Welcome to Udine

Email: February 20, 2013

Well first things first! I am currently in Udine!!! Nice little city and have only gotten lost like 10 times ;) Good thing for maps! (I just wish Italian roads were set up in a grid like Utah, so much harder to navigate around a city that you and your companion dont know. Its fun though!

So I hope I can make some sense with this....at transfers (thursday feb 8th) I was transferred to Picacenza into a trio with Anziano Thompson who is training Anziano Cook, so basically I was a co-trainer I guess you can say. I stayed in Picacenza for a week and then wed evening (Feb. 14) I got a call from Pres. Wolfgramm telling me he was "going to throw me a curve ball" Well he was right, I am getting spaced transferred to Udine. I traded placed with Anziano Iacoveli, so I am now training Anz. Tanner in Udine and Iacoveli is a co trainer in Piacenza. It wasnt expected at all.  A trio is unusual but that was becuase there is an odd number of Anziani in the mission right now. Usually you get spaced transfered into the Office to be an office elder as you need three weeks of training to be an office elder so I was assuming that my trio would be together for a full transfer as the office elders currently are both new and you stay in the office for a long time, but nope, president transferred me out of the blue. He said that he was prompted to transfer me out of Piacenza and put me in Udine. I have full faith and trust in this change because I know how spiritually in tune President is. For what ever reason, I need to be in Udine I guess. and it just so happens to a trainer.

My companion, is Anziano Tanner. I have a city bike and it works great! I love it. The apartment is one of the nicest apartments in the mission so I am doing great! I love it! The weather is about the same, maybe warmer, but I think this past week was just an unusual warm week. Is it riskier being on the Slovanian-Austria border?  Boh! I have no idea, thus far, I have not met many foreigners. It seems super safe, but don't matter, I am a servant tot the Lord and have the Spirit with me. Don't worry. 

Being a trainer is so stressfull!!!!!!!!! AHHHHH!!!!! The district leader and zone leaders I think are sick of me asking them questions.....they were the ones that said if we ever need anything to call them, so I do! :) Anyways I am so tired and exhausted every day, It's crazy because I wake up tired but then though out the day I have all the energy I need and after planning at night, I have no energy. All energy leaves me once the daily work is over. The Lord truly does bless me during the day.

Last week in Piacenza I had a zone confrence (and will have another one for the mestre zone this friday) and it got me fired up! The confrence re kindled and lit my fire to do the work. The assistants talked abotu some verse in D&C about how the Lord WILL hasten is work and then shared a talk from Elder Holland which he said "the work IS hastening" I can completly agreee, the work in my cities has and will be talking off. In another aspect of the hastening is when president shared the news about missionaries this summer in our mission. Right now we have 23 sorelle and in June, we will have 68! Now we have 136 Anziani and will have 250 in the fall! The Anziani will nearly double and the >Sorelle will tripple!!! So exciting! I love being part of this hastening, I feel like now is the best time to be a missionary. So mayn great things are happening. President said that if we dont lenthen our stride, we WILL get left behind. Time now, more than ever, is the time to buckle down and beable to keep up with the overall hastening of the Lords work world wide. I AM READY!!!!!

I would love you send you pictures.....but......my camera is in Piacenza, I forgot it there. But Piacenza said they will get it to me though mission mail, it just might me next trasfer as it is given to Piacenza district leader to Verona zone leader to mestre zone leader then to my district leader. Confusing but works out fine, just takes time.

The other day, we got a text from one of our investigator will a date set for baptism in march and is said  that he is going to try the other chuches and if he doesnt find the truth there, he will come back to us. That was the first time I have ever had an investigator say they no longer want to meet with us as missionaries. Such a hard text to read. We send a really good text back though.

The work here in Udine is fantastic, hard but great. We have a small investigator pool but tons on new converts. There are a few cities known as the "miracle cities" in the mission and Udine is one of them. I can already agree with all of the miracle we have seen. I am super excited to attpemt to train Anziano Tanner and recive all the miracles and blessings. Anziano Tanner is from Arizona and is super ready and willing to do his best and he is always pushing me to to everything better. Its fantastic! I love Anziano Tanner! He is such a fantastic missionary.

Got to go and do the Lords work!

Love you all and best of luck in everything!

Love, Anziano Edwards!!!!!

Quick Note -Space Transfer!!!!

