Weekly Dime

Weekly Dime

Good morning everyone. I hope you all had a good past week and I hope you all have a good one this coming week. It is a great day to be alive. The weather over here has been pretty nice. It rained a few times and cooled everything down...which was truly a blessing from on high. This past week we had some really good things happen and our work is really starting to pick up. I love you all.

We have this younger lady named Serena and she has been an investigator for a long time. We went over and met with her this past week. She has a brother that has never really been interested in the gospel. We sat down and I talked a little bit about myself. I explained that I played sports in high school, and that those sports were baseball, basketball and football. Come to find out, her brother was listening in the other room and when he heard that I played football....He came out and joined in on our conversation. Turns out that he follows the NFL very well and he loves the Chicago Bears. Don't worry....we are working on that. Haha. Anyways, He was super interested in me and that I played football. It kind of opened him up. Like I said before, He has never been interested in the lessons before, but after we talked for a little bit... He was very interested. We ended up teaching him the restortaion and he is a new investigator. They were super nice and cooked us lunch. They would be great members....I am hoping for the best with them. 

Last wednesday, we had our Martial Arts lesson with Francesco and afterwards we taught him and his wife the  restoration. He taught us the basics and we had a good workout. After the workout we just talked and ended up studying the book of mormon together while we were waiting for his wife to come home. We got into Alma 32 and Helaman 5. It was awesome. He loves the book of mormon.....which is truly incredible. His wife came home and we started the lesson. The lesson went amazing. The spirit was very strong and they were very ready to receive our message. At one point the wife got really teary eyed and she was just looking right into my eyes. Francesco loved it. I wish I could explain it better.... but the lesson went amazingly. They love the book of mormon. They love our church and our beliefs. They are amazing people. Francesco accepted a bap. date for the 29th of August....which felt so good. His wife still isn't 100 percent in, but we will get her there. I love Francesco and His Wife. They are incredible. So our martial arts lesson was a success and our restoration lesson was a success as well. I love being a missionary. Those are the moments that make the mission so amazing. 

A week ago a man that owns a pizza shop stopped me and talked to me for a little while. He told me that he wanted to know more about us. His pizza shop is literally 100 meters from our church. The next day I took him a book of mormon and we explained it. He said that he wanted to know more. We went to his pizza shop on friday and taught him the restoration. Iam not sure how well he understood our message, but he was very kind and accepted a return apointment. I am very excited to teach the plan of salvation to him because he is married with two little kids. I think eternal families will really go a long ways with him. We will be teaching that to him this week sometime. I am pumped!! 

In our mission there is a challenge. It is called the 3 Napoli Pizza challenge. The challenge is you have to eat 3 Napoli Pizza's in 20 minutes. This challenge has been around since 2005 and only one missionary has ever done it. I decided to give it a shot. Well......I did it. I am the second missionary in our mission, ever, to eat three Napoli Pizza's in 20 minutes. My stomach was pretty full to say the least. I was full after the first one.....but I had to finish the challenge. I will send the video home next week. 

This week I don't have a bunch of time because tomorrow is zone conference...but I still want to share something. This week my spiritual thought comes directly from a beautiful learning experience I had this past Saturday on the subway. We got on the train and began our long ride out to the outskirts of Naples for a lunch appointment. We got on the train and sat down and immediately began looking for someone who may be interested in our message. Before I could stand up to move, a middle aged man sat down by me and began speaking to me in english. I cannot remember his name, but he told me that he was from France. He told me that him and some of his friends were traveling through Italy on vacation. We began to speak about the gospel. I gave him a pass a long card and invited him to look us up on the internet when he had the chance to do so. I taught him about the book of mormon, Joseph Smith and who we Mormons really are. He had never met or spoke with a mormon before. I was his first taste of Mormonism, which I think is pretty neat. He asked me why I chose to come out here for 2 years and leave everything else behind. I gave him my answer and his response struck me. He said...."Are you happy?" I quickly responded saying..."Yes." Then he said, looking me right in the eyes, "Is that answer coming from your heart? Or is that the politically correct answer that you are supposesd to give to me?" Again, his question hit me and hit me hard. As I was thinking what to say in response, the train arrived at his stop and he got up to leave before I could give him my answer. I shook his hand, we said our goodbyes and he walked off of the train. Immediately I began thinking about what he just askedme..."Are you happy?"

That is what I want to talk about today. Are we truly happy? Are we truly content with who we are, what we are doing, and where we are heading? Can we honestly look ourselves in the mirror and be completely satisfied with what we see within ourselves? Today I am speaking about taking a deep look down inside of our own selves and sincerely asking if there is some are where we can become better. Today I am speaking about our hearts and the intentions thereof. Truly, in the end, what lies on the outside of our body will have little importance to where we end up after this life is said and done - but what lues beneath that small protectant layer of skin, that will determine everything after we have finished our life here upon the earth. 

There is a definition of the word Happy that is short, but powerful.

......"satisfied with the quality or standard of something"......

Are we truly satisfied with the path that we are on at this very moment? Is the path that we are on leading to eternal happiness or happiness that will eventaully fade away into feelings or regret, anguish, or pain? True happiness doesn't last for days, weeks, months or years... True and everlasting happiness lasts for eternity. True and everlasting happiness does not fade away. It is something that cannot be dimmed. It lasts forever.

Are we searching for the things that don't truly make us happy? Such as the finest clothes, the nicest car, the coolest haircut, or the biggest house. In the next life the price tag on our clothes, the model of our car, our stylish haircuts and the square footage of our home willhave no importance.....but the size of our hearts and our capacity to love others will be of the upmost importance. 

Are we searching for things that we should not be searching for? Such as the weaknesses and the imperfections that others may have......Rather than wiping down our own mirrors and taking a clear gander at our own imperfections and weaknesses.

Are we trying to place ourselves over another to get some kind of gain in the eyes of man? Those who wish to simple get gain in the eyes of man will surely die in vain. They will crave for that hunger all of their lives here upon the earth. It is a terrible hunger that cannot be satisfied. It is a deadly curse that will eat at the human soul forever and ever. We must do our very best to focus on developing our eternal relationships with our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jsus Christ.....Rather than trying to give our self image a boost in the eyes of man.

True and everlasting happiness cannot be purchased at a store. It cannot be found in the leather of an expensive vehicle. It cannot be found in a TV program and surely cannot be delivered by the FedEx man- True and everlasting happiness comes from one source and one source only. That source being Love. We could not experience happiness in this life or in the life to come without the love of our Savior Jesus Chirst. We are not perfect. We all have our imperfections, weaknesses, struggles, addictions, fears, and habits......but through the Innocent Blood of the Savior of the World, that He so willingly shed for us in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the Cross at Calgary, we are made complete.     Because of Jesus Christ and his infinte and everlasting atonement, we have the opportunity and chance to change and become stronger in all aspects of life. Because of Jesus Chirst we have the oppertunity to start again and get ourselves back on the right path - the path that leads us back home to Him. Because of Jesus Chirst we can forgive others and see past their imperfections, because we know that Christ suffered for their imperfections as well as our own. Because of Jesus Chirst we can look at people with a smile, because Christ will look upon us with a smile when we have the glorious opportunity to see Him again, along with His pierced palms and wounded feet. Because of Jesus Christ we can truly be happy, with a happiness that will never fade away and will never dim. Because of Him.....our happiness with last forever.

My invite this wee could be a tough one, I know it was hard for me. My invite is to wipe down a mirror in your house until it is nearly spotless. Shine that thing right up. After you have shined it up, take a good, long and deep look inside of yourself. Look upon your heart. Look at your actions, sayings and doings. Think of your Savior and Your Own Personal relationship with Him. Look upon the things that make you happy and determine if those things will last forever, or if those things will lose their glam someday. Look at yourself and simply ask..."Are you happy?" If the answer is no, fix what is keeping you from being happy and find those things that will bring happines that is eternal. It is not east to look upon ourselves and ask where we are coming up short, but we must if we want to get to where we want to go. 

Everyone....I love you. I will always love you. I am grateful for each and every one of you. You have all had a positive impact on my life and changed me for the better. This past week I learned a hard lesson, but boy I am glad that I learned it. I don't think that man needed to hear my message that day, I think he was sent to teach me something that I hadn't learned just yet. I am grateful for those learning experiences. Learning experiences give us the chance to learn and to grow. Simply know.......That I want what is best for each and everyone of you that are reading this email right now. The Lord wants all of us to return unto Him as well tested and well proven servants. I want us all to return to our Father in Heaven together ready to partake of the endless joy and happines that He is willing to bless us with. I am going to say that again.....I want us all to return to our Father in Heaven together ready to partake of the endless joy and happiness that He is willing to bless us with. The kep word is Together. I want nothing more than to be together with my entire family forever. That is something that I long for and will work all of my life for. I want us all to be happy and be happy together. We will get there one day. It may not all be easy, but we can do it. I have faith. With God, all things are possible unto those who believe and call upon His name. I believe and I will call upon His Holy name forever. Let us start right now, on our path to becoming a forever family, and let us start by asking ourselves sincerely...."Am I Happy??"

I love you all so much. Never forget that. You are all in my prayers and I want nothing but the best to come your way. Have an incredible week. Be safe. Wear your seatbelts. Read your scriptures. Pray. Love. Share. Be kind. Be humble.

are you happy??

