Jul09
T'was the 20th Day of April
Buon Giorno Tutti.
How is everyone doing? I hope that everyone is doing well and staying healthy. I have heard of that amazing Utah weather. Sunshine and 70° degrees one day and the next snow. You have got to love Utah. Over here it is starting to get warmer and warmer. It is not the heat over here that is bad, it is the humidity....and boy it gets hot. There is nothing like the Sunshine though. There is just something about the light and all the happiness and peace it brings. I love the Sunshine and am grateful for it.
This past week was full of ups and downs. Sometimes you just have to smile and shake your head. That is how this life is....full of many uplifting times and this life also has it downs. It is the downs that make the uplifting times that much better. It makes us appreciate the present moment. My main focus this past week was to really focus on W.I.N. and that stands for What's Important Now. Sometimes I get so caught up in the day and I always find myself looking forward, looking forward, looking forward wondering what the next thing on the schedule is.....but when in all actuality I should just be focused on the most important thing....and the most important thing Right Now. We can't control what is going to happen in the future and we can't change the past. My main focus this week was really trying to think about "Right Now" and making the most out of "Right Now". We only get one life and only so much time in this one life. I remember when I was young and thinking..."I can't wait until I am grown up." I remember when I was in Middle School and thinking. "Goodness I cannot wait until I am graduated." Even sometimes out here I find myself wishing for things in the future to happen now. In the end I always remember thinking how ungrateful I am for not being grateful for the time I have right now. This life would honestly be terrible if we only wished for the future all of the time....because those things come. They always do....and then what are you supposed to wish for. My Mom told me once..."Don't wish away your childhood, because one day you are going to wish you were a little kid again." How true is that statement. I see little kids running around out here all of the time. They are always laughing really loud, playing with friends, they have the biggest smiles and don't have a care in the world. I am going to change my Moms quote around a little bit to make it more applicable to everyone. including me. "Don't wish away one day of this life, because one day you are going to be willing to give up anything to go back and live this one day...one more time." This past week I have really cracked down on myself and really just trying to be very appreciative for Right Now. I am so ungrateful sometimes. That is one of the things that I need to work on.....being Grateful.
Last Tuesday a member from our ward took us out to one of the fanciest restaurants in Crotone. Wow it was incredible. It is called Nove Zero Due ( 902 ). It was so classy that when you walked in they took of your suit jackets...hung them up and took your bags and hung them up as well. I wish that I would have kept my bag so I could have taken some pictures....But goodness the food was so good. I got a pizza and it was probably the greatest pizza's that I have ever had. The reason that he took everyone out was because Sorella Arnold ( Sister Arnold ) was getting transferred. It was very kind of him and we all were in shock for most of the night. It was awesome.
We taught some Less-Active lessons this week and met with some of our New Converts. We were going to meet with our new little family this past Friday....but My Comp and I got really sick. He was throwing up and had a fever...and I had the worst migraine that I have ever had. It was a wild few days in our apartment. We just layed in bed, took naps, and talked for 3 straight days. I was starting to go crazy inside of our apartment. Haha I can't be inside for that long....but we are both feeling much better now and this week will be much better for missionary work. Which I am very excited for. It is good to get back into the groove after you have been out of it for a few days or so.
Other than that nothing too crazy happened here in Crotone. This week we are planning on playing soccer with our young men here in the ward and some of our investigators. We are planning on going to basketball Wednesday night and helping out there. We have english course on Tuesday and Thursday at 7. We have lots to do this week which is good.
Max Madsen sent me this email this week. Makes me happy for the little fella.
"Hey Jardee it's your bud max. Just wanted to send you something to surprise you! You know that I've become a active member in church because of your example and I'm trying hard to become a missionary after I seen you go!"
Emails like that are what make the difficult times and the hard days completely worth it. Now if you don't know Max he plays baseball with Tyke. He is a good kid and is probably one of the funniest kids you could ever meet. Never thought I would receive something like this, but emails like that keep me going. It is my amazing support system that have back home that keep me going. It is all of the prayers that are said, and all of the love that is sent. thank you everyone. Truly Thank You.
Today I want to talk about simply being Happy. Be happy goes such a long ways with everyone. We are constantly coming into contact with other people whether that be by social media, if you are walking through the grocery store, or even driving in your car. No matter where we seem to be, other people seem to always be around us in one way or another. Now when others see us, what do they see? I have to tell myself this all of the time out here. Sometimes I get so impatient with my companion or get upset about something.....and I am walking down the street with a grumpy look on my face. Who would want to take a Book of Mormon or hear about The Restored Gospel from someone with a grumpy look on their face? The answer is no one. The same goes for life in general. Why would someone want to come to us for anything if we are always grumpy or upset? They wouldn't. This life is much too short to be upset or angry....Being happy is what this life is all about. Our Heavenly Father and His Son want us to simply always be happy. Now that doesn't mean that hard times won't come our way.....but God The Father and His Son Jesus Christ want us to be happy in this life, and eternally happy in the life to come. My challenge this week is to simply just try to Be More Happy. Laugh more. Find things that make you happy or smile and keep them close. Find joy in the small things. Let us search out and seek the rainbow, in the middle of a rain storm. "There is beauty all around...."Being Happy brings so much more joy and peace into our lives. It allows us to let go of things that stress us out or weigh us down. Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy. Being happy allows us to truly focus on What's Important Now. The key to being happy lies in the ability to extract happiness from ordinary things.
I love you all. Thank You for all of the love, support and prayers that you send my way. I am blessed to have such a wonderful family and support system. I hope and pray that you will all be safe this week and watched over. I pray that everyone may be blessed with good health. I pray that we will all Look for the Rainbow, in the middle of a rain storm. I pray that we will all be more happy and find joy in the small things. I love you all. Take care. Much love from Italy.
love,
Anziano JarDee Nessen
quote of the week.....
"Success is getting what you want. Happiness is liking what you get."
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