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[I Still Live]
8/21/2017
Ok.... I missed a week of emailing, please forgive me. We had a pretty normal week the one I didn't email, the biggest event was being able to meet with and teach Doris, a referral who found the church on Mormon.org. We taught with a member from our branch and she is super excited to learn more about Christ's church restored to the Earth. She couldn't meet with us this past week, but we plan on meeting her fiancee as well, so we can teach them together in the coming weeks.
Moving up to current times, this last week was an absolutely crazy schedule, with zone conference in Cagliari, and Ferragosto.
Ferragosto is on the 15th day of August every year, and is the largest Italian holiday of the year. Every email from the other missionaries in other parts of Italy, said that their cities were missing tons of people.... but not Olbia! Olbia is a tourist city, so we didn't really see a change in the number of people we saw on the streets. The actual day of Ferragosto, for us, was spent cleaning our apartments. All the missionaries stayed inside and did deep cleaning ("yay") for the entire day. Even though we were working it was actually a relaxing day, and I got to listen to some great General Conference talks.
Wednesday we had a typical day running around various busy areas in Olbia trying to talk to people. We found a guy named Gianni in the evening while doing casa a casa, [house to house] who might become a solid investigator with a little work on our part.
On Friday we rode the train down to Cagliari (a 4 hour ride) to met with all the other missionaries in the mission and then had our interviews with the Mission President. In the evening we did a sondaggio + gesso in centro with all the missionaries.
Saturday we had zone conference for Sardegna! It was awesome, and the Assistants to the president and zone leaders prepared really well for it. Everything was tailored to our needs as a zone, and President Pickerd went over some new goals we are going to put into place as a mission. I got to do a musical number, "Come Unto Christ" the youth theme song for the church in 2014, and it was really cool. As I was singing, I focused more on making sure I was testifying of Christ, and when I did this, I immediately had the strength/air necessary to sing the hardest part of the song well. Previously I had difficulties getting through it, but with the right approach I was able to power through!
We had a great Sunday with some really good lessons, and Anz Castro gave an awesome talk on the Book of Mormon! A young couple from England, who were just married on Friday, also came to church in our branch! The wife was Venezuelan and the husband was from Bordeaux France. They were both super nice.
For p-day today we went to Alghero, as a district. Alessandro, a young adult from the branch in Sassari came with us. It's a really beautiful city on the eastern coast of Sardegna that was originally founded by the Spanish.
My scripture this week is the first one I have memorized from the Doctrine and Covenants, latter day revelation to modern day prophets! It goes very well with missionary work, but also is good to think about. Studying the gospel is so essential for us to know how to live as Christ did. The scripture is D&C 11:2. I have really found a LOT of answers to my questions, problems, and other struggles this week as I have earnestly studied the scriptures and words of the prophets.
21 Non cercare di proclamare la mia parola, ma cerca prima di ottenerla, ed allora la tua lingua verrà sciolta; allora, se lo desideri, avrai il mio Spirito e la mia parola, sì, il potere di Dio per convincere gli uomini.
21 Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men.
I hope you can find some answers or peace in your own search for answers when you go to the scriptures in study!
Vi voglio bene!
Anziano Samuel Parker
[But It is That Hot]
8/8/2017
This week we did a ton of sweating! I never realized how hot and humid Italy is, and now I can't wait till winter time (although I've heard that's a beast of its own kind).
This week we had an awesome start getting to meet again with our investigator Roberto. He lives pretty far away and works a lot, so we can't meet him that often, but he's what one would call a "golden investigator." He found the church online, asked for a Book of Mormon and wanted to meet with the missionaries. We had one lesson with him at the beginning of July, and now we got to catch up with him. We asked about his Book of Mormon reading and talked with him about the first lesson. It went really well. He said if he gets an answer he wants to get baptized, but we can't meet with him regularly because he feels he doesn't ever have enough time. This weekend we've been praying and trying to figure out ways to get over this hurdle for him and also find a way to help him come to church. Hopefully his faith and his desire to follow the gospel grow as he reads more of the Book of Mormon!