Anziano JarDee Nessen 

The Weekly Dime on July 19th

The Weekly Dime on July 19th

Hey Fam. I love you all. Hope you all had a good week.

Senior companion is a bit different. I like it, but it is different.
My companion is kind of having a hard time without his trainer right
now, so I am just doing my best to show him that I love him and that I
care for him. Things are getting better as the days go bye. He is a
super good kid and I love him to death. I want the best for him and I
want him to enjoy his time not only with me, but throughout his
mission as well. He is a stud and I love him. We are getting along
fine and doing good work.

We have been doing lots and lots of finding ( tracting ) because when
I arrived here we had zero investigators. We started off last week by
really getting the word out that we do a free English Course. We hung
about 50 English Course posters in different places all around the
city of Napoli. Hopefully something good comes from our efforts there.
Also I have been trying to be a little bit more fearless.....So now
when we get on inner city train ( like a Subway type thinger ) instead
of standing up and just waiting until our stop....I have been sitting
next to people and just talking. It was super hard to get over my fear
of just sitting next to someone and talking about our religion (
because I didn't think my Italian was good enough to do it without my
companion right beside me ) but I started doing it and I love it. It
is my favorite way to find now. I get to teach The Restoration a ton
and so it also helps with my teaching skills. Now when we don't have
an appointment or anything we just get on the inner city train and
ride it back and forth and just talk to different people along the
way. It is awesome and really effective. When we are walking down the
street, it is easy for others to say no and reject us. BUT when they
are stuck inside of a train with us, they tend to open up a lot more.

My first week here in Napoli, a husband and wife came to our English
course for the first time. They are middle aged people and they are
incredibly kind. The husband is ripped. He is seriously the strongest
looking guy I have ever seen. His muscles are huge and when he shakes
my hand it feels like he could break it into pieces if he really
wanted to. His idol is Bruce Lee. He was the European Champion in
kick-boxing for 5 straight years in the 80's. Safe to say.....He is
still a lethal weapon today.  They were super interested in us and our
beliefs so we gave them a Book of Mormon and invited them to read and
pray with a sincere heart to know the truth. This last Wednesday we
went over to their house for the first lesson. We didn't jump right
into the restoration right away. We kind of just let them know who we
are, what we do and why we are here in Italy. We asked them some
questions and asked them what role religion has played in their lives.
The husband had already read through 1st and 2nd Nephi. He loves the
Book of Mormon. They have been prepared. This Wednesday they are
having us over for another the lesson and it will be on The
Restoration. I am seriously so pumped. My companion and I have been
practicing non-stop on this....We want this to go the best that it
possibly can. Wednesday is going to be a big day and I am super
excited.

Here is the super cool part about that guy. Again, he loves Bruce Lee.
In his house, he has his own DoJo. He teaches martial arts in his
house. When we were setting up out next appointment, we set it for the
following Wednesday at 7. His reply was,"Could you come at 6 and I
will teach you some martial arts and then at 7 you can teach me about
Christ?" My companion and I looked at each other, smiled and happily
agreed to the invitation. So we have a martial arts lesson and a
lesson on the restoration. I can't wait!

This last Thursday was my companions birthday. He turned the big 19. I
bought him a sweet Adidas shirt and sang to him when he woke up. At
English Course Thursday night we through him a big surprise party. It
was awesome. He was having a pretty rough day, because the first
Christmas and Birthday away from home are always rough days.... The
party really helped him and cheered him up. I had a good time. The
students had a good time. But most importantly Anziano Just had a good
time. It was good to see the guy have a good smile on his birthday.

Friday night we went on exchanges with some other missionaries. When
we started the exchange Me and Elder Anderson ( My exchange partner.
He is from Texas and is one transfer younger than me ) took off and
headed towards the inner city train station. We were walking down the
stairs and as soon as we got down the stairs we heard in
English......"Elders!!!!" A man and his wife came over to us and shook
our hands. They introduced themselves and told us that they were from
Denver and here on vacation. They needed help getting on the inner
city train so they could get back to their cruise ship. We bought them
some tickets and escorted them to their stop. They gave us 20 bucks
and told us that dinner was on them. They were some of the kindest
people that I have ever met. They took pictures with us and talked to
us for a good 15 minutes. It was a huge tender mercy from the Lord. He
was a young single adult ward Bishop and was hilarious. The wife was
one of the nicest people on the planet. They have a daughter in Chile
serving a mission right now. They were seriously Heaven sent. I have
always thought about having that experience out here, and it came
true. Then not even joking, five minutes after we ran into a sister
missionary who finished her mission a little while back. She was with
her mom and they were just walking through Napoli. I served with this
sister in Crotone for one transfer. She was really cool and her
grandpa is actually Russell M. Nelson ( the new President of the
Quorem of the 12 Apostles ). We were running into Mormons all over the
place Friday night. It was awesome!

Every Saturday night we gather our new converts together. We eat a
pizza, get to know each a little bit better and have a lesson. It is
super effective. I have never thought of something like that before,
but it works. Our new converts are really strong here in Napoli. From
this they develop better relationships with other members, they get to
become close with the missionaries and they get a pizza from Napoli.
It doesn't get much better than that.

Yesterday was good. Sunday's are always good in the mission. Last
night we went over to a less active members house and taught him a
lesson. It went really well. He lives on the 9th floor of the building
so we decided to take the elevator on the way down. Well.....the
elevator stopped all of a sudden and we were stuck. We sat in there
waiting for it to start working again, but after 15 minutes it started
to get really warm in there. We were able to pry the elevator door
open and we could see about half of the 3rd floor. There was a number
in the elevator to call if something happened. We called and called
and called....but nobody ever answered. By this time it was about 8:30
pm and we were still a long ways from home. It came down to spending
an awful night in an elevator or prying ourselves out. We ended up
forcing our way out, which wasn't easy.  My companion got out first
and than I climbed out. It was a bit of a struggle....but we made it.
I will be sending some videos home.

This week.....I want to simply bare my Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

I know that God the Father and His Beloved Son appeared to a young 14
old boy, in response to that young boys prayer. I know that Joseph
Smith obtained the record, which was long ago hidden in the Hill
Cumorah by Moroni some 400 plus years after the death of Jesus Christ.
I know that with the power of the almighty God, Joseph Smith
translated the record into the English language. That once did buried
record is now known as The Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith translated the
record in 65 days. I know that through Joseph Smith that our loving
Heavenly Father restored again on this earth the proper priesthood
authority. I know that the same priesthood authority that was restored
nearly 200 years ago, is still on this earth today. During the mortal
ministry of Joseph Smith he suffered all kinds of troubles and
afflictions. To name a few: He was tarred and feathered, He was
beaten, He was mocked, He was falsely accused, He was Hated, He lost
Children, He was locked in Liberty Jail... The Prophet Joseph Smith
did translate the Book of Mormon. God did restore His priesthood
authority through Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith did see the Father and
the Son that spring morning in 1820. He truly saw what he said he saw.
I have stepped foot in the Sacred Grove for myself. There is a peace
there unlike any other place. The Almighty and The Savior of The World
truly spoke to then a 14 year old boy. Joseph Smith was a prophet of
God and that he sealed his prophetic testimony with his own innocent
blood. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. Joseph
Smith was a Prophet. The Book of Mormon is true. The Book of Mormon is
the evidence of The Prophet Joseph Smith and the truthfulness of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If the Book of Mormon is
true, than Joseph Smith was truly a prophet. If the Book of Mormon is
true, than the same priesthood that was on the earth when Christ was
on the earth is again on the earth today. If the Book of Mormon is
true, than the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true.

I bare my solemn testimony that I know with every fiber of my being
that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. I know that He was called and
chosen to restore the church in these last days. I know that the
record he found in that hillside and translated is true. I know that
he sealed his testimony with his own blood. I know that He truly saw
exactly what he said he saw in the grove. The Church of Jesus Christ
is upon the earth today. The Church of Jesus Christ is true.

My invite this week is rather bold. My invite is to begin reading from
the beginning of the Book of Mormon tonight and to finish it in 65
days ( The same amount of time it took Joseph Smith to translate it ).
As a representative of The Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ I promise you
that if you truly commit and carry out my invite... That you will be
blessed with the same surety that I have. That these things are true.
"Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock,
and it shall be opened unto you." ( 3 Nephi 14:7 ).

I love you all. Thank you for the love and support. Have a great, safe week.

peace be the journey,
Anziano JarDee Nessen

D&C 135:3
3 Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save
Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man
that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has
brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and
power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two
continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it
contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the
revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and
Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the
benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the
Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that
cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God
and his people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times,
has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has
his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they
were not separated!

7 Months Down

7 Months Down

Good morning everyone. I love you all.

