February 29th, 2016 // #9 of 2016

February 29th, 2016 // #9 of 2016

Good Morning Everyone,
Happy Leap Day to you all back home in the Promised Land. Things are
going well for us here in Mistretta. I apologize for the last couple
of weeks and the very short family emails that I've been sending home.
We haven't had a whole ton of time and I'm trying to not spend so much
time emailing on PDay. I hope that everything is doing well back home
and staying healthy. I hear that it is starting to warm up and here it
is starting to warm up as well. Today as a Zone, well at least the
Elders, we played soccer all together. It always makes for a good day
when there is some nice weather and a bit of competition out on a
sports field. Here's the goods from this last week.
Last Tuesday we went on exchanges with the Elders from Palermo 2. We
all four came back to Mistretta and got some good work done. We walked
away from the scambio with some lessons taught and even a new
baptismal date. I went on exchanges with an Elder named Matthew
Chilvers. He comes from Rhode Island and is a huge sports fan. Safe to
say, we got along really well and never ran out of things to talk
about.
We had ourselves another solid lesson with Dr. Enzo on the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. It was a really simple lesson, but Anziano Dunn brought
his testimony with some "Greenie" power behind it. I have really been
able to see small changes taking place with Dr. Enzo in the past few
weeks. His countenance is beginning to shed more light and he is more
open with us I feel like. He is a champ and we plan on meeting with
him at least once this week. Also I picked up Nino's new tablet last
Tuesday and got it all running for him. He was so grateful and
says..."To the family of Anziano Nessen, I am infinitely grateful." He
was all giggles as we were flipping through conference talks,
searching through the scripture with ease and taking pictures with the
camera that's on the front of the tablet. I picked out a Samsung Tab
E. It's a good looking tablet, with a big screen and should do him
very well. He also gave me some advice for when I get home on picking
up the ladies and maybe even finding a wife. We just laughed and had a
good time together. At the end of the night when we were getting ready
to head back home, he asked me..."Anziano Nessen, when you leave
Mistretta and head back home to America...are you going to forget
about me like all of the other missionaries?" It kind of caught me off
guard, but I had to make a decision right then and there. I love Nino.
Saturday evening, we met with our little blind and deaf friend named
Salvatore. I've met Salvatore one time before and he is mostly blind
and deaf. He is a little old fella that lives all on his own. We pop
in every once in awhile to say hello. If Salvatore could see a bit
better and hear more than what he does now, he would be baptized so
fast. We had a good little lesson on the Restoration with him and
answered his questions. Friday and Saturday the wind blew like no
other and so we were all bundled up with our beanies, scarves and
gloves. I picked up a nice pair of gloves early in the mission and
have taken really good care of them. Salvatore said that he has been
having a real hard time keeping his hands warm. When he said this,
without hesitation I reached into my backpack, pulled out my gloves
and gave them to him. He was so grateful and gave me a great big hug.
He is such a good ole guy and reminds me a lot of Grandpa Martin.
Salvatore is always laughing and always seems to find the good, even
when there isn't a lot to find. It was a good one.
Sunday was another good day. Anziano Dunn gave his very first talk
here in Italy and did a great job. I was proud of him. I followed him
up and closed the Sacrament meeting. Our Sunday evening sacrament
Meeting with Sorella Battista was a solid one. We had an investigator
call us about an hour before, telling us that he would be attending
the sacrament meeting at Sorella Battista's home. Anziano Dunn and I
gave our talks again and the spirit in her little living room was so
strong. Afterwards, Sorella Battista asked me to give her mentally
challenged daughter Rossaria a blessing because she hadn't been
feeling well and her heart was racing. It was the first blessing that
I've given in Italian personally. I've stood in on blessings, but
never gave a blessing. It was a beautiful experience and one that I
will never forget. It wasn't much, but it was enough to have me
fighting back the tears. It was a Sunday that I won't forget.
That's about it for me this week out here in Mistretta. We have
transfer calls coming up Saturday. I'm expecting to be staying in
Mistretta for my 5th transfer, but I've learned that sometimes what we
are expecting isn't always what we receive. Once again, all is well
out here for us. Our health is good. Anziano Dunn is coming along
great and is picking up on things really fast. Just a quick little
Greenie story for all of you. Greenies are notorious for being a
little "green" to the mission field. The other day we had been out of
the house for about an hour, when all of a sudden Anziano Dunn
says..."I forgot to put a tie on this morning." He totally forgot to
wear a tie. He had his white shirt all buttoned up, tag on but he was
missing one thing...that being the tie. I had to laugh.
I love you all so much. Take care and be safe. I can't believe that we
are already in March. Time is flying. Let me know if I can do anything
for anyone this week. A thought for this week comes from a
scripture... Mathew 16:26