The rest of this week was spent going from house to house in the burning hot sun, but we did have several cool experiences finding people. On Wednesday as we went to Sassari for the district meeting, we accidentally left our phone on the train and didn't find out until we got to the church. We were blessed to have a woman find it, call the sisters of Sassari, and figure out where it needed to go. She was from Olbia and knew where the church was, so she brought it by that night! Then as we were going house to house in a neighborhood, her house was the first one we knocked on! She wad so surprised to see us, and we had a good talk and got some much needed water.
We had a great Family Home Evening with the ward members on Wednesday night this week. They talked about their stories of conversion and how they first reacted to missionaries or contact with the church. It was awesome to become closer to all of them and also show how important it is we always reach out our hands inviting others.
For my scripture this week I memorized 3 Nephi 13:33
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
33 Ma cercate prima il regno di Dio e la sua rettitudine, e tutte queste cose vi saranno aggiunte.
This short and simple little scripture helps us to remember that when we put our trust first in the Lord, everything will work out. It's been amazing to see how no matter what happens, even if we don't have a solid plan for the "how to find people, " we always meet someone who seems like they needed contact with us. Whether or not they are interested in our message is another story, but we are always able to find someone who we can leave with a positive impact!
Anziano Samuel Parker
7/31/2017
Buon giorno tutti!
We just had transfers this past week and it used up a lot of our time to do missionary work. It's all good though because my new companion and I are going to kill it these next 6 weeks in Olbia! On Monday evening we got our transfer calls and I learned I'll be serving with Anziano Castro. He's from El Salvador originally, but has grown up in Milan (proprio Milan the city) since he was four years old. It's awesome to have a native Italian as a companion, both to get a deeper immersion in the language and also the culture of Italy. We talk in English while inside the house, and then in Italian as much as possible while outside. It's very interesting to hear about how different the culture is between Milan and the south of Italy.
Last week Tuesday was my last full day in Olbia with Anziano Ruiz since tranfer travel required us to go all the way down to Cagliari on Wednesday. We had a good morning out and about, but had to spend a good chunk of time letting Anziano Ruiz pack. On Wednesday we went to Sassari first for district meeting, and then afterwards took a train all the way to Cagliari as a whole district. Anziano Sellers, Ruiz, and Sorella Cardullo were transferred to Oristano (Sardegna), Napoli (Mainland), and Ragusa (Sicilia), respectively. It was quite the event getting all their luggage on and off trains and buses.
On Thursday morning I said goodbye to Anziano Ruiz . . . it was hard.
It's weird to think I will be with a new companion, with a new personality, and new habits for that I will have the rest of my mission. I'd gotten so used to doing missionary work with him, but I'm excited for some changes.
I did a short scambio with Anziano Stucki in the morning and we got to talk to a nice couple in the main park for a little bit. Turns out they were just visiting Cagliari and are actually from Olbia area! Afterwards we went to the airport and met up with our new companions. All the Sorelle on Sardegna are training, so they were pretty excited to meet their new companions fresh from the MTC. We then took a train to Sassari from the airport that was absolutely packed, we had to stand for the first 3 stops.
On Friday morning we took a train home to Olbia and then got back into the daily missionary work. I've been learning a ton of Italian and also some different ways to approach missionary work in the past couple days, which has been great.
This week I didn't have much study time to pick out a scripture to memorize, but one I did find on Saturday was really cool and goes along well with what my mindset is as we go into the next 6 weeks. It is from 1 Corinthians 13, and I think applies really well to how I am becoming more "polished" in my time here. This mission is called the "best two years" for so many people because it helps them to put their old habits, old interests, their rough sides, all behind them and polishes people into a shiny stone that is perfectly shaped in the way God wants them to be. Granted, it takes their will power for this to occur, but it is a process that absolutely changes lives. It is also our role as missionaries to help others realize their own potential as they follow the path God has made possible in life. In a talk I read this week, it explains that the biggest satisfaction we can have is reaching our full potential, and I'm sure that's where God gets his greatest joy as well!