Email: February 13, 2013

CRAZY UPDATE!!! I AM GETTING SPACED TRANSFERRED TOMORROW, SO THURSDAY AFTERNOON BACK INTO THE MESTRE ZONE IN UDINE, JUST A SHORT TRAIN RIDE AWAY FROM MY LAST CITY, VICENZA.   AND I WILL BE TRAINING!!!!!!! PRESIDENT WOLFGRAMM JUST CALLED AND LET ME KNOW. HE THINKS I AM A GOOD MISSIONARY...I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM DOING!!!!! HAHAHA, WELL THIS WILL BE INTERESTING......I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE CITY (UDINE) IS LIKE OR ANYTHING ABOUT THE CITY OR THE WORK THERE, AND MY NEW COMPANION ANZIANO SOMEONE, FORGOT HIS NAME....ANYWAYS AS HE IS A NEW MISSIONARY, HE DOESN'T KNOW ANYONE REALLY OR REALLY KNOW THE CITY. I HAVE A FEELING WE ARE GOING TO GET LOST ALL THE TIME AND BE TWO SUPER YOUNG MISSIONARIES THAT HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS GOING ON... PRESIDENT IS CRAZY TO THINK I CAN TRAIN. OH MAN, WILL LET YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT WEDNESDAY.

CIAO!

CRAZY WEEK TRYING TO LEARN PIACENZA AND NOW I LEAVE IT. OH WELL.

-ANZIANO EDWARDS!!!!!

Pictures of Piacenza

Email: February 12, 2013

Here are some pictures from my last day in Vicenza and my new place in Piacenza!

Me outside the chaple in Vicenza

Me outside the chaple in Vicenza

Me and Presedente Mateazzi in the chruch by his office

our sign above the toilet... hahaha 

Our Bedroom

our shower being held up by a rope...

Kitchen

Extra Room/DIning Table

study/main room

Main hallway in the building

Our Door 

the small chaple (38 people were at church on sunday, averages from 30-55 people are usually in church 

it snowed, Italy got hit with a big snow storm, we got maybe 8 inches here, picture only shows maybe 4 inches. Because of thw snow storm, the Zone Confrence that was scheduled for tuesday was changed to Wed, so that P-day was moved to tuesday, that is why im emailing you today.

The street the chuch is on, its in the middle of Centro in a bussiness building on the 3 floor, maybe the 2nd floor....dont remember...

The entrance to the building

Companions

Anziano Cook is from Washington state and is the only member in his family. He was baptized two years ago and is a fantastic new missionary who know the langukage VERY well. Great missionary to just sit and talk. He has taught me so much about the catholic church-the basic beleifs and such. I am co-training him with Anziano Thompson.

Anziano Thompson just started his 6th transfer. So cook has completed one transfer, myself 3, and so us combined is still younger than Thompson who has completed 5. Anz. Thompson is from Idaho Falls, from "the high school" There are about a dozen missionaries and more that have been called to the Milan Mission all from this high school, but its because that all took Itlaian class in high school. 

Both companions are super great. Cook is good to talk to, Thompson is funny and crazy but has found tha ballance to having fun and working hard. This is will a great trasfer! The only trio in the mission! 

Transfer!!!!!!!!

Email: February 6, 2013

Well thursday morning Elder Arbogast will pick us up so we can catch our train to get to Milano Centrale for transfers. Anziano Proctor is staying in vicenza and will be training for his last transfer, its funny every now and again to joke about how he is going home the end of march. he hates it. His wish is to train an Italian and there is a 3/17 possibility as three new missionaies are Italians. We will see, or he will see... Quinidi, I am getting transferred to PIACENZA!!! The city where Anziano Proctor was born in (aka first city) so he has filled me in with all the details of the city and what happened there 2 years ago when he served there. My new companionS will be Anziano Thompson and Anziano Cook. Anziano Cook is new, and will be starting his second transfer so technically I will be a co-trainer with Anz.  Thompson. A trio! that will be exciting and new and fun, I am excited! There usually is never a trio so its really rare. Super cool. Piacenza is 45 minutes by train southish of MIlano in the Verona Zone, but will go to the combined zone conference with the Firenze and Bologna Zones in Modena. Piacenza is about the same size as Vicenza and Anz. Proctor siad that when he was there, church varied from 30-60 people each week. Will be a fun time getting out of little America! ;)

Attached are some pictures. Annes and I, my bike and Anz. Proctor and his bike last Pday.

