Ciao da Mantova!

Cara Famiglia,

Well Verona is awesome, but I am actually not there right now. Monday we went and did a blitz scambio(where both my companion and I stay in the city and work there) in MODENA, and then yesterday we did the same thing in Reggio Emilia. We kind of missed the train to get back to Verona earlier so we are chilling in Mantova for a couple hours and doing e-mail here. It was really cool to go back and do some work in Modena, that city is so great.

Verona is awesome! My companion is Anziano Neff straight from East Milcreek, SLC, Utah! I think he lives really close to Grandpa. He's a really good companion and we're going to see great things happen this transfer.

The investigators we are currently teaching are as follows: Alessandro is a cool Romanian guy who used to be Evangelist but is now not really affiliated with any church. He really loves the Bible and was wondering why in our church last Sunday the women were allowed to speak in church! He's only been here in Italy for about 4 months but he speaks really well and is interested in reading the Book of Mormon. We will see what happens. We are also teaching Juliet, a Nigerian lady who is super cool and really wants to follow Jesus Christ. We set a baptismal date for the 31st of March and we will see how that goes. Other than that we are doing a bunch of scambi this week and the next couple weeks, and so we will not be in Verona super often but will really strive to find new investigators. Verona has a lot of people that are ready for the Gospel.

This week I really liked in Ether 6 when it talks about light. In verse ten it says: "And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them; and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water." I really liked that they had light continually, both spiritual and physical light. It is really cool that the light of the Gospel of Christ works in all situations in life to bring joy and happiness to someone's life. As we react to each and every situation we encounter the way Jesus Christ would act, our light will grow and the darkness around us won't matter. I know that Jesus Christ brings this true light into our lives, and that his church is guided by a living prophet. I love you all lots! Sorry this letter is kind of short!

-Anziano Benjamin Smith