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[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
7/23/18
It's been a while - but I'm alive and thriving in Rome! {Title hints at something coming soon!}
The missionary work here is absolutely incredible, and I'm scared to leave. Honestly, I could stay in Rome the rest of my mission and be totally happy. It's such a big city and there are so many "in gamba" (with it) people here. It is just really fun talking to tourists in English every once in a while, like a family from Illinois that I got to visit with, on the way home the other day. The dad of that family, it turns out, works with a Bishop in our church! So cool! Our ward in Rome 1 has had very low attendance recently, due to practically all of our Peruvians going back to Peru for Ferragosto, a month long holiday in August. The actual holiday is August 15th, and all of Italy shuts down and goes on vacay. We are bracing for the lack of people to teach as missionaries here in Rome. Last year I was in Olbia, which is a big vacation spot, so we had lots of people in town! Here in Rome it might be a bit interesting. In other news, the temple is getting even closer to being finished! In fact, we had some people in church on Sunday, who are here to organize the furniture being put inside, so exciting! We've been over there quite a bit recently and the grounds are looking incredible! Definitely a one of a kind creation.
So in terms of our teaching pool, we're teaching a "simpatizzante d'oro" [gold sympathizer] named Massimo! I met him with Anz Melling after a friend of his asked us to give him a blessing. We went over to his house and he had a really incredible experience, as we gave him the blessing. This helped increase his desire to learn more about the church. We've been meeting with him since then and he has the greatest faith I've ever seen! He is also amazing at understanding the scriptures, and loves reading whatever we send to him. He said during our last lesson that he loves coming to church so much he can't wait till Sunday rolls around again, because church always helps him feel like he's "in a big family." He's planning on getting baptized the 4th of August! It also turns out that the friend who referred him to us was actually his fiancee, who is a member in another ward, and eventually they want to be married in the Rome temple! They say everywhere they go they keep on inviting their friends to his baptism because they want everyone to know about it.
We are also teaching a man named Di Vitantonio and his daughter Luciana. They are the cliché Italian family: he owns a bar right next to their house where he worked for the past 40 something years. They have a garden in the yard where they grow their own tomatoes and other vegetables, and he has some land in the countryside where he grows fruit! We always get to meet on their patio at a table and have some classic Italian "bitter" or "crotino." When I came to Italy he is what I thought the picturesque Italian nonno was like. They've both been really open to hearing more about the church and also God's plan because of the loss of Di Vitantonio's wife several months ago. They'll be taking a pause from meeting with us during Ferragosto, but they're enjoying the Book of Mormon a lot!
We had a big loss in our district... The Herways [the LDS Charities senior couple] left this past week! They were in charge of church interactions with helping refugees for all of Italy, and they have been like Grandparents to me here in Rome! They've lived for the past 30 years here in Europe though, so they're grateful to be able to go to the states and finally get to know their own grandkids better! To say goodbye to them, we had a big lunch and Anz Sanchez made 2 top-notch lasagne! They get better every time I eat one of his creations!
We've been hitting the streets hard this transfer, and it's probably the best I've been at talking with people! There's a reason this quote from Thomas S Monson is so true - “Regarding one’s testimony, remember, that which one willingly shares he keeps, while that which he selfishly keeps he loses. … Teach and testify. There is no better combination.” As we turn outside ourselves we learn that the true joy comes from caring more about others and their happiness. Then all the rest comes after! [But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. - 3 Nephi 13:33 / Matthew 6:33] I've struggled a lot with trying to "lose myself in the work" as President Hinckley teaches us to do, but I think the key is to have good intentions always as your priority and not thinking too much. As Nike says, "Just Do It!" I'm so grateful for the scriptures, the knowledge of the restoration of the fullness of the gospel (given we just visited the Vatican today, that point is rather pertinent), and just a solid testimony that I'm a son of my Heavenly Father. I think we sing "I'm a Child of God" so much for a reason - that's one of the most important doctrines of life. We need to "Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend." [Went a little heavy on the spiritual side this time, but I know it's all true and I love it!]
Siete bravi, mi mancate, e spero che tutto vada bene questa settimana per voi!
[You're good, I miss you, and I hope everything goes well this week for you!]
Alla prossima ragazzi, [See you next week guys]
Anziano Samuel Parker
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