Vicenza - Week 14

First off next week we have P-Day on Thursday due to a mission conference being on Wednesday next week.

We had a really good week here in Vicenza. We have been visiting a lot of part member families and less actives. There is a Peruvian Lady named Charo we visit a lot.  She served a mission, but married a non-member and doesn’t go to church. But the thing is she still has a huge testimony of the gospel. We visit her a lot and started to befriend her husband, who ended up giving us a Russian beaver skin hat that is worn in the snow. Pretty dang cool!

It has been rainy or wet every day this week. Not my favorite weather but it will do. The river got really high one day, and it got a lot of mud and stuff in it because of the rain. 

We have also been teaching a lot of people English, and they are just a good group of people. We have so much fun teaching them English, and they help me with my Italian as well!

We had a good miracle with a part member family on Monday. I had been praying about a specific family for quite a while, but I didn’t know why. The wife was a recent inactive convert, who is divorced with 3 children. We were able to see her and we spent a majority of the time teaching her oldest daughter, Aurora, who is 14. She has such a huge testimony, and asked us if she could be baptized. We were so excited and are starting to teach her and prep her for baptism now. It really helped boost our efforts in teaching less actives and part member families; because there are so many people we can help without even recognizing it.

Anyways it was a really good week and here are some pictures of the week that include my English class, my Russian hat, the river, and a small city called Marostica, which I thought had a pretty cool castle

Anziano Chase

Vicenza - Week 13

Well we started another transfer, and that means I am no longer one of the newest missionaries in my mission! But I am only in transfer 2 haha. This week went by quick, but it was a pretty standard week. We had Halloween with the American Ward and were able to do a trunk or treat. Most of Italy does not do Halloween, but they are starting to do little things like parties and such. We all dressed up too because we got permission. I was a soccer player in a warmup suit with Elder C.. Elder S. was a fat pizza maker and Elder D. was Superman. It was a lot of fun to be able to experience a Halloween in Italy, even though it really was just like in the States since we went to the base for the trunk or treat.

We have a new member in the Italian branch named Ishmael who is getting ready to go back home to his country in Africa (it is some French speaking one) so he asked us to teach him as much as we can because the church is not set up in his country and he wants to have as much knowledge as he can. We have been teaching him a lot. It is nice because it is about so much and I get to study stuff for myself. It helps us practice our teaching skills, too.

Also, we were able to talk to Robson about what we do as missionaries and we had a great discussion with him about it. He was like "you guys being missionaries, must get the power of God to be able to talk with people. If I had that I would just walk up to people and say 'Do you want to talk'. " We thought a lot about that and we think it is a lot easier to sit down and just talk with someone and get to know them before you introduce the gospel, because how can we teach someone when we don't know who they are? It was pretty powerful to me to think about that.

We were walking down Giro (Downtown Centro) and we saw this beggar who had a guitar. Elder S. has wanted a guitar so we asked her if it was hers. We asked if she stole it, she said no, so we asked to buy it, and we got it for 10 Euro! We had her sign a paper in case she did steal it that way we would have verification that we bought it from her.

It has been raining a lot lately, so it is getting a little harder to find people to teach, but we are going strong.

A Little spiritual thought: "Without the spirit, you will never succeed, regardless of your talent and ability" - Ezra Taft Benson.

I don’t even really need to explain how this applies to missionary work. The spirit leads us to do good, and if we don’t have that spirit with us, then our intent is not to help others.

Also I like how in John 5:39 it talks about searching the scriptures, and if you take the time to really read and ponder upon them you will find the answers you are searching for.

Anyway, have a great week everyone!

Anziano Chase

Vicenza - Week 12

Hey everyone!!

This week marks the end of my first transfer in Italy! Only 15 more to go haha. Everyone in my district in Vicenza is remaining the same. We all are excited to continue the fun work we started together. The week went by with some pretty exciting moments. On Saturday, one of our English Class students, Julio, asked if I wanted to play tennis with him, and seeing this as a great opportunity to create a good relationship with a potential investigator, of course I had to reply with a yes. So I got to play tennis with him, in a domed court. It was a blast and we were playing really hard, and it was just a load of fun.

Sunday was just as great. Right after the American ward, I was sitting in the kitchen making some investigator calls, and in walks Brother Barnson! I was really surprised to see him, but boy was I happy! Not many people get to see their friends or anyone they know while on a mission, so I am very blessed right now. We got to talk for a bit and we hope to get lunch together soon. It was a pretty great miracle.

We also had a talent show in the Italian branch. There were some pretty cool talents people had. Massimo F. played the tenor sax to a really upbeat jazz song, another member teaches Shaulin (a type of intense karate) so he gave us a demonstration of the types of stuff he does. He is in really good shape and it was unbelievable what he did. And then there were lots of singing, and funny skits.

We had some scambios this week too. I was with Elder C. for Monday and Tuesday. We like doing scambios, because we believe scambios bring miracles, and it has. It also helps that we all like each other a lot and can just do it whenever.

Our focus this transfer is on taking a weakness of ours and making it a strength just like it says in Ether 12:27. Also we want to focus on spreading cheer and joy by helping reactivate less actives, and bringing them back to the joy they once had.

Things are going great, and it is just one big flow. Starting to get a little cold, but other than that everything is going great!

Anziano Chase

Vicenza - Week 11

Well we had a really fun and blessed week here in ol' Vicenza. We started off with lots of lessons with potential investigator and got to hear some really good stories about people's lives. Got to learn how to make Pasta from scratch by one of our investigators named Robson. He is a Brazilian who can speak Italian and English. Truth is he learned how to speak English through online gaming. He never actually took an English class. Anyway, the pasta making process is pretty interesting. I won’t say how to make it because I would rather show people when I get back because I’d say it’s a pretty cool little talent to use. We also got to go bowling with a single soldier and the senior couples. We went to the military base to do that, and it was quite a blast. It is always nice to have that relaxation time with the other missionaries. We then had a really good Sunday.  I gave a little talk in the American Ward (I had no idea I was giving the talk until he asked me to in front of everyone at church that day) and talked about finding the connection with people through their story. Getting to know someone is the only way you can truly know how to help them. The gospel of Jesus Christ helps us make a connection with them because when you take the time to get to know them, there is always a principle of the gospel you can tie into their story.

We were fed a lot this week by members. We have been really blessed by them lately. It is so reassuring and uplifting to know that the members care. When I first got to Vicenza they didn’t have a big relationship with the missionaries, but now I can say each one of the members really want to help us. We have a lot of good appointments set up this week, and we keep finding more people to talk to.

There was also a chocolate festival held in centro this week. It was the most crowded I have ever seen the city. There were a lot of carved dark chocolate items, and a lot of good chocolate. We certainly had a lot of fun in the city this week because of that. So many different types of chocolate, and a lot of happy missionaries because of it.

The scripture I have been focusing on this week is D&C 90:24. "Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another."           

The main part I like about the scripture is the “be believing” because it takes a lot of humility and courage to believe in something. When you have the desire to believe, you will put in the diligent work and effort to help your belief. I believe that just enhances everything else in your life, through true belief. I have witnessed so many miracles in my mission and as I continue to believe I can make a difference out here, and put in the effort on my part, I know I will help change people's lives for the better.

Have a great week everyone!

Anziano Chase

Vicenza - Week 10

Hey everyone! This week was probably the best week I've had so far in my mission. We were stacked with a lot of fun stuff. We were visiting some really amazing people and getting to know their life stories, and sharing a message about the gospel with them. We met a Rasta African who loves meditation, An Italian rapper, and old Albanian guy who does a great "old man walk", tons of other Africans, and some really great members who have been inactive for a while. We met this lady Nancy D., who is a less active. She called us to ask for a blessing because her husband is not a member. She was having some pain in her neck. We loved how she had the faith and humility to call us and ask for a blessing. We gave her a blessing (saying it in Italian was the scariest thing I’ve ever done so far here) and the next day she called us and said she felt soooo much better. And THEN she invited us to go visit her sister because she wanted her sister to come back to church too. It was pretty great, her sister had such a great testimony and is going to come back to church.

We also had another dinner with my "nonna" (Italian Grandma), Rosanna, and her friend and daughter. We had another big meal, starting with a hand crafted Pesto Pasta, then a Crepe with Spec, apple, bresciamella, then a pan (Bread) with soft potato in it, then little fried pizza rolls, and finished up with apple strudle. It was a pretty delicious meal. 

We had a scambio also and I was with Anziano C. and we had a really good day.  We had a half hour between lessons at the Parco Querini so we decided to try and catch some baby bunnies and roosters. We looked really strange doing it, but we vowed to catch one before we leave Vicenza.

Eddie and Larry, our two African brothers are still doing great. Their baptism date is set for the 1st of November. They just have so much trust in God, and see us as their brothers. I really admire their willingness to do what God desires of them.

Anyway, time has been flying and I love the attitude and theory Anziano S. and I have developed, which is the law of attraction. If we wake up and have positive thoughts, like a radio wave, what we send out will come back in it’s like form. We will receive more positive because we are sending out positive vibes. That's a lot of the reason why we had so much success this week. You should test that out, I really think it works. Anyways have a great week everyone!!

