Avere un udienza: August 26, 2006

This is a request to meet with the Cardinal of Florence. He never responded.

Egregio Signore,
Mi chiamo Anziano Peterson; sono missionario della Chiesa di Gesù Cristo dei Santi degli Ultimi Giorni. Abbiamo chiamato circa una settimana fa per vedere se sarebbe possibile avere un udienza con l'arcivescovo e ci fu richiesto di mandare un'email. Come abbiamo detto, siamo missionari della nostra chiesa e abbiamo un messaggio molto importante per tutte le persone. Crediamo che questo messaggio aiuterà anche l'arcivescovo nella sua vita. Anche, il nostro credo non è tanto conosciuto qui in Italia; così vorremmo spiegare chi siamo e perché crediamo così. Non vorremo prendere troppo tempo; possiamo anche spiegare tanto in un'ora. Siamo in due - io e il mio collega.
Se occorre altre informazioni, il nostro numero telefonico è ... Potrebbe farci sapere quando sarà possibile incontrare? Siamo liberi quasi tutti i giorni.
Grazie!
Anziano Peterson

When faith endures.: August 23, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,
I think my little sister's story in Honors English has been perpetuated for every child in the Peterson family. I got a B- on that essay, the worst grade I received in the class, because of the same problem. I actually never got the packet for To Kill a Mockingbird, and had about three days to do the essay on a book that was utterly distasteful in my opinion. I think we should talk to the school to determine if we are on all of their mailing lists. I don't see why we wouldn't be there 9 times, but... maybe the other children can write their essays in advance. It makes me laugh.

Little Brother! Take AP Bio! Don't get discouraged - follow the counsel of the Prophet to get the most education you possibly can! You may feel a bit behind, but you are smart - you will catch up fast, and you will hopefully learn to love it (make a game of memorizing all the words - AP Bio is a lot of terminology). You can do it! I love you!
Then, I have some questions. In the mission field, you don't have the opportunity to look things up online. Even if you use the computer, you have only one site available - myldsmail.net Could you look some stuff up for me and tell me what the answers are?
First, what is vinegar? As in wine vinegar - I know it goes through some type of process from wine to vinegar, but exactly what is it and how long does it take? And how do you get vinegar from apples or tomatoes? Please tell me - I've wanted to know for sooooo long because there is a huge vinegar culture here!?! Another reason - in one house I've been in they had huge casks of wine in the cellar and said it had turned into vinegar... would that be true? Also, they boil a lot of wine here for cooking purposes... what does that do? I would like to know the chemical answers, so I can understand it...
Next... I can't remember. That's ok.
Now, for the prospective missionary brother, a "cool mission story". Hmmmm. There are tons. Here's a little one. Last week, we developed / proved a new idea for finding during August, when all the Italians go on vacation and the city of Florence fills up with tourists. We went to the main piazze (squares) and sang. The first time, a few weeks ago, it was pretty effective. The second time, it rained a lot. The third time, it was a bit effective, and we sang with missionaries from the other zone. Then, we invited another district of missionaries to sing with us on Sunday. The day dawned raining. It was very cloudy, and even if it stopped raining just long enough for us to arrive to Church safely (on bikes, remember!) (the Lord loves us - cool story in itself), we continued to hear the rain pounding. We went home after lunch and it was still raining. There was no one outside. When we arrived at home, I realized the importance of the weather, and we offered a prayer that the Lord would stop the rain and cause the clouds to clear and the sun to come out around 5 so that the city could be filled with people for the rest of the night by 6, when we had scheduled to sing. I really felt inside that the Lord would answer my prayer. For a few more hours, the clouds lingered menacingly, then, around 5, suddenly began to blow away. The sun came out, for the first time in a few days, and we entered Piazza della Signoria (the original site of the David statue, and a huge tourist area) bathed in light and surrounded by tourist groups. We sang together and saw great success. What do we learn? We need to ask the Lord for the miracles we want to see, and then believe that He will grant the blessings we seek. I know you will see miracles, little brother. You simply need to ask for them and then put yourself in the hands of the Lord.
We had interviews this last week, and finally finished our scambi (exchanges). Good thing, since transfers are next week. My companion goes home next week. Wow. I am grateful that I can never remember the date, only the day of the week. It makes me somewhat blissful to have to look up the date in my daily planner.
Something hit me really hard this last week while we were doing scambi. For a while now I haven't liked competition, and sunddenly I started seeing the signs of it... You can read in the scriptures that "My disciples of old sought occasion one against another..." or "Shall the eye say unto the foot, I have no need of Thee?" Apostles in the early Church complained that the revelations of God weren't good enough, that the language could be improved. Others sought after positions of prestige. Miriam and Aaron went before the Lord to "prove" themselves prophets just as good as Moses... I won't talk about today; I'll talk about the principle I learned. We are all in a great war. Or a track meet. Or a relay race. And the Lord is He who places us exactly where we need to go. I laugh and think of computer games where the player controls multiple characters, each with different talents and abilities, and uses them for a variety of different purposes, including placing them in difficult but overcomeable situations, giving them specific talents or abilities, and using them according to his own designs. One character is not better than another, and at the end of the game each character becomes more and more similar to the others as they each improve in the areas in which they have personal deficits. We are in a war where each of us has to fight his or her own battle. No one can do it for you, and it is an incredibly personal feat. We are in a track meet where each person is in his own event, the only runner on his team, the only jumper on his team. His personal success is the only thing that counts. We are in a relay race, and we each must do our own part, whether swimming butterfly or freestyle or backstroke. Each individual counts. Think about yourself - do you cheer for the others on your team? The team of the children of God? Do you rejoice in the achievements of others? Or do you secretly wish that you had received the honor lauded to another?
