well, improvement is improvement.

Anziano Benjamin Jolley
Italy Milan Mission
Via A. Gramsci,13
20090 Opera (MI)
Italia

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, Nov 24, 2010 at 7:24 AM
Subject: well, improvement is improvement.

Dear family,

This week has so far been my best week in Merate so far as numbers are
concerned. It's still worse than any other place I've served in that
respect, but... improvement is improvement.

Last wednesday, we had a rather different Ward Council meeting.
Instead of having a normal Ward Council where we discuss all sorts of
things, our bishop (who was made bishop when I got here) decided that
we needed training on how we do Ward Council, and why. It was quite
refreshing. Apparently, we have local church leaders to do what
Captain Moroni did in Alma 43:48, to inspire us to do better. That was
very different. I like this bishop.

Thursday, we tried a new method of finding that we got in a packet
about how to improve teaching and finding. The idea was to use a
whiteboard on the street. So we did. We wrote a question of the soul,
"Is there a life after death?" with "Yes" and "No" written underneath.
we then asked people what they thought. If they looked in the
slightest interested, we'd then talk a little more with them. in
short, our results were 30 yes, 20 no, and about 20 I don't knows or
not interesteds. Also, we got one lady that responded "My husband just
died. Now's not the right time to ask that question". That was a
rather unexpected response. We later ate lunch with Giuseppe, a
widower of about 75 years who is one of the first members here. He's
been more or less less-active since his wife died, though his entire
posterity of about 30-40 are members, most of which are active. He's a
cool guy, and very interested in astronomy, so when I told him grandpa
was an astrophysicist, he was very interested. Later that day, we
taught Marcel and his sister, Giordana. He's 19, and wants to go on a
mission, but for some reason is still less-active. She had some
strange questions about some words and how they relate. It was odd. We
then taught Yusuf, a Moroccan, who was interested in having a book in
arabic. We'll give him a book of Mormon in arabic next time we see
him.

Friday, we did another whiteboard survey, this time "Is there a God?"
we got very different results. 37 yes, 7 no, and 41 not interested or
in a hurry. We think the 41 people weren't sure or didn't want to say
no. That was very interesting. That evening, we taught Manuel and his
wife Ingrid for the first time. They're ecuadorians who met the
missionaries about a year ago in San Remo, which is near Genova. We
tried something I'd never thought to try before, to offer a kneeling
prayer at the end of the lesson, and since we'd never taught them
before, it wasn't awkward. One of the important concepts we're
spending a lot of time and effort on is how to begin teaching. The
concept is that the first 5-10 minutes with an investigator in their
home set the tone in a very real way for the rest of the time we teach
them. so I've tried to improve the way I do so using the suggestions
in Preach My Gospel chapter 10. It makes a difference. a big
difference.

On Saturday, it rained. a lot. and sunday. and monday. We spent a lot
of time stopping people on the streets, that's how I know. a lot of
people were really open... until we wanted their phone number, which
they wouldn't give us. bummer. oh well. That evening, we had a ward
party, involving a lot of meatballs. And logic games. I won the logic
game. and therefore a lot of meatballs. It was delicious.

Sunday, I had another really good day in church. It's amazing the
difference taking notes seems to make. I learned a lot. we then did
some casa and some street. After a while, I asked Anziano Clove to
recount to me the entirety of the Star Wars trilogies. It was amusing.
He has seen those movies too many times. We got in doing casa to a man
from buga ne faso (sp?) a country near the Ivory Coast. He was muslim
and wouldn't let us pray or come back, but he did tell us where two
nigerian Christians live, who we'll be teaching tomorrow, I think.
that was nice of him. We also did some area book work, finding a few
people to recontact. one of them gave us an appointment for saturday,
and we'll do another pass-by probably tomorrow. so... that was good.

Monday, I exercised fully 30 minutes, for the first time in a long
time. normally I do 10-20 minutes in the morning. I've been sore
yesterday and today because of it. oh well. We taught Ousman, a
sengalese man who was interested in the Book of Mormon as well. He
brought his friend who doesn't really speak Italian as well. Also, he
was unfortunately a little inebriated, so I'm not sure how much he got
out of the lesson. oh well. We did a lot more strada that day.

