Ciao!: Week 52: July 4 (Brindisi)

Doctor Anziano Spencer

Happy 4th of July everyone!! It's crazy to think that it’s Independence
Day over there in the promised land. I am trying to be patriotic so
therefore I have on my red, white, and blue tie but other than that
that's all I got lol. Today we were planning on going to a member’s
house who is actually from Texas (ohh glory) but her husband is sick,
so instead we are going to do another giro [tour] with our friend Teodoro and
learn more about Brindisi. It will be good; I am excited. Also, a few
days ago someone was launching off fireworks off the top of the
apartment building right next to ours so it almost feels like the
4th. ;)

Okay, so this week, if I am going to be honest, was probably one of the
strangest and toughest weeks of my mission. I have learned a lot and I
am going to try to be very detailed so that y'all can understand what
happened. So this week started out normally and last Monday we had one
of our last lessons with G. which we were excited about because
he was progressing so well. He actually ended up not coming for the
lesson and not calling us so we were a little bit worried but it was
the Spain vs. Italy match (2-0 babyy let’s go forza Italia) so we
thought he was watching that. We kept trying to call him and I was
getting more and more worried cause we were not able to contact him
and this has happened before on my mission. So on Wednesday we went to
the church hoping and praying that he would show up. (I was on a
scambio working with Anziano Zito at this time too so my companion was
down in Lecce) and G. walks in... Hallelujah!!! I was so happy.
He then looks at me and says, “Guys, we can't meet anymore." “Wait,
what? G., what happened?" "I am sorry but I am not interested
anymore.." And then he proceeds to tell me some other things and pulls
out all the phamplets, his tie that we gave him, and the Book of
Mormon and gives it back. I tried to talk to him to find out

what happened and what's going on but he didn't want to talk and
then he just left. Unfortuantley we haven't seen him since. Not gonna
lie--I was so sad after that happened, I literally thought we had
finally found someone that was going to be interested and want to be
baptized. He really loved the Book of Mormon too, so it doesn’t make sense.

But, it was his choice and I really hope that in the future
he comes back. Aww man, I called my companion and he was so
devastated the next day he told me that he got only 3 hours of sleep;
meanwhile, I had a dream that G. was baptized. Dang, my mind is
playing games on me haha. But we are much better now and are excited
to find others who are ready.

So on Thursday I was still pretty down and we headed to Bari to meet the
new Mission President and his wife. President Pickerd is so cool and I
have so much respect for him already. He was giving us a training and
he said something that really touched me, "Change is good.
Change helps us to become better, to grow and progress. I encourage
you all to treasure up the things that President Waddoups and his wife
taught you and to continue to ponder those things and use this time of
change to evaluate and become better missionaries." I really loved
that and it helped me get over myself about the experience from
Wednesday and get excited to work again. It was also great to be there
because it was a combined zone conference, so I was able to see a lot
of my friends, my cousin of course, and some of the missionaries that
I started in the MTC with. So I left that conference so fired up to
get ready and back to work and we were able to that Thursday night.
And then Friday rolls around. And this is where my title comes from:
Doctor Anziano Spencer.. Ohh baby.

So Friday morning my comp and I wake up like normal and then about
five minutes later I hear my companion and he is yelling to me to come
help him. I run in the room and he is on the ground in extreme pain
and asking me to help him but I wasn't sure what to do. He was having
severe pains in his right lower side of his stomach. I called our
doctor for the mission and she told me that I have to get my companion
to the hospital as fast as I can. Right before we left I was able to
give him a blessing which reminded me of the talk, "Sanctify
Yourselves" by Elder Holland, and how he mentions you never know when
"Lightning will strike (so to speak)" and you will have to use your
priesthood without a moment’s warning. I was grateful I was able to do
that. So one of the members comes and picks us up and then drops us off
at the hospital because he couldn't stay. Me and my companion (who I
have over my shoulder supporting cause he could barely walk) go into
the emergency room (pronto soccorso) and he gets put on in a gurney
and wheeled into this room where a bunch of other people are laying on
gurneys.

