tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36088396028493524282024-03-13T10:28:55.145-07:00Elder Ray Banks, ItalyLiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-23961443757018179302011-11-17T10:48:00.001-08:002011-11-17T10:48:20.227-08:00La Fine<p>Well, this is it! The last e-mail you're going to be getting from me on the mission. There's not too much to say. I've really loved my mission, and I still have a lot of things to do. Tomorrow we have breakfast, lunch and dinner meal appointments, so I'm staying pretty busy. </p> <p>In a couple of hours we're going to go play calcio!</p> <p>Pretty much, things don't get much better than this.</p> <p>The other day I was walking around talking to people on the street, and I was thinking about how I am a representative of Jesus Christ. It's fantastic! I just walk around, preaching the gospel, making people happy, while enjoying myself. It's really awesome. It's like, how do you get any better than that?</p> <p>Last week we were going to do family home evening with a South American family from the ward, and on our way to their house there was a lady and a guy moving a washing machine. I offered to help. Usually, it's hard to get people to accept offers to help. Most of the time you see an old Italian woman carrying a fridge on her back, and you offer to help and she says "no no, I can do it". You keep insisting and she says, "no, no, it's okay, I have help", then you see her 80 yr old husband, hunched over coming over to help. Hahaha. Anyway, this lady actually accepted the help! So I take the other side of the washing machine and me and this guy started carrying it down the stairs. We went down three flights of stairs! Then we walked around to another palazzo, took a couple more flights of stairs and put her washing machine in her house. </p> <p>Was it pretty tiring? Yes. </p> <p>Was it pretty awesome? Yes. </p> <p>She's from Peru. She asked us about who we were, and said she would want to meet with us to talk about religion. We told her about how we have a sister missionary from Peru and she was excited to meet her. </p> <p>Okay, I need to go because I have a lot to do to get ready to go. </p> <p>^That half of the email was written yesterday. The rest is from today:</p> <p>Hey!</p> <p>So this morning we went and had breakfast with ex-Anziano Scotchi and Sorella Misseri. It was great. In a couple hours I have to go eat lunch with the Iaconianni family, and then tonight we have to eat dinner at six!!</p> <p>Let's just say, I'm going to be coming home very full. </p> <p>We also played calcio yesterday. It was a total blast. I got some pretty good photos. I'll just tell you more about it when I get home. </p> <p>I'm really glad that we're going to be coming back here in May. We have to eat with quite a few people. I hope you like Italian food! </p> <p>I should go finish up a bunch of things that I need to get taken care of. </p> <p>I love you tons! I know that the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true. I'm really excited for the temple here in Rome!!</p> <p>Lots to do. There are tons of people that are joining the church here and will be able to go to the temple all the time! (There are also soccer fields right below the temple!!)</p> <p>Love,</p> <p>Anziano Banks</p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-82716906080507289032011-11-15T18:45:00.001-08:002011-11-15T18:45:20.987-08:00Wow<p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-BK7khkYCmW4/TsMjZGnF5UI/AAAAAAAAEYc/jhZrSnKufVc/s1600-h/PA200012%25255B9%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="PA200012" border="0" alt="PA200012" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-j6ZqTNfMeI8/TsMjZyKoxpI/AAAAAAAAEYk/TfCNqkH42sA/PA200012_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="507" height="393" /></a></p> <p>It's crazy how much there is to do. I think I should probably extend another week or two. Haha. I wish. </p> <p>There are seriously a ridiculous number of things that I need to get done in the next few days. Tomorrow I'm on splits with Roma 3, Monday morning we're booked, Monday evening we have three appointments, Tuesday is zone leader council, Wednesday we need to do some other things besides playing soccer that afternoon, and then Thursday we have breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal appointments. Hahaha. It's really nuts. haha. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I can't promise that I'll be e-mailing you again before I’m back, sorry. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-NGnglvQzSSU/TsMja9OrC-I/AAAAAAAAEYs/bA_IvMMiFMM/s1600-h/almare%252520-%252520Copy%25255B9%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="almare - Copy" alt="almare - Copy" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-9QzhbbyKuCQ/TsMjbjzF3iI/AAAAAAAAEY0/TQq0cgZKugM/almare%252520-%252520Copy_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="397" height="301" /></a></p> <p>Sardegna was incredible. Besides our preparation day it was really incredible too. I love going on splits. Miracles always happen. We met some really awesome people in Oristano, Sassari, and Olbia. Especially in Olbia though. </p> <p>I love it so much here! Walking around sharing the gospel with everyone is the best thing in the world. While I was in Olbia we talked with a lot of people, and really connected with them even though they chose not to accept our message. I thought it was kind of weird that things were going so well, yet so poorly, but I was still really enjoying it. Anziano Lacey is great. Then when the evening came we started meeting person after person who was interested in meeting with us and we saw a lot of success that night. I think that sometimes the Lord just likes to make us wait before he blesses us. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Tx89a68DBYc/TsMjcumR0BI/AAAAAAAAEY8/dWaAfu4PjU0/s1600-h/pizzascambi%25255B11%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="pizzascambi" border="0" alt="pizzascambi" align="left" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-z_QqPOcycXk/TsMjdpQ0q4I/AAAAAAAAEZE/vlSCJkrCEVU/pizzascambi_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="398" height="300" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>I’m able to send you a bunch of photos this time because I’m kind of multitasking. President and Sister Kelly asked us to help them put together a slideshow for Christmas. It's going to be pretty awesome. I'll bring a copy home to show you, but it probably won't be as cool for you because you don't know all the missionaries like I do. </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Anyway, I'm happy that you're doing well. I'm doing really well myself. I should probably catch up on a little sleep, but besides that everything is going good. I've been going out of my way to not be "trunky" at all, so don't be surprised if I experience quite a bit of culture shock when I first get home. Haha. Anyway, the work here is going really well and we're really happy about that. </p> <p>I love you all a bunch. See ya soon. </p> <p>Love,</p> <p>Anziano Banks</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-DNkLLNTiMxY/TsMjebopNDI/AAAAAAAAEZM/AXLTt-1lJfA/s1600-h/alessio%252520-%252520Copy%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="alessio - Copy" alt="alessio - Copy" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-6OcjXnKZYvQ/TsMjfI4A2WI/AAAAAAAAEZU/uRiTSgx05uU/alessio%252520-%252520Copy_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="371" height="278" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-jbEdEE9OyDI/TsMjfyCebjI/AAAAAAAAEZc/Edj5tT5v-tg/s1600-h/P1030091%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="P1030091" alt="P1030091" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-hIciQOJEHIk/TsMjgjY7RLI/AAAAAAAAEZk/8EQf8QE4RXE/P1030091_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="282" height="325" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-8kJRiaO8kFY/TsMjhRYAqrI/AAAAAAAAEZs/3SUra0gq2Ys/s1600-h/calcetto%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="calcetto" alt="calcetto" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-8Bz8UMNhcoI/TsMjiDXjhHI/AAAAAAAAEZ0/7lx1PeZ9zTA/calcetto_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="224" height="296" /></a><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Ljmc4CZNRRk/TsMji0Cf8xI/AAAAAAAAEZ8/gr3bYzgSx58/s1600-h/boat%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="boat" alt="boat" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Xfxq-JTN26Y/TsMjjvjRWWI/AAAAAAAAEaE/3lPA2emk4oU/boat_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="402" height="326" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-lYdzlO0Fxjo/TsMjlJptHZI/AAAAAAAAEaM/IL65iTHP0S4/s1600-h/hikinaround2%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="hikinaround2" alt="hikinaround2" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-mLnmFFOhNqk/TsMjlqeeeUI/AAAAAAAAEaU/25WJCpf4Iow/hikinaround2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="316" height="240" /></a><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-nAPeYcdDTeo/TsMjm2gDqEI/AAAAAAAAEac/liRtHpu2cYo/s1600-h/icecream%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="icecream" alt="icecream" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-GgvT4gHVprw/TsMjnSJ4CeI/AAAAAAAAEak/EsEzv5sJqOc/icecream_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="434" height="248" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-4ocElUZYwZA/TsMjooOLKrI/AAAAAAAAEas/BBimLJrKONA/s1600-h/P1030117%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="P1030117" alt="P1030117" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-si7FdLutEM0/TsMjpdrRBeI/AAAAAAAAEa0/lKvJ8vJrob0/P1030117_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="431" height="327" /></a><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-2DVX--qMDXk/TsMjq7EroUI/AAAAAAAAEa8/xAM0ZxUi69w/s1600-h/P1030120%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="P1030120" alt="P1030120" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-GTHNwH-nYqI/TsMjrpSFnGI/AAAAAAAAEbE/iwv6JCn9DN4/P1030120_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="382" height="290" /></a><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-_CBbi9hTmpI/TsMjs7DJEhI/AAAAAAAAEbM/pr0pnPZP-f8/s1600-h/P1030127%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="P1030127" alt="P1030127" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Tnr0OT9NgP8/TsMjt3zKkJI/AAAAAAAAEbU/urtRS0XbNxo/P1030127_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="416" height="315" /></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-KH4XfN5HYA8/TsMjvPib01I/AAAAAAAAEbc/RPTuIfmQLlU/s1600-h/yay%252521%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="yay!" alt="yay!" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-4NiZYW65bJE/TsMjvkPSUZI/AAAAAAAAEbk/-DtLd6FReL0/yay%252521_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="422" height="320" /></a></p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-23726635003868644602011-11-13T19:30:00.001-08:002011-11-13T19:30:29.406-08:00Eccomi!<p>Sorry. Things have been really hectic. We had the biggest craziest transfer last week that we've had since I've been here. I don't think it was the most people moved around, but it was definitely the most interesting moves going on. For example we had three companionships that got blown into cities. We also had a couple of hiccups because of delays and things that made it really interesting. I didn't take any photos when the missionaries finished because I figure they'll be on facebook before me, so they can just take the photos with their cameras, which we took quite a few. </p> <p>So I need to tell you about the new missionaries that came in! There were six sisters and only one anziano!! It was pretty crazy. They are AWESOME. The mission is so lucky. We had a really great time welcoming them into the mission. Me and Anziano Garvin took them all in the furgone (van) and drove them back to the office from the airport. We drove them right by the colosseum. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-_V4Z_ni-kP4/TsCLPM9w8SI/AAAAAAAAEXc/bm4r5b6tPwY/s1600-h/P1030027%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="P1030027" alt="P1030027" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-bXUxs4hxHvo/TsCLP5owB8I/AAAAAAAAEXk/4ZVXufArJcM/P1030027_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="451" height="314" /></a><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-rrBm1yo6P18/TsCLRJpFJ7I/AAAAAAAAEXs/pNKzBZ01KAI/s1600-h/P1030029%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="P1030029" alt="P1030029" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-XNNsmG54zog/TsCLR9B8TCI/AAAAAAAAEX0/XWsZ4EzeDs0/P1030029_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="406" height="308" /></a></p> <p>I think one thing that makes someone a great missionary is how happy and outgoing they are. Which, this was a pretty happy and outgoing group. You could really tell that they loved each other and they were excited to be serving here in Italy. Of course, who wouldn't be excited? It's the best mission in the world! </p> <p>They also all really loved the pizza that we brought them at the airport. A couple of them were like .. this is the best pizza I have ever eaten! And I was thinking to myself...yikes. Rome pizza is some of the worst pizza I've had in the mission! hahahaha. Wait until they get down south...especially if they make it to Napoli. I guess the only one that really could is Anziano Jones since there aren't any sisters in the Napoli Zone. I know that Sorella Ivory really wants to get down there though. When we were at the train station there were a couple of ladies from Napoli that came over and talked to us. </p> <p>It was pretty funny because I would look over at Sorella Ivory to see if she was understanding, and it was hilarious because half the time they were speaking Napoletano. hahaha. I could hardly even understand it. It seems kind of similar to Siciliano though. Let's see. One of the sisters in that group that seemed really cool was also Sorella Miles. She played soccer in High School and I think she's going to come play with us not this wednesday, but the next. </p> <p>Anyway, this is where we have our furgoni parked right now. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-XlNENAHNBN8/TsCLSh4EhEI/AAAAAAAAEX8/HI9gmpyPm98/s1600-h/P1030037%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1030037" border="0" alt="P1030037" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-pmcwt1mMDpY/TsCLTZnqqTI/AAAAAAAAEYE/PbsF-Rt4n0o/P1030037_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="324" height="230" /></a></p> <p>On top of all that, I got sick. : ( I think that might actually be a good thing though because if I would've come home two days ago I would've come and gotten all of you sick! Instead, by staying here, I'm already almost totally recovered, and when I come home I'll be doing fine! Isn't that great!?</p> <p>Anyway, what are some great things that happened this last week? Well, I think that one great thing is that we met another great family! There's Angelica who just lost her husband a few weeks ago, her four daughters (17, 19, 21, 23), and the grandma. They're really great. We had a really incredible lesson with them in the park. We had to do it there because there weren't any men in the house. We couldn't find more than one bench near each other, so we just sat down on the ground with a couple of them on the bench and on the ground. I wish I had taken a photo. One thing that was really cool is how well they understood everything. We talked to them about the plan of salvation, and they totally got it. One of us asked them (when talking about Paradise and the Spirit World), what would it be like to have a life full of peace and happiness where you can relax. One of the daughters responded that if life were like that, we wouldn't really learn anything. Yes!! So true. What a great response. </p> <p>Hey, I should probably tell you who the new assistant is: Anziano Gatchell. He's actually from St. George! Cool, huh? So for now there are four of us. I have a bad feeling these last couple weeks are going to fly by though. </p> <p>Listen, I just want you to know that I love you, I'm grateful for all you do for me, and I hope that you still have the futon because I'm going to be beat when I come home because I'm going to work so hard these last couple of weeks (not to imply that I'm not totally beat right at this very moment. hahaha).</p> <p>Love,</p> <p>Anziano Banks</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-XsXOvylzJDc/TsCLUQyrECI/AAAAAAAAEYM/7LwD58qSGlg/s1600-h/DSCN3323%25255B1%25255D%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline; float: left" title="DSCN3323[1]" alt="DSCN3323[1]" align="left" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-iTxfGO1IJ28/TsCLU9dTNRI/AAAAAAAAEYU/8tZQ4RxcBvQ/DSCN3323%25255B1%25255D_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="364" height="304" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>P.S. I've always loved cannoli siciliani. I’ve also always been told they were the best in Sicily. My problem is that I realized that I had never had them outside of Sicily!!!  So I decided I should eat one here in Rome just to check it out... They're way better in Sicily. </p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-26544084425038115452011-10-30T18:18:00.001-07:002011-10-30T18:18:59.888-07:00Alright? Inhob Malta<p>Wow. </p> <p>I had the most amazing weekend. </p> <p>Yeah. At this point I'm sure Lia is going crazy because she must have figured out where I went: MALTA. </p> <p>It was incredible. I flew over on Saturday. As soon as we were flying in you could tell it was a whole other world. On our way up to the house I felt like I had arrived in Jerusalem, or somewhere in the middle east. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-7XYHxAiZdWY/Tq33dIgC-qI/AAAAAAAAEU8/dGD34ayU_zg/s1600-h/DSCN3224%25255B1%25255D%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="DSCN3224[1]" alt="DSCN3224[1]" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-crAn9kdI0dI/Tq33d_jF8sI/AAAAAAAAEVE/bINbB-agWQA/DSCN3224%25255B1%25255D_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="425" height="322" /></a></p> <p>I spent Saturday afternoon and evening with Anziano McMullen (he's from England). We had a great time. We taught a lesson to Raffaele (new convert) and his girlfriend about the restoration and the law of chastity (they had just moved in together). You could tell that Raffaele wasn't anxious to talk about it because the missionaries had brought it up already the time before. </p> <p>It started out a little rough. Raffaele had the attitude “if we're in love then it doesn't really matter”.</p> <p>“Raffaele, I see that you have a lot of faith. Do you love Jesus Christ?”</p> <p>“Yes, of course!”</p> <p>“He taught, ‘If you love me, keep my commandments’”.</p> <p>It pretty much went something like that. Raffaele knew the right thing to do, and it turns out that he was just holding back because he thought he didn't have enough money to pay for the wedding. We told him, it doesn't cost anything to get married in the church! In the end they were excited to set a date, and there was a strong spirit there. </p> <p>Then we went over to Brother Borg's house and had some rabbit ... yum!</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-hn-YfUWshYQ/Tq33eZUs6SI/AAAAAAAAEVM/pYteTBlI2wY/s1600-h/DSCN3247%25255B1%25255D%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline; float: left" title="DSCN3247[1]" alt="DSCN3247[1]" align="left" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-YoZksPDoxIY/Tq33fMDC6RI/AAAAAAAAEVU/lQpIijb-ogY/DSCN3247%25255B1%25255D_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="186" height="242" /></a>That was pretty much it for that night. On Sunday I was with Anziano Wester. Church in Malta was really great. It was cool because Anziano McMullen and Anziano Garvin actually both gave talks. Anziano McMullen spoke of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He quoted the book "Jesus the Christ" quite a bit, and it was really graphic for me. It's painful to imagine what he went through. Not just the physical pain, or even psychological pain, but even pain that goes to the soul. It's strong motivation to live a better life.  Anziano Garvin gave a great talk. He shared some of the experiences that we've had together here in Rome, and he also expressed his love for the maltese people. He really loves that branch.  <br />Heck, I really love that branch, they're great!</p> <p>I went to the Maltese Sunday School class. I don't speak much Maltese, hahaha. But I was able to follow a couple things in the lesson because there are quite a few words that are similar to either Italian or English. In fact, when they asked who gave the Aaronic Priesthood to Joseph Smith I proudly responded, John the Baptist! : )</p> <p>I'll admit, I didn't learn a lot of Maltese in the few days I was there, but I did get a chance to use the stuff I did learn. </p> <p>K finti?</p> <p>-tajeb</p> <p>Ina ta membru tal kinisia ta gesu cristu</p> <p>numeru?</p> <p>hahaha. That was the extent of a conversation I had with a Maltese guy who didn't speak any English. </p> <p>Basically:</p> <p>How are you?</p> <p>-good</p> <p>I'm a member of the church of Jesus Christ</p> <p>number?</p> <p>hahaha. I gave him a pamphlet in Maltese with the address of the church, and then I tried to get his phone number, but I didn't have any luck. </p> <p>With Anziano Wester we passed by a Chinese family that they had found. It was really cool because the dad actually only spoke Mandarin, so it was great that I was able to teach him. One cool thing is that as soon as they answered the door and I started talking they asked me if I was from Taiwan!!! He said he could tell because of the accent.  : )</p> <p>We also talked to a lot of people on buses, and on the streets there in Malta. They really are great people. They are very open and friendly. After spending just a few days there, I didn't want to leave. The branch isn't huge. I would say an average week probably has over 30 members, but I know that they've had over 50 on church attendance. </p> <p>One weird thing about serving out there for a few days was speaking so much English. 95% of the people there speak English. I've pretty much forgotten how to pray efficiently in English, and I also had to get used to teaching in English. One thing that still came naturally was talking to people on the bus and on the street. I remember in the MTC I always said that it would be so much easier if I went out English speaking. It's totally true. Haha. Although I think I'm at the point with Italian that it comes just about as naturally (not to say that I'm not always looking to improve). </p> <p>On Monday we had correlation, District Meeting, and Family Home Evening. They were all three really great. They have an amazing Branch Mission Leader - Brother Foster. He's a stud. He really knows what he's doing and he's got a lot of fire. I heard that he's like 70, but he's full of energy. The four missionaries out there are outstanding. They are all very obedient and they are doing great things. There was a good spirit in their home. </p> <p>Tuesday I came back home to Italy. I wish I could've spent more time on Malta, but there are many things that we need to take care of here, so it's good to be back. Transfer calls are this Saturday. I have a feeling I'm staying. Hahaha</p> <p>Well, I love you a lot. I'm really grateful for everything that you're doing for me. I hope that some good missionary work is going on in our ward at home. </p> <p>I look forward to seeing you...but it's going to be really really hard to leave Italy. I mean really hard. I'm just loving everything that is going on. We are finding and teaching a lot of people lately, and the work is just going to continue to grow. I really wish I could stay here for it. I just figure that if that right now I'm blessed to be able to do so much good that it just makes sense to do as much as possible. But, I know that my life will continue to be blessed like this after the mission too, so I'm thankful for that. </p> <p>Love,</p> <p>Anziano Banks!</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-fVGEF7wK0UU/Tq33fwLpkNI/AAAAAAAAEVc/nbLBX1MNhG8/s1600-h/DSCN3259%25255B1%25255D%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="DSCN3259[1]" alt="DSCN3259[1]" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-eVP9mbmKLQ0/Tq33ggEG-wI/AAAAAAAAEVk/vKQ45RkCKz0/DSCN3259%25255B1%25255D_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="436" height="331" /></a></p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-68327112142692854082011-10-26T16:30:00.001-07:002011-10-26T16:30:28.994-07:00Aloha!!!<p>Well, it's pretty hard for me to remember what happened this last week. hahaha. So I'm going to start with yesterday.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-R1i2l2Zc2RE/TqiX-mUEXJI/AAAAAAAAETg/UvklhX0XKcU/s1600-h/P1020932%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1020932" border="0" alt="P1020932" align="right" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ZsLqJ7KS9Y0/TqiX_en2JhI/AAAAAAAAETo/jJAN9z9zkVg/P1020932_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="326" height="250" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>Yesterday a new senior couple arrived: The Kruegers. They're going to be here to help with GANS (Giovani Adulti Non Sposati), and I think they're going to do a great job. Anziano Krueger served here in Italy when he was younger, and he somehow managed to keep up with the language. We also gave the Kruegers our car, so now we're only driving the furgone (van). It's pretty sweet. It's a lot more powerful than the meriva (our old car), and people just move out of your way more. haha. it's great. </p> <p>Let's see... if we continue going back through the week. .  .On Sunday we had Ward Conference...and then on Saturday we had...Calcetto!! That was awesome. As a ward we went and played calcetto (it's like soccer but on a smaller field that has a big net that surrounds it all, and you play 5 on 5. There were about...60 people there! haha. We played on the fields that are just below the temple site.</p> <p>We played on a couple different fields. It worked out perfectly for our team because right now there are five of us Anziani serving here in Roma 2 so we made a perfect team! I was pretty concerned seeing as we're five Americans, but we played against the High Priests, and we worked ‘em. Haha. We may not have that great of calcio skills (except Anziano Garvin), but I think just being young made it so we could come out ahead. Bishop Celestini actually played semi-professionally when he was younger, and he was on the opposing team. He didn't stay in too long though because I think he got injured (not very bad though).</p> <p>Let's see, on Friday we ... had just gotten back from the big trip we went on, so we were pretty tired and had to catch up on a lot of things around here.</p> <p>Another thing we did is we had to go pick up the Ostia sisters, so we took a quick photo with them. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ZSqm4NufKdY/TqiYAjc4RNI/AAAAAAAAETw/gOTiXBOX7yI/s1600-h/P1020930%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1020930" border="0" alt="P1020930" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Z7kiVz4ZXsE/TqiYCKkXaPI/AAAAAAAAET4/FBpgGRoYkyU/P1020930_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="487" height="416" /></a></p> <p>That's about it. Things are going well. We're super busy. Tomorrow we have Zone Conference here in Rome.</p> <p>I think that a couple of the biggest things that make a difference on the mission are your thoughts, and planning. I feel like I have to think things through and think about what I want to do, and then I have to plan out how to do them. After that it's like: Just do it. It becomes so simple. I'm a big fan of planning now.</p> <p>Anyway, I better go play some ping pong or something before the day's over.</p> <p>Haha.</p> <p>Love,</p> <p>Anziano Banks</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-qH_shGNHGrQ/TqiYD4kxAjI/AAAAAAAAEUA/DqwXapHSF0Q/s1600-h/P1020939%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1020939" border="0" alt="P1020939" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-TxPPTUN69YM/TqiYE-m5bqI/AAAAAAAAEUI/aKqpOutNmlw/P1020939_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="514" height="394" /></a></p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-35488752637845923042011-10-17T20:38:00.001-07:002011-10-17T20:38:50.875-07:00WOOHOO!!!!<p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-kuWOG5B8a-Y/Tpz0rD_4VoI/AAAAAAAAERg/AAzdYLUAEw8/s1600-h/P1020773%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1020773" border="0" alt="P1020773" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-h7wouAuZNbU/Tpz0rsijFrI/AAAAAAAAERo/_ehJxmfzzxE/P1020773_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="445" height="383" /></a></p> <p>So the obvious thing that I would write you about is the baptism that was last Thursday. It was incredible. It was spectacular! It was AMAZING! It is definitely one of the most beautiful baptisms I’ve ever seen.