"what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

I love you all.
Love,
Anziano JarDee Nessen
Italy Rome Mission
Romans 1:15-16

February 22nd, 2016// #8 of 2016

February 22nd, 2016// #8 of 2016

Hello Family and Friends.
Well another week has passed and once again I am finding myself
running awfully low on time to email. We went shopping today and I
found myself a really good looking suit. A really good looking suit to
be honest. As for us, everything is going really well. We had a Zone
Conference this last week and I received loads and loads of mail from
everyone. I thank you for everything. Zone Conference was pretty
incredible and it was truly inspired. On Wednesday it was Nino's
birthday and we had ourselves an awesome celebration. He was so
excited and so happy, as were we. I will be buying his tablet tomorrow
for those of you that may be wondering. Also, we had a really solid
lesson with Doctor Enzo on the Book of Mormon early in the week with
Pippo Portera. As for that, I don't have much more time. I would like
to thank you all and wish you a wonderful week. Things are really well
out here. I've never been happier out here than I am right now. The
mission is great. I'm blessed to be where I am at. I'll talk to yo you
next week, and I'll be ready with a nice family email.
I love you.
Love,
Anziano JarDee Nessen
Italy Rome Mission
Romans 1:15-16

Letter from Presidente Waddoups

Letter from Presidente Waddoups

We got this kind email from President Waddoups on February 2, 2016:

To the Family of Anziano Nessen,


Your missionary, Elder Nessen,  has recently been assigned to be a "New Missionary Trainer".  In this assignment he will be the companion of a newly arrived missionary.  This is a very important responsibility.  Trainers have a profound and lasting influence on the development of a new missionary's attitude and habits.


I am confident that Elder Nessen will do an excellent job in this new assignment.


Sister Waddoups and I thank you for your faith and prayers on behalf of our mission and for all you have done to prepare such an outstanding missionary.


Sincerely,


Michael G. Waddoups


President


Italy Rome Mission




We just wanted to share it!

February 8th, 2016 // #6 of 2016

February 8th, 2016 // #6 of 2016

Good Morning Everyone!!
Well here we are already two weeks into February and yet another week
has come and gone. I am grateful to have some more time here in
Mistretta with Nino, The Wardles, Sorella Battista and as well as the
Portera Family. These people are incredible, and make being away from
home much easier on us missionaries. They kind of take us in like
their own, and I'm grateful for them and for the beautiful city of
Mistretta. I'm blessed and thankful for the opportunity to serve
amongst these Italian people. I hope you all are doing really good back
home. I hope you all had a great week and I hope that everyone is
staying healthy. I hear that it is continuing to snow, and snow and
snow back home... That's pretty neat. Must be making up for the lack
of snow last year. Everything is well out here. The weather has been
warm and it has also been cold. Some days feel like spring, while
others feel like the middle of winter. Here is what happened this past
week out here in the mountains.

