Jul04
July 4th, 2016 // #27 of 2016 🇺🇸🇺🇸
Hello there!
Goodness it was good to see everyone on Saturday. It was something
that I really, really needed. It's pretty wild to think that was the
last time that we will see each other until the Salt Lake City airport
which isn't too far away. I apologize for my English, I'm sure I made
40 million grammatical mistakes and pronounced a few things a little
strange. Once again, it was good to see everyone and spend a few hours
with y'all. I thank you for all of the good laughs and everything
else. It was a good few hours that seemed to fly on by, but I'm truly
grateful for chance we had to see each other and talk one last time
here in Italy. It was a good recharge to the ole batteries, and I'm
ready to finish this mission in the Lords way. Saying Goodbye never
gets easier and seriously it kills me every single time, but no more
Goodbyes will be said. I'm glad that there is still time for me out
here in Italy. I know I vented a little bit, but I truly love these
people, this country and this culture. This place has become a part of
me, and someday I hope to be able to share with each of you how
incredible this place truly is. I love you fam and friends..
This week was a good one, it was real short where we moved our pday to
Wednesday, but it was still a good one. Finally we are seeing some
movement here with the members, and we are finally starting to see a
few potentials pop up here and there. As for the unity problems in the
ward...they are getting better. We just have a few members that love
to "find fault" in everybody else, instead of trying to work on their
own weaknesses and shortcomings. It reminds me of the story of a man
who always took an evening stroll around his neighborhood as the sun
was going down. One of the homes in this mans neighborhood had a lawn
that was in excellent condition. One evening the man was once again
putting in his nightly exercise around the neighborhood when he
spotted one single dandelion sticking up in the middle of this
seemingly perfect lawn. The man thought to himself, "What a joke...
How embarrassing is that... Maybe I should go pick it myself..." He
thought maybe he should give his neighbor a call to inform him that
there was one single dandelion sticking up high above his nicely cut
grass. He sat there for a minute, stared at the well kept lawn and
focused only on that one dandelion. After some time, he finally
decided that it was time to head on home, but still the thought of
that one dandelion sourly filled his mind. When he arrived at his
home, he walked up the sidewalk and through the front door but he
failed to recognize that his own lawn was full of dandelions,
absolutely full of them. Instead of focusing on the dandelions that
covered his lawn, he was obsessed with the fact that his neighbor had
one single dandelion on his practically flawless lawn. Here in Cosenza
we are trying to eliminate exactly this. Some members have themselves
a lawn full of dandelions, but still some of them try to vocally make
known the one single dandelion that another member may or may not
actually have. It is an ugly, and unquenchable, fire that only ever
requires more pain, and more hurt and more damage. Some members, and
this is a church wide issue, that we are in some kind of race towards
Exaltation. We are in no race, nor are we in a competition to put
ourselves above another by intensively searching for others
dandelions...because God will be the Perfect Judge, and as we know He
Son will be our Advocate. We are seeing some progress, but we've got a
long ways to go. When I started my mission I was in a city very close
to Cosenza and I knew a little bit about these problems, and let's
just say that things hadn't changed when I returned for the second
time. Someone's got to put a stop to these things, and Elder Stanley
and I are going to give it a good shot.
Wednesday we woke up really early and headed to Taranto, which is on
the other side of Italy from Cosenza. It was a solid 3 and a half hour
bus trip. We got to Taranto and everyone in our zone spent pday
together. The Elders in Taranto just got themselves a new apartment
and the people that were supposed to be moving their things from the
old apartment to the new apartment didn't exactly get the memo that
there would be 8 missionaries sleeping in the new house. To make a
long story short we only ended up having 6 beds, and so Elder Stanley
(my companion) and I snuggled up on the nice tile floor. Honestly it
wasn't as bad as it sounds. I woke up with a few lines on my face from
the ground, and I'm pretty sure I ate a few bugs during the
night...but it was worth it. Thursday morningwe met President Pickerd
for the first time, and WOW....what an amazing man. We could all feel
his love for the Lord, the Book of Mormon, the temple and for us. We
will miss President and Sister Waddoups, but I feel like we will keep
moving forward with President and Sister Pickerd. They both served in
the Italy Rome Mission 37 years ago. They both speak Italian really
well. We are excited to have them here with us.
Elder Stanley and I have been preparing for our Barbecue this evening
and I think that we are about ready. We've been inviting everyone and
their dog to come down and eat a good ole fashioned American Hamburger
with us. We are hoping for a good turnout this evening, but regardless
of what happens...we will have a good time and we will continue to
build solid relationships with our members. Our plans for the evening
are pretty simple. Eat a hamburger, and watch Meet the Mormons
together because most of our members haven't seen it. I'll be rocking
my American Flag Bandana with pride.
