How Missionaries Stay Happy & Positive

Email: July 10, 2013

Well no pictuers, I forget my card to usb reader at home. Next week I will remember hopfully. 

Its hot and we have hit mid 30s this week, with 3000% humidity. Its hot and I never knew I could sweat, and the best news is it is not even August, the month when its blistering hot and humid and also all the whole country goes on a three week vacationa and ever busy city becomes a ghost town.....Genova might be where everyone goes though....we willl see! 

Yes we have an english class, every Wed at 19:00. Its super fun, we teach the conversational class, basically we just talk with them 99% in English, le sorelle teach the basic class. We are really trying to get one man to meet with us, but he is moving to London soon, so hopefully the missionaries there find him. 

No fire works for the 4th of July :(, but they did go off on the 3rd of July, no idea why....I guess the city didnt have antything else to do. Boh!

I was cutting some potaotes up for lunch last week. I am now missing a good chuck of flesh off my left thumb...it hurt. Quite bad too. It is healing fine though. No worries, I hope it leaves a cool scar and you can all see it. 

Mission changes! We all need to get rid of back packs soon and only use shoulder bags and we are no longer servents of the Lord, but Executives of the Lord. Um, President said we will be staying longer in each of our cities. And in 2014, we all get tablets and fancy stuff as technolgy missionaries for the 21st century. Fun stuff! 

the capi zona baptized on saturday, we had our investigator mario there and he loved it!

In church, our companionship and 6 people in church, our baptismal date, and three people for the first time, plus two other progressing investigators. 

Genova is a miracle city, too many to tell you! 

Love you, we have to go and buy gelato and I used all my time email others. You can blame Angie and dad for taking all of my time....

Missions are the coolest thing ever and Presidente Dibb is different but great, he was a lawyer for sure, definitely shows! Sorella Dibb is nervous and so loving, miss the wolfgramms so you can visit them for me.

Love you all!

Ciao!

Mi state bene! 

Email #2:

Its weird how seemingly random things come and random times but then you look back and you can just notice how much your loving Heavenly Father knows and cares about you. I have such a strong testimony about the Lord answering prayer though others, there has been times walking down the street, teaching investigators, campanions, talks in church, just everywhere that I get prayers answered because someone says something. Its fun to see how stange the Lord answers prayers, rarely how I would have wanted or thought. Its great!

yes time ZOOMS PAST FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF LIGHT. its crazy, and I hate it. Everyone says that the first year of your mission is slow and the second half just goes by in the blink of and eye so I should be prepared to live up every second. Well....bad news, the first half of my mission has allready flown by so that mean that my second half will.....be nonexistant...ahhhh! So scary to think that my mission is nearly half over, just a few short weeks! I hate it! I just want to stay here doing this forever, but I know two years is my time and Aug 2014, as I keep being worthy and obediant and hard working, that end day will be happy and exciting, not becuase I miss America and my friends and family, but I feel you shouldnt fear the end day of you mission if you serve worthy and do what you should do every day. Bitter sweet I guess in a way. 

What do I do so stay positive and am I really always happy and positive as my email sound? Well yeah for the most part I am always happy and upbeat, the hard moments come but I stay positive, usually always, but I do make my emails sound alot happier and better. I dont lie, but I leave many stories, and thoughts and detials out....Crazy things happen to missionaries, I am lucky and havent had too many super crazyt things, but my journal hears the real stuff. The world is crazy, italy is not like home, people often times hate you, like HATE you, even though I have the best message they can ever hear and accept, I walk into random houses, go into scary places, do simply said, crazy and weird things. I love being a missionary. But let me tell you, the gift of discernment is real and it totaly necessary tot he work, knowing investigators needs, and being told whre and what to say, and being told by someone with out a body, my heavenly messangers what houses and doors not to enter into even though they invite you in or just to not even knock and all. Cool but scary story: walking around talking and trying to enter into houses and appartment complexes and something told me not to ring this one bell, so I didn't. Wasnt sure why as it was a really nice house and things pointed  to having a family, the one thing you want as a missionary! Well we didnt, my companion was kind of upset, but then as we were down to the next house/building, I felt awful inside, like physical pain, then one of the most scary things I have felt I saw the man who lived there. He looked like a normal Italian father, but there was just a really bad feeling and it was just a conformation that I was good and didnt knock. I dont know what would or whouldnot have happed but I am glad I dint even talk to him. The devil is real. The Lord portects me and all missionaries and all his children if they heed the small and quiet promptings. I ask you to always be ready and willing to acknowledge his promptings and have the faith. 