And then we were just left there, which made me really
confused because my companion was rolling back and forth literally in
a ball on the bed because he was in so much pain. I was kinda
expecting them to wheel him right on into a doctor and get him some
help immediately but it doesn't work like that here in Italy. So my
companion is laying on the bed and then he tells me he is going to
throw up. Oh freak.. So I go over and ask for like a bucket or
something and the nurses and doctors who are sitting in a circle hand
me like a plastic trash bag. So I go over and I am holding this bag
for him and he starts to throw up. Oh, it was so bad, by this time like
20 minutes have gone by and my companion is telling me he is about to
pass out because of the pain. So I am getting kinda ticked off, not
gonna lie, cause nothing is happening and every so often some of the
people that were laying in the gurneys would get called and then
wheeled into a room. I asked this man next to us why he was there and he
motions to his wife.. "Male di testa.. Fortissima.” Wait, so you are
here because your wife has a headache.. Are you kidding me?? My
companion is getting to the point where he is in so much pain that
when one of the nurses walks by he says, "please, please help." And
then goes back into a lot of pain and throwing up. Gosh by this time I
was mad that no one was helping Anziano Morlock. I ask them to help
but nothing seems to be really happening and then finally his name is
called and he is wheeled off. That was a relief, and so after a while
of making phone calls to tell our leaders what is going on, he gets
wheeled back in and he's got an IV on and they call me into the room
to help translate. We find out that maybe it's not his appendix but
instead it might be that he has kidney stones. Oh boy.. so after that
Anziano Morlock and I get wheeled off with this one doctor guy to go
to a different room of the hopital. While going there I try to make
small talk with the doctor by asking him how long he has worked here
at the hospital. He looks at me with a grin and says, "Today is my
first day!!" What?! Are you kidding me??? And then as he proceeds to go
into the room the IV bag hits the wall whipping it backwards on
Anziano Morlocks arm. Fantastic, I feel so bad for my companion. So
after we meet with this other doctor, they finally explain that my
companion’s appendix has not burst, but he has kidney stones. They then
explain how there is nothing that they can do but give him some shots
and medicine for the pain and he just needs to drink a lot of water. After that we
get wheeled back into the Pronto Socorsso where there are a lot more
people (that's the pic with all the people) to wait for the results.
There are a bunch of people in the room now on gurneys and some of them
are moaning, there is one guy with a cane who is going crazy who gets
up and starts walking around, some people are crying... It was
terrible. My companion still is in a lot of pain and he is moving so
much that he rips out his IV. LOLOL the nurses were not happy and gave
him another one with a huge needle--aww man. So finally after waiting
there for about an hour with people moaning, "Mamma Mia" and other
things or just laying their silently (which was even creepier) we were
given the results and we could leave. Meno male. So we are leaving and
I ask the nurse where we pay and she goes, "it's all free!" Right..
Forgot about that, so after saying a big thank you alla grande we walk
out and one of the members comes and picks us up.

We are then taken back to our house and Anziano Morlock goes to sleep
for four hours and I am left to study and to not die because of
boredom in our home cause there is not a whole lot to do. Something
that I was so grateful for during all of this is the love that all the
members showed us. A few came to the hospital to see how Anziano
Morlock was doing and they have called us multiple times to check up
on him and see how he is doing. So Friday after getting home we stayed
there and then went to a Guida Medica that night which is like a
regular doctor who has his office in an old broken rundown hospital.
He told us some things we should do and then we just left and got the
same advice, drink lots of water.., Give the shot if he is in too much
pain. So Friday night we both go to bed after one of the
strangest days of my mission, and then at 3:15 in the morning my
companion wakes me up and asks me to give him a shot because he is in
too much pain.. UMMM OH MY.. I have never given a shot in my life and
even though I try to be a big strong guy, I feel Iike I am going to pass
out if I watch one. So not gonna lie, I was so nervous, my companion is
sitting there and I was trying to open the vial to fill the needle and
I was so nervous that I crushed the top of the vial in my fingers so
then there were glass shards everywhere. Lolol this was just not my
week. So then I say a little prayer and I give him a shot in his leg
and everything went smoothly!! That's when Doctor Anziano Spencer was
born... Ohhh yeah. That might not sound like a big deal but that was a
huge response to my prayers that I could help my companion be okay. I
then went and tried to fall asleep but I had so much adrenaline from
it that I laid there for like 2 hours.

