The month of November

 His new baptism. What a blessing and reward for hard work.

 This is his Thanksgiving day that he shared with his zone on their p-day

 another picture of Piza, he took his companion to see it and snagged a few more shots.

My boy. What a great missionary. Love him and miss him so much.

OK I will try to catch you all up with his November. The big joy of course is the baptism and a new investigator. Hope you all will keep him and his companion in your prayers, along with the people who are seeking wisdom and further truth.

He writes:

Cari Miei,                                 11/21/12
 
I hope that this letter finds you all well.
 
Today we are giving thanks! We are having an early Thanksgiving
because today is our P-Day, and we are having the Anziani from Pistoia
(The neighboring City, Anziano Gibbons and Moh) for Thanksgiving
feasting. We will not be having a turkey though...too hard to find and
too expensive...we will most likely eat chicken, some mash potatoes
and other small things. It's not which bird we eat; it’s what
gratitude that we render.  Anyhow...I hope that everyone enjoys
thanksgiving and especially the Pumpkin Pie....That doesn't exist in
certain parts of the world....
 
I got my Christmas Package! It has successfully arrive from the
Office....As of yet, I have not opened it...I will try my best to hold
out for Christmas. Although it is very hard...because I know what is
inside due to the list of things contained inside that came on the
box...They are all just vague descriptions though and it makes me
wonder what they are for certain....I have been thinking of sending a
small package home with a few things. I will try and explore the cost
of sending such a package.
 
This transfer we have a list of less actives that we are going to
visit. Some of these members have not been seen for a long long time.
As we set out to find a certain inactive member, we headed in the
direction of the via that she lived on. On our map, it showed the
street, but then the street leads off the map, we followed it not
thinking the street would be very long and that we would find it
quickly. As it turned out the street was very long and followed a
ridiculous path. It was all 1 street, but at moments it had a
different name and then the street we were looking for picked back up.
A very confusing experience. As we biked back and forth on the
street, trying to find where it picked back up, I felt impressed to
take a different way...to leave this street for a while and head in a
way that seemed very counter-intuitive. But, I knew that it was a
prompting from the Spirit. As I sat on my bike, looking down the way I
felt to go, I knew that it was direction from heaven, without doubt,
and that we would be on the right path soon. We took the street,
followed it for a long time, we paused several times and questioned to
ourselves if it was correct, it was in the middle of nowhere and we
were the only people in sight, but still, I felt to continue. Finally
we arrived at the desired house and this inactive was home. She
welcomed us in and told us we are always welcome in her home. She
recounted to us, the motives for which she holds herself from
activity in the Church. We shared a spiritual thought and had a very
special moment; she asked us to come back and give her a blessing and
bless the house. She lives pretty far and we probably won't visit her
regularly, but we will go back once more to give her a blessing and
bless the house and leave her with a spiritual thought. She was
extremely happy that we came. She hadn't heard from anyone in the
branch in a very very long time and was touched that we came. I
personally don't believe that she is close to coming back into activity,
but I think that it was a step in the right direction. I know that we
are guided, that the Lord is watching over us and he desires that we
pay close head to the promptings of The Spirit, for it will guide us
where he wants us to go.
 
I hope that all is going well at home and it is good to hear from you
all. I hope that you are all in good health, I am feeling much better
than last week and we are staying nice and warm. We are having a lot
of fun and things are going well.
 
We will teach Lia the last of the lessons that need to be taught
before baptism and she should have a Baptismal Interview this
Saturday. She will hopefully be baptized on the 2nd of December. We
are praying that things work out and all goes well.
 
I love you all and miss you a bunch, before you know it we will be
talking on Christmas day!
 
Love,
 
Anziano Memmott                              11/28/12
Cari Miei,
 
I hope this E-Mail finds you well.
 
This has been a good week for us. We have had a lot of good times and
memories this week. I had started to wash some clothes and then just
forgot and forgot to take them out and hang them to dry. So they
became a little moldy smelling and so I restarted the washer and let
them wash again....I did this about 4 or 5 times...I was very
forgetful....and when I finally pulled my sweater out...It was very
very tiny....I Will be sending it as a present for Nate and Sydney's
Soon-to-be Newborn, seeing as it will be closer to her size. (The tag
says XL but don't let that fool you.) At least I have a second one
that I purchased here...
 
This week we met a man named Luigi (Name has been changed for Privacy
of this Individual). Well...I say met because about 8 weeks ago he
called us and told us he wanted to study with us...intending to learn
about our religion. So we tried to set up an appointment but then we
had some problem and we couldn't make it. And then we just could fix a
time to meet, until this last Monday. We finally met him and he is a
really good guy. He is and has been Buddhist for 20 years....But, he
says that he is still missing something in his life and thinks that
the Mormons might be able to help him find it. He is very sincere in
his search and has many questions about the Plan of Salvation and
other things which we have the answers too. In my opinion, he will
make a sincere search and find that which he still hasn't been able to
find. I am very excited to teach him. Usually we start with the
restoration. But we are at square one because he still doesn't know if
God exists in terms of the typical God the Father, Christian
God....Then step 2 will be helping him gain a testimony that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God....But we have a little blue book to help
him with that one.
 
We have taught Lia everything and she has had a Baptismal Interview!
She will be baptized this Sunday. She is so ready for baptism and she
is excited to be baptized. I will send you pictures. In the Last 8
weeks...Lia has been the only investigator we have had. Including New
Investigators (which is someone who receives a lesson and accepts a
specific return appointment)  So it has been a long 8 weeks, But I
know that she is the blessing for all the hard work that we have put
in and I am very happy to see her make this important step in her
life.
 
It is good to hear from you all and still haven’t opened my Christmas
package.....We will see how long that lasts....I still have a
reasonable resolve. The remorse and guilt I believe that I would feel
from Mom are the only things that stop me from opening it before
Christmas.
 
Anziano Dowling is doing good. He is just as crazy as I am at this
point. It has been a brutal 8 weeks for him and he is no longer
normal...my strangeness has rubbed off...
oh and to answer a question that Dad had asked in E-mail, Anziano
Dowling is from Boston and is the youngest of 5 boys. His bishop is
also Danny Ange...that might behow you spell it...he is the GM of the
Celtics....His dad is a Sports Reporter for a local news station and
gets to go to all of the Patriots games for free so that he can right
about them. (From what I understand...I am jealous....) He is a really
great companion and we laugh and have a good time all the time...His
is a really hard worker as well and great with the language.
 
Anyhow...I love you all so much and hope that you are having a good holidays....
 
Love,
 
Anziano Memmott
 
Cari Miei,                                   12/5/12
 
I hope this finds you all well.
 
Lia's baptism was this last Sunday and everything went "swimmingly."
She was baptized by the husband of the member family that gave us the
referral and help us in the teaching process This Sunday will be the
confirmation. After the baptism she got up and bore a testimony and
talked about how she felt, and it was very beautiful. She is really
great and is going to be a great strength to the branch here in Prato.
(I will attach Photos in a separate E-Mail.)
 
This is an excerpt from part of my letter to the Mission President
this week. It is about Luigi...or whatever fake name I gave him last
week...
 
