Happy Birthday!!!!

This is a birthday Present. It is called a coppola which means hat in Siciliano! Plus the sisters got me a cake for District meeting.

5/4/15

Family and Friends,

Well this is going to be a short email for a few reasons. First, I just emailed on Thursday so not a lot has happened. Second, I get to talk to the Fam this week!!!:)

The last few days have been kind of slow. Coming back after an amazing conference up in Rome it as been a little bit slow trying to get back into the swing of things but we had many miracles. For example, we had an entire family ,who want to know more about the church, that came to church on Sunday. That is amazing and I feel like it was such an amazing miracle after what might have seemed like a slow week. Also my comp did his skype home on Saturday so that he could see his brother open his mission call! He is going to Madrid Spain and so that was a cool experience for him. 

Other than that I just want to tell everyone at home that I love you guys. Last night I had a very special experience that helped strengthen my testimony a lot. I have been focused a lot on something that my Mom has always taught me, by example and through her scripture study, and that is the importance of the heart. I have been reflecting a lot on many of the people that I have met on my mission whether missionaries or members of people who want to know more about the church, and I have always grown close and become friends with those who's heart are in the right place. I feel like it is so easy to get caught up in the outside picture or the way we see peoples outward achievements or appearance. Sometimes we do things to have those outward achievements or to be recognized outwardly and we might even do good things for that but that isn't what the Lord wants. He just wants our hearts. We just need to do the right things for the right reasons or else doing the right thing doesn't have much valor. It doesn't mean as much. I testify that the Lord needs us to give our hearts to Him by doing His work not for the outward recognition but because our only desire is to serve Him. It is just another LARGE step on our way to become more like Him and return to live with Him.

I know that I have a lot to work on in this sense but I feel like I understand better my role and what I need to be doing. Even though there are many trials happening right now in our lives, the Lord knows where our hearts are and He can change us to make us better!! I hope we can all look inside and figure out where our hearts are and where we need to go to be better. I love you all and I testify that God's Plan is PERFECT and we need not worry but we must have faith!! I love you all and can't wait until I get to speak with my fam next sunday!!

Love

Anziano Passantino

4/30/15 Bednar and Rome

Family,

Well this week has been fun but I'll start with last week. Last week we went and did and exchange in Reggio Calabria. It was super fun but it takes like 3 hours to get there and they needed a ton of Books of Mormon for this missionary activity that they are doing so me and my comp had to carry two boxes of Books of Mormon from Sicily to the main land and we walked like 10 miles with them. They weighed like 40 pounds a piece. It was quite the trip. As a plus though, the best gelato in all of Italy is found there on their lungo mare and it was soooooooo good. We did a thing called gesso where we write on a sheet some questions or maybe draw the plan of salvation and then we talk to people that pass by on the street!! It was very succesful for them plus they needed some work so it was a lot of fun.

Then this week was crazy!! Monday we went early to help a member clean up this new area for their house and paint a little bit then, we had to sprint home and get changed so that we could meet up with the rest of the zone to go to the Conference in Rome. My comp and I were running all over the place trying to make sure everyone was at the Airport on time and everyone had forgotten to take certain items out of their carry on's but they didn't want to throw them away so we made one last run to the airport with the car, picked up all of their stuff, went back home and put it away and then we walked 35 min to the station where we got a bus to the airport so we didn't have to pay for parking and we finally got there 35 min before the plane took off. The plane was a little bit late, luckily, because when we got there they told us if it hadn't been late then they would have already closed up. Afterwords we finally got there and everything went smooth. Getting to the Hotel/mission Villa where we all stayed was crazy as well but it all worked out well. 

Then we had the conference. It was soooo special having and Apostle of God in the room with us. He made it very clear that the conference was not about Ipads. haha He taught us so much and I wish I could explain it all but most of it was done by his example. He taught us with the spirit and was very specific in not playing the "guess what's in my head" game that many teachers play, and making sure that every question he asked wasn't searching for a specific answer getting in the way of the learners. It was funny as he explained the fact that those types of questions drag the spirit away because when you ask bad questions searching for specific answers, especially when asked by an apostle, you brain freezes up even if you might know the answer. You just freeze up and it takes away from the learning process. It was really a cool experience. He taught us many other amazing and great things, that I won't go into now but it was really amazing!! This is just the first one that comes to mind. 

Then yesterday we had another conference and we flew home yesterday evening! Overall it was a great week and I feel very edified. The work of the Lord is going forward with this work. technology is going to chance the work of the Lord and He has made it for His purposes. It was great getting to shake his hand and speak with him. I have such a huge testimony of living day prophets and their role. I know that He is and apostle of the Lord and I sustain him as a prophet, seer, and revelator. This is the Lord's work and He guides it!! thanks for all of your help and love!! I hope you all have such a great week!!

