Sep12
September 12th, 2016 // #37 of 2016
Hey everyone. I love you!
Last Monday morning, the 5th of September, sadly enough all of the
missionaries in Bari attended a funeral service. A little old elderly
sister from our ward lost her son, who was probably 50 years old. She
went on a temple trip to Switzerland for a week, and on returning home
she found him in her house, lifeless. Last Monday morning, we attended
his funeral service. Funerals for me have always been tough. Their was
a powerful spirit that filled the chapel, and it made me think just
how grateful I truly am for the great Plan of Salvation, that will
allow each of us to live again after this life. Her son was a really
quiet one, and I don't know if I ever even heard him say one
sentence... But he was in church every single Sunday, and one Sunday
not to long ago, he sat by me during sacrament meeting. The most
powerful part of the meeting was when this little elderly sister,
Sister Magno is her name, stepped to the pulpit and talked about how
much love she has for this son. She thanked God for all of the
blessings that He has blessed her with, and especially for the
knowledge of the Church. She thanked us missionaries for the work that
we do. She did not shed one tear. She was calm, and composed...even
when just a few days prior, she faced one of the most difficult trials
of her life. She is strong, and someday I hope to be half as strong as
she is. I came out of that funeral service thinking to myself, there
is not a sweeter and more calming knowledge than knowing that we will
see our loved ones once again.
On a lighter note, we went out to Trani, which is about 45 minutes
from Bari, and visited with the Musicco Family. They are doing well
and are still holding on strong. We have begun working with Marianna,
the aunt of Vittoria, and Lucia, the cousin of Vittoria, and they will
be getting baptized here in a few weeks. They are all such incredible
people, and they have truly been prepared by the Lord for the gospel.
It has been amazing to simply be apart of this process and to be on
this journey with them. I'm not going to lie and act like we are doing
a lot, because in all actuality we aren't doing a whole ton. We don't
have to. They do it all themselves. They read and pray sincerely. They
listen and respond humbly. They are willing to do whatever is
necessary to follow the Lord. They have truly been prepared, and it is
an honor to be here with them on their journey.
This last week, we've had some really rainy weather. It kind of took
away street tracting as well as park tracting. So we decided to go
hunt down some less actives and old investigators who might be
interested. I'd like to share an experience that we had this week,
when we tracked down a less active member.
For starters, we typed his name into our GPS and started heading in
that direction. We arrived at the destination, but his house was
nowhere to be found. We quickly realized that our GPS had messed up
and we were lost. Luckily, we were able to find his home, it was just
20 minutes away in the complete opposite direction. We arrived and he
greeted us with a big smile. His name is Francesco and he went
inactive shortly after his baptism. We started by asking him a few
simple questions, and he responded simply and honestly. We asked, "How
are you?" He replied, "I'm not well." We asked, "How come man? What's
up?" He replied, "I can't quit smoking. I don't work. I just sit at
home all day, and do nothing. I'm not happy." Elder Borough and I
looked at each other and immediately both of us started sharing how
much The Savior of the world loves him. It was incredible, and yet
powerful, to look at this man, who is struggling and really
struggling, and tell him that Christ loves him. We both were just
going back and forth, bearing testimony that Christ could and is
willing to help him. It was powerful. I've come across two scriptures
in the Book of Mormon that I love to share during lessons like that.
They come from 3rd Nephi 9:13-14 and they read:
"13...will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be
converted, that I may heal you?
14 Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have
eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and
whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who
come unto me."
The words, "that I may heal you" have always caught my eye. As
missionaries, when we invite people to come back often times they
think we are just there to boost our numbers in church...but instead
we are inviting them to allow Christ to heal them. My favorite thing
to do as a missionary is to testify of the unfailing love that Jesus
Christ has for each of us. It is an indescribable feeling looking into
someone's eyes, and there is often pain or even guilt in those eyes,
and telling them that there is a way to be clean, a way to be
forgiven, a way to be happy once again. Truly, Christ heals us. He
heals our wounds. He heals the feelings of hatred, shame and guilt. He
heals the pain we carry each day. He is the Great Physician.
Notwithstanding how many times we may fall, if we will but "return
unto" Him with a humble heart...He will heal us each and every time.
Once again, His love is unfailing.
That's about it for this week friends and family. It's been a good
week and things are really moving quick. This week we will be taking a
Road Trip up to Rome on Wednesday which will be super fun. We will be
receiving a new car, and we will also have the pleasure to have a
conference on Thursday with Elder Kearon, who is the President of the
Europe Area. We will have a conference with him on Thursday morning,
and on Friday morning I will have another chance to be with him in the
leadership conference. I'm super excited. It's going to be a powerful
week.
Friends and Family...I love you. Life is good. Missionary Life is the
best. Christ loves us. I'm happy. Y'all have a really good week and
please take real good care. I'm praying for you.