Sometimes we are too much motivated by competition, but we are not climbing a corporate ladder. Just because you are called to be bishop or stake president does not mean you are better or more qualified or more spiritual than anyone else. It simply means that the Lord chose you to accomplish a task only you could do, until He decides that you have finished. It is the same in any track meet, or any relay race, or computer game (sigh, and smile!). Who are you to say that glory from God is merited? On the other hand, just because someone else receives the glory of God or of men does not mean he is better than you. It has nothing to do with it. Life is filled with opposition and evil and good and rich and poor and bond and free simply so that God can place each of us in the places we need to be to learn the most we can. The success of one is the success of us all - if you are a high-jumper, do you cringe when your teammate wins the long jump? No - you cheer ecstatically! In the same way, we should look at the entire human race. The gain of one is not the fall of another, but the glory of God.
Now to explain an example. We were "blown in," which means that both my companion and I were transferred into this area. As our old investigators began coming back from vacation, they called the other companionship (because they knew them slightly better). The other companionship in the district took all of them, and to make a long story short, we had no one to teach. That's really tough. We also had no members to visit. Even tougher. And the other missionaries were teaching and visiting members and getting plenty of referrals. What should the attitude be? In the end, the people who matter most are the investigators. As long as they are taught well, they will improve and progress towards their baptisms. We get to run a different race, and find new people. Hence, my invite for all of you. Look into yourselves, deep, deep down, and ask if you rejoice in the achievements of others. If your best friend, who runs a bit slower than you, wins the 100-meter in the Olympics and is declared "fastest man in the world," what would you say? Would you challenge him to a race? Or would you cheer for his success and go on to the gold in the 200-meter race that the Lord has placed you in? I challenge each of you to truly and sincerely learn to find joy in the honors and achievements of others. They are all trophies that we all share. A baptism is not a medal worn by one - it is a prize we will all glory in in the last day. May each of you learn the importance of true charity - glorying in the glory of God as it makes itself manifest in the lives of the children of men!
I know this Church is true. I know that as we go out and exercise faith, the Lord will answer our prayers. He will bless us. Not me, but us. If He opens the door to someone else because I knocked it, then we have won the race! I know that Jesus is the Christ, and I love you all!
Anziano Peterson

On to the racetrack!: August 16, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,
Yesterday was a huge holiday here in Italy - it is called Ferragosto - the celebration that includes every Italian going on vacation to somewhere else climaxing on the 15th of August (the announcement of Gabriel to Maria, I think, or when she (according to catholic faith) ascended higher than Christ). It is perhaps the largest celebrated festival period. The busses don't run. No stores are open. The city is dead... And we clean our apartment for 12 hours straight! August 15th, and the 1st of January are the two days we deep clean. It was fun. I made Cincinnati Chili with lentils in place of the meat - a pound of cooked dry lentils in place of the meat, and it has absolutely no fat! Meat is also expensive here, and I don't trust it for a moment. That's another story.
Today we go to a huge horserace (it has become a cultural event - the race is only 20 seconds long) called Palio. It is in Siena, and it should be incredible (to be with other missionaries and to simply see the excitement that engulfs the city throughout the celebrations).
We have been incredibly blessed this last week. After searching for weeks and finding no one interested in the Gospel, the light came through the clouds. Monday we had District Meeting, and a Sister (sisters in my district? what?) gave an incredible training on teaching for understanding - one of the topics under teaching skills in Preach My Gospel. She explained that the Spirit teaches for understanding and shared a few scriptures, among them a favorite - 2 Nephi 31:3. The Lord teaches according to our understanding. She explained an example of a windowpane to Heaven; each of us has our own "window to Heaven," through which we receive revelation and communicate with our Creator. When we teach others, we are finding the window and throwing off the dark veil of unbelief (look in the story of King Lamoni - Alma 19), and then we need to simply ensure that the glass is clear. We need to teach so clearly that a child will understand. There can be no question. That way, the Spirit will have an opportunity to bear testimony of the truth. It was pouring rain (I pray for rain) and then suddenly it stopped and light streamed through the ceiling skylights in the Church. I felt inside that the veil of darkness on our work had been rent; we would find those who were searching for the truth. Later that day, we went out to knock doors. After only a short while, we felt prompted to stop and go to the park. We did so, and found a 16-year-old boy that was very interested in the Gospel and took a Book of Mormon in Romanian. Then, we went to sit down for a little bit and a woman came up to sit on the bench. She was struggling under the weight of grocery bags, and complained of a hurt shoulder. We finally simply took her bags and made her allow us to help her (Italians can be stubborn), then found out she was 82! She lived a ways away. Far away, and the bags were actually heavy. We arrived at her home and she had forgotten her keys - meno male (good thing) we were there to buzz everyone else's doorbells - finally we got in to find her keys in the door. She had locked her husband inside! We went in and taught them - she had been given a Book of Mormon before, and Liscia and Waldo are incredible. He is 85 and she 82. They are lucid and love to talk, but also to listen, and are very open. It was an incredible experience.
