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

Short and Sweet

Email: September 13, 2012
Hope you enjoyed the random pictures...I forgot my camera card today so I used pictures from Anziano Hurlburt.
I have been doing awesome and life is great. The language is coming super great and I am super happy. So great!
My investigators are progressing, they don't want to get baptized because they don't see the point or their husband doesn't like us...classic troubles.
The new missionaries are super awesome, seen them for like 5 min and sang them hymn number 44 in the Italian inni, its only an italian hymn, and shook their hands. One sister has lived in Italy for three years, dad in the Navy and there are 17 of them-two districts. Will give more info when I know them as their first few days is a weird schedule.
Love you all!
Anziano Edwards :)

Jose the Guinea Pig

Email: September 6, 2012

Well hello once again, I don't really feel like writing letters today but we will see how this goes...

Thanks so much for your support, you guys help so much really.

The Italian is coming for sure. I spend 6 hours a day in class, an hour of personal study, an hour of TALL (technology assisted language learning) on the computer, and then gym and a few hours of study time through out the day in little segments. It's a busy schedule but great. Everything is inspired and I really love my schedule. Its a great week schedule with p day on Thursday, Tuesday devotional and Sundays, so it breaks it up very nicely. I study preach my Gospel a lot and we have other books we use to learn the Gospel and different ways to teach so class is half language and halfish teaching ways. we also teach our fake progressing investigators during class time. This week we made our own investigators and so others in the class teach each other. I am "jose" and am taught by the sorelle; and I and  Anz. Day teach the sorelle. Its so fun and good to see how an investigator feels during a lesson being taught. Also, I am the special chosen one. I am getting personal one on one help from the part time teachers and helper teachers so that has really helped. Also, since I get extra help, I am the guinea pig who is testing out the new Italian books. They are redoing the Italian textbooks so I am helping write them and their format. I get taught in class and also during my one on one time the new techniques that will be implemented in the near future in the MTC. WE get the new Italians on Wednesday the 12th so next letter I will tell you about them. 

I am getting fat. Well my type of fat. I have the slightest belly. Not fat like my pants don't fit but I'm just a skinny boy instead of a really skinny boy. I promised myself not to get fat, so I wont :) But everyone else is fat...haha the food is good so everyone eats unhealthy and eats so much but not I. Not craving any food as I don't really snack much. Send me what you want and what I like and I will enjoy it for sure. Journal writing is so amazing, not sure why I was so dumb and never wrote in one before. I also just bought a personal study/spiritual thoughts journal that I take to church, firesides, personal study and such. I put quotes and random thoughts and such in it. Good stuff. Yes I still hate soccer, we play volleyball everyday and it is so fun, (sand volleyball of course) We play as Italians and don't usually let others play in our game. Yeah we are not the nicest..but we grow together so that's our excuse. Um I will send more pictures next week and we now can in the laundry room computer lab.

I love you tons and tons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Anziano Edwards   :)

MTC Pictures!!! :)

A.J.'s Pride & Joy: His Name Tag! :)

Italians at the Provo, Utah Temple

Anziano Edwards & Anziano Klemm

Best Friends: Anziano Edwards & Elder Bushnell

DHHS Missionaries

Italy Milan Mission

Angel Moroni

Possa la forza essere con tu

Letter: August 31, 2012

So happy to be writing you all!  I love to hear what is going on back home and in each of your lives. Keep it up!

I’m sitting here trying to think of a story that I can tell you of something that has happened but can’t really think of one…

Oh! Anziano Tymczuk told us he was leaving Wed. evening so since he had $12 on his ID card, we went to the vending machines and he bought drinks, and lots of them. We bought 4 dozen and a halfish, made them into the shape of Italy. Then saw who could drink one the fastest. Anz. Day and I lost because we hate soda…we sipped it and watched everyone else die. Tymczuk won with 10 seconds! We then continued to “party” until 11:50. We had fun and just talked, packed his bags, traded ties, and signed ties.

Neckties here are honestly life $. Trading them is huge! It’s fun to trade them and sign them on the back.

I may have found a way to attach photos in emails. The USB ports don’t work but the computers in the laundry room have external card readers so I will try soon, for sure by next Thursday.

President Johnson will decide where Anziano Day goes now (what companionship to make a trio). I am hoping to get Anziano Day in my companionship to make a trio. I really think he would bring examples and ideas that would help me and help my companionship. Also, it would be cool to be a trio instead of a companionship.

Did temple initiatories this week and last and the first week. Did a session the 2^nd week. Will be doing sessions each week for now on though. Will do sealings maybe soon.

We have a “drawer of consecration.” The bottom drawer in our bedroom is full of amazing food. We all contribute to the drawer and all partake of it freely. The whole MTC is jealous because ours is full of good stuff while others are full of crappy food and treats. Our district rocks!!!

What else this week…TRC! We were teaching 2 20 min. lessons to members who volunteer their time to be taught. Some are RM’s from Italy, others are actual Italians so it’s fun to teach. But this week I only taught 1 lesson because the volunteers didn’t show up on time.

Yup, that’s my life. Love you all. Below if you couldn’t tell is my Italian testimony J

Io so che questa Chiesa, la chiesa di Gesù Cristo dei santi degli Ultimi giorni e vero. So che dio amore mi molto. So che le famiglie sono eterno e famiglie piu importante.  Il libro di Mormon un altro testamento di Dio. Il Libro di Mormon contiene la porola di Dio. Io so che Joseph Smith era un profeta vero. Joseph Smith tradusse Il Libro di Mormon con il potere di Dio. Mio familiy sono importante per mi. Io parlo questi parola nel nome di Gesù Cristo, Amen.

*Update: Today (Friday 8/31/12) Anziano Day is in a trio with me and Anziano Klemm.

Possa la forza essere con tu.