January 27, 2014

    It still feels really weird to write 2014!  So this past week has been a really good week!  It started off pretty interesting when we locked our keys inside of our house and house to make a trek out to a members house to get them, which ended up taking all night!! haha our area is very very large!!  Just to put it into perspective, to go from one end of our area to the other, takes about 4 hours!  Good news was we ended up meeting a guy who we were able to teach!

     Tuesday was different because President Waddoups and the assistants came down and so I got to do a scambio with Anziano Da Ponte (from Moses Lake).  We went and taught a new convert lesson to Destiny and it was incredible, there are just certain people who you can teach really well with and the spirit is always so strong!  Wednesday was Zone Conference which was good as normal, feel like I have had my share of them from doing 8 every transfer for 4 transfers! haha  But they are always spiritually uplifting!

     After Zone Conference we headed out to an American families house for dinner.  And they made us ribs!!!  Probably the best meal I have had in Italy  ;).  haha  We read about when Nephi breaks his bow and had one of the best member lessons I have ever had with anybody!  Thursday we taught Alex, who has a baptismal date for Feb. 8, and things are looking good for that!

     Thursday night, since we work as part time translators here, we went to a meeting with the branch presidency and primary presidency, and to say the least it was interesting!! haha  Friday, we got to go up to Mondragone, which is very far away but we have some families that live there.  We went and helped with home teaching and visited a few people out there, is was good to show them we are still thinking about them even though they are so far!

     Seems like our week was full of treks!  Because Friday we went out to see Asante, who is a new convert preparing to receive the priesthood.  And we took a bus, then ended up walking about an hour to get to him.  And he should be receiving the Aaronic Priesthood next week!!  Then we went out to see an American less active member named Randall Lott.  And he was baptized when he was 10 and then went in active, and we committed him this week to take all the missionary lessons!  So that will be cool!!

     Sunday was a normal Sunday, we had a lesson with Destiny and missionary coordination.  And that's about it, love y'all and hope your week is good!!!

Vi voglio bene!!

Anziano Bird

Hey everybody! 1/13/14 Hope everyone is doing well! Things are great here and I have had an awesome week! So Monday night I headed to Caserta to do a scambio with the anziani there and I got to go on the American Base for the first time. Or as people call it here, "fortress America" haha The next days we spent teaching their investigators and finding new people for them to teach becuase they are going back up to 4 missionaries there this week. I had a lot of fun there and it is always cool how much you can learn from other missionaries. Also met their ward mission leader there who has a brother in law that was in our ward in Louisiana! Crazy! Thursday was our transfer day so we spent a lot of time at the train station dropping people off and picking them up. And that evening Anziano Kemple arrived, my new companion! He is from somewhere in Utah, and is a good guy. We went to english course that night and got the news that one of our students who was only 26 had died in a car accident the night before. So yesturday we attended his funeral, we are so blessed to have the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. The other days have been filled with tons of appointments with members and investigators, it is a good excuse to go see people when you tell them you want to introduce them to your new companion! We have another investigator, Alex, who is set to get baptized towards the end of the month so that will be incredible!!! I love ya'll so much! Luke 17: 12-19, And think about why the did not come back, and how important it is to be greatful for what we have! Have a good week! Vi voglio bene!! Anziano Bird

New Year 1-6-2014

Happy New Year!

     I hope everyone had a great New Year!  And also today is "la befana" which is the Christmas witch and it is just as popular as Christmas!  So the past 2 weeks have basically been a huge party!  So this has been a very very eventful week here.  At the beginning of the week we had the chance to go with the branch presidency to visit the family that got robbed, and it was really cool to see everyone come together and serve and do everything they could to help this family out during that hard time.    

     Tuesday was New Years Eve, and we were supposed to be in early but the buses stopped and we were stuck forever outside of Napoli, so we had to have a member come pick us up, but since we live in Napoli he wouldn't drive us home because he was too scared! haha  It gets really crazy here during this time, and we were told that 6 people died in Napoli last year during New Years.  And it was crazy, they throw fridges and all kinds of stuff off their balconies, and we even got on a youtube clip of somebody throwing fireworks at us! haha Ill have somebody send y'all the video!  It was an interesting night to say the least.

     The next day we are not allowed to leave the house until 6, so it is one of our cleaning days, it did feel good to clean the house, but is always a long day in the house! haha  And transfer calls were not supposed to be until Saturday, but we got a call Thursday during lunch that said Anziano Hansen was being transferred, the next day! haha  So I was going to be without a companion for a week!  It also happened 2 days before our baptism, so it made everything really really crazy!

     But Saturday, despite all the craziness, everything went perfectly at the baptisms, and it was one of my favorites on the mission because he was so prepared and it was just an incredible experience.  And he wanted me to baptize him and it was really amazing.  And the next day at church I was also able to confirm him which was also a really cool experience!!  So it has been a wild weekend but one of the best in my mission!!  And so for the next couple of days (before my new companion gets here) I will be just bouncing around the zone and doing exchanges with everybody! So it should be a lot of fun!  I am out of time, but I love y'all and have a great year!!

Love,

        Anziano Bird

Mosiah 18:8-10 - Think about your baptism

Happy New Year!   12-30-13


Happy 2014!!

     Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas, everything was wonderful here!!  It was awesome to get to talk to many of you, and the time always seems to go by so fast!  Well I don't really know what else to say.... haha We are having a baptism this Saturday that we are very very excited for!!

     And I decided that I want to start doing a scripture a week for the rest of my mission and start leaving y'all with commitments!  It will be fun!  As long as I can remember to keep doing it.  So this week I want everyone to read 1 Peter 3:15.  And think about situations in your own lives where you have the chance to be that example for those that are around you.  And then always be ready to give an answer and bear testimony and be that witness of Christ.  

     So I love y'all a ton, and hope everything and everyone is well, and happy 2014!!!  The picture is Destiny (who is getting baptized this week) and me with the tie he gave me for Christmas!!

Love,

            Anziano Bird