May 30, 2016 // #22 of 2016 🇺🇸

May 30, 2016 // #22 of 2016 🇺🇸

Hello Everyone!! Happy Memorial Day 🇺🇸🇺🇸
It's been another good week down here in the Dirty South. Cosenza is
really starting to grow on me and we are starting to get some really
good relationships built with the members. Last Monday we had a solid
family home evening with a family and our main investigator, whose
name is Eugenio. It went super well and we all enjoyed ourselves.
Tuesday evening we had another Family Home Evening with a different
member, her name is Sister Spadafora and I will talk more about her in
a minute, and we brought Eugenio along with us again. We are trying
our best to get him as well integrated into the branch as possible and
the members are really stepping it up and helping us out. Friday we
took care of some planning and hit the streets in hopes of finding
some new investigators and we ended up playing a little game of soccer
with a few young kids. Anziano Mika was here last year and he baptized
an African Family and they are the coolest people in the world.
Charles and Mavis are their names and they have three little kids that
just climb all over us all of the time. We visited with them on Friday
and gave their youngest kid a blessing because we think he came down
with the measles. Hopefully he will be okay. Sunday Evening, we went
and visited Sorella Spadafora because she was unable to come to
church. She is 66 years old and one of the greatest cooks on this
earth, she reminds me a lot of my Nana Mel.  She couldn't come to
church because she is having a really hard time walking, and she has
some problems with her knee. We stopped by and she was so happy to see
us. She said, I knew that you would pass by. I just knew it. We talked
for a little while and she asked us to give her a blessing. We gave
her the blessing and she just cried the entire time. It was really
powerful and I was grateful to be there. I'm starting to love this
little place. Also, this transfers was only 5 weeks long and so we
received our transfer calls on Saturday. Turns out, I will being
staying in Cosenza but I will be receiving a new companion.
So that is a little taste of what happened this week. I also had the
chance to travel back to Mistretta to pick up a document. We headed
out early Wednesday Morning at 5 and traveled down to Sicily. We got
to the Messina Train Station, which is about a hour and a half away
from the Mistretta stop, and we ran into this man who began speaking
to us in English. We continue to talk with him and we ended up never
leaving his side. His name is Bernardo. Bernardo is half Italian and
half french. He attended Yale University in America and has 4
doctorate degrees. He was so intelligent. Anyways we talked and talked
and talked, and he taught us a whole bunch of neat stuff. Anyways we
gave him a Book of Mormon and he humbly accepted it. It was a huge
miracle, because originally we had planned to take another route to
Mistretta and at another time, but I strongly felt like we needed to
change our plans. We changed our plans and saw a huge miracle.
Mistretta was incredible. I got off of the train and Anziano Dunn, my
Greenie that I trained, came running down the sidewalk screaming my
name and gave me the biggest hug. Pippo Portera and his daughter gave
me a huge hug as well. It felt so good and I imagine that I will have
some similar feelings here in a few months in the Salt Lake Airport.
We ate a great big lunch together and then we all celebrated my
birthday together. Sorella Portera made me a great big birthday cake
and they got me a really nice watch as a birthday present. It was
super nice of them. After lunch we headed over to see Dr. Enzo. When
he opened the door and saw that it was me, he had the biggest smile on
his face. We talked for a good little while and at the end we had a
small spiritual thought. I thanked him for everything and he got
pretty choked up, I did as well. Many times, he would get teary eyed
during our lessons together and him and I always had a really good
relationship together. I told him that there is always space at my
house if he ever needed a place to stay in America. He gave me a great
big hug and thanked me for everything that I did for him. It was such
a blessing to see him again. Afterwards I ran into so many people that
I worked with and knew from Mistretta. It was so awesome. I printed
off a bunch of pictures for people and wrote little thank you notes on
the back. They were all so appreciative and grateful. I got to
surprise Nino as well. We rang his doorbell and he opened the door by
saying, Hello Elders of Israel. He can tell that there are
missionaries there, but he can't see who they are. I said..Hello there
you handsome fella and he instantly knew it was me. He gave me the
biggest hug and we held each other pretty tight for a long, long time.
It was so nice. He was so happy and I don't think that I've been
happier. It was such a blessing to see the old feller again and spend
some time with him. He still is taking good care of the Nessen Farms
Hat that I left him. We finished up the night by eating dinner with
the Portera Family and spending some time together. It was such a
blessing to be able to return to my favorite city and my favorite
people. Saying goodbye was tough again and nearly killed me, but I am
grateful for the opportunity I had to return and see those wonderful
people once again. It has been such a happy week, filled with so many
blessings from the Lord. I'm full of gratitude for His love, His grace
and His mercy. One of my favorite church songs has been flowing
through my head so much this past week. It goes something like this...

