Jan07
2016
Felice Anno Nuovo Tutti!
Happy New Year Everyone!
Hello 2016. For me, it has been strange these past couple of days to
look back at all of the things that happened out her in 2015. I've had
some or the highest of highs, as well as the lowest of lows. I do not
think that I have ever learned so many things, grown in so many
different ways, or experienced such a large amount of truly priceless
spiritual experiences in any other calendar year. That full year being
away from home and being on the Lords errand full time has taught me a
lot, more things than I ever could have expected in the beginning.
This year, I want to improve. I want to become stronger in different
areas of my life and so I have set some goals/resolutions for myself
so these areas that I want to improve, will actually improve. I hope
you all have had the time as well over the last few days or weeks to
think of some areas of your lives that you would like to improve. I
hope that you have set some written goals for yourself so you will
each be able to progress on this journey and improve as the days,
weeks, months and year pass on bye. I once heard some wise counsel
that a goal that has not been written down, is simply a wish or a
thought. Our bodies and minds seem to have a better focus on things
when we write them down. It then holds us all more accountable to
accomplish the things that we desire. I'm grateful for this New Year
and for the opportunities 2016 will give each and everyone of us to
improve and grow. I pray that we will all seek for areas to improve
ourselves and than meekly, gently and humbly ask our Father in Heaven
to assist us on this path. After all, He is the Father of our Spirits.
We are His children. He knows out full potential, and only He can get
us there, but we have to do it His way. Let's all become stronger in
ever aspect in 2016. I know we can do it, Happy New Year Everyone! I
hope each of you had a great New Years Eve and New Years Day. I'm sure
that everyone is enjoying the time off work and break from school. I
hope everyone is doing well back home in the Promised Land. I pray
that everyone is staying safe and staying healthy. I hope that you all
know that I love you, each of you, and that I'm grateful for
everything that each of you do for me.
This past week was one of the most interesting weeks of my mission. It
wasn't necessarily full of lessons with new investigators or anything
like that, instead it was full of Giant Testimony Building experiences
that I hope to never forget. Before we get into the goods however, I
want to talk a little bit about what we did last Monday for our P-Day.
The Wardles, the senior couple here, gave us a call and asked us if we
wanted to tag along with them on a little stroll by car throughout
Sicily. We accepted the invitation and we were off. Instead of heading
down towards the coast as we normally do, we headed back over the
mountain toward the Volcano that erupted a few weeks ago over here.
Mount Etna it is called. We stopped after a few minutes and took some
pictures of Mount Etna through their binoculars. We then climbed back
into the car and headed back into the country. We came upon a bunch of
little towns with no more than 500 townspeople. Those cities have been
there for hundreds if not thousands of years and I would imagine that
the same families have called those little places home for centuries.
It did me good to see some nice, long, rectangular shaped fields and
some alfalfa, oats, and corn stalks waving back and forth as the wind
blew down from the mountains and canyons. We came upon a little city
called Ceramia. There seemed to be a fortress above all of the houses
and buildings on top of this city that was constructed on top of
cliffs and mountain sides, so out of curiously we decided to drive on
up into the city and check out the fortress. Unfortunately we were
unable to see everything because they had restrictive gates up
everywhere we wanted to go. It was a fun little P-Day and it was truly
humbly to look at the truly beautiful things and the beautiful world
that were created for us here on the Earth. The Earth is absolutely
incredible and I'm grateful for the natural beauty that we were able
to see last week.
Tuesday Morning we had our Weekly District Meeting down in Palermo and
I was asked to give the training. For Christmas I received a film from
back home called The Cokeville Miracle. During the time that we were
restricted from tracting or proselyting we were granted permission to
watch movies or films that the church has produced. Anziano Da Ponte
and I plugged in the movie and both were in heavy tears by the time
the movie was over. I highly recommend all of you to make a trip to
Deseret Book or Seagull Book or whatever church store you can find and
purchase this movie. It is incredible. The movie is about an
elementary school that was taken hostage back in 1986 and all of the
miracles that took place that day. It's powerful and absolutely
amazing. After we watched the movie, I told Anziano Da Ponte that if I
were ever asked to give a training, I would use the last 30 minutes of
the movie as the base of my training. Well, two days later our
District Leader gave me a call and asked me if I could give the
training. I played the last 30 minutes and talked about miracles and
the divine power of prayer. I feel like it went really well. By the
end, I was in tears and so was everyone else in the district. It was
surely inspired. That was one of the giant testimony builders was that
nothing ever happens by coincidence in this life. Absolutely nothing.