To stay positve, I just smile, even when I hate it. I have a fake smile often, but then it changes into a real smile and I am once again positive and happy. A good companion, being joined by the spirit helps everything. 

Go jump in a pool for me. Biggest temptation is that stupid beach! Looks so refreshing! Even worse when you have members tell you about how they jog along the street you always do finding work on(called Corso Italia) aka the boardwalk, and then jump in the ocean after they are hot and sweaty. I just get hot and sweaty and get to keep walking. I miss the ocean and pool, just great way to stay in shape and cool off. 

The "Magic" Pink Paisley Tie

Email: July 3, 2013

Well life is great! I thought of a way to describe Genova, its very similar to San Fransico, but yet its not even close, Italy is just so differnt. You will just have to come to Italia yourselfs :) 

We have some really cool simpatizzanti:

Mario-from Equador, has a date for the 20th but has missed church and has canceled or just not shown up to lessons, we are really woried about him. He is so cool! He is like 30 years old. 

Rafaele-blind 40 year old Italian, who is SUPER cool, even though he has met with missionaries for years...he is on the climb back up and is keeping commitments, he wants to get baptized so we just have to work a few things out. 

Emmington, from Equador and is just super cool just doest think he has recived his answer even though he loves everythign we teach....so frustrating as we explain it all so simply and we indicate or point out the spirit and tell him thats how you are getting your answer.

Guatano-the smartest Italian man in evry sense, religous and just knowledge. Super cool, read the book of mormon like 4 times in two weeks, and loved it, just wont get baptized....ugh!

Ugo-Super awesome young (23) Italian who has been frequenting all othe churches to 'find the truth' I stoped him on the street  my first week here and loves the Book of Mormon so he is super elect, he even asked if he could come to church before we invited him and such a sweet moment was when we gave him the book of Mormon. He was so sincere and thankful for the free book, the called and thanked us some more during the week. He is the perfect investigator as the ward told us to find some young Italian blood for the GANS, the giovani adulti non sposati. 

Francesca-from Africa, but some random spanish speaking country....dont know where....anyways she showed up to hte second lesson with here sister who is Isabel and she is alot more interested, but both wont answer their phones.... :(

All our less actives, meno attivi, are south Americans who feed us always, I have missed good spicy food! Italians never have 'real spicy hot foods' South American meals are a huge perk to Genova. 

All the south Americans speak Itlain perfectly, even the ones who have been here for like 2 months, its so easy for them to learn. I am releaning the spanish with some of the members and less actives for fun. Fun fact, like 99% of the south Americans always say  Porque (spanish), instead of Perchè(Italian). It means why or because. So the3 South Americans speak perfect Itliain except for like that one word, that all of them can never get right as its so similar to Spanish. 

Kate, from South Africa is a member who is in the hospital so we take her the sacrament on sundays. I was wearing my light pink paisly tie and the first thing kate said was "wow anziano, that is one sexy tie!" I was just shocked and said thanks while anziano smith nearly died laughing. She told Anziano Smith to make sure we go directly home so I can change ties so I dont have the Italian girls chasing me. It was really funny, so next week I think I will wear my solid hot pink tie I found in an appartment just to see what she does. :)  Weirdest thing was this week we blessed the sacreament in English (because the the Sorelle visited her and gave her an english BOM as she left hers at home(english is her native language)) It was SUPER weird to bless it in English, sounds so weird to me...

Also, Sunday evening, the last man on the street before we walked into our apartment, I stopped to contact him and he wasnt interested and said he was in a hurry, but mentioned that he liked my pink tie, the paisly one, so i said thanks and mentioned how much I love ties and how I have like a million of them at home....I'm obsessed...Well then he just kept talking and he really opened up and then admitted he talked with the Anziani years ago but lost contact and is interested to hear more and invited us over to his house for dinner and he wants to give us some ties as a free gift! Whoo!!!! Free food, ties, and a new investigator, we should see him this weekend so I will tell you how it goes next week! :) Miracle!!!

