Week 45

Hey!
I am doing really well! I am writing you first this week so I can give you the most time and attention! I watched this video on lds.org called "It was Mom" this week and it made me think a lot about you! So it sounds like everything is going super well at home without me! It sounds a little bit lonely but it sounds alright! I remember when you dreamed of free time while you were in nursing school! hahahaha! So we had the zone conference like 2 weeks ago and I got a package with the generations tie in it from Brandon and Braden, which was fun! As district leader everything is going super well! I realized that those who receive callings are those who the Lord wants to strengthen in certain areas of their lives! I think for me I have been learning a lot about setting an example and trying to be responsible for the actions of myself and for others!  This week especially, my companion and I have set goals to be exactly obedient! Before we were being obedient and receiving blessings, however we have been taught that "exact obedience brings miracles" so that is what we are going to aim for this week! Also, I have learned that with the Atonement there is an enabling power that can be used if we know how! Many times we think that the Lord works through us however we have to understand that He can only work with us as much as we work with Him and for Him! Then after that we can receive blessings because of the grace of God! 

So this week we had a lesson with a man who instantly started bashing when we talked to him.  We sat down on a bench and began talking about religion and how we believe that the Book of Mormon is a helping tool to the Bible. He said we shouldn't add or take away from the Bible. so of course we explained to him what the prophets and apostles meant when they said that we shouldn't add or take away, not meaning adding or  taking away from the Bible as a book, but from the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We then showed him that the Bible has been changed by men over many years and that we know there are lost gospels not in the Bible, not as a matter of opinion but as a factual matter. He refused to believe this however and claimed the bible was 100% perfect. We explained that God also loved the people of the American continent and so he had given them prophets as well to write scripture and to preach to the people. I told him I know that Jesus Christ lived  and was resurrected because I have two witnesses of these things from two different sets of scriptures from two different parts of the world at the same time.   He was very upset and even started cursing so we asked if we could leave and we got up told him to have a good night and walked away.  

From this I have learned that patience is a virtue and that people will not all accept the things in which you believe, but if these things make you happy bring you closer to Christ and help you love one another then they are the right things! So anyway, although i haven't had the greatest teaching experiences this week, my experiences have only strengthened my testimony! 

Also this week we walked two hours to go to an appointment at an African camp. When we got there we had a group of people who gathered around to listen to our message! One of them is a member who has received the priesthood and the others were all just friends. Although we didn't see the friends at church, I know that they were touched by the message we brought and that they will be happy to meet with us again this week! 

So, all in all, I had a good week! I hope everyone is doing well at home! I love you all and pray for you every day! Thanks for the support!

Anziano Goode

On our way to the African camp

Thanks for the love from home!

Week 44

Hi!  My week was good, unfortunately I don't have any time because we
had zone soccer today! So, we also got the iPad, however, we are still
unable to use Facebook! This week we left our phone in Palermo, we
had an investigator drop us and we didn't do too much. However, we did
talk with this family of 3 people. The mom was 18 and the dad was 21 and they had a 4 month old baby. I testified with all I could about how important the families are in the eyes of God and what the gospel of Jesus Christ could do for them in their lives! They said they wanted to meet with us again so we hope all will go well with them this week!! I love my family!
Anziano Goode!

Week 43

This week was another good week!!! It sounds like you all had a ton of fun!! Last Monday we walked past the beach and saw these kids playing volleyball; so, being curious to see how my skill level was, I decided to jump in for a game! We played two on two! I have to admit the net was a little low but I could jump higher then ever before because I have been walking soooo much! I bounced a couple of balls into the street and even one onto a shack roof about 20 meters from the court!! It was quite amazing and afterward they all asked where I was from and I told them I was from California and they all just about died, they thought I was from Trapani!! hahaha! Well I have started to read El Libro de Mormon in Spanish so I can master another language while I am here! When I don't understand something, I just have to look in the Italian book to understand!! So its been really awesome! I am growing in so many ways ! I think after Spanish I am going to try German because it is close to English!  So just keep helping Nathan!  Be an example to him and pray for him, and the rest of the family, haha! 

Thanks for sharing the story of the miracle!  I loved it!  That is so amazing, you should write that down somewhere! Speaking of journal writing, my journal writing has been pooop this week because we have been doing so much work and I also just forget, but anyway this week was cool!  We went to a city called Monreale with all of the anziani in our district to do missionary work with them and it was really great! We met this one kid who was from Texas; his parents were divorced and so he lives now here in Italy with his dad, but it was super cool to talk with an American and tell him about the gospel! The anziani there in Monreale will see him later this week!   So the big news is that today we are receiving the iPads to do missionary work with!! I will be posting on Facebook regularly to try to get some more contacts here in Trapani! It will be a great tool (or a very dangerous one)!  We will be allowed to use our Facebook and to post and message almost everyday! So, if anyone wants to contact me that way they can! This week also my companion had foot problems like on his heel the shoe was cutting into his foot because they are brand new, so he just pretty much gave up.  He really doesn't like missionary clothes all that much. So we stopped in a store and I grabbed him some cotton pads and some tape to tie up his ankle and heel and we kept marching along! It has started to the warm up here in Sicily which is not the greatest for walking around 8 hours a day, so we have been trying especially hard to get appointments to stay out of the sun! It sounds like everything is going well and i hope you all have a great week and put your faith in the Lord!

Love Anziano Goode

The African member in the last picture is from Ghana, he was baptized a year ago! He rides his bike an hour to get to church every Sunday.

Well anyway, I love you guys tons and miss you guys, have a great week!!

Week 42

Hey, 

I am doing really good!  I have learned so many things! It is really nice having an Italian companion! We have been setting appointments like crazy, I have kind of felt like a chicken with it's head cut off for the last two transfers in this city with a comp just barely older than me in the mission, but now I feel like I know the city, the members, the language and just the "how to" of missionary work! So I just hit 10 months in the mission this week, which is ridiculous! It's hard to believe that it has gone so fast!  We taught a ton of lessons this week! One investigator is thinking about baptism pretty soon, probably the end of the month! Also, there was this crazy man that came to church yesterday because we invited him and my companion refused to sit next to him, so I did, haha! Also there was this African man that came to church, he is a member and lives like two hours away by bike. His bike was stolen by someone two weeks ago and so he begged another bicyclist to give him a ride to church last week but was unable to make it.  This week he came because one of his friends gave him a ride on his bicycle, it is truly amazing the faith this member has! He even wore the tie that I gave him three weeks ago because he didn't have one!,  

Our next Zone Conference will be on the 16th of this month, so next Tuesday! In answer to your question, mom, during our study time we are supposed to study our scriptures in our native tongue then for additional language study I normally study the Book of Mormon in Italian! We normally do our companion studies in English, actually because he speaks really good English. We are getting along really well! When we are inside the house we speak English, outside we speak Italian!  Anziano Ferrero is really good at working and is very obedient. He is also smart and we really work smart instead of just working hard!  I am not technically training him because I am his 3rd companion, but I am the senior comp! For our Preparation Day today, we didn't really do anything exciting this week because the senior couple in our area took us to the mountain, Erice, on Friday.  We've already done a bit of exploring around town so we just did our shopping and normal stuff today! I am still writing in my journal and taking lots of pictures! I hope you all have a great week! I love you guys!!!

Love Anziano Goode

Week 41

Hi, 

Everything is going really well! This week was crazy! I picked up my new companion, Anziano Ferrero, on Thursday (my companion is from Brescia, northern Italy) and we got straight to work! Everyone loves my new companion because he is Italian! The night my companion arrived inTràpani we were walking home and we heard a loud crash like 30 meters behind us. So we see this guy fly off his motorcycle over a car and we run back to help him! He was conscious, luckily, but he had broken his hip and cut his little finger really bad! He laid there for a minute and we called the ambulanza.  The car that hit him or made him swerve just took off and fled the scene!  Then the whole neighborhood came out and we waited 20 minutes for the ambulanza to arrive, it was terrible! This guy called his family and his family arrived before the ambulance which was like really close to where we were! I was just glad my comp was Italian and could explain everything we saw to the police! Well I think he will be fine. My comp asked me afterwards, "does this stuff happen all the time?" Haha, he had only been in Tràpani for like 4 hours hahaha!  So other than that, this week was great, unfortunately, we didn't have too much work because we were transferring and stuff. It was sad to see Anziano Tew leave but good to see that time is still moving along. I just get so comfortable after a while, it is kinda hard to say that I'm prepared to be District Leader but I'm sure it'll be fun!  I pray for you guys every day, sorry I don't have much time!! I love you tons, hope you enjoy your time with Hanna and Seth!!!! 

Well anyway, I'll write more next week!

Love Anziano Goode

Palermo Cathedral

Palermo Cathedral

Anziano Ferrero