Could it have been just a coincidence that I just happen to receive
that movie, that it brought Anziano Da Ponte and I to tears because of
the powerful message it contains, that after I talked about using it
one day for a training....our district leader gave me a call and asked
me to give the training... All of these things could surely be merely
a wonderful coincidence, but I know for a fact that in this case it
was no coincidence, and I also know that nothing happens by chance or
by luck. It is all in His perfect and divine plan for each and
everyone of us. God is aware of us, individually and personally.
Wednesday Evening, we had the thought that we needed to pay Nino's
sister a visit to see how she was doing. Nino's sister is named Maria.
Maria is over 70 years old and was nearly baptized some years ago.
They actually had the baptismal font filled and the service was about
to begin when she decided that she did not want the ordinance to be
performed anymore. We stopped by Nino's house and picked him up so he
could come with us. We stopped bye and began asking how her Christmas
went and how her children are doing. We started the lesson and she
asked some questions that I have never been asked before, but we were
able to answer her questions directly from the scriptures; and that is
always nice! We then progressed with the lesson and she explained that
she feels like she is stuck in a tunnel and she cannot see light on
either end. She explained that she just feels trapped all of the time.
We than began to talk about the One person who knows exactly how we
feel all of the time and bare testimony of Him and His love, power and
grace. Maria began talking about a lady that she only met one time
many, many, many years ago, but this lady had had a major impact on
Maria in a very short amount of time. Maria told us the story and
explained that that woman had passed away earlier Wednesday morning.
Maria broke down a little but while she was telling us this and I
could tell just how much this one lady meant to her, even though they
were only together one single time. It was a very powerful lesson and
we did not have to do a lot of talking. We bore testimony of the plain
and precious things that we know to be true, and especially of the
Love that Jesus Christ and His Father have for each and every one of
us. We ended the lesson and on our way out, she gave Anziano Da Ponte
and I a box of chocolates. Nino told us yesterday that on Friday Maria
gave him a call, thanking him for bringing us over to her home
Wednesday evening and for the spirit that we brought. Another
testimony builder that the Lord knows what we need, He hears our
prayers and more often than not...He sends people, like you and me, to
comfort, support and love those who may be in a time of trial.
Wednesday, we did not have Maria in our plans...but we both felt like
it was a good thing to do and judging off of the phone cal she gave
Nino on Friday, we were an answer to her prayers.
After we had our lesson with Maria, the Wardles asked us to stop by to
participate in giving Sorella Wardle a priesthood blessing. We arrived
to their apartment, which is about 30 years from our own apartment,
just before 9 pm. Anziano Wardle asked us to sit down while he went
and got Sorella Wardle. It took her a few minutes to make it to the
main room, but she made it. Poor Lady, she has had some problems with
her back in the last, but she did something during the day and it took
its tole on her. She could barely walk and she was hunched over like
the Hunchback of Norte Dame. She asked if I could anoint the oil and
Anziano Wardle gave her the blessing. Afterwards she bore testimony to
us missionaries that she knows that the power of the priesthood is
absolutely true. She said, "I know I'll be fine, I still have a lot of
work to do here." Well, the next morning Sorella Wardle was up and
about just like nothing had even happened the day before. Her back
completely healed itself during the night and she woke up with no
problems whatsoever. Seeing her barely being able to walk down the
hallway under her own strength one evening, and the next morning
seeing her as if nothing had happened at all was a another testimony
builder to me that the power of the priesthood is real. The power of
priesthood is the power of God delegated to men here on the earth and
I can testify that the power of the priesthood works miracles, when
followed by the promptings of the Holy Ghost and the receiver of the
blessing has complete faith in that sacred power from on High. The
power of the priesthood is such a wonderful, incredible and priceless
gift. I pray that I will always be able to fully honor my priesthood
and remain worthy to use this sacred and truly divine gift that I have
been trusted with.