This past week was a good one. A little long, but good. It was
transfer week and it always seems to get a little tough around the
time of transfers. It usually takes a day or two to get back into the
groove of things. All is well now and I am loving it here in Napoli.
Napoli is definitely different than any other place that I have ever
been in. For example.....My first day here I saw a man taking a pee in
the middle of the busiest road in Napoli. My second day here we walked
by some lady that was just breast feeding her child as she was
walking. Yesterday we were walking down the street and there was some
lady that was yelling, well more so screaming, blasphemy. When we
walked by she was screaming all sorts of nice things right into my
ear. Those things she was yelling, I would rather not send home. Last
night there were big fireworks going off literally right outside of
our apartment window. The fireworks were cool, except they were
lighting them off at 1 am in the morning. Napoli is crazy. To me,
Napoli is the city that never sleeps. Even though there are lots of
negative and evil things here, I love it. Napoli is incredible. The
building. The architecture. The food. The Pizza. The clothes. Our
Branch Here. In the midst of all these dark things, there are so many
beautiful and wonderful things. I am really going to enjoy my time
here in Napoli. I am going to do my best to shed some light in this
trodden down city.

Last week I had to say some Goodbyes to some pretty wonderful people
that I was only able to know for a short time. That being six weeks.
My first hard goodbye was The Hubbard Family. For my last visit with
them, I wanted to make it special. I wanted to make it powerful. So I
kind of decided to take it over and tell my story. When we go over to
their home, they like us to teach their little kids. Hannah who is 7,
Russell who is 5 and Amzy who is 2. We usually teach the little ones
while the parents sit off to the side. I told my story about why I am
out here serving my mission and what happened to me when I was a
little boy. I told them about the car accident and how I know that the
blessing ps we receive in the temple are eternal. Afterwards the dad,
the former marine, told us his story. He told us about his trials and
struggles... He broke down. It was so powerful. He shed a tear and I
shed a tear as well. I challenged them to always keep their eyes
towards the temple. They agreed that they need to make that a
priority. As we were leaving and I was saying my goodbyes.....It was
tough. I was fighting back tears pretty hard, because this family had
become so special to me in just a short amount of time. I said my
goodbyes and began walking down the street when all of a sudden
Russell came running out the front door and he yelled...."Goodbye
Missionary.....I love you." I turned around as a tear fell down my
face and said...."Goodbye buddy. I love you too!" When they took is to
the Fourth of July, Russell and Hannah were begging me to sit by them
in the car. When we got to the party and got out of the car they both
grabbed my hands and held on tight. I loved those little kids and for
some strange reason they were drawn to me. I will never forget the
Hubbard family. I hope and pray that they will someday make it to the
temple....The blessings of the temple are eternal.

My other goodbye was the little old man named Jerry that we were
working with. We would go and share little spiritual thoughts with him
and speak with his friends. This last week we had a pretty rough
experience and it left me kind of upset for a minute. So Jerry is a
really popular guy. He is kind. He is smart. He loves Jesus. And he
loved us. Lots of people know and love Jerry. While we were trying to
share a spiritual thought his friends kept on coming over and
questioning us. We were getting battered with questions from the bible
and about our beliefs. Some of the questions we ridiculous. We stayed
patient and simply just bore testimony to them. People cannot argue
testimony. I was really trying to be patient and then this one guy
came over. When he started talking, all of my patience went flying out
of the window. He went on telling me how he has studied the bible for
25 years and how he knew it like the back of his hand. He than said
this...."There is no resurrection. Christ is still in the tomb. He
never rose. When we stay die our spirit and our body will never be
reunited. Death is the end." Now this man was crazy and I was just
annoyed....So I asked him if he had his bible on him. He said yes. I
asked him if he believed the bible to be true. He said yes. I asked
him to them turn to Luke 24:6. When it says...."He is not here, for He
is risen." Then I bore testimony on the plan of salvation and the
atonement. He shut his mouth and walked away. I felt bad for kind of
bible bashing with him....I just had enough with the interruptions. We
were able to finally give Jerry the spiritual though and say our
goodbyes. Jerry is a good guy and I wish him the best.

My new companion is Anziano Just. He is two transfers younger than me
in the mission. He is a good guy and a really good missionary. We are
going to have a lot of fun and do a lot of good work. I am excited to
see what we can do together. The branch here in Napoli is really nice.
There are about 75-80 active members. The branch is very strong with
some strong youth. There is one American guy here named Sam. He is
awesome. I translated all 3 hours for him yesterday. He asked me where
I was from and I said northern Utah. He said..."Tremonton?" I almost
fell over. It was awesome to finally meet someone that knows
Tremonton. Here in Napoli at the moment we do not have any
investigators whatsoever. That kind of sucked to walk into....but it
is okay. That just means that it is time to hit the streets and find
those who are willing to listen. We have some new converts so we will
work a lot with them and strengthen them. I am excited to see what we
can do because we are starting from Scratch. The Lord works
miracles....If we simply believe.

This week I want to talk about 3 scriptures that I love from 3rd Nephi
Chapter 13.

"19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and
rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal;

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth
nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor
steal.

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

My challenge this week is simple. Take a look at the things in your
life that are most important to you. If the things that are most
important to us in this life can rust or wither away....Then we need
to change something. We need to see things in an eternal sense. The
things that don't fade away are the most important things, and often
times the biggest blessings that we have been blessed with. Clothes
come in and out of style and cars get old and break down.....but time
well spent with family is a treasure. This week My challenge is to see
things as they really are. It is to make the things that matter most,
the most important things in our lives. To put the cell phone down
every once in awhile and pull out a board game. To turn down the radio
in the car and have a good conversation. To sacrifice a little bit of
TV to have family prayer.... Let us see the things that bring us true
and everlasting happiness and joy. Let our hearts be turned towards
our family members and to our Lord.

I love you guys all so much. I am so grateful for you and for
everything that you do for me. I am grateful for your prayers, your
support and your love. Thanks for it all. Have an amazing week. Take
care of yourselves and know that I love you!! I will talk to you soon.

Peace be the Journey,
Anziano JarDee Nessen

Big Time News

Big Time News

Hello Everyone.
Sorry about emailing everyone so late today. We had an amazing
opportunity this morning to go to one of thee most beautiful beaches
in the world and go on an incredible hike. This was easiest the best
P-Day of my mission so far. The pure beauty of Italy is truly unreal.
Pictures will not do it justice.....Today was just a really good
P-Day.

Big News. Transfer calls came this past Saturday. I was totally
expecting to stay in Pozzuoli with Anziano Fullmer for at least one
transfer.....but The Lord has a different idea for me. I am getting
transferred into the heart of Napoli and I will be Follow Up Training
another missionary. I am going into my 5th transfer and he is going
into his 3rd transfer. We are both super young, and I am pretty
nervous about going to Senior Comp. when I haven't even been in Italy
for 6 months yet. I am super excited and a major opportunity to grow.
I hope that I will make the most out of it.

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July, because I sure did. There is
a crater whole up here called Carney Park. It is in Pozzuoli and the
U.S. bought the crater and turned it into a little America. There are
baseball fields, a 9 hole golf course and even a swimming pool. It is
incredible. They had a Giant 4th of July Party that we got invited
too. So we went and.....goodness sakes it was surely amazing to feel,
smell and hear nothing but AMERICA. There was Mountain Dew, Country
Music and a place just packed full of Americans. We ate some American
food, talked to so many American people and had a blast. I even got to
ride a on a Carnival Ride. It was a Fourth of July that I will never
forget.

This past week was kind of rough for us and our work. We had 12
appointments planned, and we only ended up teaching 2 out of those 12.
It was kind of a rough week for missionary work. I am not sure what
the work is like in Napoli, but I am pretty excited to get to work
with this young gun. We are going to have a ton of fun.

It is really warming up here in Pozzuoli....and I mean really warming
up. We don't have Air Conditioning in our apartment and I kid you
not.....it is 84 degrees Fahrenheit in our bedroom after the sun goes
down. I woke up this morning and the thermometer said 84 degrees. I
wanted to die. I have never been more miserable, or slept worse in my
entire life. I take my sheets and literally put them in the shower
with the coldest water possible and then make my bed with soaking wet
sheets. It is warm. Really, really warm. But I love it. There is
nothing better than watching sweat drop off of your face when you are
trying to stop somebody on the sidewalk.... I have started carrying a
wash clothe to wipe the sweat off of my face. It doesn't sound like
it, but I love it. Nothing is better than just working yourself to
death in the HEAT.

I am sorry that this email is so lame.....I don't have a ton of time.
I hope you all had a wonderful week and an awesome Fourth of July. I
truly love you all so much. I am grateful for you, your prayers, your
support, and your love. This week my challenge is simple......My
challenge this week is to simply say a prayer for and thank our Father
in Heaven for allowing us to live where we do and enjoy the freedoms
that we enjoy. God Bless America. I miss that place.
I love you all.

Peace be the Journey,
Anziano JarDee Nessen

Over 200 Days in the Mish

Over 200 Days in the Mish

Good Morning Everyone,
I hope you all had an amazing week. I hope you all are enjoying the
summer and having tons of fun. I hope everyone is doing well and
staying healthy. I love you all. Truly thank you for everything. Thank
you for your prayers. Your love. Your support. I thank each one of you
reading this email right now for the positive impact you have had on
my life. I am truly grateful for you all.