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings; name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Count your blessings;
Name them one by one.
Count your blessings;
See what God hath done.

I love you all so much. I thank you all and I hope that everyone is
having a wonderful Memorial Day. Y'all take care and be safe. I'm
praying for each of you and please let me know if there is anything
that I can do for anyone. I love you all.

--
Anziano JarDee Nessen
Italy Rome Mission
Romans 8:35-39

Played a little soccer game with the boys the other evening.

They destroyed me.

Mistretta. I love that place.

The birthday cake and watch that the Portera family made and gave to me.

I love the Portera Family. Such good people.

May 23rd, 2016 // NUMBER 21 of 2016

May 23rd, 2016 // NUMBER 21 of 2016

Hello from Cosenza!
WHAT A WEEK it has been. We have been blessed to see miracle, after
miracle, after miracle...and it has been pretty neat to be apart of.
I'd like to share two of them that are pretty neat.
Number 1>
On Saturday we practically sprinted for 20 minutes to a park way out
of Cosenza to meet with a few young kids that we met the week before.
There are 4 guys, ages ranging from 16 to 18 and they were pretty
interested in what we had to offer. We sprinted out to the park at 6
and only had a few minutes with them before they all had to take off.
They were super cool kids and it went super well. After they left, we
started walking to a less actives house and we walked by a bus stop.
You will never guess who was sitting at the bench of the bus stop, the
Romanian mother who left Romania to come to Italy so she could make
enough money to put her kid through law school back in Romania. We had
a super good conversation with her the last week,but couldn't get her
number because her bus pulled up and left so fast. WE found her!! We
had been praying and praying and praying for the chance to see her
again or for her to call us...and we received an answer to those
prayers. It was a MIRACLE and a half. We came around the corner and I
just said,..You have. Got to be kidding me.... She was so happy to see
us and we were so happy to see her as well. We talked for a little bit
and we surely got her number this time around. Wasn't missing out on
that opportunity again, that's for sure! She said to us,...I just felt
something that I've never felt before when I was talking to you the
last time. It felt good and I want to know more.... Hearing that was
like music to our ears. We got her number and wished her a good
evening. She is just as excited as we are to meet in the next few days
and I hope that all goes well.

Number 2>
Friday and Saturday I had the opportunity to head back to Crotone for
the first time since I was transferred just about a year ago. It was
truly one of the happiest days of my mission and one of the most
rewarding as well.
We were sitting at the church at about 7 waiting to start a meeting
that the Crotone Elders had to be too and while we were there
Antonella came walking through the front door of the church. I didn't
expect to see her there and she didn't expect to see me there. She
recognized me immediately and tossed her arms around me. It felt super
good. I saw the biggest miracle of my mission so far with Antonella
and it was so rewarding to see her again. She was so happy and I was
be happier. I'll send some pictures home of that re-encounter, but it
was truly incredible. It was good to see the things that I saw in the
beginning of my mission and it was really good to see who I've become
in the complete year since the last time I found my self in Crotone.
I've surely changed in many different ways since the Crotone days, but
I'm still the same old Jard and always will be.
Here is the miracle though.
When I was here last year, My companion and I found this family and we
started working with them. This family was GOLDEN, and especially the
mom and son. We taught them the first lesson and then my companion
finished his mission and I was transferred to Pozzuoli.. Sadly after
we left, they kind of fell off of the map and nobody was able to get
back over to that house. Well while the Crotone Elders were at their
meeting, I grabbed Anziano Garrett and we headed over to that house.
We got over and the apartment building door was open, which is RARE in
itself and we walked up to their front door. We rang the door bell,
the son came to the door and said....Its the Mormons.... We got let
into their home and immediately they recognized. They gave me hugs and
welcomed me home like I was their own son. Turns out that the parents
are having some major marital problems, which we were unaware of
before heading over to there house. We talked for a little while and
than shared the most powerful little spiritual thought that I have
been apart of here in the mission field. We talked about the family
and why the family is essential. The spirit was BOOMING in the room and the
whole family was paying super close attention to us the entire time.
They agreed to take the lessons once again and I am hoping for the
best there. When I left Crotone last year, and I found out that they
fell off of the map...a sour taste was left in my mouth and stayed
there until they opened their door Friday evening. It was an amazing
return trip.
those are the miracles from this week.

