No time to breathe - Vicenza Week 29

Hey everyone, I hope you all had the chance to enjoy yourselves this week and relax, because I certainly was busy, and would have loved a nice nap or two. But hey that means a lot happened right??

So this last Friday we had a zone conference in Mestre with President Dibb. The theme was decisions determine destiny, a quote by Thomas S. Monsoon. We talked about how every day we can make a decision that ultimately affects our future. Something I really liked that President Dibb said was that, "We need to make today's decision affect our destiny". If there is someone we could talk to and share the gospel with, and we say "oh maybe next time" or "I'm too busy" we could ultimately be missing out on changing the life of that person. We need to say "Today is the day I am going to create my destiny" every day. Each day we have should matter. Also, just a small side note, David A. Bednar is coming to visit our Mission!! He will be coming to speak with us in April. We are sooo excited. To finish the conference we watched Meet the Mormons, which does a great job of describing that Mormons are individuals who really shape their life because of the love they have for their savior and others. Everyone's story is different, but every story matters.

(Zone Conference birthday celebrations)

This weekend was also very packed with stake conference in the Venezia stake. Elder Texiera came down from Germany to reorganize the stake presidency, and we got to hear him speak to us. He talked about how we can use technology to increase our spiritual growth. If we do not nourish it, it will slowly start to fade, and we will become absorbed in the social world that we ultimately live in right now. He also talked about the importance of member missionary work. He talked about how we are supposed to both reach out to become a single unit. Just like it was said many years ago, Every Member a Missionary. Think about how much the church would grow, and how many people would feel the love of the gospel, if every member brought ONE friend to church. That would literally double the size of the people attending. It is such a simple thing, but makes such a big difference.

Another big change, Elder Duclos, was moved to be an office elder for next transfer so he had to leave a week early for some training, so his companion, Elder England, is in a trio with myself and Elder Lindsey until transfers next Thursday. Who knows what will happen at transfers, but I am not worried. It has been fun being in a trio, but it has been crazy busy because we have double the work to do, since we are covering both sets of missionary work.

So Eddy is getting baptized Saturday! He was so excited to know it was this week. He has been so spiritually prepared these last 6 months I have been with him and it is going to be such an amazing experience to see this Saturday. We hope a lot of people come to the baptism. Ken, his friend, will be coming and is prepping himself for a baptism in the next coming month. He has been working on overcoming smoking, and has noticed the Savior's hand in it. It is truly inspiring to see the changes people make in their life for our Heavenly Father.

Daniele was really sick this week so we were not able to see him, and, Josephine will be meeting with us later this week.

There was a scripture I was reading this week that I liked so much in 3 Nefi 12:16 that says, Così risplenda dunque la vostra luce davanti a questo popolo, affinché possa vedere le vostre buone opere e glorifichi il Padre vostro che è nei cieli. I really like this for two reasons. The first being that, the light of Christ is within all of us. It inspires us to do good continuously and makes us want to be better people. The second part, and more important part is the fact that we need to show this light within us. The light of Christ should radiate from within us, because we know of the great worth it is to us. Through our works, and deeds it can only grow stronger. We should not be ashamed to show this light of ours. It only brings good to the world.

I know that this gospel is true, I am not ashamed to say it. In fact I am more than proud to say it. I know that we have the help of our Heavenly Father constantly, and he is willing to put forth his hand if we ask in faith. I am so grateful to be out here in Italy, and love being a missionary. Have a great week everyone!!

Anziano Chase

Vicenza - Week 28

Hey everyone, I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day (I spent mine looking for people to teach outside, but there were mainly couples and single people trying to get out of the rain....)

This week had a good ring to it. Mardi Gras was all this week, so people were out and about just partying and being around the center of the city. It made for lots of great opportunities for us to speak with people. We had lots of good discussions about how God reveals his doings through the mouths of the prophets, and how we have a living day prophet on the earth. It is sad how many times people will agree that we could have a prophet on the earth, but then don't want to know any more. But we still gotta love them anyway, and keep teaching the truths we know.

Eddie has been progressing a lot lately and is on track to be baptized in the upcoming weeks. We only have one more lesson to teach him before he is baptized. A great thing that he told us the other day is that he doesn’t want to be baptized because we want him to, but he wants to be baptized because he wants to be a part of the true church on the earth. That was pretty awesome to hear, because missionaries never stay in the same place forever so when we hear an investigator say that, we know he has been touched by our Heavenly Father.