I want to start off by telling you about our little trip down to
Crotone, then to Sicily and then back home to Pozzuoli. So our little
journey started off last Sunday night when we took a train from Napoli
to another train station about 4 hours away. At that train station The
Bullocks ( The Senior Couple I served with in Crotone ) picked us up
and drove us to Crotone. Monday morning we went to the place to get my
Permesso ( My documents. So I can legally live in Italy. ) and
immediately after I got my permesso......We got back in The Bullocks
car and they drove us back to the same train station that they picked
us up at the night before. It is about and Hour and A Half drive. We
got out of the car and caught our train. That train went from the
little train station to the train station in Palermo ( Palermo is in
Sicily). That was a solid 8.5 hour train ride. The view was
incredible. I was able to see a good chunk of Southern Italy and lots
of Sicily. It was amazing really. It was 8 pm when we arrived in
Palermo last Monday Evening, so we went and slept at the Elders'
apartment who serve in Palermo. Tuesday morning we woke up at 4:45 am to catch a bus at 6:15 am. That bus went to Sciacca ( which was my
companions first city in his mission). The bus ride from Palermo to
Sciacca is about 2 hours. I slept the entire way. We got to Sciacca
and did what we had to do. When we finished we had enough time to get
some lunch and get on another bus that would take us to the airport
back in Palermo. We got to the airport at about 1:45pm and our flight
didn't take off until 5:30pm. So we had lots of time to kill in a tiny
little airport. We got on the plane and flew back to Napoli. The
flight was around 45 minutes. It was super convenient. We landed at
the Airport in Napoli, took a taxi to the train station in Napoli, and
took a train back to Pozzuoli. We left Sunday afternoon and were home
Tuesday Evening.

Did you get all that? If not don't worry, I still don't understand
what we did either. I just know that we travelled a lot in two days,
but I was lucky enough to see lots of the beautiful Southern Italy.
Tuesday night I slept pretty good you could say. I have never been
more happy to be in my own bed. What a trip.

This past week we had some pretty cool experiences. We had some solid
lessons, met some new people, have some new investigators and even
taught the restoration to about 10 evangelists during one of there
ceremonies last night.

I will start with the 10 Evangelists. So last night we were out and
about when we heard, off in the distance, what sounded like a speaker
system. The closer we got, the louder it got. We just kept following
the noise, until we stumbled upon a giant Evangelical meeting in a
park. So of course we wanted to sit in and listen in the back behind
everyone else. We weren't there for 14 seconds when all of a sudden
people started coming up to us and asking us about what we believe. It
was pretty cool really. They were all super kind, but there were a few
of them that didn't really want to talk.....they wanted to "Bible
Bash". I could tell that a few of them were trying to ask difficult
questions and they were trying to catch us with tricky doctrines, but
we simply taught the restoration, stayed calm, smiled a lot and bore
testimony on the things that we know to be true. At the end we parted
ways by saying an evangelical prayer and a Mormon prayer together. It
was really cool. The people we met could seriously be Mormon, and
strong members, if they would give the Book of Mormon a shot. They
simply couldn't accept the Book of Mormon. It reminded me of the verse
in 2nd Nephi 29:3...."A Bible! A Bible. We have got a Bible, and
there cannot be any more bible." They were shocked that God waited
almost 2,000 years to bring forth the Book of Mormon. We explained to
them why.....They just couldn't wrap their minds around it. In the
chapter heading of Chapter 29 it also reads....."Many Gentiles shall
reject the Book of Mormon." Well that is how I felt last night and
that is what I saw last night. I simply just wanted to take their
moral agency for a moment and make them read/pray about the
truthfulness of The Book of Mormon.....because truly we are holding
Eternal Life and Exaltation in our hands.....They just have to give it
a shot. None of them would, like I had expected because it would be
kind of hard to accept a Book of Mormon while your evangelical church
is having there Sunday ceremony right behind us......Haha! But we gave
our number our and got some numbers. Hopefully someone was touched by
the spirit and hopefully we will be able to talk move about the Joseph
Smith Story and The Restoration. Last night was a good time. Crazy and
a little bit scary.....but good. We were in the line of fire for an
hour or so, and I felt like we did the best we could.

We have 2 new investigators. Claudio and Gina. They are married and
own a glasses store near Pozzuoli. She is a die-hard Catholic and He
doesn't really believe in anything. Some members sent them to us as
referrals. Last week we met with them. We planned on teaching the
first lesson ( The Restoration ) but when we showed up.....our lesson
plan went out of the window. We got to know them a little bit better
and they had some pretty deep questions about the Plan of Salvation
and about the life after this life. Claudio asked some rather
difficult questions and I remember thinking in my head....."This would
be hard to answer in English, let alone Italian." I wanted so badly to
bare my testimony about Eternal Families and how special the Plan of
Salvation truly is, but I felt the need to save it for another time.
We spent an hour or so with them, and during that hour they were super
receptive to the things that we had to say. The Spirit was definitely
there and I hope that Holy Ghost bore truthfulness to what we were
saying. They accepted another appointment with us and agreed to start
reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. They are really awesome
people, and very kind. They would make good, strong members.

Sergio, the little old man we are teaching, is my hero. He is truly a
champion. Sunday morning He wasn't feeling very well. He doesn't own a
cell phone, so there was no way for him to tell us he wasn't feeling
so good. When we met with him on Saturday he told us that he would see
us on Sunday. So instead of him leaving us high and dry, he got ready
and walked 45 minutes one way to the church.....to tell us that he
wasn't feeling well. He looked super weak and exhausted. I felt so
bad. He simply said, "Elders I am sorry, but I am not feeling very
well today. So I wanted to come and tell you that I wasn't going to be
able to make it to church." We told him we loved him and asked if we
could do anything for him.....of course he said no. He than walked the
45 minutes back home and rested. Goodness......I love that guy. I
thought to myself...."Would I be willing to walk that far, to talk to
some 19 year old kids, early in the morning.....especially when I
wasn't feeling good. Just to make sure that I didn't let someone else
down." Wow. Seeing him this morning and listening to him talk to us
was truly incredible. I love Sergio. I want to stuff him in my carry
on and bring him home with me....because he would fit. He is just s
little guy. I would ask that you would keep Sergio in your prayers. He
is a good guy and we need him. Thank you all. Yesterday.....He taught
me a pretty incredible life lesson. I will never forget my little
conversation with Sergio on The Sunday Morning of June 28th, 2015.
People say we go on missions to teach other people, but I have learned
way more than I could ever possibly teach. I am very grateful to have
experiences like the one I had with Sergio. Very grateful.

The Hubbard family. This past week we went and taught the Hubbard
Family. They are an American less active family. They have three kids.
Russell who is 5. Hannah who is 7. Amzy who is 2. They are from South
Carolina and Georgia. We taught their kids the atonement and about
Jesus Christ. I also hooked them up with a little CTR ring. They loved
them. I told them who they came from and they wanted to send some
pictures home with our new CTR rings. I love that family. They are
going to take us, this coming Saturday ( The Fourth of July ), to the
American Base. I am super excited! Fireworks, Americans, American
Food, English.....I am super pumped!

That is about all the good stuff that happened this past week. I also
found where Pozzuoli is mentioned in the New Testament. This is when
Paul is making his way to Rome.

In Acts 28:13 it says...."....and we came the next day to Puteoli."
In the Italian bible Acts 28:13 says..."....in due giorni arrivammo a Pozzuoli."

Also on Friday, I hit my 200th day in the mission. That felt good. Real good.

This week I wish to talk just a little but on being Proud and Humble.
This thought came to me yesterday at church.

In the grand councils of Heaven there were two plans presented to our
Father in Heaven. Jesus Christ's plan that gave us the opportunity to
decide for ourselves and all of the glory would go to our Father in
Heaven. “Thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.” (Moses
4:2) Lucifer's plan which was to give us no moral agency, therefore
all of us would be saved. The negative thing about Lucifer's plan was
that He wanted the glory to be his own. “Because … Satan rebelled
against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord
God, had given him, … I caused that he should be cast down.” (Moses
4:3) Lucifer abused his ow moral agency, because of his pride, and was
cast out of Heaven along with 1/3 of the hosts of heaven. Those who
did not choose to follow Jesus Christ in the ore mortal life, were
also cast out with Satan.

This hit me yesterday pretty hard.....Lucifer and Jesus Christ were
once both spirit children of our Father in Heaven. They were both
given the opportunity to present their plan. Jesus Christ was humble
and wanted no glory for Himself. Lucifer was prideful and desired that
glory would come his way. Pride was the once difference. Look at how
far the pride of one soul took him. It took him from being considered
in the Grand Councils of Heaven, to then being cast out of the
presence of God and becoming the adversary. One man had pride. One man
was humble. Crazy for me to look at the difference and see truly how
damaging being lifted up in the sight of our own eyes truly is.

"The greatest, most capable, most accomplished man who ever walked
this earth was also the most humble. He performed some of His most
impressive service in private moments, with only a few observers, whom
He asked to “tell no man” what He had done. When someone called Him
“good,” He quickly deflected the compliment, insisting that only God
is truly good. Clearly the praise of the world meant nothing to Him;
His single purpose was to serve His Father and “do always those things
that please him.” We would do well to follow the example of our
Master."
-President Uchtdorf (April 2015 General Conference)

My challenge this week is simple. To be a little more humble. A little
more grateful. Give praises unto The Lord in every meaningful thing.
Look for an opportunity to serve. To accept that sometimes we aren't
as big as we think we are.

This week, this is more so for me than anyone else. I need to be more
humble. I need to be more grateful. I need to look for more
opportunities to serve. I need to become less proud.