Sunday evening we were talking. We don't have a whole lot of time. My companion is going home in a few weeks (note to readers: The best way to send a missionary into depression or what is called trunkiness is to talk all about when he comes home, or to count down the days, or to do similar things. If you absolutely have to, write to missionaries about life after the mission. Otherwise...) and we have a lot of things we constantly need to do - companionship exchanges with multiple sets of missionaries (tomorrow as well!), meetings, etc... so we were talking about how to be more efficient. Knocking doors is not the most effective tool when no one is home. We were finally able to be united in some way, and we saw blessings the very next day.
This last Thursday we went to Rome again to do scambi (companionship exchanges) with some missionaries. It was interesting. To finish off the night we went to Piazza del Popolo - a famous square in Rome - and set down two dark sheets and began drawing on them with chalk. It is illegal to draw on the ground with chalk - it is defacement of public property - so we do it on our own sheets, that fold up and carry away. It was a really good finding activity. On the other hand, our singing in centro (downtown) was a bit discombobulated by the lingering rainstorm. We found a few members searching for the Church, though! And we had fun together searching for a place to sing. Everywhere we went, there was already some type of musical group?!? I had never seen one on the street before, and yet in every main square we wanted to sing in there was already a group playing in the rain. Whatever. We will most definitely continue comunque (anyway).
Family and Friends, I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that God is our Father, and that He is watching over us. He teaches us as we let Him - he teaches us according to our understanding, or our willingness to understand His ways. I know that the Church is true, and that the Book of Mormon is true. As we were teaching Liscia and Waldo, I felt the Spirit testifying to both of them, and we explained the feeling they had. They both felt with us that it was true - that is what missionary work is - throwing off the blind (albeit slowly) and helping people to rejoice in the light! It brings so much joy to watch people change, and the seeds we plant will someday grow! President called me Sunday with news - a family we had found in Quartu was baptized Saturday and confirmed Sunday. It was a father, mother, and daughter, with two younger under-eight siblings. It was comforting to know that the Lord gives blessings according to our diligence and faith; even though we may not see the results of our faithful planting, the Lord will bless others for our faith. It's like in the Hymn "We are Sowing" - Seeds that grow... when the sower's hand is cold. It is not in vain that we share our testimonies - by a breath we scatter glory! May all those around us know that we know that Jesus is the Christ, and that He has called a prophet in these the latter days! The knowledge that the Lord is good and brings success has spurred me to be better, more diligent, and more hopeful in the work here in Italy. We will triumph, together, and the ears will be gathered in to the storehouse. Then will we rejoice in the Kingdoms of our Father with those we helped to arrive there! A member once said it very clearly, "You will not be happy when you are in Heaven and your friends are not." Let us open the windows, and let their seeds of faith grow in the light of Heaven. I know we can - individually. Everyone can see the success of missionary work. Go to your Father in Heaven and ask for His help, and He will tell you what to do. He will grant your righteous desires. I love you all, so very much - go out and be the light of the world!
Anziano Peterson

Dreams of Italy...: August 9, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,
First off, when people move here from their 14th-story mini-apartments to somewhere else (a rarity - their grandparents probably were born in that same house), they hire a moving company, which takes us a parking spot outside and has a huge lift that attaches to the railing on the balcony. They lift (and lower) dressers, tables, china cabinets, anything you want. It's a bit odd to see it... But it exists. That's how moving happens here. Normally people move a block away or something like that... or North for work.
Today we went to the Accademia di Belle Arte - the "museum" built and created to house Michelangelo's David. Talk about a tourist trap - it costs 9.50 to get in, 12.50 if you don't want to wait in line for 3 hours. There isn't much of anything except the staute itself, and you can't take pictures. Wow. If any of my future companions want to go, we will most definitely simply take a tour of Piazza Signoria - the original resting place for the monument - where there is an exact marble replica. And you can take pictures. It has been a fun week.
We didn't have a real Preparation Day last Wednesday - we spent the whole time planning for another meeting on Thursday. The meeting went really well - the topic was on finding formulas in the scriptures. First, you find a blessing that you really want. Something big. We can read in the Doctrine and Covenants that all blessings are predicated upon obedience to specific laws. Hence, we only need to search the scriptures, go in prayer to the Lord, etc.. to find the laws upon which the great blessings we desire are predicated. Take Alma 26:22, for example - he who repents, exercises faith, bringeth forth good works, prays without ceasing... if we fulfill the requirements, then we add the final ingredients - the true faith that the Lord can and will fulfill His promises, and humble prayer, asking Him to grant us that which we desire. It works! The Lord really does fulfill His promises, if we go out and search for them. We can look in the scriptures and have incredible spiritual experiences by following the formulas we find. The final commitment? Think of a blessing that you really want. Something big. Find the formula. Follow it.
