Siena Week 5!

Cara Famiglia,

This week in Siena has been pretty good! The weather seems to be stabilizing, mostly sunny days. Today we are going to play frisbee with some BYU students for Pday, which should be fun. Here are some highlights of the week:

-We had five investigators in church! It was really great. Andrea, Miwako, Redi (the husband of a new convert), Francesca (the friend of another new convert), and a friend of a less-active member all came! It was a good Sunday, except that Andrea no longer has a baptismal date. Kind of a major bummer, he had a really good experience in church on Sunday and wants to be baptized, but Miwako has kind of changed her mind and isn't really on board anymore. Andrea has a testimony that this church is true and is willing to make the step of faith to be baptized but Miwako doesn't feel good about it anymore. We want to focus with her on a testimony of the Book of Mormon. They are going through some tough times though, and we think the Law of Tithing may have something to do with the recent obstacles. However, we still have lots of hope! It may just take a little more time than we thought. 

-We are doing lots of finding work! Every day we plan our day so specifically and it's awesome. We plan and write down goals and accomplishments we want for every single hour of the day and the people we are looking to find. It is awesome to put our faith down on paper and see miracles happen. But we need lots of prayers! Pray that we find new investigators.

-We had a branch activity! After some last-minute near disasters in activity planning, including the fact that we were unable to go to San Galgano to see the sword in the stone and the abbey without a roof, we rearranged the activity to be a picnic and games activity here in Siena, including a Siena Scavenger Hunt! It was lots of fun, and unfortunately I did not get any pictures. It was soooo awesome to play frisbee for the first time in forever though. Other fun fact of the week, we had some tourists in church on Sunday including a family from Charlotesville, Virginia! The dad taught business if I remember correctly, but is going to be teaching at the BYU Business School for a year. 

This morning I was reading Mosiah 15 and I was pretty stupefied by the entire chapter. It is really powerful about the atonement of Jesus Christ. I especially liked the mentioning of 'the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father' and thinking about how important it is to learn the lessons of humility and obedience from the atonement. I am grateful that my Savior was obedient and humble enough to suffer and descend below all things so that through Him all may be saved. I know He lives! I know the Book of Mormon is true and testifies of Him! I know this is His church! I love you all!

-Anziano Benjamin Smith

Pictures!

Earthquake!

Cara Famiglia,

Even though earthquake is the subject title, we didn't feel it at all here. Haha or maybe we did, but I was deeply asleep when it happened, and I usually never wake up during the night. But the week has been great, except a little rain which I think is normal for this time of year. 

We saw some awesome miracles this week. Miwako's operation went well, although she didn't come to church because she wasn't feeling too well. Andrea did come though, and we had an awesome Gospel Principles class. He and Miwako love church, it is so awesome to see the gospel really blessing their family. We went to teach them yesterday with one of the BYU students on scambio and they are doing really well though. Andrea has finished 1 Nephi, and he understood it so well he was asking questions about the gathering of Israel. We taught them about Following the Prophet and about the Word of Wisdom, and they understood it really well! Hopefully Andrea will still be able to make his date for the 3rd, we are praying and working hard for that.

We also were able to start working with the husband of our new convert Lorena. His name is Redi, and he is super cool. Kind of a quiet and reserved guy but has a good heart. We gave him a Book of Mormon with our testimonies written inside the first time we taught him, and Sunday we went back and he had read 10 chapters! And he accepted to come to church and to the ward activity! We should be giving him a really solid baptismal invite next lesson, so pray that goes well.

This week I was really struck by a verse in Mosiah 5 that I think should be more 'famous' among the scriptures of the Book of Mormon. Maybe it is already haha. But it is Mosiah 5:13 - "For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his hearts?" I really like this scripture aligned with the concept of prayer, how as we communicate with God and make it less a demand and more an opportunity to align our will with His, and as we serve him with our actions, we will know the thoughts and intents of His heart because they will be 'written on our hearts.' After reflecting on this scripture, I was again drawn to note the incredible importance of constant, often, daily prayer and how much it blesses our life. I am grateful for the power of prayer in giving me a testimony of this amazing work, which I know is the Lord's. I know Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, is guiding His church and invites everyone to come unto Him. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I love you all!

-Anziano Benjamin Smith

Siena = Miracles!

Cara Famiglia,

It was awesome to talk with you guys on Sunday! Great Mother's Day phone call. It was good to see you are all doing well. Today we are in Firenze for P-day again, we are going to hang out with my father Anziano Kimball and Anziano Warren who's in my MTC group! Sad news is that this is Anziano Kimball's last transfer! Also, shout out to the Blake Family who sent me an awesome letter and I will write them back!

This week in Siena was awesome though! We had a bunch of miracles. The biggest one was the lesson with Andrea and Miwako. They came to church on Sunday and brought their two kids which was awesome, and hd a really good experience. They tell us that every time they come to church they feel like the talks and lessons are just for them and help them out a lot, it is so cool. Then afterwards we went to go teach them and we brought one of the BYU students with us! It was an awesome lesson. We taught them the Restoration and watched the video in Japanese since Andrea had already seen it. She loved it and then we sat down and the table and we just bore a bunch of testimony and really promised blessings. Then we gave Andrea the baptismal challenge with a date and he was a little hesitant, but my companion bore some more awesome testimony and then he accepted with a smile on his face. It was one of the happiest moments of my mission! Soooo awesome. So now he has a date for the 3rd of June. Pray that he can make it. Miwako wants to be baptized when she is out of the hopsital, pray for her to get better!

Another super cool miracle happened Monday morning. At around 8 o clock there was a missed call from some number we didn't recognize. Turns out it was a sister who moved to Siena from Savona! She was less-active there because she lived far away from the church and it was hard for her to go, but now she lives in Siena near the church and wants to be active and go to the temple! So now we have another member in the branch! Yeah!

This last week we had an awesome training from Sorella Wolfgramm about the 'enabling' power of the atonement, which is often overlooked. The Atonement is to make not only bad men good, but good men better. She used the example of 1 Nephi 7: 17, when Nephi doesn't pray for God to simply solve his problem, he prays for the strength through his faith in Christ to change his circumstances. It also cross-references to Jacob 4:6, which is probably one of my favorite verses in the Book of Mormon. It teaches us that through the Atonement we learn and gain strength so that we can act as agents for ourselves, instead of just relying on God for things we need. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and I know this church is true. I love you all lots!

-Anziano Benjamin Smith

Pictures from Mother's Day Call

We got to call Elder Smith yesterday--well, technically, we did a Google Plus Hangout with him. It was great! Here are a few pictures, with descriptions below each one:

Anziano Mina and Anziano Benjamin Bortolussi Smith (Mother’s Day

May 13, 2012) Siena, Italia

Our Google Hangout phone call with Benjamin in the Branch President’s

office in Siena, Italia. Here is Anziano Mina (from Sicilia) talking with us.

(Below pictures of Diana & Austin, Anziano Mina, Irene & Dave, & Kevin

in Idaho.

Benjamin looked so happy! What a joyful look as he sees us in Google hangout.

How cool to join Italy, Idaho, and Virginia into a hangout session. Anziano

Smith’s joy was the best Mother’s Day gift a mom could wish for.

Anziano Smith listening intently to his family in Virginia & Idaho.

Anziano Smith looks over at his companion asking him a question in

Italian. Benjamin’s Italian was so much better than the MTC call or last

Christmas. Apparently they speak Italian 95% of the time.

Anziano Benjamin Smith holds up one of the contratto (neighborhood

region’s) flag emblem in Siena, Italia. He hopes to see il Palio (famous

horse race held July 2 & August 16) in Siena in the main centro.

Anziano Smith turns to hear a comment from his companion Anziano

Mina. (Sitting in the Branch President’s Office in Siena, Italia.)

Google Hangout phone chat with Anziano Benjamin Bortolussi Smith on

Mother’s Day May 13, 2012.

Making a hand signal about calling someone.

Just a silly picture where Benjamin put a pirate’s eye patch and

beard on his computer image picture. Sort of a missionary disguise

image.

Sad for mom trying to say “Goodbye” but Benjamin was happy…says

he’s not homesick and wishes us well…also “HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY MOM! Ti voglio bene sempre!” (Most likely last Missionary phone call)

Siena Week 3!

Cara Famiglia,

This week has been a good one in Siena! We are working really hard and talking to a lot of people and finally seeing some fruits of our labors. The weather has been fantastic, and me and my companion get along really well together! Today we are doing P-day in Firenze with my father Anziano Kimball and his companion Anziano Warren, and the Anziani from Pisa (Anziano Mitchell my old companion! And Anziano Hardy!)

Andrea and Miwako: Andrea came to church on Sunday and liked it a lot. Miwako didn't come because she was feeling depressed. They are going through a lot of trials. Pray for them! We talked to Miwako afterwards on the phone and she said that Andrea said he feels positive energy whenever he comes to our church, so I guess he is feeling the spirit! We just have to help him recognize it and set a date for baptism. It's kind of tough meeting with them because of their schedules, but they are doing well.

Other than that we found a cool new investigator named Fernando this week. He's a Bolivian kid who's maybe 20ish, and is super interested in the Plan of Salvation and the Book of Mormon. We're seeing him for the second time tomorrow.

This last weekend we did a huge tour of the southern area of our proselyting area in the southern half of Toscana. We left Saturday morning and our first stop was in a little city an hour south of Siena where a less-active lady named Doris lives. She is Peruvian, but was baptized in Rome about 10 years ago. She was active in the church for seven years but then got married and moved to this city and it is really far for her to come on bus to make it to church so she feels bad. It was really sad, we taught her a lesson and she teared up about how she misses church and wants to come back. We are hoping to be able to find a way to help her come, since there's another member that lives an hour past her that might be able to pick her up occasionally. Unfortunately her husband who is Italian isn't a member and so isn't too big on the idea of driving her to church every Sunday, but we'll see if we can work on getting him interested in the church. We also visited a less-active lady in this tiny town right near the edge of the mission. She hadn't had any contact with the church in the 10 years she moved into Toscana from Varese. She was baptized in Varese about 30 years ago, but says she only did it because she felt sympathy for those 'American guys' and now says she doesn't believe in God because she's had too many trials. It was really a bummer to see all the unfulfilled potential and good she could have done in the church! I feel so bad for less-actives that miss out on all the blessings of service in the church. So all you who read this email go out and re-activate a less-active! They are awesome people!

This week I was really thinking about the example of Nephi in the Book of Mormon. I think he is my new favorite character from the Book of Mormon, although not because of his usual 'courage' that everyone talks about. While it is true that he was very courageous in going into physical danger to get the plates in Jerusalem, I was really impressed by his patience, charity, and long-suffering. In 1 Nephi 7 he gets tied up by his brothers for telling them the truth, and they want to kill him. After he is able to loose his bands he gives us a great example of Christian courage:

21 And it came to pass that I did frankly forgive them all that they had done, and I did exhort them that they would pray unto the Lord their God for forgiveness. And it came to pass that they did so. And after they had done praying unto the Lord we did again travel on our journey towards the tent of our father.

I was struck that he 'frankly forgave' his brothers for the horrible things they did, and instead of seeking justice he invited them to repent and used the opportunity to bring his brothers closer to God. I know that as we pray for this gift of charity we can feel our love for others increase, and I am grateful for the ultimate example of love in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I know the Book of Mormon is true, and that this church is the true church of Jesus Christ. I love you all tons and tons!

-Anziano Benjamin Smith

Siena: The Greatest City in the World!

Cara Famiglia,

First off, wow about the news about Aunt Therese! [Benjamin's aunt passed away suddenly this last week.] That is super sad, I am sorry I won't be able to be there for the funeral. Give Uncle Lynn my condolences and I will be praying for them! I am really grateful for the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation, that families are truly forever.

It is a fact..that Siena is the greatest city in the world. Actually though, the city is great! It is awesome to walk around talking to people here. More news about the city: I mentioned the contradas last email, but I didn't mention how serious they are. My companion and I are fans of the Nobile Contrada dell'Oca (pronounced "oh-hah" in the Toscana accent, and meaning "the noble neighborhood of the goose"). Every year the 17 contradas of the city have two horse races that are called the Palio. Basically they make a track around the Piazza del Campo and race the horses, one for each contrada. They race every year on the 2nd of July and another the 16th of August, and the winner wins the Palio, which is basically a big piece of fabric that depicts some aspect of the Palio, Siena, and the Madonna. You can probably look up pictures of it on the internet. They have been doing these races since like 1300! So today we went to the Museum of the contrada dell'Oca, because there's an awesome member who lives in the contrada who hooked us up. Basically we learned that for the people living in the city of Siena, the Palio, and the contrada you live in, is your life. It is so intense that you get baptized twice: once for religious purposes, and then later you are baptized into the contrada for life! Everyone in the contrada knows each other, and year round they have activities, and even an organization kind of like primary/nursery that handles the kids from ages 0-16. I am looking forward to seeing the Palio.

Other than that there is the stuff that really matters, that is the missionary work. We are making really good progress with Andrea and Miwako and their 11 year old son Leo. They are awesome and are definitely going to be baptized, although we still need to set a firm date with them. They came to church on Sunday and had a good experience, and then we went to their house and taught them a really good lesson about the Gospel of Jesus Christ afterwards. They are going through some really tough trials though, so pray for them a lot!

Other than that we are working with our new converts. Bianka, who was baptized the weekend before I got here, is one of the strongest members I've ever seen! She gave a talk on Sunday and brought two friends to church! We are going to be meeting with the friends this week.

The branch is doing well! Sunday went really well considering the fact that our 2nd counselor was actually sick and couldn't make it, so we were on our own conducting and everything. But we had seven investigators in church! There are also a number of BYU students arriving, some of which speak Italian, which should really help out. Basically everything is going really well.

Today I was reflecting on the baptismal covenant found in Mosiah 18:8-10 which reads:

8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—

10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

What struck me this time was thinking about how Christ lived and gave the example of the baptismal covenant. He could have used his energy to complain about the sufferings he went through or changing the circumstances around him to make his own burdens lighter, but instead he looked outward and used every moment living and dying for others. It was a reminder to me of what it really means to lose oneself in Christlike service, and I felt to remember more often the pure love of Christ that must be at the heart of everything we do. I know Christ lives and leads His church, and I know the Book of Mormon truly testifies of Him. I love you all lots and lots!

-Anziano Benjamin Smith