Week 24 (Dec 21)--Trapani

CHRISTMAS!!

Hey friends and family, I just want to let y'all know that I love y'all so much. I know I probably say that every single week but it really is true; y'all are awesome. I hope everyone has a good Christmas this week, spending time with family. For Christmas, here’s what we are doing. Christmas Eve (we are doing a scambio so I am going to be with Anziano Trejo who is an absolute boss from Mexico; he's so sick), our whole Zone is going in the morning to Palermo ( hour and a half away from Trapani) where we are going to carol in the city and have missionaries talking to people. It will be really cool, and after we are getting lunch together at this Chinese buffet (I haven't had Chinese food since America--soo hyped) and then doing a gift exchange. After that we will head back to Trapani. I am pretty excited, and then of course for Christmas we get to Skype home for an hour!! This is definitely going to be the highlight of my year haha and something I have been looking forward to for a long time so I can't wait. Family is the best.

Anyway, this week nothing really huge happened; everything was kinda normal which I guess is a little strange. Something that Anziano Garret and I are trying to do is be intelligent missionaries. One of my favorite scriptures (I forget where it is found) is like “be peaceful as a dove but smart as a snake." I really like that because God has given us talents and tools and we are really trying hard to use them. For me personally, I don't like getting stuck into a routine and just doing the same thing over and over. So some of the things that we are trying to do: there is a member  in our ward who works at a university library here. We talked to him about seeing if we could organize a presentation on the Book of Mormon. I think if we could get it going it would be pretty sick, the history of the Book of Mormon and what it's about. Not gonna lie I will be scared to death explaining the history of it in front of a bunch of college students but at the same time I am so pumped and want to do it so bad. Other stuff is we want to ask the Catholic Church if we can help serve food to people that don't have any. Working with members obviously making a branch calander, even setting up a group text with a scripture sent out once a week to everyone to strengthen people. Stuff like that. So we are really doing our best to be the best missionaries we can be but being as smart as we can to to be effective.

Also I finally met the old Mafia Boss who is in our branch. He's so sick. He discovered that I used to be in choir. Oh my... So we were singing random songs and he was wondering if I knew all these different singers and I was over there agreeing enthusiatically trying to please the guy that apparently everyone is scared of on the streets. So sweet though, he's actually a really nice guy. So yeah, that was our week, sorry that I don't have a whole lot of anything else.

I want to bear my testimony to you all about Jesus Christ. I know without a doubt that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I am so grateful for him and I don't think I can really put it into words truly how grateful I am. He was willing to die for us, and complete the atonement so that when we feel like we can't go on, and  when we experience trials and difficulties, he knows exactly how we are feeling. Not just how we are feeling but also how to succor us and help us grow and learn. He's there to get us up when we feel like we can't go on. As President Uchtdorf puts it, "Every person, young and old, has had his own personal experience with falling. Falling is what we mortals do. But as long as we are willing to rise up again and continue on the path toward the spiritual goals God has given us, we can learn something from failure and become better and happier as a result. My dear brethren (and sorelle!) my dear friends, there will be times when you think you cannot continue on. Trust the Savior and His love. With faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the power and hope of the restored gospel, you will be able to walk tall and continue on."

I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and I am so grateful that I have this opportunity to be his representative and tell others about the hope and joy and knowledge that I have experienced from being blessed with the Gospel in my life. Being a missionary is the best.

Love you all!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS/BUON NATALE

Love,

Anziano Spencer