That about wraps up the goods from this last week, but in closing I
would like to talk about how great America, and especially Utah, truly
is. We are so blessed to live where we live, and to call ourselves
Americans. Being away from the USA for the past year and a half has
really opened my eyes to just how good we have it back home. From
clean water, to many job opportunities. From athletic events, to good
public schools, high schools and universities. America is set up for
the people to succeed, while many other countries are not. At home
youth have standards and good examples to look up to. Here, youth have
zero standards and very few good examples to look up to. I've seen
more ten year old kids with a cigarette in hand than you could ever
imagine. The young ladies dress horribly immodestly, while the young
men smoke like chimneys, drink like fish and live at home until they
are 30-40 years old. It makes me sad, but at the same time make me
love Home that much more. We are so blessed friends and family. I'll
love this country forever, but it could never hold a candle to Home.
In Utah, we are sheltered and honestly I'm happy it is that way. We
don't need to know about all of the evil that happens everyday
throughout the world, and I'm grateful that we don't hear about it.
One thing that has repeatedly come to mind throughout my time in the
mission field is the phrase, "Freedom doesn't come free..." I remember
as a young feller, my dad and mom and I were sitting in the Atlanta
Georgia Airport waiting for an airplane that would be taking us to
Green Bay. We were on vacation and it was just a few weeks before
Christmas. We had a four hour layover in Georgia, and so we had lots
of time to watch thousands and thousands of people walk by. Amongst
the people walking by, I noticed many soldiers who were traveling home
for Christmas break. I couldn't fully comprehend, and still cannot
fully comprehend the sacrifice that these young men and women make day
in and day out to ensure our freedom back home in America. One of the
soldiers came and sat down about 20 feet from where we were sitting
and I remember looking at his uniform and thinking that it was the
coolest thing I had ever seen. My dad told me, "Go shake his hand and
tell him Thank You..." I was super intimated and a little scared, but
after a couple of minutes I got up, walked over, shook his hand and
told him Thank You for serving our country. He looked surprised and
replied, "Don't mention it kid.." I returned to my seat next to my
mom, picked up a notebook and continued to draw without even thinking
to much about it. Now looking back, I thank my Dad for taking the time
to teach me a lesson of a lifetime; that our armed forces and military
put their lives on the line day in and day out to ensure our freedom.
We have much to be thankful for... I'm proud to be an American and I
pray everyday that God will bless the USA. My invite this week is to
pray for those young men and women who are valiantly serving out
country. Pray for their parents, their spouses, their children and
their safety. They put it all on the line, and there is no love
greater than that...lets ask for a few special blessings to be sent
their way this week.
John 15:13
"13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life
for his friends."
I hope you all have an amazing week. Please take care and take care.
Light a few fireworks off tonight on my behalf. I'm praying for each
of you, and I love each of you. Thanks for making Saturday so great,
and for spending a few hours with me. God Bless the USA. God Bless
America. God Bless each of You.
--
Anziano JarDee Nessen
Italy Rome Mission
Romans 8:35-39
Goodness it was good to see everyone on Saturday. It was something
that I really, really needed. It's pretty wild to think that was the
last time that we will see each other until the Salt Lake City airport
which isn't too far away. I apologize for my English, I'm sure I made
40 million grammatical mistakes and pronounced a few things a little
strange. Once again, it was good to see everyone and spend a few hours
with y'all. I thank you for all of the good laughs and everything
else. It was a good few hours that seemed to fly on by, but I'm truly
grateful for chance we had to see each other and talk one last time
here in Italy. It was a good recharge to the ole batteries, and I'm
ready to finish this mission in the Lords way. Saying Goodbye never
gets easier and seriously it kills me every single time, but no more
Goodbyes will be said. I'm glad that there is still time for me out
here in Italy. I know I vented a little bit, but I truly love these
people, this country and this culture. This place has become a part of
me, and someday I hope to be able to share with each of you how
incredible this place truly is. I love you fam and friends..
This week was a good one, it was real short where we moved our pday to
Wednesday, but it was still a good one. Finally we are seeing some
movement here with the members, and we are finally starting to see a
few potentials pop up here and there. As for the unity problems in the
ward...they are getting better. We just have a few members that love
to "find fault" in everybody else, instead of trying to work on their
own weaknesses and shortcomings. It reminds me of the story of a man
who always took an evening stroll around his neighborhood as the sun
was going down. One of the homes in this mans neighborhood had a lawn
that was in excellent condition. One evening the man was once again
putting in his nightly exercise around the neighborhood when he
spotted one single dandelion sticking up in the middle of this
seemingly perfect lawn. The man thought to himself, "What a joke...
How embarrassing is that... Maybe I should go pick it myself..." He
thought maybe he should give his neighbor a call to inform him that
there was one single dandelion sticking up high above his nicely cut
grass. He sat there for a minute, stared at the well kept lawn and
focused only on that one dandelion. After some time, he finally
decided that it was time to head on home, but still the thought of
that one dandelion sourly filled his mind. When he arrived at his
home, he walked up the sidewalk and through the front door but he
failed to recognize that his own lawn was full of dandelions,
absolutely full of them. Instead of focusing on the dandelions that
covered his lawn, he was obsessed with the fact that his neighbor had
one single dandelion on his practically flawless lawn. Here in Cosenza
we are trying to eliminate exactly this. Some members have themselves
a lawn full of dandelions, but still some of them try to vocally make
known the one single dandelion that another member may or may not
actually have. It is an ugly, and unquenchable, fire that only ever
requires more pain, and more hurt and more damage. Some members, and
this is a church wide issue, that we are in some kind of race towards
Exaltation. We are in no race, nor are we in a competition to put
ourselves above another by intensively searching for others
dandelions...because God will be the Perfect Judge, and as we know He
Son will be our Advocate. We are seeing some progress, but we've got a
long ways to go. When I started my mission I was in a city very close
to Cosenza and I knew a little bit about these problems, and let's
just say that things hadn't changed when I returned for the second
time. Someone's got to put a stop to these things, and Elder Stanley
and I are going to give it a good shot.