This week we had a lesson with a man who has been
Buddhist for 20 years and wants to find faith. We had planned to teach
him about the Plan of Salvation, the idea being that we could help him
understand who God is and who Jesus Christ is and why they are
important. As we began to meet with him I explained that we wanted to
talk about this plan and who these people are and our relationship to
them. He then told me that he had met with the missionaries about 15
years ago and then recounted with remarkable accuracy the Plan of
Salvation. From the pre-existence all the way to exaltation....THEN he
recounted the Restoration to us.... We didn't know what to do. He
told us that years ago he had read all the way to Alma 40ish and been
in Church many times... We didn't know what to teach. I prayed at that
moment, and then I just cleared my mind and waited for a question to
ask him. One came...I waited for another question to come...It came,
and so it went until we read a chapter in the BoM and talked about our
purpose as missionaries and how he could gain Faith. I have never had
someone destroy my lesson plan like he did...I have never been in that
situation to know what to say to a Buddhist of 20 years who already
knows everything...I also have never been guided by the spirit as much
as I was in that lesson. I felt the presence of the Spirit so
strongly and I know that our investigator felt the same. I know that I
was guided by the Holy Spirit to say what needed to be said.
 
So as it turns out...Luigi knows a bit more about the Mormons than we
thought he did. He had told us that he met with the missionaries a
long time ago, and that they gave him a Book of Mormon, but he did not
tell us that he knew that much....So we are puzzled at what to teach
him next.
 
It is getting very cold here in Prato. I am almost always cold and
wishing I were in a warm building. I am thinking I will order more
thermal garments...
 
I hope that everyone is okay back at home and doing well. Things are
good here. Everyone should let me know what the plans are for
Christmas...Anziano Dowling and I have considered a few different
things....We will let you know what our plans end up being and when we
will be able to talk.
 
I miss you guys and am sorry about the quality of this letter. I hope
that the pictures I am sending will make up for that....
 
We went to Pisa this morning and got some revised Pisa Pictures...the
last ones were a bit off...
 
I hope that you are all doing well.
 
Love you and miss you all so much,
 
Love,
 
Anziano Memmott

As you can see he is doing well. SO excited to talk to him at Christmas. His Birthday is December 14th... get those letters out.

 

The month of October

Hi All,
I know I get behind, sorry about that. I am posting today parts of his last three letters and as you will see he is doing fantastic and growing so much.
He writes:

Cari Miei!                                         10/17
 
I hope this letter finds you well.
 
This week has been a fun week. My new companion Anziano Dowling is
super cool and a great missionary. We have lots of fun together and we
are doing a good work here in Prato. This week we were doing some Casa
and the doorbells in that building sounded like the buzzer on
Jeopardy. Naturally before each door we took time to pick a category
(Some Gospel related trivia or some missionary joke trivia) and then
we rang and answered in the form of a question. The most fun I've had
doing Casa in a long time.
 
Anziano Dowling is really great, he is super dedicated to this work
and ready to get out and talk to people. He has so much energy and
Faith that often comes with new missionaries. It feels good to have
that kind of faith and energy around me. I hope he never loses it, because too
many missionaries do. He knows why he is out here and his mind is focused on
the work. He works really really hard and HE is training ME. A really
great guy.
 
Things are good here in Prato, A little slow. It reminds me of my
first days in Alessandria actually. It has been REALLY rainy here for
about 4 or 5 days and so it is nice to have some good weather at last...
I hope that you all are being good. I have found that this extra
obedience and extra effort that I am putting in for Anziano Dowling as the trainer is
making me very happy. The more obedient that I am the happier I seem.
The path is straight and narrow. Narrow yes, but also straight and for
me that is encouraging. I don't have to worry about getting lost or
taking the wrong direction or making a choice that would cause sorrow
if I can just keep walking straight. It is a simple and straight path,
be it narrow as it is.
 
I am happy and healthy and doing well in all aspects. I hope the same
for y’all. I hope to hear from ALL OF YOU! Very soon. :) I will try my
best to write some small letters to a few of y'all this week. It has
been a while since I have heard from some of you. I love you all and
miss you a bunch.
 
We've got to go catch a train to Firenze!
 
Love,
 Anziano Memmott

Cari Miei,        10/24
 
I hope this letter finds you all in miserable conditions....no not
really, I hope this letter finds you all very very well. (I know I
open with that line every week...sorry)
  
We had a Zone Conference this week and I got to see Anziano Blaga for
the last time. He will be going home in 3 weeks! But! He wants to come
and study at BYU! So I will hopefully get to see him when I come home.
We got a picture of Anziano Blaga, Me and Anziano Dowling. The Family.
He is a great guy and I hope that we can keep in touch well. We also
talked about something that I had been thinking about a great deal
these past weeks. I have put myself to solve the dilemma of "Overcoming
Apathy" as I like to title it. There is so little care for the message
that we bring. Frankly, I am amazed that other people are NOT amazed
at the fact that their family can live together forever. Or that we
have a living breathing Prophet on the earth today. Or those 200 years
ago God called a boy-prophet to restore his Church to the earth.... I
have been trying to fix our approach or say something else, or ask a
different question of the people. How can I make them care about what
I am saying?
 
I have seen this concept of general apathy towards religion
demonstrated so beautifully already once in my mission. When I was in
Alessandria, I used 3 types of pass-along-cards that we have. The
first is of the Book of Mormon, the second of the First Vision, and
the third of Jesus Christ. Now bear with me as I tell you which I
eliminated and why. I stopped using the one with the picture of Jesus
Christ. It had his picture (The red robe one) and it says "Faith
brings hope." A beautiful message and a true one. I love this
message; I love this pass-along-card. But I, as a member of the
church, as someone who has received greater light and understanding.
As I would hand this card to people, they would think and even once or
twice they said aloud. "Yeah, another message about Jesus. We believe
in Jesus too. He is really important but we just don't care anymore."
As I began to see. There are so many churches and so many messages
about Christ, that unless we are able to offer these people something
that is different than the others...who would care?? So now I only use
the other two. Our very unique message to the world. Not that Christ
is less important, because it is in fact HIS gospel that was restored.
And the Book of Mormon is another testament of HIM.  I simply find
these have more of an effect of the people that what they term as
"Another message about Jesus Christ."
 
So, I had been reflecting on this problem of "Overcoming Apathy." We
went to Zone Conference and wouldn't you know it, they gave me the
answer I was looking for. How do you do it? How is Apathy overcome?
With Boldness. Being bold, but not overbearing about what we believe
and why then need to listen to us. When done in a humble way and with
a loving heart, it is very effective. One quick example from the other
night when we were knocking doors. We had decided to talk about the
family and as we declared that Families can be together forever in
Heavenly Fathers Plan, the lady at the door told us, "We believe that
too, we are Christians and believe that after this life if we are
good, then we will all be happy with our families." I had encountered
this response just a day earlier in a park; I had no Idea what to say
then. But now, I did. I, with the most loving humble heart possible.
My honest desire only being that they receive this Gospel and be
blessed as a family, said, "We bring a message that the only Church
with the power to bind your family together for eternity is the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We want to share with
you, how you can know that this is true and how this message can bless
your family." Now, I would lie if I said that she let us in. In fact,
she was a bit taken back. But I know that I declared the truth. I let
her know, unmistakably, that which we know to be true and the Spirit
brought powerful testimony that it was true. This has happened many
times since and we are seeing more success. Apathy is being overcome as
we shake these people awake with the boldness we use in declaring that
which we believe. Of course, always done in a loving and humble way.
We are not trying to prove we are better or right. We only know that
this is the ONE true church and it can bless them, but we have to let
them know that this is the ONLY way that there is to have Eternal
Life.
 