New Years Eve gets pretty wild here in Italy, and so us missionaries
are required to be inside by 6pm to make sure that no one gets injured
or harmed in the wild and crazy things that go on outside on December
31st. Sorella Wardle had the thought earlier in the week to invite
Antonio over to their home, as well as us, to celebrate New Years Eve.
Antonio has been having a hard time as of late with the passing of his
mother. You can see that there is just something mission, like a part
of him is gone. His sister went out of town to celebrate and so
Antonio was going to be all alone...So we invited him to come over and
celebrate with us. We had a nice pasta dinner and some gelato
afterwards. We played some Uno and polished it off with a movie. It
was a fun night and I could tell that it meant a whole ton to Antonio.
He is one of the smartest people that I have ever met and he carries a
powerful conversion story and testimony with him wherever he goes. In
this moment in time, he just kind of needs someone to be there for
him. He needs someone to show him a little but of love and kindness.
We had a blast all together and it was a perfect way to close out
2015. We got home just before 9 PM and there was absolutely no pause
from the booms, bangs and whistles from fireworks until about 1:30 in
the morning. I just layer awake, stared at the ceiling and watched the
different colors from the fireworks light up room for hours on end.
New Years Day, we have a day designated to cleaning our apartment. 8
hours of sheer cleaning fun. From scrubbing the shower, to scrubbing
the toilet. From sweeping the floors, to mopping and mopping and
mopping some more. From cleaning the microwave, to washing the
windows. Our house is now squeaky clean and nearly spotless. I took
the honor of cleaning our toilet and I guarantee that there isn't a
better looking or cleaner toilet in our mission. Guaranteed. Nino
asked us to take a little lunch break and to join him and his
daughter, Sonia, for a New Years Day lunch. He cooked up some
delicious pasta, some pretty tasty fish and gave us some really nice
sweets to polish it off. Nino was so happy to have us over there with
him and his daughter. I don't think he quit smiling the entire time.
He was telling us story after story and you could see the love he has
for his daughter. Sonia is the only child that Nino and his wife ever
had. She is a good person and a real hard worker, but after the whole
mess that went on with her mom leaving Nino....She kind of distanced
herself from the church. Now she is on her way back, but this time
built upon the things that she knows to be true, not the things that
her parents know to be true. Nino had us show a little video on Jesus
Christ and His unfaltering love for us. We had a good little
discussion and the spirit was powerful. We thanked them for the invite
and for everything else and headed back on home to finish our day full
of cleaning. I love Nino. One of the greatest guys I have and ever
will meet. He has so many trials, so many sleepless nights and times
of difficulty, but yet he always manages to be happy. He is so
grateful for everything. The things I take for granted and do without
even thinking, some examples are reading or walking, he has a
difficult time doing....but yet he never complains. Me on the other
hand, I complain when my hair doesn't go the way I want it too or if
everything doesn't go just as planned, but not Nino. Nino never
complains and I truly admire that in him. I love the guy and hope to
apply the things that he is teaching me, not with words but yet with
his actions.
Sunday, yesterday, was probably one of the best days that I've had in
my mission. First off, I love fast and testimony meetings here in
Mistretta. There are only 13 - 14 members, but the spirit among that
small number of members is gigantic. Everyone of them is so powerful
and in their own unique ways. I never want the meeting to end. I just
sit in the back in awe at how incredible and powerful these people are
here. Anziano Da Ponte and I had the thought come to mind a while back
that we needed to start..."The Member Missionary Training Center"
because our members are powerful and they all have incredible
testimonies, but we need a little bit more out of them on the
missionary work part. We started the Member MTC yesterday during
Sunday School. We were given that our to give a training to the branch
on whatever we felt prompted to share. We decided that we needed to
talk about one word and one word only, that being, "Invite." We went
through who to invite, what to invite, where to invite when to invite,
why to invite and lastly how to invite. We used to scriptures and
especially the passages found in the New Testament that talk about
Christ and the way He invited people. The training went very well. We
had loads and loads of member participation and I think that they all
took something away that they could improve on. It went really well
and everyone thanked us afterwards. Also, something neat up here in
Mistretta that I love is that after church every single fast Sunday,
the members all bring whatever they are asked and we eat lunch
together to break our fast. It is something that I have never seen
before, but to see the laughs, the smiles and to hear the stories that
they tell is seriously incredible and humbling. There is such a strong
bond here among the members and it is honestly a pleasure and a
blessing to be serving here among these amazing people. Sunday
Evening, we headed down to Sorella Battista's house to hold our
Sacrament Meeting there and we brought Nino with us. There is always a
sweet spirit in the home of Sorella Battista. Every time we enter her
home on Sunday evenings at 6, she had hymns playing on her radio and
she has her dining room table all set up and prepared to be the
sacrament table. Our meeting last night was one of the most powerful
meetings that I have ever been apart of, not only in my mission but
including my entire life as well. There were 7 of us in there; us four
missionaries, Nino, Sorella Battista and her daughter who is
handicapped. We each bore our testimonies and I do not remember the
last time I felt the spirit so strongly during a meeting. We all
talked about the things we are grateful for but mainly our Love for
the Savior of the World. One testimony just kind of built onto another
and so on and so forth and it was one of the most beautiful meetings
that I have ever been apart of. I am still on a spiritual "cloud 9"
today from just how powerful last night was. Yesterday was truly one
of the best days of my mission.