Eddie's friend, Ken, has now been meeting with us a lot lately as well, and accepted a date to be baptized. We were teaching him about repentance and how it is important that when we tell our Heavenly Father that we truly feel sorry and say we won’t do that same sin again, and then to commit it the next day or right after, it is mocking our Heavenly Father and is not true repentance.  He totally agreed with that and felt strongly that we were teaching him by the spirit. We loved hearing that because he is very receptive to what we say, and the spirit has confirmed to us that he wants to be taught and brought to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Daniele has been progressing with the lessons as well, but has been struggling with coming to church still. He expressed to us his concerns about it, because he has always had that issue, so we taught him about the importance of expressing our desires to our Heavenly Father, and sincerely asking for help. Once we ask for the help, we need to take the first step for Heavenly Father to be able to push us farther.

We had a special fast with Josephine yesterday to help give her the strength to be an example to her family. We took our senior couple missionary, Elder Pederson, with us to teach her about Eternal Families. We taught her about the importance of Family Home Evening, and family prayer. Elder Pederson did a great job of explaining how, even if there are struggles, that the love we have from the Savior should be the same love we share with our families. The lesson went great and she is going to try and be doing more spiritual things with her family. We are hoping for the best for her!

A couple of really cool things I read this week I'd like to share. The first is a quote by Gordon B Hinckley. He says "Stop seeking out the storms, and enjoy more fully the sunlight". Optimism is so important in our life, and hope. How are we to be successful and even happy with our lives, if all we do are look at the negative? I love this quote especially because compare how often you see the sunlight more than you see storms. The good is always around us, in plain sight. Sure a storm is noticeable, but why do we need to take more notice to it and let it hurt us more, when we can appreciate the light in our lives? We need to allow the good to overweigh the bad, just like the sun, always comes more often than the storm.

Last thing I would like to share is from Ebrei (Hebrews) 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarded of them that diligently seek him." For us to return to Heavenly Father, we must have faith in him. The part I love the most is at the end. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Our efforts will not be in vain. He promises to help us if we DILIGENTLY seek the truth. We need to do our part for him to bless us.

I hope everyone has a fantastic week, I know this gospel is true with all my heart. We are his children, and we can live with him if we follow his teachings. We have a prophet on the earth today to guide us, and we have the ultimate source of knowledge, through prayer! I know these things to be true! Ci Vediamo!!!

Anziano Chase

I was giving some service for a family and they had a wicker broom. I had to leave for Hogwarts after I saw the broom.

The view of Vicenza at night from a member’s house

La santità della domenica (Vicenza - Week 27)

Hey everyone, another week, another paycheck I'm not getting. I'm totally kidding, I receive lots of blessings, and more than I should be getting. This week was another packed week of adventure and memories.

There is an Italian named Antonio Perretti that lives here in Vicenza. He is the world's number 1 barefoot runner and his professional race name he goes by is Tom Perry. Our senior couple here in Vicenza ran into him a transfer or so ago, and he wanted to meet with them because of L. Tom Perry. Note that the Pederson's do not speak Italian, and Tom does not speak English. The Pedersons told me that he said to them in broken English "Tom Perry number 1 barefoot runner, L Tom Perry number 1 apostle" I thought that was hilarious. Anyways, the Pedersons had us call him to set up a dinner appointment with him because Sis Pederson is related to L Tom Perry and got an Italian Libro Di Mormon signed and sent here to Italy for Tom. The night of the dinner, my companion as well as our district leader, had tickets to a play for Pday. So that meant I had sole responsibility to be the mouthpiece the whole dinner appointment, because the trainee in our district would not be able to say hardly anything. I was a little worried, not because I don't know Italian, but because of the vocabulary I would have to swap from Italian to English and English to Italian. The night looked like it was going to start rough because Tom started speaking in a dialect I was not too familiar with, and Elder Pederson was using words that are not the easiest to translate into Italian. But the night went well, and I was able to create a great relationship with Tom and get everything spoken by everyone into the appropriate language. It was quite a crazy night for me.

Eddie and Daniele both had other commitments on Sunday and could not come to church, BUT they are still both progressing really really well. We taught Eddie about all the commandments that God has given us, and why we are given commandments. The more commandments God gives us, the more opportunities he has to bless us. I personally before studying to teach him that, never really comprehended that. It can sometimes be hard when more and more rules are given, but what happens when we follow the commandments of God? We are blessed eternally! Also while we were teaching Eddie, his friend Ken joined in on the conversation and we have started to teach him as well, and he wants to be baptized as well!

With Daniele, we taught La Parola di Saggezza e la legge di Castità. He had previously asked us if we drank coffee and tea, because he has had previous encounters with missionaries, and we told him we don't. So when we started teaching him the next lesson he told us that the following day after he had asked us about coffee and tea, that he thought it was finally time for him to stop drinking them. We were so excited to hear that, especially because we hadn't even asked him to stop yet, because we hadn't taught him yet. It was a testimony to me, that the spirit prepares us in ways that lead us closer to him, even before we are taught the principles of why. He has to come to church 3 times before he can be baptized, so I will more than likely leave before he is baptized, but I am just grateful to be teaching him and be able to see his progression in this great gospel.