1. Teatro Olimpico, old famous theater.

2. Me at Parco Querini, A park we always do finding work in.  

3. The Basilico, the famous buliding with a green roof that us preidnets modled thier homes afer apparently

My new favorite quote,  " any fool can know. the point is to understand" -Albert Einstein

Well picturea take for ever to upload so the work here is going very well. Loving it, investigators are scared to get baptized and dropped their dates, but good transfer to set a bunch and even baptize a few people. 

This evening we are going to our eternal investigators Gildos house and his wife Karen who is a member for a familiy home evening my first one! Karen mentioned it last time we went over as we asked for referrals and so they invited some family over for dinner and we will have family home evening with all of them. Our lesson will be a far with walnuts and rice, priorities. You have to put the big things first then fill the space with the little, less important things last so you can fit it all in your jar/life. 

Super fun. PLus Karen is Hundouran and cooks fantastically with hot spices, as in general, Itallian food is never spicy. Well, at least  not to American standards. 

Ciao!

- Anziano Edwards 

Happy 6th Month Anniversary!

Email: January 30, 2013

Well nothing really new besides, indeed it is my 6 month mark! Whoa.....that was WAY too quick! I hate it as that means my mission is 25 % over! Not what I want, I love it too much. But time has to go by so I will just work harder and enjoy it more :)

This past week, I have been specifically asked, not me and my collega, "Are you Itallian?" So I guess I must be speaking Italian decently such that Italians ask me if I am a native. One guy asked it I was Italian and the other old couple asked if I was from here localy as I guess I was using some of the local dialect. So yeah, the language is coming along well! I am loving it!

The Italian memeber Annes, from Gahna but has lived in Italy for a good amount of time, finnaly got his mission call after two months, he is going to Rome Italy and reports to Spain MTC April 17th. The branch is super excited for him. Annes is a convert of two years and is 20 years old, he is a solid member and so great! Always willing to come to lessons with us. No doubt, he will be an amazing missionary down in Rome. 

Il mia collega, Anziano Proctor keeps making the joke that I will be a trainer next, then distric leader for a few transfers, then zone leader for a while, then assistant to the President for a bit then die as a normal missionary back home in Vicenza. He says all the time that I will be assistant one day just because of the ideas I have and how I am smarter than him and a better missionary than him now and how when he was in his 3rd transfer, he was a stupid missionary....he talks me up way too much. 

In reality, I will get transfered next week most likley, we will see. Also, Anz. Proctor says that I wil be put with another young missionary as that is what usually happens so that will be scary but a really good experiance. 

The gospel is being spread and new apartments are being bought in preparation of the growth our mission will recieve hear shortly which is super exciting! I am loving the work and it is moving forward for sure! 

Current investigators are solid, but not commitating adnn keeping invitations we well as we want. 

Love you all ciao!

Anziano Edwards! 

"The confession booth thingy in the duomo (main chuch) in Marostica"

My current district that most likey I will be leaving in a week.  

Baptism

Elder and Sister Arbogast playing chess in Morostica

Myself and Anz. Proctor. We went to the castle city last p-day, super fun!

Stories!!!

Email: January 23, 2013

Well glad to hear its warm back home....its cold and wet, well more wet than cold as I think I have adapted well to the cold and it isnt that bad, but rain...rain is no fun at all, but its part of the work! :)

Some stories and recent happenings:

We dropped or are in the process of droping, giving a final lesson to many of our investigators who are just not worth our time. Sounds bad as everyone is important, but as missionaires, we cant teach everyone. If someone has a glimmer of hope, we have to drop them and come back to them later in a few months as we can only use our limited time to dedicate ourselfs to those who are activly progressing. 

I feel as if I am a master in people watching! Especially when watching THe District DVDs and I notice little/odd things the missionaires in the DVD do or dont do. ALso, people are so funny! I love just walking around or rideing my bike at watching people, they do the weirdest things! Try it some time.