Monday, like always, we had our P-Day. It was kind of a strange P-Day
because we spent the first couple hours at home, while Anziano Da
Ponte was packing his bags. He got all packed up and ready to head on
to his next area. We headed over to the church and emailed everyone
back home. After we finished P-Day, we planned on heading over to see
Dr. Enzo with Pippo Portera. We planned to teach Dr. Enzo about the
true doctrine of the Godhead. We got over to his house and he was busy
fixing his daughters computer, which caught a pretty nasty virus.
Because of the virus and him being forced to fix the problem, we were
unable to have our lesson with him. Anziano Da Ponte said his goodbyes
and we headed out to our next appointment. While we were with Dr.
Enzo, the thought came to my mind that Satan is truly working so hard
on him. He is doing everything he possibly can, to keep up from
teaching him; whether that be sending a virus to his daughters
computer or a virus to his belly...Satan is really working against us
with him. We met with the Bartalota's so Anziano Da Ponte could also
say goodbye to them. For some reason we talked a lot about dogs and
house pets. The Bartalota's are definitely cat people. They have
always had a cat in the house. Personally, I'm not a major fan of
cats... It was one of the stranger conversations I've had in the
mission field, but the Bartalota's enjoyed it and that's all that
matters. Anziano Da Ponte said his goodbyes, while I said my see ya
laters and we rushed over to our last appointment for the evening.
Vito (Nino's older brother. The one that fed us a few weeks ago and
the fur/hair hadn't been properly removed...yeah that Vito.) invited
us over once again for another dinner because Anziano Da Ponte was
transferred. Last Sunday, he promised us lamb but we were in for
another treat when we arrived last Monday evening. Instead of lamb, we
ate some good ole Bugs Bunny (Rabbit) and potatoes. I was lucky enough
to get the spine and the rib part of the Rabbit, but lucky enough for
us all....there was no fur/hair. It was one of the strangest meals
I've had, but now I can say that I've eaten rabbit. Vito loves, and I
mean loves, to talk and tell stories. Let's just say that he kept us
there for close to two and a half hours, and I honestly said five
words..."Thank You," "Amen," and "Good Evening." Vito is a very
interesting character, but all in all a pretty good guy. It was very
nice of him to invite us over, but goodness gracious he can sure carry
on a conversation.

Tuesday we met with as many people as possible, to give Anziano Da
Ponte the chance to say goodbye to everyone. We met with Maria (Nino's
Sister), Maria Grazia and a little old man named Salvatore. Maria was
very excited to see us, and welcomed us in warmly. She seemed and
acted very different Tuesday morning, than she has acted with us in
our past few meetings. She seemed much happier, and I am glad that she
is much happier. I am hoping that she has begun to seriously study the
scriptures and also to sincerely pray. Those things may seem small,
but they make all of the difference. She invited us to stay for lunch,
but unfortunately we didn't have time. Afterwards we headed over and
visited with Maria Grazia. Maria Grazia is always so nice and
respectful to us missionaries. She was sad to hear that Anziano Da
Ponte would be leaving, but happy that at least one of us would be
staying. We also visited a little old man named Salvatore. Anziano Da
Ponte met Salvatore while we were doing our Member Exchanges a few
weeks ago. Salvatore is close to 70 years old, and has substantial eye
sight and hearing loss. Poor fella. We visited with him a little bit
and practically had to shout every time we talked. We taught him the
Restoration and he loved what we were teaching. He is Catholic, but
believes the catholic religion is not true. He is pretty old, and
doesn't have a lot of desire to change or find the truth...but he is
willing to listen and really enjoys the good company. We finished up
Tuesday at the Wardles home. They cooked dinner for us, Nino and
Antonio Bartalota. We ate a really nice dinner and enjoyed one
another's company. Nino and Antonio told some stories and we all had a
great time together. Tough to beat a good night with good food and
good people.

