Wow, well this has to be one of the weirdest feelings of all time. I
keep saying goodbye to people and everyone keeps saying "this is your
last..." Or stuff like that but it still hasn't sunk in yet. It feels
real and fake at the same time. And I keep telling everyone that I
still have an entire week left!
It got pretty real when at Zone Conference I gave my last "training"
and I gave my departure testimony where I (don't laugh) was a little
bit emotional. I am having a hard time coming to grips with the fact
that I actually have to finish and that I have to come home. The
Italian people are sooo amazing and I don't want to leave them! But, I
did know from the beginning that I only signed up for two years. Next
week I will try and describe better in my last email my feelings but
for now this is the sneak peak.
Well, like I said we had our last Zone Conference this past week. It
went really well. We talked about what it means to be "real" in every
aspect of our lives and the importance of real intent! I had a very
short interview with president where pretty much we just said, see you
in two weeks! And we did a 3 day exchange with the Assistants. I have
a lot of respect for them both. One, came in with me but goes home one
later because he is Italian and only did 2 weeks at the MTC. The other
one (the one I was with the whole time) is very young in the mission
but extremely mature for his age! I was very impressed by him and we
saw lots of success! He will be famous one day in my opinion! The
other one as well:)
Anyway, we had a good week! I am going to keep doing my best here
until the end! I love you all and I can't wait to see Mom, Dad, and
Brian next week!!
Love
Anziano Passantino
Serving as a representative of the Lord for Church of JESUS Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Italy, Rome mission.
Monday, August 10, 2015
8/3/15
Hey everyone,
Well how is everyone doing? To bad that Miss hasn't had the baby yet but I'm praying she'll come soon. We've had a really good week. I think this is the week in my mission with the most lessons I have ever taught. Like I keep saying we are just being blessed:) We're not exactly sure why but we are really enjoying our time.
So we are teaching this older Lady who actually lived in Virginia for like 50 years but then she retired here where she was born. Anyway, The quote of the week comes from her hahaha. We asked " Do you feel like you have received an answer about the truthfulness of these things that we've taught you? (or something like that) and she responded, in English, " Well it either came from God, the Holy Spirit, or Jerry Garcia"and I just died laughing it was so funny!!! She is pretty funny but the sad thing is that she just doesn't want to progress even if she has felt that answer. She knows the gospel is true but little things get in the way of progression. We are trying to help but agency has to be one of the hardest things to deal with in life. I guess as they say on the District " It helps us understand how God feels when we know something is right and we disobey" haha
We have a couple that we are teaching that are doing really good. We have taught them most of the lessons now and they seem to be doing really well. They are planning on getting baptized the 29th of August and we are super excited for them. They have been super nice to us lately and they invited us over for dinner the other night and I have literally never eaten so much in my entire life. Plus there was soo much food that they invited us over for lunch the next day to finish it all and we ate just as much that day!!
The real miracle of the week was on Tuesday. On Sunday I had talked to this sister about her son that wanted to come back to church. He hasn't come in over 14 years on a regular basis. We went over there for lunch on Tuesday (and just a side note, that is Literally, the MOST I have EVER eaten in my entire life) and then we met her son. He seems like a really cool guy. He has felt a desire to come and become active again because he is about to become a father and he wants to be a good example for his child. I guess it was just another, one of the many, testimony builders on how the Lord can change people's hearts. We must never give up on our brothers and sisters who may not be coming to church because the Lord is capable of changing people's hearts, desires, and will prepare them to partake again of the joy of the Gospel.
I have seen the Lord change my heart and my desires through the Atonement. A sister in our district said something that I thought was really inspired she said "The Book of Mormon is a mirror for the condition of our hearts". Literally as we learn more about Christ our the desires of our hearts are to exemplify his life and teachings and we are changed for the better. I love the gospel and I love all of you!
Have a great week!
Anziano Passantino
p.s. Today marks 2 weeks left in the mission... that is sooo crazy. I still need decide if I will write anything that last day or if next week will be my last but that is soooooo weird.
7/27/15 I love it here!
Hey everybody,
Palermo is soooooo awesome!! We are just loving it here. The Lord is
blessing us soooo much and it feels super nice. That doesn't mean that
we haven't had lots of trials by we have but we have made it through
each one with "the strength of the Lord".
We had somewhat of a crazy/funny story this week! We went to a city
called Caltanisetta to do a scambio and it went really well. We were a
little late for our train so we were walking pretty fast to get to the
station before it left be we had to get back for a lesson! On our way
to the station I heard something and then saw Anziano Pingree fall out
of the corner of my eye. I turned back and he was bleeding pretty bad
from his head. So he had his down when we were walking and there was a
low cement balcony that he had hit the corner of cutting his head up!