The zone leaders dont have a car, the apartment is brand new, and is super nice and clean and large. Small kitchen, our study room, our bedroom, small bathroom, then the capi sleep and study in the biggest room. Pictures next week. :) 

I am not getting fat...just not so skinny...hahaha, the bike does keep you in better shape.

Rumor is for transfers everyone is going to stay put and very few will get transfered. Nothing much is going to change for the first transfer, but in two or three, the mission is going to change completly, not just because of new mission presidnet, but church wide missionary work is going to change. We will see! 

Anziano Smith is from Arizona. He is super dedicated to the work and really funny. He loves to just get out and teach. Its great!

As far as Italian holidays, they are like every other day, its always some popes or preists bithday or some other weird celebration. We did have fireworks on Monday for some pointless reason. 

We usually just teach lessons in the church all day, walk around centro a bit and maybe Corso Itlaia. We usualy dont knock doors, strada is way more effective. The mission standard of excelence is 15 lessons and this week, the district all hit 15 or more. We celebrated as we had 16, the capi zona had 16 and the sorelle had 15, first time we have ever had more lessons than the sorelle. 

Well keep on being awsome and your prayers really do help! I appreciate them! Till next week! 

Con l'amore, 

Anziano Edwards

Me knocking on a private property shed to see if anyone wanted to hear our message, no one was home....hahaha

From our 'hike' last week, a view of the port and part of the city

My district Left to right, Anz. Hatch, Anz. Gibbons(capi zona), Anz. Smith, me, Sorella Jameson who is training S.lla Lamos (from Argentina and speaks english very well, but cant express everything in english and usually speaks Italian)

"What Desireth You All?"

Email: June 26, 2013

Genova raelly is beautiful, just a big city which I dont like much, but hopefully it will grow on my. Working in a ward is nice too, well not like a utah ward, we have maybe 90 people every sunday. Iits nice as it it not hot, well compared to the other mission cities. Sucks to serve nella missione Italiana do Roma! Its like a biillion degrees of hottness down there! Genova looks WAY different than what I am used to though, all my other cites were deffiantly influenced by eastern Euopean culture and archatecture. (ps, sorry my spelling sucks, the Italian has just made it worse....)

Well when Anziano Russel M Nelson came and I was able to go as he came to my zone, he talked about the basics and strethening the local members through doing the simple things. Then he mentioned missionary work and basicaly called all the members out for not doing their part. It was cool, all us missionaries just nodded our heads in a greement. But about the technology....we are not so lucky as Other missions. No ipads for us, as of now, future, who knows! He also mentioned that the Lords work is still being done in the 20th century way and there are going to be some excited changes in missionaray work to make everyone in the 21 century. He left it at that and he wouldnt tell us any more! So its super exciting to see what happens hre in the near future!|

Well no pictures today but next week you will have some fantastic ones. We are going up into the mountains sorta for come cool pictures of the entire city. 

Well i dont know why but I dont really feel like writing today so this will be short.

Had district meeting, the capi zona were not there as they went to the San Remo district, so it was Anz. Smith and I and le sorelle-Sorella Jameson and Sorella Lemos(from Argentina) Our distirct "battle cry" is COSA DESIDERI! 1 Nefi 11:10. Its all aobut figuring out our personal desires and then our simpatizanti desires. We are going to do so by asking "perchè" all the time. I now answer the phone when a district member calls by saying "cosa desiderate?" (what desireth you all) 

had an amazing last zone confrence with president and S.lla Wolfgramm. They have such strong testimonies. Loved it. Plus, our zone was the last zone, so we got the best zone confrence! 

We set a baptismal date for Mario, our equadorian (from Equador....) investigator for the 20th of July! The capi have a baptism the 6th, if passes the interview and the sorelle have onthe last week of the trasfer, the 27th. Whoo! Baptisms! 

Didnt attend any missionary training meeting about new technolgy....but we have heard the Lords work is being moved from the 20the to the 21st century in the very new future!

Its not that hot, I am used to the humitity, Genova has one of the mildest summers in Italy so I got blessed with a good city for the summer and just hope I get amild city for the winter! I can not do a snowy rainy winter again!

Roomates are super great! It is so much fun and I love them all, the capi zona are super bravi! Love it! 