Not a whole ton happened Wednesday. We were down in Palermo for the
final District Meeting of the transfer. We helped incoming
missionaries from our zone get settled in and ready to go for Transfer
Day which is on Thursday. Thursday was a crazy day. We were up at 5,
out the door at 5:30 packing bags, dragging luggage and sprinting to
the bus and train station so missionaries wouldn't miss them. It was a
wild morning to be honest. I was dead tired, but it was good to say
goodbye to some of my friends from the Zone. I spent the day, while
waiting for my companion to arrive from Rome, in Bagheria with Anziano
Cleveland. We cleaned up the Bagheria apartment and got everything
ready to go for the new elder coming into Bagheria to be Anziano
Cleveland's companion. Safe to say that we had the Bagheria Apartment
squeaky, squeaky clean and ready to go! Our companions got into the
train station in Palermo at 7 PM. Before they arrived, we went to a
tie shop close to the train station and I picked up an Italian tie for
my new companion. They got in just after 7 and we jumped right back on
another train that left at 7:06 heading back to Mistretta. My new
companions name is Elder Morgan Dunn and he comes from Springville,
Utah. He just barely started his mission and this is his first
transfer here in Italia. He is a stud and has such a big sincere desire to
become better and to become a solid missionary. He is hilarious as
well and our personalities match up super well. He is a really
outgoing kind of guy and literally had no fear. I'm blessed to have
Anziano Dunn as a companion. Truly blessed. We are going to work very
well together and see good things happen here in Mistretta.

Friday we took care of our planning for the following week and we both
got pretty excited for the work that we have here in Mistretta.
Anziano Dunn is full of energy and brings a lot to the table in every
phase of our missionary work. We did some door knocking in the
afternoon, and we received a lot of "No's." In fact, we only received
"No's" and I could tell that Anziano Morgan was getting discouraged.
He would ask, "Did I do something wrong?" I would reply, "No Buddy!
You did nothing wrong. Let's keep moving forward." Sadly we couldn't
schedule any lessons on the weekend and so he didn't have the
opportunity to teach someone yet, but he will sure have plenty of
opportunities to teach this week.Friday evening we headed on down to
Sorella Battista's home for our weekly Family Home Evening. We are
like Kings, Anziano Dunn did a great job with her spiritual though and
we played a few games of the classic Uno card game. Sorella Battista
is a fiery little old lady and cracks me up. She is a wonderful member
of the church and is always searching to help others.

Saturday was a good day. In the morning I began preparing Anziano
Dunn's documents, so he legally be able to live here in Italia was
pretty stressful to say the least. We got it all taken care of and all
is well now. Thank heavens. We also went over to help Nino cook. We
cooked up some Meatballs and some other things that he made with eggs.
It was a lot of fun and it means the world to Nino that we chose to go
over there and help him out for a little bit. He was so thankful and
just laughing the whole time. He cracks me up. Afterwards I took
Anziano Dunn over to meet the Portera family because they were dying
to see who the new elder was. They were so excited and instantly they
liked Anziano Dunn. We toppedSaturday off by studying with Nino in
preparation for his lesson Sunday. He was so grateful for again and
he always appreciates our assistance. Little does he know that he is
the one that is actually helping us and blessing our lives. I'm going
to miss little ole Nino one day. Hopefully I'll just stay in Mistretta
for the rest of my mission.. Hopefully!!

Sunday was the highlight of the week. Sunday has become my favorite
day in the Mission field. There is nothing quite like the peaceful
feeling on a Sunday morning. There are hardly any cars outside, it is
quiet, people stay inside for the most part and everything is just
calm. Our fast and testimony meeting here was so powerful. We only
have 14 members, including four missionaries, but the members are each
so powerful. Anziano Dunn stepped up and bore his first testimony in
Italian like a champion and I followed him up with some scriptures
from the Doctrine and Covenants. What happened afterwards was
unexpected. A member, Antonioni Bartalota, stood up and thanked me for
my happy, joyful attitude. He said, "His attitude radiates. He lifts
everyone around him. I love you Anziano Nessen." He returned to his
seat, which was right next to mine and he gave me a hug. I love that
guy. The next member, Costanza Purpari ( the niece of Nino ) and she
also thanked me for my attitude and my smile. She said, "I can see him
having a show on television one day in the future" and everyone
started laughing and agreed. I most certainly did not deserve those
compliments and those shouts outs if you will, but it was definitely a
tender mercy from the Lord. Sometimes we feel a little inadequate, a
little run down and a little tired....but if we are trying our best,
if we are obedient and searching to constantly lift those around
us...Heavenly Father will lift us Himself, and usually He lifts us
through the actions, words and deeds of others. I'm grateful for that
tender mercy from the Lord. Here in Mistretta we do something every
fast Sunday and I love it. Every fast Sunday immediately after church,
everyone from the branch brings a food assignment and we all each
together as a branch. This meal brings us together so close. Everyone
is always happy, always content and everyone is constantly laughing.
It will surely be one of the things that I miss when my time is up
here in Mistretta...but until that point, I am going to live the dream
here in the Sicilian Mountains.

That about wraps up my week over here in Italia. Another week has
officially bitten the dust and we are making our way through February.
I hope you all had a wonderful Super Bowl Sunday all together. Sadly
the Broncos and Peyton Manning pulled out the Win. Fun Fact, they did
not air the super bowl on tv here in Sicily and I am not sure if they
did on the Mainland either. Happily I can say that I will never miss
another Super Bowl away from the Fam. I hope you all have a Happy
Valentines Day coming up nest Sunday and I hope that everything goes
well for each of you back home. I love you all so much. I am grateful
for each of you and for the ways that you all have effected my life
for the better. Life is good. The mission is good. I love you all.

Much Love from Italia,
Anziano JarDee Nessen
Italy Rome Mission
Romans 1:15-16

One last picture of our District before Transfers!

 

Cooking with Nino!

--Anziano Dunn (my son in the mission)

February 1st, 2016 // numero sei

February 1st, 2016 // numero sei

Greetings from Mistretta my family and friends.
I hope this email is finding you all healthy and happy. I've heard
that you guys continue to get pounded with snow, while over here it
seems as if the spring had already begun. We had ourselves a good week
out here. This week was a week of learning for me. I feel like I
learned a lot over these past seven days, in many different aspects of
both the mission and life in general. I'm grateful for the learning
opportunities that have been given to me this past week. I pray that
I'll be able to put this things into practice throughout my remaining
time here in Italia, as well as continuing to apply the lessons that
I've learned throughout the rest of my life. I hope you all know that
I love you, and that I am truly grateful for the love, the support,
the strength and the prayers that you send my way. I know that I would
not be able to continue to push forward out here without the love I'm
receiving from back home and as well as from the other side of the
veil. I thank you. I love you.

As I said earlier, we had ourselves a good week and I'm excited to
share with you some of the happenings from this past week. I've been
teaching Anziano Da Ponte how to toss the Football around and he is
picking it up quick. He is a stud and I'm grateful for everything that
he does for me. Tuesday we headed down to Palermo for our last
District Meeting before transfer calls. District Meeting is always
spiritually powerful and a good time because we get to see all of the
other Elders that make up our District. After our District Meeting we
went on Exchanges with our Zone Leaders. Anziano Da Ponte stayed down
in Palermo, while Anziano Joseph Palazzo and I returned back up to the
mountainous Mistretta. Anziano Palazzo is from Texas and will be
heading home in about 6 weeks. He played football at one of the best
high schools in the nation and is thinking about walking on at BYU at
outside linebacker. He loves boating, hunting, sports and just about
everything else that I love... It was a good exchange and surely there
was never a dull moment. Anziano Palazzo is truly one of the greatest
missionaries in our mission. He honestly speaks better Italian than
most Italians speak Italian, but you would never hear that from him.
He is humble, hardworking and just an absolute stud. Tuesday evening
we did some street contacting as well as some house finding. We didn't
see a success there, but we did have some solid conversations with
some nice families. We closed out the evening with a solid Family Home
Evening with the Portera Family. Our topic for the night was
Obedience, and it went really well. There was a strong spirit there
and we all enjoyed one another's company.