It means nothing to be looked upon highly by other people, because in
the end being looked upon highly by other people will not buy our
ticket into Heaven. The only opinionated relationship  that we should
care about is the relationship between ourselves and our Father in
Heaven and His Son. If we are more worried about how our Father in
Heaven is looking down upon us, rather than what our neighbor ps or
friends think.....We will be much better off. The opinions of others
mean nothing. The thoughts that others have about us mean nothing. The
opinion that matters, and the opinion that will earn us our salvation,
is the opinion that comes from our Father in Heaven. Let's not have
the desire to be praised by man, because that got Lucifer nowhere and
it will get us nowhere. It could get us somewhere, but nowhere that
matters in the eyes of God. Let us remember our Master in all things.
Let us remember the one that grants us daily breath, that has given us
everything we have ever had and continues to love us no matter how
many times we slip up. Let us live, and live righteously, for our
Heavenly Father. Let us strengthen our relationship with Him, and
continually strengthen that relationship. Let us put away our pride.
Let us see where we can improve. Where we are coming up short. Where
we can change.....and let's work to be looked upon highly by our
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, rather than being praised by man.

I love you all. I am really going to focus on this pride thing. It
took a man from being considered in Heaven, to then becoming Satan and
the author of sin. Pride is a big thing. I pray we will all have the
sincere desire to be a little kinder and to love others more fully. I
hope you all have an amazing week. I hope you all are safe and are
having an awesome summer. You guys are awesome. You are all in my
prayers. Much love.

peace be the journey,
anziano jardee nessen

Ps......I love you all.

Sup My Fam

Sup My Fam

good morning everybody.

This morning I don't have a ton of time......long story that I will
get to in a minute. Just know that I love you all and I am sorry if I
didn't get the chance to email you back personally. I hope you all had
an amazing week this past week. I love you all. Thank you so much for
the prayers, love and support. You guys are all incredible.

So the reason for the lack of time this morning. Anziano Fullmer and I
have to return to our first cities in our mission to receive our
Permesso ( A permesso is just something that gives us permission to
live in Italy for two years legally. ) We are in Crotone this morning
to grab my permesso and as soon as we grab mine......we are hopping on
a train to go down to southern Italy so Anziano Fullmer can grab his
permesso. Kind of a wild few days. Our journey started last night when
we took a four hour train ride from Napoli to a little train station
where The Bullocks ( Senior Couple from Crotone ) picked us up and
brought us to Crotone. Our train ride today from Crotone to Southern
Sicily will be a solid 7 hours straight. Let me tell you how excited I
am for that....... Then after we get Anziano Fullmer's permesso on
Tuesday morning, we are catching a flight back to Napoli. Crazy few
days. I hope that made sense to you and if it didn't....I am sorry. It
doesn't really make sense to me either......Haha I am just as confused
as you right now. I am just doing my best to follow my companion.

This past week was really good for Anziano Fullmer and I. This past
week taught a bunch of lessons and met with a ton of people. Sergio is
one of our investigators currently. He is a little old man, and loves
us. He is a super good guy and loves the Book of Mormon. We were able
to meet with him 3 times this past week and all 3 lessons were super
strong. Marilena is another one of our investigators right now. She is
around 35-40 years old and is super ready for the gospel. This past
week we were able to meet with her twice and had two super strong
lessons on The Plan of Salvation. I was able to bare my testimony on
how I know that I will see my mom again and also how I know that
Families are Eternal. I love teaching the Plan of Salvation. Our last
main investigator is a guy named Pietro. Pietro is a STUD. He is 33
and used to be a professional soccer player here in Italy. He loves
our doctrine and the things we believe. He is reading the Book of
Mormon. I love Pietro. So in a small little nutshell....those are our
3 main investigators at the moment.

Friday evening Anziano Fullmer and I had an appointment cancel on
us.....so we decided to grab our English Course Sign and our Football
and head down to the boardwalk. We set up our sign and started playing
catch. Soon we had 5 younger kids around us and we were teaching them
how to throw and catch the football. It is a great chance for us to
work with younger kids, while there parents just watch us. Then it is
much easier to get into a conversation with their parents. We talked
to lots of good people Friday night and had a good time. This little
old lady ( She had to seriously be 143 years old.....) came up to me
and asked if she could throw the football. So I handed it to her,
backed up a few steps and she threw it to me. I was waiting for her to
collapse and have a heart attack or something.....but she just went
and sat back down. Not going to lie it was super strange, but I can
now cross that off of my things to do during my mission. Playing catch
with a lady that was on the earth when Christ was on the earth is now
checked off.

Saturday evening in Pozzuoli there was a double baptism. Pozzuoli has
the only baptismal font in Napoli, so all of the baptisms are held at
our church. On Saturday night I was able to conduct one baptism in
Italian and another baptism in English. It was a super good experience
and I was truly honored to do it. I even wore my super light grey suit
for the occasion. It was a good day. For sure something that I will
never forget.

Well those are the main things that happened this past week. Nothing
overly exciting, it is just fun being a missionary. Like the great
Forest Gump says...."You never know what you're going to get." That
phrase is proven true over and over again to me every single day out
here in Italy. There is something different every single day that
surprises me. I love it.

This week I want to wish all you fathers out there a Happy Fathers
Day.....but there is one Father in particular that I would like to pay
a tribute too.

Where do I even begin....My dad is my hero. My inspiration. My
strength. My best friend. I have never met someone who loves and cares
so much for the ones he loves.....and even those who he has never met.
I cannot tell you how many times I have seen my dad give a little
homeless man $5. He doesn't do it to receive recognition, he does it
out of the goodness of his heart. I have never met someone that is so
willing to sacrifice everything he has.....just to see one of his kids
smile. My Dad is the reason that I am who I am today. He is the reason
that I was the athlete that I was. He is the one person that was in
the stands at every single game and no matter the outcome....He was
always there to give me a hug and to tell me that he loved me. To me,
there is nothing more motivating than to look up in the stands on a
Friday Night and see your dad sitting there watching you play. My dad
was always so willing to go up into the batting cage and throw batting
practice for hours and hours and hours or play a quick game of horse
after work. He was the one who taught me that nothing is given in this
world. He taught me that if I wanted something, that I would have to
go and take it. My dad has given me the world and never asked for a
thing in return. I wish I wouldn't have been so blind for the first 18
years of my life too truly see everything that my dad has done for me.
The list is limitless. I don't deserve someone that is truly as great
as my dad is. The Lord blessed me with 3 amazing parents. 2 beautiful
moms and 1 incredible father. My dad is the strongest person that I
know. Since being on the mission I have had lots of time to think and
ponder on things that have happened in the past. One of the things
that I have thought about the most is the passing of my mom. I have
tried to put myself in my fathers shoes many times and I have tried to
think of how I would have handled it. I can't even imagine how hard it
would be to take your wife to the temple with your two little boys at
the end of July, and then have to put that same wife in a casket less
than a month later still with those two little boys to take care of. I
have tried to imagine him laying in bed at nights, completely alone,
just wondering what he was going to do and trying to cope with the
pain the best he could. I have tried to imagine what it must have been
like and how bad it must of hurt when I would ask the
question...."Daddy, when is mom coming home?" I have tried and tried
again to fully understand all that my dad had to suffer through. I
don't think I will ever fully understand all of the pain he had. The
hurt he felt. The sadness he experienced. My dad is a super hero. He
is my super hero. He is the strongest man that I know. He has the
biggest heart. He is my best friend. He is my strength. He is my Hero
and will be forever. He is my inspiration. If I could someday be half
of the man that my dad is.....I will be doing okay in this life. I
could go on forever and forever about how truly incredible my dad is.

Dad I love you Man. I love you with all of my heart. I thank you for
everything. From wrestling matches on Sunday's nights in the living
room, to curbing in the 100 degree heat. From dragging an elk off a
mountain, to freezing to death in Green Bay. From golfing at Skyway,
to Sons of Anarchy.......I thank you for it all. Thank you for always
being so strong. Thank you for loving us so much. Thank you for giving
us the world. I love you man. I love you with all of my heart. You are
my best friend and go to guy. You are my Hero. I am truly the luckiest
guys on earth to call you my dad. I love you Papa Jon. Never forget
that.

To all my Grandpa's, Uncles, Cousins and Friends who are
Fathers......Happy Fathers Day! I love you guys!

Everyone.....have an amazing week. Thank you for everything. This week
my challenge is to write a little note to your Father and simply tell
him that you love him. Take care everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Thank
you. Until next week.....

peace be the journey,
Anziano JarDee Nessen

Peace be the Journey

Peace be the Journey

Good Morning Everyone. I love you.

Little Announcement.....I am not longer going to be able to respond personally. I am trying to cut down on my email time. If you have questions of any kind I would love to try answer the best I can. I am sorry for this. Thank you for all of your love and support. I will still try to do the best that I can with responding, just from now on if you don't get a personal response you know why. Thank You. I love you!

Last Monday, after emailing everyone, we went and saw some really cool places around Napoli. We went and saw two giant castles, and some other cool buildings. The Castles here are incredible. P-Day's are much better here in Napoli, because there is just so much to see. 