I LOVE the Italian people! They have their strange, well better yet, very strange ways and habits. Their personalities are very unique and differnet from Americans for sure. We met a few Americans this past week and they are all so rude and thier voices are just anoying. I was remended of how rude Americans are in genreal, the Italians are rude as all people can and will be but they are just so much more polite and talking to them is such a more plesnet expericace.  My favorite thing is the Italian hand gestures! Love them to death, dont know how to explain them, but they are great and so usefull. They use their hands to talk more so than Americans but just and gesture they do in general are so much better than back home. And plus, they are usefull and get your point across! I wish I was an Italian, who wnats to move to Italy with me!? Its way differnet than home, but so much cooler, except gas is a billion times more expensive. 

Allora, At zone confrence on the 17 we watch a video of the Rome temple and it focused on the statue of Christ and the apostles that are exact replicas of the fist ones that are famous  and are in some old famous bulding, anyways the rome temple has so much cool stuff! Such a awesome thing! Super exciting! The members LOVE it, they go nuts about their Itlanian temple! Super cool. 

An 8 year old american girl got baptized last saturday and we were the witnesses, and her dad did not baptize her as his white clothes were being shippped here to italy, as they just moved and so a random member baptized her. Anyways the dad is some special army man and picks locks and since the closet in the padova chaple that had the white clothes in it, was locked and them members who had they key could not come and open it, the dad was trying to pick the lock, didnt work as he didnt have his tools. He said he could have get it open in less than 10 seconds with his tools, but since he oly had two paper clips that wer not the right size, he couldnt do it. Well the Padova Italian bishop cam eventualy with white colthes of his own that were small so that is whay another member baptized, I was going to do it as I fit, but they choose a member who infact, was his first baptism. He served in Russia and never baptized his whole mission and his own kids are too young, It was a super cool watching the father give up, per say, his right to baptize his own daughter, the olders kit too, to some, basically random member. the father did although give an AMAZING blessing to his daughter afterwards. Super cool to watch the entire events unfold. That was probably confusing but deal with it, ;)  

My computer this week only has a floppy drive so picture of bike next week. This afternoon we are going to Marostica, a castle city with the Sr. couple, Arbogasts. 

Um yeah, ciao!

Love me, 

Anziano Edwards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brrrrrrrr

Email: January 16, 2013

The weather is, um COLD! Rather, FREEZING!!! It has been raining non stop basically for the past few days and coming back from Padova-spent our pday shopping and just hanging out with them-we saw snow....the entire 30 min train ride was more and more snow. No fun! Our bikes we covered and my fingers are too cold so im sorry if my typing is horrible, I cant feel my fingers. The Weather is highs around 8C and no clue about lows but in the evenings as we head home a sign says its like -1 to 5 depending on the day. So its sits around freezing and warms up decently in the day. Its zero or below now as its snowing hard and all sticking. My collega does not like the rain or snow, well at least while in Italy. We decided back home it was warm rain and we had a car and could play in the rain if we wanted but now, we have to be out in it, but the more times you do finding work in awful weather, the better wife you get ;)

Forgot to get a picture of my bike, its a really good one though! Except its a mountain bike and not a comfotrtrably city bike. Picture next week. 

We got our appartment thgououly checked by the Sr. couple as all sr coulpes are doing very indepth checks of all apartments and dthe mission is sbuting new ones and re updating all exitsting apartments. We get new pots and pans, taoater, couch/love seat, maybe paint job and some other stuff. Its way nice! The mission is stressing perfect working apartments, we had our land lord come over to ask him some questions and he was super freindly and helpful and had good costomer service, which most italians, would be sasfe to say all have poor costomer service, just the culture. Like to day shoping you ask for something they tel you go look for it  and they never have peopl eworking the floors to help you so in a way its nice because you dont get bugged while shopping.  Funny thing today as our train was cencelled, happens all the time as they are always on strike....annoying, but we had to take a bus and we asked a bus driver what number bus goes to Vicenza and he said" Bho! I dont know, there are signs and numbers abovre your head! Go look there!" We said well ok...but then he answered us and said mayby number 8. There way of helping is very blunt, seems rude but they dont mean it at all that way. I kind of like it! Blunt/simple and direct. yeah, I like it! 