So, Missionary Work raised the bar again, and requires just a little
more courage...
 I miss you all and hope you are in good health.
 
Love,
 Anziano Memmott

 Cari Miei,    10/31
 
I hope this letter finds you well, and dry...it has been pretty rainy
and wet and freezing cold here for the last few days. We are wrapped
up in scarves and gloves and jackets while we freeze on the bikes...
BUT this letter will hopefully find you in a better, less frozen state
of being.
 
This week has been another good one. It has also been pretty
stressful. First of all it has been cold. One day it just changed from
perfect weather to cold....just cold....rain and wind and cold.
Getting out of the shower in the morning is very hard. Especially
because carpet does not exist. I will be buying sandals today. Then to
make sure my beloved companion can stay in the country we had to go
and do his documents. We went at 8:00 in the morning and got out at
1:00 in the afternoon....and that was after they told us that they
wanted some code from some agency. We of course had no idea what it
was or why we needed it, so we told them we would go get it. They gave
us the needed papers and we called the Church legal people to have
them tell us what on earth we were looking for. It wasn't too hard,
only took some time. And then we went back this morning. We woke up at
30 minutes early and went to try and get first in line; the line was
enormous when we arrived. Luckily the guy remembered us from Monday
and let us in. we were the first ones in line. It took about 2 hours
for them to get things sorted out and do some fingerprinting. But
everything should be squared away now.  Anziano Dowling does however
have to take a cultural class, because since the time I got my
Permesso, they initiated a new law, that foreigners need to take a
class that lasts about 4 or 5 hours, about the language and Italian
culture and constitution and whatnot....so I'm very thankful that I
got mine when I did. And his will only be for 1 year, he will have to
renew it...I got one for 2 years...very grateful for that blessing.
 
So to deal with all this stress...I have made and eaten 4 batches of
brownies this week... We have decided, as a companionship that it
would be a good idea not to buy any more ingredients for
Brownies...just use what we have. They are pretty good, and I have to
thank mom for the recipe that she sent me. I even found some powdered
sugar to put on top of them just like at home.
 
Anziano Dowling is great and we are getting along very well. He helps
keep my excited even in this weather. Today we are going to search
from some better gloves and scarves, as we have been using the ones in
the apartment and they are not very good....
 
I love you and miss you all and hope to hear from everyone soon. I
will try and send some pictures next week.
 
Stay warm!
 
Love,
 Anziano Memmott   

losing and gaining

Cari Miei,                                        10/3
 
I hope this letter finds you well,
 
Anziano Frustaci goes home tomorrow! It is really weird to be sitting next to a dying missionary with so little time left. As Anz. Frustaci dies, there is also birth! I received a call from the assistants on
President Wolfgramms behalf. They told me that the Lord and President have called me to be a Trainer this next transfer. So as they say in the mission. I will be having a Son. He will be "Born" in Prato. It should be a fun experience, I go from killing a missionary to Training one. One at the end and one at the beginning. So this Thursday I will go up to Milano and go to the meeting and find out who it will be and we will try together to do missionary work. I am very excited but also very nervous. I don't know if I would trust me to train another person on how to be a missionary....but we will see how it goes.  Pray I don't mess him up...poverino verdino....

This week I learned a lesson about attitude. Earlier this week my A few spokes on my bike tire broke down so we took it to the bike shop and he told me it wouldn't be fixed until Thursday. I was a bit
distressed at this news seeing as Anziano Frustaci had only 1 day of full missionary work left. We had appointments one after another all across town from lunch until the end of the night. One of the busiest days I've had here in Prato. We luckily had another bike that we borrowed from a member last time our bike broke down and we had yet to return it. However, this bike was not built for a man of my stature.
It was very small and as I pedaled the bike, my knees came up to my chest. My knees are not by any means broken down or injured, but I have had a few knee problems in the past so it did cause me very notable irritation. The gears on the bike were somewhat broken and it required of me a significant effort to travel anywhere. The seat of the bike...well that was just as problematic as the rest of the machine. I took it gladly though knowing that having this extra bike was a blessing from heaven, to have my good bike fixed and also have a means of transportation for our very busy day. As we rode to our first appointment it gave my knee's considerable irritation as well as my
own "Seat" from sitting on the bikes seat. By the time I was in a profound sweat from the extra effort needed to propel the bike to keep pace with Anziano Frustaci. By the time we reached our second to last appointment I didn't think I could handle another bike ride. The pain in my knees, the exhaustion, the pain in my tailbone, it was just all very unwelcome. As we began the travel to the last appointment, I thought to myself, "This is absolutely terrible; I wish that we would have just stayed at home today. My body is in pain and I am unhappy." I was instantly in shock of what I had just thought to myself. What a terrible attitude! Then came, as often does in circumstances such as
these, the moment of teaching from our Heavenly Father. I felt the Spirit telling me, "No, this bike ride isn't pleasant! You could not control your bike breaking down. You can't control the availability of your investigators and the members; you can't control having no other option other than this less than sufficient bike. So why don't you stop worry about what you can't control. If you live your life in constant fret about situations and circumstances outside of your control you will live a life of frustration and misery. So control your attitude and choose to make the best of the worst." I knew that the only way I would get to the other side of town on that bike was with a positive attitude. So I simply began to sing. And as I started to sing a funny thing happened. The pain in my knees began to dull. The agony caused by the seat of the bike, began to dull, and I found a reservoir of strength that I had seemingly overlooked. I learned a very important lesson about choosing to be happy and make the best of the worst. That night as I kneeled at the side of my bed, I thanked my Heavenly Father for the improv lesson I had learned that day. I know that the Lord watches over us and will teach us through everything that we do, if we will but listen for the Spirit to whisper to us,  even in those moments when the rain is pounding in our face, as the thunder shakes the heavens, when the enemy is screaming as loud as he can do drown out the still small voice that will teach us all things.
Listen for it even in the worst.

Cari Miei,                            10/10
 
I hope that this letter finds you well.
 
I hope that you all Enjoyed Conference as much as I did. We had the
chance to watch it here in Prato. We had a room for all the English
speakers so I was able to enjoy the full affect of President Monson's
Announcement about Missionary work! It is ridiculous to think that
there will, in the not too far away future, be 18 year old missionaries
here in the mission. I could be comps with one....wow.
 This Thursday I went to Milano to pick up my Trainee. The group of
Trainers consisted of Anziano Money, Anziano Fiorentino, Anziano
Moore, Me, And Anziano Wilkey. You will notice that Money, Moore, Me,
and Fiorentino are all from the same MTC group!  There are a lot of
Young Trainers this time! It was really cool to see all of them and
have a little reunion. It was strange to be back  in that Chapel in
Milano and be sitting on the OTHER side of the new missionaries while
we waited to get paired up with our new comps. Actually the whole day
after that was one big flashback, except this time it was ME who knew
what was going on while my Trainee was the one getting dragged through
the Metro and Train station in Milano.
 
My new companion is Anziano Dowling. He is from Boston and is as tall
as me. He is really eager to work and excited to be here. It is really
strange because he wants to know all about Italy and our Investigators
and all we talk about is Missionary work. Whereas only a week ago all
we talked about was home and airplanes rides and Cafe Rio....a bit of
a change for me. But it is very nice. I do however have a
responsibility to work very hard and be a good example. I am a little
stressed out with the responsibility I have been given. This is my
first time being the companion in charge and so it is a little heavy
dealing with not only leading the companionship but also shaping the
future of this new missionary. Whatever I do, he will do. If I am
obedient he will learn to be obedient, if I am disobedient he will
think it is okay to disobey certain rules. It follows the same pattern
with everything. He learns what is wrong and right from ME! It is a
very heavy responsibility.
To anyone who is 18 years old and now feels the pressure of the call
that has been extended to them. I ask and plead with you to rise to
that call and serve a mission. You will NEVER in your whole life do
something that will cause more personal growth than this, short of
serving as an Apostle, and maybe not even that. There is no pursuit so
publicly available and personally advancing than that of serving a
mission.

pictures from Italy

I wanted to get a few of the pictures he has sent to me on here. they are amazing and beautiful. I haven't been too good at keeping this updated lately, hopefully I can start doing better. Life is so busy sometimes. I am getting his Christmas package ready to ship and anyone that wants to add a letter, please e-mail it to me by Monday morning.

I am going to update with a few of his letters here in just a minute.

porkchops and gratitude

Cari Miei!
 
I hope this letter finds you all well.
 
I tried making some honey garlic marinade pork chops this week...they
were a little too thick and despite all the cooking and recooking and
eating and then cooking more...I'm not sure that we should have eaten
them...I may get worms or some type of disease some time
soon....anyhow
 
How is everybody! I hope to get some letters here really soon. You can
still write to me here in Prato, I won't be going anywhere. Anziano
Frustaci goes home in about 4 weeks so there is a 99.99% chance that
I'm staying in Prato with a new comp. I feel it very safe that you
keep sending mail to the Prato address.
 
I hope that everyone is enjoying school/work. This week has been good.
We did some good work and we met some more members. I feel like I'm
finally starting to know everyone in the branch. It was a little
strange at the beginning. Because in Alessandria I learned everyone's
names really fast and got to visit them and know them faster. So I
initially just thought it was the branch. But then I realized this
week that it was August, so half of the members were on vacation, AND
we whitewashed, so neither of us knew the members. It is different
when one missionary knows all the families and members and can
introduce you. But we had to go from scratch. But I feel now things
are better. It wasn't the branch, just the circumstances.
 
Anziano Frustaci has been waking up at 6:30 to run in place in the
apartment for the last 8 weeks....I haven't done my morning exercises
since the second week in the field....but! That is about to change...I
am now waking up at 6:45 (15 minutes early) and we jog down to a park
together...that is really close and He runs around the park while I
shoot hoops. (He is still in sight and sound...don't worry about my
apostasy) So, it's a start. And I really do feel that I have more
energy in the day and I'm more awake and alert for morning studies. It
really helps the spirit. This change of heart about morning exercise
came about after reading a conference talk and then preach my gospel
about how physical discipline magnifies the spirit. So....I knew I had
to start. I'm not sure how long it will last...my next comp, might not
want to wake up early or go do morning exercise, but for the next 4
weeks....I'm doing it.
 
Things are good with me. I'm having some very spiritual moments and
I've learned a lot this last week. I'm so grateful for my journal and
everything that I record in there. I haven't missed a day since I got
to Italy and I only missed a day or two in the MTC. I really can
testify that this is divine counsel (To hold a journal of spiritual
experiences) I can see how it has increased my ability to recognize
spiritual experiences and reflect on the events in my life and the
lessons that I have learned from them. No doubt that this is something
I will do for the rest of my life. It is something I really look
forward to in fact. I love to write every night in my journal and
record something that I’ve learned from the day, or a spiritual
experience, or a cool story from the day. My journal has become one of
my most prized possessions.
 
 
Well,
 
I gotta jet, we are going to catch a train to Pisa....I'm going to get
my leaning tower pic today...I forgot to get my camera cord from
Siena, so I will send pictures next week...hopefully.
 
Love you all,
 
Miss you lots
 
Karlee, Stay away from boys,
 
Love,
 
Anziano Memmott

rain storms, love taps and optimism

Cari Miei,
 
I hope this e-mail finds you well.
 
This week has been a fun one. We've laughed and the sky has cried as the weather has gotten, in fact, a bit chilly. For the first time since my arrival in Prato I slept without a fan going on me all night.
It's been a long time since that has happened... It has rained about 3 days this week, and it has been very nice. This week I had the chance to do a Scambio with Anziano John Calvin Gibbons. He is really fantastic. We were here in Prato and we worked really hard. He just gave me back something I was missing. Since leaving the MTC I had lost a piece of myself that was very happy and energetic and more of the old Anziano Memmott. During our scambio I realized that things were a bit different. I have been reflecting a great sum on my lack of the old me. And while I was with Anziano Gibbons, he helped me feel that way I did in the MTC, That "Fight the whole world" "Nothing can stop us” attitude. That bit of Eternal Optimism that I had at one time. Now I'm much much more of a pessimist, these days at least. But I felt that Optimism again and caught a hold of it. And I’m feeling very much that old Optimism that I had been thirsting for.
 We (My beloved comp, Anz. Frustaci.) went and Blitzed Siena. That is when both of us go down and go with both of the Siena missionaries and do work in Siena. So we did that Tuesday and slept over and we did P-Day in Siena today. I went inside the Duomo and say some great views. (Every view in Siena is a great view really.) But I really would deem it as one of the Top 3 most beautiful places I've ever been. Sadly I left my camera charger (Which is also my Camera/Computer cord) in Siena, so they will bring it to me this next week at District Meeting...but no pictures this week...sorry. :(
 This week we also went to see Giuseppe, a member who lives in a rest home.  
Also during one rainy day this week, we were traveling across town, back to our apartment for lunch actually. For those who are unaware, Bikes don't like to stop in the rain. The brakes effectiveness are greatly reduced....Now, I don't want to toot my own horn but...TOOT TOOT...oh look at that, Anziano Memmott is pretty bravo on a bike. So as I tell you this, I don't want anyone...cough cough, Mother...to think that I am in danger as I ride my bike. But, as we were going home, a car didn't look both ways and started to go and I couldn't stop...So I got a little "Love Tap" as I once heard Nate refer to it. Just a little tap to let me know they were thinking about me you might say. They were stopped. So they were just started to accelerate so they bumped me at maybe 3 or 4 miles an hour. but Still pretty exciting anytime that you take a hit from a large piece of machinery that could kill you....I was a bit shaken... but nothing happened to me, I'm 100 Fine. Not even a bruise. I didn't even tip over; I just wobbled pretty bad and had to try not to fall over. So you can relax Mom....Anyhow, Things are really good and I'm doing very good.  I love you all so much and miss you. I hope that you are all as optimistic and hopeful about the future as I am.
 I love you all and hope you have a good day.
 Hope to hear from you all soon
 
Love,
 Anziano Memmott

I wanna know...have you ever seen the rain?

Cari Miei!
 
I hope this letter finds you all well.
 
It's been a good week here in Prato. Sunday...what a glorious day. It rained here in Prato for the first
time in 4 months. And when it rains, it pours. It really came down and there was even a thunderstorm...but it only lasted from about 7:30 to 11:30 and then the sky was cloudless. But...It cleared out the air...of everything. IT took all the heat out of the air, it took out most ALL of the humidity, also all of the gunky air that is here in Prato (The garbage here stinks really badly in some places) So it was just a miraculous day, and ever since then, It has been very nice weather. It feels like a cool fall day at times....SOOOOO nice. I don't have to shower 3 times a day now... This was probably the best thing that has happened (Temporarily) in a LONG LONG LONG time.
 
This week has been really good. We set a Baptismal Date and it is exciting. Also there is an Investigator here in Prato.  She has been meeting with the missionaries for months now, she really really wants to get baptized and comes in church every single week and is basically a member, so things should work well.  Anziano Frustaci and I planned out some P-days for his last transfer, this week we are staying in Prato and taking care of some business. For week 2 of the transfer we are going to Sienna, week 3 we are going to Firenze again to see the last of some things he wants to see, and then we might go to Cinque Terre with Anziani Sanders and Gibbons in Pistoia. They want to go and they want us to come with them. So I might head back for round 2....but, we will see. Also we are going to go to Pisa for one P-Day, It is a required Pic to take....OH, also, this week I discovered a really good Gelato place on the other side of our apartment building. Also we have a pizzeria that I really like across the street from us, and they are finally back from vacation. So....it will be a good week. I bought a USB and am collecting a lot of music from other missionaries, and Also I obtained 17 Miracles and The Emma Smith Movie...I'm also going to try a few new cooking things and I agreed to try and go running in the morning with Anziano Frustaci...I told him I would try it for a week and then we would see....
 
This transfer we are going to SYL (Speak Your Language) for the first, third, and fifth week. So we are currently in the thick of things here. We speak all Italian all the time. It is actually really fun.
I'm learning a lot of new words and also, thankfully, at the level where we can just chat about things, so it's not super boring. I finished the Book of Mormon out loud in Italian about a month ago actually, and so now I'm chewing through other materials in Italian and trying to eat up every bit of Italian that I can. I am not really sure why I want to learn the language so well. One of the benefits of being sent exactly where you wanted to go on your mission and learning the one language that you wanted to learn more than any other I guess...I still can't believe I got called here. I am so lucky....
 
Miss you all,
 Hope to hear from you soon
 And In case I don't see ya, Good afternoon and Good night!
 
Love,
 Anziano Memmott

Catching up

Ok, the post will contain 3 seperate parts of his letters. I have dated them according to the date I recieved them. sorry again for getting so behind.

8/8/2012

We had interviews this week with President; He answered a few questions I had so that was really good. He is a really wise man. Anziano Frustaci is a really good companion and keeps me working hard. There have been several times this week where I didn't know what to say and he came in and saved me.

Time is going to fast and I'm really really happy to be here in Prato
and just serving a mission in General. President Wolfgramm asked me in
my interview how I felt my mission was going. I responded with many
answers, but the sum of it being that my Mission means everything to
me. And it really does. So glad to be here, learning and growing and
helping others.

Today we woke up at 5 in the morning to catch a 3 hour train to Cinque Terre. (Pictures will be sent) It is hands down the prettiest place I’ve ever been. I really don't think there is anything in the world that will be cooler to see or more beautiful. So here’s the 411 on how it works. there are 5 little villages, terraces...or terre...they are about 5 minutes apart from each other in train. But there is a really really cool and beautiful hike that you can take that takes you from 1 to the next...it takes you about 5 hours to do the hikes/see a bit of each terre/stop and breathe it in.
I had no idea that the hike would be that difficult though...from the 3rd city to the 4th city and the 4th to the 5th....those are some demanding hikes...you basically climb huge steps for about 15 minutes straight...but you get the most ridiculous view I've ever seen in my life....absolutely unequivocal to anything I can describe....I have the pictures but they don't do it justice, not even a bit. And the whole time, you are on the cost. The sea there is just SOOO blue. Just
really really really pretty.

8/15/2012

Cari Miei,
 
I live on the sun...fact. It is SSSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
hot.....I cannot find words adequate enough to describe how hot it is right
now in Prato....Yesterday was probably the hottest day I’ve ever lived
through in my life. I had a free sweat going on while I slept and woke
up with my sheets all nasty and they even had salt stains on
them....And I had a fan directly on me the whole night at the highest
setting...SOOOOOOOOOOOOO hot....at least for this Utah boy who hasn’t
know such a hot humid climate in all his life.
Also it’s August and that makes things really slow. Because all of Italy shuts down in August.
Everyone goes on a month long vacation and nobody is around...This
makes it hard to work...because nobody is home, the ward is about
twice as small for a month and just the mentality of August in Italy
gets to you and makes things hard. BUT! We are keeping busy, and at
least we usually don’t have to do TOO much finding work outside in the
heat. We mostly have appointments with our investigators in the Church
which we keep nice and cool. (It also has a water cooler) and or in
their houses or at the houses of Less actives, new converts, or
members. We are finally starting to get to know a few of the members
here in Prato a little better and I can see some good relationships
beginning to develop. To be honest we haven’t really met half the ward
because they have been in vacation since we got here. The Branch
President was here the first Sunday we got here then left for Vacation
and gets back this Sunday....So we have done the whole transfer
without him....and half the ward. So we hope things will get more
lively (and a bit cooler) as we head into September.
Well, I hope that everyone has enjoyed the last bit of summer...I
begin to see like Jacob of old °° that the time passed away with us,
and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream°°  Time
is going so quickly, one day comes and then it’s gone so fast. I hope
that you all never let a day pass away without prayer and scripture
study... Please take the time to pray as a family, each of you as
able... I love you all and hope that you are all doing well.
 
8/22/2012

Cari Miei!
 
Hope that this E-Mail finds you all well, Also! I hope you got my postcards!
 
This week has been kind of a slow week...
 
We have been making progress with our investigators.  
 

Beautiful Italy

This Picture is of Dustin in an extremely beautiful place. He is currently serving in Prato which is in the Florence area of Italy. He has been to Florence and Siena on splits and has seen some amazing sites. He has sent several postcards lately of the places he visits and I am working on scanning them in so I can post them. I miss him so much. Sorry to all for the large gap in posting. Life happens and it has been a bit crazy lately. I wanted to get this picture on, but I am posting later tonight with a large post that sums up the last three weeks of his letters.

little red corvette

Cari Miei,
 
Good News! I got a new bike! It is very nice. It's very sturdy, nice tires, nice brake, even has a functioning light (Tail-light and Headlight) And the best part about it, (as said the Bike salesman) ...it’s red. Ha-ha I admit it is a very stylin bike. But he told me that the best part about it is that it is red, because if someone is stealing my bike, I will be able to "See it from a distance, and know that they are stealing my bike. “Everyone Else's bike is black and grey but yours will stick out, you will know when someone is taking your bike." He didn't mention however that it being red would stop it from being stolen, only alert me to when they were stealing it...ha-ha Italians.
 Anyhow, the week has been good; I did 2 scambi with Anziano Sanders who goes home in 9 weeks and Anziano Reusch who goes home in 3. Anziano Frustaci also goes home in 9 weeks, so as you can see I'm surrounded by dying missionaries....It can be hard to focus myself sometimes. However, the work is going really well here in Prato, we have a couple baptismal dates and hopefully they will come through.  Not too much to say, things are really good here in Toscana, I ate the best pizza I’ve had since coming here yesterday in Firenze. It's still REALLY hot...I'm very tan; I will probably never be this tan in my
life...ever again...ever. And yeah. I'm healthy and happy and missing you all still. Today we are going to run some chores in Prato and then see what there is to see here at Prato. Hopefully, if I’m not too
tempted to sleep, I can write some letters to people.
 Love you all and I really loved getting the pictures from everyone, really loved hearing from you all and hope this letter finds you all well.
 Love,
 Anziano Memmott.

Some days are like that... even in Australia

Cari Miei!
 
I hope this letter finds you well.
 
This week has been a week with lots of fun. When I got here to Prato the bike that I inherited was...in interesting condition and I knew that soon it would die. So when it finally went the way of all the earth this week, I wasn't surprised. So after some minor inconvenience, we made it to a bike shop close to our house. I found a bike that I thought was decent, but I didn't want to buy it until I had checked out another place or two. So we walked about an hour to another place that was a warehouse type store for sporting goods and found some bikes there. They are really nice though, and the lowest one cost about 130 Euros...Keep in mind that this is the first bike I have to buy in the mission, and so I have to purchase it with my own money. So after sleeping on the decision for a night. I decided to buy the first one I saw for 60 Euros, It was pretty decent and for 60 Euros I was content with the purchase. That is until I started riding away.... The tires were wobbling from side to side and the back tire made the bike thump up and down.... but we were already late for an appointment so we kept on going; we had to go back Monday to get the receipt anyhow. So we continued throughout the day and as we were traveling to do some casa near the Church, the bike chain broke...like the chain didn't fall off...it broke. Snapped, severed. And the tire got shifted so that it was pressing against the rim... This was when the store had already been closed on Saturday night...I would have to wait till Monday to do anything about it. So we walked it back to the house and the next day we borrowed a Members bike to get to all our appointments. (His bike was also a...fun bike...You had to put in about 1000 percent of the effort to travel 1/10 of the distance of a normal bike...anyhow, different story that there.) So Monday we took the bike back to these guys they got it fixed, replace the chain and straightened the wheel. They did it for free so I had no complaints. Then after riding 100 Meters...the tire started rubbing against the back frame again. The tire was popping out of the metal frame of the bike. So we took what I now so affectionately call "The Lemon" (It even has a yellow accent painting) back to the bike shop. They put on a new tire...still a little wobbly buy the bumping had stopped...the chain was fixed... and they did it all for free as I thought was just...now...after that the bike was just fine. Minor wobbling but I couldn't complain. Until...last night when I was riding it, the back tire started again to pop out of place...and then after much much prayer and traveling. (My bike was upheld by the Grace of God at that point.) it was about 8;00 the bike had been deteriorating all day. And it started clicking really bad...don’t know what was clicking and also the tire was making this puffing noise...so It sounded like I was riding some contraption that ran on steam and coal from a scientist movie from the 1860's...It was worth a good laugh...So now I find myself in a pickle...I don't care much for that bike. Tomorrow we are going to take it to see if they will give me something back for it...highly doubt it. Then we are going to buy a new bike...for 130 Euro...My fault for not inspecting it well enough, not taking it for a test drive, and not being smart at all in buying it. Sometimes you have to burn your hand on the oven before you learn it's hot...
 
My catchphrase for all this (Whenever my bike broke down) has been, "I bet they don't have days like this in Australia." no one gets the reference to a favorite childhood book.  Other than all that fun stuff, the week has been normal, we are finding people and teaching people and having fun. Anziano Frustaci and I are getting along really well and I'm liking the Branch here.
 
Love you all so much and hope that you are doing well; I have to go because I'm running out of internet time and only have a little cash on me. Love you all so much!
 
Anziano Memmott
 

Life in the new area

Cari Miei,
 
I hope this letter finds you well.
 Well, let’s get started.
 We got to Prato and got settled in, the apartment is good, it’s about 3 times as big as the Alessandria apartment, but it is lacking in the Kitchen and the shower is...fun...just really...not easy to use. But, I really am liking it more and more as the time goes by. Anziano Frustaci and I are getting along really well. We will be good friends by the end of the Transfer. Also since the time we got into Prato, we have set 5 baptismal dates and things are really rolling along, it is really really beautiful in Tuscana. We actually drove down from Milano with Sienna, they have a car. They dropped us off in Prato, so I got to see a really beautiful drive. I really like the Branch President and the Branch is really good, we had about 70 people in church. So not as big as Alessandria's 110...but still decent.
 So a certain Wife of my brother will like this next thing a lot. Guess which city is in our District...yeah, Sienna. And so Anziano Frustaci is our District Leader and that means he has to do a Scambio with everyone in our district. That means I do a scambio with everyone in the District and so, yesterday, I went to Sienna for a day. It was REALLY beautiful and I saw more or less all of the Touristy sites, we just walked around the center of the city and did some street contacting all day, so I saw everything in Sienna (All the main attractions at least) 4 or 5 times. So it was a really really great day. Super excited to go back down, because my camera battery was dead and I got 0 pictures. So the next time I will be better prepared. Anyhow, it was ridiculously cool and I'm loving Tuscany.
 
Which brings me to where I'm sitting at this moment. At an internet point in Florence, we are going to go the huge market after this and see some sights. So within the first week I've already seen Sienna
and Florence...I'm so happy that I came to Prato. There is in the Market, 2 Euro Ties...they are famous in the Milan Mission. It is a must go for every missionary, I will be heading back to Prato with 15 additional ties today... Also there is a rumored Subway here in Firenze. (Florence, But it is Firenze for me) So I’m super excited. Things are going really well.
Anziano Frustaci is a really great missionary, like I said last time he just got done being one of the Zone Leaders in Torino, so he is really good. I am super excited for this transfer. We are already doing so much good work and with the help of a really great missionary like Anziano Frustaci, I know we will be baptizing soon.
 OH yeah, my mission call has been changed, I’m now in the Milan, Italy,  Chinese speaking mission...Prato is about 30% Chinese people....There is one street in particular, I will take a picture, but it is just in Chinese...all the stores and signs they have the Italian name and then the Chinese translation...it is just infested with Chinese people...So, I will be learning Chinese...So far I only know how to say Jesus Christ.
 Anyhow, I love you all and you should see some postcards soon. Hope you are all doing well, I am doing VERY well.
 I miss you and love you,
 Love,
 Anziano Memmott

transfer

Cari Miei,
 
I hope this letter finds everyone well.
 
As for me, I'm leavin, on a slow train; I don't know when I’ll be back again. Yup, I'm leaving Alessandria. We found out this last Monday that I’m getting transferred. I will leave and Anziano Mendel stays here. We are both very sad, (Anziano Mendel and I) because we both really enjoy the company of one another. ALSO the work just accelerated here...so much...we found....11 new investigators this week...5 have baptismal dates and we fully believe that before the week is over another 3 or 4 will have dates....so yeah....there was just about to be lots of work to do... oh well. That's the way it works I guess. I will tell you one cool story about 2 of our new Baptismal Dates...well two of the Baptismal dates for Anziano Mendel and his new comp. so... So this Sunday we got Blitzed, this is where the Zone Leaders come and do a one day scambio with you and your comp, both in your city, so instead of 1 set of missionaries doing work in Alessandria, 2 sets are for a day. So Anziano Mendel went with Anziano Frustaci (Remember that name) and I went with Anziano Sciaretta. (Both Americans with Italian last names) anyhow, Anziano Mendel and Frustaci.  
Weird feeling to be leaving this place. I knew that one day, certainly, I would have to leave. But I never really realized fully that I would be leaving. It almost felt like I would be here my whole mission. There will always be something special about Alessandria. It is my first City in the mission so of course. But it really does feel like, in a smaller way, that I'm leaving home again. We ate Lunch at the Family Senigagliesi yesterday and said goodbyes. I love that family SOOO much. And Andrea (Fratello S.) said that there is always a place to sleep and free Pizza's for me and my Family, should I ever be back. Also that Night we went to Sorella Loti one last time, we ate with her and Gabriel Zito. Also two of my favorite people in the Ward. It was like saying goodbye to people I had known my whole life. Really a crazy thing to say goodbye to people that I never imagined I would be caring about this much. Friendships I didn't think I would make. It's bittersweet.
 I bet you are wondering where I am going...be patient,
 Things with me are going well, as always, I'm very happy and the work is...was...for Alessandria...is picking up. These last couple days we have been doing nothing but running from one appointment to another. The finding work is minimalized...we are teaching more than finding. This makes for a very very happy missionary. Ha-ha. Also something worldly but something very cool. SALDI STARTED!!! It is that time of year were the "Fashion" changes. So all the stores dump their clothing from "Last Season" for super cheap. Everything in the city (Clothing wise) is 50% of or very minimum 30% off...it's beautiful... I’m buying some ties today for cheap and maybe something else. Anziano Mendel only has 1/6 a year left so he is buying some real world clothes for super cheap...plus these clothes are 8 times more fashionable and higher quality than in the US...The things of the world are really good here in Italy. So instead of coming to pick me up...in the winter...let's just save our money and come back at this time in the summer when there is Saldi and everything is more beautiful anyways!
 
Well, I have a lot of packing to do and we want to get out shopping. Also I need to say goodbye to a few more members and get some addresses. So I guess I will let you all go and have a good time. Hope everyone is eating a ton of Cafe Rio for me (the only thing I will accept to eat for the 1st week I return) and reading your scriptures!
 Well,
 Love you all and mi...Wait what? I didn't tell you where I was going...oops silly me.
 
I have been called to serve in the city of Prato! What's that you say? No Idea where that is? It's in freakin Tuscany!!!! It's about 15 minutes in train outside of Firenze (Florence for all you Americans!  ;) )!! I’m going to Tuscana! So...Super excited. My companion will be Anziano Frustaci. He just got done serving as Zone Leader in Torino. So here is the thing. We are doing something called White-Washing that is when they take both the missionaries from the city and send in 2 new ones...not sure why...yet, usually means the work is low or a problem with the ward or morale...not sure. But we will fix whatever it is. So neither of us will know the city, neither of us will know the branch...only a branch there. New adventures abound and await in Prato. We go to Milano tomorrow and it should be about a 4 or 4 ½ hour train ride down to Prato...Longest one yet. Alessandria to Milano is about an 1 and 20 minutes. Super Excited. Oh, I’m also killing Anziano Frustaci...He will be going home in 2 transfers so he will Die in Prato. Finally I’m getting my hands dirty. So!! I will send you the Address of the Prato apartment next Wednesday. Hold off on mail till then!
 Hope you are all ready for some SICK pictures and awesome stories about the best part of Italy.
 
Miss you all and love you all so much!
 Prato or Bust!
 Love,
 Anziano Memmott

Happy 1/2 year mark

Happy Birthday America!
Happy 1/2 Year Mark Anziano Memmott!
 
Cari Miei!
 
Hope this e-mail finds everyone well!
 
Well, I've arrived at the half year mark. Pretty crazy! A lot has happened in the last 6 months. I've come a long way and learned many a hard lesson. But I'm happy and still breathing, so I can't really complain. We are in Genova today, doing a little touring. I will try and take some pictures and stuff here and send them next week, we are actually in Genova right now and so I'm trying to make this quick so we can go and see some really cool stuff and take pictures and still get back to Alessandria in time to do our other P-day chores. I will take plenty of pictures but, they don't do it justice in the least, and there are about 1,000,000 things I could take pictures of so I'm not really sure what to do...we will see.
 
Hope that you are all doing well, my condition has improved this last week. One night after another long day of trying to find somebody to listen, we decided that we would follow some foreigners back to their
house...let me explain. We had noticed an unusually large concentration of Africans, Chinese, South American, Albanian, other Non-Italian peoples, coming from a certain part of the city, so one night we followed a few back to where they lived; it turned out to be this huge apartment building full of Stranieri. (Foreigners) and so we found like 6 new African investigators... we have seen them about 3 times and things are going well. It’s in English of course but...We are sent to find those who will hear us. I Love Africans. They believe so much in God and they will listen to you. Whether they will keep their commitments remains to be seen....they are a bit whiffy. But people of great faith regardless, and they love to have us come and talk about God...So, in my book they are amazing. That has really been the change, we have some investigators now (Also a few Italians) and we are teaching lessons instead of doing straight finding work.
 
Things are really good here, Better if you hold off sending hard copy letters for a while, this is my 3rd transfer in Alessandria and in a week we will have transfer calls...I might go but I hope I Stay.
Usually at 3 transfers you have a chance to go, at 4 you are gone. (In General, of course transfers can come at 1 transfer or 2.) Anyhow, I hope that I don't leave yet. I haven't had time to say goodbye, and I
really like Anziano Mendel. SO I hope that I don't go, but it's not me who decides.
 Hope you are all having fun, sounds really dry and hot, sorry to hear about all the fires. I hope that everyone is happy and doing something constructive with the summer. I'm going to go see Genova and get some lunch! Might even buy a tie when we get back to A-Town.
 
Vi voglio tanto bene, mi mancate un sacco, e spero di sentire da voi presto.
 Love you all, miss you a ton, and hope to hear from you all soon.
 
Love,
 Anziano Memmott

Faith, sacrifice and hope

Cari Miei!
 
I hope this letter finds you all well!
 
I hope that everyone is healthy and happy and is having a good time. Things are the same here in Alessandria. There isn't a lot to report this week. We continue to look for investigators; I'm learning lessons about Faith, Sacrifice, Perseverance, Hope, and Patience. Most days it is 100 degrees or more. The skies are clear 80% of the time and we just bought 2 more fans for the apartment. The members here in Alessandria are just as great as ever and everyone is doing good. Anziano Mendel is the best and he keeps me smiling and makes things easier. I know that the Lord is preparing someone to accept the message we bring and shortly we will have someone to teach. I hope to hear from you all soon. Some good letters with what's going on in your life individually. I read this in the latest Ensign and thought I would just make it known...
 
"We can write of Christ by writing letters to those who are away. Missionaries serving, sons or daughters in the military, and those we love are all blessed by letters we write. Letters from home are not just quick e-mails. Real letters provide something tangible that can be held, thought about, and cherished." -Elder David F. Evans
 
I do miss you all a lot and hope that you are doing well. I'm struggling with something to write about. The language is coming good and I’m 1\2 way through the BoM in Italian. We haven't done a lot this
last P-day or this one. We actually have to pick up my Permesso Di Sogiorno today, that is like my immigration card type thing so I can stay here and don’t get deported...also I’m going to get a haircut to
try and fix this mess I made. I'm really craving a Pizza right now. I will miss pizzas a lot when I leave here. They are just so different in Italy, I like them better, but they are just SOOOO different. Also,  I'm learning to make some cold Italian food. For the summer it's not good to eat hot pasta. I'm learning how to make some different cold pastas and different stuff. It's really good.
 
I've been thinking a lot about family and missing you guys to tell the truth. I blame it on the Ensign; there are a lot of talks about the family in this one. It's made me think about our family and the family
I hope to have one day. The irony of the gospel and my current situation is that the Gospel blesses families, I am separated from mine, bringing that message to others, and when I take that message to
them it just makes me miss mine even more. But the sorrows are always swallowed up in the joys of the Gospel.
 I really am happy. I think I could honestly be happy being anywhere doing anything, because I’ve found that source of unending happiness, even in trials and times of growing. I am so glad I chose to come here and do this. To serve a mission, was one of the best choices if not the best choice I’ve ever made.
 Vi voglio bene, e mi mancate un sacco!
 
Love,
 Anziano Memmott

As you can see he is doing well. I do know the importance of letters from home. Please write to him on a regular basis. He is so grateful for the support and as my dear home teachers taught me the other night... by doing things such as this and praying for him... we are sustaining him.

still hot

The letter this week contained a lot of personal notes to family. However, I wanted to share some updates about his work and well being. He writes:

"Cari Miei!
   
Hope everyone is good. Things are good here in A-Town. Like last week, it's still really really hot...I'm the most tan I’ve ever been in my life. We sweat a lot...ha-ha. I usually change my shirt when we come home for lunch. We have 1 beat up old fan in the apartment and we love it. It is our most prized possession. Also I think I’ve already mentioned the bug issue. If not, let's just say that there are plenty of bugs here. And when you ride your bike through the streets or shade, you act as a net to scoop all the bugs onto your shirt...I'm getting used to it all though.
 Been teaching a few people, we taught a man named Ernesto, Italian, very humble. We meet with him a second time tomorrow. We had a very powerful first lesson and I could feel the light of Christ burning within him. Other than that. We do a lot of finding work. We have taken to doing a lot of street contacting, and then Casa when we are in Spinetta. I just realized that a lot of everything I’m saying sounds like I’m whining...The bugs and the heat...yeah a little. But I really don't mind doing finding work. Of course that being said it's obviously 1000 times better to be teaching and baptizing people...but it's all the work of the Lord and as Anziano Blaga always said "The Lord is the Paymaster and he will give us our just pay in the end." I firmly believe that this is true. And I’m happy; above all else, I’m happier than I’ve ever been. That is thanks to living the Gospel and doing the Lord's work. There is still plenty of work to be done in the vineyard my friends. And I’m glad to be here doing it.
 With the conference came some things I ordered from the office. One of them being the D&C Church DVD's with the Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration movie and also The Mountain of the Lord movie and also the John Tanner Story film. All really great things and as missionaries...they are great for P-day and evening down-time. Also I've almost finished reading the Teachings of the Presidents...Joseph Smith. Great stuff. Joseph Smith has been my inspiration during some hard times. As have many of the Pioneer stories and the people from the early church. Which is funny because I used to get really annoyed with all that pioneer stuff...now I love it and appreciate the things they did."

as you can see he is happy and doing well. So proud of him. I just looked at the calendar I use to track his away time and in 10 more days he will have been out for 6 months. I encourage everyone to write him. He loves getting mail.

getting hot outside

The Missionaries are (From left to right) Anziano Frustaci, Anziano
Sciarretta, Anziano Mendel. They are the Zone Leaders that we met in
Torino and hung out for the day. Awesome guys. It was super fun.

I'm surrounded by building that look like this all day every day. So...yeah...it’s cool I guess.
 This is the Mole in Torino. One of the things Torino is most famous for. There is a Museum in the building but we didn’t go in.
this was in a HUGE Piazza. Cool Statue. just a few sites I see.

Hi All,
I wanted to include the pictures this week and his explanation from them. It looks so amazing there.
He is doing well. This week he writes:

Hello,
 
I hope this letter finds everyone healthy and well rested. How are you all? How are things at home? Hope you are all eating lots of Cafe Rio for me.
This week has been pretty good. We are doing a lot of finding work and trying to build an investigator pool. But it's been a bit slow. We have the beginnings of one and we are starting to find some people who might be interested, but as usual we will push on and have faith that there are the elect who are ready to accept this Gospel. We have decided that everyone here in Alessandria has talked with the Missionaries at some time or at least the missionaries have come to their door. So we are starting to go outside the city a bit. We found a small town called Spinetta, and it’s about 10 minutes by bus. We went there yesterday for the first time and we found instantly a new investigator and taught 2 lessons in like 1.5 of finding work. Which is really good. And the best part is that everyone we talked to has never heard of the Church or our message. So we have fresh area to work with. Nate will appreciate what Fresh Area means I think. Nothing is worse than people opening the door and knowing who you are and what you want and cutting you off before you can say anything meaningful.
 It's starting to get pretty hot outside. I bought a pair of pants last week at OVS here in Italy and I just need a sister in the ward to tailor the ends a bit to fit the length. They are a bit lighter and hopefully that will help. Anziano Mendel Is a great cook and awesome companion. We laugh a lot and have plenty of good times.  I have come to LOVE to study the Gospel. Or the words of the prophets or the scriptures, we have 1 hour of personal study every day. I usually get ready fast and do all my morning prep fast so I have 30 additional minutes to read in the morning and then at night I usually spend 30 minutes. But I wish I could spend days studying. I love to study the word of God. It’s RIDICULOUS. I hope that you are all doing your daily study as well. Nothing brings greater happiness and knowledge than these things.
Hope that you are all doing well and hope to hear from you all soon.
 
Love you all tons and hope that you are all going to church and being happy and praying and doing all that good stuff.

Anziano Memmott