We then began our round of scambi - companionship exchanges - for this transfer. First, Elders from Siena. We went out singing in apartment buildings, then realized that it really wasn't working and went to a park. The music changed the atmosphere enough that people came up to us and asked about the Church; then we all went out and taught people who had heard us singing and whose mental barriers of stone had been taken down. We met with a few very nice people, but changing street/park contacts into progressing investigators is a difficult task here. People are willing to talk with you, but often will not give you a way to recontact them. Friday and Saturday we did what our District Leader had asked us to do - meet with members and teach them the new lessons. Very few people in Italy know about Preach My Gospel, even though there has been tons in the Ensign and in General Conference. Hence, we are teaching them on an individual basis - the families that don't have/take time outside of their children, etc... We taught two families and an older man (our genealogy guru) and they are all excited for the chance to do missionary work. It would be nice to have a branch mission leader. We have knocked a whole lot of doors. Yesterday we did another exchange, with the Elders from Arezzo. We went singing again (with the additions, we have 8 missionaries available) in the market, and it was a really good tool. I feel like singing helps people to look at us in a different light; a man asked us afterward (far away and long after) exactly what we were singing - what was the message? The people seemed touched by our simple presence there. We finished off with a bunch of hours of knocking doors.
By the way, we are on bikes! I mean, really on bikes. We ride hard for about an hour, an hour and a half each day. Every day, Sunday included. It takes about 20 minutes to get to Church biking (10-15 if you arrive and can't breathe), and we are all over the city. We have the west half of the city as our Zone, with via Cavour as the dividing line between zones. We are looking for people every day. The city is full of tourists.
Well, some days I wonder. Tomorrow we go to Rome again. The next day we come back home. It is finally getting darker earlier here (which means it gets cooler earlier, which means we can sleep at night), and yesterday we had a rainstorm. It was interesting to do scambi with the other elders - I learned from each of them. One of them was in the group after me in the MTC, and he seems to get along well with many people. He is also very optimistic yet real in what he says about situations. The other is very interesting. He said he was in a rock band before the mission, but I really can't imagine him as such. He doesn't speak loudly, but he is very to the point. He's a good missionary.
I'll send some pictures in a few moments (I still don't have one of my district!?!), so I'll leave you with my testimony. The work here is going forward. There are good missionaries here in Italy... "the cream of the crop" was Elder Nelson's quote. I've had the chance to work with some of them. I know that the Lord is at the head of this work. I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that God lives, and that we have a living prophet upon the earth today. What a blessing to share the news of a prophet with so many people each day - people who have never heard it before. Their faces turn and I see them thinking - a prophet? Who is this prophet? Why is this young man so excited about him? What is happening here? What am I feeling inside? I know that this Church - the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - is the true Church of God. It really does matter which Church is true - how else can we find the truth? I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and that we can understand and resolve concerns (our own and others') using its pages. Go out and live the Gospel - wear your heart upon your sleeve was ancient saying - so that everyone will ask you about it. Then teach them and see them change. I know it is true! I love you all!

So That's the famous Ponte Vecchio?: August 2, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,
As you may be able to tell from the title of my email, my first sight of the famous Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) of Firenze wasn't the most incredible. We sort of passed it and then my companion told me it was Ponte Vecchio. It has a sum of about 50 gold and jewelry stores lining the sides. A bit audacious, no? This week has been stressful, just like last week. Wednesday we walked the streets of Firenze for a bit, then went to find people in the park. Thursday we met with a less active member, then knocked doors for the rest of the day until evening. It is really hot during the day, from about 10 until 5. We are inside for 2 hours for lunch, but no matter when we schedule it we end up going outside under the sun when it's hot enough to burn your feet inside your black shoes. That's hot! I started praying for rain the moment I arrived here, and we now have a sort of stagnant storm that hovers on the horizon and every so often floods us. With mosquitoes as well - we live by the river. I'm really grateful that I'm not burning at all here - I don't even have to use sunblock, and I can declare that my skin has actually changed colors... - I tanned! Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing, I'm not sure... but it means I don't have to feel too oily from sunblock and that I'm not in constant pain. I've actually been able to see the difference since a few months ago - I think it happened because in Battipaglia we were simply outside all the time and I spent the Spring and Summer outside - it gave my skin the incredible time it needed to create melanin in quantities large enough to withstand the heat. Wow!
Friday we were still eating leftovers from Zone Conference - the huge pasta salad was big and plenty. Talking about that, the Mission President's Wife mentioned that she had seen the receipt for the meal... much, much less than what they had expected in the first place. They were actually kind of shocked. I told them that we had splurged and bought Barilla (the highest quality pasta) and good mozzarella; it also helped that that Esselunga (the supermarket close by) had everything on sale (and that we bought it on sale). At least that went well.
Saturday we did our planning session (every week we plan out what we are going to do for each person and activity)... and then had a lot of cancelled appointments.
Sunday we had again more no-shows, so we went out to find people. Happy Birthday Mom! I think I remembered Monday; I had it written down, but the last week my email got eaten and... I guess it will have to be a few days late. We started looking for parks, and got horribly lost. My companion is worse with maps than I am (I am getting better - I simply commit to memory the names of the streets and the direction we need to turn), but it was OK. We found, at our first park, a huge convention for Esperanto - some sort of international latin-based language (equally hard for everyone). We weren't allowed in the park (part of a private complex), but as we were leaving to get our bikes, three people stopped me and commenced speaking in Esperanto... then let me teach them in Italian. It actually was a really good experience - all three of them want to meet with missionaries in the other cities of Italy in which they live.
Monday we had DDM and then went and knocked doors... all day. It's hot. I'm grateful for water, and for a companion that sometimes asks for it. We helped a Brasilian family move a bit.