Anziano Chase

Vicenza - Week 9

Another week has gone by and I’m starting to be in a groove. 

Conference was really great. We were at the church all day because we watched all but the Saturday morning session on Sunday (due to time changes). I really loved how President Monson talked about how we need to care more about walking as Jesus walked, not just where he walked. There was lots of focus on following the prophet’s teachings and having a testimony of the Book of Mormon. Eddie, our top investigator came to a session and brought his friend Larry. They both loved it. Eddie is still doing great and loves all we teach him. Larry loves the church, so we are going to start teaching him this upcoming week.

We had a lot of "scambi" this week which are exchanges. I was with another elder in our district in Vicenza for a couple days and we taught in his proselyting area. We committed a family to baptism there. They are a military family and the husband had been deployed for quite a while. We were planning on setting a baptism date with the mother and her sons, but when we showed, up the husband was there. He got back a month early and, after teaching him the restoration, we set 4 baptismal dates with all of them. It was pretty great.

Then we had a zone meeting in Padova where we talked about the big 3 for our zone which is "SYL" (speak your language which is Italian), Companionship Compliments, and Companionship prayers. It was pretty cool. After the meeting I went with one of the Zone Leaders, Anziano J. to the city Bologna to do a scambio with him. We had some pretty good lessons and were out on the streets getting to work. It felt weird not working with the investigators I usually teach but it was really nice to see how other missionaries are and how they teach.

I ate with a lot of people this week. I had a 5 course meal but I honestly can’t say what it was. Also, I had a smoked brisket and pork from an American member. He sent us home with so much. It had been smoking for 14 hours. It was pretty good.

I continue to love it out here and cannot testify more of the need to love what you do. Make sure you find joy in the everyday adventure, and remember Christ in all you do.

Hope everyone has a great week!!!

Anziano Chase

Anziano Chase in his new Italian jacket (he's pretty excited about it - it has Italian stitching ;)! )

Vicenza - Week 8

The Vicenza Anziano

Hey everyone! This week was a very interesting week. We started off by going to Verona to pick up a permesso for Anziano S. We stayed with some other elders and had a great time. A friend of Anziano S. in the area gave us all huge pizzas. It was pretty awesome. We came back and went to a member’s son’s baptism in Padova. There were a lot of people there so it made us really happy. I shared a short spiritual message in Church the next day. It was quite difficult, but I used all the grammar I knew to make it a durable and understandable 5 minute message. Anziano S. was very proud of me.

We met with Eddie, one of our potential investigators, and he is like our brother now. He told us about how he escaped from Nigeria 6 years ago and how he relies on God to get him through. Our last lesson we gave him a book of Mormon and he said he believed Joseph Smith was a prophet. I invited him to be baptized and he said yes! We hope to have him be baptized on the 25th of this month. He is such a cool dude. In fact today we went with him to some stores he knew about and we got some really really nice clothes for under 20 Euro combined between Anziano S. and myself. I got a really nice Suit jacket and some shoes and S. got some really nice shoes.

Yesterday we had training in Bologna. On the way we met a guy who was cast in the new movie Exodus. He showed us a pic of him and Christian Bale. It was soo cool. He had a full on Egyptian beard, even though he is Italian. Right after that we met an English professor who told us a story about how he went to help a woman on the Street and she ended up going into labor and having the baby right in front of him. Talk about strange!!! On the way back from training (training was good by the way, learned a lot about taking care of ourselves, money wise, security, and housekeeping wise) there was this mentally challenged Italian saying.... shouting vulgar cruel stuff to this Brazilian lady in the bus we were in. She got up and started kicking her and spitting at her. We and some others moved the Brazilian lady away and the Italian left the next stop. It was a weird thing and it definitely made a lot of people on the bus uncomfortable haha.

We are seeing a lot more success and we are starting to get our groove here in Vicenza. Anziano S. and I have done a lot of work getting this place going, and it is on the uprise, so hopefully we can continue to work hard and see results.

Something cool I read last night was that we already have fought Satan once, and won. We should engrave that in our minds when we see him trying to push us around. We chose to come and face him again and we know we can win.

Also when we think about our hard times, remember that Jesus is right next to you through it all. He already suffered it, so he knows the pain, and when you are in pain, think of him going through it too. We all have trials, but in him we can be forgiven and lifted at the last day.

Miss everyone

Anziano Chase

Vicenza

 Hootenanny (German) Pancakes! They were delicious!