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-z5EjskZLZzw/Tpz0syQ72EI/AAAAAAAAERw/IkZojUsp8MY/s1600-h/P1020768%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1020768" border="0" alt="P1020768" align="left" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Bu0PCdhOHcE/Tpz0tW-kjgI/AAAAAAAAER4/tkS1f4CCbsQ/P1020768_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="330" height="311" /></a></p> <p>One of the big highlights was Anziano Packer played "O Divine Redeemer" on his cello. We had that right before the baptisms. Then Anziano Garvin baptized Fiammetta, and I had the privilege of baptizing Fabio. Both went very smoothly. It was a beautiful night. Those two are amazing. They can't wait to go get sealed in the temple a year from now, and I totally think they'll end up being temple workers one day because they live pretty close to where the temple is being built. They truly are an amazing couple. There kids are really lucky too, because now it's going to be almost as if they grew up in the church. They've been able to make lots of friends in Primary, and they have really opened up a lot. I remember when Demetra wouldn't even give me a high five!! Haha. (She's really shy at first, but now she and Wolfgang are both crazy around us).</p> <p>One really cool thing about the baptism is that we got matching ties for us and Fabio, and then we signed it and gave it to him. We chose the color based on his and Fiammetta's favorites. Another great thing about the baptism is that Fabio's mom came. She's pretty stuck in her ways, but she is willing to listen to us. She's pretty curious. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Arqv7jlzsro/Tpz0udd8uyI/AAAAAAAAESA/Y-yymdJRKQw/s1600-h/P1020788%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1020788" border="0" alt="P1020788" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-SI_dtUmrW-0/Tpz0vMO5caI/AAAAAAAAESI/vpp7l0Sw6e4/P1020788_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="538" height="515" /></a></p> <p>Since the baptism we've been all over the place. We had Zone Conference in Napoli on Tuesday, and then we had Zone Conference in Bari on Thursday.</p> <p>Which means we spent our Wednesday…in Napoli!!</p> <p>I think we should definitely go there after the mission. It’s worth it just for the pizza. It’s about a 2 hr train ride, and I think it costs something like 13 euro.  Obviously, we went to Da Michele's and ate pizza. I loved it. </p> <p>We also got suits. We got really lucky because instead of going to this place called "Chewing Gum" where lots of missionaries like to go, we went to another place. We actually went by Chewing Gum first to check it out, and they were actually kind of rude it seemed like. They kind of rushed us, and it's almost like they were pressuring us to buy a suit. Then we didn't feel too good about them, and told them we would think about it during lunch. After lunch we decided we wouldn't get suits after all (the ones we found there cost 85, 75, and 60). </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-G03-ozDap48/Tpz0wMpuJOI/AAAAAAAAESQ/aSg8dnTQYH8/s1600-h/P1020873%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1020873" border="0" alt="P1020873" align="left" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-GXJZg_jB06s/Tpz0wjaJqAI/AAAAAAAAESY/ybe5Ede75VA/P1020873_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="348" height="349" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>So then we were walking through this market, and at the end of the market we found this other suit shop. There was an old friendly Italian man who let us look at his suits. He didn't bother us, and let us take our time. He was really friendly, and his suits only cost 35 euro!!! The exact same suit that cost 60 at Chewing Gum!!! He was really awesome. So I decided to get a suit, and Anziano Packer and Garvin each got two! Haha. He was great, and before we left he bought us some cold water, and we gave him a pamphlet about the restoration. He really admires that we go around talking to people about Jesus Christ. It was a great experience. </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>At the Zone Conferences we've been teaching about finding families, and how to find families. In the end, that's what we're all about. Heavenly Father's plan is centered on the family. We told them about what we did, what worked for us, and we had a some good discussion and a practice. It was great. </p> <p>Anyway, I've got a lot of things to do. I just want you to know that I love you, that things are going great here, and I hope that things keep going well for you too. </p> <p>Love,</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-wXJTRlOrpzI/Tpz0xQhyjMI/AAAAAAAAESg/9fQ9SwGV4mk/s1600-h/P1020870%25255B9%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1020870" border="0" alt="P1020870" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-fibn73xf-zw/Tpz0x2P-BtI/AAAAAAAAESo/2nLOm0ZuFJ4/P1020870_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="226" height="298" /></a>  Anziano Banks!</p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-87255357160595963902011-10-08T19:01:00.001-07:002011-10-08T19:01:36.013-07:00Wow.<p>Things are going incredibly well. I feel like I'm serving in South America or something! Hahaha. We have six people who are preparing to be baptized, and two are going to get baptized tomorrow!! So we're super busy making sure everything is going to be ready and will go well.  </p> <p>Baptism is a really big event in people's lives. I think that it's up there with marriage. We're going to have a great baptismal service; I'm really excited. Do you remember how for Floriana's baptism we decided to get yellow ties because that's her favorite color? Well, we're going to get ties for Fabio and Fiammetta, but we're actually going to buy one for Fabio too, that way he can wear it to church on Sunday! It's going to be great. </p> <p>Yesterday was Zone Leader Council. It went really well. The mission is going to just keep on breaking its own records. I think we're going to have the most baptisms in a month since President and Sorella Kelly got here. </p> <p>I think that's what life is all about, doing more good, becoming better, and progressing. It reminds me of that saying that it's better to be a foot from hell and going towards heaven than a inch from heaven and going towards hell (or something like that). Haha. I like that because it shows that no matter where we are, the most important thing is where we're headed. I know that we can all resolve to do better, and that ce la possiamo fare! </p> <p>I remember not a long time ago (maybe a few weeks ago) I was feeling off my groove. It's like, when I was a Zone Leader it was easy to do great work and feel on top of my game, but then as an Assistant it has been a lot harder (we have a schedule that varies a lot more, and lots of different responsibilities). So what I figured out is, I need to make sure that I'm doing all the things that make me feel on top of my game. Including waking up at 6:30 and getting good exercise, having a language study plan, and also having spiritually uplifting personal study. </p> <p>I immediately started planning how I could do it. I started with things that aren't too difficult, but planned out everything I would do to make myself feel on top of my game. It worked! Just by following the plans and goals that I set in detail for myself, I was able to bring myself to the level I wanted to be at. I think it's important that we all do that quite often. Just the other day (actually, I think it was yesterday), I thought to myself that I need to look back over my language study plan because it has become less effective. I think it's great that we have new year's resolutions, but I think we should more frequently make resolutions so we can always make great improvements in our quality of life. </p> <p>Anyway, this last week I went on a series of exchanges. It was great. I really believe that miracles happen on exchanges. I believe that at least part of that is because when we are with missionaries other than our normal companion, we tend to push ourselves more. It's great. </p> <p>One thing I noticed while doing exchanges is the huge difference between native speakers, and non-native speakers, as far as missionaries go. Native speakers have a huge advantage. I think that they become more effective much more quickly than non-native speakers. I think that's why it's so important that missionaries study the language and really master it (myself included). </p> <p>Well, I've got a lot of things to do, and if I don't do them I don't think anyone's going to do them for me! </p> <p>Oh! I just remembered, what did you think of General Conference?? Pretty awesome, right? I really enjoyed it. There were some great speakers. I can't wait to get the Liahona and study the talks. </p> <p>I love you!!!</p> <p>ANZIANO BANKS</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-3s3KmPWsUXs/TpEAPUs69HI/AAAAAAAAEQk/vvwqINToJYI/s1600-h/P1020683%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1020683" border="0" alt="P1020683" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-0z7ylF5h2mI/TpEAS_MO3UI/AAAAAAAAEQo/2l7oVY_LBks/P1020683_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="535" height="434" /></a><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-FfiMmoiszbU/TpEAWJTagAI/AAAAAAAAEQs/Oykr5kQpEHA/s1600-h/P1020685%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1020685" border="0" alt="P1020685" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-5Vyua9PRJNE/TpEAff-WsbI/AAAAAAAAEQw/BOOatxvR39Y/P1020685_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="556" height="353" /></a></p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-66927867669596107352011-10-07T15:20:00.001-07:002011-10-07T15:20:48.141-07:00Expect a Miracle<p>Missionary work is incredible. Check this out: I'm on splits with Anziano Shipton and Anziano Decker. We get on the bus, and of course I don't sit by them, because I sat by someone else so I could talk to him. Just by the way he was sitting I could tell he didn't want to talk to me, and I looked over to my left and I saw a couple guys that looked over. So, I got up and talked to them.  </p> <p>It turns out that one of them had been living in England, he was about to get baptized there and then he moved to Italy and couldn't find the church!! His son actually got baptized a month ago or something. To make a long story short, he and his brother are both getting baptized at the end of this month, and there are four of them that we haven't met yet that will also be coming to General Conference this weekend!</p> <p>Woohoo!</p> <p>We've been doing a lot of splits lately and that's been a real blast. I just barely did them in Rome 3. That's a pretty interesting part of Rome. It's pretty much considered the ghetto, and there are tons of foreigners that live in that area. I met a lot of Chinese people. One in particular was pretty funny. To start a conversation I asked her (also because I was really really curious) if there were any Chinese food stores nearby. She looked at me like I was a little crazy, and said, yes, there are lots of them. Then she started pointing them out (we were on the train) as we went by, and within 30 seconds she had already pointed out 4 of them. Hahaha. </p> <p>I love splits because miracles always happen on splits. We met a lot of really great people in Rome 3, and I think that they're going to have success with them. When I was on splits with Anziano Shipton and Anziano Decker we also met some really awesome people.</p> <p>Picture this: It's 8:30 at night, there's hardly anyone on the street, and we're walking near our house. A man with a blue/white striped dress shirt, slacks, a briefcase, and an earpiece briskly walks towards us. Anziano Decker stopped him and it seemed that he was about to say "Ho fretta" (I'm in a hurry), and instead he stopped and started talking to us. He said, “You know what I like about you guys? When you walk by you say hi to everybody. Some people don't give you the time of day, but when you say hi to me, that makes me happy.” We talked to him a little more, and then he goes, “Hey, do you want my number? Do you want my number? Should I give you my number?” Hahaha. It was awesome. He also gave us his address, and told us that he's free on Thursday and Monday afternoons. </p> <p>At that point we were feeling pretty good, and we continued walking. After a couple minutes we saw a lady walking towards us and I asked Anziano Shipton, “What do you think we should talk to her about?” he replied, “Baptism”. So he asked her, what does baptism mean? She explained what she believed we talked a little more, and then we got her number so we could go teach her. It was great. </p> <p>Okay, that's about all I have for you this week. Sorry I'm getting to you so late, but if it makes you feel better, you're going to have a couple more weeks to get e-mails from me now!! Hahaha. </p> <p>Love,</p> <p>Anziano Banks</p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-51688203166363339062011-09-28T17:58:00.001-07:002011-09-28T17:58:54.193-07:00Whew!<p>Transfer week is crazy. We got all of the new missionaries to the station, and the we had to wait for all the departing missionaries.  It's pretty intense. This morning we were up at 5:30 because we had to get missionaries that were coming in on a bus from Sicily, and ever since we've pretty much been driving people around and stuff. It's pretty great, but it will be nice to get back to normal. </p> <p>The good news is that we actually ran into a member that was on a date with a non-member that knows the church really well. haha. It was pretty cool. I think he's going to start meeting with the missionaries now. </p> <p>To make sure you understood what happened with transfers: Me and Anziano Garvin were already Assistants together, and we both stayed here, and then Anziano Packer came here, so there are three of us now.  I don't know Anziano Packer really well yet, but I know that he's from Layton, Utah. He went to Weber State before coming on the mission, and he's a cello player. He had just come up from being a Zone Leader in...COSENZA! Pretty awesome, huh? </p> <p>The new missionaries showed up! They're really great. I actually kind of wish I was training this transfer. haha. We tried something that the old Rome mission used to do, which is taking them by St. Paul's basilica, and also passing by the colosseo. Sorry that we're a little bit blurry, but the background looks great, doesn't it? We're going to talk with President and see if we can take them out and do some proselyting when they first come in. Next transfer might be a little weird because there is only one Anziano and 5 Sorelle, but maybe it could work. I think that would be really cool. </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-V-8LnZ8rBVU/ToPCoOfORNI/AAAAAAAAEPk/NUH4l8No5Ds/s1600-h/P1020625%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="P1020625" alt="P1020625" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-JnAJtKW04mI/ToPCpKBbaMI/AAAAAAAAEPo/mAuSVImZ1_U/P1020625_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="432" height="327" /></a><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-v_TCBMh2pc4/ToPCqlGCz2I/AAAAAAAAEPs/O8Qw3gX1rKY/s1600-h/P1020635%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="P1020635" alt="P1020635" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-D1VTOG5PTD0/ToPCrVkTSzI/AAAAAAAAEPw/nByP25IopW4/P1020635_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="439" height="333" /></a></p> <p>So this Sunday we got a really really great call from our Bishop. He goes, Anziani, I talked to Fiammetta and Fabio after church today, I invited them to come to Family Home Evening and they're really excited to come. Would you like to come as well? </p> <p>Yeah, pretty amazing.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-d5EH1wpcpyc/ToPCup6fidI/AAAAAAAAEP0/6_1ewAAVzg8/s1600-h/P1020590%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline; float: left" title="P1020590" alt="P1020590" align="left" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-5LriLqkfirs/ToPCwHavLeI/AAAAAAAAEP4/_b9g2sIBD7o/P1020590_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="465" height="289" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>So we went over there on Monday and had an awesome Family Home Evening! Fabio and Fiammetta brought their two kids, and then Bishop had his 6 kids and we all had a great time. I think we can really learn a lot from Italians and how they have a family home evening: Instead of just a refreshment, we had a full meal at the end! </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Che buono!</p> <p>Tomorrow morning we have a lesson with Fiammetta and Fabio. They're doing great. They're going to be awesome members. Fiammetta and Fabio should be getting baptized on October 6th, which coincides with Fabio's birthday. I think they're both really prepared and I'm really excited for them. Fabio was talking to us about how his mom sort of sees him as being an anti-religious person, and he wants to bring her to church and tell her, this is who I am now, I am a part of this. But he said that he will do it after he really is a part of this, and is baptized and confirmed a member. Haha. They really love coming to church and they get along really well with all of the members. It's pretty awesome. </p> <p>Lately I've been thinking about how every day I have a lot of cool experiences, but I then I forget most of them. haha. I try to write the best ones in my journal, or remember to tell you about them, and I think I do pretty good that way. </p> <p>So this thing is pretty cool: It's a model of what the temple grounds will look like! </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Wj4oQrM53PM/ToPCyOMZsZI/AAAAAAAAEP8/Z6N-LTF0F3M/s1600-h/P1020454%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="P1020454" alt="P1020454" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-zuDfyuujh4E/ToPCzPZBj2I/AAAAAAAAEQA/5aHwP_5lr2U/P1020454_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="502" height="334" /></a></p> <p>We just had a big press conference at the mission home, and so they brought out this model. I think the Rome, Italy Temple is going to awesome. I know that we're planning on coming back next summer, but I sure hope you like it here because I think that we're going to have to come back again not too long after when the temple gets done (if you want to come with me). The temple is supposed to be finished at the end of 2013. In other words, it will definitely be finished by 2014. Haha.</p> <p>Love,</p> <p>Anziano Banks</p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-58683855388411798092011-09-26T20:32:00.001-07:002011-09-26T20:32:12.119-07:00Ciao Famiglia!<p>Hey! </p> <p>So this week was pretty awesome. Just today there was a press conference for the Temple, and it went really well. We're all really excited about the progress that is being made there. I think that the Lord is preparing a lot of people in our area so that there will be tons of people to go to the temple once it's built. </p> <p>I'm really grateful that we have a beautiful temple so close to our house in St. George. Almost everyone in the Rome 2nd ward is going to have a temple that's just as close as ours is for us!</p> <p>What a blessing!</p> <p>Last week the Sorelle decided to make a birthday meal for the district to celebrate for me and Anziano Garvin (mine's the 11th, his is the 15th). </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-qgqE53SfMnQ/ToFDpJAO9-I/AAAAAAAAEOU/XuVsCLjid4U/s1600-h/sep%2525202011%252520053%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="sep 2011 053" border="0" alt="sep 2011 053" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-RdqzILCeGBs/ToFDprXXN3I/AAAAAAAAEOY/okCptwS3Cgo/sep%2525202011%252520053_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="402" height="298" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-kSAUqUGsybw/ToFDqjaxz4I/AAAAAAAAEOc/VSAS41GOqz0/s1600-h/sep%2525202011%252520057%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="sep 2011 057" border="0" alt="sep 2011 057" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-1RccID5nn3I/ToFDrZukYAI/AAAAAAAAEOg/yh-vZx5qSb4/sep%2525202011%252520057_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="464" height="282" /></a></p> <p>This weekend are transfer calls! That means that we get to meet with President to help him with transfers. I love being there because it's really amazing to see what transpires. You can really feel how inspired the transfers are. My favorites are the ones that seem really out of the ordinary, and then work out really well.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-EgBuvl9usJI/ToFDsC0xfaI/AAAAAAAAEOk/LTsv-cJDtLE/s1600-h/sep%2525202011%252520040%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="sep 2011 040" border="0" alt="sep 2011 040" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-dq9mEIqaKtY/ToFDs0mXEmI/AAAAAAAAEOo/CQ81gknINT4/sep%2525202011%252520040_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="439" height="284" /></a></p> <p>Here we are with the Kelly’s eating some ice cream bars. Check this out: Sorella Kelly is not only really into tennis, but she's also really into ping pong! That means that when we come and visit next year, mom can totally take her on! Mom, I hope that you've been practicing because I think that she's probably pretty good. I haven't actually played with her yet, but I get that kind of impression. </p> <p>As a mission we've all been reading the Book of Mormon. What I've realized is: A) I'm a slow reader B) I don't have a lot of time to read (we have an hour of personal study, but I have to study for lessons and stuff!) and C) I don't always feel like reading. So...check this out: I decided to make a cover for my Book of Mormon!! Now that I have a sweet cover, it makes me feel like reading way more. Instead of just looking like a boring blue book that everyone has, it has now become a custom, personalized book that makes you want to read it! </p> <p>I think that I would like a Book of Mormon that was printed in the style of a novel. Then it would just be more appealing.Don't get me wrong: I love the Book of Mormon, I love reading it. I just don't always love reading it straight through because it can get hard to follow the story and some parts are AMAZING, but other parts are not as interesting. I usually just like to flip it open and read something instead of going straight through, but I'm going to make it all the way (because I'm trying to finish it all the way through for the first time in Italian). </p> <p>Anyway, I hope that you are all doing well. Know that I'm great, I'm happy, healthy, and excited to be on a mission. </p> <p>LOVE, </p> <p>Anziano Banks </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-_33iIGKe-fk/ToFDt3fv5iI/AAAAAAAAEOs/JvyD_GapqEs/s1600-h/sep%2525202011%252520014%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="sep 2011 014" border="0" alt="sep 2011 014" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-bqAJ5TgJN3k/ToFDul5EPiI/AAAAAAAAEOw/MaP6p1TqKxw/sep%2525202011%252520014_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="662" height="351" /></a></p> <p>We went and played beach volleyball (a total blast).</p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-50605506399902612482011-09-18T17:35:00.001-07:002011-09-18T17:35:28.488-07:00Aloha!<p>Ciao famiglia mia,  </p> <p>La settimana scorsa è andata molto bene!</p> <p>Well, I've been on vacation a little bit. Hahaha.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-URflNhvBDVA/TnaOFU7lBsI/AAAAAAAAEMI/SFsBpZ9lZco/s1600-h/P1020288%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1020288" border="0" alt="P1020288" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-erRky2oxV1c/TnaOF-E84cI/AAAAAAAAEMM/46QR97d3t10/P1020288_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="397" height="304" /></a><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-bxP-pcA-T_Y/TnaOHk-BVzI/AAAAAAAAEMQ/bPpft28URX0/s1600-h/P1020294%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1020294" border="0" alt="P1020294" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-cRJCHjB6Y2o/TnaOIO3C2gI/AAAAAAAAEMU/qS81E2YoJKQ/P1020294_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="399" height="306" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-3x3mSTIWCLs/TnaOJtx4RdI/AAAAAAAAEMY/6HFt7NujWlw/s1600-h/P1020307%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1020307" border="0" alt="P1020307" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-gvmugUsdglg/TnaOKYeU6SI/AAAAAAAAEMc/YNQo5JXicLc/P1020307_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="398" height="309" /></a><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-AnVAsd3whYA/TnaOL1oe8II/AAAAAAAAEMg/89GM4tfgY6A/s1600-h/P1020312%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1020312" border="0" alt="P1020312" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-HSWg55BsjMg/TnaOMhu7XeI/AAAAAAAAEMk/u-Y-2M92IO0/P1020312_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="395" height="307" /></a></p> <p>These photos are up at the Waterfalls of Marmore (near Terni).</p> <p>Also, I finally saw the Vatican! Wow. It is seriously huge. It's crazy. It's pretty nice. I think that Lia would probably like it a lot more than I do, but I still was happy to finally see it. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-y_GSKPdwhrE/TnaOOqMoGGI/AAAAAAAAEMo/H75l7dzbEq8/s1600-h/P1020368%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1020368" border="0" alt="P1020368" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-2IZe84oNn20/TnaOPiV7ttI/AAAAAAAAEMs/pYNevgMt2lo/P1020368_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="594" height="397" /></a><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-L4gmGFDmoRc/TnaOQXXsocI/AAAAAAAAEMw/HijXoTTFErA/s1600-h/P1020377%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1020377" border="0" alt="P1020377" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-oUddme5Sw-o/TnaORNSoEvI/AAAAAAAAEM0/TxD-gP_t4NE/P1020377_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="324" height="439" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-rmMOChgwUg8/TnaOSGQOIsI/AAAAAAAAEM4/aQy9CebkWAA/s1600-h/P1020393%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1020393" border="0" alt="P1020393" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-vCV1OwUFH6A/TnaOT85BPSI/AAAAAAAAEM8/DzpJtahgaVQ/P1020393_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="492" height="314" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>I know, I know, I've been really spoiled with my whole mission. Coolest call possible, and then I got to see almost the entire mission.  I actually figured out that out of the 39 cities in the mission, I've been to 29 of them. </p> <p>So check this out: On Monday morning we had to come to the office so that we could get numbers for the mission. Around 9am this lady rings the bell, and wants to talk with us. She is AWESOME! She told us that she had a dream where she saw Jesus Christ, and then she saw a book that said Mormon on it, and then woke up and felt a peace and serenity that she had never felt before. So then she found where we were at on the internet, and wanted to join the church!!</p> <p>She has a husband, and a 6-yr-old boy, and a 3-yr-old girl. They all met with us yesterday, and it turns out that the husband is totally prepared too!! When we read Moroni’s Promise together he said that he didn’t necessarily listen to all the words, but he felt that he is starting to find the answer to a question that he had never asked himself.</p> <p>Yeah, I know. What a blessing! We’ve been praying and looking for a family for weeks, and then they just came to us! How awesome is that!</p> <p>Anyway, I also played some volleyball today! BEACH VOLLEY!! It was a blast. I just really wish I could’ve taken my shirt off. You want to know what I love about America? We have free places to play tennis, soccer, volleyball, and it’s just awesome. Basketball too! (the church). That’s so great. </p> <p>Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that things are going great. We have been really blessed. I really love my savior Jesus Christ because He has brought a lot of joy into my life. I know that He restored His church, and that has really blessed us a lot. </p> <p>Love,</p> <p>Anziano Banks</p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-11704684980435608342011-09-15T16:37:00.001-07:002011-09-15T16:37:16.833-07:00Roma 2<p>Ciao famiglia mia!! Okay, so I know you probably get tired of hearing this...but we’re really busy. Hahaha. And ...we’re having a blast. Haha.<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-5xwtNU88N-M/TnKMCcIhcUI/AAAAAAAAELI/HKkp_sucS98/s1600-h/P1020159%25255B9%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline; float: right" title="P1020159" alt="P1020159" align="right" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-cj0Ec89uKUY/TnKMDX2disI/AAAAAAAAELM/0ns_7vHJq0k/P1020159_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="416" height="218" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>Every time we pass through Napoli we stop and get a pizza!</p> <p>Tomorrow we are going to SARDEGNA! We have a Specialized Training meeting there. We are going to be in Sassari.</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-KlJ_Uxvfj60/TnKMEoVLfBI/AAAAAAAAELQ/T-U5iTXm2O4/s1600-h/P1000840%25255B10%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline; float: left" title="P1000840" alt="P1000840" align="left" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-2mDhBI6qhVQ/TnKMFc3DprI/AAAAAAAAELU/CA9MdZ-tzs8/P1000840_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="498" height="313" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Here’s a picture of us visiting the ward in Gela.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>This last week was a lot of fun. We didn’t go to the Specialized Training meeting in Bari this time, that way we could do some work here, and that was really great. We met a lot of cool people. There was one apartment that I had felt we needed to go to, and we went there to look for a family. We met a really cool kid named Giovanni that said we can come back and talk to him and his family, so hopefully that works out well. I'll let you know. </p> <p>One thing that we had to do this last week was take a Baptismal Font from Terni to L'Aquila because they had a baptism there. We took the font back to Terni yesterday, and we spent some time with them. We saw the Marmore waterfalls, which are the tallest in Europe!</p> <p>They were really beautiful. I have to say though, the waterfalls at Havasu are even more beautiful. They are both beautiful though.  I think that nature is a lot more beautiful than man-made things. For example, I think that the waterfalls are more beautiful than the Colosseum. Another example, I've seen the great wall, but I still haven't seen Huang Shan. I really need to get over there. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-kaux7G65wd8/TnKMHMjhoOI/AAAAAAAAELY/hUAv3VrmWPk/s1600-h/P1000906%25255B10%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline; float: left" title="P1000906" alt="P1000906" align="left" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/--sM8nHDxmbg/TnKMIFeBv-I/AAAAAAAAELc/ochs8rNnDvo/P1000906_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="417" height="349" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>So this is at an awesome place in Sicily called Mazzarò (it's right below Taormina, which we also visited)</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Floriana Misseri (new convert), told us that when she retires she wants to move to America. (She's been telling us that since before she was baptized). I think she'd be happy wherever, but I'm guessing that Utah is going to end up high on her list. That doesn't necessarily mean St. George, but what I'm getting at is that you should work on your Italian. </p> <p>This Monday we went to visit a couple families here in the ward. We did a multi-family, family home evening. It was great. We all talked about what touches us the most about the restoration. For me it was personal prayer. God knows each of us personally, and listens to all of our prayers. We then left an invite to watch the 20-minute film of the Restoration with someone who hasn't seen it before. </p> <p>I really love the mission. I'm glad that things are going so well. Last week we hit an all-time high for new investigators (as a mission). There was once in 2009 that they had just one less.</p> <p>Love!</p> <p>Anziano Banks!<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Lkv4m4OW7zY/TnKMJrhDEfI/AAAAAAAAELg/kT_qXAOAS6A/s1600-h/P1020200%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1020200" border="0" alt="P1020200" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-utZqnXWj0Xs/TnKMKq2ynvI/AAAAAAAAELk/Gzgj0A2pJzg/P1020200_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="523" height="410" /></a></p> <p>Last picture with my MTC group. The only ones left will be me and Anziano Garvin. </p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-38540907686531984012011-09-06T19:16:00.001-07:002011-09-06T19:16:54.342-07:00I made it!<p>Wow, what a crazy crazy trip. We went down to Catania, over to Gela, down to Siracusa, and stopped by all kinds of other places. What a trip! We had a great Specialized Training Meeting. It was a huge success. Tomorrow we have one here in Rome. I'm pretty excited.</p> <p>A Specialized Training Meeting is kind of like a Zone Conference. The one in Catania had the Catania and Palermo Zones. In the morning President and Sister Kelly talked to us, and then in the afternoon everyone was split into 3 groups and there were three different classrooms: The Palermo Zone Leaders, The Catania Zone Leaders, and then us. We did our training on Lesson Zero. My favorite thing about lesson zero is that right in the beginning we ask the person what they expect from us. Then we basically explain what we expect, and it's great because then everyone's on the same page.</p> <p>One of the highlights of the trip was that I got to go on exchanges in Gela. That was really great. I totally know that place like I had lived there for years. It was really great to be back in that little branch and bear my testimony to them. Basically I just told them how much the Gospel brings happiness, and that's why I like it so much, and that's what makes it so awesome. It was cool to bless the sacrament with Cristian because he had just received the Priesthood the week before and so it was his first time blessing it.</p> <p>We got Anziano Garvin's permesso (green card type thing) from Catania!! That was exciting.</p> <p>Anyway, I'm sorry that I can't stay and talk (type), but just know that I love you, I find time for you in my prayers, and I've taken hundreds of photos so don't think that you're missing anything, you just will have to see it when I'm home.</p> <p>LOVE!</p> <p>Anziano Banks</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-YYIDbtiRCTw/TmbUEqpfYYI/AAAAAAAAEKM/KF1P1ZU4o30/s1600-h/IMG_0154%25255B10%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_0154" border="0" alt="IMG_0154" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-VZ3kqmT-E64/TmbUFLDDWlI/AAAAAAAAEKQ/oAS5y7HxzlM/IMG_0154_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="732" height="414" /></a></p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-39184694567054896372011-08-29T17:49:00.001-07:002011-08-29T17:49:36.165-07:00Ciao Famiglia!<p>This last week went really well. What am I saying? All my weeks go really well! The fifteenth was Ferragosto, which means...CLEANING DAY!! Woohoo! Our house got super clean. We made it a lot nicer now, and I feel like my quality of life has really improved. Haha. Who knew how good a clean house could make you feel?</p> <p>The big news this week is that next week I'm going to be down in Sicily! I'm really looking forward to that. We're going to take the furgone (van) down to bring everyone supplies, and we're also going to be doing some exchanges down there.</p> <p>August is a really funny time to be a missionary in Italy. Pretty much everyone goes on vacation this month, so things really slow down. A couple days ago we knocked on lady's door and she started yelling at us and said that we can't do that in the month of August because everyone is gone and people get scared.... I was like... yeah....</p> <p>So then I asked her what we could do to find families that need the Gospel, and we started talking, and in the end she told us that we can come back in September!! Haha. It was pretty sweet. I think that September is going to be a really great month for the entire mission.</p> <p>I guess the other big thing is that all over the world missionaries are getting little portable DVD players. It's pretty cool. Me and Anziano Garvin used ours today during study, and we really enjoyed it. There are different missionary DVDs that we can watch, and it was nice because it's a lot easier to focus on than the scriptures (don't worry though, I still study the scriptures too!). It's kind of funny that the DVD players are portable, because we actually just leave them in the apartment (we're not supposed to bring them out).</p> <p>Anyway, I've gtg. I need to get a bunch of things done. I love you a lot and I hope that you're safe and that you're reading the scriptures every day.</p> <p>Love,</p> <p>Anziano Banks</p> <p>VI VOGLIO BENE!!</p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-42835627679964468182011-08-20T17:55:00.001-07:002011-08-20T17:55:09.066-07:00Carissima bellissima famiglia mia<p>So, we're just finishing some stuff up for transfers. It's INTENSE!!!  We stay super busy. I think you can count on me wanting some down time right after my mission (at least for the first couple of days). </p> <p>Tomorrow is when the 9 new missionaries show up. 7 Anziani and 2 Sorelle. I love new missionaries. I just wish that there were going to be some Italians (this group is all from the Provo MTC). </p> <p>I know I haven't shared much about my personal study since the MTC (because that was pretty much the only thing I had to talk about when I was there), but I thought that I would tell you about an AWESOME scripture that I read this morning.  </p> <p>Lately I've been really busy and it's kind of tiring (but I love it), but sometimes things just work out that we have a lot less time than we would like to have (our problem is that we wish we had as much time to do proselyting as normal missionaries, but we just don't). So anyways, I was looking to figure out what I can do so that I won't feel stressed. </p> <p>2 Nephi 9:3 </p> <p>Behold, my beloved brethren, I speak unto you these things that ye may rejoice, and lift up your heads forever, because of the blessings which the Lord God shall bestow upon your children.</p> <p>I was actually reading it in Italian, and the part that hit me is when it says "I speak unto you these things that ye may rejoice", and I thought to myself, that's all I have to do! I just have to rejoice (In italian: gioire). Which says to me, Don't worry, be happy. </p> <p>hahaha. </p> <p>That was pretty great. </p> <p>So this last week we’ve been meeting with President a lot so that we can give him suggestions on transfers. Then we helped him make some of the transfer calls. The coolest things that happened are: we're staying together, Anziano Shipton is becoming District Leader, Anziano Destefanis is going with Anziano Marzolla, and Anziano Vitali is training in his fourth transfer. Anziano Rowland is still the Zone Leader for Napoli, Anziano Mercado is still a Rome Zone Leader, Anziano Cox is coming up to Rome to be a Zone Leader. . . . and that's about all the news. Things are going well. </p> <p>Lately we've been getting a ton of referrals. It's kind of like a snowball effect. Right now we have 7 that we need to contact (we just got three yesterday), so if you know anyone in Rome that you think could be interested in meeting us, just let me know. =)</p> <p>I can't remember what all we did this last week, so I'm just going to send you some photos now. Alright?</p> <p>Love,</p> <p>Anziano Banks</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-znqlGTTDK-8/TlBXXimxtPI/AAAAAAAAEH8/ik7yg6wedSo/s1600-h/P1000490%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1000490" border="0" alt="P1000490" align="left" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-lBn4eXXKwnQ/TlBXYDxRtLI/AAAAAAAAEIA/9P7k2v4e3Cc/P1000490_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="249" height="343" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>So this  photo is me just chillin in the doctor's office (we go with missionaries when they have health issues). </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-4EzNJDTshdE/TlBXZLsH5sI/AAAAAAAAEIE/PqhDi5s9kww/s1600-h/P1000448%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1000448" border="0" alt="P1000448" align="right" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-tS9HfFeNwmE/TlBXZnwUmgI/AAAAAAAAEII/KaHvxNZHIwY/P1000448_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="454" height="321" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>This is us with our district, and Fratello Malara (it was for the baptism of Irene, one of the sister's investigators). </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>So this last one is our district lunch which was SWEEET.  Anziano Mercado made pasta al forno and it was super delicious, plus he made cobbler (which I didn't get to try because everyone else finished it (read: my companion) because they thought that I had already had some. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-yRXbUfqbDAs/TlBXagIUeRI/AAAAAAAAEIM/TzOhJaey8cQ/s1600-h/P1000507%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1000507" border="0" alt="P1000507" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-xG8ppbd1Fn8/TlBXbCkFLeI/AAAAAAAAEIQ/13ugHe5lQnc/P1000507_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="544" height="425" /></a></p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-87558403335962481432011-08-19T19:59:00.001-07:002011-08-19T19:59:15.472-07:00Yo yo yo.<p>So, here's the dealio. I'm really busy. It's transfer week. I'm going to send you some e-mails when I get the chance. I can't promise they'll be on Wednesday. I can pretty much promise that they won't be. Ha!</p> <p>The good thing is that I will be e-mailing you. I will maybe do it tomorrow, maybe I will do it on Friday. </p> <p><strong><font face="Arial Narrow">HELLO this is ELDER GARVIN! </font></strong></p> <p><strong><font face="Arial Narrow">Elder Banks.... or should i say Anziano Banks, is busy proofreading a letter that needs to go to a bishop! </font></strong></p> <p><strong><font face="Arial Narrow">I love your Son and we get along Great, I’m sure he will be the first to tell you how much patience he has to have with me some times.....lets just say my Italian isn’t at a level comparable to his. But we manage and we find and teach and baptize. I will tell you that a lot of people were kind of surprised when they found out we were both staying together..... come to find out not lots of people knew that we would be blessed to serve here in Italy a bit longer! </font></strong></p> <p><strong><font face="Arial Narrow">Brother Banks Thank you SO SO SO MUCH for those .... healthy snacks ;) we are really enjoying them. </font></strong></p> <p><strong><font face="Arial Narrow">Lia wow I think that my little brother has found his match in someone who likes Harry Potter as much if not more than he does.</font></strong></p> <p><strong><font face="Arial Narrow">Sister Banks you have inspired me and Anziano Banks to eat healthier food and drink more water. Must say you look very "HIP" in your big sunglasses. </font></strong></p> <p><strong><font face="Arial Narrow">Well I know that this Work is true I love the Gospel and I love the simple truths that have been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith! THIS GOSPEL IS TRUE!! LOVE YA!</font></strong></p> <p><strong><font face="Arial Narrow">Your son(s companion), </font></strong></p> <p><font size="5"><strong><font face="Arial Narrow"><font size="3">Anziano Garvin</font> </font></strong></font></p> <p>As I was saying…</p> <p>...I'll be getting back to you. Things are always exciting here in Rome. Like Anziano Garvin mentioned, we'll be staying together another transfer. Most people didn't know that we both extended, so they thought that we wouldn't be together, but we are, and it's TOTALLY AWESOME!</p> <p>Love,</p> <p>Anziano Banks : )</p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-24896134808738763842011-08-14T15:06:00.001-07:002011-08-14T15:06:01.155-07:00Hey!<p>How are you doing? </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-kCw43dOyE9Y/TkhGs-uizKI/AAAAAAAAEFY/bfNLq5VceqA/s1600-h/P1000353%25255B8%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1000353" border="0" alt="P1000353" align="left" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-F7RFAUbcKng/TkhGtYLZmPI/AAAAAAAAEFc/_d0vd7-Iqbc/P1000353_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="399" height="326" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>I'm really enjoying serving in Rome. Today we went to the Colosseum, and walked around downtown looking at some different things. It was a blast. We were with a little group of us missionaries, and we actually ran into a bunch of others that we took some quick photos with before they went off to do their thing. There was a member from Ostia that was showing us around just a little bit. He was a great tour guide, but I realized that I'm just not really the type of person who enjoys tour guides. I was mostly just happy to be hanging out with so many other missionaries.</p> <p> </p> <p>You may notice from the photos that I have a pretty silly looking short hair cut. Well, we went over to help this less active member move some furniture and he also happens to be a hair stylist. He ended up insisting that we let him cut our hair. So next thing I know he had already cut all the way up the side, and it was too late to say anything. Haha. Yikes. That guy is a real character. He told me that I have the kind of personality that I could be President someday, or a CEO. He also told me that he thinks that if someone is in good shape then a 60-yr-old can date a 40-yr-old. hahaha, and the 60-yr-old has too much energy for the 40-yr-old. haha. He's crazy.</p> <p>Anyway, I guess the most exciting thing going on right now is transfer calls are on SATURDAY!! I think I'll be staying here. I think my odds are something around 90% that I'm staying. That's my guess.</p> <p>So in this last week I've started getting really good about taking photos. I mean REALLY good. I think I took almost 200 photos. hahaha. But obviously they're not all good, so I'm going to try to send you only the best. </p> <p>I'm going to try and give you decent explanations of each photo.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-GXBCjgf2bZ0/TkhGuM7gFEI/AAAAAAAAEFg/91SBNEYI3W0/s1600-h/P1000255%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1000255" border="0" alt="P1000255" align="right" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Jfz5KCcO484/TkhGudmBkcI/AAAAAAAAEFk/_Ovb0bBSiDM/P1000255_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="320" height="361" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>This is when we went to get the Sisters because the rain was so intense. We were driving home (very very slowly), and we thought to ourselves, I wonder if the Sisters are home yet? At the time I was actually driving, and I had the wipers going as fast as they possibly could and they still weren't doing the job. So anyway, Anziano Garvin called them and it turns out that they had just rung someone's intercom to see if they could go in because they were getting drenched. We went and picked them up, and just in the 3 seconds or so that we were out of the car it was raining so hard that it was as if someone had dumped a bucket of water on each of us! IT WAS NUTS. That was pretty exciting.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-1rqF9zYuFhk/TkhGvcCF--I/AAAAAAAAEFo/-TfJAJlKurQ/s1600-h/P1000271%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1000271" border="0" alt="P1000271" align="left" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Gzn5xpR5MYs/TkhGviMIpBI/AAAAAAAAEFs/2JMQvQ6Qxqo/P1000271_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="260" height="200" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>On Thursday we went to Napoli for Zone Conference. It was totally awesome. It was actually held in Flegreo, which is right next to Napoli. It was really beautiful, and the pizza was still most excellent.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-E_B5QT5c74M/TkhGwda32VI/AAAAAAAAEFw/eqgJCQ5PSGE/s1600-h/P1000272%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1000272" border="0" alt="P1000272" align="right" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-oUKXvo2496w/TkhGw5bMHMI/AAAAAAAAEF0/4vB_T6GnFoI/P1000272_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="321" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>I really enjoyed Anziano Rowland's training. It was mostly centered on what we had learned the Zone Conference before when Anziano Texeira (of the seventy) came. We talked about how we applied what he taught us to our work, and how we can do that effectively. Anziano Rowland is a really great teacher.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>President Kelly's training was also really interesting and I enjoyed it. Napoli typically comes up to Rome for Zone Conference, but since this one was held in Napoli we had a pretty small group and it gave it a more personal feel. I think everyone liked that. It pretty much felt like Zone Leader Council, which is probably the best thing there is about being a Zone Leader. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-hRT6vSbIoPw/TkhGxrhkPvI/AAAAAAAAEF4/uOHE_BPK7mU/s1600-h/DSCN2280%252520%2525281%252529%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSCN2280 (1)" border="0" alt="DSCN2280 (1)" align="left" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-DDXn1ucbirE/TkhGyJYUiPI/AAAAAAAAEF8/R3RkVOIUAgE/DSCN2280%252520%2525281%252529_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="409" height="318" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>The best thing about being an Assistant is that you get Zone Leader Council, but on top of that you get to work closely with President and Sorella Kelly all the time. I can’t remember if I had ever gotten this photo of us with Sorella Kelly to you.  Sorella Kelly is so awesome.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>I really love Roma 2. Check this out: This Saturday there is going to be another baptism!! Third week in a row here. As a district (us, the other Anziani, and the Sorelle) I think are going to try to have weekly baptisms here. It's going to be really awesome.</p> <p>Love,</p> <p>Anziano Banks</p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-348717075338812652011-08-05T21:38:00.001-07:002011-08-05T21:38:37.618-07:00:D<p>You probably won’t be surprised to hear I had an awesome week. : )</p> <p>Last Saturday was Floriana’s baptism. It was really great. There were tons of people there and the Spirit was really strong. I love baptisms! It was really incredible because Floriana is actually deathly scared of going under water like that, but when she got into the baptismal font she was totally at peace. When she came out of the water she had a smile from ear to ear and she told me later that she can’t even describe how great she felt.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-mLd0q0z8VdA/TjzFLMiWcgI/AAAAAAAAEDQ/zQVxDFNAqV8/s1600-h/DSCN2263%25255B9%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSCN2263" border="0" alt="DSCN2263" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-6cWX2Ispwb0/TjzFLrDht7I/AAAAAAAAEDU/HlHjqDYBu5U/DSCN2263_thumb%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="413" height="536" /></a><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-fawBdXlEZRE/TjzFMYUu1LI/AAAAAAAAEDY/9JzaE3X-D_Q/s1600-h/DSCN2268%25255B9%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="DSCN2268" alt="DSCN2268" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Z6XQDuA75OU/TjzFM1fTM5I/AAAAAAAAEDc/h_DR-Ex9FKY/DSCN2268_thumb%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="406" height="535" /></a></p> <p>The next day she received the Holy Ghost and was confirmed a member of the church. I love new converts because they really have the Spirit with them. There are a lot of members that are like that too, but there are also many members that let it get away from them by not keeping all the commandments, or continuing to pray and read the scriptures like new converts do.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-FAgqhz4TqOw/TjzFNlb6yEI/AAAAAAAAEDg/pFGLcb8Xsaw/s1600-h/DSCN2283%25255B1%25255D%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSCN2283[1]" border="0" alt="DSCN2283[1]" align="left" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-uxDl2ms9zJs/TjzFOBJPXxI/AAAAAAAAEDk/nEfJuNrDXDU/DSCN2283%25255B1%25255D_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="389" height="269" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>For lunch on Sunday we went over to Floriana’s to eat. Me, Anziano Garvin, and Anziano Shipton. It was incredible. The first thing we had was lasagna. It was a HUGE portion, and it was incredibly delicious. She even slightly burned the cheese, and you know I love that. After finishing the lasagna I was completely full. Next she brought out the Parmigiana, which is basically a lasagna made with Eggplant (mom would love it). The portion was just as big!</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-VuPfukLIQV0/TjzFO647mRI/AAAAAAAAEDo/DK__anHkrRs/s1600-h/DSCN2284%25255B1%25255D%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSCN2284[1]" border="0" alt="DSCN2284[1]" align="right" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ubpBzQmjSK0/TjzFPWSVD8I/AAAAAAAAEDs/YtrtVbT8wus/DSCN2284%25255B1%25255D_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="424" height="326" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>I only made it about halfway through that. Anziano Garvin finished it, and so did Anziano Shipton. THEN, she brought out peppers that had a bunch of things on top. Anziano Shipton actually finished one of those too!! Anziano Garvin got about halfway through one, and I didn’t even dare touch it.</p> <p>Then she brought out a lemon pie that we were able to handle. We each ate a piece.</p> <p>That lunch was INTENSE.</p> <p>I was really happy that she wasn’t mad I couldn’t finish everything. I told her it was totally delicious, but I was just too full.</p> <p>Which is completely true. By the end we were all exploding. Haha. It was really great.</p> <p>Anziano Mercado wasn’t there because he went with President to the Napoli branch. Normally one of us would go, but we had Floriana’s confirmation.</p> <p>I got to go on some pretty great splits yesterday day. Guess who my companion was: President Kelly. Haha. We went down to Palermo to do Zone Conference. Sorella Kelly didn’t make it either. Somebody asked me, so is your companion on splits with Sorella Kelly? Hahaha.Anyway, it was a blast. I really love Sicily.</p> <p>Did I even tell you about Zone Conference in Rome? We had that too. It went really well. We had Anziano Canuzzen and Anziano Marengo arm wrestle. Then we read the scripture in Alma 8:10. It went really well.</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-BXFFyNOsPes/TjzFQY1KoFI/AAAAAAAAEDw/8jzylhgVkPY/s1600-h/P1000202%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1000202" border="0" alt="P1000202" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-pmeG2Kv-PLg/TjzFQ3Lbs7I/AAAAAAAAED0/Tkgtt7Xab1E/P1000202_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="601" height="446" /></a></p> <p>Anyway, I’ve gtg. We’re always keepin busy.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-G8-RMX1Y58I/TjzFRryCrBI/AAAAAAAAED4/wnnjTPDFpHI/s1600-h/P1000217%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1000217" border="0" alt="P1000217" align="left" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-YZf1LsG5Shg/TjzFSG7bc3I/AAAAAAAAED8/o9UD5tKLLJ4/P1000217_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="556" height="207" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>One more thing: we brought up Anziano Larsen from Palermo to serve with us here in Rome. It’s pretty awesome. He’s great. We’re Team Rome 2.</p> <p> </p> <p>LOVE!! <br />Anziano Banks (aka Banche)</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-2k8CAVB3Yq4/TjzFS58v50I/AAAAAAAAEEA/4P5VTfkR3KA/s1600-h/P1000146%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="P1000146" border="0" alt="P1000146" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-GWBHlQ5XUEs/TjzFTM_R1PI/AAAAAAAAEEE/J4G1ZBoxZXc/P1000146_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="178" /></a></p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-47506376596095934202011-08-02T19:59:00.001-07:002011-08-02T19:59:41.439-07:00Whew.<p>I had an awesome week. I also had a very tiring week. Often President Kelly gives us permission to sleep in or to take a nap when we have crazy schedules. For example, yesterday. We got up at around 5 AM. We went and picked up President and Sister Kelly to bring them to the airport. Afterwards we came home, took a quick nap, and then we headed down to Napoli. We got some pizza in Napoli. (Yes, it was crazy delicious). Then we continued going down to Battipaglia. (It should be a little less than a three hour drive but it takes a little more with light traffic). We dropped off a car in Battipaglia, went up to Caserta to drop off some missionaries there, and then back up to Rome (Caserta is right on the way to Rome). </p> <p>Okay,  so I know it's not the best photo. But you're looking at some of the best pizza in the world. I LOVE NAPOLI!!!</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-orLkj7TV5SU/Tji5kP9R_FI/AAAAAAAAD_A/1X_qIdf1xx8/s1600-h/DSCN2230%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="DSCN2230" alt="DSCN2230" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-HKLWwjZbgR8/Tji5k2_xG7I/AAAAAAAAD_E/u0QMkkeBYok/DSCN2230_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="469" height="356" /></a></p> <p>Then that night we went to get President and Sister Kelly from the airport again. hahaha. Needless to say, it was a pretty tiring day. It was really fun though too. : )</p> <p>This week we are very excited that Floriana is going to be getting baptized. She is really incredible. On Saturday she did her baptismal interview, Sunday she came to church, and then we met with her on Monday. When we met with her Monday she had read another 100 pages in the Book of Mormon and told us that she is going to finish it before her baptism!! </p> <p>The work here is going great. We have really met a lot of awesome people. </p> <p>I was just thinking about that Napoli Pizza some more. It really is incredible. What makes it so good? Napoli water, Buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil, and a wood oven. </p> <p>Wow. I'm starting to feel really hungry. The good thing is that on Monday we went and picked up a mini-missionary named Sorella Spensierato. She is going to be serving for 6 weeks. Anyway, she is from Napoli, and she totally brought us up some pizza that she put into containers and we can just heat it up in the oven. </p> <p>Yeah, I know, my life rocks. </p> <p>I'm trying to think if there are any other big events that happened this last week that I should mention to you. Things are just great. I'm healthy. I'm busy. I'm happy. That's about all you need to know, right? haha. </p> <p>Love,</p> <p>Anziano Banks</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Wq39rUnT6y0/Tji5l3_yuaI/AAAAAAAAD_I/zlzjVqAy27g/s1600-h/DSCN2231%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: inline" title="DSCN2231" alt="DSCN2231" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-EYtivTOcTWI/Tji5nFLOy6I/AAAAAAAAD_M/M-0hTBQg0Go/DSCN2231_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="748" height="572" /></a></p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-90191228135233885332011-07-19T16:24:00.001-07:002011-07-19T16:24:53.004-07:00I love ROME!!<p>So I still think that Cosenza is my favorite city in the mission, but I think that Rome is my second favorite. This place is SWEET. The members are all spiritual giants, our investigator Floriana is going to be baptized next weekend, and everything about this place is just great!</p> <p>I had a pretty good experience last Sunday. Well, it actually started on Friday or something. I get on the bus and walk by a lady that sort of smiles at us. I sit down, and try to share the gospel with a lady sitting across from me and she totally shuts me down. While she was totally shutting me down, I noticed that the lady that smiled earlier looked back at me, so I got up and started talking to her. She told me that she had actually heard of the church before, and that she has a 19-yr-old son that she is really concerned about and wants to be around people like us. So anyway, we talk a little bit about the life of Jesus Christ, and she agreed that we could go teach her more at her house. She's from Ecuador, so she spoke to me quite a bit in Spanish mixed with Italian. </p> <p>So on Sunday afternoon we went over with a Spanish-speaking member to teach her. We start to teach her what is called lesson "Zero." We asked her what she expects from us, we told her that we want to teach her and meet with her three times a week, etc. Then I invited her to baptism.  Her response was that she has already been baptized (pretty common answer) .....in the Mormon church!!! I was like, "come?" (pronounced: KO-MAY? translation: what?) So then she repeats herself (speaking in Spanish, of course) and I turn to the member for verification, and he goes, yeah, she says she's already been baptized. Hahaha. So it turns out that she's a member and was baptized when she was 14 or something. haha. I think she'll come to church this Sunday. </p> <p>I've got everyone in the house wearing those <a href="http://mormon.org/">mormon.org</a> shirts now. haha. We decided we all want to wear them when we play soccer as a Zone. We already call ourselves Team Rome 2. We also got team Rome 2 ties. They were only a euro because the sales have started!</p> <p align="left"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-P8mfyrYuwRQ/TiYSPv2tKGI/AAAAAAAAD9I/Xd3OWIE6Wgw/s1600-h/284478_10150316151681210_564456209_9753504_5176822_n%25255B8%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="284478_10150316151681210_564456209_9753504_5176822_n" border="0" alt="284478_10150316151681210_564456209_9753504_5176822_n" align="left" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-yOQtftgVqGs/TiYSQFjyLgI/AAAAAAAAD9M/eSY6cEFGReo/284478_10150316151681210_564456209_9753504_5176822_n_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="255" height="239" /></a></p> <p align="left"> </p> <p align="left"> </p> <p align="left">       I love Italy!!! </p> <p>   I love the mission!</p> <p> </p> <p>In my life I have been blessed a ridiculous amount. There's this missionary in our mission that baptizes all the time, and one of my companion's told me that he has a theory on it. This missionary had a really crazy life before the mission as far as the crowd he hung out with and things, and he thinks that it's like God decided to make a deal with him that if he goes on a mission he would baptize a ton of people. Hahaha. </p> <p>I feel like in my life I could've done a lot more spiritually and that I still can, but what the Lord has blessed me with has been crazy great. Today when we were teaching Floriana I told her how no matter how much we try to do to help the Lord, or things we do for him, the return is always greater! </p> <p>I feel like the gospel is such a 'no-brainer'. It's so obvious that it's the way to go. I'm so happy! : )</p> <p>Quick story. So today I wanted to get a pair of shoes, but I didn't want to pay much and I saw a Chinese shoe store so I decided to peek in. There were a bunch of Chinese ladies and this Chinese girl in the store. So then I hear these Chinese ladies start talking and they say (in Chinese, of course) "I think there's finally someone who speaks English!" "Go talk to him!" "Yeah, go talk to him" So this Chinese girl comes up to me and says "English".</p> <p>So I say "Yeah, I speak English too." (I had originally said hi in Italian)</p> <p>So then all of the ladies are like "Whoa! It's really someone who speaks English"</p> <p>"He speaks English, and he's cute too! Go talk to him"</p> <p>So then I say (in Chinese) "I can speak Chinese too."</p> <p>hahahha. They all busted up laughing. It was pretty good. </p> <p>Anyway, I've gtg.  <br />Love,</p> <p>Anziano Banks</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-o-LpQ13p8eA/TiYSQbDzetI/AAAAAAAAD9Q/YWe1tA8LKvo/s1600-h/268031_10150316151556210_564456209_9753501_6916510_n%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="268031_10150316151556210_564456209_9753501_6916510_n" border="0" alt="268031_10150316151556210_564456209_9753501_6916510_n" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-wc_aouJevjQ/TiYSRHTNH2I/AAAAAAAAD9U/eRmNPdkbiLE/268031_10150316151556210_564456209_9753501_6916510_n_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="479" height="384" /></a></p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-17251150587579030822011-07-10T18:29:00.001-07:002011-07-10T18:29:19.319-07:00Ciao!<p>So this week it probably seems like I'm e-mailing really early, even though it's just on time. : )</p> <p>Tomorrow is Zone Leader Council. That's always really awesome. We're probably not going to be having one next transfer due to the holidays (people traveling) so this one has got to be good. </p> <p>Guess what I ate for lunch today! A kebab! Do you remember how many times I've told you I was called to the perfect mission? Well, here in Rome they actually have really good kebabs, because I've been to some other places in Italy that have them and they aren't as good, but here they're great!</p> <p>We also have a great district here. I really liked an e-mail that I sent in the MTC describing everyone in my district, so I decided I should do that again. In my district here we all serve in the Rome 2 ward. </p> <p>Anziano Mercado: He was in the MTC with me. He's from Michigan, but he also lived in Washington and Oregon (I think) and was born in Florida. He used to be a vegetarian and he still doesn't eat a ton of meat. I've been on splits with him in Catania and he's a great finder because he talks with everyone. One thing I love about him is that he is always looking to improve and use time wisely. </p> <p>Anziano Shipton: He is in his second transfer. He's from Utah. He used to play football and basketball. He really loves Italy and realizes how awesome it is that he is serving in Rome. </p> <p>Anziano Garvin: He's my companion now and was my companion in the MTC. He's great. He hasn't really changed: He's still extremely self-motivated, he still loves the scriptures, and I still love being his companion. He just came off Malta so he's working on getting all his Italian back, but he still speaks fine. </p> <p>Sorella Jones: She went to BYU before the mission. She was a linguistics major so she speaks Arabic, French, and some Spanish. She also did the BYU-Jerusalem study for a semester so she knows the Bible really well. She's actually in her last transfer right now, but she's doing really great and is actually training...</p> <p>Sorella Perez: She's really awesome. She is from Peru, but she's lived most of her life in Milan. I don't know her very well because she just got here, but I know that she has a really strong testimony and that she is really friendly. She doesn't speak much English, but she's working on it. I think she plays soccer which will be cool if we play soccer as a zone this transfer. </p> <p>Oh, then there is also our office couple: </p> <p>Anziano and Sorella Valentine: They are from Denver!!! They've only been here one transfer. They are really happy all the time even though they have to do a ton of work in the office. Sorella Valentine is an AMAZING cook. I really admire them. They totally love their mission and are learning a lot. </p> <p>I better go because we have a lot of things to do. I know, we always do. </p> <p>Love,</p> <p>Anziano Banks</p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-38929421971706000262011-07-06T18:01:00.001-07:002011-07-06T18:01:05.258-07:00I LOVE ROME! AMO ROMA!<p>The new AP is Anziano Garvin!!!!!! I'm so stoked. </p> <p>So things are going really great. Sorry that I've been so busy but with transfers and everything I just haven't had any time at all. We have been also doing a lot to find new investigators because right now we don't really have anyone. I love to find!  <br />Yesterday we were decided to go to this area of Rome that is known for having lots of Chinese, although it's not technically a Chinatown. Me and Anziano Garvin had prayed that we could find a young Chinese guy around 26 yrs old that could come to church the next day because Elder Perkins was supposed to be here. Anyway, we went around there looking for this Chinese guy, and we were just talking to everyone we could. So then I'm down to my last Chinese pamphlet and a Chinese guy walks by us and I knew that I needed to stop him. It turns out that he was Christian, he was 27, and he wanted to come to church!!! It was awesome! Unfortunately he didn't make it today because a bunch of his friends were going to the beach, but Elder Perkins didn't make it either, so whatever. </p> <p>While we went to find this Chinese guy we also met a lot of other really cool people. I love talking to people. Just in the afternoon yesterday we got 11 people's phone numbers and a lot of addresses. Then today in church two random ladies showed up and we're actually going to teach one of them today!</p> <p>Anyway, I know I haven't e-mailed you too much lately. So, Anziano Garvin was my MTC companion. Being companions here in Rome sure was unexpected, especially considering that we were both called to the Italy Catania Mission. haha. It's a total blast.</p> <p>Let me tell you a little about what my schedule was this last week. So we had missionaries that were coming to the mission from the MTC. 3 from the Madrid MTC, and 12 from the Provo MTC. Well, out of the Provo MTC 3 made the flight they were supposed to, and NINE missed their connection in Chicago. </p> <p>I guess that they were supposed to go to gate L8 but they were actually in the wrong terminal. So they missed their flight, but then got a later one that put them in London. To come to Italy they had to take three different flights, which means we had to pick them up at three different times. Remember that we already had the first two times with the group of three from Madrid and the other group of three from Provo. </p> <p>It was a fun and exciting day. The last group didn't get in until after 10pm. President Kelly asked me to be his companion to go out to the airport with him, and so Anziano Rappleye actually stayed at the Villa and went to sleep with the other missionaries. So President and I went out together to get the last three missionaries that were coming in, and on the way home we hit a ton of traffic. We actually didn't get back to the Villa (mission home) until 1 AM!!! hahaha. Then they were really hungry so I got to bed around 2am. </p> <p>The next morning I got up at 5am because it was transfer day and we had to go pick some people up from the bus station. Needless to say, President and Sister Kelly often tell us to take naps. But I'm not the napping type. </p> <p>CHECK THIS OUT::: So I stopped typing this e-mail that I was getting around to because we had to teach a lesson to this lady that we met in church today. I'm pretty sure Anziano Acerson (who just finished his mission) invited her to come to church, and so I sat next to her today and then set up an appt for this afternoon. Anyway, her name is Floriana. When she was in church one of the sister's investigators got confirmed and she leaned over and asked me if she had to be baptized and confirmed to become a member of our church. I told her yes and that we would talk about it more later if we could meet with each other. </p> <p>So this afternoon we started off with a prayer, and then right after the prayer she said, I just want to know how you have so much peace and serenity in your lives. When I came to church I really felt that. We explained to her a little and then invited her to get baptized and she's going to on the 30th of July!! We also have three appointments set up with her for next week. It's going to be awesome. You can really tell that she's had a hard life and I told her that I'm really excited for her because she is going to be really happy and have the peace she's looking for. </p> <p>IT WAS AWESOME!!!</p> <p>: )</p> <p>This transfer is going to be really great. Lately I've been thinking about how selfish and prideful it is to not talk with and share the gospel with everyone. I was on the bus the other day and I wasn't sure about talking to some people because it seemed kind of awkward. Usually I have no problems, but for some reason that's just how it was that time. So I was sitting there, and I thought to myself, what is holding me back? I realized that the only thing holding me back was that I didn't want to make myself look bad or I thought maybe I'd be embarrassed or something. Anyway, I talked to them because I realized that I don't really care about being embarrassed, and it turns out that one of them had met the missionaries before, she gave me her number, and on top of that she gave me her sons number!</p> <p>How awesome is that! </p> <p>That's why we're having so much success: Because we talk to everyone. We have one car and two vans, but instead of driving we got bus passes and we take that as often as possible and the Lord is really blessing us. </p> <p>I love my life. I love the gospel. I'm grateful for the testimony I have. I know that what President Monson said one time is true, that who selfishly keeps there testimony to themselves, loses it. </p> <p>Thank you for all your support. Sorry I'm so busy, but I'm seriously crazy happy. </p> <p>Love,</p> <p>Anziano Banks</p> <p>p.s. I love missionary work!</p> <p>Also, I think my new getting home date is on the 4th of November or something.  </p> <p>I just wanted to let you know that things are going really well here in Rome. We're keeping really busy and we're doing great work. : )</p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-62496402985852595952011-06-24T20:27:00.001-07:002011-06-24T20:27:33.345-07:00Happy Father’s Day!<p>What a week! </p> <p>We had Anziano Texeira here from the 70 (as I mentioned last week), and it was crazy. We took him from his hotel to the church in Catania and then to the airport, so we had some good time to chat with him. It was nice. </p> <p>After the conference in Catania we went over to Palermo to go on splits. Wow. Palermo is seriously awesome. I went with Anziano Larsen. He's only been out for about a month. We had a great time together. We met a lot of really cool people on the street, and we also did mostra that evening. If you don't remember, mostra is a big display that we use sometimes. I really love it because it's very effective. You can split up and talk to a lot of people around the mostra. We did it right by the sea, and so Anziano Larsen actually sat down and talked to a couple Italians that were looking out at the sea and talked to them himself for 20 minutes. That was really cool because it gave him the chance to use the language on his own, and he got their number and was really excited about that. </p> <p>Did I tell you that we drove all the way to Catania? hahaha. That was a long trip. Thanks to traffic and construction it took over 10 hours! Then we went from Catania to Palermo, and then from Palermo to Cosenza, and the next day from Cosenza to Rome. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-UJnCoZSAzRY/TgVVlnCNu9I/AAAAAAAADyE/nxJrEdKIz8g/s1600-h/image%25255B6%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-QngUIh1xPrw/TgVVo_3YruI/AAAAAAAADyI/8ccfMkTonMA/image_thumb%25255B7%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="715" height="494" /></a></p> <p>This week we're getting ready for transfers. Transfers are always fun. It's really cool because we get to help President when he does them. One thing that could be interesting this transfer is that we may be getting a couple of missionaries that have office responsibilities so that we can go out and do more work. I would feel bad for whoever has to do it, but one thing that Anziano Texeira said is that the Assistants are some of the best missionaries in the mission and that you basically can't have them in the office doing administrative work. I was really happy about that because that's the only downside to being an assistant. Everything else about being an assistant is totally awesome (serving all around the mission, helping train missionaries, being around President and Sister Kelly). </p> <p>Anyway, we'll see what President decides. </p> <p>We got a challenge from Sorella Texeira. I'd like to invite you to do it. It's to read the Book of Mormon in the time that it got translated, which was 60 days. If you read it, meditate it's message in your heart, and then pray to know of it's truth, you will know through the Holy Ghost that it is true. I'm going to read it and follow the promise so that I can receive a reconfirmation of it's truthfulness. Will you do it too? I'm reading it in Italian. </p> <p>Have a great week!</p> <p>Next week I'm not sure when I’ll email because we're going to be busy with transfers. I'm seriously going to have a blast. We get the new missionaries on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then on Thursday the old missionaries go home, and transfers happen. </p> <p>It's great. </p> <p>Love,</p> <p>Anziano Banks</p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-63611083104598554662011-06-17T22:29:00.001-07:002011-06-17T22:29:18.171-07:00Incredibile! (that's not a misspelling, it's Italian)<p>Today we had an amazing Zone Conference. Well, an amazing General Authority visit. Anziano Texeira. Wow.  </p> <p>It was really sweet. Our mission is going to be on fire after he finishes his mission tour. He taught a lot of great principles of how we can improve, and him and Sister Texeira basically called us all to repentance. haha. Right after the visit everyone just went straight to talking to people on the street. We went to. It went okay. We met a pretty cool lady that is atheist. </p> <p>I realized that atheist people usually tell me that they worked out things in their head and that's what makes sense, but then when we get to talking I usually find out that they haven't really thought it through that much, even if they claim that they have. For example, everything this lady said that means God doesn't exist ended up not working. She said, well I prayed and got didn't do what I asked for. Then I said, an earthly father wouldn't give his kid whatever he wanted whenever he wanted either. Then she said something like, a loving God wouldn't make war. Then we got talking about freedom of choice. Parents can tell their kids, don't touch the oven, don't touch the oven, don't touch the oven, but if they touch it in the end, they probably learn for themselves. </p> <p>I can kind of understand where people are coming from, but I know that God exists because I've tried for myself. I've prayed and I've felt His love and the happiness in my heart that comes through the Spirit and I cannot deny that it comes from God. I feel like spirituality can almost always be related to physical things. For example, I don't believe that I can run five miles. If I never try that I certainly never will! </p> <p>Or if you go intellectually it's like at first calculus problems seem like magic and don't make any sense. If you don't ask someone to explain it to you (be it a teacher or a book) you will never figure it out. In the case of God you must study the book, <b>and</b> ask Him for help. </p> <p>One thing that I am still trying to do every day is go to a room by myself, kneel down, and pray out loud. It's great. I've had many recent spiritual experiences doing so lately. Ask God what you need to have the Spirit with you, and he'll let you know! He may let you know immediately, or he may respond during you scripture study, or while you're out and about. </p> <p>Those last couple lines are something that President Kelly taught during the conference, and I've totally been seeing that working for me already. I ask how I can improve, and I generally receive responses quickly. If I don't correct what I'm doing, instead of receiving new revelation, I'm usually just reminded of what I still need to improve. </p> <p>Tomorrow I'm looking forward to going down to Sicily. We're going to be there through Monday. I'll be in Palermo on splits. It's going to a blast. </p> <p>We're nearing transfers. This next week we'll be meeting with President a lot. </p> <p>Love you tons, </p> <p>Anziano Ray Banks</p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3608839602849352428.post-26143976640805992742011-06-12T14:50:00.001-07:002011-06-12T14:54:18.994-07:00VI VOGLIO BENE!<p>These last few days, or week, or however long it’s been has been incredible. I could probably write you pages about it if I only had the time, so I’ll just give you a little overview.</p> <p>Scambi (splits) in Napoli were awesome. I went with another Anziano Andersen and we basically did finding work the whole day (which I love). He’s in his fourth transfer, so he’s really young in the mission. Anyway, we had a blast and a lot of success. We actually got 13 people’s phone numbers!</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-VNo98GqpTV4/TfU0jyAjAQI/AAAAAAAADtU/eHCMrQri5wo/s1600-h/DSCN4500%25255B10%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSCN4500" border="0" alt="DSCN4500" align="left" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-1UuecsDQCQQ/TfU0kfo9mkI/AAAAAAAADtY/eIzz0X2t_jA/DSCN4500_thumb%25255B7%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="195" height="241" /></a> </p> <p>When we first showed up there we had pizzas for dinner. That was great. They were delicious. After we did our scambi, we stayed over and took our preparation day the next  day. We went to piazza garibaldi in Napoli. That’s where I went to eat pizza from “Da Michele” which is rumored to be where pizza was invented, and is definitely the best place to get pizza in the world. You know how sometimes things get talked up so much that you get disappointed when you actually try it yourself? Well, this is definitely not the case. The pizza was amazing!! They only make Margheritas there and they are awesome. Secret ingredient? Well, it’s not that secret, they list it right on the list “aqua di Napoli” (Napoli water).</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-1kqj0xJdXeY/TfU0lJrivaI/AAAAAAAADtE/Dl5jf-fzo8Q/s1600-h/DSCN4504%25255B13%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSCN4504" border="0" alt="DSCN4504" align="left" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-tUjIQZ_rUcw/TfU0lyEJH9I/AAAAAAAADtI/Fj_oD0dHbsc/DSCN4504_thumb%25255B10%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="307" height="289" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-vp7rzOik4m0/TfU0nArvDvI/AAAAAAAADtM/PDL3Bg7k7Nc/s1600-h/DSCN4507%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSCN4507" border="0" alt="DSCN4507" align="left" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Tj4DotY9_T0/TfU0npxUFkI/AAAAAAAADtQ/yAoTFpvky1U/DSCN4507_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="294" height="229" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>I love Napoli.</p> <p>Today we just got back from a scambi that we did in Brindisi and Cosenza. That’s right, I already got to go back home again. I love that little city. Brindisi was great too.<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Z1BTDXSWkEk/TfU0oqdprBI/AAAAAAAADsk/j9ybL9yhsyU/s1600-h/DSCN4532%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSCN4532" border="0" alt="DSCN4532" align="right" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-LxnPFtG3bkA/TfU0pKVHwGI/AAAAAAAADss/mzsRC7teUyA/DSCN4532_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="313" height="231" /></a></p> <p>Before dropping down to Brindisi we swung by Bari and I was really lucky that we showed up right at the end of Family Home Evening in church. We got to eat the refreshments and I saw some members that I knew. Here we are eating some panzerotti in Bari.  <strong>-----------------------------------></strong></p> <p>After that we went down to Brindisi. We had a good time there. I was with Anziano Luke. He’s moved around a ton in his life and now he’s in Virginia. We met a lot of great people there.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-HwqQl7dnN2I/TfU0qn3Oc5I/AAAAAAAADtc/UUiMbyhZ1sI/s1600-h/DSCN4543%25255B8%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSCN4543" border="0" alt="DSCN4543" align="left" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JG0n8oBiGZo/TfU0rIDkpRI/AAAAAAAADtg/06OZD1PQIoo/DSCN4543_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="300" height="371" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>I wish I would have had more time in Cosenza, but the cool thing is that we got to teach Anna Filipelli. She is the mom of member that lives up north (but they’re from Cosenza), and we started teaching her when I was there. She is getting baptized in a couple weeks.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> <br /></p> <p>Speaking of which, I can’t remember if I told you about the last couple of baptisms in Foggia, but they were both people that I found and taught! I’m not sure if you remember Favour, but him and his sister both just got baptized!</p> <p>Things are going great. I’m very very busy and tired, and extremely happy and satisfied. There’s really nothing more fun than being a missionary!</p> <p>Traveling around was great, but being back in Rome is great too.</p> <p>Love,</p> <p>Anziano Banks</p> <p>P.S. We had to buy some blow-up mattresses for the mission, and I talked one of the managers at the store into giving us a deal and he gave us 2 mattresses free! That was pretty sweet.</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-B4ccX-AfWNI/TfU0sA1m_TI/AAAAAAAADs4/Vth6Mf9Iwg0/s1600-h/DSCN4523%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSCN4523" border="0" alt="DSCN4523" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-SL3rQN2RHm0/TfU0sr2LPFI/AAAAAAAADtA/ktORXm0jEgo/DSCN4523_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="479" height="367" /></a></p> Liahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818647642298526133noreply@blogger.com0