Yesterday morning we went to Rome for a conference. It was incredible - we talked about a lot of things with other missionaries and I took tons of notes on the topics. The one that really hit me the most was by the Mission President's Wife - she asked the question, "How can we motivate ourselves and others?" It's obviously a difficult question, with a lot of factors... but the answer was simple - use The Book of Mormon. And I have a testimony that it works. I remember a missionary that had problems with diligence. He just didn't do what he said he would, and it was ruining the spirit of our apartment and also ruining the work. One day I sent his companion and mine out on a scambi (exchange) and we read Mosiah 4 together. I had felt impressed to read with him, and from that day on, I saw a huge change. I know that we can help motivate people using The Book of Mormon. In this book, the Lord has given us all the answers to life's questions, including how we can gain a greater desire ourselves or help others to gain that same desire. It really works! We were at the Conference all day - it was a good experience - and President finished off talking about the Temple. He taught us about the Temple and its importance in our lives and in our work - it is the ultimate goal. He asked us to change some of our vocabulary - Temple Work to Temple Worship. I agree - the worship we compute in the Temple is not simply work; it is an expression of an internal love we have for God and our fellow man. We also talked about the importance of talking with everyone - of simply learning to be a friendly, sincere person. We have two years to do it - life afterward will be much more difficult to develop people skills. Why not now?
Then, this morning... We got off to a rough start, missing a pretty expensive train. I had mixed-up tickets and we arrived in time with the wrong tickets. The counter refused to re-issue them, and we weren't able to redo our reservations. So, we bought tickets for the next train and ran to catch it. As we approached, the doors shut, didn't open again, and the train rolled away. Another very expensive train. So now I am about in tears - buying things like train tickets is my responsibility and I've just wasted a huge amount of money. We bought more tickets for a Regional (much slower, much cheaper) train, and got on, barely making it again. I was most definitely down. I had spoken with President about a way to save the mission money on train travel - the Italian train system offers a sort of fidelity card that brings innate advantages (like 20% discounts on a certain number of seats every national train)... and then I go and miss two trains. I was writing letters (it is Preparation Day, and we were eating our time), and I realized that the Lord had not caused us to miss the trains... but He had certainly allowed it. Why? Was it to waste our money? I doubt it. Then why? Maybe to cause us to be humble. That worked. But I felt like there was another reason. In the past, when we missed trains or even travelled, there was always someone to teach. I now simply believe that the people around us in trains are simply the elect of God, sent by Him to be taught by us. I suddenly felt pushed to talk with the man across the aisle from us. It was a bit hard - no room and my companion had the aisle seat. He began talking, and I told him when the man left for a moment that we had to teach him. He agreed, and began talking with him. I prayed so much for my companion - we haven't been together long enough to really trust each other yet. I sometimes doubt him, and he me... Hopefully we can work through that quickly and learn to trust not only the intentions of one another, but also our skill in teaching. The man was from Turkey, and was very open to the Gospel. We gave him a Book of Mormon in English, and he promised that he would read and pray. I don't think membership in the Church in Turkey would be an easy thing to accomplish... But he was very open and wanted to enter international business. It was a very good lesson, and it reminds me, "Remember, the worth of souls is great in the sight of God." Exactly how much? Would missing a Eurostar train be worth it? How about two Eurostars for two people? Obviously it was, or part of it was, and I am grateful that my companion taught well.

We have a lot of things to plan for. We have a meeting tomorrow, and then we are doing rounds of scambi (companionship exchanges) with other missionaries. We need to make sure we are prepared if they have any concerns, and also to learn from them. My time is almost up; I'll try to send some pictures!
I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that this is the Church of God! I know that He answers our prayers when we are sincere. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that we have a prophet today! I love you all!

Count your many, many blessings: July 26, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,
The computer just ate my email. I was about to send it, and something flashed and no more email. I guess it helps me laugh a bit. I was writing you all about the new sources of stress I've found here in Firenze. I think they are loading straw on the camel's back. I won't break! The branch is huge, which means no one knows the missionaries very well. My companion was transferred here as well, so we have no work. We also have many other things we have to do and prepare for... I'm sorry there are no pictures. I'll try to make a CD today. I'm about out of time. Sad. Maybe you could all read Alma 5 instead of my email. I'm sorry.
I'm trying to smile even when I feel overwhelmed... and then I realize that there are people even more overwhelmed than I am. We were very aware of deaths on the roads two weeks ago - there was a procession in Battipaglia to announce the end of road death... after the roads took 13 youth this last year. Give my condolences to his family. I tried to write them a poem, but it didn't come. Could you give them my testimony instead? I love you all!
Dear little brother's friend's family,
I'm your son's friend's older brother. I'm a missionary in Italy. I don't know everything, but I know the Lord loves us. He watches over us. He gives us breath and life and health and joy and everything that is important to us. I know we lived with Him before this life - that we are His spirit sons and daughters. I know we are here to be happy - to find the joy that comes through having a family and serving the Lord... and I know that the joy of family life does not need to ever end. The Lord loves us today as much as He loved those in the past, and He has called a prophet today like Moses. To this prophet He gave the authority to bind families together forever - even after death. It's true. I know it's true, because I asked Him. I wanted to know if I could be with my family forever. I wanted to really know, so one day I knelt down and prayed. I asked if it was true - if there really was a modern prophet, if the Lord had opened His mouth again, if His authority was truly upon the earth... and He answered me. I felt the peace I had been searching for. I would invite you to do the same. Take a moment and ponder upon the eternities. Then ask the Lord if it is true. I promise that you will receive an answer.