I apologize for the chapter book of an email I am sending home this
week. I had one of the best weeks of my mission so far. This week I
had many opportunities to learn, to have my own testimony strengthened
and also to feel the spirit in a very pure and powerful way. I'm
grateful for the things that happened this last week and the lessons
that were placed before me to learn. Things are wonderful up here in
Mistretta. The weather has been pretty warm for the most part, our
work is progressing slowly but surely and Anziano Da Ponte is still
somehow putting up with me after 3 months. I love the kid and he is
teaching me a whole ton, probably more than he will ever really know.
I'm grateful for him, his testimony, his power and his patience. He is
a stud and a half. All is well. All is well.
I love you all with a love that words cannot properly express.
Feelings this deep can only be felt and I hope you can feel it even
though there may be the Atlantic Ocean separating us at this moment. I
thank you for sticking through this chapter book. I hope you
all have a wonderful, heart changing week. I hope you all have had a
wonderful start of 2016 and I hope you all stay warm, healthy and safe
this upcoming week. Thank you for the prayers, the love and support.
I'm so grateful for each of you.
I love you.
Anziano JarDee Nessen
Italy Rome Mission
Romans 8:35-39
Happy New Year Everyone!
Hello 2016. For me, it has been strange these past couple of days to
look back at all of the things that happened out her in 2015. I've had
some or the highest of highs, as well as the lowest of lows. I do not
think that I have ever learned so many things, grown in so many
different ways, or experienced such a large amount of truly priceless
spiritual experiences in any other calendar year. That full year being
away from home and being on the Lords errand full time has taught me a
lot, more things than I ever could have expected in the beginning.
This year, I want to improve. I want to become stronger in different
areas of my life and so I have set some goals/resolutions for myself
so these areas that I want to improve, will actually improve. I hope
you all have had the time as well over the last few days or weeks to
think of some areas of your lives that you would like to improve. I
hope that you have set some written goals for yourself so you will
each be able to progress on this journey and improve as the days,
weeks, months and year pass on bye. I once heard some wise counsel
that a goal that has not been written down, is simply a wish or a
thought. Our bodies and minds seem to have a better focus on things
when we write them down. It then holds us all more accountable to
accomplish the things that we desire. I'm grateful for this New Year
and for the opportunities 2016 will give each and everyone of us to
improve and grow. I pray that we will all seek for areas to improve
ourselves and than meekly, gently and humbly ask our Father in Heaven
to assist us on this path. After all, He is the Father of our Spirits.
We are His children. He knows out full potential, and only He can get
us there, but we have to do it His way. Let's all become stronger in
ever aspect in 2016. I know we can do it, Happy New Year Everyone! I
hope each of you had a great New Years Eve and New Years Day. I'm sure
that everyone is enjoying the time off work and break from school. I
hope everyone is doing well back home in the Promised Land. I pray
that everyone is staying safe and staying healthy. I hope that you all
know that I love you, each of you, and that I'm grateful for
everything that each of you do for me.
This past week was one of the most interesting weeks of my mission. It
wasn't necessarily full of lessons with new investigators or anything
like that, instead it was full of Giant Testimony Building experiences
that I hope to never forget. Before we get into the goods however, I
want to talk a little bit about what we did last Monday for our P-Day.