I would like to close with a small thought this week.
When we are sick, we take medications to fight the sickness inside of
our body. When we break an arm or twist an ankle, we take some anti
inflammatory medication and keep some ice close by. When we have a
head ache, we try to calm down the noises and disturbances around us
and take a nap. In all of these situations we look inwards, to make
sure that we are okay. There is no harm done in looking inwards to
heal our mortal body, it is something we all must do at one time or
another.
Now, when we are stricken with grief over the loss of a loved one or
weighed upon by the burdens of every day life...we need healing. The
healing that I am referring to is the healing of the soul. There is
one way to overcome heartache, grudges, pain and suffering and one way
only...that is turning outward towards others, instead of focusing
inwardly. Turning outward means serving others, meanwhile we are
broken on the inside. Such acts of service and love like this truly
heal the soul.

 I want to share a piece of a talk from Elder Bednar that he gave
about 12 years ago. It is pretty powerful talk and I apologize because
it all came out double spaced for some reason. Enjoy.



/// Let me now briefly share with you  two memorable experiences from
my service as a stake president that highlight the relationship
between our actions and a Christlike  character. Early one summer
morning I was showering. My wife called to me in the  middle of  my
shower  and  indicated  that  I  was  needed immediately  on  the
telephone. (Obviously  this  was  before  the  day of  cell  and
cordless  phones. I  quickly  put on  my  robe  and  hurried to  the
phone. I  next heard  the  voice  of  a  dear  sister  and  friend
informing  me  of  a  tragic  automobile  accident  that  had  just
occurred in  a  very  remote  area  involving  three  teenage  young
women  from our  stake.  Our  friend  indicated  one  of  the  young
women  had already  been  pronounced  dead  at  the  scene  of  the
accident  and  that the  two  other  young  women  were  badly
injured  and  presently  were being  transported  to  the  regional
medical  center  in  Fayetteville, Arkansas. She  further  reported
that the  identity  of  the  deceased young  woman  was  not  yet
known.  There  was  urgency  in  her  voice, but  there  was  no
panic  or  excessive  alarm.  She  then  asked  if  I could  go  to
the  hospital,  meet  the  ambulance  when  it  arrived,  and assist
in  identifying  the  young  women.  I  answered  that  I  would leave
 immediately. During  the  course  of  our  telephone  conversation
and  as  I  listened to  both  the  information  being  conveyed  and
the  voice  of  our  friend, I  gradually  became  aware  of  two
important things. First, this friend’s  daughter  was  one  of  the
young  women  involved  in  the accident.  Our  friend  lived
approximately  35  miles  from  the hospital  and  therefore  she
needed  the  assistance  of  someone  who lived  closer  to  the
city. Second, I  detected  that this  good  woman simultaneously  was
using  two  telephone  handsets--with  one  in each  hand  pressed  to
 each  of  her  ears.  I  became  aware  that  as  she was  talking
with  me,  she  was  also  talking  with  a  nurse  at  a  small rural
 hospital  who  had  initially  attended  to  the  three  accident
victims.  Our  friend  was  receiving  updated  information  about
the condition  of  the  young  women  in  the  very  moment  she  was
informing  me  about  the  accident  and  requesting  my  help.  I
then heard  one  of  the  most  remarkable  things  I  have  ever
heard  in  my life. I  faintly  heard  the  nurse  telling  this
faithful  mother  and  friend  that the  young  woman  pronounced
dead  at the  scene  of  the  accident had  been  positively
identified  as  her  daughter.  I  could  not  believe what  I  was
hearing.  I  was  listening  to  this  good  woman  in  the  very
moment  that  she  learned  of  the  death  of  her  precious
daughter. Without  hesitation,  and  with  a  calm  and  most
deliberate  voice,  our friend  next  said,  “President  Bednar,  we
must  get  in  contact  with the  two  other  mothers. We  must let
them  know  as  much  as  we  can about  the  condition  of  their
daughters  and  that  they  will  soon  be  in the  hospital in
Fayetteville.”  There  was  no  self-pity;  there  was  no
self-absorption;  there  was  no  turning  inward.  The  Christlike
character  of  this  devoted  woman  was  manifested  in  her
immediate and  almost  instinctive  turning  outward  to  attend  to