I have been thinking a lot about the importance of the sabbath day and a lot of stuff came to my mind. The Sacrament. The renewing of our baptismal covenants we made with our Heavenly Father. Why would we not want to go to church and be made clean again through the sacrament. It blows my mind now when I think about the times I wanted to skip church and do other things. Every time I invite an investigator to church I always tell them, when they say they don't have a lot of time, to come to the hour we have sacrament because that is the most important part of church. Why are we so willing to set other things in our schedule that take away from our time to worship our Father? When we have no choice to work on Sunday, we should still set aside time to be for our growth in the gospel and for us to have the opportunity to think of him. The Lord does not expect us to quit a job if that is the only way we can provide for a family, but he expects us to do all we can to have our Sunday set aside for him. Why would he ask us to do that? Because he wants us to come closer to him and be faithful so we can stand strong at the last day.

One last thought Alma 17:11
Andate fra i [Italiani], vostri fratelli, e stabilite la mia parola; tuttavia siate pazienti nella sopportazione e nelle afflizioni, per poter mostrare loro un buon esempio in me; e io farò di voi uno strumento nelle mie mani per la salvezza di molte anime.

As a missionary, I love this verse. Go unto thy brethren in faith, in patience. There will be hard times but be a good example of me, and I will make thee an instrument that brings salvation to the people. What greater promise does God give us when we go in faith to proclaim the gospel to our fellow brethren. He has promised and will always fulfill this promise to help us when we desire to teach the restored gospel to those who have not received it.

I hope everyone has a great week and that everyone will want to enjoy the blessings of the sabbath day!

Anziano Chase

Never Giving Up (Vicenza - Week 26)

Hey everyone, I hope everyone had a busy and full week like I did, because it sure makes the time fly.

This week was another good week of work for the Lord. At the beginning of the week I took Elder England out on an exchange for a couple days. We found ourselves finding miracles throughout the day. We had a lesson with Daniele, on the gospel of Jesus Christ and had a plan to give him a date for baptism. I was a little nervous because he is a solid investigator and Elder England is only a transfer into the mission, so I had to really lead the lesson in Italian. But the Lord blesses those who put in the effort to do his work. I taught with such assurance and confidence and Elder England was able to teach a little and bear a solid testimony. When I invited him to be baptized, he solemnly said that he really wants to and knows that this is his next step in life. We were soo relieved and were so grateful.

After Daniele, not more than an hour or two later, we were walking through Parco Querini, just looking for some people we could talk to, and we passed by Eddie, the first investigator I found in Italy. I hadn’t talked to him in over 2 months, because his phone wasn't working and we didn’t have an address to see him. When we saw him, he was just soo happy to see us. He told us he was fasting that day to help himself come closer to God. Well you can bet that fast was answered, because we started to teach him again, and he was so excited. He came to church on Sunday, bore his testimony in Fast and Testimony meeting and accepted a date for baptism, all in a space of 3 days. I was a little speechless. All he has to do is stop smoking for two weeks and he can be baptized. We hope that he continues to show this desire to come closer to Christ and we know that he is making a huge step in his life.

Josephine finally had the courage to talk to her husband, but he still does not want her to be baptized. She told us that as hard as it is for her not to be baptized, that when her husband is ready to talk to us, that it will be time for both of them to be baptized. There is not much we can do, but just pray and keep inviting her husband to come to a lesson.

As we keep working to become closer to our Heavenly Father, he will help guide our path and lead us to him. I have a firm testimony of the power of Christ and our Father in Heaven. Although I have never seen them with my own two eyes, I have felt the witness of their existence in my life, and just like so many others have, you all can feel that same confirmation I have.

Last little spiritual thought I would like to share is from a Mormon Message titled "You Never Know". It shows a video about a mother doing all these things for others, but as a result of helping others was not able to visit a close relative she had been planning on seeing. After a little emotional wreck, and feeling like the day was terrible, she started to notice some of the good things that happened because she had taken the time to help others. We all have so much to offer to others, and even if we do not see the fruits of our labors, we make more of a difference than we give ourselves credit for. Don’t be afraid to help others, the two great commandments from God are to "Love God" and "Love thy Neighbor". If we reach out in love and service we will not only touch their lives, but we also will see the blessings that come from it.

I know these things to be true, that we all are sons and daughters of our loving Heavenly Father. He is our creator, and we WILL return to live with him, if we follow him and keep his commandments!

Have a great week!

Anziano Chase

This is a random baby head in the center of Vicenza