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[A Week of Photos]
12/4/2017
Ciao tutti, [Hello everybody]
I kinda let this p-day fly past me - Oops.
This week was a good week. I am getting situated here at Pescara. I even participated in the open house the ward put together that lead up to the dedication we had on Saturday. Every night we had an activity focused on an aspect of the church. Tuesday we got to participate by giving a presentation about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration. We ended up getting a decent amount of referrals from members during the week, so overall it was a pretty dang good way to show of our new chapel and introduce the church to more people.
Friday we taught an English course in a town called Chieti, literally one of the funniest classes I've ever taught! We have some really great students who are super excited about learning the language.
On Saturday we had the dedicazione [dedication] of the new chapel with un sacco [a lot] of people there. We sang in the choir and met a ton of people. This open house was legit and a super big blessing helping me get familiar with the members in the ward. It would've taken forever if I only got to see the majority of people on Sunday.
On Sunday we had a really awesome church incontro [meeting] and then we did some "finding" in centro [in the center (of town)]. We asked two guys if they had 2 minutes to watch the video #LightTheWorld and then we ended up having a bomb 30 min conversation with them. Really cool to get to talk about the gospel with two awesome ragazzi [young men] using the new Christmas campaign from the church.
Vi voglio bene [I love you],
Anziano Samuel Parker
Enjoy the photos!
[I moved a bit]
11/27/2017
This was an awesome week, though it definitely ended a lot differently than I thought it would.
The first couple of days went by super fast, with a District meeting in Pescara and normal missionary work. On Wednesday evening Silvano, a member, came over and made us Fu-fu. It's a typical Congolese dish, and we got to eat it with some cooked plantains as well. First time trying freshly cooked plantains and they were pretty good. You typically eat Fu-fu by grabbing a glob of the Fu-fu with your hands and dipping it in the soup/broth mixture, then eat it. You can also do it with it with the plantains, which is Silvano's favorite way.
On Thursday, we had a Thanksgiving potluck dinner with the members of our branch and the students from our English Group. Anziano Bohn made some pretty incredible chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, and I made the creamiest mashed potatoes I've ever tasted! Then we got to eat some pasta, ham and other dishes that people brought. Probably the most interesting food I'll ever have for a Thanksgiving dinner!
On Saturday morning we did service at a grocery store helping with a food drive that is nationwide to collect food for those in need. It was a real eye opener to see Italians from a different perspective. It helped me see that Italy isn't too different in the sense that there are always those who are more charitable than others. While we worked we got to visit with Estefano a good bit, since he was volunteering with us. Also, we got an amazing referral from Brother Paolo, and the Anziani of Ascoli have an appointment with her this next Friday! We ended the day by going to a concert and finally meeting an investigator who we had been messaging on Facebook!
That brings me to my big news of the week, I got transferred! We got the news early on Saturday morning instead of on Monday evening, because in Pescara we are preparing for the dedication of the new chapel. I will be in a trio with Anziano McConkie (da Annapolis, Maryland) and Anziano Toronto (da Denver, Colorado). They've both been in Pescara for a good bit now, so they can teach me tons about the members and the city during our 6 weeks together! The crazy thing is nobody who was in Pescara since the last transfer is leaving, I'm coming in as well as another sister. We'll have 10 missionaries for one ward - two trios of missionaries along with 2 normal companionships. I'm in Pescara already for all the activities they have planned for this week, and then Anziano Bohn will be in Rome until he gets a new companion to serve with in Ascoli on Thursday.
Anziano Bohn taught me a ton about the language and about how to do missionary work more efficiently. But, I think the most important thing he taught me happened Friday night last week. We were doing an activity asking people to write down on a white board what they were grateful for, and I walked up to two guys and invited them to participate, but they shut me down and turned away. As I walked away I said something that prompted Anziano Bohn to explain to me that I needed to make jokes and laugh more. If I can't make jokes after getting rejected then the mission is going to 100% wear me down and tear me apart. However if we have the attitude of laughing things off, we will always be ready to try again in sharing our message of joy!
This week was really awesome thinking about all the things I'm grateful for, and it was really special to say goodbye to all the members of Ascoli. I thought I would be staying longer, so it was a real lesson for me to learn that I need to make every second in each area count. Here's an amazing quote I found recently :
“When the One Great Scorer comes to write against your name, he marks, not if you won or lost, but how you played the game.” - Grantland Rice
I know that during this mission, my happiness and level of success won't be based on how many people I baptize or any other type of numbers, but rather how I acted as I went about as a representative of the Savior, serving his people in this beautiful country of Italy.
Anziano Samuel Parker
1 Fu-fu with Silvano
2 Presidente e Sorella Teodosi-they're pretty much the mom and dad of our branch
3 Estefano! My Venezuelan super-awesome-returned-missionary-from-Chile-ward-mission leader. He gave me a tie before I left, troppo gentile [too kind] :)
4 Ramo di Ascoli per Giorno di Ringraziamento [our Thanksgiving dinner with the Branch of Ascoli]
5 Most of our members from church on Sunday
6 Anziano Bohn and I on our way to Pescara
7 Lunch at Pescara, my new home!
11/20/2017
Questa settimana è stata bellissima, a parte la pioggia che ha coperto il sole per un paio di giorni [This week was beautiful, apart from the rain that covered the sun for a couple of days]. It makes me remember the song: "I can see clearly now the rain is gone."
