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9/4/18
I had my first root beer float here in italy this week. I bought a can of "Mug" Root Beer and some fior di latte [cream/milk] from a gelateria [ice cream store]. It was almost as good as it is at home!
Lots of miracles happening, and I can see my testimony strengthened of the Book of Mormon and Bible!
Buon Settembre,
Anziano Samuel Parker
Here are some photos from this past week!
1. Picking Fichi d'india [Prickly Pears]
2. Temple Trip with some members of our ward (surprise visit from the Smiths!)
3. Pizzeria we hit up with some member tourists today!
4. #StickerFinding
5. Pday with Anz Bacon today!
6. Truck driver photo bombed us!
7. Cibo
[Wonderful Week in Rome]
8/27/18
I love all you guys, but I love getting blessings more, so this email is goung to be really short!
We had such an incredible week!!! So many miracles, people, talked to, and experiences where the spirit was felt!
We did a zone "finding" activity and talked to 546 people as a zone in 5 hours. It was amazing. Tons of people were touched because we made an extra effort to open our mouths about the Italy Rome Temple and the Restoration of the gospel!
I also had an incredible lunch with some members of our ward, and we talked about the blessings that come from the gospel. The spirit was felt, much food was eaten, and testimonies were strengthened.
Love you guys! Buona settimana! [Have a good week!]
Anziano Samuel Parker
8/20/18
The title of this blog entry has some really inspiring and amazing doctrine behind it, because my companion is an inspired teacher! In short, I had a rough day last week and was being a little too hard on myself, so he gave me one of the best motivational speeches/testimonies I've ever heard! Here's a brief summary of his thoughts:
"We live in a world full of negativity and people trying to drag others down so they can feel 'better off.' All this does is keep the majority of people from reaching their potential! Satan wants us to trash talk people, especially ourselves, and he'll do anything he can to turn a thought or hard feeling into a weapon that chips away at one's self worth. In a sense we are all like turkeys, walking around on the earth and telling each other we can't fly (gobbling in a sense) - when in reality we aren't seeing who we truly are (maybe that classic story of the 'Little Duckling' comes to mind now). Then someone comes along and gives us some wonderful news - they tell us that God made us EAGLES! He made us, his children, so that we could one day become like him. And that means - one day or another - we need to FLY. So, DON'T TELL YOURSELVES YOU'RE NOT EAGLES. You can fly, you don't have to gobble, and you can do anything in this life you out your mind to - just because God loves YOU and made YOU to become like Him one day!"
Editors Note - Anz Baker would like to give credit for these thoughts and ideas to his wonderful father - who taught him, from when he was a wee lad, to be an Eagle!
This past week we had an incredible lesson with Massimo and talked about true conversion to the gospel, repentance, and the importance of respecting the order and organization of Christ's restored church. He is improving, but we still have a lot to help him with. It's still such a big change that he's had in his life - ormai [by now] he's a new man. We wrote "Non Fumarmi" (don't smoke me) on his cigarette so that when the temptation comes to smoke, he's reminded not to light up!
We spent the holiday inside the house doing deep cleaning, but first we had a lesson with a ragazzo named Erald. It was the first time we've had a lesson with him since Anziano Melling was here. It was so filled with the spirit! We talked heavily about the significance of the priesthood and why it's necessary to be baptized with the right authority. He is the first person I've ever come across who truly thinks priests are the only people who hold the priesthood of God - mainly because they dedicate their lives to his service. However, I had one of the most powerful experiences I've ever had bearing testimony of the restoration of the priesthood. I simply stated that no other church has that authority, because it was taken from the earth after the passing of the apostles (who were normal men of all classes, called of God to be his representatives) and then explained that through the prophet Joseph Smith, I hold that same priesthood, with a line of authority going directly from me to my Father, eventually to Joseph Smith, and then Jesus Christ himself!
Other than that - we've officially gotten an extension from the mission! All of the missionaries from my group will be able to extend till March 19th, 2 days after the full dedication for the Rome temple is finished! I'm so blessed to serve in this city, so close to the temple (it'll be the first built in biblical lands!) and I'm looking forward to bearing more testimony of the blessings of the temple to the Romans I'm surrounded by! #troppebellecose
I love this city, this country, and the gospel of Jesus Christ #engineofchange If you haven't read the Book of Mormon today, read it, it's a life changer! If you need a book of Mormon, find some missionaries to bring you one on Mormon.org
Love you guys!
Anziano Samuel Parker
8/13/18
This past week -
-My companion Anz Dickey became an Assistant to the President, so I'm with Anz Rodriguez (the old assistant) until this Thursday, when I'll get my new companion. It's pretty likely I'll stay here for a 4th transfer given that Anz Dickey has gone. So I get to enjoy the beauties of Rome, the members here in Rome 1, and the missionaries of Rome West!
-We did a full morning of finding with the entire zone on Saturday and set up a group chat on WhatsApp (like FB Messenger). We plan on using this to share the successes we have (we sent a message every time we opened our mouths to someone - we got over 300 messages as a group!) It was just a first try, but we are going to try it for a full day as a zone this next transfer and see how it goes.
-Anz Mayer (one of my favorite comps!) and I were able to do a scambio and it was so amazing to see how much we've both grown since we last saw each other, about 11 months ago! He and I were able to talk to a ton of people, and we saw some cool miracles - getting numbers and bearing testimony about the restoration.
That's about all my time for now, but I'll make sure to have a solid update for tutti voi ragazzi [all of you guys] next week!
Vi voglio bene! [I love you!]
Anziano Samuel Parker
7/30/18
I just got a new companion, Anziano Baker, and we're doing great!
The title is not a World War II reference, I promise. 80,000 Germans were here in Rome this week! It happens every 3 years and is basically a big pilgrimage for all of the Catholic youth from Germany.
Not much time,
Anziano Samuel Parker
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