the  needs  of these  other  suffering  mothers.  It  was  a  moment
and  a  lesson  that  I have  never  forgotten.  In  a  moment  of
ultimate  grief,  this  dear friend  reached  outward  when  I  likely
 would  have  turned  inward. I  then  drove  to  the  hospital  with
a  concern  in  my  heart  for  the  well-being  of  the  two  other
beautiful  young  women  who  had  been involved  in  the  accident.
Little  did  I  realize  that the  lessons  I  would learn  about
Christlike  character--lessons  taught by  seemingly ordinary
disciples--were  just  beginning. I  arrived  at  the  hospital  and
proceeded  to  the  emergency  room. After  properly  establishing
who  I  was  and  my  relationship  to  the victims,  I  was  invited
into  two  different  treatment  areas  to  identify the  injured
young  women. It was  obvious  that their  respective wounds  were
serious  and  life  threatening.  And  the  lovely countenances  and
physical  features  of  these  young  women  had been  badly  marred.
Within  a  relatively  short  period  of  time,  the two  remaining
young  women  also  died.  All  three  of  these  virtuous, lovely,
and  engaging  young  women--who  seemed  to  have  so  much of  life
in  front  of  them--suddenly  had  gone  home  to  their  Eternal
Father.  My  attention  and  the  attention  of  the  respective
families now  shifted  to  funeral  arrangements  and  logistics. A
day  or  so  later,  in  the  midst  of  program  planning  and
detail arranging  for  the  three  funerals,  I  received  a  phone
call  from  the Relief  Society  president  of  my  home  ward.  Her
daughter  had  been one  of  the  victims  in  the  accident,  and
she  and  I  had  talked  several times  about her  desires  for  the
funeral program. This  faithful woman  was  a  single  mother  rearing
 her  only  child--her  teenage daughter.  I  was  especially  close
to  this  woman  and  her  daughter having  served  as  both  their
bishop  and  stake  president.  After reviewing  and  finalizing
several  details  for  the  funeral  of  her daughter,  this  good
sister  said  to  me,  “President,  I  am  sure  it  was difficult
for  you  to  see  my  daughter  in  the  emergency  room  the other
day.  She  was  severely  injured  and  disfigured.  As  you  know, we
 will  have  a  closed  casket  at  the  funeral.  I  have  just
returned from  the  funeral  home,  and  they  have  helped  my
daughter  to  look so  lovely  again.  I  was  just  wondering…  why
don't  we  arrange  a time  when  we  can  meet at the  mortuary  and
you  can  have  one  last look  at her  before  she  is  buried. Then
your  final memories  of  my daughter  will  not  be  the  images  you
 saw  in  the  emergency  room the  other  day.”  I  listened  and
marveled  at  the  compassion  and thoughtfulness  this  sister  had
for  me. Her  only  daughter  had  just been  tragically  killed,  but
 she  was  concerned  about  the  potentially troublesome  memories  I
 might have,  given  my  experience  in  the emergency  room.  In
this  good  woman  I  detected  no  self-pity  and no  turning
inward.  Sorrow,  certainly.  Sadness,  absolutely. Nevertheless,  she
 reached  outward  when  many  or  perhaps  most  of us  would  have
turned  inward  with  sorrow  and  grief. Let  me  now  describe  one
final  episode  related  to  these  three  tragic deaths.  On  the
day  of  her  daughter's  funeral,  this  Relief  Society president
from  my  home  ward  received  a  phone  call  from  an irritated
sister  in  our  ward.  The  complaining  sister  had  a  cold  and
did  not  feel  well,  and  she  basically  chewed  out  the  Relief
Society president  for  not  being  thoughtful  or  compassionate
enough  to arrange  for  meals  to  be  delivered  to  her  home.
Just  hours  before the  funeral of  her  only  child,  this
remarkable  Relief  Society president  prepared  and  delivered  a
meal  to  this  complaining  and murmuring  sister.///

In the midst of losing her own daughter and having been hit with such
a difficult trial, this sister immediately reach out on several
different occasions. I was left pretty speechless as I heard this talk
for the first time and as I have studied it since. This sister was
healing her soul by reaching outward to serve others, even though she
was broken on the inside. What a powerful story. What a powerful lady.
It is an interesting concept isn't it? We heal ourselves, by reaching
out. I hope that I will always reach out, instead of always looking to
help myself...even in the face of difficult trials.

