July 31, 2013

My beloved brothers and sisters,

Can't believe it's second transfer! Feels like I just got here, and everybody tells me it just speeds up once I'm done training.

Highlights- Taught E. ["golden" investigator] Word of Wisdom, Law of Chastity, and did the practice baptism interview all in 45 minutes. And he did his real one yesterday, so excited for his baptism!

Ran into a woman street contacting a while ago, and she gave us her address. We stop by, and her uncle doesn't let us in. We pass by again a couple days later, the uncle is busy. So we don't see her for a while and we're debating about whether it's worth trying again, and we run into her again on the street, actually she sees us and calls us over, and we set up an appointment. So we go to the appointment, and she's not there, but her uncle is. But he lets us in and turns out to be really cool. Doesn't want to say a prayer at the beginning, and then volunteers to say a prayer at the end. And then we taught her later too, so it all works out in the Lord's time and in the Lord's way. I love miracles like that.

Cool view walking home one night

Temperature hit 40 a couple days this week, but we were mostly inside for lunch or teaching a lesson at the church at the hottest parts of the day. But just walking to the church was bad, and then when we came out of the church after teaching 2 or 3 lessons at 5:30 and it's still 35°, I can't imagine what it felt like.

Saw a unicyler on a 6 foot unicyle, juggling clubs in the middle of the street. But not a street festival, and a fairly busy street. He was just doing his thing and cars were lined up and honking at him, and even when he dropped 2, he balanced the one on his chin, which is really hard on the ground, let alone a unicyle. So he was really good, just funny because I have no idea what he was trying to accomplish. Nobody was going to pay him for holding them up, but at least I was impressed.

And after I wrote that experience in my journal I wrote "And just ate a pound of ice cream. Good night." Just another spiritually uplifting thought from the life and times of Anziano Berg.

And I also learned that David Nibly, the actor in the best 2 years and plays Alvin in "Joseph Smith:the prophet of the restoration" served in Merate for 13 months of his mission.

Stephano just got his call to Denver Colorado, so he came with us for a full day of missionary work including all the studies in the morning, which was really cool. Unfortunately this is the first day after a week of 30-40° that it decides to rain, and so we walked in the rain for a good portion of the day doing strada and casa a casa (tracting and door to door, literally house to house) But he's going to get days like that in Denver too, so overall good day.

And ate my first kebap here, the same as a Donair, when we were on Scambios [companion exchanges]. And taste the same, yummy and extremely unhealthy. But kebaps are pretty big here, along with pizza places every block. I don't know how they all stay in business. And pasta you buy in restaurants or there's a whole aisle and a bit devoted to the different kinds of noodles, let alone the sauces and meat and cheese to go with it. Never realized there was so many ways to make pasta.

Sorry it wasn't really spiritual this week, I like to include a little bit but want to finish up a little early to catch the train to Milano, we're going to hang out there and play some basketball and possibly go to the bone castle. Thanks for all the support and letters.

Cordially yours, Anziano "Awesome Socks" Berg (copied from Brian)

July 24, 2013

My beloved bros and sorelle [sisters],

I will take sections and thought out of my journal this week and see if it makes any sense.

July 17, 2013- (last Prepation day) Played basketball and soccer with the 4 missionaries in Lecco, super fun. We've played soccer up there in Lecco on a dirt field, but here we have a free artificial turf field that looks like it's sponsered with all the banners along the fence. And we had another 7 people join in, so a really good game of soccer. 1 was a little african kid, maybe 10 years old, who's deking me out and curving it into the net. It was 3:30 then, walk by later at 7:30 and he's still playing futsol with other people, which is soccer on the basketball court and you need to hit the post that holds the basket to score. Yeah, they're all really good. 1 person joined in in basketball, since everyone here sucks at basketball, and we called him Big Pain after Anziano [Elder] Murphy comes in for a layup and hes a large man and Anziano Murphy just runs into him and falls down. But didn't get his number and the next day, there's 14000 people in Merate, he's the first person we see and talk to and get his number. And I've never seen him beofre July 17 (sorry, I'm writing the 18th) 0% of that happening on it's own, definitely the Lord's hand in that miracle.

A corn field right by our house that we pass by everyday. 
The corn was just poking out of the ground when I got here.

I've really developed my testimony of prayer this week. A couple of experiences were I was just feeling like I couldn't get something right and just felt so much peace come as I finish praying. Prayer really is talking to our Father in Heaven, and he wants to hear from us, even when we necessarily don't want to talk to him. Another funny example, I was really hungry and prayed Anziano Locklear would make enough food, he takes a bite and hates it, so he wanted to eat junk food while I ate all the rice with this new kind of flavour, which I learned afterwards was cow intestine. It was alright, I'm not a picky eater.

Got sidebags today.  I still use my backpack for P-day and shopping and filling water bottles, but we buy the sidebags and the same day set 2 baptism dates. Obedience brings blessings, punto basta. (end of story, final)

I've met more interesting people already in 2 months than probably my whole life, just talking to everyone. For example, yesterday a really sweet older lady started talking about the weather with us as we were passing her, and at the end of the conversation she says "Give me a kiss" and she gives us both kisses on the cheek. More common to kiss people you know here, like at church, or I've done the cheek touch on both sides is pretty common, but never been kissed by someone we are passing on the street.

July 19-slightly sidetracked there, but during a lesson Anziano Locklear asks an inspired question from heaven, and she says, "I don't know". And we just wait in silence for literally a minute, but felt more like 10 minutes, in complete silence while the spirit was getting on her case. Cool example of the spirit manifesting in such an obvious way. TOAST it up! [Thrive On Awkward Situations Today]

Starting to love those akward situations where the person is sitting on a bench and can't keep on walking, and we just stand in silence after asking a question or sharing something and they just feel the spirit working. We are nothing in conversion, the Holy Ghost does everything. Cool experince with our golden investigator. We said we loved talking to him since he was so prepared, and he said " I don't see why you're so suprised. You have the authority to bring the Holy Ghost into peoples lives, and if they are prepared like I am, they will accept it."   He realizes it's hard to give some stuff up, but he says he's already received his answer and knows it's the true church, so he does it. I'm giving him 5 years before he becomes stake president.  He also daily contacted US on his vacation last week with a spiritual thought.

21- skipping around, sounds a lot like Isaiah with all the tenses mixed up, but wrote "Hard day, but feel happy-tired" That pretty much sums up a mission, happy-tired.

22- You knows it's hot when you are sitting doing nothing and still sweating. In a dark room. With the fan on. Heard from members it's supposed to be 40 here on Friday, so desperately trying to schedule appointements where we won't have to bike to them and book as many as possible so that we don't tract all day.  Need to hang up my shirt during pranzo [lunch] everyday to let it dry out, but not as bad now that i don't have a backpack on either. And yes, I mean dry out in the sense of sweating a bunch, but I'm starting to get used to it.

23- Anziano Locklear doesn't have white pants, and we were cleaning the house and I found a pair left from previous missionaries that fit him perfectly. Miracle right there, and then he makes ragu and pasta baked with mozerella melted on top. Another miracle, they're everywhere.

Best regards,

Anziano Berg

July 17, 2013

I'm in section 130 right now so I'll finish Doctrine and Covenants no problem with you guys now. Cool story, I'm reading it in every spare moment I have to make it by August 7th, and we're waiting in Lecco in the police offfice in an incredibly packed room waiting for them to call us up so I can get my Permesso, or permisison to stay here. And so I decide to pull out D&C and start reading. And the man standing next to me is silent for a couple of minutes, then I guess has been looking at the words since he says, "Do you speak English?" And I'm suprised since I assumed everyone in the room didn't speak English, even the police officers, and we start up a conversation and he turns out to be from Ecuador and lives in our area, not Lecco. And he gives us a ride home, and we plan on giving him our number when he drops us off, but he asks us, "You should come over to my house sometime. Do you want to?" So he made first contact and then invites us over. we were pretty suprised but taught him that day and left him with a spanish Book of Mormon and going to visit him again. But just so you know family, your reading the Doctrine and Covenants has allowed us to get a new investigator.

Lake in Lecco

And his background story he was telling us shows the impact that we don't even realize we make. He was a wee lad living in Ecuador (well, he didn't use those exact words) and he saw missionaries like us and one of them oiled his skateboard, and we are the first missionaries he's seen since then. That's why he was so open, the Lord prepares people in his own way and own time. 100% guaranteed that missionary did not realize the impact he had, he might have even been apostate, but every single thing we do as missionaries and everything you do as members is being watched and examined. Don't have to be talking to people for them to realize you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, and you follow his example. So thank you for a new investigator. Then after the lesson he takes us to visit 3 of his friends, and we're probably going biking with them next Preparation Day.

So met Presidente and Sorella [Sister] Dibb [new mission president and wife] yesterday, they're amazing! President Dibb pointed out in the Bible dictionary under faith, that miracles don't grow faith, but rather obedience increases faith. That was really cool, never thought about it that way before. I knew that when you're obedient you get blessings, but obedience, even when you don't know the reason why, actually grows your faith. So even if you don't feel like reading scriptures or praying late at night, if you do those things then your faith will grow. Sorella Dibb told a story about a missionary in her ward, I think, who backed his companion out in a totally empty parking lot when they were the only ones at the church. And an investigator sees this and asks why, and they say we want to be 100% obedient, and the investigator decided then to be baptized because he wanted to be part of a church where people want to obey commandements and aren't forced to do anything.

Finally memorized D&C 4 in Italian, wrote the time in my journal since it was hard.

And hailed for 5 minutes that day (July 13) too, that was weird. We were inside.
So worldwide changes here-ready? No backpacks, looks too casual and touristy.  I'll be buying a shoulder sidebag whatever they're called.  

Went on a scambio (companion exchanges) with Anziano [Elder] Davis, the district leader. That was great, he goes up to a family reunion and shouts out "Excuse me! Do you want to know how families can be together forever?" And they aren't interested, but cool to see how our tongues should be loosed. And went on another scambio 2 weeks ago, just forgot to write about it.

And got 16 lessons again! 2 weeks in a row!

Jumped around as usual, out of time, thanks for the letters and support,

Anziano Berg

July 10, 2013

My beloved brothers and Sisters,

Saw an amazing sunset here, the cloud in front of the sun was the exact same colour as the sky all around it so there was a line of sunlight in the dusk in the outline of the top of a cloud.  Unfortunately this isn't a good description at all and I didn't have my camera so you can all just wish you were there and try to imagine how beautiful it was.

Made lasagna starting from eggs and flour last P-day [preparation day/day off] with a part-member family, then ate it for dinner and had a lesson and it was soo good. All the food is really good here though, you can be jealous of that too as well.

Really good gelatto, but not gelatto

Taught our golden investigator again. Our main concerns were if he had a problem with the word of wisdom [health code] and law of chastity [moral code], and while we're explaining repentance and how we confess serious sins to the bishop and he asks like what and Anziano [Elder] Locklear is trying to explain chastity without saying the word chastity since he might not undersatnd and this is a really bad run on sentence, he says "Oh, you mean like the law of chastity?" So his girlfriend has taught him both topics already it turns out, and he answers our biggest questions by himself. And our biggest concern was if he was doing it for his girlfriend, and in the same lesson we're bearing testimony [what we know to be true] and he cuts in and says "You don't need to try and convince me. I know the church is true, and I'm getting baptized for myself, with or without my girlfriend there." (his girlfriend is a member, and a really good missionary obviously) The Lord is definitely preparing more people to hear the gospel, when they start contacting you and know all the lessons before you teach them. And he takes notes during lessons as well. Then (on July 4) we go to a members house and have a little Independence Day party with the only other American in the ward apart from my companion, but the food was good, so that was a highlight. And he drives us home in his van going 50 km per hour around traffic circles, I was looking at the speedometer, and feeling like we were going to tip at every one, which traffic circles are every block in Italy, I've only seen 4 traffic lights so far.

July 5-So we haven't found any new investigators all week, and Anziano Locklear prays to start off companionship study that we can find a new investigator, and 2 minutes later the phone rings and it's a referral from Mormon.org with someone who wants the missionaries over. He actually wasn't that interested once we visited him, but just shows HUGE miracles are just waiting for us and all we need to do is keep on being obedient and working hard and praying. And another miracle- 3 new baptism dates in one day!

Biked for 2 hours, that was fun one day going to and from an appointment, 40 km total. And nobody was home. So we figured it was building up for a miracle with that test of faith, which it was. We finally got 15 lessons was our miracle. Sitting outside in the rain Sunday night, 6:00, only 12 lessons. Really want 15. Ended up getting an appointment with a family that had already said no, and two others last minute. At 9:30 back at the house we had 15. Could not have done that without the Lord's help. I view it as the huge miracle of the week.

Milan has 5 million, Merate has 14000, average in zone was 13.4 lessons, we got 15, standard of excellence. President Wolfgram promised us if we got 15 lessons a week we would get more baptisms.

Still haven't met President Dibb [new mission president] until the 16th, but he's going to all the apartments and personally doing inspections, which is like around 100-150 apartments, I think there's 160 missionaries in Milan mission and I don't know how many live together. But cleaned for more than an hour this morning, fairly nervous for that.

I know it just turned really unlegible point form there, but leaving early today. The gospel is true, there's no way it could not possibly be with the witness from the Holy Ghost that I have received. Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God and through reading this book, we can draw closer to God our father and Jesus Christ.

Anziano Berg

July 3, 2013

My beloved brothers and sisters

Fantabulous week. Faith precedes miracles. Clichè, but true. And there's a separate button on this keyboard with the letter è, so that's cool so I can write the word clichè fast. Which doesn't end up being fast at all since I'm explaining this all out. Anyways, super cool bigger than normal miracle happened this week. Remember the guy who phones us up and says he want to come to church? (Week Two Update,the life and times of Anziano Berg, 26/06/13, paragraph ix) Well, we go to his house and he has a Liahona [Church's international magazine] lying on the table, the same thing as the Ensign there. We ask him where he got it and he tells us he came home from work one day, and out of the 300 apartment mailboxes, his is the only one with this Liahona in it. And so he thumbs through it, and it turns out there's our number stamped on the back, which we have in our apartment and stamp the passalong cards we give away so that they can get ahold of us. So he phones up his girlfriend and asks if she's even heard of this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and it turns out shes been an active member for 20 years. And she encourages him to phone us up and that's when he phoned Saturday morning. But we have absolutely no idea how that got in his mailbox, but definitely huge miracle there. Then the lesson went amazing and he's got a baptism date the first lesson, which is fantastic, so happy for him. Then we taught him the Plan of Salvation yesterday, and he said it just makes perfect sense now where he came from and where we are going after we die. And he confirms his own appointments and texts us good morning. Just an overall super cool and prepared guy.

And on June 27, the martyrdom of Joseph Smith was also the last day President Wolfgramm [mission president] was here in Italy. And he promised us if we worked hard we would place a Book of Mormon that day. And we placed it with an 78 year old Italian guy, which Anziano [Elder] Locklear was telling me is unheard of in all of Italy. So that was neat. Whoever reads this, be obedient. It brings so many blessings.

Last miracle. We go to 2 Peruvians house with a Peruvian member with us, and we're talking about baptism and the spirit is really strong and they say straight up they know they need to be baptized and are ready, but there's some Peruvian custom festival thing that they need to organize or that somehow breaks covenants or something like that (I still have difficuly understanding gospel Italian, let alone this-actually, I didn't understand any of this at the time and my companion had to explain it to me afterwards, but he didn't get it either) Anyways, the Peruvian answered it so perfectly and could entirely relate with them and resolved their concerns and they are going to choose a baptism date.

In answer to your questions:  We mostly walk, but we bike when we're late for an appointment or we need to get somewhere really far away. When we walk from place to place we try to talk to everyone, so we do lots of strada [street contacting].

The vines are all over, just really cool

We have an investigator, no idea how she was found, who lives in Cornate, so it's still in our area and we biked out twice to visit her, but it takes half an hour at a good clip to get there, and then another half hour back. But we try and focus our finding efforts arount Merate and the cities along the railway track so that we can visit them easier and they can come to church a lot easier if they don't have a car.

And then we alternate making lunch, and we don't eat an actual dinner. sometimes at a house they'll make a little snack for us (they don't put icing on cake here either) and only once have we eaten spaghetti before a lesson with a part-member family. But then we'll come home and if we're hungry throw a pizza in the oven before we go to bed.

Out of time, God speed

Anziano Berg