We are on buses all the time. No bikes. I miss the bikes, expecialy the near death expericanes of just riding through town everyday, it was part of the mission fun! hahaha

ps, I hate contacting people on buses, its so awkward for me! Anziano Smith is really good at always talking to people on the bus so he is a great help. 

Ciao!

il vostro missionario, 

Anziano Edwards!!! 

La vita e fragile; Maneggiare con la Preghiera

Email: June 19, 2013

I am doing super duper! Anziano Smith is a great missionary and its fun to work with him.

Pictures are of a random fountan in the city, Anziano Gibbons(glasses) and his companion Anz. Hatch(tall) who are the capi zona and my companion Anziano Smith in the back. We live in a brand new appartment all together. 

We are the missionaries in Genova 1 and we also have two sisters, so 6 missionaries in our ward, yeah, no more branches! The other ward, like 30 min to the other side of the city is Genova 2 and they have three anziani and two sorelle, so 5 missionaries. Genova 2 always have more investigators, batptisms, and lessons. But we have made a deal that we (Genova 1) will be more successfull in the work this trasfer! 

Well, Genova is gigantic! I panic because its so big! haha, I miss my little bike cites and small braches. It is nice to be in a ward, (90) people in church. Church=45 Italians, 40 Equador people, 5 from peru. Then the random eastern europe member. So many south americans, and only 1 African. This city is just different. I am used to Itlaians, and africans with the occassional south american. It will be great. Genova is all south americans, and I love them! 

Favorite food would be a lasagna or carbonara pasta and of course a big plate of tiramisù! Favorite dring would be orzo every evening and sometimes for breakfast or ACE(a type of juice that stands for vitamin A, C and E, its carrots, lemons and orange juices, buona!) 

Portofino is in the zone so we will probaly go, I heard cool things about it. Pisa is not in my zone :( so I will not be going there for now anyways, maybe in a few trasfers. 

The summer is here! No AC just fans, but its not too bad....yet....hahaha 

Every Thursday evening we help serve food to the homless for service. Its a bunch of fun, those people are so greatful and its always funny because the people are just some of the funniest people I have ever met. Love it! 

Missionaries do not pay tithing unless they somehow have an income. We are all suposed to pay fast oferings every fast sunday for the cost of two meals, All the missionaries I know pay a fast offering, it is supposed to come out of our missionariy funds so I dont know why you wouldnt pay it...it just holds back all the blessings if you dont pay!

teaching the word of wisdom (wine and smoking) and chastity is the hardest for people to gain a testimony of. 

The adderss of the curch is via Ceccardi 4 (it is a big bussiness building and the chaple is on the second level and partialy on the thrid) 

Well you are all awesome and  keep on keeping on! Till next week. Ciao!

Remember, " La vita è fragile: Maneggiare con la preghiera" ( said by Pres. Monson I think....)

Anziano Edwards 

Leaving Places Better and Stronger Than When You Arrived

Email: June 12, 2013

Well just found out that the member who is going give us a ride to the train station this eveing will be at the appartment in an hour and I am not 100% packed. I am getting trasfered to Genova 1. There are two branches in that city. It is known for its greet pesto on focaccia. Buona!

I will be bottle breaking Anziano Smith...if I remember right...Bottlebreaking means I am his companion after he is trained, so he is in his third trasfer, just finished being trained. I will be living in 4 with the zone leaders. I will be district leader of my apartment and a copia of sorelle. All the membes say I am so blessed to go to Genova. I am excited but SO SAD to leave. This branch and city means everything to me. Darmaris will be baptized on Sunday afternoon, the 23rd, which I will miss wich is one of the reaons I am so sad. I have been blessed to have known her and seen the change in her life. William I cried when we went and ate lunch with him today and I gave him pictures, a letter, and a tie of mine. He is the coolest person ever. I am sad to leave Leo, the coolest 2 year old kid ever! I love that kid! He is the perfect son, secondo me. He is the funniest kid I have ever met. The branch president thanked me because I have been the best misisonary according to him that Udine has had in a LONG time. So I must have done something right. Anziano Paganos new comp will be Anziano Memott, he is currently in Verona as the zone leader. He is one of the best in the mission secondo me.