Love

Anziano Passantino

4/20/15 First Week in Sicily

Family and Friends,

This has been a great week. It was hard saying goodbye to all the people in Caserta and after such a long time it seems weird to be in a new city but I feel at home already and I have been welcomed in really well. I am in a 4 man apartment again which makes it fun. This next week is going to be filled with us trying to figure out how to make everything work for the mission conference with Elder Bednar next week. We are super excited for it but it is pretty hard in our mission because we are all so spread out. We will have to take a plane to Rome and so that'll be fun. I feel bad for all of the people in the office that have to do most of the work there. There is always a special feeling when a general authority comes so it will be great!!

These weeks was filled with many goodbye and many new people. I really liked the ward here so far. It seems like we will have a good ward and they were all super nice and it was nice having the last name Passantino. They recognize it right away which is pretty cool. We went to our ward in Catania then my companion and I went to the American Branch here that they hold on the base and we translated for a member of the High Council that spoke there. It was pretty funny, I thought I just left the only place with the Americans and here we were again doing the translating haha it was fun though. I guess we also teach an Italian class on the base which should be really cool.

Well there isn't a lot to report for this week. Transfer weeks are always super crazy trying to get people back to their cities and to their new ones. It was a bit crazy also because some of the sisters got off the train and we saying hi to their new comps and they forgot their little bags on the train and the train left. hahaha that was crazy but not too difficult because they just called to Train Leader and they brought them back on the next train back. 

Well, I'm sure this is going to be a great transfer. I am really looking forward to it!! I am loving it here already and can't wait just to get to work!! I love you all and thank you always for your influence on me. I hope you all have a great week!! 

Love Anziano Passantino

Ray Bands

This is a pic of all of us with fake glasses on. The Elder on the right had his birthday on Sunday. Those fake glasses that he is wearing are really nice Ray Bands and they cost a ton of money so we always make fun of him for paying so much for fake glasses. The rest of us three went and bought 4 eruo fake Ray Bands and we wore them around for his birthday haha just a little joke!

Good Guys

Well how do I put this nicely!! These are two of our special members who are a little bit crazy! The one with his hood on is the one that we took to the hospital twice and who vomited on me. The other on is another one that is a bit crazy. I will miss the many experiences with them because in the end, they are both good guys but they just have had some experiences in the past that make them a little interesting!! haha they are good guys!

SICILIA!!!!!!! 4/13/15

Hey Fam,

We as the subject says, I have finally gotten my wish!! I am going to SICILY!! I am beyond excited to get to serve there and meet all of the new people there. If you guys remember my experience the last time I went to Sicily you can imagine how excited I am to go back!! It has been a good week this week. Luckily bishop asked me to give a talk this week so I was lucky enough to be able to speak in my last week here. It is bitter sweet because in these past 9 months I have come to love a lot of people here. I will miss them all but I am ready to go to Sicily as it has been my dream to go there my entire life. To be exact I will be in Catania on the East Coast of the Island. It is soooo beautiful there and I can't wait!!

We have had such a good week. I am also a little sad that I won't be with my "son" in the mission anymore because he has really taught me a lot in these past few months that we've been together! He is going up north to a place called Ascoli Piceno and he is super excited about that!  The cool thing is that Elder Bednar is coming in a few weeks and so we will all see each other for the First whole mission conference since I've been here. It should be quite the experience as we are also going to be recieving council on how we can use the IPads that I believe we will be getting soon. They are coming to start us in using the  technology a lot more in this work!!

Other than that it has been a solid week. We had a really special experience this past Friday. We were doing an exchance with the Zone Leaders here. On Friday morning we went up with the Senior Couple to go see a "less-active" sister who is only less active because she lives 11/2 hours away by car and she can't drive and there are 0 busses that pass on Sunday. She has been really down because her husband has been very ill recently and isn't doing very well. We had the chance to use the Priesthood to give them blessings and the spirit was extremely strong. Some of the greatest experiences in my mission have been as I have seen the power of the Priesthood act through blessings for the sick and the afflicted to the blessings of God's beloved children. I have countless sacred experiences with it and I have been blessed to participate in many miracles because of it. This was no exeption. I feel immensley grateful for the restored power of the Priesthood of God and I strive to be worthy of it. This is my constant prayer to be worthy and prepared when the call comes! There has been no greater blessing or feeling than the ability to bless other because in this manner!! I love this gospel and my Savior Jesus Christ. I have had many confermations about that this week along with a greater love for a living prophet! 

Thanks for everything that you all do me!! I love you all!!

Anziano Passantino