Transferred! On to the art!: July 19, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,
Obviously, I have been transferred. We received the call Monday (not that we were not expecting it) during DDM and I'll tell you in a little bit where I've been transferred. The title betrays it a little. During DDM, though, so I don't forget, we did a roleplay for one of the elders in our district, who is no longer a missionary. He just finished his mission, and so I wanted to help him realize the importance of member missionary work. We pretended we were in the supermarket and we saw another man buying baby supplies (bottles, food, etc). That's all - what would you do to invite someone like that to hear the gospel? How do you begin? We realized, after a few failed attempts, that talking to people without having a nametag as an excuse can be difficult - especially in the publicity of a supermarket (and even in roleplaying!). The phone rang, and transfer calls came... and then we started with some great begin friendly, smiling, and then talking about the family. We used family home evening as an opportunity to invite him to learn more about the Gospel.
Ok, ok. I know you're dying to know where I'll be spending at least the next 3 months of my life. The answer is... Firenze. Florence in the crude English tongue. To pronounce it correctly you say - Fee-ren-tsay. That's Italian. I have not heard so many "Che bello!"'s in my life - it's obvious that Italians are proud of the culture that came from a certain Dante Alighieri or the famed works of artists like Michelangelo. I'm going to the branch called Firenze 1, and I don't know exactly where it is just yet. But Firenze will be beautiful. And fun. And a lot of work.
In preparation for the transfer, we have been doing all finding work. Lots of house. Lots of mostra. Lost of miracles. I wish I could be on TV. Maybe I'll write a few newspaper articles in Italian and give them to the Public Relations couple. Maybe Firenze will have a TV station. Beh? Sunday I taught both Priesthood and Sunday School, and the presiding authority had asked me to give a parting testimony, but he took the rest of the time. As I taught, I was grateful for the guidance of the Lord - I realize every time I prepare a lesson the work that goes into teaching. I am grateful for the people who took the time to teach me before my mission. It reminds me of being Sunday School President at BYU, and preparing a lesson every week... and then having to teach on demand if a teacher didn't show. Even though I was teaching members of many years there, I felt so much more at ease here. Perhaps the spirit of the Lord helps us to teach when we are missionaries. It has certainly happened to me.
We essentially knocked doors for hours this week. I tried to spend the time getting to know my companion (too late? Never!) - he doesn't talk much and likes to listen. I talk a lot and like to listen. It ends that he asks me questions and I talk and he learns a lot about me and I can't remember the names of his siblings. So I tried asking him questions and found a brick wall. Maybe rubber. Certainly softer than brick. I finally found the right questions these last few days, and I feel like I know him better (just in time to leave). My new companion... I don't know anything about him, except that he finishes his mission in 6 weeks. I hope he doesn't make me trunky.
Today we went to the Zoo. It was really sad, and I almost cried. It was awful - all these unkept animals in cage-like habitats... with little food, unclean living conditions... there were these two bears with dirty drinking water and wading in mud 3 inches deep... or 12 tigers in a row in individual 9 by 9 cages. Not very fun. Va bene. It's a different culture, and I'm grateful for places like Yellowstone, where wildlife can think they are truly wild, and we can see them be happy.
Well, the internet place is almost closing... and I still have 24 minutes. We spend 33 cents an hour here. I think that missionaries will come here for the rest of all eternity. I've never heard of cheaper.
This last week our greatest miracle was doing mostra. We began stopping people and after a few minutes I stopped a family. Husband, wife, son, daughter. They were from Belgium, near Holland, and they were searching for the truth. They had never seen missionaries or even heard about the Church before. They left me their information and want missionaries and literature and contact information to give to all the other members of their church and they have 7 children! I thought just that enough to merit having done mostra, but the night was filled with miracles. I know the Lord's hand is in this work!
Dear family, I know the Lord is with us, whatever we do. We only need to follow his commandments. A sister that hated me (really) when I arrived apologized this week - she realized that the complete obedience I stood for brought the miracles the Lord had promised. It really was true. She simply didn't believe it before because she had never seen it spoken and then followed through with. I hope she can help missionaries in the future. I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that God is our Father. We are His children, and this is the true Church of Jesus Christ. I love you all - go out and be missionaries! Realize that you are on a mission, whoever you are! We are part of God's mission - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man! I love you! Next time, from Firenze!
Anziano Peterson

Wind and rain: 12 July, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,
It seems like all the prayers sort of massed together in one lump and soaked us this last week. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday... every single day we had a beautiful morning rainstorm. The winds howled on our 7th floor balcony, and the mornings we were out knocking doors our books were safely protected by a plastic grocery bag in my backpack and we were soaked. It was nice. We enjoyed the brief repose from the hot summer sun. It was actually incredible - it would rain and the wind would blow so hard that you couldn't see - the trees thrashing, the raindrops seemingly flying through windowpanes... and then the sun would come out. While it's pouring rain. We saw a few rainbows.