My train leaves udine at 7 tonight, we are staying the night in Padova, catching a 7 am train to Verona where Anz. Pagano will get off and meet his new comp, then I will travel to Milano alone to meet up with two other missionareies who are getting transfered to Genova too and  us three will travel south to beautiful Genova. Crazy train rides!

My bike works and the day when we had only one working bike, picture attached we rode to gether on one bike, Anz. Pagano peddeled and I just sat on the back.

President leaves the first week in July.

I LOVE YOU ALL, SORRY THIS EMAIL SUCKED.

Ps, on sunday anziano russel M Nelson came and spoke in Padova,. Willaim and Darmaris both attended and they loved him.

Ciao!

Anziano Edwards

ps trasfers are so dang stressfull when you have to take a billion diffeerent trains, trains get canceled, and the sorelle in my district have train problems! AHHHH this is awful! I cant explain all of the trubble but we re not taking a train this evening but one early tommmorrow morring to verona then to milano alone then to genova. Trains in Italy are so confusing!

Here are some pictures as we have a minute until the member comes to give us a ride back to our apartment for the evening.

I wrote down what pictures I wanted to send home but forgot what they are of so good luck determining what they are....

Sorry again that email sucks this week, next week will be better.

I am super great, and the saddest to leave this wonderful city.  When assistents called on monday will trasfer calls, they said I was leaving Udine and I literally screamed NOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Cool thing that the assistent said, was, if youa re sad to leave your city, that must mean you are leaving youir area stronger than what is was when you got there. I feel that I did my part by strenthening Udine for the better. All the members really thanked my and basically all said the same thing that I was what the city needed to get back rolling and having the success. Udine the past year has had a lot of missionaries in their last few trasfers so they werer 'trunky' and didnt work as hard as they should have so the work suffered. I have promised myself not to be that missionary. 

continued.....

Well on sudday anziano Russel M Nelson came to padova and we attened. I shook his hand and all of us missionaries in the zone took a picture with him, I wil send that picture next week(my zone leader has it on his camera) He is awesome. 

He hinted that the way missionary work goes will be changed significantly for the 21st century. We bugged him but he wouldnt tell us what specifically is changing! The suspense!!!1

Ciao!

COOLEST SUNDAY EVER!!!!

Email: June 5, 2013

Well I dont know when Presidente Wolfgramm and Sorella Wolfgramm are going home...I thought it was the end of this transfer, so the 15th of June but other missionaries said he is leaving in the middle of next trasfrer. I will find out when I show up to the next zone confrence and see who is presidnent haha. He goes home somtime in the near future......boh!

Well it got warm finally! Its not hot just warm an a billion percent humitity! Im some what used to it but ask me again during Augut with 100% humidity!

Pictures are of my and Anziano Moh, who is the other district leader in Gorizia. We were on scambio and we took a picture of this gigantic bridge and really wanted to jump in....the water was so pretty! The second is of the welcome to gorzia sign, yeah pointless I know

Well my bike is in the repair shop. Yesterday morning I got approved for a new bike and was able to spend up to 90 Euro for a bike, I talked the gut down from 100 to 60! It was a used bike obviously but amazingly good. Well....it broke about 6 hours later so its back getting fixed for free because I argued and said I wasnt going to pay for it to get fixed. They finially agreed with me haha. The bearings went out on the peddles and so they stoped turning, thus, the  tire wouldnt turn, then me not going anywhere. Great fun with misison bikes! You have to love them! .....or just 100% hate them and just wish your family would send you your bike from home....please? hahaha

COOLEST SUNDAY EVER! Fast and testimony meeting was awesome and my mind almost blew up becuase at the end it was just the best thing EVER!!!! The members had good testimonies but then DaMaris, our simp gotr up and blew my mind! She is a member just with out baptsim, she is SO COOL! I love her! She got up and told her story that she drove past the church three times then just decieded to walk in becuase of the "voice in her head" The Holy Ghost! And loves the Book of Mormon and loves reading it for an hour every morning before work becuase it makes her happy and it applys to her life. Some of her quotes becuase I was basically writing down everything she said.

"She sees the bella differenza" now that she meets the missionaries and reads everyday.