I ran into a bar right away and got some wet paper towels and some
ice. This nice guy on the street took us to the hospital where he got
some stitches. It was quite the ordeal but luckily nothing too bad.
Because then doctor had to give him stiches they had to shave off a
part of his hair and it looked awed so he just decided to take it all
off. And you guys know what that means... Anziano Passantino did his
first haircut!! Hahaha it was pretty funny:) I will try to attach a
time laps that we took of it!
Other than that the work went normal. I gave a my last district
meeting training on Tuesday about the Atonement. I think it went well.
Other than that I'm just doing everything I can to stay busy from when
I wake up to when I go to sleep. It's the down time that kills ya,
good thing there isn't a lot of it!
I hope you all have a great week and everything goes well!! Love you all
Anziano Passantino
Palermo is soooooo awesome!! We are just loving it here. The Lord is
blessing us soooo much and it feels super nice. That doesn't mean that
we haven't had lots of trials by we have but we have made it through
each one with "the strength of the Lord".
We had somewhat of a crazy/funny story this week! We went to a city
called Caltanisetta to do a scambio and it went really well. We were a
little late for our train so we were walking pretty fast to get to the
station before it left be we had to get back for a lesson! On our way
to the station I heard something and then saw Anziano Pingree fall out
of the corner of my eye. I turned back and he was bleeding pretty bad
from his head. So he had his down when we were walking and there was a
low cement balcony that he had hit the corner of cutting his head up!
I ran into a bar right away and got some wet paper towels and some
ice. This nice guy on the street took us to the hospital where he got
some stitches. It was quite the ordeal but luckily nothing too bad.
Because then doctor had to give him stiches they had to shave off a
part of his hair and it looked awed so he just decided to take it all
off. And you guys know what that means... Anziano Passantino did his
first haircut!! Hahaha it was pretty funny:) I will try to attach a
time laps that we took of it!
Other than that the work went normal. I gave a my last district
meeting training on Tuesday about the Atonement. I think it went well.
Other than that I'm just doing everything I can to stay busy from when
I wake up to when I go to sleep. It's the down time that kills ya,
good thing there isn't a lot of it!
I hope you all have a great week and everything goes well!! Love you all
Anziano Passantino
7/13/15
Hey Family and Friends,
Well it has been a crazy week! I had a really hard time leaving
Catania because I had made some really good friends there but I guess
that is just part of the mission! I made it to Palermo after a 3 hour
train ride where I got the chance to help this older women and speak
to her the whole ride until she had to find a new seat because she
didn't like sitting in the opposite direction than they way the train
was going! It was nice to explain her pretty much everything and she
was nice enough to take a pass along card but didn't really want other
missionaries to come over.
Now I'm here in Palermo. The first day was pretty crazy because we
were trying to help everyone get to their new cities but the last
train coming from Rome got in 45 min late so some of the new
missionaries had to stay at our place. We have 5 new greenies in our
Zone this transfer so we are super excited for that greenie Fire! It
has already proven to hAve made a difference in most cities!!
On Saturday we had a Ward activity and it went really well. It was for
the Fourth of July because the week before was a fast Sunday and in
Italy you fast from Lunch until lunch so they couldn't do the activity
Friday night. It was good though. We had fun and played lots of games
and it was nice to meet everyone.
Church went really well and everyone loved it when I told them in the
"siciliano" dialect that I was originally from here. It made for a
nice laugh:) I had many people tell me that they new people with the
last name Passantino so I am looking forward to going with them and
meeting these people and seeing where they came from and what not!! I
love it here!! We are doing well and things are going good!! I love
you all and hope you have a good week!
Love Anziano Passantino
7/16/15
Hey Family and Friends,
Well it has been a crazy week! I had a really hard time leaving
Catania because I had made some really good friends there but I guess
that is just part of the mission! I made it to Palermo after a 3 hour
train ride where I got the chance to help this older women and speak
to her the whole ride until she had to find a new seat because she
didn't like sitting in the opposite direction than they way the train
was going! It was nice to explain her pretty much everything and she
was nice enough to take a pass along card but didn't really want other
missionaries to come over.
Now I'm here in Palermo. The first day was pretty crazy because we
were trying to help everyone get to their new cities but the last
train coming from Rome got in 45 min late so some of the new
missionaries had to stay at our place. We have 5 new greenies in our
Zone this transfer so we are super excited for that greenie Fire! It
has already proven to hAve made a difference in most cities!!
On Saturday we had a Ward activity and it went really well. It was for
the Fourth of July because the week before was a fast Sunday and in
Italy you fast from Lunch until lunch so they couldn't do the activity
Friday night. It was good though. We had fun and played lots of games
and it was nice to meet everyone.