--
Anziano JarDee Nessen
Italy Rome Mission
Romans 8:35-39
Last Monday morning, the 5th of September, sadly enough all of the
missionaries in Bari attended a funeral service. A little old elderly
sister from our ward lost her son, who was probably 50 years old. She
went on a temple trip to Switzerland for a week, and on returning home
she found him in her house, lifeless. Last Monday morning, we attended
his funeral service. Funerals for me have always been tough. Their was
a powerful spirit that filled the chapel, and it made me think just
how grateful I truly am for the great Plan of Salvation, that will
allow each of us to live again after this life. Her son was a really
quiet one, and I don't know if I ever even heard him say one
sentence... But he was in church every single Sunday, and one Sunday
not to long ago, he sat by me during sacrament meeting. The most
powerful part of the meeting was when this little elderly sister,
Sister Magno is her name, stepped to the pulpit and talked about how
much love she has for this son. She thanked God for all of the
blessings that He has blessed her with, and especially for the
knowledge of the Church. She thanked us missionaries for the work that
we do. She did not shed one tear. She was calm, and composed...even
when just a few days prior, she faced one of the most difficult trials
of her life. She is strong, and someday I hope to be half as strong as
she is. I came out of that funeral service thinking to myself, there
is not a sweeter and more calming knowledge than knowing that we will
see our loved ones once again.
On a lighter note, we went out to Trani, which is about 45 minutes
from Bari, and visited with the Musicco Family. They are doing well
and are still holding on strong. We have begun working with Marianna,
the aunt of Vittoria, and Lucia, the cousin of Vittoria, and they will
be getting baptized here in a few weeks. They are all such incredible
people, and they have truly been prepared by the Lord for the gospel.
It has been amazing to simply be apart of this process and to be on
this journey with them. I'm not going to lie and act like we are doing
a lot, because in all actuality we aren't doing a whole ton. We don't
have to. They do it all themselves. They read and pray sincerely. They
listen and respond humbly. They are willing to do whatever is
necessary to follow the Lord. They have truly been prepared, and it is
an honor to be here with them on their journey.
This last week, we've had some really rainy weather. It kind of took
away street tracting as well as park tracting. So we decided to go
hunt down some less actives and old investigators who might be
interested. I'd like to share an experience that we had this week,
when we tracked down a less active member.
For starters, we typed his name into our GPS and started heading in
that direction. We arrived at the destination, but his house was
nowhere to be found. We quickly realized that our GPS had messed up
and we were lost. Luckily, we were able to find his home, it was just
20 minutes away in the complete opposite direction. We arrived and he
greeted us with a big smile. His name is Francesco and he went
inactive shortly after his baptism. We started by asking him a few
simple questions, and he responded simply and honestly. We asked, "How
are you?" He replied, "I'm not well." We asked, "How come man? What's
up?" He replied, "I can't quit smoking. I don't work. I just sit at
home all day, and do nothing. I'm not happy." Elder Borough and I
looked at each other and immediately both of us started sharing how
much The Savior of the world loves him. It was incredible, and yet
powerful, to look at this man, who is struggling and really
struggling, and tell him that Christ loves him. We both were just
going back and forth, bearing testimony that Christ could and is
willing to help him. It was powerful. I've come across two scriptures
in the Book of Mormon that I love to share during lessons like that.
They come from 3rd Nephi 9:13-14 and they read:
"13...will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be
converted, that I may heal you?
14 Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have
eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and
whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who
come unto me."
The words, "that I may heal you" have always caught my eye. As
missionaries, when we invite people to come back often times they
think we are just there to boost our numbers in church...but instead
we are inviting them to allow Christ to heal them. My favorite thing
to do as a missionary is to testify of the unfailing love that Jesus
Christ has for each of us. It is an indescribable feeling looking into
someone's eyes, and there is often pain or even guilt in those eyes,
and telling them that there is a way to be clean, a way to be
forgiven, a way to be happy once again. Truly, Christ heals us. He
heals our wounds. He heals the feelings of hatred, shame and guilt. He
heals the pain we carry each day. He is the Great Physician.
Notwithstanding how many times we may fall, if we will but "return
unto" Him with a humble heart...He will heal us each and every time.
Once again, His love is unfailing.
That's about it for this week friends and family. It's been a good
week and things are really moving quick. This week we will be taking a
Road Trip up to Rome on Wednesday which will be super fun. We will be
receiving a new car, and we will also have the pleasure to have a
conference on Thursday with Elder Kearon, who is the President of the
Europe Area. We will have a conference with him on Thursday morning,
and on Friday morning I will have another chance to be with him in the
leadership conference. I'm super excited. It's going to be a powerful
week.
Friends and Family...I love you. Life is good. Missionary Life is the
best. Christ loves us. I'm happy. Y'all have a really good week and
please take real good care. I'm praying for you.
--
Anziano JarDee Nessen
Italy Rome Mission
Romans 8:35-39
Sweet wall paint!
Elder Borough and I
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