Yesterday, we had another "Leadership Training Meeting", where we went
over all 8 of the "Fundamental Principles" that the 12 recently
released, which are 8 priniciples designed to help missionaries learn
better how to teach. They are as follows:
The Doctrine of Christ -The Missionary Purpose
The Role of the Holy Ghost
Revelation through Prayer
Revelation through the Book of Mormon
Revelation through Church Attendance
Teach People, Not Lessons
We Invite, They Commit, We Follow Up
How to Begin Teaching

These 8 points each have an 8.5x11" page of scripture and Preach My
Gospel references and questions connected with them. Very simple. Very
effective, when applied. Mostly things I didn't do before. It's pretty
cool.

That evening we ate dinner with Paola, during which I was tired and
distracted. There was an interesting discussion of Hindi religion,
which I could've taken advantage of to bend towards a discussion of
the gospel, had I been less distracted. 6.5 hours of your mission
president teaching you and you focusing a lot are... exhausting. Oh
well. I'll do better the next time.

Today, Anziano Clove got a haircut. I thought about it, but 15 euro
seemed WAY too expensive.

I love you!
Anziano Jolley


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Another week gone

Benjamin's new address is: (To answer his request that is at the end of his letter).

Anziano Benjamin Jolley

Via V. Monti, 3

23870 Cernusco (LC)

Italia

For those who want to know how to send packages,

USPS Priority Mail International Packages are recommended with the words "dalla famiglia" at the end of the list of contents. This means that the contents are "from the family" rather than having been purchased via mail order to prevent problems with customs. The Italian gov't often charges an import fee of 25% or more of the value of the package. Candy and food items are generally fine, except jerky. I have had a package returned but couldn't figure out why except I didn't list the contents and they said the address wasn't an address--I sent it to his current address. ( May Ensign, recipes, photos of his new niece)( ?)

Packages need to be sent to the mission office:

Anziano Benjamin Dean Jolley

Missione Italiana di Milano

Via A. Gramsci 13/4

20090 Opera (MI)

Italy

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, Nov 10, 2010 at 2:24 AM
Subject: Another week gone

Dear family,

I'm still here in Merate, and I'm a little more content about my
situation. I have had an interesting week. On Thursday, we did some
finding work, and then we taught a less active 19yo named Marcel, who
we're trying to get out on a mission. He's a good kid. Really likes
his Xbox, though... we'll see what happens with him. We also taught
English class, which was a lot of fun, because there's an interesting
mix of different students with different ability, and they're all
related. It's interesting.

Friday, we went to Lecco, where we had lunch, and then I did a scambio
with Anziano Malku, a missionary from Albania. We taught a member
family, a cameroonese named alexis, and a part member family. We
taught Moses, and Faith, Ruth and Godwin. That's the part member
family. They're from Nigeria. Ruth and Godwin were baptised in the
past 2 months, and Faith got baptised on Sunday. Moses should be
baptised at the end of the month.

Saturday, Anziano Malku and I did some casa in Lecco, and met a 85yo
man who let us into his house, spoke to us in dialect, which was hard
enough to understand, on top of the fact that he had no teeth. He told
us to leave when we asked if we could say a prayer. huh. odd. That
afternoon, we had Anziano Malku's 21st birthday party of eating Indian
food at a kebap restaurant. Anz. Clove and I then went to teach Jules,
one of our investigators. That was a really good lesson. We started
teaching the plan of Salvation, and then I asked him a question like
"why are we here on the earth?" he then recounted the story of the
creation, the fall, the atonement, and then his story in search of the
true gospel. He studied with the Jehovah's Witnesses, but when he saw
the conduct of the members that were teaching him, he decided not to
be baptised into their church. His mother is muslim, but told him to
keep searching for the true path, which she was never able to find. I
then bore testimony that his understanding of the fall and atonement
were good, and we said a prayer. I love asking questions like that.
That evening, we went to the Pogetti family, who fed us some rather
delicious eggplant/cheese dish, after we talked with them about
enduring to the end and ETB's Beware of Pride. It was a good lesson.

On Sunday, we had Stake Conference in Milano, which was good. Our
Mission mom, Sorella Wolfgramm's italian is improving! She spoke,
among other people. After the conference, we went to Lecco with one of
their members, had lunch, and then went to Faith's baptism in Como.
When we got back to Lecco, we found that the next train back to Merate
wasn't for 3 hours. So we were stuck there all day. oh well.

On Monday, we had a lunch with Giuseppe Nicotra, an old man who
recently has gone less active. He's very interested in Astronomy. It
was a very interesting appointment. He really likes SOHO, for those
that know what it is. That afternoon, we taught Gaetano, who is a new
convert who likes motorcycles. He's a good guy. We then did some
finding work, getting two phone numbers, but both of them were muslim.
We'll see if they develop. Mostly I try to leave muslims alone, but
when you have 2 investigators... you're grateful for what you get.

Tuesday, we went out for a giro (a walk?) and we met a man from Ghana,
to whom I gave a first lesson pamphlet. We then had district meeting,
after which my companion got sick, so we stayed in till 7:30 PM, when
we had an appointment with Paola for dinner. Those dinner appointments
are interesting. We teach them sneakily, by sort of directing the
conversation towards gospel subjects as we eat. I ate a peperoncino
during the meal. Those are really hot. (They're the tiny red hot
peppers. I don't remember the name in english).

I love you. I have a request for you all. I would appreciate it if you
would send me your testimony of going to church on Sunday, what
blessings you see from it, etc. Thank you.


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transfers

Date: Wed, Nov 3, 2010 at 4:10 AM

Subject: transfers

Dear family,

I just spent an hour writing an email that I was about to finish, but
because the computers here are old, it didn't save draft and I
randomly signed out. So... you're going to get a less exciting and
detailed version of my week.

First of all, Merate is tiny. It's got about 10,000 people in it. and
no palazzi. My companion is Anziano Clove. My mailing adress is

Anziano Benjamin Jolley
Via V. Monti, 3
23870 Cernusco (LC)
Italia

Wednesday evening, I taught Iro, who read all the way to Alma 9. He's
probably finished the Book of Mormon by now. We talked about the Plan
of Salvation. We then did some casa and found a lovely family of 4,
who told us we could come back. Then we went home, did planning, and
then I got a call from Anziano Bona in Alessandria, who asked if I was
being transferred. I said no. I then got a call from the zone leaders
telling me I was transferred and I had until the next noon to pack up.
So I packed, did my laundry, and was in bed by midnight.

Thursday, we sent off that email to y'all, and then we finished my
packing, did a short giro of Vercelli, and went to the station. On the
train, I talked to a man and got his number, which I forwarded to the
missionaries in Udine, where he lives. We then found out that we were
in Milano 2 hours early. oops. Eventually, after getting mcdonalds,
our companions showed up and we went off to our cities. I'm taking
Anziano Bolnick's place here in Merate, and he's taking Anziano
Baxter's in Pavia whose taking mine in Vercelli. odd. oh well. Anziano
Clove and I went to Merate, I unpacked, ate a little dinner, and then
we did a giro of the town, It is tiny, and then we knocked the two
palazzi in town that have more than 3 stories. we got in once, to a
man named Manuel.

Friday, we did a giro of the town, then we planned, and then we ate
lunch with the remnants of our food supply. While I spent a large
amount of money on shopping on P day, Anziano Bolnick bought a loaf of
bread. so... we were out of food on Sunday. We then went to Lecco,
where the missionaries have prepared a girl named Faith for baptism.
We got there several hours early because we didn't look at the time
properly, and then we left late for the same reason. We got back to
Merate around 7 PM, where we did a bit of strada, encountering 2
people in a half hour. The city is kinda small.

Saturday, we taught one of our 2 investigators, Elisa and Jules. We
taught Elisa about baptism, and how she needs to be a little more
comitted and actually come to church. We then went home, had lunch,
and went to Carnate, a small city nearby, where we knocked every door
in the city, followed by a dinner appointment in the city with the
Pogetti family, a lovely member family of a married couple about the
age of my mom and dad. woot.

Sunday, I had a particularly good block, where I felt the spirit
stronger than I have in a long time. I learned a lot. We then had
lunch with the last of our food, and then we went to Osnago, another
small city nearby, where we knocked a few doors, and then we realized
it was Halloween, because we saw trick or treaters and a few people
answered the door with candy in hand. We didn't get any though. oh
well.

Monday, we had district meeting, which was a little more different
than I'm used too. Anziano Clove is a different kind of District
Leader. We read Moses 7 and discussed. We then ate lunch with the
Lecco Anziani, (we had to go buy some) and then we did a bit of casa
in a nearby city called Robbiate. It was raining hard, though, so we
were a little discouraged and wet, and Robbiate is even smaller than
we thought, so I suggested we try supermarket finding work. We tried.
I felt super awkward, and wasn't very successful because my companion
just was standing nearby more awkwardly. But I think the concept has
potential. That's how we spent the entire day. It was rather
ineffective. The city is so small that I often feel I'm wasting time
just being here.

Tuesday, we did some errands, and then we ate lunch and then we went
to Villasanta, a city too far away, and we did some strada. This
strada was also ineffective. We then got on a train to come back, and
we talked to a nice pair of Albanians who were interested and we got
their numbers. We then went to Paola's house, a nice ex-english
student who has fed the missionaries for forever, but knows
surprisingly little about the gospel and is definitely not baptised.

This morning, we came out here to the library, where the computers are
old and can't use normal gmail, hence my draft wasn't saved. grumble.

I love you all. Please pray for me to have a good mood about this
city. on Monday as we walked through the rain, I went on a rather
self-destructive thought pattern that was rather unhealthy. I wasn't
particularly happy. I'm feeling ok now, though.

Anziano Benjamin Jolley


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happiness

Date: Wed, Oct 20, 2010 at 4:21 AM

Subject: happiness

Dear Family of mine,

I love getting emails from you. they make me very happy. thank you. This week has been a good one, more or less. I've decided to take a different approach to my work than I have previously. I've decided to focus more on the things I can control, like what time I wake up, whether I read the book of Mormon at night, what I study, how I study, doing the dishes, writing in my journal. It makes me much more peaceful about everything that happens, and I seem to have more energy and drive to do our work when I do. I've been apparently very stressed, or at least my body seems to think so, because every so often I have these weird spasms of weird muscles I didn't even know existed. So I talked to the mission mom, and she told me to relax a little more. I've decided that approaching life more towards things I can control is a better approach. so... yeah. good times.

Last wednesday, we acquired Anziano Jones's bike from a nigerian man who possibly stole it. we're not sure. but... we bought it anyways. after a few days of use, one of the pedals fell off because the screw that holds it was totally stripped. oops! oh well. We'll have to fix that, I guess. Thursday morning, we acquired a pump and an adapter for said pump so that we could fill the tires of aforementioned bike. That afternoon, we taught a man named Luigi again. He seemed to like what we were teaching, but at the end he said come back in a month. I pushed for early the next week, and he accepted, but when I called to confirm, he said that we shouldn't come back. (being too pushy with 90 yo men... maybe a bad idea). That night, we taught English (we moved it at the request of our YSAs to thursday) where we had a new student in our basic class, and our conversational class seems to be interested in the gospel. They may become investigators soon. (success!)

Friday, we did our weekly planning, talking about how we want the area to be at the end of the transfer, or when Anziano Jones goes home (I think I'll send him home... maybe). We decided that 3 of our investigators could be baptized at the end of that period, along with fulfilling a dream of Anziano Jones's which is to find a family and baptize them. So.. inside of 3 months, we want to see 5 baptisms. I think it's definitely possible. We just need to find the family. That afternoon, we taught Daniele, reading with him out of the Book of Mormon, and commiting him to read it from the beginning to the end. He seems excited to do it. The rest of the right, we did finding work.

Saturday, we helped one of our members get into church and gave him an albanian Book of Mormon for his wife's friend. (investigator?) We then did some more finding work, followed by lunch, followed by going to Novara to teach Edwin again. We taught him about the Law of Chastity. I knew we'd find a kink somewhere along the line. He says it's VERY difficult to follow. So we challenged him to follow it, he said he'd try. é duro, famiglia. duro. We then went out to Candide's where we taught him a short refresher of the 2nd lesson, followed by eating african style with him. Fish in hot sauce, plus Yams flour prepared as a gooey thing the consistency of playdoh, sorta. It was pretty darn good.

Sunday, Maria and Paolo came to church! (we weren't expecting Maria because she was kind of angry with us last week.) In Gospel principles we talked about the Law of Chastity, and the coolest part was seeing Paolo and Eleonora, his wife, just look at each other with this look of love and a knowledge they were keeping it. that was awesome. That evening, we taught Alessandro and his family with Fratello Simoncini (who is awesome). We talked about the restoration again, and the dad commited to read the Book of Mormon for 5 minutes every morning. That was really good. We'll see if they do it. (preghiamo). Monday, we had a good district meeting, where we were more or less called to repentence as a district, because we're really struggling. we talked about baptism and practiced giving the baptismal invite. The rest of the day, we did finding work until the end of the day, when we taught our less active Sonia, inviting her to read the book of Mormon again all the way. and then pray. and pray the whole time she does. She said she would, then she called a member friend of hers telling her she'd do it. (after she left that happened). That's way good, because she needs the strength to her testimony.

Yesterday, we did finding work the whole day, talking to really interesting people, one of which gave us his info to come back. He has a bible with 72 gospels in it, apparently. that's interesting. He said some other interesting (possibly false) stuff too. like the fact that in Cuneo, a small town in our zone, there's a museum with Mormon stuff from 2000 years ago (I think that one is false). We then went to Paolo's house, and taught the rest of the Plan of Salvation, and pulled out our well practiced baptismal invite, and he accepted to be baptized the 27th of november... if he feels ready. Pray that he will, please.

This morning, I had a good day. We did shopping, checked train times, and I'm having a generally happy day. We're going to Verbania again today. It's really pretty. I'm quite excited.
--
Vi Amo!
Anziano Benjamin Jolley

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Buona Continuazione

Date: Wed, Oct 13, 2010 at 5:57 AM

Subject: Buona Continuazione

Cara famiglia,

The subject refers to two things. It means good continuation. First, I've heard it 3 times this week from various people. Second, I'm still in Vercelli. Till at least the beginning of December, and possibly till february. I think till february. We got transfer calls, and I'm still with Anziano Jones here. After this, he'll have one more transfer, so I'm guessing I'll finish him off, and then I'll have another companion, then I'll head out of here. however, it's possible I take off in the first week of december. vediamo (we'll see).

In other news, it's getting cold here in Vercelli. I'm wearing my black suit with a sweater. I hope it doesn't get too much colder. speriamo bene.

Last wednesday, we found an older couple, who told us to come back. when we did, they weren't there, though. :(

Thursday, we did baby strada. It was a really refreshingly different experience. baby strada means we walked down the street, stopping all the people with strollers, and gave them a family proclamation. There are more babies in this city than I thought. and they are cute. I'm extremely jealous of my siblings and father and mother right now. with babies that are related to me. oh well. later on that day, we tried to acquire bikes that we found out are either stolen or "fell off the back of a truck". They're a little sketchy, so we didn't buy them. We then taught our peruvian family that I still don't remember their last name. the dad's name is Alessandro... I can give all of their first names. Alessandro, Marcella are the parents, then Sonia and her son Arrian, and her sister Sara. but I don't know their last name. odd. oh well. anyways, we read part of the proclamation to the world on the family with them. they said they'd read it and try to come to church. (they didn't come to church). Also, during the day as we were going to examine the bikes, I handed a pass-along card to a guy who was just staring at my book of mormon. 10 minutes later, as we were examing the bikes, he called back, wanting a book of mormon. so I set up an appointment for the next day. his name is Daniele.

Friday, we wandered the markets doing english class publicity, followed by a lunch with Nick. He came up from Alessandria, and we ate a delicious lunch. We then headed to Novara, then to Romentino, a little town on the outskirts, where Daniele lives. He is cameroonese, is about 27, speaks french natively, lives with his girlfriend and they have a son of 1 year. He's hit some really hard times recently, so he's about to move to novara to live with a friend. He is a soccer player who used to play for inter-milano, one of the best teams, and now he has no work and no team. His grandpa, after whom he was named, was a pastor who taught him a love for the word of God, which is why he called us. It was way cool. I love miracles.

Later on that day, we went to Paolo Manenti's house, where we taught him and his wife (member) about the plan of Salvation, which they had just talked about in Institute the night before. So... he understood well. He reads REALLY fast. He read out loud all of 2 Ne 2, and we taught and he talked in a half hour appointment. It was awesome. He's awesome. Unfortunately, he couldn't come to church because of various logistical problems. bummer. oh well. We taught Candide later on, about the family proclamation, and he showed us his new computer. It's pretty nice, but he can't get the internet to work, so he wants me to come over and look at it... (I think that's ok). He's awesome.

Saturday, we got in twice doing casa, the first 2 times we've gotten in doing casa in about a month. It's a really good feeling, and a really good lift to my attitude towards missionary work. Every time we get in though, I always wonder "Why did you let me in? would I let me in if I knocked on my door?" It's an interesting thought. Anyways, the first one was a couple that have been married for 3 weeks. They got back from the honeymoon that monday, and usually work different shifts than each other, so it was a miracle that we found both of them and got in. They invited us to come back this saturday. The husband's name is Davide. We then had lunch, then taught Edwin, our house-arrest nigerian friend about tithing. We brought a member, named Favor, who is also nigerian and they apparently have met. So... that was cool. He said he'd pay it when he's free and starts coming to church. after that, on the way to the train station, I talked to Favor about pidgin english and why his name is favor. His name is Favor because he's always willing to do you a favor, and one of his friends called him that in the UK when he lived there. He explained to me a few phrases in Pidgin. I felt about 3 shades darker in skin color after having learned them. for example: Howfa?= how are you? I day fine =I'm fine. Where you day? I day house= where are you? I'm at home. It's really interesting. I'm also working on my french now. I know how to say how are you? in about 12 languages now. Italian, english, pidgin, Benin, Romanian, Albanian, French, Russian, Arabic, Spanish, and a few more. There are a lot of immigrants in Italy from all over the place. Anyways, later on that day, we got into a young guy of about 23 doing casa.

Sunday, we had no investigators in church and our gospel principles class consisted of 4 missionaries, Candide, Favor and Uyi, two less active nigerians, and John a nigerian from Biella. So it was 4 white missionaries and 4 africans. That was fun. We talked about temples because....... the Rome Temple groundbreaking is next saturday!!!!!!!!! They got permission to start it! AND, the Catholic church is opening its archives to our members so that they can do family history work. WOOT! It's exciting. After church, I did a scambio with Anziano Shill, and we did casa in Vercelli, getting in twice in less than an hour, seeing an incredible amount of awesome using the new way of teaching. We got into this 90 year old man named Luigi, and he told us that he doesn't feel that repeating the same words over and over is really praying. So... we very quickly explained our way of praying, which he was very excited about. We then said a prayer with him, and set a return appointment for thursday. He's a cool guy. We then got into a guy named Noel, from Santo Domingo, who has been married for about a year, and that day he had an argument with her, and we explained to him that the message we bring would help him have happiness and unity in his marriage and then we set up a return appointment. He's awesome. When we asked if there was anything we could do for him, he said bring me happiness. That was cool. We then went to our Stake President's house, because he invited us, and it turned out to be the YSA FHE, which we thought we weren't supposed to be at. As we tried to leave, the YSA's were just like "just call your mission president to see if you can stay another hour"..... not ok. so not ok. anyways, as we drove to the train station with President Bellomo, he explained to us that we were supposed to be there, because our GANS (Giovani Adulti non sposati=YSA) need to know who we are, and need to have push to give us their friends as referrals. That would have been good to know before we got there. oh well. We know now.

Monday, we had District Meeting, which was cool. We read and discussed "the fellowship of the unashamed", as well as our investigators. We did casa that afternoon and got in to a really interesting man, named Francesco, who is atheist, holds us in really high respect, higher than any other kind of missionaries, and hopes that when the judgement comes, he'll be able to say something to God too. It was an interesting appointment that made me think a lot. That night, we contacted a referral from Temple Square finally, a man named Claudio, and his wife Elena, who love america and have gone like 6 times on vacation, most recently in Utah. They are more or less atheist, but love to read, so they'll read the Book of Mormon and try the promise at the end. It was another very interesting appointment.

Yesterday, we bought a bike off of a man in Vercelli, and a lock, then we taught Edwin again, this time the Word of Wisdom, which he mostly kept already, but said that he will keep it because I said it was important. That's a lot of trust. We then went out to Romentino again, to teach Daniele, reading with him 3 Nephi 11. He said he'd read it again on his own. He's a pretty cool guy, in the middle of moving to Novara. We then had Ward Council, and our ward has a lot of things to discuss. ugh.

Today we went shopping. YAY!
--
Vi Amo!
Anziano Benjamin Jolley

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A really interesting week

Date: Wed, Oct 6, 2010 at 4:04 AM

Subject: A really interesting week

So far as key indicators are concerned, this has been the worst week of my mission. but, that doesn't really matter. Because it's made me think a lot about being humble. I've prayed a lot this week. Also, I finished Jesus the Christ for the first time yesterday. Also, I've been thinking about how I can feel the spirit more. Cause I think I'm kinda blocking myself from inspiration. Suggestions? Anyways...

On wednesday last, we taught Maria a lesson about the plan of Salvation, and we invited her to conference. It was a really powerful lesson. She's starting to find a lot of happiness in what we teach, and she's reading the Book of Mormon. It's pretty awesome. Then, at english class, we taught, and one of our students asked what Mormons believe. So... we started talking about it. Our english students may become investigators! (English class does serve a purpose!)

Thursday, we went to a beautiful city called Verbania, where a member family lives. The dad mostly comes to church because he loves his wife, less because he likes church. So... we're trying to help him. I'll include photos of the area. It's a city at the base of the alps, right next to Lago Maggiore. It reminded me a LOT of home. It's a long way from here, so that took us the better part of the day.

Friday, we wandered around the market asking people to listen to us, then we did our planning. That afternoon, we went to Novara, where we taught David a lesson about conference, he said he'd come. We then taught our part-member family, the Manenti's, the husband, Paolo likes everything about the church. He just wants to be VERY secure about his decision to join the church.

Saturday, we taught our friend Prince, who will come to church when he has time... in like a year. We'll be dropping him soon. We then had lunch with Candide, which cost way too much. Don't sit down in pizza places in Italy. at least not that one. and don't order water. Sitting down cost us 6 euro, and water cost 2 euro for every .75 liter. we spent 10 euro on sitting down and water. it's ridiculous. Anyways, lesson learned. Also, good news. Candide got a solid job. He's working as a saldatore (sauterer? guy who works with metals) for a family business, working really good hours. Monday to friday 8-5:30. This means we can teach him on Saturday, and he can still come to church. It's pretty great. We passed by a family with him that asked for the missionaries when they were in salt lake. They gave us their number, and we'll go over some time this week. We then watched the first session of conference, live. Which means 6 PM here for the 10 AM session. It was really good.

Sunday, we basically watched conference all day. The priesthood session was broadcast at 11 AM, then the saturday afternoon session at 2 PM, then the Sunday morning session at 6 PM. We didn't watch the last session. It went from 10-midnight. A question for all of you people. Did anyone think that Elder Christofferson's talk about the consecrated life was awesome? It reminded me of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, about the Excellent Life. A comparison of the two would be appreciated. Also, the "we need more missionaries" was interesting. I took a lot of notes. I liked it a lot. In President Monson's sunday morning session, he quoted one of my favorite books. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I was pleased.

Monday, we had district meeting, which made me feel really good about myself. We had a semicircle and a chair across, and we said things we loved about the person in the hotseat. It was interesting. It was interesting. We then went to Alessandria to get my Permesso di Soggiorno (green card). We waited for like 2 hours, and then I got it. Normally, missionaries have to renew after one year. Mine expires a week before I come home. so I don't have to renew it ever. WOOT!!!!! We came home to Vercelli, in rather a lot of rain, and no one showed up to our FHE, so we went out in the A LOT of rain, and knocked doors. I was wearing my not-waterproof shoes. They are still wet. It's rather unfortunate. no one let us in. oh well.

Tuesday, we did some market contacting, and then we went to Torino for interviews with president. He was behind, so we were there for about 5 hours. I got to know the missionaries in our zone better. Our Zone Leader, Anziano Newton, knows a lot of people from the Salt Lake area, because he used to live in the Garden Park 2nd ward. also, apparently he is suzanne stack's cousin. He tells me she's married. If someone (caroline?) could confirm that by going on facebook or something, I'd appreciate it. My interview was very interesting. He told me something I've heard many times. "you've got a lot of potential and you aren't tapping it." If I had a nickel for every time I've heard that in my life... I'd probably have about 5 dollars. but seriously. I've heard that before. oh well.

This morning, we went to the questura (police station) to get Anziano Jones fingerprinted for his renewal of his permesso di soggiorno. And now, here we are. It's been a really interesting week.

I've directly sent this to a few more people than I normally do. sorry if you get a double from my mom!
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Vi Amo!
Anziano Benjamin Jolley

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

permesso di soggiorno headaches

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Date: Wed, Sep 29, 2010 at 4:21 AM
Subject: permesso di soggiorno headaches

This week, I've had to deal with trying to get my permesso and putting Anziano Jones's in order. In sum, we lost an entire day because we tried to go pick it up, and our connecting train left before we got to it, so it was too late. Therefore, today I'll be going down there instead of a p-day to pick it up.

On thursday, we were still sick, and we worked on the other side of the river here. We didn't find anyone, and I felt like garbage. that afternoon, we taught a member's friend, named Simonetta, who is a chatter. she talks... a lot. but that's ok, because a lot of the changes in the way we teach is letting them talk more. It's interesting. the lesson went well. We talked about the plan of salvation. Later on that night, we taught Candide about 1 Peter 3:15, and missionary work. He gave us a referral the next day. He is so cool.

Friday, we went to Novara, and taught Javier, a less active, about Mosiah 2:41, and then he taught me how to cook about a million things. we did our planning, and then we went to teach Paolo, who is a newlywed of one of our members. It was a way cool lesson. He wondered why his church (catholic) doesn't practice the law of tithing, and we essentially diagnosed him as knowing his church is apostate, but not knowing yet that ours is true. so... we asked him to read the book of mormon, and suggested a chapter. It was cool. We then went to Biella to start a scambio. I picked up Anziano Brawdy, and we came back here.

Saturday, with Anziano Brawdy, we taught Prince, our soccer player, and we invited him to church. Essentially, the whole day was inviting people to church. We talked a lot on this scambio. I like him. he's a good guy. We passed by David after lunch, and told him he needed to come to church, and he said he would. We taught our friend Edwin about prayer and scripture study, and he told us he already does so. 3x a day. He's pretty cool. That night, we taught Alessandro about coming to church too, and he said he'd come. Every time we teach him, it's a struggle at the beginning. It's YOUR turn to pray, Alessandro! no, no, you pray... I can't. NO! it's YOUR TURN! I eventually got him to choose something he's grateful for, and something he needs, and then had him follow my words. It was a really good lesson though. normally, he doesn't talk much. this time he wouldn't stop. it was awesome.

Sunday, I was rather disappointed. None of the people who said they'd come came. BUT, members brought their friends and family, and so we still had a good sunday. That afternoon, we taught Maria, our buddhist about the plan of salvation. She understood really well the concepts of 2 ne 2, because buddhism teaches a lot of those same concepts. We then went to Galliate, a outlying town outside of Novara, where a french family had asked us to come. they gave us a return appointment, and asked that we bring Candide the next time, who speaks french. We then taught our less active, Uyi, about reading the book of mormon, and about Conference. hopefully, he watches it, and reads the book of mormon, like he said.

Monday we had District meeting and a birthday party, because Anziano Shill and Brawdy are both 21 now. it's pretty cool. We then went down to Alessandria to try and get my permesso, but the train from Mortara, our connecting station had already left, so by the time we would've got there, the questura (police station) would have already been closed. Btw, Permesso di soggiorno essentially is my green card, my residency permit. thought you all might not know that. we had our FHE that night, where Candide started to preach to one of our less actives. it was pretty intense. He knows the doctrines, and he is well on his way to being a fully active member.

Yesterday, we moved stuff in the church the morning, and the afternoon, we talked with Edwin, about keeping the sabbath day holy, and about conference, inviting him to watch it this weekend. He's under house arrest, so... I think he will. It was cool in the lesson, though. at the end, he explained to us the concept of tithing, in a way that was exactly correct, telling us about his experiences with black pastors. some of them have messed up concepts... or corrupt because they want money. we then taught Candide about Lehi's vision, explaining to him the concept of a less active member as someone who is ashamed after they eat. It was really good. We then did some casa, and 3 people told us they'd call the cops on us. that was exciting.

This morning, I read some Jesus the Christ. I'm currently working my way through that book. I'm about 2/3s done. We saw Roberto outside of church on sunday, with an awful cold. he's apparently been on his bed all week, reading Jesus the Christ. He's mostly done.

I'm mostly better from my illness. It's starting to get chilly here.

To Joe and Camille: It's a girl.
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Vi Amo!
Anziano Benjamin Jolley

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.