Church went really well and everyone loved it when I told them in the
"siciliano" dialect that I was originally from here. It made for a
nice laugh:) I had many people tell me that they new people with the
last name Passantino so I am looking forward to going with them and
meeting these people and seeing where they came from and what not!! I
love it here!! We are doing well and things are going good!! I love
you all and hope you have a good week!
Love Anziano Passantino
Well it has been a crazy week! I had a really hard time leaving
Catania because I had made some really good friends there but I guess
that is just part of the mission! I made it to Palermo after a 3 hour
train ride where I got the chance to help this older women and speak
to her the whole ride until she had to find a new seat because she
didn't like sitting in the opposite direction than they way the train
was going! It was nice to explain her pretty much everything and she
was nice enough to take a pass along card but didn't really want other
missionaries to come over.
Now I'm here in Palermo. The first day was pretty crazy because we
were trying to help everyone get to their new cities but the last
train coming from Rome got in 45 min late so some of the new
missionaries had to stay at our place. We have 5 new greenies in our
Zone this transfer so we are super excited for that greenie Fire! It
has already proven to hAve made a difference in most cities!!
On Saturday we had a Ward activity and it went really well. It was for
the Fourth of July because the week before was a fast Sunday and in
Italy you fast from Lunch until lunch so they couldn't do the activity
Friday night. It was good though. We had fun and played lots of games
and it was nice to meet everyone.
Church went really well and everyone loved it when I told them in the
"siciliano" dialect that I was originally from here. It made for a
nice laugh:) I had many people tell me that they new people with the
last name Passantino so I am looking forward to going with them and
meeting these people and seeing where they came from and what not!! I
love it here!! We are doing well and things are going good!! I love
you all and hope you have a good week!
Love Anziano Passantino
7/6/15 Palermo and Pingree!
Fam,
Well it has been a really crazy week. We have been trying to see
everyone that we are working with and trying to make sure we see
everyone.
I guess I'll start by talking a little bit about transfers. Just so
everyone knows I have always had a secret desire to go to the city of
Palermo to serve but seeing as I only had one transfer left I didn't
see that happening. Plus I have only been here for a few months so I
figured I would have finished here but to my surprise President
Waddoups called and told me I would have the chance to serve in
Palermo. Not only will I be serving in Palermo but I will also be
serving with Anziano Pingree!! He has been one of my favorite
companions in the past and we are like best friends so I am beyond
excited to have the chance to serve with him in Palermo for my last
city. It is going to be hard because I love the people here,
especially the youth but I can't wait to see how I can help in Palermo
as well.
We had a super cool experience yesterday as well. We were able to
teach a family that the senior couple, also a military relations
couple, had found during their English course. We taught them the
Restoration and the spirit was sooo strong! It amazes me that the
spirit is always super strong even after having taught it hundreds of
times. Truth is truth.
I am super excited for this next transfer/ week. Like I said, I know
the Lord needs me in Palermo for some reason or another and I promise
to do my best there all the way until the last min. I know this
message is true and that it changes lives. It is the answer to how to
solve the problems of the world and putting into practice it's
teachings, we can find that joy. My invite for everyone is just to try
it out!! See for yourself and you will be pleased by the results. I
love you all and hope you have a great week!!
Love
Anziano Passantino
Well it has been a really crazy week. We have been trying to see
everyone that we are working with and trying to make sure we see
everyone.
I guess I'll start by talking a little bit about transfers. Just so
everyone knows I have always had a secret desire to go to the city of
Palermo to serve but seeing as I only had one transfer left I didn't
see that happening. Plus I have only been here for a few months so I
figured I would have finished here but to my surprise President
Waddoups called and told me I would have the chance to serve in
Palermo. Not only will I be serving in Palermo but I will also be
serving with Anziano Pingree!! He has been one of my favorite
companions in the past and we are like best friends so I am beyond
excited to have the chance to serve with him in Palermo for my last
city. It is going to be hard because I love the people here,
especially the youth but I can't wait to see how I can help in Palermo
as well.
We had a super cool experience yesterday as well. We were able to
teach a family that the senior couple, also a military relations
couple, had found during their English course. We taught them the
Restoration and the spirit was sooo strong! It amazes me that the
spirit is always super strong even after having taught it hundreds of
times. Truth is truth.
I am super excited for this next transfer/ week. Like I said, I know
the Lord needs me in Palermo for some reason or another and I promise
to do my best there all the way until the last min. I know this
message is true and that it changes lives. It is the answer to how to
solve the problems of the world and putting into practice it's
teachings, we can find that joy. My invite for everyone is just to try
it out!! See for yourself and you will be pleased by the results. I
love you all and hope you have a great week!!
Love
Anziano Passantino
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