Last Tuesday we were teaching a lesson to one of our Investigators at our church. His name is Sergio. During the lesson he brought up the word Debolezza. I knew that I knew that word......It just wouldn't come to mind for the life of me. So I looked up the definition in my Italian Book of Mormon and that didn't help me out either. For the life of me I could not figure out what Debolezza meant. So our investigator was wondering what the difference was between Sin and Debolezza. My companion answered the best he could, and I had nothing. After my companion tried to explain the difference between these two things, our investigator still didn't get it. Finally when the lesson was over I said...."Man I am sorry but what does Debolezza mean?" He said..."It means weakness." A thought instantly came to my mind about a talk by Boyd K . Packer from a Liahona that talks exactly about the difference between Weakness and Sin. I ran to the supply cupboards, found the Liahona and began running down the roads of Pozzuoli trying to track down our investigator. We caught up to him, out of breath, and handed him the Liahona and simply invited him to read it. Yesterday he showed up to church with The Liahona and simply said Thank You. We couldn't answer his question very well, so I thought we would let Elder Boyd K. Packer do it. Kind of a Miracle. 

Wednesday was a good day and a good day for sure. As many of you know I was able to meet my mom in Napoli. We were able to spend about 20 minutes together and simply talk. It felt beyond good to hear her voice and hug her. To be 100% honest, afterwards I felt no Homesickness. None at all. IF anything I felt more motivated to work harder and harder. It was a good 20 minutes even thought it went by way to fast. I was just super grateful to be able to see my Momma. Did me good. 

Thursday we had a zone conference......and we got IPADS. They are so cool and seriously so nice. I love technology. Also at Zone Conference I got a Selfie Stick for my birthday. I love the Selfie Stick. I have used it a TON since Thursday. I love that thing! Also I received a Wilson Football. Thank you so much to all those who sent prayers, love and gifts my way for my birthday. Thank you so much! I love you all. I truly have such an amazing family and support system. I love you Guys! 

So here we started working with a Less-Active United States family. They are awesome. The Dad was a Marine and the Mom is in the Navy. They have 3 little kids. Hanna who is 7. Russell who is 5. and Amzy who is 2. They are incredible people. We went over to their house on Friday Night. We taught their little kids about the God Head and then they cooked us dinner. I haven't laughed that hard in a long, long time. They are the funniest people I have met on my mission. They are so happy and seriously love the gospel. I love the Hubbards. Goodness....They even bought us a football. So now we have two! They are a good family. My goal is to get them ready to go through the temple by the time that I leave here. I love those guys! 

Anziano Fullmer and I have been doing the "Football Finding" once a week. We simply go down to the Boardwalk one evening a week and start playing catch with the football. My Companion never played football before the mission. He was in Choir and Has an Amazing Voice......Let's just say that he now has the desire to look into football after his mission. He is always begging me to play catch with him at night right before we go to bed. We have a long, tall hallway in our house....So we usually play catch right before going to bed. He likes it and I like it. I really like Anziano Fullmer. He is a good guy! While doing finding with the football tons and tons of people look at us, talk to us and want to play catch with us. We have met tons of young teenage boys who we are going to start teaching (Which is good, because we are really lacking youth in our branch here in Pozzuoli). So we are really hoping for some youth to come from this Football Finding. It works. 

This week I want to give my spiritual thought on Knowing the Intent of Our Enemy.

We all have weaknesses. Each and every one of us here upon the earth struggle in some way or another. The Author of Sin knows where we struggle. We must know what we have a hard time with so we can know the intent of our enemy. The enemy in this case is the Adversary. The Creator of Evil, of the Devil, will focus on the things were we are weak. He will feast upon these things again and again if we so choose to let him. After he has gained control over the small weaknesses of ours, he will begin working on getting us to commit bigger and more serious sins. In the Book of Mormon we learn that "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass" ( Alma 37:6 ). Our Heavenly Father uses small and simple things to bring beautiful, powerful and amazing things to pass. But from the 2nd Book of Nephi we learn from Chapter 2 Verse 11 that...."There is an opposition is all things." Our enemy, Satan works the same way. He doesn't go after the big and serious sins right from the start. He gets us where we are weak. He traps us with our own small weaknesses. He uses these small weaknesses to "get gain....over the hearts" of the children of God ( Alma 47:14 ). 

Through all of this, we have hope.

The Savior Jesus Christ suffered for our weaknesses. He paid the price in full for all of the areas in our life where we come up short. The Only Begotten of the Father has given us the opportunity to "make weak things become strong" (Ether 12:27). The enable the atonement of the Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ and to turn our weaknesses into strength....We first have to be humble enough to accept the fact that we cannot win in this fight for exaltation without our Savior and Redeemer. In Ether 12:27 it says..."I give unto men weakness that they may be humble;" Let us be humble. Let us have the courage to admit that we cannot win this war alone. If we humbly submit to His will, The Savior lovingly says..."My Grace is Sufficient" (Again Ether 12:27). Let us be more humble and a bit more grateful to our Eldest Brother and Best Friend. Let us use Him and His strength in the day to day combat between good and evil. Let us know and be humble enough to see within ourselves where we are weak, so then we will know right where the devil is going to attack. My challenge this week is to truly know the intent of our enemy. This means to acknowledge the areas of our life where we are not firm. After that we must humbly turn to our Loving Savior, Jesus Christ. Through Him, and only through Him, can "weak things become strong" (Ether 12:27)

"Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; Therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God (and His son, Jesus Christ ), for in ( their ) strength I can do all things." - Alma 26:12

In closing I would like to bare my testimony. I know that I am weak. I know that I am nothing. This life is not easy. We must fight day in and day out to simply avoid the fiery darts of the adversary. I testify that we are not alone in that fight. We are not perfect. We have all slipped up, we all will slip up sometime today, and we will continue to slip up for the remainder of our life here upon this beautiful earth. I know that even though we all have weaknesses, that through the Grace of God....We can overcome them. The Grace of God refines us. The Grace of God helps us to become our best selves. "Yea....the Love of God, is the most desirable of all things." ( 1 Nephi 11:22 ). His Love and His Grace are right before us. I know that if we become humble and allow the Savior of All to make our "weak things become strong"... Then we will truly be on the path of becoming our best selves. 

I love you. I love you all. Thank you for everything. For the prayers, the love and and the support. You are all so amazing. Be safe this week. Until next week.....

peace be the journey,

Anziano JarDee Nessen 

Turned 19 and a Quarter Down

Turned 19 and a Quarter Down

Morning Everyone.

What a good week it has been. Turned 19. I am almost a quarter of the way done. Time is really starting to fly by. It feels good, but at the same time is doesn't feel so good. Mission life is the best life. 

So My Birthday was one to remember. I went on exchanges that night with one of our Zone Leaders. Anziano Molnar ( He is from Germany and sounds just like President Uchtdorf when he speaks English.) It was so fun. We went into the heart of Napoli and just started to talking to people. We found many good people and handed tons and tons of pass-a-long cards. After we did that for a little while we went to a member's house for dinner. This member and her young family are truly amazing people. They were so kind and treated me so well. We left them a spiritual thought and I was able to bare my testimony of forever families. I felt inclined to share that with them, because this family has not been through the temple yet. I hope and pray that they will go to the temple and be sealed for time and all eternity. The blessings of the temple are surely a beautiful thing. 

English course is much different here in Pozzuoli than it was in Crotone. There is only 5 people that come in Pozzuoli. So the next few weeks I am really going to get people to start coming to English Course. On Tuesday we had one lady completely blow up on us for no reason. She was mad that we were speaking English and an English Class. She was yelling at us for speaking English at an English class. I was astonished. So I kindly reminded her that this a SERVICE that we do, and that IT IS FREE. She was pretty fired up, but she came back on Thursday. Haha.....I was just laughing when she was yelling. I was thinking....This lady cannot be serious right now. She looks like Ezma from The Emperor's New Groove. That is the honest truth. On Thursday it was my turn to teach English Course so I decided that I wanted to make it as fun as possible and include everyone. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. At the end I taught the students how to play Family Feud as a review game. So for the last 10 minutes we played Family Feud. It was super fun. I love English course. 

On Saturday Night Anziano Fullmer ( My New Comp. ) found a football and when down on the boardwalk to play catch, and to talk some people. I have found that it is much easier to talk to people, and this way they actually want to talk to us, when we are doing something normal. Like throwing a football or playing basketball. It makes it easier for people to open up to us. So Saturday night we played some catch and talked to some good people. After we played catch for a little while we walked a little further until we found a basketball court where there were some older guys playing. So of course I wanted to play. Slacks, White Shirt and Tie and Church Shoes.....I walked out and played basketball with some of these 20 year old guys. It was good to get back into something that is competitive. We will for sure be doing some more "Sports Finding" in the near future. 

Yesterday in church I had a pretty amazing opportunity to be apart of something pretty special. Like I said Pozzuoli is near a Military Base and so lots of Military Families come to church. There was this one young boy who just turned 12 and he needed to have his interview done so he could receive the Aaronic Priesthood. The Branch President here in Pozzuoli speaks no English, so we have to translate for him. He asked me to step into his office and translate the questions from Italian to English as he asked the young boy. I was honored. While we were walking in the young boy grabbed my hand and said..."Elder I am nervous." I just smiled and said......"You are ready my friend. God gives His special priesthood to only the strongest of His soldiers....and you are one of His strongest." We walked in, sat down and the interview began. After it was over the young boy shook my hand again and said....."Thank You Elder." Those three words made everything around me just stop. I couldn't stop thinking about what exactly I had just taken part of. It took me back to my interview and me receiving the Aaronic priesthood. After I exited the Branch Presidents office the young boy ran over to his dad and his dad gave him a big ole hug. After their hug was finished the dad had a tear in his eye. It was touching for me to watch. I love the church. Being missionary is the best. 

This week I wish to talk about Angels and I am going to start with two paragraphs from Elder Holland. 

"When Adam and Eve willingly stepped into mortality, they knew this Telestial world would contain thorns and thistles and troubles of every kind. Perhaps their most challenging realization, however, was not the hardship and danger they would endure but the fact that they would now be distanced from God, separated from Him with whom they had walked and talked, who had given them face-to-face counsel. After this conscious choice, as the record of creation says, “they saw him not; for they were shut out from his presence.” 1 Amidst all else that must have troubled them, surely this must have troubled them the most.

But God knew the challenges they would face, and He certainly knew how lonely and troubled they would sometimes feel. So He watched over His mortal family constantly, heard their prayers always, and sent prophets (and later apostles) to teach, counsel, and guide them. But in times of special need, He sent angels, divine messengers, to bless His children, reassure them that heaven was always very close and that His help was always very near. Indeed, shortly after Adam and Eve found themselves in the lone and dreary world, an angel appeared unto them, 2 who taught them the meaning of their sacrifice and the atoning role of the promised Redeemer who was to come."

There are always Angles among us. Usually such beings are not seen. Sometimes they are. Seen or unseen they are always near. Sometimes there purpose is to warn and protect, but most often it is to comfort, to provide some kind of loving attention, or to guide in difficult times. I know that this world is a world that continues to grow darker and darker and darker as each year, month, week, day and minute go by. Believe me, in Italy, I see it every single day. I do know with all of my heart that no matter how dark this world becomes or how evil this world turns....Angels will always be sent to our aid. Just like they were sent to help Adam and Eve, and just like they were sent to The Savior. This Heavenly Help has been on the earth ever since the first father and the first mother were asked to leave the Garden of Eden. This Heavenly Help will be on this Earth forever. God will never leave us comfortless. He never leaves us unaided in the challenges we face. " Nor will He, so long as the time shall last or the earth shall stand, or there should be one man or one woman or one child upon the face thereof to be saved." (Moroni 7:36) 

I testify that there are always Angels near both on this side of the veil and those who have passed on to the other side. I was lucky enough to know and call one angel "Mom" for just over 4 years. Now she watches over me every single day. I may not be able to see her, or hear her, but I know that she is there. Again not all Angles have crossed over to the other side of the veil yet. There are angels that walk among us, talk to us, drive down the road along side us....but more often than not....The Angels here upon the earth are the special ladies that cook our dinner for us, Fold our laundry for us and are always there for us. I am lucky and blessed enough to know 2 of these Angels. One who has passed onto the other side and one that is still with me today. 

There are Angels among us. So go unseen, while other we see everyday. Some Angels come without a sound, while other Angles we talk with often. The next time a rough patch comes or there is a bump in the road....Take heart....and know that God will not let your heart be troubled. Nor will He let it be afraid. There is always help very near, whether that be Heavenly Help that goes unseen or a random phone call. God will never leave us alone. 

"And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and your left, and my spirit shall be in your hearts ù, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." (D&C 84:88) 

What a beautiful promise from our Loving Heavenly Father. In closing one last scripture....Psalm 46:1......"God is our refuge and strength, a very pleasant help in times of trouble." 

My challenge this week is to have us be more aware of the beautiful and amazing angels in our lives both that we see and do not see. My challenge this week is to be more grateful to our Father in Heaven for being gracias enough to always make sure that we are alright. I pray that we will all be more aware of the constant aid we are constantly receiving from the other side. This week lets look for n oppertunity to be that Angel here on the earth for someone else. 

The Lord of All.....is always very near. 

 

I love you all. Have an amazing week. Be safe. Be Believing. Never lose Hope in our Father in Heaven who loves and cares for you more than you can comprehend. He is there. His aid is there. Yesterday, Right Now and Forever. 

I love you. 

Anziano JarDee Nessen 

it is worth the pain 

First Week in NAPLES

First Week in NAPLES

Buon Giorno Tutti.

Wow. Wow. Wow. Naples is seriously the most beautiful place in the world. It is seriously INCREDIBLE. I love seeing the water, the colored houses and the amazing buildings. It is truly a blessing to serve in such a beautiful place. I am humbled of the true beauty of the earth. We live in such an amazing world.....Wow.

This past week was a good one. Really good actually. Life is really good. The trip up to Pozzuoli (my new city) was a long one. Took a while and was a super long day... but we made it. Our house here is super nice. It is brand new. I don't have as nice as a view as I did in Crotone.....but the house here is super nice. I am very grateful for that. 

My new companion is great. Anziano Fullmer is his name. He is from southern Utah. He has been out around a year and is a very diligent missionary. I love the kid. We are getting along super well. He works super hard....which I am so grateful for. I have really been praying for someone who was ready to work, and Elder Fullmer is ready to work. I love the kid. We are going to have some good times and really hit the missionary work hard. We are ready to tackle Pozzuoli.

I have had my first Naples pizza. Napoli is where the first pizza was made.....Napoli has the best pizza in the world. I bare my testimony that the pizza here is UNREAL: Life altering really. It is super good. So if you are ever around Naples...Stop in and get a pizza. It is worth it. 

Napoli is a lot different then Crotone. It is a lot bigger. There is a train station and buses that we use often. To me that is different because in Crotone we just walked everywhere. Being able to ride a train or a bus to another part of my city is so nice. I love it. The only down fall is that there is tons and tons and tons of beggars on the trains. Friday ( My first full day in Pozzuoli ) I saw many things that were a first for me. The first one was......This beggar kept on coming back to us for money. He came back to us time and time and time again. He came four times to us in 30 minutes. Now as missionaries we have a rule that we cannot give money to beggars. This one beggar that kept coming back we were super nice to. We explained that we can't give anything.....and then he said..."Give me ten cents." As bad as I wanted to freak out on him......I just said very boldly...No.

He then got the hint that we weren't going to give him anything. Then that night we were riding the train back home........When a lady seriously Threw Up. It was awesome. It was a good welcoming to Napoli.

We have some really good work here in Pozzuoli. I am excited. I will talk more about the work next week. 

Church here is good. We have a military base here in Pozzuoli so we have some American Families. It is so good to see Americans and hear English. Makes me feel good. We have to translate everything which is kind of hard for me now, but I will get better. I love Church here.....but it doesn't feel the same as Crotone. I miss that little place....but I am excited to serve in a new city. Life is good. 

This week.....I just want to say that I love you all. I am coming up on my 6th Month Mark and I have received more love, blessing and prayers than I thought was possible. I am so blessed to have so many friends and such a good family. I love you all. Have a good week everyone. I hope everything will stay safe and take care of yourselves. I love you guys. Thanks so much. 

I love you all. 

Anziano JarDee Nessen 

Sup Fam

Sup Fam

What a week. Now I don't have much time today.....So I am just going to tell you about from Saturday Morning on. I love you all and hope you all have a great Memorial Day Today.

So Saturday Morning, We just dropped Anziano Morgan off at the bus stop. The first words that came out of my mouth were....."I did it." The Bullocks ( The Senior Couple in Crotone ) came and helped us drop him off. I stayed with them until the Elders from Catanzaro came and picked me up to go stay with them. When The Bullocks and I got in the car they said...."You did it Elder." Not going to lie.....I am very excited to be getting a new companion. I liked Aniano Morgan and we got along fine, I am just excited to get a missionary that wants to tackle the world! Transfer calls came on Saturday as well.....I was expecting to stay in Crotone at least one more transfer.....but I am getting transferred. I will be heading to Pozzuoli. Pozzuoli is in Napoli ( Naples ). There is a Military Base there and the missionary work is very good. I am SUPER EXCITED but also sad because I will be leaving Crotone and the people here. Napoli here I come. My new companion's name is Anziano Fulmer and I meet up with him this coming thursday. 

Saturday afternoon the Elders from Catanzaro picked me up in Crotone and we headed back to Catanzaro. Saturday was an awesome day with them. I have only ever heard that 3 missionaries together is awkward.....but we have had a super good time and done some super good work. On Saturday night we went down to the beach in Catanzaro Lido.....Now it is not warm enough yet over here to be swimming so missionaries are still allowed to go to the beach. We tried to do some finding and nobody really wanted to talk to us. Then Anziano Kawai, our district leader, said..."You know.....When we are trying to stop people.....no one wants to talk to us. But when we aren't trying to talk to anyone....Everyone wants to talk to us." He then pulled a football out of his backpack and we began to play catch down on the beach. There were hundreds of people up on the boardwalk and we were getting tons of "Cat-Calls"......Then out of nowhere about 10 fifteen to seventeen year old kids came down off of the boardwalk to play catch with us. It was so much fun. Around 100 people stopped up on the boardwalk and watched us play the entire time. It was so fun. Anziano Kawai played Rugby in High School. One of the kids said..."Let's play Rugby." So us missionaries in our slacks and white shirts played a Rugby Game on the Beach with 10 kids in front of 100 people. It was seriously the coolest and the smartest thing. We played for 20 minutes or so and then stopped. After that we have tons of people wanting to talk to us and wanted to know more about us. It was by far the best, and the funnest finding activities that I have ever done. I will never forget playing Rugby on the beach in my white shirt and tie. So Fun. We got all 10 of the kids numbers and talked to 50 plus people on the boardwalk. Good example of using the talents that The Lord blessed us with. I like doing stuff like that because it allows people to see that we aren't these brainwashed, cult kids walking around trying to baptize people. It lets people see that we are normal teenage kids. 

Sunday was good. Catanzaro has a small little branch but it much stronger than the branch here in Crotone. The Branch President of Catanzaro is probably one of the most amazing men that I have ever met in my life. He has dedicated his life to his Branch and strengthening his branch. After church he had us over for lunch, along with 3 members and one investigator. We taught the investigator The Restoration and set a baptismal date with her for June 20th. It was so awesome to teach in a group of 3 with some members present. It was a super good lesson and the spirit was so strong. Goodness I wish I had more time because I would go into detail about all of this....but I don't. Just know that Saturday and Sunday were some of the best days so far in my mission. We have had so much fun, but also done some serious work. Life is good. 

This week I will be heading to Pozzuoli on Thursday to start my 4th transfer. Crazy to think that I am going into my 4th transfer already. time is starting to really pick up and move along. missionary work is fun. the mission is great. i love it out here.

Now for what is going to really stink about leaving Crotone. Antonela and Gianluca will be married and baptized in about a month. We were teaching this Mom and Son and last week they said,......and I quote....."My son and I have been talking and we really cannot wait to become a Mormon." So here I am thinking that I am going to see all of these baptisms and all of these people join the church.....but I am not. It sucks to leave your investigators that you found and that you have been teaching.....That is going to be hard. But All Is Well. Life is good.

No time for a thought this week I am sorry. Have a great week everyone. I love you all and am so grateful for all of you. I don't know much.....but I do know that This Church is True. Jesus is the Christ. He is the Prince of Peace. He is our Savior, our Redeemer and Our Elder Brother. I love you all so much. Sorry for the email situation this week....that is the one thing about being with 3 missionaries.....not a lot of time to email. Have a great week. 

Anziano JarDee Nessen 

T'was the 18th Day of May

T'was the 18th Day of May

Good Morning Everybody!

I hope that you all had a good week this past week. This past week was a good one for me. This past week seemed to flyby. Which is nice. Another week bites the dust. I am doing well. Things are doing great and I am really loving life out here. May seems to be flying bye.....Rather quickly. Alright....enough small talk.....Let's get to the good stuff. 

 

This past week we were able to see Antonella and Gianluca. We saw them Wednesday evening. We had a great night with them. It was there older son (Francesco's) Birthday. So we had a little party with them. She made some super good food. She made some amazing birthday cake. We all laughed a lot and had a good time. It was a good night. We left a good spiritual thought on the importance of strength in the family. I feel like I am really starting to get closer and closer with them, I love Antonella and Gianluca. Their divorce is nearly finished.......so soon they will be married and baptized. I cannot wait. I hope and pray that I am still in Crotone when they are married and baptized.  

 

This past week I went on an exchange with an Elder from Catanzaro after District Meeting on Thursday Morning. We had an amazing time. I went with Elder Kawai. He is from Springfield, Utah has been out for just over a year now. He is our District Leader. He is a super good guy and a great missionary. When Him and I got on the train to head back to Catanzaro we sat down and began talking about each other.....so we would know each other a little better. We were talking for a minute or two when the lady sitting next to him interrupted us and started talking about Religion. In the beginning she kept bringing up that she was Catholic and what they believe. In the beginning she was having a very hard time listening to us and the message that we were trying to share. We talked the entire train ride, which is about an hour. During that hour we spoke about religion and we shared The Restoration with her. The deeper we got into The Restoration the more she listened and she quit bringing up that she was Catholic. We told the story of Joseph Smith and the spirit was just continuing to grow and grow and grow. At the end we started to get into The Book of Mormon and we were explaining to her that The Book of Mormon is the evidence that all of this is true. She then said....."I do not need the evidence. I know it is true. I can feel that this is true." Hearing her say that felt so good. It was a huge testimony builder to me that the power of the Holy Ghost is real. It really taught me that no matter what religion someone is or how evil they may be......The Power of The Holy Ghost can still touch them. It was a good train ride to Catanzaro.....that is for sure. We got her name and where she was from. The missionaries will soon be over to her house and hopefully she will be baptized. When we were almost to Catanzaro she leaned over to me and said...."Do you think that it is a coincidence that you sat by me on the train today?" I just simply shook my head and said..."No." It is so cool to see how The Lord puts people in our path that are ready for the gospel. I love it. Thursday was a good day.

This weekend in Crotone there is this thing called "La Festa Della Madonna" or the Celebration of Mary. It is a huge thing here in Crotone. Some Priests carry a statue of Mary and walk along the beach for miles and miles and miles.......While all of the Catholics follow the statue. To me it is freaking weird.....but if they like it.....more power to them. This celebration started on Friday and goes until tonight. There are so many people here in Crotone right now. The population of Crotone has tripled. Somewhere around 200,000 were in the city last night. There were people everywhere. Every night it has been so loud and so hard to sleep....so my comp and I have stayed up talking pretty late for the last few nights. Last night there was a huge firework show out on the Mediterranean Sea. It was pretty cool to watch. We had a great view from our front balcony. 

Yesterday I gave my second talk in church. Mytopic assignment was The Restoration of the Priesthood or "La Restaurazione del Sacerdozio." I felt like this talk was much better than my first talk that I gave. My pronunciation is getting much better and I can read much better now than I could then. It was cool to have the opportunity to learn a lot more about the priesthood and the restoration of the priesthood. We also taught the elder's quorum lesson, the gospel principles lesson and spoke in sacrament. The Elders had a busy Sunday yesterday. It was good! After church an older lady from our branch invited us over for lunch. She is super nice. Sister Zito is her name. She is the Relief Society President here and does a great job. She is the only member in her family, but her husband is a super nice guy. I had the opportunity yesterday of meeting him and he is a great person. He reminded me a ton of Grandpa Lyle. 

So that is about it for this week.....but this week I would like to talk a little bit about a quote from C. S. Lewis. The quote is.... 

"You may forget that you are at every moment totally dependent on God."

I love this quote. I came across it yesterday and it really did hit me pretty hard. I have always known and always thought that we depend on God a lot.....but it never quite hit me that we are constantly dependent on Him. At times we may feel that God is hidden, or that He is unable to communicate with us for some reason. This is not true. God is never hidden although sometimes "our own desires, rather than a feeling of 'Thy will be done', seem to create the feeling of a Pavilion blocking God." Many of us, including me, during times of trial or difficult times of life feel that God is far from us. The pavilion that seems to halt aid from the other side of the veil does not cover God but sometimes covers us. Let us not forget that we are completely and utterly dependent on our Father in Heaven. Let us not turn to Him only when things get hard, or times get rough.....Let us turn to Him in all things happy or sad. Let us align our desires so they are towards serving and loving others. When our desires and actions are truly inline with the Will of God.....We will never feel like we are hidden from our Master. We will never feel alone. When we come to see the Hand of The Lord in all things, and I mean in all things......We truly come to see that we are completely dependent on The One who grants us daily breath. We need Him for everything and anything. Let us be more aware of the Hand of the Lord in all things and be grateful in all things.....because it is not the times in this world that are easy that shape somebody. The tough times are the times that mold people into who they need to become. The same thing applies to me out here in the mission field. The 2 companions that I had that I loved....I honestly didn't learn that much. But when I was placed with a different companion....I was forced to grow and have learned so much more about myself these last 12 weeks rather than what I learned during the first 12 weeks of my mission. God is never hidden. He wants us to continually go to Him in prayer....for everything in our life. If you have ever felt like God is distant, do not worry....A man named Joseph Smith felt the same way in Liberty Jail when He said..."O God, where art thou?" During times of difficulty, like what the Prophet Joseph Smith was experiencing in the terrible conditions of Liberty Jail, let us remember that God is always nigh. He is never far. No matter how far we may feel from Our Eternal Father in Heaven and His only begotten son Jesus Christ, I testify that we are never out of reach of their divine, loving hands. Their hands are stretched out still, and I testify that they will be forever. So if for a moment you may feel that God is far away, that He is unable to communicate with you or that He is simply not there.....Take Pause and remember that He is unfailing. His love is infinite. His is never far.....We must seek Him. When we seek The Master, we are always found. He is there and will be forever. God is never hidden, but sometimes we hid ourselves from Him. My challenge this week is to Find the Master and Seek Him. I promise that you will be found and come to the knowledge that God is never hidden. We rely on Him for every single thing.....Let us find Him.

I love you all so much. Thank you all so much for the Love, Support and Prayers. Life is good. Let us Smile and Be Happy. Enjoy today...because we will never have May 18th, 2015 again. Today is a good day. Let us all make it a day worth living.

peace, love and blessings.

Anziano JarDee Nessen