The Wardles, the senior couple here, gave us a call and asked us if we
wanted to tag along with them on a little stroll by car throughout
Sicily. We accepted the invitation and we were off. Instead of heading
down towards the coast as we normally do, we headed back over the
mountain toward the Volcano that erupted a few weeks ago over here.
Mount Etna it is called. We stopped after a few minutes and took some
pictures of Mount Etna through their binoculars. We then climbed back
into the car and headed back into the country. We came upon a bunch of
little towns with no more than 500 townspeople. Those cities have been
there for hundreds if not thousands of years and I would imagine that
the same families have called those little places home for centuries.
It did me good to see some nice, long, rectangular shaped fields and
some alfalfa, oats, and corn stalks waving back and forth as the wind
blew down from the mountains and canyons. We came upon a little city
called Ceramia. There seemed to be a fortress above all of the houses
and buildings on top of this city that was constructed on top of
cliffs and mountain sides, so out of curiously we decided to drive on
up into the city and check out the fortress. Unfortunately we were
unable to see everything because they had restrictive gates up
everywhere we wanted to go. It was a fun little P-Day and it was truly
humbly to look at the truly beautiful things and the beautiful world
that were created for us here on the Earth. The Earth is absolutely
incredible and I'm grateful for the natural beauty that we were able
to see last week.
Tuesday Morning we had our Weekly District Meeting down in Palermo and
I was asked to give the training. For Christmas I received a film from
back home called The Cokeville Miracle. During the time that we were
restricted from tracting or proselyting we were granted permission to
watch movies or films that the church has produced. Anziano Da Ponte
and I plugged in the movie and both were in heavy tears by the time
the movie was over. I highly recommend all of you to make a trip to
Deseret Book or Seagull Book or whatever church store you can find and
purchase this movie. It is incredible. The movie is about an
elementary school that was taken hostage back in 1986 and all of the
miracles that took place that day. It's powerful and absolutely
amazing. After we watched the movie, I told Anziano Da Ponte that if I
were ever asked to give a training, I would use the last 30 minutes of
the movie as the base of my training. Well, two days later our
District Leader gave me a call and asked me if I could give the
training. I played the last 30 minutes and talked about miracles and
the divine power of prayer. I feel like it went really well. By the
end, I was in tears and so was everyone else in the district. It was
surely inspired. That was one of the giant testimony builders was that
nothing ever happens by coincidence in this life. Absolutely nothing.
Could it have been just a coincidence that I just happen to receive
that movie, that it brought Anziano Da Ponte and I to tears because of
the powerful message it contains, that after I talked about using it
one day for a training....our district leader gave me a call and asked
me to give the training... All of these things could surely be merely
a wonderful coincidence, but I know for a fact that in this case it
was no coincidence, and I also know that nothing happens by chance or
by luck. It is all in His perfect and divine plan for each and
everyone of us. God is aware of us, individually and personally.
Wednesday Evening, we had the thought that we needed to pay Nino's
sister a visit to see how she was doing. Nino's sister is named Maria.
Maria is over 70 years old and was nearly baptized some years ago.
They actually had the baptismal font filled and the service was about
to begin when she decided that she did not want the ordinance to be
performed anymore. We stopped by Nino's house and picked him up so he
could come with us. We stopped bye and began asking how her Christmas
went and how her children are doing. We started the lesson and she
asked some questions that I have never been asked before, but we were
able to answer her questions directly from the scriptures; and that is
always nice! We then progressed with the lesson and she explained that
she feels like she is stuck in a tunnel and she cannot see light on
either end. She explained that she just feels trapped all of the time.
We than began to talk about the One person who knows exactly how we
feel all of the time and bare testimony of Him and His love, power and
grace. Maria began talking about a lady that she only met one time
many, many, many years ago, but this lady had had a major impact on
Maria in a very short amount of time. Maria told us the story and
explained that that woman had passed away earlier Wednesday morning.
Maria broke down a little but while she was telling us this and I
could tell just how much this one lady meant to her, even though they
were only together one single time. It was a very powerful lesson and
we did not have to do a lot of talking. We bore testimony of the plain
and precious things that we know to be true, and especially of the
Love that Jesus Christ and His Father have for each and every one of
us. We ended the lesson and on our way out, she gave Anziano Da Ponte
and I a box of chocolates. Nino told us yesterday that on Friday Maria
gave him a call, thanking him for bringing us over to her home
Wednesday evening and for the spirit that we brought. Another
testimony builder that the Lord knows what we need, He hears our
prayers and more often than not...He sends people, like you and me, to
comfort, support and love those who may be in a time of trial.