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
11. Quand’ero fanciullo, parlavo da fanciullo, pensavo da fanciullo, ragionavo da fanciullo; ma quando son diventato uomo, ho smesso le cose da fanciullo.
Anziano Samuel Parker
1&2 District Photos! Sorella Cardullo, Anziano Sellers, and Anziano Ruiz are all heading out
3 Some Pizza + Kebab in Sassari
4 Last name tag photo with Anz. Ruiz (the top left is our apartment, bottom right is our church)
5 Anziano Castro and I our first night in Olbia
7/26/2017
This week was super tough, but we ended with a super awesome Sunday at church! I learned a lot from our time trying to find people to teach this week, and I think whether I stay in Olbia or go to a new city this next transfer I have a lot of stuff I can continue to improve on. Tonight we receive our calls to see where we will be going and who our new companion will be for the next 6 weeks! Most likely I will stay in Olbia, Anziano Ruiz will leave, and I will get a new companion. Who knows though, anything could happen!
Last Monday we were in Sassari with the other Anziani so we could trade companions and do a scambio. I stayed with Anziano Morrill - our district leader - in Sassari, while Anziano Ruiz and Sellers went back to Olbia. It was so weird to be in a big city with high rise apartments buildings (about 6-7 floors) everywhere. We spent time trying to find people to teach on the streets in centro and other parts of downtown Tuesday morning. We had an awesome English course in the evening. It's so cool to see how much enthusiasm people have to learn a new language! I always love teaching English in Sassari because they're so happy and excited to talk and learn. Recently we haven't been able to teach English in Olbia because everyone is at the beach in the evenings, but I look forward to having a bigger English course when the summer ends.
All of Wednesday evening through Sunday we tried to find people to teach, going from house to house (rare to do that here in Italy) and spending time in the main park. We also tried to get in contact again with the people we've met over the past 3 months here. It's a real slog sometimes, but every time we go out the door we have faith that we will find someone who we can have a good impact on. My scripture that I memorized this week goes really well with this theme, from Ether 12:6.
6 And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.
6 Ed ora io, Moroni, vorrei parlare un po’ riguardo a queste cose; vorrei mostrare al mondo che la fede consiste in cose che si sperano e non si vedono; pertanto non disputate perché non vedete, poiché non riceverete alcuna testimonianza se non dopo aver dato prova della vostra fede.
For this transfer we have been striving to be as obedient as possible, always sticking to our plans for each day, and being diligent in our missionary work. We haven't seen much success from our efforts, but on Sunday we got to see a real miracle! We had a completely full church for the first time thanks to several people who came to church. One was a woman we had met on the bus and talked to about the church; she stayed for all 3 hours. Then there was a family who was on vacation from Piacenza (Reggio Emiliana Region). [Samuel's Aunt Denise served as a missionary in Piacenza.] Also, an inactive member came (we visited her and her family last Sunday), and our Nigerian member John brought about 10 of his friends! We had so many English speakers that we had to translate all the talks and lessons from the front of the chapel! We also got to have an all English gospel principles class talking about the importance of knowing and having faith in our Heavenly Father.
It's great to see that even though sometimes we don't get to see the fruits of our labors right away, we get to see small things that show our efforts are helping the work of the Lord move forward! This first 3 months in the field has been awesome. I got to serve my first 2 transfers in a small quiet city, I had a 5 star companion who pushed me to my limits every day, and I've had the opportunity to become friends and learn more about the people of Sardegna, this wonderful island in the Mediterranean. The Rock Rocks, and I can't wait to see what exciting new lessons the Lord has in store for me #SardLand 🇮🇹
Anziano Samuel Parker
1-2) name tag photos
3) amazing sunrise this morning on our way to Santa Teresa
4-5) our Pday trip to Santa Teresa, it was an epic end to the transfer!