This last week we have done a lot of finding work again. We are knocking lots of doors (actually, buzzing lots of citofonos) and talking with everyone. Our meetings with Catholic priests were... interesting. On Saturday, Leandro was more open. He seemed somewhat interested and was very knowledgable (obviously) about the doctrine of Catholicism... and history. At the end, he was open to reading from the Book of Mormon and praying to know if it is true. Then he gave us a ride to our next appointment (really nice). Francesco, the priest for the main parrocco here in Battipaglia, was a slightly different story. We met with him yesterday, and I feel as if I have been in psychological warfare. He is good! It was amazing how well educated he was in social skills - he made us feel completely at ease and then we started tossing the ball of the conversation back and forth. He began, and began unwinding us before we started. We caught the ball and took it back to the message of the Restoration, and when we talked about Jesus Christ he stopped the discussion, saying, "Let's not talk about how we are different. It is better to talk about how we are the same. We can just talk about Jesus Christ." My companion didn't realize the battle we were fighting, so he went right ahead. Yes! We taught about the apostasy and the Restoration, and a living prophet today. At the end, he didn't take the Book of Mormon (already had one, somewhere... and wouldn't have time to read it anyway...), but took a pamphlet and said he would read and pray. We'll see if he does. Later yesterday we knocked into a chiromante - an enchantress? She told us to come back at a different time... I guess everyone needs to hear the Gospel. We had seen flyers for this "Madame Melissa" all over town a few weeks ago, and then in a building we suddenly see the sign for the practice... I guess we'll see.
This next week is transfers. I will probably be transferred, and leave the little town of Battipaglia for something more northern. (Battipaglia is at the furthenmost southern part of the mission)
Today we were going to go to Napoli to a big missionary birthday party for one of the Elders... My companion really wanted to go, because they will watch the World Cup Final game and eat lots of food, and there will be over 20 missionaries from all over the zone there... I was not thrilled in the slightest. But, as it came closer, he expressed more and more of a desire to go, and so I agreed. I love my companion, and I wanted it to work out for him. I still didn't want to go personally. I had no wish to be around some of the missionaries (some are a bit immature) and simply eating and watching a soccer game isn't my cup of tea (or orzo, as we get our investigators to drink). I was planning on going and writing letters or something... and felt really bad about it. I didn't want to go, didn't want to go and sulk, didn't really feel able to go and have fun... so I decided to pray for help. This morning, I finally felt like I could go and try to have fun, if only trying to do something. Then, last night I woke up a dozen times feeling sick, with a stuffy nose and aches all over. During companionship study, I developed an incredible headache and felt naseous...started sweating a bit... and so after studies I called President, who thankfully happens to be a doctor. My companion left the room, and as I started describing my symptoms to President, I realized what I had, what our plans were, and what it meant. I have the flu - not a big thing at all - but the flu is highly contagious. Going to a party in a small apartment in Napoli with all the missionaries of the zone would be a very unwise thing to do - President told us to not go. Only an hour earlier, I had finally realized how to go in the right spirit, and now I was crying on the phone because I realized that we weren't going anyway. It hit me that perhaps it was simply a trial that I had had to pass - was I willing to sacrifice for my companion? I've learned the importance of sacrifice here. So, we'll actually go home and I'll go to sleep while my companion studies and sleeps and writes letters and maybe makes a cheesecake. Interesting combination. That may be also why my letter isn't as profound - my brain is slightly cloudy, with a 50 percent chance of rain.
I think the main problem here in Italy is that no one really knows who we are. No one knows about the standards of the Gospel. No one knows about the incredible service efforts. No one knows about the integrity of the members, or that we try to be outstanding citizens. No one knows anything about us, and so no one wants to talk with us. Often people will talk with us on the street and simply want to know, "What is the difference [between our church and the catholic church]?" It's a bit difficult to explain in 5 seconds. We talk about prophets, about the Book of Mormon, about modern revelation... but I don't think people understand the depth of the message we share. "Is that all? You tell people about this prophet and ask them to pray to God to know if he is a true prophet?" Obviously, a true knowledge of the Gospel goes fathoms deeper, but there isn't a way we can communicate it easily. I think I will try to write some newspaper articles in the near future - we have a public relations couple in the mission for the whole area (I think) - and they can try to get some newspaper articles that simply tell people about who we are. I think that once that barrier is overcome, people will be more open to truly understanding the fundamental principles of our doctrine. So many people close doors in our faces (after saying, "Permesso") or hang up on citofoni simply because they don't know who we are and are afraid. I think this computer's time limit is malfunctional - we have been here for a while and it says I have 41 minutes out of 60 left. That is impossible. Va bene. We'll report it to the supervisor. Italy has a much lower level of communication than America - almost no one uses the internet, and the newspapers and televisions don't talk about too much... They are simply ignorant of many things. I think if they were simply aware of us, more people would be open to us.
I know the Church is true! I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that God really exists - He answers our prayers when we pray in faith! I know that the Lord is guiding this work, and someday thousands in Italy will come to a knowledge of the truth. Thousands will repent and come to a knowledge of their Redeemer. During vacations, make time to share the Gospel. It's easier far from home. You don't know the people. You don't need to be afraid that they will think strange things about you for the rest of your life. Just go and talk with them. I love you all!
Anziano Peterson

Where faith is, fear has no power!: July 5, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,
Here in the little town of Battipaglia we have had some really, really hot days. Then I finally realized that I was no longer praying for rain (we had gone to Napoli for scambi - companionship exchange - and it was incredibly hot, so I prayed for rain. It rained... on me and a few other people... about 6 drops, and then stopped. I think the Lord answered my prayer in a way that helped me be grateful.) and we prayed for it. There was an incredible storm, to the north and south of us. Tons of lightning, thunder, huge winds... and we got about 6 drops. I think the moral for this one is that the Lord answers prayers, but He also answers them according to His own will. We are now praying for the patience and strength to suport the heat, and in the meantime the weather has subsided considerably.