Wednesday morning Anziano Palazzo and I planned to go and visit Maria
Grazia. Maria Grazia is an investigator, but we decided to give her
some space for a couple weeks. We planned to teach the Restoration,
but in a way a little more creative than we would usually teach the
lesson. We decided to make our way through the lesson with the help of
some inspired questions. We brought Nino along with us, because Nino
and Maria Grazia have known each other for years and years and years.
Maria Grazia is one of the sweetest ladies that I have ever met, and
shows us nothing but pure respect. Her father passed away around a
year ago, and at this moment she is taking care of her mother. We
showed up and began our lesson right away. The lesson plan went really
well, better than I thought to be honest. The spirit was building,
building and building. We got to Joseph Smith and the spirit was
BOOOOMING in her living room. I could tell that she was acting a
little bit different, and her body language was a tad but different
than what it had been in our previous lessons. Throughout this lesson
she was completely engaged and focused. In my head I was preparing to
throw the baptismal invite, and Anziano Palazzo was thinking the same
thing. We asked Nino to bring his testimony to the table of the
Prophet Joseph Smith. At the close of his testimony, he kind of took
it upon himself to end the lesson there. He closed the lesson with his
testimony, and asked for Maria Grazia to choose who would say the
prayer. I grabbed Anziano Palazzos leg underneath the table, and in my
head I was screaming...."NINO.....I LOVE YOU, BUT PLEWSE SHUT YOUR
MOUTH...." For any of you past missionaries that have been in this
same situation, you kind if know how hard it is to interrupt a members
during a lesson and maintain a good teaching environment... So we let
Nino close the powerful lesson abruptly, and we left. Both Anziano
Palazzo and I were pretty lost for words after the lesson because that
was the last thing that we were expecting to happen. Turns out, Nino
really had to use the bathroom. Immediately after the lesson, Nino
asked us if we could head to his house for a minute. We got to his
house and he went right into the bathroom. Anziano Palazzo and I died
from laughing so hard, as quietly as we possibly could. We didn't want
to hurt his feelings, but it was one of the funniest moments of my
mission. I mean "a mans got to do, what mans got to do" whether that
means jerking the emergency break during the middle of a powerful
lesson or not. Anziano Palazzo and I then caught a train heading back
into Palermo to switch back to our regular companions. It was a
successful exchange. That's for sure.

In Italy it is legal to put advertisements on car windshields or in
people's mailboxes, so Anziano Da Ponte and I have been thinking on
making a little card (about the size of a postcard) and putting a
small, but powerful message about the Restoration on one side, and our
telephone number on the back, Wednesday and Thursday we took a little
bit of time preparing our card. We are going to put a slip of paper in
every mailbox, on every windshield and nearly anywhere else that we
can find. We've heard of missionaries doing this in the past, and we
want to give it a shot. We are hoping for the best and praying to see
some good things come from our efforts there.

Thursday we spent a little bit of time with Dr Enzo. We watched the
restoration video together and had a little discussion about the
Prophet Joseph Smith and The Godhead. I'm not going to lie, the
Restoration video is kind of cheesy in certain areas, but you cannot
deny the powerful spirit that it brings. We weren't over there very
long, but now we feel that Dr Enzo has a little bit better idea about
who the Prophet Joseph Smith is and his sacred and divine role in The
Restoration. Dr Enzo said and I quote, in response to a question..."It
seems that everything depends on if Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God
or not.. If He was, the Book of Mormon is the word of God along with
the bible and your church is true. If He wasn't, the Book of Mormon is
not the word of God and your church is not true." I just replied,
"Exactly." The next lesson (which will be this evening) we will be
teaching the Godhead. I am excited for the lesson this evening and to
see what will happen. Praying for the best. Thursday evening, we met
with the Incapace family. The Incapace family lives close to Nino and
they are friends. The parents, Andrea and Antonella, and the kids,
Pina and Benedetto. They have known the missionaries for a long time
but have never taken the lessons before. We decided that it was time
for them to listen to what we have to offer. The mom tries to bash on
our church, Joseph Smith and the things we believe but it is
completely out of ignorance. I kind of called her out on that a little
bit and got her to listen for a minute or two instead of just trying
to argue with everything we say. They are so called "devote"
Catholics, even though they haven't attended any sort of mass or
worship service related to Catholic Church in years... She exclaims,
"I'm content with my religion." I'm not sure about you guys, but I
have a hard time believing those words when someone hasn't even
attended a certain so called church in years, but some how it is
continuing to satisfy your spiritual appetite... Doesn't make sense to
me. We simply invited them to listen to what we have to offer. We
promised that we could teach them something that they didn't know
before, and we promised them that because of that knowledge, their
lives could potentially be blessed forever. The mom rudely exclaimed,
"You guys couldn't teach me anything." I giggled asked a simple
question that kind of startled her, because she had no idea what the
answer would be. The thing that bugs me already with the Incapace
family is the lack of respect that they show us missionaries and our
members... We will break through that garbage and I can promise you
that. Again we invited them to listen, and for the first time that
evening they showed a slice of humility and accepted. We plan on
teaching them a very powerful and bold Restoration lesson with
powerful testimony on the Prophet Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon.
I'm eager to see what will happen when the Spirit feels their living
room in our next visit.