Wednesday we woke up really early and headed to Taranto, which is on
the other side of Italy from Cosenza. It was a solid 3 and a half hour
bus trip. We got to Taranto and everyone in our zone spent pday
together. The Elders in Taranto just got themselves a new apartment
and the people that were supposed to be moving their things from the
old apartment to the new apartment didn't exactly get the memo that
there would be 8 missionaries sleeping in the new house. To make a
long story short we only ended up having 6 beds, and so Elder Stanley
(my companion) and I snuggled up on the nice tile floor. Honestly it
wasn't as bad as it sounds. I woke up with a few lines on my face from
the ground, and I'm pretty sure I ate a few bugs during the
night...but it was worth it. Thursday morningwe met President Pickerd
for the first time, and WOW....what an amazing man. We could all feel
his love for the Lord, the Book of Mormon, the temple and for us. We
will miss President and Sister Waddoups, but I feel like we will keep
moving forward with President and Sister Pickerd. They both served in
the Italy Rome Mission 37 years ago. They both speak Italian really
well. We are excited to have them here with us.
Elder Stanley and I have been preparing for our Barbecue this evening
and I think that we are about ready. We've been inviting everyone and
their dog to come down and eat a good ole fashioned American Hamburger
with us. We are hoping for a good turnout this evening, but regardless
of what happens...we will have a good time and we will continue to
build solid relationships with our members. Our plans for the evening
are pretty simple. Eat a hamburger, and watch Meet the Mormons
together because most of our members haven't seen it. I'll be rocking
my American Flag Bandana with pride.
That about wraps up the goods from this last week, but in closing I
would like to talk about how great America, and especially Utah, truly
is. We are so blessed to live where we live, and to call ourselves
Americans. Being away from the USA for the past year and a half has
really opened my eyes to just how good we have it back home. From
clean water, to many job opportunities. From athletic events, to good
public schools, high schools and universities. America is set up for
the people to succeed, while many other countries are not. At home
youth have standards and good examples to look up to. Here, youth have
zero standards and very few good examples to look up to. I've seen
more ten year old kids with a cigarette in hand than you could ever
imagine. The young ladies dress horribly immodestly, while the young
men smoke like chimneys, drink like fish and live at home until they
are 30-40 years old. It makes me sad, but at the same time make me
love Home that much more. We are so blessed friends and family. I'll
love this country forever, but it could never hold a candle to Home.
In Utah, we are sheltered and honestly I'm happy it is that way. We
don't need to know about all of the evil that happens everyday
throughout the world, and I'm grateful that we don't hear about it.
One thing that has repeatedly come to mind throughout my time in the
mission field is the phrase, "Freedom doesn't come free..." I remember
as a young feller, my dad and mom and I were sitting in the Atlanta
Georgia Airport waiting for an airplane that would be taking us to
Green Bay. We were on vacation and it was just a few weeks before
Christmas. We had a four hour layover in Georgia, and so we had lots
of time to watch thousands and thousands of people walk by. Amongst
the people walking by, I noticed many soldiers who were traveling home
for Christmas break. I couldn't fully comprehend, and still cannot
fully comprehend the sacrifice that these young men and women make day
in and day out to ensure our freedom back home in America. One of the
soldiers came and sat down about 20 feet from where we were sitting
and I remember looking at his uniform and thinking that it was the
coolest thing I had ever seen. My dad told me, "Go shake his hand and
tell him Thank You..." I was super intimated and a little scared, but
after a couple of minutes I got up, walked over, shook his hand and
told him Thank You for serving our country. He looked surprised and
replied, "Don't mention it kid.." I returned to my seat next to my
mom, picked up a notebook and continued to draw without even thinking
to much about it. Now looking back, I thank my Dad for taking the time
to teach me a lesson of a lifetime; that our armed forces and military
put their lives on the line day in and day out to ensure our freedom.
We have much to be thankful for... I'm proud to be an American and I
pray everyday that God will bless the USA. My invite this week is to
pray for those young men and women who are valiantly serving out
country. Pray for their parents, their spouses, their children and
their safety. They put it all on the line, and there is no love
greater than that...lets ask for a few special blessings to be sent
their way this week.
John 15:13
"13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life
for his friends."
I hope you all have an amazing week. Please take care and take care.
Light a few fireworks off tonight on my behalf. I'm praying for each
of you, and I love each of you. Thanks for making Saturday so great,
and for spending a few hours with me. God Bless the USA. God Bless
America. God Bless each of You.
--
Anziano JarDee Nessen
Italy Rome Mission
Romans 8:35-39
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