"feels somthing she never has before" "the anziani, anziano Pagano and I, really care about me" "I know my prayers are heard and answered. That God wants, and is helping me with the parola di saggezza" She wants to "be the best she can be, the best DaMaris possible" "thke lord is helping her in her familiy and stoping her temptations" I just about died when she stood up to go and speak because I knew it would be great but she blew my mind! She is the coolest person ever! I cant even begin to describe the difference in her life and how much she cares about us, just becuase we care about her SO much! The last lesson on Sunday, we asked her if she read ,which she always responds, "yeah of course!" It almost seems pointless to ask her is she s keeping the commitments haha, but on Sunday, she said NO to the Book of Mormon reading! |Yeah I about had a heart attack! Then I said Perche?! and her response was "no becuase last lesson you told me I had to read the magazine, the Liahona confrence talks, and so I read it for the last two mornings" She is so great! She has finished the Liahona and is back to the Book of Mormon, and loved the Liahona as it "related to her and everyday life" Of course! Its the words of ture living day prophets! This church is true and changes lives!

ps, DaMaris brings us home made corn bread cookie things becuase she doesnt know what else to do to show her apprciation and love for us. she says its the only way she can pay us back for all we ar donig for her :)

To make it better, after Damaris talked, our newest member, William, gets up to finish off the time. He says he is so happy to be a member becuase of him, DaMaris found the church. William also said "I am so blessed to have the preisthood becuse its Gods power" He told the story that he found the church becuase his friend in Bari, a city in southen Italy, when he went to visit was meeting with the missionaries, he then got a little pridefull because he got baptized a month before his friend. It was kind funny, but just shows his dedication to the Lord and His true gosple. 

I was talking to an old man on the street, the first thing I noticed was his cool wool tie, I asked it I could trade ties with him, then he proceeded to untie his tie so I started to untie mine too to trade. Then he tells me to stop and just gives me his tie as long as I promised to tell all my friends in America that it is 100% Italian wool tie. I agreed and took his tie. Cool stuff happens when you are nice and friendly. Kinda like when we said hello to an old lady and asked if we could cary her speza, groceries, she said no but gave us a big chocolate bar! so fantastic.

We are teaching Maris, a lady who stopped us on the street, speaks, poor Italain and even worse English, she is from Gorgia, and we have one member who speaks russian so she traslates for the lessons. It so fun to teach her as most of the lesson is all traslated.

The district is great, we have had 30 new investigators and two bapatisms! Both of Italians! Baptismal interviews are super fun, expecially becuase the sorelle investigators are always super smart and have the strongest testimonies!

Well, I love you all!

Caio!

Anziano Edwards & Anziano Moh

Zone Conference

Email: May 29, 2013

I could, its always a possibility, to get transfered June 13, will get a call the Monday before. I say no, because I will likely finish traning Anz. Pagano and I think Udine will get another copia as we one of the only apartments in the mission who has two extra beds and two extra desks, as then since I have been here, I would teach everyone the city and it could be a smooth trasition. Boh, we will see!

My bike sucks, a bolt is missing, it could have been inportant....bit fell of while riding since the roads here are super smooth....or not!

The weather is cold and rainy, The Alps got snow and everyone started freaking out. I guess may is never this cold. I think my fingers are going to fall off in the evenings just like during the winter. I love it! Sorta...Anz. Pagano calls me a sorelle as I say its so cold, I have turned the heat back on for the apartment. All it does is rain, I think its the weirdest thing ever, SO WEIRD! I like living in the desert. Living in the clouds is only cool for about a day. Next week should begin the Italian summer! 100% humitity and always in the 30 degrees! Whoo!

We have warm water! Nearly went a week! A fuse blew, the fix it man was quick and nice. He says were were lucky.

Zone confrnce was great, it was in Verona, combined zone confrence of the mestre zne and the verona zone. We left a day early and stayed the night in Treviso, we all had cold showers because their hot h20 doesnt turn on untill a cirten time in the morning. I was used to cold showers but still heated water up on the stove.

Time to catch a train to Pordenone to do another baptism interview for the Sorelle!

Ciao

Until next week.

Love you all, work is great. Its the Lords work!

Anziano Edwards

The Church in Pordenone, where District Meetings are

"The apartment in Treviso where we stayed the night when we just traveled to Versone for zone confrence. Like a little venice. :) So pretty!"

The Anziani & William

Anz. Edwards & S.lla Wolfgramm

Anz. Edwards & Presidente Wolfgramm