Saturday Morning we tagged along with the Senior Couple and Nino and
cleaned the church in preparation for our Sunday Meetings. We have
helped clean the church close to every Saturday morning since we
arrived here in Mistretta and I have grown a new appreciation for the
sacredness of the Church Building and just how important it is to have
things organized, clean and ready to go for Sunday. I'm grateful for
the chance we have each week to take care of the little things, in
order to allow the beautiful things to occur without any distraction
on the Sabbath.Saturday evening we went on member splits with Pippo
and Nino. I teamed up with Pippo and Anziano Da Ponte took off with
Nino. Pippo and I visited this little old lady, and I feel horrible
because I cannot remember her name but I will forever remember our
visit for multiple reasons. As Pippo and I were walking over to her
home, he told me her story and the things that she has went through in
her life. She is an older lady, probably in her early 70's and lives
all alone. Her husband has since passed on and she was blessed with
one son and one daughter. Years back, her son was involved in an
accident with some gasoline and ended up passing away due to his
injuries. His passing has deeply hurt this poor mother, and that
crater that opened itself in her heart that day is just as open and
plainly now, as it was all those years ago. As soon as Pippo and I got
inside, she began to cry and she cried several times throughout our
short visit. Pippo is loved here in Mistrtta and is easily the most
respected and trusted person in Mistretta. I've never met one person
that doesn't respect or love Pippo Portera. He has a major impact on
people. This little older lady is a Catholic through and through.
Pictures of the Saints and Crosses cover the walls of her home, but
all those picture and crosses cannot and will not fill that whole in
her heart and soul. It hurt me, to sit in a chair and watch this cute
little lady suffer, cry and struggle with this pain after all these
years. I told my story a little bit and we bonded immediately. I was
able to tell her that we will see our loved ones again, and when we do
we won't have to worry about these pains, worries, doubts and fears
anymore. Instead, when I see my mom and she sees her son again, their
will only be tears of joy and pure joy. I want to return to her home
and teach her the Plan of Salvation, because I know that will give her
the answers to the questions that she has about what happened to her
son, where he is now, and what he is doing. The Plan of Salvation will
help to sow up that broken heart of hers and bring some much needed
peace to her soul. I will never forget that little old lady and just
seeing her severe pain and heartache that she is still enduring
through. On a lighter note, she gave me a chocolate and boy was I in
for a surprise there. The wrapper looked really nice and classy, so I
was excited to scarf it down because I knew it would be delicious. I
opened it up and tossed it into my mouth. When my teeth clamped down,
a liquid that had a little fire to it came rushing out of the now
crushed outer chocolatey layer. This liquid, was pure Vodka. Here in
Italy, they make some chocolates that are filled with alcohol. When I
tossed the chocolate in my mouth, she began to break down and cry. I
was thinking, "Should I ask her if I can spit it out because I don't
drink, but run the high risk of offending her.....Or do I swallow it
down and knowingly break the Word of Wisdom." My mouth was on fire, as
I was holding the Vodka in my closed mouth. My brain began to rush
because from the conversation she was having with Pippo at that time,
I knew that it would soon be my turn to speak and by that time...the
chocolate that I had tossed in my mouth 30 seconds earlier should have
been making its way down into my stomach, vodka included. The problem
was that she was 3 feet from me, facing right towards me and in
tears... I couldn't do anything. I was trapped. I looked on her table,
hoping to find a napkin or paper towel or something and nothing was
there. I thought, "There has to be something in my backpack..." And so
as casually as I possibly could, began looking through my backpack
desperately trying to find something I could spit the candy loaded
with vodka into. To my luck, and this is a miracle from on high, I
found a few tissues in my backpack. By this time, my mouth was melting
due to the alcohol being inside for a minute or so. I put the tissues
together, and acted to blow my nose. Meanwhile I was acting to blow my
nose, and she was bawling....I somehow managed to get the chocolate
and alcohol into the tissues without her noticing. I played it off
like a champion, even though my mouth felt like I just gargled
gasoline. As soon as I finished emptying my mouth of the chocolate
laced with fire water, the conversation immediately got passed onto
me. It was a miracle from on high and something I will never forget.
All in all, it was a visit I will never forget for a number of
different reasons.

