Week 26 (Jan 4)--Trapani

Benvenuto 2016!!!

Happy 2016 to everyone!! It's crazy to think where I am this year from where I was last year haha. In school, chilling with my family and friends and trying to go dancing as much as I possibly could. Obviously a lot has changed but I am super excited to see what this new year is going to be like being able to serve as a missionary. I hope that everyone had a good New Year’s Eve though! For New Year's Eve me and Anziano Garret had an absolute party. We got home from our day and then made a feast….of beans, crackers, some soda (from his clutch parents) and Resees (which don't exist here so that was a treat). Haha it was actually really funny as we were sitting there down to our last bit of food that we had cause we had no money left (the nightmare of the whole bank situation where they took our money without giving it to us). Definitely a lot different from past experiences and past years but it was still fun. Definitely something that I will never forget sitting and talking about life, and eating beans... On New Years Eve lolol.

This week was really good. A powerful experience that we had is we are working with this stud who is 20. He is a super strong member and he actually went out on his mission but then came home after a few days for some heath-related issues. He is okay now and we wanted to talk about him maybe going back out but we were not sure how to bring it up cause it was kinda a touchy subject. On Monday we had a lesson with the super homie guy from the street and we invited our 20-year-old stud to the lesson. Anyway our investigator didn't show up and the 20-year-old really started talking to us and opened up about how he really wants to go back out. He then explained his fears and so we are starting to work with him about things he can do to know what he should do. The spirit was incredible in that room as we were talking and he finally had to go after 45 minutes of our investigator not showing up. Right as he left, our investigator walked up the stairs to meet with us. Wow... I know that we were supposed to meet with the 20-year-old to talk to him about his mission. It was such a cool experience. 

We also had a really good lesson this week with a woman that has had a lot of hardships in her life. She was very open and has a very special spirit and during the lesson Anziano Garret and I were trying so hard to follow the spirit the entire time and say the things that she needed to hear and that would help her. It was such a powerful lesson for me cause sometimes we can get into a routine without even meaning to. But with the spirit helping us it's so cool to see where the conversation and lesson can go.

Okay so for our mission we get three times a year to clean our apartment for the entire day. So that is what we did January 1st. Like the whole mission. That was ummm interesting.. Not gonna lie it was not the most fun thing, especially cause we had to deal with things that other missionaries didn't really feel like dealing with in the past--like a old rusty refrigerator or something but it all worked out. We have this awesome brother in our ward that actually helped us with that one. He is about 4 feet 10 inches but has a giant testimony and is super strong. We called him up asking him for help for where we can actually put this rusty metal box that used to be a fridge and he drove over with his tiny little Italian car and was like “ Anziani, I can take it for you," so he spent the next day driving to the dump place (wherever that exists, I have no idea) for us. He is awesome. So, yeah, coolest thing I found was a snail, while I was cleaning out the fridge. So sweet lololol.

So something that I have been studying about is the prophets' last words. Like the last advice and counsel that we can read from the prophets in the Book of Mormon. Something that I found that I really loved was when I was studying Jacob. When it describes Jacob and then Sherem. Now when it describes Sherem it talks about how he uses much flattery, he's very popular, and he's perfect at the language. But then it describes Jacob and describes how Jacob’s testimony could not be shaken. And then this is my favorite verse talking about Jacob- "8 But behold, the Lord God poured in his Spirit into my soul, insomuch that I did confound him in all his words." Obviously my goal is to not confound people and savegly wreck them (as my brothers would put it) but I do want to do everything I can so that I can have the spirit with me and follow it to my best of my ability to find those people that are ready for the gospel, and to be able to answer people's questions with the spirit. Really trying hard to live my life to where I can have the spirit with me. That is something that really stuck out to me this week.

Some funny experiences that have happened these past couple of weeks--

So a few weeks ago Anziano Garret and I went up to a city called Erice which is a city that you have to take a ski lift to go and see. It is beautiful and that's where I took a bunch of the pictures with all the castles. Anyway the city is like hundreds of years old. Maybe like thousands; I don't really remember. So they have a bunch of really cool old churches and a really cool-looking Duomo too. So we thought aww sweet this is going to be sick. Well apparently there is admission to get into the churches…Lame. But then we read on the sign how if you hold the Priesthood then you get in for free. OHH YESS. So we just walked in and told the lady that we hold the Priesthood (which is completely true, just not really the same that they believe) and walked right in to any single one that we wanted. It was so awesome. 

We have this super strong member from our branch who is from Nigeria that's been a member for about 14 years. He is so awesome and comes to church every single Sunday even though he doesn't speak Italian. So every time that he calls on the phone or talks to me he always calls me Spencer W. Kimball [former prophet of the Church, for those who don’t recognize this name]. So on New Year’s Eve we were having English course and we get a call from him. I answer and he is like “ Why, hello! Am I speaking to Mr. Spencer W. Kimball?" And I was like ohhh yes Desmond yes you are haha!

We met this one guy on the street that lived in America a few years ago and so he really likes talking to us in English. He is also super respectful to us for what we believe and for being missionaries. It's actually really great talking to him cause he is so nice. Last time he asked me for my first name, so I told him Tristan (or here in Italy I have to say Tristano with like an Italian accent). He was like Wow. Tristan Spencer.. Ya know.. Ya know that name is like a name of a king. Tristan Spencer. Oh so sick I was like thank you Eric, haha I never have thought of that lolol.

So this experience happened a few weeks ago right before I left Terni. So there was this old man that really liked us a lot. When he would see us on the street he would invite us over so we went cause we finally found his house. We started talking to him and he was really nice. Like really nice. So we started to share our spiritual thought and right in the middle of it he stands up and he looks at me and he is like "you have really beautiful eyes" "Ummm thank you I really appreciate that" and then he is like "no really you do" and then walks closer to me and gives me a hug and then just holds me. Meanwhile I am thinking in my head like "what on earth is going on?" All the while he keeps repeating that I have beautiful eyes. I am still sitting down at this time. He walks closer to me (literally he walks in between my legs it was sooo umcomfortable) and just brings me in for another hug and kept telling me that I was bravo.. Like bravissimo. I look over at Anziano Ray and he is literally dying. He is laughing so hard and then the old guy grabs my face and kisses me. But he straight up kisses my eye, the right eye.. ON my Eye?! Umm what…??? Sooo yeah, I am so glad that I was only there once, not gonna lie though, it was hilarious.  After that we left the house haha. 

Well, I love you guys!! I can't tell you how awesome the mission really is. I love being here, and I love the people in Italy! (Most of the time, I am really trying haha!)

Love,

Anziano Spencer