Come vediamo I nostri azioni - Week 42

Hey everyone,

So transfers calls are here again and Anziano Cameron will be going to Morbegno. It is hard to see him go but I have had a great time with him, and to think I've have had 3 months in a city with him and 3 months as his companion is even crazier. Time flies out here! My new companion will be Anziano Richardson from Arizona. He has only been on the mission for 4 months so I will be the senior companion. It is an interesting change for me because I will now be the one making more of the decisions and will be the taking the lead here in Pesaro. It will be strange not having a companion who can correct my Italian whenever I need help, so studying will be much more desired, knowing I will be helping my companion speak.

This week we spent a lot of the time saying goodbye to members, investigators, and working on some documents for the government. Darlington was sad to know Anziano Cameron was leaving but was happy to know that there was still going to be missionaries here to teach him. It helped us realize that people do want to hear from us, whether we think it or not. We might not ever know the way we touch people, but when we are doing the things God desires of us, He does the touching for us.

I have also been thinking a lot about how we take action and only judge the results that come from the action. We cut ourselves short when we only look at the results. If we lose a baseball game, we only look at the loss, not the 2 for 3 batting night we had and a diving catch. God is a rewarder of those who seek him, yes, but he does not always reward us when we want. We see it as a failure, but our actions should be the success. I love sharing a parable of how God asks a man to push a huge boulder. The man pushes it for hours, takes a break and sees that it hasn't moved. He tries again for a few weeks this time. Still it hasn't move. He tries again for another month, and nothing. God returns and the man says he has failed because he did not move the boulder. God replies by telling him, "I never asked you to move the boulder, but to push it. If I wanted to move the boulder I would move it myself. What you neglected to see is by pushing the boulder for those months, you have more muscle on your body". We can't sell ourselves short by thinking that if we don't get the solution we were expecting than we are failures. God never tells us to be perfect, just to always improve.

I really hope that everyone can see the good they have in themselves. God gives us so much, and we realize so little of what he gives us. I am truly grateful to be out here in Italy discovering the talents and gifts so many people have. I am grateful I can see myself grow, and I am grateful that God never leaves my side. Everyone have a great week!

Anziano Bryant Chase

iPads - Week 41

This week has been full of excitement but in reality not
too much happened. I mean I guess it is pretty cool that this week we
received IPads to enhance our work in the mission. We will not be
using them quite yet for online work, but we do have access to so many
church resources that we can have with us to share to all our
investigators. We had a training Monday and then have had to do some
trainings yesterday on the devices. I truly believe these will help us
be more ready to share special messages with those around us.

A lot has gone well with our investigator Darlington this week. We
taught him about the Sabbath day and why we need to keep it holy. When
we think holy, we usually think "go to church" or "don't go shopping"
but in reality it means to keep it sanctified by turning ourselves
over to God to do good. We don't go shopping to allow people to be
with their families, but we also need to be looking for ways to be
there for others. Sunday should be our biggest day of service. It
doesn't need to be physical service, but spiritual. Visit families
that you think need love, be with your family, try and feel the savior
in your life. There is no other day where you will feel the spirit
than on Sunday, and we need to recognize that is a week to help us
reflect on ourselves and make the choice to become better the
following week. Darlington really liked that and committed to coming
to church on Sunday.

We have been struggling to find new investigators lately but are
really getting to know our members here in Pesaro. Granted, there are
only around 12 or so, but we really feel like we are part of the
branch family, and hope that helps us make connections with the people
they want us to teach.

Well I hope everyone is enjoying themselves as summer is just around
the corner, I hope everyone stays focused on the sunshine, and don't
search out the storms. Life is beautiful and we can only choose to let
it take us down. Have a great week everyone.

Anziano Chase

Also Anziano chase minor and I got ourselves a great Temecula Stake photo

Pesaro - Week 40

Hey everyone. I hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day. Missionaries tend to like Mother’s Day, but I think even more our mothers find the greatest joy in the day. I can’t imagine why. It was great being able to talk to my family, and it is weird to realize that I have been on my mission for a whole lot longer than I’d realized.

First off, for PDay I had the opportunity to see the Harlem Globetrotters who were doing an Italian tour. It was great American culture for the Italians, but none of them understood a little of the comedy they used in regards to soccer. One of the players was kicking the ball and bumped into a defender and pretended to be in enormous amounts of pain. Once there was no call, he got right back up perfectly ok. My companion and I laughed, but no one else understood it.

We had an up moment and down moment with a family we have been working with. The mother, Assunta, shared with us the reason she has a hard time with dealing with faith, and right now is just really closed off to anything else until she resolves it. On the plus side, she wants to allow her daughter to follow her beliefs, and her daughter, Francesca, has been really following what we have been teaching her. She truly is interested in what we have been teaching.

We also met with our investigator, Darlington, and he expressed how it is not every day that someone comes in only wanting to help you grow as an individual. Usually there is some sort of prize in return, a type of deal made in service these days, but to truly know that we only wanted to see him happy was really special. It helped me realize how much service and genuine care can means to people. Once you take the desire of yourself out it makes your desire to help others really mean something.

I know as we look for ways to help others that we are instruments in their lives, no one person can grow without the help of another, whether it is a family member, or a friend. We need to always look for opportunities to be there for those in need. I know this gospel to be true!

Have a great week!

Anziano Chase

Primo Maggio - Week 39

Hey everyone, so I don’t have a lot to talk about this week but I hope everyone else had a great full week. In Italy the first of May is a huge holiday celebrating Italian Liberty, so everyone went out with their families to have picnics, meals, and just be outside. The weather has really been clearing up lately so it has been fantastic outside. Elder Cameron and I went on a hike with our branch in the Pesaro mountains near a monastery. We had a picnic, which was more elegant than any normal picnic I have had (just Italian culture) and we took a tour of the monastery.

During church, a new investigator showed up with a recent convert and we were able to have a great discussion with him. Something he said that I really liked is: it does not matter who you are trying to please on this earth in this life, if you are not trying to please God. That really stuck out to me because, if we are trying to please God and do his will, nothing else really matters. The eternal perspective highly outweighs the temporal.

A great miracle is one of the families we are teaching that had a son just get baptized this weekend show great emotion for the gospel. The mother got really emotional and happy at her son’s baptism and the daughter wanted to skip fun activities on Sunday to go to church! We really hope that they have this desire to be united with their son in the gospel, because family unity strengthens better than any other person can.

One little thing I really focused on this week is the power of gratitude. I was talking with Elder Cameron and we started talking about what we ask for in prayers and we started talking about what we neglect to be grateful for. Often enough the things we forget to be grateful for, others are praying to receive. When we took that into perspective it made us realize how much God gives us, little things, to the big things. We need to constantly be thankful for ALL that we have, because so many people are less fortunate than us.

I really love this gospel and how it provides the perfect path in life. I love how we always are growing, spiritually and physically. I am grateful for the atoning sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ. Have a great week everyone!!!

Anziano Bryant Chase