Our week basically got nuked because of Anziano Bohn's appointment for his Permesso di Soggiorno (Italian residency permit) in Catania, Sicilia. It's a 10 hour train ride from Rome to Catania, but my lucky companion got to take a 1 hour plane ride instead! He was serving there when he renewed his paperwork, so he had to go down there again to get it all wrapped up. Now he's good to stay in Italia for the rest of his mission (10 months). Sweet! Sadly, I'm still not completely legal . . . one day I'll get a cool Permesso card too. For mine I will have to return to Olbia!
Anyways, since my companion went to Rome and flew down to Sicily, I had to team up with some other missionaries. (#BuddySystem) I left Ascoli Wednesday night with Anziano Macdonald and Anziano Snyder to go to Pescara, just after Anziano Bohn got on a bus for Rome. (note: it was pouring buckets all of Wednesday.) We had an awesome time on the train ride back. Anziano Snyder is a beast at starting conversations with people after only 4 weeks in the mission field, so we were able to show a cool video to a ragazza [young man] who had questions about why there are still bad things that happen if God exists. This reminds me of an analogy about soap and dirt: there are dirty people in the world, does that mean soap doesn't exist? Nope, just that those people either don't have access to soap or choose not to use it. It's exactly the same with God! We also got to talk to a nice lady and a man, both on their commutes, and explained more about our church.
Thursday morning, I woke up on the floor of a freezing cold house with only 2 sheets and the cloths I brought with me. Literally one of the coldest mornings I've ever had. Later though, on our way home from the questura [police headquarters], we had probably one of the coolest contacts of my mission. We started talking to this ragazzo [young man] on the bus and as we got to know him, he told us that his grandma had literally passed away that morning. He is from Basilicata (region in the arch of the boot), so he had some bags and was heading to the station to travel down there for the funeral. We explained to him our beliefs about the opportunity we will have to live after this life, and were able to show him a real touching video about how Jesus Christ makes second chances, and a second life possible for all of us. It's called "Grazie a Lui" ["Because of Him"] check it out. As he watched the video, I could see how it helped him, and understood that God helped us be in a place to talk and help one his children in need. We were able to exchange numbers, and he said he's looking forward to learning more once he returns! He said he doesn't have a firm belief in God, but in his words: "maybe this experience with you guys is a sign from Him that I should believe."
We came back to Ascoli late Thursday evening, after having a once in a lifetime experience missing a train - that I won't get into - and then got to play tennis on Friday morning thanks to an old investigator! When we got back into the house and the sun was coming through the kitchen windows, Anziano Toronto said "I can finally see sunlight!" after being in a constant darkness under the clouds at Pescara for about 4-5 days.
Today marks one year from the day I got my mission call in the mail, hoping that I would get called to Italy. Tomorrow is the day I opened my call and found I would have the opportunity to teach the gospel to the people of Southern Italy for 2 years. It's crazy to think so much time has already flown by. A scripture Anziano Bohn and I memorized this week sums up this past year really well:
13 Ecco, io sono un discepolo di Gesù Cristo, il Figlio di Dio. Sono stato chiamato da lui a proclamare la sua parola fra il suo popolo, affinché essi possano avere la vita eterna.
[13 Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.]
I was sent here to this Earth by my Heavenly Father as one his children blessed to be born into and raised in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Now I have the opportunity to dedicate the rest of my life to making sure my fellow brothers and sisters have the chance to hear "his word" and receive "everlasting life." I'm so glad I'm able to have this experience and that I've been blessed to be able to serve among the Italian people. I have tons more to look forward to, and I can't wait to see where my journey takes me!
Happy Turkey Day this week, and hope everyone eats a pumpkin pie for me! I'm not sure what we will do for Thanksgiving, but it'll probably be something really small.
Anziano Samuel Parker
1 Panorama of Ascoli from our Hike last week
2 Cool castle built into a huge cliff above the city
3 Interesting food combination: Pancakes and sushi
4 La strada delle foglie [The path of the leaves]
[Autumn is Here]
11/13/2017
Well it's that time of year when you see rain clouds in the sky, yellow leaves on the ground, and people all talking about the various Starbucks pumpkin drinks (JK - just kidding). I've never even drunken one of those things, but it is funny to think back on all the things that are unique to America in the holiday season.
This week we started off with a district meeting like normal in Pescara. The cool thing was because Anziano Bohn and I are only speaking in Italian, a lot of the other missionaries started speaking more in Italian as well! Normally we do everything in English, but everyone started putting in a much bigger effort to do SYL! This is really going to help us. Then we ate at an Americana style restaurant called "American Graffiti". Afterwards we had to run from the lungomare [seafront, like a boardwalk] all the way to the train station, just barely getting there in time!
This week in terms of highlights, we met 2 people that had interactions with the missionaries many years ago! One was the brother of the Brazilian lady we met on the bus to Rome about a week or 2 ago. We stopped in the gelateria [ice-cream shop] where she works to say "hi" to her, but it turns out she's still on vacation. So instead we talked with her brother and he had fond memories of the missionaries he met a long time ago (before I was born!) We talked with a teacher who works at a Catholic theology school. He met the missionaries when he was on a trip in Torino (practically France area) and he still has the Book of Mormon they gave him. He said he doesn't want to change religions right now, but he is very appreciative of what we do.
This past weekend we had Stake Conference for the Rome East Stake. It's a pretty long trip to Rome, so the members watched a live stream of it from our apartment (which is currently the church meeting place) Saturday evening and Sunday morning. We also called up an inactive member whose name we found, and he came to church! I was super happy and I was able to talk with him a ton about where he's from, his family, and what his life has been like. It was awesome! I've been reading a book that talks about effective missionary work and I was able to put it all to use both with him and the other members. It really great to see it all work.
I love being able to wear a name tag representing the Lord, and trying my best to honor that calling. I'm not perfect, but every day I can get up and try again to follow in the footsteps of my Savior.
Anziano Samuel Parker
"The pleasant future belongs to those who properly use TODAY." - Marvin J Ashton
1 Fall colors
2 It's been a while since I had Dr Pepper, so good
3 This thing is called a "gru"
4 I really want to go rock climbing....
5 First ragù made by Anziano Bohn! 10/10
11/6/2017
Tuesday was Halloween. We were out that night and it was pretty cute seeing all the little ragazzini [kids] going from shop to shop in little Halloween costumes. Almost all the housing in Italy is palazzi, large apartment buildings, so the kids go to the different small stores around the city to get candy. I took a picture of some kids at a little stand outside a restaurant that specializes in a special olive dish called "Olive all' Ascolane" (pitted green olives that are stuffed with meat and then deep fried in a breading - they're pretty dang tasty) and all of them started chanting "Olive! Olive!" It was pretty cute, but they didn't get anything. Made for a priceless Italian Halloween memory though.
On Wednesday, when we had an amazing day of stuff planned, but we got a surprise because we found out it was All Saints Day, and practically everywhere was closed! We ended up running into Paolo and Paola Bosco though, and had a nice visit with them. Then we had lunch at a Burger King (my first time going there while in Italy!) Then we traveled to Rome. We got to the Mission Home Villa (a beautiful 3 story home with a basement, that I haven't been to since May) around 10:30pm. It was great to see all the Anziani from Sardegna, and several from the main-land that I knew!
We had an awesome mission conference in Rome on Thursday, with about 3/4 of the mission there. The other 1/4 went to a separate conference in Palermo, Sicily since it was logistically easier travel wise. It was only two days after Halloween and we are already talking about Christmas and how to do missionary work during the Christmas season. I'm super stoked for another year of the #LightTheWorld initiative. Also, we got to hear from a general authority, Elder Engbjerg, and his wife. They are a total power couple! She had gave the best message I've ever heard from the wife of a general authority. They are both converts who joined the church in their teens. The biggest thing that hit me as I listened to them speaking, was that I need to live in a way so that I can always be of help to others. I can't do that if I'm not being obedient or thinking solely about myself. As I make changes in my own day to day life as a missionary, to be more dedicated to this work, I will be able to see the results - whether in the long or short term.
We got back home Thursday evening from Rome, and then had some good days of normal missionary work, trying to make contacts and meet with current potential investigators. On Sunday we had an amazing member referral from Andrea - our super member missionary! We visited a neighbor of his and taught a lesson about the Restoration. It was so cool to see him connect all the dots in his head and see how it all made sense! When we gave him a Libro di Mormon [Book of Mormon] as a gift, he even kissed it! He says he'll read it, and if he feels closer to God because of it, he will continue learning from us! It's the start of some great changes here in Ascoli!
On Friday Anziano Bohn and I started a 40 day fast from English - or in others words, we made a promise that we would speak only in Italian for the next 40 days, no matter what. As we've continued in this challenge, we've definitely not been perfect - when I get stressed out or am reacting to something exciting, I tend to just blurt out what I want in English still. However stopping our challenge just because we messed up several times right off the bat wouldn't do us any good! If we want to get better at something we don't just quit when we don't get it perfect right away - and it doesn't lessen our worth for failing while trying. Just like us in this life, we shouldn't give up trying to be a follower of Christ when we sin. We don't lose our worth in the eyes of God, and he wants us to continue trying in our quest for eventual perfection. It's so amazing to see how much more meaningful gospel principles become to me personally, as I see similarities in my own life!
I hope all of you can look for some principle of the gospel in your own life, and see the beauty of God's plan for us!
Per adesso, Buona Settimana!
[For now, Good Week!]
Anziano Samuel Parker
1 MTC Group (we're missing a few who were in Sicily)
2 The Father and Sons Pic
3 La Grande Missione Italiana di Roma! [The Great Italian Mission of Rome!]
4 Halloween per i ragazzini in Italia
5 My comp's name means bean in German
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