So Saturday and Sunday have been pretty uneventful, not gonna lie. We
have been staying in the house and my companion has been sleeping a
lot, trying to get better so that we can go out and do work. He was
able to go to church on Sunday morning which was good and the love
that all the members expressed was very kind. I am grateful that we
had so much support through this because although I have tried to
do my best, there were many times when I felt like I couldn't do
anything because of the language (lol got to study up on medical terms),
or I have never injected someone before, or things like that but it all
has worked out. I have really been able to reflect a lot on how
grateful I am to serve a mission though these past few days and think
about how much I love this even though there are hard times. There is

definitely a good feeling that comes every day from working your
hardest to tell others about Jesus Christ and I can truly say that I
can feel the difference as I have been in the prison house for the
past three days not able to leave and go talk to people. It has been
tough not being able to work and instead just being in the house, but I
have been able to grow my testimony more on the Book of Mormon as I
have read it these past few days. Today we are going to try and go to
work after Pday and find some new investigators and
so hopefully my companion feels up for it. He doing a lot better and I
have only had to give him one other shot for the pain so he says we can
try tonight.. We will see. [Editor’s note from later: they had to return early from their

tour of Brindisi this morning because Anziano Morlock was in too much pain. Please pray for him!]

So for my spiritual thought I wanted to share a part of Elder
Holland’s (one of the apostles) talk "Sanctify Youselves" that has
always really touched me, but really came to mean something to me this
week. Especially that Friday morning with my companion on the ground
not able to sit up...

"But young men, you will learn, if you have not already, that in
frightening, even perilous moments, your faith and your priesthood
will demand the very best of you and the best you can call down from
heaven. You Aaronic Priesthood boys will not use your priesthood in
exactly the same way an ordained elder uses the Melchizedek, but all
priesthood bearers must be instruments in the hand of God, and to be
so, you must, as Joshua said, “sanctify yourselves.” You must be ready
and worthy to act.

That is why the Lord repeatedly says in the scriptures, “Be ye clean,
that bear the vessels of the Lord.” Let me tell you what that phrase
“bear the vessels of the Lord” means. Anciently it had at least two
meanings, both related to the work of the priesthood."

I am grateful for this experience these past few days. Honestly, not
because it's been easy, but because Heavenly Father demanded the very
best of me for my companion Anziano Morlock, who is like a brother to
me, and I hope that I was able to give my very best. I know that as we
do our best to live worthily Heavenly Father will know that he can
trust us and that he can call us when we are needed. I am grateful that I
was able to give my companion a blessing but also that he is getting
better and that I can be a missionary. I know this work is true, I
know that it's not easy because like Elder Holland said in a different
talk, "Salvation is not easy" but there are those who are ready and
willing to receive it and I am excited to find those people.

I love you all so much!! Thanks for your prayers and support!

Vi voglio un sacco di bene!!

[Editor’s note: this literally translates to “I want for you all a sack of well!”—but idiomatically, it means, “I love you all very much!”

Anziano Spencer

P.S I hit my year mark this week which is super weird. I will see
y'all soon! Happy 4th again!!! And happy birthday to my Best Friend
Allie Jones!! I love you!! I hope you have an awesome birthday!