We did two new finding activities this week. They are both a bit bold. But hopefully we'll see great results. The first is called "Church". In Battipaglia, there are 4 cardinal buildings that act as a sort of magnet for the thoughts of many of the people, even if you won't find them often in their vicinities. These grand edifices are called La Chiesa Cattolica Romana - the Roman Catholic Church. I have wanted to sway the influence of these giants (we are in Italy, friends - these places are the highspots of power) but rarely had a companion that was willing to simply follow me. Only once before did it happen - in Napoli we were walking by a Jesuit Convent and I had the urge to go in and teach them about the Gospel. But how do you do it? How do you first get the courage to buzz the citofono, let alone the words to ask and then... how do you teach? That day, my companion at the time (the only other one that would let me buzz a citofono like that) followed me and we set up an appointment with the Father of the Convent. We met with him and it was a great experience for understanding - he learned that we were sincere, that we loved the Lord, and that we truly believed and followed the principles of the Gospel. We walked out feeling that it was a great success - if he ever talks with someone about us, he will talk about us in an aspiring light). More recently, I worked up enough courage (where faith is, fear has no power, right? No fear.) to go inside a church to ask a while ago, but every time the priest wasn't there... and my companion started to get a bit wary. Then, we went to another church and simply asked to see the parrocco - the parishioner? (main priest) and asked him if we could set up a meeting with him. He said yes, and we scheduled for yesterday. We arrive and teach the message of the Restoration, and he accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and said he would read and pray. We'll probably only go back if he contacts us in some way. He wasn't overly convinced about the message, even if he did compliment us on our sincerity. Then we went to another church and talked to that priest for an appointment Saturday. He is much younger, bigger, happier... and he smiles more. I think he will be more receptive to the Gospel. The only problem is that there are only 4 churches here. Battipaglia is small. We'll have to help other missionaries put the tool into action in other areas. So - first you go in and ask to see the priest. When you talk with him, you ask to set up a meeting with him (un'incontro in Italiano). Then, you go back and teach. Simple. My companion still thinks I'm slightly crazy. The other mode of finding is still in the works... so we'll how well it goes. It takes a bit longer to prepare and effect.
We went to the home of the daughter of the Ethiopian grandmother we met in the hospital a few weeks back. We met on Thursday and watched a bit of Together Forever and then she revealed that she, like the woman in the film, is very angry with God. Very angry. So angry that she doesn't go to Church, she doesn't read the Bible, and she can't even say a Padre Nostro or Ave Maria. That's really, really mad for a Catholic. We talked about pain and the purpose of life, and how the Lord loves us... and then we prayed with her. We each offered a prayer, and then she prayed as well. She prayed, "Please Lord, help me to believe. I can't believe. Help me to believe again." We left her with the invite to read and pray each day, and she was visibly touched. I think she will progress very quickly once she comes to Church next week. There is nothing holding her back, and she has certainly felt the influence of the Spirit the fews times we have met her.
There was the festival for Battipaglia this last week. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday the main streets were closed to traffic and huge vendors came from all around with carnival games and sellings candy and statues and clothes and household goods and everything under the sun. We were a bit shocked to find that the main courtyard inside the Catholic Church was also taken by vendors... and a huge procession with the Archbishop of Salerno made its way around the town. We didn't see the Archbishop - we were doing streetboard. That, in fact, was a great miracle. We were speaking to some people and a woman came up to look at the mostra (it was a bit lopsided because a piece had been left at home... and so we had to rig it). She left for a bit and then came back when we had finished talking, and told us we had played part in a huge miracle for her. She was losing faith in God. Her father was Evangelist, her mother was Jehovah's Witness, her husband Catholic... and she was expected to go to the Catholic Church every Sunday... but lied and went on walks instead. She was losing hope for her husband, who is very sick, and then Sunday she left her house to just get out and saw the mostra. She hated the festival - it really is pagan - and told us we had answered her prayers and that this manifestation told her that our Church was true. She now knows that everything we teach is true. Amazing, but we don't have her phone number. Her husband would get very angry... and so we hope she will come to Church (first in secret, then slowly make it known, she said). It was divine acceptance of our want to do mostra.
Then, tonight we are doing Enrichment Night. One of the sisters heard I was gung-ho about food storage and they told me in Church on Sunday that I needed to do an Enrichment Night on it. Va bene. I'm prepared with my companion. We are going to teach them to begin a food storage working off of sales and saving the money to buy more food. It's a simple process, and very visual (putting coins in a jar), and you get to watch the money grow... so it should work wonders for Italians. I guess we'll see in a few hours...
We are doing a lot of finding work this week. All of our investigators began to flake out on us, so we are trying to find new ones. Ones that will commit.
Dearest loved ones, I know that this Church is true. I know that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that He came to the Earth to save us. If we will follow His teachings revealed to us through holy prophets, we can find peace and joy in this life and eternal life in the world to come. How incredible is the Gospel? I can talk about the Gospel no matter where I am, or with whom I am. I know the Book of Mormon is true. In this time of vacation, don't take a vacation from the Gospel. Don't take a vacation from the Book of Mormon - you can't afford to ever take time off from your career toward eternal salvation. Otherwise, you'll find that you vacation is stressful, tiring, and, even if fun, doesn't pull you towards the Savior. Read the Book of Mormon. Go to Church. