Jul09
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
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
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