7/17/2017
Another week in Sardegna! This island has such an awesome culture,and I'm pretty happy I got to do my training here for the first couple months out in the mission field. Everything just keeps going faster and faster, we've got 2 more full weeks and then I'll probably be saying goodbye to Anziano Ruiz. It's funny because just when I think I'm finally used to mission life, something completely unexpected just knocks me back down! #Life 😑
Last Monday we rushed around for Saldi and tried on some crazy fancy Italian suits that are still super expensive being 50-60% off, and then we got to do some finding I'm the evening. We met these 2 cute little boys with a stand on the side of the road, and they were selling random stuff "for a good cause" they said. Apparently it can be considered a charity sale if one is trying to get money for gelato. 😁 We spent the rest of the night getting lost trying to go back to Centro, but going way out to the edge of Olbia on a back road. But, we got to talk to two awesome Italian Nonni about our church for a little bit! Most people have seen missionaries "in giro" but never have any idea who we are or what we do, so it's great to explain our purpose to them.
After district meeting on Wednesday we had a district lunch at Francesco's pizza place and we all ate bufalina pizza! Then....we had to run all the way down to the train station to catch the train back to Olbia. Running is like the second best thing to get you excited for missionary work - turns out the number one is reading a talk by Elder Holland! Anziano Ruiz and I took turns reading paragraphs from his talk "Miracle of a Mission," and it was so inspiring! I'll attach it below if anyone wants to read it. We got home and were just super pumped to get off the train and do missionary work.
We've been able to see tons of miracles happen these past couple days as we "move swiftly" to planned activities. We have been able to meet people that God places in our path and are ready to be touched by the gospel. On Thursday alone we ran into like 4-5 people while traveling on the bus or walking to areas we had planned to be in! When you stick with your schedule and are diligent in talking to everyone you can, it becomes easier to see God's hand in your life. One of the coolest ones was that we met two ragazzi who were getting off a vespa right after we had gotten off the bus and were heading into the park. We were able to have a full gospel/ philosophy discussion with them about our beliefs all in English, which is a nice change from Italian. This also brings me to the title, we met a grandpa of two kids afterwards and while we were talking to him they got their soccer ball stuck in a tree. We tried to shake it out, but it was stuck in pretty good, so I climbed up and shook it out! I haven't climbed a tree in forever it feels like.
We got to have our first member pranzo with Sorella Frimmu on Friday, and she absolutely stuffed us full of some amazing pasta, fried zucchini, and mozzarella balls. Super good meal and then we taught her and her friend Andrea the Plan of Salvation! We had a fun experiences seeing a friend Giuseppe and trying raw mussels, meeting a super nice inactive member family, and getting free prosciutto from Pinuccio - a man who owns a really cool meat and cheese shop!
This week I memorized Mosiah 2:22, which explains that as long as we keep the commandments of God, everything will be made all right thanks to the blessings we are promised by him! In the mission, obedience is the most important thing you can do, because when you are obedient it allows you to more effectively evaluate yourself as a missionary in addition to being a way we show God we are committed to the work, even if it takes small sacrifices on our part.
22 And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.
22 Ed ecco, tutto ciò ch’egli richiede da voi è di obbedire ai suoi comandamenti; ed egli vi ha promesso che se obbedirete ai suoi comandamenti, prospererete nel paese; ed egli non varia mai da quanto ha detto; perciò, se voi obbedite ai suoi comandamenti, egli vi benedice e vi fa prosperare.
Spero che tutti di voi avrete una buona settimana!
Anziano Samuel Parker
1 Gelato today with all the Anziano here I'm Northern Sard-land
2 All of us and our Bufalina pizza
3 Prodotti Tipici Sardi da Pinuccio! 50 years in the business and still going strong
4 Lunch we made on Saturday! Normally it's just pasta, but we got a little dandy thanks to the prosciutto we got from Pinuccio
https://annathemissionary.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/elder-holland-the-miracle-of-a-mission.pdf
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