technology thing will be a big change in how we do missionary work. It was really fun to have this as my last zone conference. 

We are working with a lot with kids here in Olbia. This week we were introduced to 3, 20ish-year old kids who want to learn more by their 16-year old friend. I love working with kids because they are way more open to learning and they are really curious. But it’s hard to find kids because they think they are to cool most of the time or are scared of us. But I love teaching kids. Sometimes I don’t understand why they are afraid us when we are usually younger than them or the same age and have literally the same interests. Patience I guess. They will get their chance. 

We also met this man who is part of group of people who searches for truth in all religions, especially manifestations of Melchizedek. They believe that Christ is the savior and the prophet of prophets. The guy we met loved the Book of Mormon and I am excited to teach him more about the Priesthood. 

I love Oblia. It is a cute little town. I love the cheeses here as well.

Well that about it for me this week!

Beautiful New Area

Is there a reason you were transferred?

I got transferred because I told President I wanted to work hard my last transfer. So he sent me to this little tiny city to shape it up. I am really happy to be back in a small city. I have missed serving in branches. The missionaries are kings. The surrounding area is super beautiful. Koby Bryant and the former Steve jobs have their yachts parked to the north of us. The water and beaches here are incredible. The people are super funny and speak like nothing I have heard before (Not like Italian at all, or French.). The people are all farmers or boat workers. There are a million sheep on the island as well. We can see Corsica from the north part of our area. It is a fun little town though. The branch is very small and it is going to take some hard work to get it moving but I am ready.

Tell us about travel to your new area.

The city we are in is small and it feels a lot like California. Modern. Palm trees. Beaches and what not. There is not a lot of old here (unlike Sicily or Rome). There are old walls and towers everywhere though.

What are your impressions of Sardenia?

The people are funny. They speak strange and the dialect is unreal. They are more closed and cold than normal. The island is super green and the beaches are awesome. We are actually going hiking today to a place called Golfo Aranci. Should be really cool. 

Describe the area where you live and work.

The church is literally next door to the house which makes things really nice. The branch is about 7-10 people. More elderly people. We are going to baptize some young people though. There are a lot of youth here in the city. 

Which was your favorite conference talk and why?

We didn’t get to watch all that much of conference and the session we did see was in Italian so it was a little hard to follow. I want to reread the conference talks. I will get back to you on this question in a couple of weeks. 

Yesterday I also got to meet on old investigator. His father lives here and he came here to visit his dad. I got a referral out of him that we are going to pass by soon. I am really excited to work. I was sad to leave Rome though. There were a lot of good friends there. I will go back for my last Sunday though.

I also did 2 baptismal interviews for two women in Sassari. They are super cool. One is 16 and was found through English course. Super cool.

Headed to Olbia

It has been a good week in Rome. This week we got our calls and I got transferred to a place called Olbia in Sardegnia. It is a really small town but very beautiful. I am really excited to go but sad to leave Rome. We had some good work going here. To get to Olbia I have to take a plane down to Cagliari and then a train to Sassari and then a bus to Olbia. It will take a long time. But it should be really fun. This city is super famous for its beaches and all the rich and famous park their boats there. You can also see Corsica from certain parts in our area. It is a really small branch.

Anziano Maxwell will be in my new district. It is us and Sassari. I am really excited to work hard ina small city again. I have missed it!

Trials of being a missionary. #35eurosaplate

Late & Short

Hey guys. Sorry my email is late, but we had our deep cleaning yesterday because it was Pasquetta (an Italian holiday). So today we are going to a place called Tivoli. It should be really cool.

Our work here kind of tanked last week and we dropped essentially everybody. We are hunting for new people!