Going on in so great a cause

Cara Famiglia,

This week was sweet in Siena!!! We had a bunch of cool miracles that we saw and the work is going really well. Also the weather is now perfect and General Conference is coming up! It's like Christmas! Speaking of holidays, I think Elder Goodsell forgot my birthday was October 19th, not September 19th, but I thank him for his birthday wish nonetheless. I sent him a letter a couple months ago but I got the address wrong or something so it got sent back. But I will write him a letter today. I also got a sweet letter from the Blake family! They are awesome!

This week we were finally able to make contact with Anna Maria again! She is awesome. We talked to her on the phone, and then her mom kind of dropped us and hung up. But then she called us back and said she wanted to meet again. She wants to be baptized but has to talk to her mom about it. She is super brava.

We also had a sweet miracle find this week! We were knocking doors down some random street and just happened to stop Selifa. She is from Togo and is a student here at the University. She's been in Italy for three years. She used to be Muslim but then converted to Christianity. So we talked to her about the Book of Mormon and set up an appointment for the next day. She even said "I have a friend I can bring too!" So we went the next day and taught Selifa and her friend Noelli(sp?), also from Togo. Now they both have a baptismal date for October 28th!!! They are really cool, and in between the first two lessons she read all the introduction stuff plus four chapters of the Book of Mormon! And we brought Bianka to the second lesson and she and Selifa instantly became good friends. It is awesome! Members make such a huge difference in the work.

We also taught a really cool kid from Cameroon named Crèpin. He was only in Italy for a week but it was a really cool chance to give him a copy of the Book of Mormon and commit him to read it. He seemed really excited to hear about it and hopefully will have a chance to meet missionaries in the future.

The branch is doing really well too, and with the BYU students here now the chapel is always full. They are also really helpful and willing to come to lessons with us and a lot of them speak really good Italian. Two of them gave talks on Sunday, and they were phenomenal!

This week I was reading talks in preparation for General Conference, and I came across a gem in a talk from Boyd K. Packer. He says: "If someone is looking for a church that requires very little, this is not the one. It is not easy to be a Latter-day Saint, but in the long run it is the only true course." (Guided By the Holy Spirit, April 2011). I am grateful for the constant sacrifice involved in serving in the church of Jesus Christ, because it helps us learn to become more like our Savior. I know this is His church, and that the Book of Mormon is the true word of God. I love you all lots!

-Anziano Benjamin Smith

P.S. Big thanks to Aeldste Richards for the referral! Hopefully I can find him, but if not some missionaries will.

20 Lessons!

Cara Famiglia,

Well well well. We got 20 lessons! It was really awesome because it had been a good long while since the goal had been reached. We worked really hard and things are looking up. Also the weather is perfect now!

Unfortunately, we have been out of contact with Anna Maria for about a week. She didn't make it to the appointment we had set up on Friday and then she didn't come to church, and she hasn't been answering her phone. Bummer. But hey! We will find out what is happening eventually.

We also found this really cool American girl named Sarah, who is a student from Chicago here until November. She was really interested in the Restoration lesson and the Book of Mormon, and it seems like she is really looking to develop her relationship with God. We should be seeing her later this week and we will see what happens. It was strange to teach in American english though.

We are also teaching a cool Bolivian kid named Victor. He's 18, and he's kind of reserved but I see a lot of potential there. He is reading a little bit in the Book of Mormon so we will see what happens.

We finally got out to visit Sorella Lunghi! That was really cool. She lives in a really picturesque town north of Siena. Basically it is just tough because she works on Sundays and also there aren't really buses from her town to Siena on Sunday morning anyway. But she is really nice and it was cool to have the connection there. I showed her a picture of mom and she said she remembered her!

The bad news of the week is that for the second time of the mission our fridge is broken. If Anziano Kimball is reading this, I hope he knows that we are not eating leftover rice though. We are getting a new fridge on Monday. Woohoo!

The spiritual thought comes from 1 Nephi 4, a very famous chapter since I started the Book of Mormon over again this week. In verse six he says: "I was led by the spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." Then in the footnote it has Hebrews 11:8 where it says "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went." And then in the footnote for that it has 2 Chronicles 20:12 "O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee." I love the examples of prophets who act in faith not completely knowing beforehand the things which they were doing, but trusting in God and seeing it work out in the end. I especially liked the reference in Chronicles, that reminds us when "our eyes are upon [God]" it doesn't matter as much what else is happening because we will be on the right track. I know the Book of Mormon is true and that this is the greatest work I could ever be doing. I love you all lots!

-Anziano Benjamin Smith

Life in the Mission

Cara Famiglia,

Life in the mission is very good right now, but it is always so unpredictable. We always see great miracles but then there are always some disappointments. Oh well. The weather is perfect right now and there are endless people to talk to, it is great! Today for PDay we are going to San Gimignano, which apparently has the world's best gelato. We will see!

Anna Maria almost dropped us! It was crazy. We had a member coming to our appointment with her and ten minutes after the appointment time we gave her a call. She didn't answer. Then she called us back! She said "my mom doesn't want us to meet anymore, I'm sorry, I can't come anymore!" And we were like "you can decide for yourself, come on!" But she dropped us, and it was a huuuuuuuuge bummer. Then, ten minutes later she called us back and said "I changed my mind, I'll be there in ten minutes!" So we had a sweet lesson on the plan of salvation with a member and she knows the Book of Mormon is true and wants to be baptized on October 14th still. However, she didn't come to church, so we are wondering what happened. It is kind of up in the air.

We haven't been able to meet with Rodrigo since our last lesson about two weeks ago. He is really busy with soccer and school, but hopefully we can see him sometime soon. He says he is still reading the Book of Mormon though!

Other than that we are doing a lot of finding work but finding some cool people, including Pasquale who is a student from Salerno. We talked to him on the street yesterday and are seeing him again tonight. He is a cool kid. We are working really hard to find some solid investigators and the next branch president, so keep praying for us!

This week I have pondered a lot about the spirit of revelation, which fits well with Dad's institute lesson! David A. Bednar gave a sweet talk on it in the April 2011 Conference, with a money quote from Joseph F. Smith: “Show me Latter-day Saints who have to feed upon miracles, signs and visions in order to keep them steadfast in the Church, and I will show you members … who are not in good standing before God, and who are walking in slippery paths. It is not by marvelous manifestations unto us that we shall be established in the truth, but it is by humility and faithful obedience to the commandments and laws of God”

I'm glad that the Lord lets us learn "line upon line...precept upon precept" as we come to know spiritual truths through the spirit of revelation. I know that as we diligently seek him with effort and faith, we will come to know our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ. I know this is His church, and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I love this work with all my heart. I love you all lots!

-Anziano Benjamin Smith

Siena is on Fire (not literally!)

Cara Famiglia,

The weather is perfect in Siena and the work is going really well. Today we had a good Pday with the Anziani from Prato, where we got to go in the Duomo and see the floor that is only uncovered for about a month each year. It was really cool, the entire floor is like one giant mosaic and very detailed.

We have three baptismal dates! They are all for October 14th, which is good because it gives us a good amount of time to prepare. The first is Anna Maria who is progressing really well. She came to church on Sunday and loved Relief Society! It is cool because when she gets baptized it will be really good for Sorella Feri (the Relief Society President) because right now she is basically the only Sister that lives in the city of Siena and not like an hour away. She enjoys reading the Book of Mormon and really feels a difference in the message we bring, it is really cool.

There is also Rodrigo, the 14 year old Bolivian kid who is a lot like Joseph Smith. He is doing really well and likes reading the Book of Mormon a lot too, but plays soccer on Sundays which might be a slight obstacle. We still have to teach him about keeping the sabbath day holy and we will see what happens.

The last one is Luca, who is a really cool miracle but probably the least secure of the three dates. On Friday night we were sitting in the park making calls and he stopped us and said he had met the missionaries about 10 years ago. He didn't remember much though but when we taught him the next day he told us he had been praying a couple years back to find the right strada and when he met us he felt like it was the answer. We really focused on the authority for baptism when we taught him and he understood and accepted a baptismal date, but then the next day he went to another church for services. Doh! We will see what happens.

Other than that we are working with some other cool potentials, including a guy who has never met with missionaries but has read the Book of Mormon and admires Joseph Smith. We were so shocked! It was really cool to find him though.

This week we had a really good conference which had a stellar quote from a Henry B. Eyring conference talk about service in the Priesthood, although it basically applies in any gospel service:

We are to learn our duty from the Lord, and then we are to act in all diligence, never being lazy or slothful. The pattern is simple but not easy to follow. We are so easily distracted. Studying the daily news can appear more interesting than the priesthood lesson manual. Sitting down to rest can be more attractive than making appointments to visit those who need our priesthood service. 

When I find myself drawn away from my priesthood duties by other interests and when my body begs for rest, I give to myself this rallying cry: “Remember Him.” The Lord is our perfect example of diligence in priesthood service. He is our captain. He called us. He goes before us. He chose us to follow Him and to bring others with us.

I know that as we "remember Him" in all that we do we will be blessed with the strength necessary to bless others. I testify that Jesus Christ lives and that he is our Savior. I know the Book of Mormon is true, and that this really is the "only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth." I love you all lots!

-Anziano Benjamin Smith

Miracles!

Cara Famiglia,

[Photo not taken by Benjamin]

Well I don't have much time to do email, today we are in La Spezia. We went to Cinque Terre for Pday, which is arguably the prettiest spot in Italy. I don't quite have enough time to send pictures so for now you can look them up. We are on our way to Milano because there is a conference for new missionaries tomorrow. Also quick shout out to Elder Dickson in Mexico, I got his letter! It was awesome. I laughed a lot at all the things he wrote, and I sent him a really good return letter but after placing it in the mailbox I realized I forgot to write 'Messico' on the envelope. It might still make it?

The real story is that this week we got blitzed by the traveling assistants, and we saw a ton of miracles. Everything is going really well! I was with Anziano Osborn who is in the group above me and we had some sweet success finding new people, including Eugenio, a student who is studying Anthropology. He let us in as we were knocking doors and we had a great lesson. We also taught Bismar and helped him see what he was missing out on by not reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it, and he is progressing now. We also taught Gerald, a really cool guy from Johannesburg, South Africa who is here studying. He had a lot of great questions and was interested in the Book of Mormon.

Then Anziano Benson and Anziano Sciarretta also had a bunch of success. They set a baptismal date with this new investigator we have named Anna Maria. She is a typical Italian lady from Siena and is doing really well. We brought our Relief Society president to the lesson and they hit it off. She has a baptismal date for the 29th of September! They also found apparently the Bolivian version of Joseph Smith, a kid named Rodrigo. He is super elect and is going to be baptized for sure.

I would invite everyone to read 4 Nephi again and see what happens when the happiest people of all time turn into super unhappy people in just a couple pages! It is a good reminder to be humble always, never thinking to ourselves that we've "made it" in anything we're doing. I know Jesus Christ is the perfect example of humility and following his example brings joy. I love this work and I know it is His work. I love you all lots!

-Anziano Benjamin Smith

Pictures! Woohoo!!

I can't send it home, but I also have a video of the blessing of the horse of the Contrada del Drago! It was awesome! The priest splashed holy water on it, and then he touched it with the case that holds the thumb of Santa Caterina! It was sweet! Then he said to the horse: "Vai, e torna un vincitore!" which means "Go, and come back a winner!"

1) Me with the Oca flag before the Palio
2) Anziano Benson and I at our favorite pizzeria here in Siena with the best view of the city ever!
3) The head of Santa Caterina from the 1300s
4) The horse before it's blessing
5) Me!
6) Me again!
7) Inside the Duomo on the day of the Palio. It was awesome!
8) Me under the Oca flag in the Duomo
9) Waiting on the campo for the Palio to start
10) Me, Anziano Benson, and Matteo (new convert from Livorno living in Siena for a couple months) on the Piazza watching the Palio opening ceremonies!
11) Us with a little flag of the winning contrada after the Palio
12) Me on the track after the Palio
13) Kind of a bad picture but it's me with the tie that Anziano Richards sent me from Denmark with a view of the countryside in the background.
14) Pubblicità for The Dark Knight Rises ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!

Palio Adventures!

Cara Famiglia,

For another year the Palio is no more in Siena! Although this most recent Palio will live on in infamy! During the second turn of the race six horses fell down leaving only four to finish. Valdimontone, a contrada that hadn't won in 22 years, pulled out a stellar victory. The race was a lot more exciting than the last one to be honest. Other interesting note: we were actually right by the drain at the bottom of the piazza with just a couple people between us and the fence. In front of us there were a bunch of kids that were watching over the fence to see everything, including a 10 or so year old German kid. What happened, I didn't actually see, but Anziano Benson describes it like this "The valdimontone supporters as they saw that they were going to win, seemed to appear out of nowhere, and proceeded to tear the kid off the fence and throw him on the ground without a second thought." The poor kid was traumatized! He was crying afterwards. Seriously, these people are nuts for this horse race!

Other than the Palio the work is always progressing, although that isn't necessarily measured by outstanding numbers. We are teaching Chiara, who is still facing some serious economic and spiritual difficulties, but she is really visibly changing as she accepts the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is awesome to hear such sincere prayers! We are also teaching a cool guy named Bismar, he is from Bolivia. I may have mentioned him last week, but he apparently almost got baptized in Bolivia about 10 years ago but then moved. Now he's here in Siena, although he works in Firenze all week so we can only see him on weekends. But he is a stud.

We also had a cool finding experience the other day. Actually finding work in general is just better lately. We are seeing a lot of success from varying things up. Anyway, the other night we were out and it was kind of late. Anziano Benson felt like we should go down some side streets that I honestly wasn't too excited about because it was off to the middle of nowhere Siena. But we went and we ended up at a big, nearly empty piazza in front of a big church. There weren't very many people but we started talking. We ended up finding a really cool student named Andrea, who is this girl from Mexico City. She actually lived in Houston for a year so she speaks almost perfect english and was welcoming to see us again to get a copy of the Book of Mormon. We are teaching her tonight so pray that goes well.

This week my spiritual thought is an invite to read the 'Pray with Faith' section from Chapter 4 of Preach My Gospel. It is probably one of the most inspired things I've ever read! Then do the prayer evaluation activity on pg. 95 and see how you can improve! I would say one of the toughest but most rewarding testimonies I've had is my testimony of prayer, how it is a literal conversation with Heavenly Father and I'm glad we can pray about anything anywhere at anytime. It is unbelievable. I know that God answers prayers and that his Son Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. I know this is His church. I love you all!

-Anziano Benjamin Smith