Wednesday, we did not have Maria in our plans...but we both felt like
it was a good thing to do and judging off of the phone cal she gave
Nino on Friday, we were an answer to her prayers.
After we had our lesson with Maria, the Wardles asked us to stop by to
participate in giving Sorella Wardle a priesthood blessing. We arrived
to their apartment, which is about 30 years from our own apartment,
just before 9 pm. Anziano Wardle asked us to sit down while he went
and got Sorella Wardle. It took her a few minutes to make it to the
main room, but she made it. Poor Lady, she has had some problems with
her back in the last, but she did something during the day and it took
its tole on her. She could barely walk and she was hunched over like
the Hunchback of Norte Dame. She asked if I could anoint the oil and
Anziano Wardle gave her the blessing. Afterwards she bore testimony to
us missionaries that she knows that the power of the priesthood is
absolutely true. She said, "I know I'll be fine, I still have a lot of
work to do here." Well, the next morning Sorella Wardle was up and
about just like nothing had even happened the day before. Her back
completely healed itself during the night and she woke up with no
problems whatsoever. Seeing her barely being able to walk down the
hallway under her own strength one evening, and the next morning
seeing her as if nothing had happened at all was a another testimony
builder to me that the power of the priesthood is real. The power of
priesthood is the power of God delegated to men here on the earth and
I can testify that the power of the priesthood works miracles, when
followed by the promptings of the Holy Ghost and the receiver of the
blessing has complete faith in that sacred power from on High. The
power of the priesthood is such a wonderful, incredible and priceless
gift. I pray that I will always be able to fully honor my priesthood
and remain worthy to use this sacred and truly divine gift that I have
been trusted with.
New Years Eve gets pretty wild here in Italy, and so us missionaries
are required to be inside by 6pm to make sure that no one gets injured
or harmed in the wild and crazy things that go on outside on December
31st. Sorella Wardle had the thought earlier in the week to invite
Antonio over to their home, as well as us, to celebrate New Years Eve.
Antonio has been having a hard time as of late with the passing of his
mother. You can see that there is just something mission, like a part
of him is gone. His sister went out of town to celebrate and so
Antonio was going to be all alone...So we invited him to come over and
celebrate with us. We had a nice pasta dinner and some gelato
afterwards. We played some Uno and polished it off with a movie. It
was a fun night and I could tell that it meant a whole ton to Antonio.
He is one of the smartest people that I have ever met and he carries a
powerful conversion story and testimony with him wherever he goes. In
this moment in time, he just kind of needs someone to be there for
him. He needs someone to show him a little but of love and kindness.
We had a blast all together and it was a perfect way to close out
2015. We got home just before 9 PM and there was absolutely no pause
from the booms, bangs and whistles from fireworks until about 1:30 in
the morning. I just layer awake, stared at the ceiling and watched the
different colors from the fireworks light up room for hours on end.
New Years Day, we have a day designated to cleaning our apartment. 8
hours of sheer cleaning fun. From scrubbing the shower, to scrubbing
the toilet. From sweeping the floors, to mopping and mopping and
mopping some more. From cleaning the microwave, to washing the
windows. Our house is now squeaky clean and nearly spotless. I took
the honor of cleaning our toilet and I guarantee that there isn't a
better looking or cleaner toilet in our mission. Guaranteed. Nino
asked us to take a little lunch break and to join him and his
daughter, Sonia, for a New Years Day lunch. He cooked up some
delicious pasta, some pretty tasty fish and gave us some really nice
sweets to polish it off. Nino was so happy to have us over there with
him and his daughter. I don't think he quit smiling the entire time.