Venice aka Venizia is super cool. there are elders in mestre which is baskically the same city. they are our zone leaders and have a car and bikes. Anyways you cant do finding work in venezia as its all tourists and no locals but they do go there several times a week usually for lessons with italians who actually live in venice. Anyways the branch her is growing in both branches! Less actives are showing up each week and so thats super exciting!  The people from gahna speak english, some speak italian if they hav lived her for a while. 

the Referal was AMAZING! Luca, our branhc mission leader and the first counceler took us to his house as we only had an address and he didnt anser the door but we found a back door with a light and it was his house,  and he answered and invited us right in. Gave a blessing as he hurt is foot at work and no doesn have work. We will try to go back and see him again next week. he gave us all his info and seemed interested. His daughter is in Florida with kids, is a member and is super cool she skyped while we were there the but internet went out and so we could say hello to her. Also, his wife didint like us at all and was suprised when she saw us there when she came home from work but really warmed up and is super cool as well, not super inteested in us but we will see. 

Its been a cold but very good week. 

Well its 6 so time to go work in the snow storm! 

Love me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More of Venice

Email: January 9, 2013

...start now with a stirct schedule and stick to to. NEVER procanstinate anything, (dont procrastinate youir day of repentance as it says in the scricptures) but in everyday life,  just get things done sooner than later. Dont wait to get your homework done, wiating does you no good.

Went to Venenzia, aka Venice today with Padova Anziani and it was my collegas first time there. It was a bunch of fun. Really awesome city.

More about my collega, besides he is the best missionary ever, honestly in every aspect is he is really just amazing! Some members I heard wisper in sacrament meeting the first week when he intorduced himself and the members were saying, wow, he is from america, he sounds Italian from Toscano (spelling?) accent where he "eats his C's) its the most pure Italian dialect. Souinds so pretty. Anyways, he is a self prclamed OCD sufferer and is very particualr about, well, everything, we get along great and everything is in perfect order in the apertment and everything has its place, LOVE IT! Also, he is obsessed with watches, shoes and a little with hats, strange, me too!!! I love my collega, really he helps me so much and just amazing, I am so blessed. He thinks its werid as of the past 7 lessons, only one was in Italian...half of our investigarors speak Italian but they are harder to set an apointment with usually.

Anziano Proctor is all about healthy eating and he cooks wonderfully, its amazing!

In Church last sunday, the militray branch had 140 people and that was even with the 10-12 families missing still from the holidays. It was packed! we can fit 160 chairs if you cram them into the chaple so it will be interesting to see what happens, We are trying to get some sound wired into the relif society room across the hall as its a largeish room and can fit another 50 chairs maybe.

Super funny, tetimony in the Italian branch by G.B.  was watching TV, and fliped to a channel and it was a bad channel that didnt invite the spirit so he got up, picked up his tv and through it out the window! Then went outside, picked it up and put it into the dumpster. Yeah all because the tv had a bad show, a little radicle but he way he said it was super funny! Crazy man for sure. He also allways wears a fanny pack and leads the music. He is also the guy that invites us to visit his friends but we hanvent had the time to go with him. He opens up his past yearbooks, and goes through everyone and visits them and tells them their church is of man and is wrong and gives then a book of mormon and tells them to be baptized....ahaha a great member for sure!

We set two baptismal dates! Both for the 16 of Feb. with Paticia and Kobby a 40 yearold ganian lady and a 18 yearold ganian man. Both just super investigators we found and are super progressing! Whoo! Sad part is the transfer ends Feb 10 and I will most likley get transfered then...boo.

Best of luck in everything you are doing and keep up being awesome! As you know, I love you all and pray for you everyday. Stay strong and dont get a sore throat like me!

Ciao!

Anziano Edwards.

PS, yesterday we got a referal from the office from mormon.org, a girl requested a blessing for her father. We only have an address in a city just ourside of Vicenza so Luca, our branch mission leader is going to take us to see them this evening. Super cool, we will see exactly what is up!

My Collega and Padova Anziani in Venezia for p day today!