I love you all so much. Have a great week. REACH OUT....it heals the
soul. We can receive answers to our prayers. God is so merciful.

MUCH LOVE!!


--
Anziano JarDee Nessen
Italy Rome Mission
Romans 8:35-39

May 16th, 2016 // #20 of 2016

May 16th, 2016 // #20 of 2016

Hello Everyone,
Well we have reached another milestone. I've been in the mission field
for a it 17 months now and I will be home in less than 6 months. I'm
glad that I still have time left on the clock, because I feel like I
have so much more to give, so much more work to do, and so much to
learn. I fell like a Brand New Missionary sometimes, well most of the
time that is. I thank you all for your prayers and your support.
Truly, I wouldn't have made it to this point if it wasn't for the
truly unreal amount of love and support that I have received from the
first day, also for the prayers that are constantly being sent my way.
I thank you all. I love each of you, and truly pray for each and
everyone of you.
We had a good week this week. We had our Zone Conference in Taranto
and that went really well. Zone Conference is always good to charge up
the tank. We had our last interviews with President Waddoups which was
kind of sad. I've really come to love that man. He's done a lot for me
and I've just kind of adopted him as another grandpa of mine. We held
my first interview and my last interview in the exact same room. It
was pretty neat for me to look back and see how much I've grown and
how much I've changed.
This week we saw a really big change with our one solid investigator
named Eugenio. Eugenio is a 23-24 year old kid who is studying to
become a lawyer. He is a super nice guy and I've really seen his
desire to know the truth change ever since I got here. He's been an
investigator for 8-9 months and he is just barely starting to
progress. He committed to read from the Book of Mormon each day and
come to Sacrament meeting each week even though he is studying for his
final exams that will be coming up in July. He is a champ and I'm
really hoping for the best with him. We've have some pretty intense
lessons, but we have always acted out of love and they always say that
you can never be too bold when you're acting out of love.
To close up this email, I apologize...we have like zero time again,
but I want to tell you about an experience we had Saturday while we
were tracting. We met this woman who was sitting down waiting for a
bus. We started talking to her and right from the get go she pulled
the classic put your hand up in the air and say "I'm not interested"
but we persisted a little bit. We sat down and started talking with
her and we had one of the greatest conversations that I've ever had in
my mission. She told us that she is Romanian, but she had to move to
Southern Italy to find work so she could put her son through law
school back in Romania. She sacrificed so much for her only child just
to make sure that he would have himself a good education. She was
probably 45 years old at the most, and I could just see the pain that
she had in her eyes. She cried on multiple occasions and it was hard
for me to keep from crying at the same time. She said, "I miss him so
much, but I'm doing this for him. I do everything for him. I love
him..." Unfortunately her bus pulled up quick and we were unable to
get her telephone number, but she got a pass a long card with our
number on it... We've been praying like crazy that she will call us
but she hasn't yet. We will continue to pray for this miracle, and if
you would like to pray for it as well...that would be incredible. It
was a tender moment and caused me to reflect on how many mothers have
sacrificed, just like this woman, for their children. I thought of
parents who would give anything and I mean anything to give their
children, so they could have a better life than their own. I thought
of a scripture from the New Testament. It comes from John 15:13 and it
says..."13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his
life for his friends." I would just like to thank #1 - my parents,
both on the earth and the lovely lady who has moved on to the next
phase of the plan of salvation, #2 - The rest of my family and #3 -
everyone else who has sacrificed for me. Sometimes I feel so
ungrateful, and I truly am so ungrateful, but I hope you all know that
I love you, that I pray for you and one day, and I'm not sure how, I
will do my best to let each of you in how much I truly am grateful. It
may be an "I OWE YOU" written on a McDonals Napkin or a Phone
Call...but somehow and someway I'll do my best to make sure that each
of you know that I'm truly grateful.  I love you all so much and that
will never change. Have yourselves a great week and take real good
care.

I love you.

--
Anziano JarDee Nessen
Italy Rome Mission
Romans 8:35-39

The Dentist: They seriously Love Me! 

I have literally walked right out of my shoes!

Found this in Cosenza!

 I had the opportunity to conduct at Zone Conference.

Me and 1 of the AP's!

Zone Conference is always a spiritual time and a great way to catch up with good Friends!

My last interview with Presidente Waddoups before they go home!

 I love the Portera Family!

The.... Dr. Enzo!