He was telling us story after story and you could see the love he has
for his daughter. Sonia is the only child that Nino and his wife ever
had. She is a good person and a real hard worker, but after the whole
mess that went on with her mom leaving Nino....She kind of distanced
herself from the church. Now she is on her way back, but this time
built upon the things that she knows to be true, not the things that
her parents know to be true. Nino had us show a little video on Jesus
Christ and His unfaltering love for us. We had a good little
discussion and the spirit was powerful. We thanked them for the invite
and for everything else and headed back on home to finish our day full
of cleaning. I love Nino. One of the greatest guys I have and ever
will meet. He has so many trials, so many sleepless nights and times
of difficulty, but yet he always manages to be happy. He is so
grateful for everything. The things I take for granted and do without
even thinking, some examples are reading or walking, he has a
difficult time doing....but yet he never complains. Me on the other
hand, I complain when my hair doesn't go the way I want it too or if
everything doesn't go just as planned, but not Nino. Nino never
complains and I truly admire that in him. I love the guy and hope to
apply the things that he is teaching me, not with words but yet with
his actions.
Sunday, yesterday, was probably one of the best days that I've had in
my mission. First off, I love fast and testimony meetings here in
Mistretta. There are only 13 - 14 members, but the spirit among that
small number of members is gigantic. Everyone of them is so powerful
and in their own unique ways. I never want the meeting to end. I just
sit in the back in awe at how incredible and powerful these people are
here. Anziano Da Ponte and I had the thought come to mind a while back
that we needed to start..."The Member Missionary Training Center"
because our members are powerful and they all have incredible
testimonies, but we need a little bit more out of them on the
missionary work part. We started the Member MTC yesterday during
Sunday School. We were given that our to give a training to the branch
on whatever we felt prompted to share. We decided that we needed to
talk about one word and one word only, that being, "Invite." We went
through who to invite, what to invite, where to invite when to invite,
why to invite and lastly how to invite. We used to scriptures and
especially the passages found in the New Testament that talk about
Christ and the way He invited people. The training went very well. We
had loads and loads of member participation and I think that they all
took something away that they could improve on. It went really well
and everyone thanked us afterwards. Also, something neat up here in
Mistretta that I love is that after church every single fast Sunday,
the members all bring whatever they are asked and we eat lunch
together to break our fast. It is something that I have never seen
before, but to see the laughs, the smiles and to hear the stories that
they tell is seriously incredible and humbling. There is such a strong
bond here among the members and it is honestly a pleasure and a
blessing to be serving here among these amazing people. Sunday
Evening, we headed down to Sorella Battista's house to hold our
Sacrament Meeting there and we brought Nino with us. There is always a
sweet spirit in the home of Sorella Battista. Every time we enter her
home on Sunday evenings at 6, she had hymns playing on her radio and
she has her dining room table all set up and prepared to be the
sacrament table. Our meeting last night was one of the most powerful
meetings that I have ever been apart of, not only in my mission but
including my entire life as well. There were 7 of us in there; us four
missionaries, Nino, Sorella Battista and her daughter who is
handicapped. We each bore our testimonies and I do not remember the
last time I felt the spirit so strongly during a meeting. We all
talked about the things we are grateful for but mainly our Love for
the Savior of the World. One testimony just kind of built onto another
and so on and so forth and it was one of the most beautiful meetings
that I have ever been apart of. I am still on a spiritual "cloud 9"
today from just how powerful last night was. Yesterday was truly one
of the best days of my mission.
I apologize for the chapter book of an email I am sending home this
week. I had one of the best weeks of my mission so far. This week I
had many opportunities to learn, to have my own testimony strengthened
and also to feel the spirit in a very pure and powerful way. I'm
grateful for the things that happened this last week and the lessons
that were placed before me to learn. Things are wonderful up here in
Mistretta. The weather has been pretty warm for the most part, our
work is progressing slowly but surely and Anziano Da Ponte is still
somehow putting up with me after 3 months. I love the kid and he is
teaching me a whole ton, probably more than he will ever really know.
I'm grateful for him, his testimony, his power and his patience. He is
a stud and a half. All is well. All is well.
I love you all with a love that words cannot properly express.
Feelings this deep can only be felt and I hope you can feel it even
though there may be the Atlantic Ocean separating us at this moment. I
thank you for sticking through this chapter book. I hope you
all have a wonderful, heart changing week. I hope you all have had a
wonderful start of 2016 and I hope you all stay warm, healthy and safe
this upcoming week. Thank you for the prayers, the love and support.
I'm so grateful for each of you.
I love you.
Anziano JarDee Nessen
Italy Rome Mission
Romans 8:35-39
0 comments: