Monday, December 19, 2016
December 18, 2016 Nativity
13 Dic
We were able to give un'altro benedizione to a member again today. We were also ironically late to a lesson with Carlo since he is usually an hour or a half an hour late so that will never happen again. English course is always awesome.
We were able to give un'altro benedizione to a member again today. We were also ironically late to a lesson with Carlo since he is usually an hour or a half an hour late so that will never happen again. English course is always awesome.
14 Dic
We went to check on a less active member but when we got to his door, his doctor was there waiting on the doorstep as well. We figured he wasn't home and wanted to ask the guy if he would give this member a message for us but he was on his phone so we had to wait. While we waited a friend of his joined us on this doorstep so it was a doctor, two missionaries, and a random lady on a doorstep of an empty house. It was just a wierd circumstance.
We were able to have an awesome appointment with the Maccione family they are way cool and had un bellisimo painting on their wall.
We went to check on a less active member but when we got to his door, his doctor was there waiting on the doorstep as well. We figured he wasn't home and wanted to ask the guy if he would give this member a message for us but he was on his phone so we had to wait. While we waited a friend of his joined us on this doorstep so it was a doctor, two missionaries, and a random lady on a doorstep of an empty house. It was just a wierd circumstance.
We were able to have an awesome appointment with the Maccione family they are way cool and had un bellisimo painting on their wall.
15 Dic
Today we actually tried to get to Rome and we made it there without anything strange happening for the first time ever. Until we actually got to Rome. The assistants to the president said they would pick us up but after we got there they said they were out of gas so they couldn't get us but that they would make us dinner. We took a bus and didn't stop to eat since they would make us dinner but after we got there they hadnt made dinner so that was fun, but it all worked out we still got to eat and the assistants to the president are really awesome and very kind so that makes up for it.
Today we actually tried to get to Rome and we made it there without anything strange happening for the first time ever. Until we actually got to Rome. The assistants to the president said they would pick us up but after we got there they said they were out of gas so they couldn't get us but that they would make us dinner. We took a bus and didn't stop to eat since they would make us dinner but after we got there they hadnt made dinner so that was fun, but it all worked out we still got to eat and the assistants to the president are really awesome and very kind so that makes up for it.
16 Dic
We had specialized training in Rome and it was super cool. All the new missionaries bore their testimonies in Italian so that was fun. (Me, Anziano Macdonald, e Sorella Lee). Then we had a zone nativity i was a shepherd and anz. Macdonald was the crazy awesome donkey in the right side corner, because he's awesome.
We had specialized training in Rome and it was super cool. All the new missionaries bore their testimonies in Italian so that was fun. (Me, Anziano Macdonald, e Sorella Lee). Then we had a zone nativity i was a shepherd and anz. Macdonald was the crazy awesome donkey in the right side corner, because he's awesome.
17 Dic
An investigator of the sisters had a baptismal interview today and she is being baptized on the 24th so thats going to be a great Christmas eve present. We also had the christmas party and watched joy to the world and we as missionaries spoke and the Africani did an awesome dance that they do in Nigeria it was loud and awesome. We also obviously ate food for an hour or so until it was time to go.
An investigator of the sisters had a baptismal interview today and she is being baptized on the 24th so thats going to be a great Christmas eve present. We also had the christmas party and watched joy to the world and we as missionaries spoke and the Africani did an awesome dance that they do in Nigeria it was loud and awesome. We also obviously ate food for an hour or so until it was time to go.
18 Dic
We had a great church, I taught a lesson in english by my self with Victor and he is always fun to teach becuase he knows a lot and asks deep questions. After church we went to Victor's casa e helped him fix his lights again, we built two cabinetsm and took three couches and a TV to the trash. Victor and his wife being the amazing people that they are gave us a huge bag of food, like so much food, for all the service we have done to help them move into their house. That will be the gift that will keep giving for the next couple months.
We had a great church, I taught a lesson in english by my self with Victor and he is always fun to teach becuase he knows a lot and asks deep questions. After church we went to Victor's casa e helped him fix his lights again, we built two cabinetsm and took three couches and a TV to the trash. Victor and his wife being the amazing people that they are gave us a huge bag of food, like so much food, for all the service we have done to help them move into their house. That will be the gift that will keep giving for the next couple months.
19 Dic
Today was exciting, we were going to get on a train and head to Ascoli right off the bat and spend a p-day there, but we got on the wrong train and went from Pescara to Sulmona (if you look at a map all of this will make more sense) and had to get off there and buy tickets and take a train back to Pescara and buy new tickets to Ascoli and wait an hour for the train, but it's all good because we are getting to were we need to go eventually we are almost there while I write this so hopefully nothing else will go wrong.
Today was exciting, we were going to get on a train and head to Ascoli right off the bat and spend a p-day there, but we got on the wrong train and went from Pescara to Sulmona (if you look at a map all of this will make more sense) and had to get off there and buy tickets and take a train back to Pescara and buy new tickets to Ascoli and wait an hour for the train, but it's all good because we are getting to were we need to go eventually we are almost there while I write this so hopefully nothing else will go wrong.
I have extra time so I will write some random italian below for
anyone that wants it.
Noi abbiamo caminato giù la strada e noi vedevamo tonto luogi
che vedersi cornetti. Cornetti sono avere un gusto che è molto molto
buonisimo. Noi abbiamo unico tre euro ma che è abbastanza comprare uno
cornetto. Proviamo comprare due di loro, quindi mio amico detto a me,
"bocca all' lupo" a cui io do lui una risposta di "crepe".
Dopo io ho comprato i cornetti, io ho mangiato tutte due di loro prima abbiamo
lasciato il negozio.
This may not be perfect (disclaimer)
Monday, December 12, 2016
December 12, 2016
6 Dic
Today I did another scambio with Anziano Farinotti, who is from northern Italy, and we headed out for Ascoli which is more north and to the west. After a few trains we finally got Ascoli and it is a super old city and has some really cool old stuff like an awesome bridge that overlooks another bridge which was super cool. We tried to do some finding in the Centro there we got to talk to a guy for awhile but that was about it. We then went home to get ready for English course. We were planning on having like two people come but they both canceled, however, two new people Stefano and Anna came and it was just a two on two lesson and we got to know them pretty well and after the class we showed them the video for Christmas and we bore our testimonies of the message in the video and they wanted to know more and that was cool since it was my first time to help get an investigator so that was way awesome and also spiritual as well. Way excited even though I won't be teaching them.
Today I did another scambio with Anziano Farinotti, who is from northern Italy, and we headed out for Ascoli which is more north and to the west. After a few trains we finally got Ascoli and it is a super old city and has some really cool old stuff like an awesome bridge that overlooks another bridge which was super cool. We tried to do some finding in the Centro there we got to talk to a guy for awhile but that was about it. We then went home to get ready for English course. We were planning on having like two people come but they both canceled, however, two new people Stefano and Anna came and it was just a two on two lesson and we got to know them pretty well and after the class we showed them the video for Christmas and we bore our testimonies of the message in the video and they wanted to know more and that was cool since it was my first time to help get an investigator so that was way awesome and also spiritual as well. Way excited even though I won't be teaching them.
7 Dic
We went shopping in a bizaar for both costume pieces for the nativity our zone is doing (I'm a Shepard) and for district secret santa (but I didn't buy anything for that cause Anz. Farinotti is my person). I then went back to Pescara and Anz. Olsen and I made chocolate chip cookies for the Bosco family and we went over there and ate pasta with them and I was taught Italian by a couple of six-year-olds, so that was fun.
We went shopping in a bizaar for both costume pieces for the nativity our zone is doing (I'm a Shepard) and for district secret santa (but I didn't buy anything for that cause Anz. Farinotti is my person). I then went back to Pescara and Anz. Olsen and I made chocolate chip cookies for the Bosco family and we went over there and ate pasta with them and I was taught Italian by a couple of six-year-olds, so that was fun.
8 Dic
So after we woke up at 2:30 then went back to bed we learned our part of the family history cornetto. We didn't have enough time to go back to the house to change quendi, we went to a dog rescue shelter in full suits to try to help a girl named Abby (from England) with some stuff we ended up doing almost nothing since the place was caked in mud and most of the dogs were wet (so many dogs) and she didn't want us to get dirty even though at that moment we didn't care but after we thought back and decided that it was a good decision on her part. On our 3-hour trip home we helped a member with her bags on the way home.
So after we woke up at 2:30 then went back to bed we learned our part of the family history cornetto. We didn't have enough time to go back to the house to change quendi, we went to a dog rescue shelter in full suits to try to help a girl named Abby (from England) with some stuff we ended up doing almost nothing since the place was caked in mud and most of the dogs were wet (so many dogs) and she didn't want us to get dirty even though at that moment we didn't care but after we thought back and decided that it was a good decision on her part. On our 3-hour trip home we helped a member with her bags on the way home.
9 Dic
We were able to teach a French guy and part way through the lesson his dog was invited in by my companion, and at first i thought the dog would just be a distraction. But it turned out to be brilliant because the man has a lot of trust in his dog's ability to detect what kind of a person strangers are. This dog loved us basically the entire lesson so that was a plus for our side.
We were able to teach a French guy and part way through the lesson his dog was invited in by my companion, and at first i thought the dog would just be a distraction. But it turned out to be brilliant because the man has a lot of trust in his dog's ability to detect what kind of a person strangers are. This dog loved us basically the entire lesson so that was a plus for our side.
10 Dic
We had another lesson with Carlo and although he was an hour late he brought his son who is also cool and we had a very good lesson with them. We really hope that they come to church domani.
We had another lesson with Carlo and although he was an hour late he brought his son who is also cool and we had a very good lesson with them. We really hope that they come to church domani.
11 Dic
We had a good church meeting and afterwards I learned how to make pasta alla carbonara which is basically an egg bacon pasta with other smaller things in it. It was pretty good. We then watched the Christmas Devotional with a bunch of membri e simpatizzanti and Carlo came and he is now officially probably going to get baptized on the 31st of Dicembre so that's cool.
We had a good church meeting and afterwards I learned how to make pasta alla carbonara which is basically an egg bacon pasta with other smaller things in it. It was pretty good. We then watched the Christmas Devotional with a bunch of membri e simpatizzanti and Carlo came and he is now officially probably going to get baptized on the 31st of Dicembre so that's cool.
12 Dic
We went to the questura to get Anziano Olsen's permesso stuff done. After we got Carlos (the blind member) and Valentina (mostly blind member) and we went to a japanese buffet. We ate a bunch of stuff that I don't even know the names of. I ate an oyster with a tentacle wrapped around it, and my compaion ate several mini octopuses.
We went to the questura to get Anziano Olsen's permesso stuff done. After we got Carlos (the blind member) and Valentina (mostly blind member) and we went to a japanese buffet. We ate a bunch of stuff that I don't even know the names of. I ate an oyster with a tentacle wrapped around it, and my compaion ate several mini octopuses.
Monday, December 5, 2016
December 5, 2016
29 Nov
After a quick district meeting, I went with Anziano Houseman to L'Aquila which was colder than I thought, so I am super glad that I bought a jacket the day prior, however the mountains covered in snow was very beautiful, their view from their apartment is way amazing. Although we got two bidones (lesson cancelations)we gave out cards in the feezing cold.
After a quick district meeting, I went with Anziano Houseman to L'Aquila which was colder than I thought, so I am super glad that I bought a jacket the day prior, however the mountains covered in snow was very beautiful, their view from their apartment is way amazing. Although we got two bidones (lesson cancelations)we gave out cards in the feezing cold.
30 Nov
My collega came up to get me from L'Aquila and the zone leaders had called us and asked us to come to Terni so after working at a mensa (food kitchen for refugees) which was fun, and eating Nigerian "stew" super super spicy meat sauce on white rice (it was actually good when your mouth wasnt dying) (also this guy eats the bones from the meat, i didnt think that was possible but he just crunches'em like nothing... he's awesome) anyway we tried to get to the bus station but no bus showed up to take us there so we couldn't go and just had to head home. And we unfortunately got another bidone.
My collega came up to get me from L'Aquila and the zone leaders had called us and asked us to come to Terni so after working at a mensa (food kitchen for refugees) which was fun, and eating Nigerian "stew" super super spicy meat sauce on white rice (it was actually good when your mouth wasnt dying) (also this guy eats the bones from the meat, i didnt think that was possible but he just crunches'em like nothing... he's awesome) anyway we tried to get to the bus station but no bus showed up to take us there so we couldn't go and just had to head home. And we unfortunately got another bidone.
1 Dec
After getting yet un'altro bidone, we took the member who was going to be present for the lesson for a walk and talked with them and it was super cool. We went across a bridge that leans outward that has a cool view. We got another bidone, then we went hometeaching with Gianni to a couple's house it was a good lesson.
After getting yet un'altro bidone, we took the member who was going to be present for the lesson for a walk and talked with them and it was super cool. We went across a bridge that leans outward that has a cool view. We got another bidone, then we went hometeaching with Gianni to a couple's house it was a good lesson.
2 Dec
After a few hours of weekly planning we were again asked to join the zone leaders in Terni so we hopped on a bus as quickly as we could. To get to Terni from Pescara you have to take a bus to Rome and a train to Terni. So after the bus ride to Roma we arrived at almost nine but they said ok take a train here anyway so we went to buy a ticket and the next train didn't leave until eleven at night so we were told to wait for the assistants to the president to pick us up and we spent the night in Roma.
After a few hours of weekly planning we were again asked to join the zone leaders in Terni so we hopped on a bus as quickly as we could. To get to Terni from Pescara you have to take a bus to Rome and a train to Terni. So after the bus ride to Roma we arrived at almost nine but they said ok take a train here anyway so we went to buy a ticket and the next train didn't leave until eleven at night so we were told to wait for the assistants to the president to pick us up and we spent the night in Roma.
3 Dec
For the third time we headed out to Terni and we actually made this time. It was great, we stayed with Anziani Blackwell, Segura, Whited, and Vance. I went on a scambio with Anziano Segura and we went all the way up to Perugia (the most northern major city in my mission) and a had lunch with a non-member family and gave a good lesson. Then we came back to Terni and went to a centro (town center thing) and wrote on a sheet SiiUnaLuce (italian version of the church's christmas theme) be a light. I talked some guys from senagal and another from Afghanistan they were pretty awesome.
For the third time we headed out to Terni and we actually made this time. It was great, we stayed with Anziani Blackwell, Segura, Whited, and Vance. I went on a scambio with Anziano Segura and we went all the way up to Perugia (the most northern major city in my mission) and a had lunch with a non-member family and gave a good lesson. Then we came back to Terni and went to a centro (town center thing) and wrote on a sheet SiiUnaLuce (italian version of the church's christmas theme) be a light. I talked some guys from senagal and another from Afghanistan they were pretty awesome.
4 Dec
We had a stake conference in Roma so from Terni we got a ride with a member with an awesome car and we went 160 on a 90 road. (kmph not mph) like 100 mph. It was awesome. We made great time.
At the meeting almost all the speakers spoke all Italian so it was hard to understand everything but with the words i did get and the one guy who spoke english it was really cool. We can always be better and there is always a way small or great to share your light with the world. I also got to see Anz. Macdonald my MTCi collega and that was super great to see him again and catch up a little. I also saw Sor. Lee and Graff there too, always cool to see people you know. We came back to Pescara did correlation really quick and as i ate dinner i found out that mayonnaise on pizza when ranch doesn't exist is a pretty good substitute.
We had a stake conference in Roma so from Terni we got a ride with a member with an awesome car and we went 160 on a 90 road. (kmph not mph) like 100 mph. It was awesome. We made great time.
At the meeting almost all the speakers spoke all Italian so it was hard to understand everything but with the words i did get and the one guy who spoke english it was really cool. We can always be better and there is always a way small or great to share your light with the world. I also got to see Anz. Macdonald my MTCi collega and that was super great to see him again and catch up a little. I also saw Sor. Lee and Graff there too, always cool to see people you know. We came back to Pescara did correlation really quick and as i ate dinner i found out that mayonnaise on pizza when ranch doesn't exist is a pretty good substitute.
5 Dec
We did a bunch of service today, we helped Carlos's mom to move furniture and fix a bunch of stuff. I learned how to fix cabinets and countertops and tvs and how to replace or swap cord plugs which was pretty cool. We also gave a blessing to a Brazilian sister that was super nice.
We did a bunch of service today, we helped Carlos's mom to move furniture and fix a bunch of stuff. I learned how to fix cabinets and countertops and tvs and how to replace or swap cord plugs which was pretty cool. We also gave a blessing to a Brazilian sister that was super nice.
D&C123:17 “Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfuuly do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."
Monday, November 28, 2016
Thanksgiving 2016
Before I start just some information about the food here. First
off their milk is not very good which is really sad but it is that shelf milk
stuff so useful but terrible. What they lack in milk they do make up for in
juice which is super good. They have Kebabs pronounced (Kay-bob) super good especially
with yogurt(similar to mayo). Their chocolate is really weird, i have not yet
decided whether i like it or not. Cornetti are big croissant things
filled with creme and a bunch of stuff those things are very delicious. No
choices in cereal but they have vegetables I didn’t know existed so that's
something. Other than those things and a few small things the few is just plain
good all around.
22 Nov
Our meeting with Carlo today didn't happen, but we set up one for tomorrow so hopefully that works out for us. I got to help teach English Course, which is always way fun and they relate to me and i relate to them because we are both trying really hard to learn a new language and its just fun.
Our meeting with Carlo today didn't happen, but we set up one for tomorrow so hopefully that works out for us. I got to help teach English Course, which is always way fun and they relate to me and i relate to them because we are both trying really hard to learn a new language and its just fun.
23 Nov
We taught Carlo toady about 2 Nephi 31 and talked about that and we are hoping he'll come back around soon since he is having troubles right now and we are doing what we can to give him hope and faith for the future. We got to eat dinner with a couple from the ward and a non-member family who go to English course, it was a great night and we ate really good food and shared super fun stories.
We taught Carlo toady about 2 Nephi 31 and talked about that and we are hoping he'll come back around soon since he is having troubles right now and we are doing what we can to give him hope and faith for the future. We got to eat dinner with a couple from the ward and a non-member family who go to English course, it was a great night and we ate really good food and shared super fun stories.
24 Nov--Thanksgiving
We visited a less active member who is having trouble with smoking but we went over and read the book of Mormon with him and we talked for a long time. Before English course one the girls from the non-member family we ate with cam early with her family and brought her alto saxophone and played for a while for us and it was awesome to be able to listen to, and it makes me think of all the awesome experiences from band and such. After the day was mostly over we made ourselves a partially American thanksgiving dinner, turkey almost doesn’t exist here so we had fried chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy, along with stuffing and corn, it was a very successful dinner.
We visited a less active member who is having trouble with smoking but we went over and read the book of Mormon with him and we talked for a long time. Before English course one the girls from the non-member family we ate with cam early with her family and brought her alto saxophone and played for a while for us and it was awesome to be able to listen to, and it makes me think of all the awesome experiences from band and such. After the day was mostly over we made ourselves a partially American thanksgiving dinner, turkey almost doesn’t exist here so we had fried chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy, along with stuffing and corn, it was a very successful dinner.
25 Nov
We helped a member who was moving this morning and moved his stuff from a fourth floor apartment to a different third floor apartment across town, which wasn’t bad it was the van driver who almost broke everything in the van because he insisted on putting the heaviest cabinet on top of everything which didn’t completely work well. We also out lights into his new house and assembled a dresser thing like three times until we got it right. Also he bought us drinks called "power malt" which is a type of drink from Nigeria, it is for energy or something. It was so terrible, not good at all, but it did give me energy for what that's worth.
We helped a member who was moving this morning and moved his stuff from a fourth floor apartment to a different third floor apartment across town, which wasn’t bad it was the van driver who almost broke everything in the van because he insisted on putting the heaviest cabinet on top of everything which didn’t completely work well. We also out lights into his new house and assembled a dresser thing like three times until we got it right. Also he bought us drinks called "power malt" which is a type of drink from Nigeria, it is for energy or something. It was so terrible, not good at all, but it did give me energy for what that's worth.
26 Nov--Anziano Olsen's Birthday
The sorelle brought Anziano olsen a conetta cake this morning and a Thor soap thing, because he is Thor. We then went to the chiesa (church) and got stuff ready for the thanksgiving party that were having that day. Again turkey is near impossible to find a whole one, so we had sandwiches and a bunch of random half Italian dishes brought by the members. We all had a really fun time and sang songs and ate alot and this party turned very successful because a person from English course wants to take lessons from the sisters so that's super good.
The sorelle brought Anziano olsen a conetta cake this morning and a Thor soap thing, because he is Thor. We then went to the chiesa (church) and got stuff ready for the thanksgiving party that were having that day. Again turkey is near impossible to find a whole one, so we had sandwiches and a bunch of random half Italian dishes brought by the members. We all had a really fun time and sang songs and ate alot and this party turned very successful because a person from English course wants to take lessons from the sisters so that's super good.
27 Nov
We went to church and taught a lesson in English to all the non Italian members there mostly the epic Afrikani members who always help make super awesome lessons through their questions and insights. We went to a cool members house for dinner and planned a little for the Christmas party which will be very cooland then we ate ham (i think) and cheese quesadillas, the cheese was amazing as always, then we ate basically French fries with out salt and a chocolate cake, which we also took home with us.
We went to church and taught a lesson in English to all the non Italian members there mostly the epic Afrikani members who always help make super awesome lessons through their questions and insights. We went to a cool members house for dinner and planned a little for the Christmas party which will be very cooland then we ate ham (i think) and cheese quesadillas, the cheese was amazing as always, then we ate basically French fries with out salt and a chocolate cake, which we also took home with us.
28 Nov
So far i have bought a jacket today which was super good because it has actually started raining and stayed rain for today at least up until this point and it has dropped like 10 degrees and I will be going on a scambio (switch) with Anziani in L'Aquila which is much colder than here so this'll be interesting.
So far i have bought a jacket today which was super good because it has actually started raining and stayed rain for today at least up until this point and it has dropped like 10 degrees and I will be going on a scambio (switch) with Anziani in L'Aquila which is much colder than here so this'll be interesting.
Overall I am just loving Italy so far specifically Pescara and
Chieti which are both beautiful cities full of wonderful people. I have
had so e wonderful experiences while here and have grown as much in the
language and experience as i have spiritually and it has just been a constant
growth that shows no sign of stopping. I'm hopeful and positive for the
future so here we go.
Ciao tutti!!
-Anziano Hansen
Ciao tutti!!
-Anziano Hansen
Monday, November 21, 2016
Arrived in Italy! Emailed November 21, 2016
This first part is not in Italy since i left before i could
Email.
Veterans Day
We had in- field orientation which was super awesome and helpful but it was just really really long. We started to pack today and we are ready to go but we are super nervisimo anche.
We had in- field orientation which was super awesome and helpful but it was just really really long. We started to pack today and we are ready to go but we are super nervisimo anche.
12 Nov
We had our last classe with Sorella Francom and that was kinda sad, but anyway she predicted i will go to Sciacca. Anz. Macdonald and I got haircuts, which were actually pretty good, at least for me. We then had our last classe with Fratello Hatch which again was crazy and sad. He predicted I'll go to Roma 5.
We had our last classe with Sorella Francom and that was kinda sad, but anyway she predicted i will go to Sciacca. Anz. Macdonald and I got haircuts, which were actually pretty good, at least for me. We then had our last classe with Fratello Hatch which again was crazy and sad. He predicted I'll go to Roma 5.
13 Nov
I got to spend a lot of time with my district so that was good. We had our last temple walk and got some good pictures. We also rewatched the "Character of Christ" still amazingly spiritual as sempre. Finished packing and we are ready to get on a plane to ITALY!!!
I got to spend a lot of time with my district so that was good. We had our last temple walk and got some good pictures. We also rewatched the "Character of Christ" still amazingly spiritual as sempre. Finished packing and we are ready to get on a plane to ITALY!!!
14 Nov--On a Plane the Whole Day (they had really good food on
the international flight)
15 Nov--In Italia Finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! €
First thing you notice, at least in Rome, it smells like smoke but that's expected. Second thing is like in New York you might die by taxi, here they are all worse than every taxi driver in New York. With their tiny cars they try to see how many they can fit into one lane and if that doesn't work they just hang out in the bus/bike lane as well. That whole day i suffered from jet lag and literally fell asleep standing up and almost fell over. We also met Elder Southworth an Italian waiting for a Visa to go to Arizona, he is very cool.
First thing you notice, at least in Rome, it smells like smoke but that's expected. Second thing is like in New York you might die by taxi, here they are all worse than every taxi driver in New York. With their tiny cars they try to see how many they can fit into one lane and if that doesn't work they just hang out in the bus/bike lane as well. That whole day i suffered from jet lag and literally fell asleep standing up and almost fell over. We also met Elder Southworth an Italian waiting for a Visa to go to Arizona, he is very cool.
16 Nov
Today we went out and saw the sights including the Collesium, a building they call the wedding cake, and St. Giovanni's Basillica. Each of these places you think are big but they are much much bigger in real life so definitely lived up to expectations. That night we learned which section of the mission we will be serving in and I am serving in PESCARA which is an awesome east coast city, my new companion is Anziano Olsen also awesome.
Today we went out and saw the sights including the Collesium, a building they call the wedding cake, and St. Giovanni's Basillica. Each of these places you think are big but they are much much bigger in real life so definitely lived up to expectations. That night we learned which section of the mission we will be serving in and I am serving in PESCARA which is an awesome east coast city, my new companion is Anziano Olsen also awesome.
17 Nov
I met my comp. and he is super awesome and we get along really well, he calls himself Thor so that's pretty funny, he is from Cedar City. I also met the two Sorelle in my district who live almost across the street from us. Sorella Calio (Italian)(apparently she is my mission mom and i am her son, I don't know how this works yet) and Sorella Walch who is from Cali. We taught an English class for people who want to learn english for free, that was super fun and the people are way way nice all the time. We also went to a square plaza and talked to people for a while. We ride busses practically all the time here so I'm getting used to that.
I met my comp. and he is super awesome and we get along really well, he calls himself Thor so that's pretty funny, he is from Cedar City. I also met the two Sorelle in my district who live almost across the street from us. Sorella Calio (Italian)(apparently she is my mission mom and i am her son, I don't know how this works yet) and Sorella Walch who is from Cali. We taught an English class for people who want to learn english for free, that was super fun and the people are way way nice all the time. We also went to a square plaza and talked to people for a while. We ride busses practically all the time here so I'm getting used to that.
18 Nov
We are planning a thamksgiving party just becuase why not eventhough they don't celebrate thanksgiving just to eat and meet more people. I had a Kebab which are really deliciuos sandwich things overflowing with meat and whatever else you decide to put on it. We taught Carlo who will probably be getting baptized soon hopefully I'm not for sure yet. We also got to help Carlos, who is blind, get money from an ATM and then go shopping so that was a pretty great experience.
We are planning a thamksgiving party just becuase why not eventhough they don't celebrate thanksgiving just to eat and meet more people. I had a Kebab which are really deliciuos sandwich things overflowing with meat and whatever else you decide to put on it. We taught Carlo who will probably be getting baptized soon hopefully I'm not for sure yet. We also got to help Carlos, who is blind, get money from an ATM and then go shopping so that was a pretty great experience.
19 Nov
We woke up early and jogged to the beach (like five minutes away walking) and kicked/hit a volleyball around for a while in the sand, it was fun and quite beautiful during the sunrise. We met a girl on the bus who is here from Turkey going to school and we got her interested in our english class becuse she doesn't know english or italian very well so they she can learn both. She also translated the header of David Morrell's message which is in Turkish which was super nice of her and now i know what one of those things say.
We woke up early and jogged to the beach (like five minutes away walking) and kicked/hit a volleyball around for a while in the sand, it was fun and quite beautiful during the sunrise. We met a girl on the bus who is here from Turkey going to school and we got her interested in our english class becuse she doesn't know english or italian very well so they she can learn both. She also translated the header of David Morrell's message which is in Turkish which was super nice of her and now i know what one of those things say.
20 Nov
There are about 40ish people in the ward here which is quite a lot for around here and I met a bunch of them and introduced my self and bore my testimony in Italian which was different but still fun. We also taught a lesson to some Africani in english (luckily) they are really awesome and way spiritual it's great. We had lunch at the church with a bunch of members and all the cibo (food) was deliciouso and some things i did not like before are actually quite good the way they cook them.
There are about 40ish people in the ward here which is quite a lot for around here and I met a bunch of them and introduced my self and bore my testimony in Italian which was different but still fun. We also taught a lesson to some Africani in english (luckily) they are really awesome and way spiritual it's great. We had lunch at the church with a bunch of members and all the cibo (food) was deliciouso and some things i did not like before are actually quite good the way they cook them.
21 Nov (Today which is now my P-day, which is about 11pm to 10am in utah time)
We went and visited an awesome little city in the mountains called Chieti (kitty) and there are actually a bunch of cts there so that's pretty cool. We saw a museo and stuff but I'm out of time
Ciao tutti
We went and visited an awesome little city in the mountains called Chieti (kitty) and there are actually a bunch of cts there so that's pretty cool. We saw a museo and stuff but I'm out of time
Ciao tutti
November 21, 2016
Yah its
kind of weird to think that i am in a different country right now.
I’ve only had a small portion of what Italy has to offer, but things are good except for the milk the milk is absolutely terrible, there is only one good brand here and its at one store a fair distance from where we live but that’s all. My new companion is actually really awesome and I have learned a lot from him and his example.
I’ve only had a small portion of what Italy has to offer, but things are good except for the milk the milk is absolutely terrible, there is only one good brand here and its at one store a fair distance from where we live but that’s all. My new companion is actually really awesome and I have learned a lot from him and his example.
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Monday, November 7, 2016
November 3, 2016
Last Friday we tried
super hard to speak only Italian for the entire day and for the most part is
was di successo. They were some words for simple things that I did not
know which made it difficult but it was way fun.
I have learned that
the MTC really takes a lot out of a person. I was half way through reading the
gospel of christ when I fell asleep for about five minutes. But it was
all good perche when we taught the lezione questo giorno. Chiediamo Antonio if
he would be battazzato. È Ziad yes and it was super awesome he also
accepted out invitation to come to church.
Afterwards our teacher told an amazing story about a cat that would follow them around for days and since he had had a bad experience with cats he didn't take it as a good sign. He even woke up to it on his bed and it was hilarious. Until it turns out it was the landlord's cat and it may or may not be insane.
Afterwards our teacher told an amazing story about a cat that would follow them around for days and since he had had a bad experience with cats he didn't take it as a good sign. He even woke up to it on his bed and it was hilarious. Until it turns out it was the landlord's cat and it may or may not be insane.
Questo domenica we
were spoke to by Richard Hopstefl or something similar to that. He had gone to
the Milan Italy mission and our zone got pictures with him afterwards.
Halloween came around
and nothing much happened, mostly because we were dead tired that day. We
even threw imaginary elephants in class to try to wake ourselves up, I dont
even know.
On the 1st we got to
Skype a donna in Italia and talk to her about the gospel. It was way cool and
also quite hard. We are pretty sure she was talking super slow and taking it
easy on us. We were also spoken to by President Russell M. Nelson (the president
of the quorum of the twelve). He talked about healing and the story of
the 2000 warriors relating to us personally, it was way cool. And we got to
sing an amazing rendition of "Praise to the Man" and it sounded
great!
We hosted a small
group today and that was super fun, until one of our sisters disappeared for
around an hour. Turns out she was helping a new missionary from somewhere out
of the country and she had to buy new clothes and get x-rays and it just took
along time. Also being good to everyone at all times always pays off.
Ciao, tutti
Thursday, October 27, 2016
October 27, 2016
Ciao ogni persone who happen to read this!!
So pretty much two things happened today, one we taught Antonio and I think he is finally starting to understand our purpose in life so that's cool, and two I dropped some sticky note things under a locked closet door and spent half an hour trying to get them out with a hanger, a string, swipe cards, and help from others... We never saw them again.
Today (saturday) we did this cool thing were we created a simpatizzante (investagator) based on someone we know who is not a member or something like that then we shuffled and taught someone on the spot we have never met, it was really cool for learning how to adapt to different people with diverse backgrounds and such. The sorelle in my districto built a giant sand turtle because non perche it was quite hilarious. I also had an spiritual experience later while we were giving a lesson I just had a scripture pop into my head for no reason (Alma 36: 1721). It was really awesome because it was just there and we shared and it was great. We also had a district inventory and said all the things we liked about each other and that was way cool and really brought us together even more then we already were.
We got to go on our weekly temple walk and we took a bunch of pictures and we all even wore rossa (red) so we could match and look really cool. I taught at the district meeting about perserverando alla fine (enduring to the end), I mostly used "Our Search for Happiness" and went pretty well. We had a devotional by Brother Allen who is a missionary management director, penso. Then we watched Meet the Mormons I had never seen it before it was pretty good, I really like the Candy Bomber story just because he brought gioia in such dark times.
Today we sang popcorn popping in italiana just for fun and it was quite hard but it was worth perche the translation is hilarious. We also got to pray for ten minutes straight which sounds weird but is actually super amazing and can give you a new perspective on prayer. Since you run out of your usual prayer stuff pretty quick you really have to think about what to say and it is way awesome, I invite anyone who has the time to try it.
We sang "Jesus Once of Humble Birth" at the Tuesday devotional and it was way good Brother Natriss of the 70 spoke and here are some of the snipit quotes I liked: "Be not Afraid Believe" (from Gordon B. Hinckley) and "know who you are, and know who he is". We get to host the new missionaries tomorrow and I am way super excited.
I got to host four missionaries today and it was super great, yes people cry but it is also one of the greatest days for them so I was just there to help it move along. We did TRC again and it went very well. We might be descending into ranks of abnormality because in order to study a scripture we made a game where you hit a smallish beach ball around and when you hit it everyone says the next word of the scripture and surprisingly it worked and was super fun definitely and repeat activity.
Anyway to conclude I am doing great and I do love it here there is a lot to do and you can make stuff up to just make your experience even more exciting and fun while being surrounded by awesome people. I am so glad to be here and am just having a blast. volere bene a ogni persone!!! Ciao
Anziano Hansen
P.S. I found more people Elder Brandon Kunzler, Elder Elliot Heines just arrived yesterday, and I forgot sister Weeks from the last time I said I saw people
So pretty much two things happened today, one we taught Antonio and I think he is finally starting to understand our purpose in life so that's cool, and two I dropped some sticky note things under a locked closet door and spent half an hour trying to get them out with a hanger, a string, swipe cards, and help from others... We never saw them again.
Today (saturday) we did this cool thing were we created a simpatizzante (investagator) based on someone we know who is not a member or something like that then we shuffled and taught someone on the spot we have never met, it was really cool for learning how to adapt to different people with diverse backgrounds and such. The sorelle in my districto built a giant sand turtle because non perche it was quite hilarious. I also had an spiritual experience later while we were giving a lesson I just had a scripture pop into my head for no reason (Alma 36: 1721). It was really awesome because it was just there and we shared and it was great. We also had a district inventory and said all the things we liked about each other and that was way cool and really brought us together even more then we already were.
We got to go on our weekly temple walk and we took a bunch of pictures and we all even wore rossa (red) so we could match and look really cool. I taught at the district meeting about perserverando alla fine (enduring to the end), I mostly used "Our Search for Happiness" and went pretty well. We had a devotional by Brother Allen who is a missionary management director, penso. Then we watched Meet the Mormons I had never seen it before it was pretty good, I really like the Candy Bomber story just because he brought gioia in such dark times.
Today we sang popcorn popping in italiana just for fun and it was quite hard but it was worth perche the translation is hilarious. We also got to pray for ten minutes straight which sounds weird but is actually super amazing and can give you a new perspective on prayer. Since you run out of your usual prayer stuff pretty quick you really have to think about what to say and it is way awesome, I invite anyone who has the time to try it.
We sang "Jesus Once of Humble Birth" at the Tuesday devotional and it was way good Brother Natriss of the 70 spoke and here are some of the snipit quotes I liked: "Be not Afraid Believe" (from Gordon B. Hinckley) and "know who you are, and know who he is". We get to host the new missionaries tomorrow and I am way super excited.
I got to host four missionaries today and it was super great, yes people cry but it is also one of the greatest days for them so I was just there to help it move along. We did TRC again and it went very well. We might be descending into ranks of abnormality because in order to study a scripture we made a game where you hit a smallish beach ball around and when you hit it everyone says the next word of the scripture and surprisingly it worked and was super fun definitely and repeat activity.
Anyway to conclude I am doing great and I do love it here there is a lot to do and you can make stuff up to just make your experience even more exciting and fun while being surrounded by awesome people. I am so glad to be here and am just having a blast. volere bene a ogni persone!!! Ciao
Anziano Hansen
P.S. I found more people Elder Brandon Kunzler, Elder Elliot Heines just arrived yesterday, and I forgot sister Weeks from the last time I said I saw people
Thursday, October 20, 2016
October 20, 2016
So last week after I wrote my email we got to go to the tempio except when my collega e io got there we realized we had forgotten our recommends (because the name tags aren't quite enough) so we had to run all the way back to our dorms and then back to the tempio in suits trying to get there for the same session as our district which we ended up missing by like 2 minutes but it was fine perche il tempio is awesome e molto bello. We taught Alessia and it went super well until she came into class and told us she was actually sorrella Francom from Washington when we all thought she might actually have been from Italy. It was weird cause she became our teacher and it's wierd.
We got to go on a field trip to the consulate in SLC to get our visas approved and it was super nice to be out and about for a few hours and while we were eating some random stranger paid for our meals all seven of them it was way cool. We also sang a song in the marble room on the bottom floor of the consulate and it was amazing.
I got to pretend to be an investigator named Marco for class and that was fun also I was super tired so I took a nap and it was awesome
On Sunday I gave the priesthood lesson in Ingles and it went better than I thought it would and my collega Anziano Macdonald and I said the sacrament prayer in Italian and that was super cool. And there is a Canadian sister here with a really long name that I can never remember so I call her sorrella Canadia because that's close enough. Elder Vai something a retired football player slash newscaster cam and spoke to us and it was super awesome than me district watched an elder Holland talk and he was super powerful and that was awesome.
Mio collega wasn't feeling too good today so we left class a little early so he could shower ad sleep but before he asked me to give him a blessing and it was the first time I've ever given one and it was honestly one of the most spiritual things I have ever done or even been present for.
We had service and took out all the trash again except like three times faster this time. Volleyball never gets old. We a Devotional review after a member of the presidency of the 70 spoke president Robbins, it was super emotional and spiritual and a amazing.
I era the most stanco oggi and purpose teacher was sick so we were spilt between a few classes but we learned about the role of the holy ghost and it was super spiritual and way interessatto. We had TRC teaching resource center AKA teaching random citizens it was super funny when mio collega thought these vollenteer return missionaries were supposed to pretend to be investigators when in fact they were supposed to just be themselves so he taught a returned missionary how to pray after asking if she had have prayed before. Then we heard some stories from sorrella Demann who crashed in a hot air balloon it was hilarious but I really don't know the story very well so yah.
just an overview it's great here you make great connections with wonderful people and although scheduled out there is always a way to have fun!
Ciao ongi persone
Sunday, October 16, 2016
So I finally made it to the mtc and it's awesome. When I was dropped off and pretty much that entire day I was just overly excited and it was spectacular. Eventhough my ID card which you need to go anywhere got demagnitized so we had to fix that before I did anything else, but it worked out. I met my district♧ of three other guys and four girls then I met mia collega (companion) Anziano Macdonald♤. Then we went to a new member meeting where I saw Josh Beck, Connor Campbell, and Sam Gates. Later I also saw Jaron Atkinson, Clinton Choi, Landen Gunnell, Dallyn McCracken, Chase Muir, kennedee king, and Miriam Stokes. We later ate cena (dinner) and yes there was unlimited chocolate milk and yes I have drank it almost every pasto (meal). We went to a classe where we saw an example of teaching and we got to comment and stuff and then we went on a tour led by four Romanian missionari chi (who) left on Tuesday at 3 am. When the day ended mia collega e io met our roommates anzioni Drenk and Strong, they are pretty awesome.
The second day we met our investigator Alessia and we started to prepare to teach her tomorrow in full Italian which seems crazy. We later went to another meeting and introduced ourselves to the zone which is full of missionari going to Italia, Roma e Italia, Milano e a few going to Romania. Mia collega e io were assigned as the sacrament people so we are just in charge of that for the next three weeks.
So we taught our first lesson today (day 3) after we came out I could only describe it as le morte or the death. We asked a few questions and it was fine but the instant she started talking everything went wrong perche we couldn't understand her and if we responded from the book we didn't know what each other was (mia collega and io). It was super humbling and crushing. But the we went to an uplifting gift of tongues seminar and we got back our shreds of confidence. We feel we'll do better tomorrow. We also had un molto bello estudiar collega.
We taught alleviate again but this time it went much much much better molto bene. Especially since mia collega said "I know that if you pray that you will feel (he tried to say pace (peace) but instead said pesce (fish)" which was awesome. Then later in classe we learned about technology safeguards. Oh yah our teacher is fratello (brother) hatch he 2? At BYU and he is just a great teacher.
Today was fast Sunday which was normal except we didn't go to breakfast or lunch. We had a good priesthood meeting taught by a Romanian and when we sang in Italian we struggled nut it was still super great. Noi did basically the teachers jobs for sacrament meeting and people bore wonderfully heart felt testimonies. We also went on a great tempio Wallander took some pictures there◇. We sang in choir and that was way fun as well as one guy from my district Anziano Hughes was at Utah All State choir when I was and we talked about that and it was super cool. We were spoke to by brother Heaton and that was super spiritual and uplifting.
Four Suarez at the MTC is intense and awesome and it's one of the best ways to spend your excersice time. I got a bunch of stuff for my visa figured out and we memorized Moroni 10,5 in Italiano. Oh yah an elder got locked out of his room in only a towel because his companion left him to go to the vending machines, so leasson: always stay with your companion.
We had service this morning which was just taking out all of the trash for the entire four floor building which was actually much better than cleaning the bagno which is what everyone else did. We had choir again today where we finished learning "Precious Savior" and we eventually sang it at the MTC Devotional that night which was broadcast or sent to all the MTC's around the world. The Amen at the end kf the song was beautiful and amazing Oh and we had Elder Bednar of the 12 apostles and his wife speak. They both spoke to us but not before giving a shout out of sorts to a sorrella in my district, perche apparently they are neighbors. He taught us how to really study and listen to conference talks and listening to the doctrine, the invitation, and the blessings, and how repentance can bring molto goaia(joy).
That night mia roommates and I played horse with a racquetball we found and trashcan. This was the only time we actually stayed past 11 ever at the MTC.
That night mia roommates and I played horse with a racquetball we found and trashcan. This was the only time we actually stayed past 11 ever at the MTC.
In classe we learned about Alma the younger's conversion story and how after their missions they talked about how great it was and boasted in God which is a good thing. I played volleyball this time and it was also quite amazing. This last lesson with alleviate was our best ever we answered a question she had about how she can feel the holy ghost and we studied a scripture for almost the whole time and was super spiritual. It was so great she shared an experience of when she felt the spirit super strong and when I tried to explain what it may have felt like I couldn't so we eventually got to calling it super grande sentimento which kind of describes it perfectly, then we had her pray and she asked us how she can feel the spirit all the time which is awesome and we will definitely have that as the vocal point for next lezziona. We are planning to teach about repentance and the joy it brings as well as the gift of the holy ghost by the laying on of hands and all that awesome stuff. Maybe the lesson after that we can talk about baptism.
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Mission Calling
I have been called to serve the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I will be serving in the Italy, Rome mission. I will be serving for two years after entering the MTC on October 5th 2016. I will be speaking the Italian language. This mission covers the southern portion of Italy as well as many of the islands round about.
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