Sunday, yesterday, was great. We both gave talks in church. I spoke on
the Godhead and Anziano Da Ponte spoke on the role of the Holy Ghost
in conversion. I feel like our talks went well. Also, we gave a
training to our members on Gifts and Talents and how we can use our
Gifts and Talents to build up the Kingdom of God, after all that is
why we were blessed with our gifts and talents...for not only our
personal benefit and wellbeing, but as well as and probably mores for
others benefit and their wellbeing. The Portera family had us over for
lunch and we had a good lunch break with them full of good laughs and
stories. We ended up not heading down to Sorella Battista's home for
our Sacrament Meeting there because she was not feeling well, so
instead we decided to visit the Incapace family once again with Nino.
It was interesting. It was interesting to see how much they respect us
and how they treat us before the lesson starts, and then to see how
they treat us once we begin the lesson. It is like night and day. They
are a family that speaks nothing but dialect, which is almost
impossible to understand if you are not a native. Anziano Da Ponte
doesn't even understand it and he is Italian for Petes sake. They love
to make fun of me because I don't completely understand what they are
saying, but I just smile and hold the urge to rip them to shreds
inside. Their son, Benedetto, loves to mess around and test our
patients. He is 14 years old and just says things that done need to be
said, meanwhile his mom and sister just laugh....adding more and more
fuel on his little fire. It is tough to bring the spirit into that
home because everything we say, they just contend with...but one thing
that they cannot contend with is our testimonies. As President James
E. Faust once said, "Our testimony is the strongest arrow in our
quiver." I am grateful for my testimony and for the confirmations that
I have received from on High about the divine truthfulness of the Book
of Mormon, the prophet Joseph Smith and Priesthood Authority. Those
confirmations are things that no man on this earth can give me or take
them from me. Those confirmations came from on High. There is an Elder
Neal A. Maxwell quote that says..."Some insist upon studying the
church only through the eyes of its defectors, like interviewing Judas
to understand Jesus." I pray that the Incapace can lower their pride
levels a touch and raise their levels of respect not for us, but for
the message that we will bring.

We received transfer calls Saturday. Here are the Results:
Anziano Da Ponte will be heading up to the Napoli Zone and I will
remain here in Mistretta. Anziano Da Ponte will be moving to senior
companion and I won't find out who my companion is until he arrives at
the train station in Palermo. I'm excited to be staying in Mistretta,
but sad to be parting ways with Anziano Da Ponte. He is a stud and
will surely be missed.

That about wraps us up for this week down here in Sicily. All is well.
Again, I thank you for everything. For the love, for the support and
prayers. I can't say it enough. I hope that all of you have a great,
safe week back home. I hope everyone is and stays healthy. Please be
safe and take care of yourselves. Also, I would like to wish Abbi Jean
a Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday yesterday!! I love you guys!! Have a
great week.

Much love from Italia,
Anziano JarDee Nessen
Daniel 12:13

Sign says... "Victims of the Mafia".

--Italia is praying for Brinlee.