Happy New Year Plus One Day

Email: January 2, 2013

The weather here as been SO nice! Like, its been warm...well cold but hot compared to the weather a few weeks ago it has warmed up for sure. Today is a light, constant rain, but what can you do? Work harder! Its been said that for every day your work in the rain or bad weather and angry dog you meet, the prettier our wife gets..so my wife will be amazing! hahaha

My new compainon is indeed Anziano Proctor. Last Friday we woke up at 5:00am!!!!!!!!!!! Way too early! Got the only train that wasn't a frecia bianca(fast expensive train) that got us to Miliano by noon, met the MASS of missionaries in the train station and sent Anz Moore off with his new collega, Anz Angel, and then Anziano Proctor showed up and we drove back with our zone leaders in Meste and started our work in Vicenza! He is such a wonderful missionary! He dies, aka goes home in two transfers so 12 weeks, end of march. I want to be the one that kills him, sends him home as I would be fine with being compassion with him for ever. He is such a great missionary, every sense of the word! He is just literally awesome! Speaks perfectly, and has the accent from the Florence(Frienze area) so he "eats his C's" all words with a C are sorta mumbled and sounds so weird and I am trying to get used to it. Every area in Italy has their own dialect, words that are only words in that specific area and also their own accent or ver specific sound when they talk. YOu can tell people are not from the area when you hear them because tehy dont speak "veneto" the local dialect here in Vicenza area. Anyways, Anziano Proctor is super awesome in everything, an experianced missionary so he just knows it all and he is such a great help with the language. We SYL, speak your language, when we are outside as much as possible, we average about 80% Italian when not in the apartment. I have learned how much and well I can speak! I have just been holding back becuase I feel inadequate but now that he has helped me speak more, I have learned that I really do know the language and am improving very quickly! Anziano Proctor is very clean, like VERY clean-personal hygine, organized, and cleans everything very well, I aprove! haha We get along perfectly! Its fantastic. I am loving life and the mission. We are doing such great things here already in Vicenza! This transfer will be amazing! We have so much planned and going to work really hard for sure! 

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOVE, ME,

Anziano Edwards :)

Me and my CARS advent calandar, ignore my dress and face, I was happy it was christmas and I ate all my chocolates.... 

Our Little Christmas Tree

Merry Christmas

Email: December 26, 2012

(Due to being able to Skype with Anziano Edwards on Christmas morning the email this week was short -He is looking and doing great! Loving Italy!!!!)

Con amore, e ti volglio bene!

-Anziano Edwards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Daily Gift to Christ

Email: December 20, 2012

My daily gift to Christ is one of the Christlike attributes-faith in Jesus Christ, and yeah that is what we wrote on a star and are hangin on the christmas tree in the mission home. The Wolfgramms are seriously the best, in every sense of the word. I LOVE THE WOLFGRAMMS!!! We had Christmas zone conference yesterday(Wed.) in Verona and it was super fantastic it was the regular zone conference and training stuff plus we acted out the nativity scene, my collega was a wise man with the gold, it was funny watching the missionaries act it all out and Mary and Joseph was Anziano Hansen and Sorella Hansen-not related but it seemed fitting as sorella Wolfgramm said. The Wolfgramms really make our mission feel like a family and the theme was unity. We all got christmas ties and the sorelle got christmas scarfs. The ties are yellow with dark blue wide stripe pattern. Also, the first time ever, our mission bought the Rome mission the same ties as well as all the local leaders in Italy. Italy is truly united! I ,love the tie! I cant wait until I serve in the zone that has florence or brescia as that is where you get ties for 2 or 2.50 Eruo respectfully. If I serve there, I will for sure come home with a suit case of ties!!! Real high quality Italian ties for like 3 bucks! So you can imagine that matching ties for milan mission and rome mission plus all local leaders in italy cost a lot but as they bought a few hundred ties, some tie maker man made a good deal. Every Christmas the mission gets mission ties so I get another one in a year! :)

The cold weather pack from Adrians is amazing! Would have died along time ago if I didn't have it. I have also bought two other scarfs one fancy one and another gigantically long one that is super warm! I love scarfs!  If you got a scarf and a toque aka beanie, you are warm. I think I am getting used to the weather...its cold but whatever.

Wow, my mission is flying by! Hope it slows down! I love it too much!

The annoying thing about Italy is their police sirens-they sound so great, NOT! super weird sounding.

Love you all so much, tons and tons!

Love your favorite person ever,

Anziano Edwards!!!

You Know it's Cold When....

Email: December 12, 2012 

I attached a bunch of photos this week too. some form Venezia last p day and my Venice mask that is all hand made and the snow we got here last week. It is cold!!! Ended up with about 4 inches but it all melted by the end of the day and now we have no snow. You know its cold when your bike brake doesn't work as its frozen....and your bike seat has a good layers of frost on it...I'm doing well though, wear a scarf and its all good.

