One Month in Italy

Email: November 7, 2012

Enjoys baptism is this saturday, but will find out for sure today as she has herinterview this afternoon and then we are setting plan for the service. Lilly, our other investigator with a date, is set for the 24th of nov. we pushed her date back two weeks to help her perpare more. She is making incredible progress now and is doing great! We called her last night and she gave us really great news and she is making the neccessarey changes and progresss she needs to to be babtized. Its so great!

Had the best Italian meal I have ever had the other day with a member! So much good!

Pictures are of my district. My collega anz moore and the district leader Anz Pectol (the tall one) and his collega Anz Hymas the goofy one with glasses. (Pectol and Hymas are in Padova)

Well, I love you all so much,

till next week,

con amore,

Anziano Edwards

Happy Halloween from Italy!!!

Email: October 31, 2012

It is cold! Simple as that. On sunday a member said it was 6 degrees C outside. Not fun. But my coat is fantastic. Shirt, tie, sweater, double layer coat and then of course a scarf. I love scarfs! So stylish and SO warm! Fantastic. The members and and locals are saying this winter is goging to be cold. It has come early and will be really cold...and so bring it on! It will be a blast! The top half of you is so warm and the bottom is just your pants so it kinda gets a lot cold.

 Anyways, Italy is awesome and so are our members and investigators. We have two investigators, Lilly (Italian, well from Brazil) and Enjoy (American) both with baptismal dates on nov 10th, but we may end up pushing Lilly's back a week or so, we will see. They are both so dang awesome. In fact, Enjoy took us to breakfast today as it was my colllega's birthday today on halloween. Italians celebrate halloween but nothing like america, nothing is even decorated-random fact.

 I have not got any letters yet as they are sent to the mission office in Milano and i will get them when we have zone confrences every transfer(6 weeks) or when a travling assistant or president is in town or around and they give mail to the district leader. So I will get my mail every 6 weeks or maybe sooner sometimes. Letters will always get to the office, its just sending letters around italy it may or may not get there. So dont worry about letters really and packages are fine but often times opened and then there will be random customs charges usually which I guess can be really expensive.

 Today for p day we went to the mall. I bought two ties and a scarf :)

 Bike update: the office approved a new bike so we went and started looking for new bikes and the owner said that he would just fix it for like €40 in stead of a new, used bike for €70-90. So we are going to get it fixed later this week, yippee! The back breaks dont work, the back tire is so super wiggly and the chain skips and just sucks and the front breaks now rub and dont release. It makes it fun to ride....

 My collega is so great, super helpful and just great!

 We have district meetings every monday and a scambio(exchange) usually twice a transfer and so we had our second one this past monday. I was with Anz. Pectol and went to Padova again as I dont really know how to get around this city. I love padova, it is such a great city, its bigger and just different. I always think to myself "wow, this is not america, at all!" Its just so different here, I love it!

 Well best of luck with everything, I always have you in my prayers.

Con amore,

Anziano Edwards!!!

Sorry no pictures this week. Next week!

Valoroso in Vicensa

Email: October 24, 2012

Well dont have much time. 

On monday was our district meeting, so just us in Vecenza and the companionship in Padova. Small distrct but we are awesome. We then did a scambio(exchange) I went to Padova with Anzino Hymas. He is halfway through with is mission. He is the funniest Anziano! We had a blast and learned so much even thought we only had finding work for the entire afternoon and evenig....long but well worth it. We found and taught this super old lady the first lesson sorta and when we were trying to get a return appointment she said friday would work as long as she is not dead. hahhaha, she is a crazy and super funny old lady, she has a good sense of humor for sure!

   Well we are off to catch the 11:00 train to Padova for p-day. Going to have lunch with one of their members and play risk and maybe some basketball. Padova, from what I could tell from my scambio was that it is so nice! Its a bigger city and just full of crazy scooter drivers! It was a fancier and more wealthy city. I loved it there, not to mention their GIGANTIC apartment! It had 5 rooms! and all the rooms were very big! They are so lucky! Their ppartment is on the bigger side and mine in Vicenza is one of the smaller ones in the mission. I hate small areas! I need open space, but yeah

(CONTINUED)
Well some more info and to answer your questions.
I am in Padova now just waiting for the Anziani here to come and pick us up in 30 or so minutes so we jumped back on the internet.
Anywho, the weather is good, not cold but not hot. Last week it was really cold but currently it is decent. With our suits on it is perfect, the nights get cold though so I usually put a sweater on in the evening.
I am still a skinny boy, although I am pushing the 60 kilo mark on our scale and it seems to be accurate, so maybe im not that skinny...haha. I have found that I am not eating as heathly as i should even though I found some delicious 'healthy' cereal my collega calls bird food. Its so great, from germany. But today during speza (shopping) I got a bunch of good food.
  Story: Anes a new member from Africa, like 1 or two years member put his mission papers in two weeks ago and is waiting for his call. Anyways, he got hit by a car on his bike and we went and saw him in the hospital. That was crazy! I told my collega, unless I am diying and blood is everywhere, dont take me there. Anes got there at 11 am and didnt leave until midnight. He was bumps and bruises and really sore but nothing bad. The doctors and nurses dont really care about much it seems, they dont work super hard for the most part. Everyone gets a wrist band-white, yellow, or red or black depending on how much you are dying and even the people bad off, have to wait for ever. Plus the hospital in Vicenza is a good and nice one supposedly and it was just way differnt from the US for sure. Yeah, it was a shock to say the least. Wow is all I was thining the whole time like, 4 hours we were there as branch president(bishop basically as they have branches not wards) wanted us to stay with him for some reason. Yeah it was a long day.

Keep being awesome and know of my love! :) I am loving it here and doing great desipte this last week only getting 9 total lessons. Lets just say in general pushing all the time, africans dont have much of an idea of time. We had days with 4-6 lessons only to have them all canceled or now shows, it was rough but I know is going to be better this week. All about the attitude.

With so dang much love from Italy,
Anziano Edwards
XOXOXOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Mission home the first night with all of us new Milan missionaries

My Collega-Anz. Moore, me and Pres and Sis Wolfgramm

President and Sister Wolfgramm and Me

New Milan Missionaires

a buch of my TINY appartment. we have the small kitchen and desks

then hallway with laundry and bathroom

then our bedroom

It serves its purpose just super super small.

Random Picture of Italy #1

Random Picture of Italy #2

Random Picture of Italy #3

Italy is Bravo! (Address Included)

Email: October 17, 2012

Well here is my address:
Anziano A.J. Edwards
Italy Milan Mission
Via Gramsci 13/2
20090 Opera (MI)
Italy
(that is the mission office and is where mail should be sent. I was engouraged to tell family not so send packages but rather put money on my personal credit/debit card and buy myself presents and goods as its super expensive to send my stuff and then I have to pay the customs charges which is 10-30 euro for a packaged. THe customs charges are random and not consistant and sometimes you pay and then they send your package back to the states and you never get it. The mail system is slightly unrelianble but decent. Tell all friends that address and I will write them back if I ever get the letter ;)

The area  is beautiful, its what I expected but not...Italy is just SO different from the US. The biggest thing is the cars! So small!!!! Its werid. No trucks whoatsoever and the biggest car is similar to a ford transit and a range rover. Just weird. Also the houses, or apartments are so small! Like the whole thing is as big as our kitchen and dining room.
Italians think im werid as I have 3 siblings. Here if you have two kids its a big family, 4 is basically unheard of!
My bike sucks. Simple as that. The seat hurts your butt, the gears are bad and my back wheel is going bad, need a new one. It is a simple american bike like Angies bike. We ride everywhere. Our area is decent sized, basically if you can get there in an hour by bus, we go to it. Most of the time were are on bikes close to Vicenza. A few investigators are a bus ride away.
My companion/collega is Anziano Moore. He is super bravo! From Oregon and is farm boy, super hard working, good attitude and very helpful. I love him. And his is blond which he kinda sticks out here in Italy.
The food is great. I love it!!! You eat SOOO much! I cant do it, its actually awful, members and investigators just keep feeding you, the Matiazzi family, members, fed us so dang much I thought I was literally going to die, Great tasting but too much, I will learn quickly hopefully how to eat a lot of food, cuz if not I will die. I dont eat Italian food super often as we have an US Army base here so we get food "donated" to us from members and the elder couple who are leaving this week to go home. I love them-elder and sister Maughn. Super great and loving. They take us to zone meetings and such which is super great so we dont have to take trains and buses. I don't feel like I have actually left America as we eat american food often with members and such. Anyways I love it and Anz. Moore loves the american food as he as suffered for 6  months with no American food and I am lucky to have it now but will suffer for the rest of my mission when I leave. :)

We have a few investigators. Lilly's baptismal date is Nov 3rd and is from south america but speaks fluent Italian. Other italians we have is Gildo who we are trying to get realize the importance of the gosple-he likes it but just isnt progressing as we would hope, his wife is a member so he comes to church and enjoys it. And Dragon, I havnt met yet. Also marco who just became a new investigator from a referral. A member. He is a friend and is now taking lessons, great man, he is from Ghana africa. Lastly is Luca-lives in our apartment building and approached us one day and asked about our church and wanted something to read so we gave him a restoration pamphlet of course and will meet with him later this week as yesterday our appointment was canceled as he was in the hospital.

Lots of english lessons! Enjoy from New York and was a model for years adn travel the world and is now in italy and just loves the Gosple. We say somthing and she just says "well that is what God wants then I will do it" super bravo! SHe is awesome and will set her baptismal date this weekend as she postponed it so a friend can come to it. Then eric from Gahan Africa, suer great and taking lessons well but his church helps him finacially alot so just doesnt want to convert 100% even though he loves our church and has a good testimony, kinda frustrating but good. Then ther are a bunch of others like 6, that are less active or not quite a progressing investigator but we are working hard with all of them. There is Ike, Isac, Nanna, Hiron, Lawrence, and Frances.
We dont have many actual Italians, most are just foreigners from africa or south america areas. All speak Italian as you have to here. The Italian will not put of with people speaking their language so everyone learns quick.

My language is coming along well. I want it to come faster of course but is impoving so much everyday. Its crazy! I love it here and the work is incredible. Hard hard work but so rewarding and good. The members here are incredible! Members in Utah dont even start to compare! These people love the gosple and are so fantastic. Love working with us missionaries and helping in any way. They are so great and fellowship and welcoming new people to chruch and loving them.  The chaple is so small. Its just the other part of a building in town. Small chapel with about 6 small rooms. That is differnent for sure but I like it. The other part of the building is a message place and a fishing equipment store.

Every friday in october and novemeber we are doing mostra. Its a street display thingy. Big folding sign thing with big pictures that sortof attracts people. Basically we do street contacting and have a big visual aid to help. Its fun and we dont have to walk around much which is a plus, but yet we are standing for a few hours, every friday from 5-7.
Casa, knocking doors is tough, no success really except for a crazy man who just let us in, lets just say we started your lesson and then left shortly after, no good feelings and he was just crazy. Not a good place to be, just simple a crazy man. Kinda scary but a good and memorable experience. haha

Glad to hear from you and always pray for you. Best of luck in school, work and life! Just keep going and dont give up! I love you all and will email pictures next week. Today we are on the base again to have american food and email for free :) Elder Maughn brought us, such a treat and super glad for him. The computers here dont let us attach pictures which is weird but will send some as soon as I can. Promise!

I can only email family members and President Wolfgramm so tell friends and others the mission address if they want to send me letters which Im sure would make my day! Also, I am fairly sure you can use dearelder.com but have to pay postage still.

Con amore,
Anziano Edwards :)

First Week In Italy!!!

Email: October 10, 2012

Ciao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am in Italy! All I can say is WOW. Yeah it is crazy for sure. It's what I expected but not it that makes sense. My apartment is tiny but good. I just wish it was a little bigger, I love open space. The kitchen is extremely small but hey we never cook really so its fine. We have lunch appointments most days and then the other days we have been cooking at the church and having a lesson there.  This week we taught 16 lessons and reset a baptism date with Lilly. She is from central/south america-speaks Portuguese and Italian. She is super bravo! She watched one season of conference and cried during it as it was so great she said. Her husband sleeps or leave the house when we come but doesn't hate us I guess. haha so that s good. Her date is for Nov 3rd. Investigators always get baptized on sat and confirmed on sundays. We have about a dozen people we are teaching which includes progressing investigators less active and just other lessons. 

Well I got here at noon in Italy and after sitting with Sorella Hansen, from other MTC district, and she puked upon landing, got through the small airport found Pres. and Sorella Wolfgramm waiting for us. They are so awesome! Pres was holding his il libro di mormon like a last name sign so we knew it was him. :) He is super great, I love him already for sure. Had meetings at the mission office and talked with brother and sister lynch-the office couple who know those people in our neighborhood they were happy to see me and are great as well. Slept in a hotel that was very nice and little meeting and then meet our trianers! Mine is Anziano Moore, and is super fantastic! Great trainer I love him! We took trains to Vicenza that took for ever! I guess there was in earth quake so trains to and from Venice were delayed and canceled so we finally got home and hit the beds. I now know what a lumpy pillow is....yeah time for a new one ;)

We have a italian branch as well as an English branch, can't call them wards as they are not big enough yet, next week I will let you know how they are. I have met some members so far and always wanting to help and come to lessons. They are so fantastic. We have a US army base so thats why there is an english branch here. I know the is a branch in another city where the airforce base is and maybe a few more somewhere else in Italy. I am so blessed to have my first area in Vicenza! I have taught most lessons in English and have only had one lesson in Italian thus far which is not what I expected at all! I am learning alot very quickly and have had the opportunity to get into housing complexes where you have to get buzzed in then you have access to the doors of the houses. I assume I speak ok as I get by. Some times people have no idea what I am saying but yeah, Italian is fantastic. 

Each new missionary puts in 100 euro into the bike fund and my city already had bikes. I will never have to pay for a bike ever again, its a 100 euro one time thing, then use theat mission fund as needed basically. We have just normal everyday bikes, but in bad condition....mine broke the first day just a few blocks from home, chain came off and got jammed under a random screw, got it fixed at home and we were late to our appointments which people especially Italians dont like as it makes the food not ready to ready to early. Then after a lesson the other day my bike had a flat tire...walked home and pumped it up went flat 5 seconds latter, so we had dto get a new tire and tube for 7 euro.

Italian food is amazing! I love it! I am emailing from the army base as elder and sistter Maughn was in the air force so they can take us on for american food and free internet so next week we will see how it goes for email as they are leaving next week. Today is our last p-day with them I think. They are amazing sr. couple and work with the english branch. 

 Confrence was in italian and english, we watched english. It was just us and one other young man who just turned in his mission papers, he is like 20 or 21 years old as baptized a year or two ago and is from Africa. Most english lessons are people from africa, mostly Gahna. Confrence was awesome! 18 and 19 years old!? Wow! Crazy! I think I would have come at 18, but not sure. I really like a year of schooling in before my mission, but I can see benefits from leaving at 18 and at 19 for elders. Now 19 for sistrers is a fantastic idea I think. 

Can't attach pictures here so next time hopefully. 

Schedule is up at 630, exercise for 30 min, an hour of getting ready. Personal study from 8-9 and companionship study from 9-10, additional study from 10-11 then out the door. nightly planing from 9-9:30, bed at 10:30. We only eat lunch and breakfast which is weird but I have been perfectly fine that way, not hungry or headaches so yeah its a crazy day each day and I love the work. Oh and lunch is from 1-3, with an hour of language study then. :)

I am doing fantastic and loving every second! Lots of hard work and bike riding around! Its so great! 

With all my love, 

Anziano Edwards

Last MTC Pictures

A.J.'s Amazing Photography Skills

More Amazing Photography Skills

Three boxes of tissues we exploded an played with.....yeah we are very strange.

Fun fact: it takes four throws at a brick wall to break open a box of tissues and have tissues explode in the room :D

More Tissues

The sorelle- the two sisters in my district/class

Angel Moroni aka my amazing photography skills

Brother and Sister Mcmullin- was second counselor now first of the Italian zone

My paper I stole form the laundry room I kept on my desk :)

Ciao

Well my collega is writing his email right now so I have nothing else to do...so ciao!

fact about traveling- Milan group has 10, Rome has 17 missionairies so 27 of us are leaving tuesday. Each group has a travel leader that has to deal with calling the curch if we miss our flights or somthing. Um...............................................we all fly together from SLC to Chicago, (milan group has a 2 hour layover, rome 4 hour) so we split in Chicago-the Rome missionaires say good bye to us and we get on our flight to london, then two hours after we leave, the Rome missionaires board and fly to london, then we each have a 2 hour layover in london then fly to our mission-rome/milan. So if Milan missionaies fly slow, and rome flys fast, we could possibly see each other in the London airport-let hope!

"Serve with Honor, Return with Honor" That is what I promise to do.

"The only excuses you can make are through yourself" -Anziano Day

Um.....................................................ciao once again.....................................

In class the other day we talked a little about converting ourselves to the gosple. We all said were were already converted-thats why we are here but yet we are not fully converted yet. We discused if we can ever be fully converted and how you know. You cant know perfectly everything about the gosple so maybe you cant be converted. Then we ended with my teacher saying that we should read PMG,l as it is so simple and it is correct, to convert ourselfs. make yourself into an investigator and be converted.

I wrote my testimony in english then translated it and I found out how freakin' smart I am. I had Sorella Preston check it as she grew up speaking a little Italain from her parents then took classes at BYU and she only changed maybe 10 things and they were all small things, then I had my teacher, Fratello Acerson proofread it and he changed two things and wrote how great I can write Italian on the bottom and gave it back to me after lunch. So, yeah, you can call me an Italian language master!

I am called to serve!

Con amore, me,

Anziano Edwards

Clear for Take Off

Checked with the travel office and they said that all missionaries that are leaving to Italy this Tuesday have their passports and visa back and are clear. That means I will be leaving on Tuesday at 8am from the MTC!

Italy here I come! :) Tuesday morning I will pick up all my papers and tickets and passport and visa ect.

Here I come people of Italy!

Love you all so so much,

-Me

Last Week in the MTC :)

Email: September 27, 2012 

LAST WEEK!!!!! I AM LEAVING!!!!!! YES!!!! I love the MTC and really don't want to leave, but at the same time cant wait for my adventure in Italy. I am going to serve the people of Italy in less than a week!!!! Crazy and so exciting!

Nothing has happened here at the MTC except I got my travel plans and a few days before that a letter from Pres. Wolfgram. The Rome missionaries are not loved as only the Milan missionaries got a letter from our Mission Pres. It gave us in case of emergency or missed flight, delayed flight info, ect phone numbers and such, a pre welcome letter telling us that we are awesome, they are super excited for us to come and join an amazing mission and a paper that we have to write our goals down and such. So I have to write my goals this sunday I think or on the plane-just before I meet Pres. Wolfgram in the Milan airport it has to be done.

I get my plane tickets, visa, passport, and all other paperwork an such tuesday moringing before We leave to SLC at 8 am.

My collega, anziano klemm got a notice to get his second booster for some hep a or maybe hep b so he has to go and get that today so I will as about my shots as well. Flu is a good idea and another HepB shot I dont think I need as the second day here we all have to meet with the nurse ladies and my imunization card was fine.

I am doing super great and am so excited and happy.
ITALY IN A FEW DAYS!!!!

LOVE YOU TONS AND TONS!!!!
CON AMORE,
ANZIANO EDWARDS 

I'm Going to Italy!!!!

Letter: September 22, 2012

I GOT MY TRAVEL PLANS!!!!!! I’M GOING TO ITALY! Ahhh! SO EXCITING!!!

Deflated Eyeball Club

Letter: September 20, 2012

 

Ciao! Sto bene! Molto bene!
This letter will not make sense, just a heads up.

1. "If you can’t appreciate something, then you are missing out on life.” –Anziano Day  
2. "If you know more than you did yesterday, than you are on the right path.” –Brother, now President Miller  
3. "We will all get there eventually. We are on God’s time, not our own time.” –President Miller  
   

These three quotes have been so close to me the past little while. They have taught me how to relax a little, take your time, and I will be fine. I understand how I need to work my hardest and be diligent and I will be fine. I am a missionary of God, one of His direct servants, and I have to love and do my part. Another random quote, no clue where I heard it, but it’s written in my little notebook I keep in my shirt pocket all the time, “Pray as if it depends on God; work as if it all depends on you."
Every night when we go back to our dorms at 9:30, we contact with people, usually one or two companionships. Sometimes we have had a zone or a 2-dozen or more listen to us. But all we do is bear our testimony in Italian to them. So fun and helps us speak better too. They usually return the favor and bear theirs to us in their language. The English-speaking missionaries are never thrilled to listen or bear theirs to us…boring English speaking Elders… It’s so fun and Anz. Klemm learns random pointless words/phrases and uses them in his testimony, such as “I know the giant squirrel lives and is huge.” Haha. Great stuff. My new phrase is “such is life”, you can use it in any situation. Not sure why I told you that…

I am part of the “deflated eyeball club.” Anz. Klemm made it up in class as he told the sorelle that they need to drink water so their eyeballs don’t deflate, as they were both crying. They said I could be part of their club. It’s an honor I guess to cry a lot… not that I cry all the time, I just do while the other Anziani don’t. Quick clarification: whenever I say “the sorelle” it’s the two sisters in my district: Sorella Bradford & Sorella Preston. If you say “um” that gives you a 100% American accent, which I find myself saying quite often.
The temple…. –not sure where that was going…I shouldn’t just start a sentence. The temple is great!
Love you all!!!
Con amore,
Anziano Edwards

Story Time

9/20/2012

Story Time!
With Fratello Acerson we did street contacting. One person was the investigator who would be open to the missionaries, the rest of the class were not open to the missionaries. To decide who that was we each ticked a little piece of paper and one paper has an “s” (s for simpatizzani = investigator). Anyways I was the simpatizzanto. So I portrayed myself as a dad on the streets of Italy. Anz. Robinson and I were sitting on the bench and when the missionaries (Fratello Acerson and Anziano Bryant) came to approach us we planned to just get up and run away. Anziano Robinson was normal and just got up in a hurry…but me…I got up and was frantic! I started yelling, “Dove mi familia!?” Repeatedly. Translated to “where is my family!?” It was out of the blue and I made my teacher, Fratello Acerson, cry as he laughed so hard. It freaked out the class as I had been normal before that. Well semi-normal. Everyone here has not seen the real me, up until last week when this took place. I’ve been normal for the most part while I’ve been here at the MTC. It was super funny and memorable for sure.
Also, we did it twice and Anziano Day was the simpatizzanto the second time, and he was an old guy. But best part was the most innocent sister in the MTC, Sorella Preston, was trying to be awkward and play as  a young woman and flirt with them. It was funny, but more so unexpected. Anz. Day was a drunk man, then old man. Anz. Klemm was an old smoking man then a street performer who was juggling. Anz. Robinson was a normal man then a druggie –he puts his belt on his arm and pretends to shoot up drugs. The sorelle were quite normal and Sorella Bradford was fighting with Anz. Klemm as a couple and “broke up” so she was crying. Cool thing is, she was able to make real tears come.
The end!
Everyone remember to send me picture!
Love you all so much! Going to bed now. Bona note!
Con amore,
Anziano Edwards 

Italian Lessons and Loving the MTC

Email: September 20, 2012
Ciao!!!
:)
Italian lesson: Singular is Anziano/Sorelle and plural is Anziani/Sorelle. (Elder/sister)
I first thought that being in the MTC would be sort of awful, but it is such a great blessing! I get to listen to so many sunday firesides and tudesday devotionals. Sundays firesides the speaker is some director or big wig leader at the MTC and tuesday devotionals are an authority form the quarm of 70 from the 12 or possibly the prophet or his coulncelers..but thats not that likley. Anyways, they are ALWAYS so fantastic and you leave feeling like you can change the world, which I can I guess. Also they are so insipiring and I learn so much! I love them so much, you have no idea! And plus I get to wear my suits on sundays and tuesdays and thursdays as that is temple day so if its a suit day, its a great day. I love wearing my suits! So if I was here from only three weeks, then I would not have as many opprotunities to learn and listen to big wigs in the church. So amazing and I am so blessed to be stuck here for two months. It is a blessing to be here, the MTC is so great as the Spirit is so strong and everyone is happy and just amazing. Also, being here longer you learn more. But yeah, less than two weeks left!!!!!! Ah, so exciting!!!! It is going to be fantastic! So great! 
My journal is almost a 1/4 way full so I am going to buy another one here, they sell the sames ones at deseret book anyways. I love journal writing, not sure why i never did it before, stupid me.
Not sure who told me this, but we were talking about it earlier this week. The temple in Rome is obviously a sign that the Lords work will not be stopped, It is a sign that the work cant be stopped. It is a statement that eh adversary can not impact the overall progression of the spreading of the gospel. The Rome temple can not be justified in the fact that there are not enough members in Italy to use it. Also, there is temple a few hours away from any part of Italy in Switzerland so again, it seems unnecessary but yet it is being built. Why would a temple be built somewhere where there are not enough members or need for one so close to another? Sure the need may be there in a decade or two, but why now. Correlation between the amount of missionaires being sent to Italy> I think yes.
Every three weeks something happens in the Italy Zone (zone 33!) Aug 1st, a new wave came into the MTC three weeks later the previous wave leave, three weeks after that, a new wave comes in. So, new wave of Italy missionaries come into the MTC every six weeks. and so a new group lands in Italy every six weeks as well. I will ask the other two new districs who is going to milan vs Rome and let you know in my written letter with other good info.
Fact, I have seen Josh Curtis. We have same p day so I see him all the time every day at meals too.
Love you all and I am loving it here. All is well!!!
Con amore,
Anziano Edwards

Bubblers and the Mormon Factory

Letter: September 14, 2012

Ciao mia famiglia!
Come va? Ho bene-molto bene - sempre bene!!! Mi dispiace about the crappy email. I didn't have time and because I forgot my SD card, I just used pictures from Anziano Hurlburt. Don't think I have ever explained this Elder, he's a special spirtied soul haha. He is so amazing, really. He is from South Carolina -win, is a convert and Oct. 18 will be two years as a member, he is super smart, and has such a weird personality. Never met anyone like him for sure. So great. Not sure how to describe him, besides a great guy. He borrows my second set of jeans every week for service as we are built the same. He has a smaller waist and is a little shorter. Another fact, he is crazy. Random weird dances and little spaz attacks. Also, we have nightly talks by the "bubbler" aka water fountain, about random things such as Christmas day vs Christmas Eve, food we like, pets -past & future, fears, etc... It's so fun. Oh another night we studied, Abraham 3 & D&C 138. "The noble and great ones" and applied it to us today; super great times. He is so strong in the church. Our next topic, being tonight, is we are going to compare lives- his vs. mine - growing up in the church vs. being converted later in high school. His family is supportive but are not LDS but he thinks they will be baptized eventually, sooner than later. I know this topic will take a few nights as it's so great - I know it will be. Enough of Anz. Hurlburt; he is a really great friend, we are super close. We rock!
Fact time! 40% of missionaries her are speaking/learning Spanish. There are 55 languages taught here at the Provo MTC. The MTC has 2 observation rooms on each floor of classrooms - we use them to watch each other teach so we can learn techniques of others. It's just like rooms the FBI uses except it's a normal classroom, but same concept. Super cool and weird when you know you are being watched. My floor, 3rd floor, is all the weird languages: Armenian, Greek, Finnish, Baltic, Lithuanian, Albanian -all weird languages that are super small, only 1 or 2 districts, so like 16 people maybe for each language. Oh, and we have French, well one class. Below us are all of the Islanders: Tongan, Fijian, ect... Our building is call the cool building.
I sing in the choir - so fun! I'm a tenor - or that's where I sit anyway. Our entire district goes -it's way fun, and no one can tell if you are bad because there are so many of us.
I have a new record: 128.4 lbs! Yeah, I'm a fatty, I know. Haha.
Witnessed a miracle: One of the Elders spilled grape juice all over himself and stained his shirt, but it didn't stain his garments. Yeah those really are a shield & protectant.
When we pray in Italian we use the informal (friendly) conjugation, not the formal way. Kinda cool to know that we really do talk to God as a friend and pray personally!
News! I got a new MTC Zone Presidency. Pres. Johnson was released after his 4 year time so now we have Pres. Miller (was our 1st counsilor), and Brother McMullin moved from 2nd up to 1st and the new consilor is Brother Morgan. He is awesome! It's exciting to get a new presidency but really sad to see Pres. Johnson leave. He was so wonderful. In Tuesday discussion (as a class) about the devotional, we had Pres. Miller join us and at the end he said truly, "You are what a district is supposed to be." That's right, we are awesome! Told you we are super close and love each other. So special!
I watched the CES devotional that Holland gave in STG and I saw so many faces I knew, it was cool.
Random fact: when teaching at the MTC, it's called TRC (no clue what it stands for). ANyways, our person who served in Italy was with a friend who is from Italy when we taught them - give them a Spiritual though type of lesson, as they are members I said I'm from Utah and he responded (the native Italian) with, "Oh, the Mormon factory." It was super funny. I was caught off guard, but we understood. He was joking of course, but so great. Typical story of my life: we went to the indoor gym as it was raining, so we couldn't play our sand volleyball, so we ran around the track. Or walked with Anz. Hurlburt to talk because we didn't want to work; we were lazy and we started walking with the Sorelle in my district (Bradford & Preston) and I was walking backwards, and my zone didn't warn me that there was a railing to the stairs in the way. Yup, I smashed into it. My stupid bone of my back/hip juts our of my body like all of my stupid bones. So now I have a pretty good bruise on that randome back/hip bone. So I'm still the same: I smash my bones all the time, run into stuff, and stub my toes all the time still.
I am no longer speaking English. The language is coming very well. I'm loving class and especially personal study time. As always, I love my district and zone, the MTC ways are so great! Me piache! After teaching Sorella Fairbanks, "investigator" Christina, I realized I promised her answers to all of her "tomorrows"...whoops. Good thing Anz. Klemm fixed it. Tomorrow = domani & Questions = domanda. WHy do words have to be so similar!? Suffer = soffire & deep fry = soferto? There are so many words that you pronounce slightly different that changes the entire word. It's crazy! It's interesting to know the random words you really say. When cheering you say "dai" (pronounced "die) so cheering on someone you say "dai, dai, dai, dai" (die, die, die, die) Funny stuff!
Well good luck in life, work, school, ect... Love you all!
With much love,
Anziano Edwards
*Italian > English*

It's Always a Good Time

Proof that Anziano Edwards actually does write in his journal

Anziano Edwards & Anziano Hurlburt at the Provo, Utah Temple

Bubbles!!! A.J. told us that his district is really just a bunch of little kids...guess it's true!

What a handsome missionary!

So happy!

Anziano Edwards & one of the Sorelle