Well in other news, I love shrimp! Yeah never thought I would say that! Went and at a part member family wife member husband not his name is Gildo and had a really good expectations and figured out why he doesn't want to hear the lessons, he is great and they feed us each week or so when we see them. We ate shrimp with a simple olive oil type sauce and spanish type  rice(wife is from Hunduras). English class is super great, great way to get new investigators! But I learn I dont know correct english! So hard to explain english grammar and all the exceptions we have. Chirstmas is great in Italy, but not the same feelings. I miss each house with christmas lights, here no one has their own house, but Centro has a cool tree and lights.

With so much love,

Anziano Edwards

Venetian Mask

A picture of all our food! we are goin to surive dec 21st! ;)

ps keep up with the temple sessions attendace, GO OFTEN AND REGURALY! Its such a blessing to be so close to a temple, i miss it.  so you all need to just GO! :)

Thats it, Italy is great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas is in the Air

Email: December 5, 2012

Carson, they drive on the right side of the road. Same as America but they are completely crazy drivers but they are all really good at the same time. They only have a few lights, but a billion round abouts. Look up the car "Fiat Multipla" I would have to say its the ugliest car ever! 
Our district grew, We have have us (vicenza) and still Padova and now also have Mestre(where the zone leaders live) and Treviso. 

Cool stories: Doing casa, we found a young man going to art college here from dads mission. And the past day, we stopped a guy doing strada and he said in a deep and scary voice " I know who you guys are!" in perfect English. We prepared to say we are not the Jdubs(Jehovah's witnesses) but ends up he is a less active guy here! He got a scholarship to BYU when he was 19 and studied there for a year(maybe more) and got baptized and became and elder but when he moved back to Italy, he became less active/never comes to church. He does not like how small the ward, well technically the branch is here in Vicenza. Poor excuse I think but we are going to pay a surprise visit to him later this week or next as we called the branch mission leader and branch president and they know of him and all his back stores and also his records so thus his address :) Super cool Italian guy. 

 Just got back from Venezia aka Venice today with the Anziani from Padova. Cool and fun time but cold! Bought a Venetian mask! 

I really like how close Italains are. They are close families and family oriented and just when going through town families tend to hold hands. I think its super great. 

Have fun and good luck in life.

Con amore, 

Anziano Edwards!!!!!!!!!!!!! XOXOXOXOXOXO

Post-Thanksgiving News

Email: November 28, 2012

I love my new camera and it works great! Today we are on the base and got tacobell and bowling plus free internet :)

In church I was a model for the Italian primary as their lesson was on missionaries and I helped teach for half the class which was super cool, there are only 2 kids plus on kid of an investigator. Thanksgiving was AMAZING! so yummy! (pictures attached) We ate at the McCallaums house and has a total of 27 people, E., our new convert and a few other less actives were invited over too as well as their Italian neighbors. Super funny to watch the Italian neighbors reaction to Thanksgiving. They said they had never seen so much food in their life! They were going crazy! They loved it though and I was super great!

It has been nice the past few weeks weather wise, but yesterday and today we have been soaked! Rain is such a pain but its always fun to laugh it off while riding though flooded streets ;) In fact last night while riding asap to the bus station my rear tire blew out. Like literally blew, I never have had a tire just pop before. Luckily I was less than a block from the station, not sure what caused it but got it fixed. The Italian branch mission leader and his wife speak English, he learned it on his mission in London and she learned in school here in Italy but they are offering classes each weak to teach Italian to some of the members who don't speak any or very well to help them get jobs here so we are helping with that once a week. 

Sorella Wolfgramm is so fantastic! She really is our mom here in Italy. We all made a paper star with our name on it so each missionary has their name on the christmas tree in the mission home. 

Thanks for everything you are all doing for me and you're all in my prayers! Love and miss you all :)

MY MISSION IS AWESOME!  Ps, I am speaking well and really understanding others now :) Super great! We have a baptismal date for L. on the 15 of dec, and M. on the 29 and E. will soon be on the 5 E. just hasn't accepted it but will! and our four new investigators including elect Kojo(super elect and ready man from Gahna) will have a date later this week for the end of dec too. We had a great week of finding elect people and setting dates for baptism!!!! Go us! 

Con amore,

Anziano Edwards :)!!!!!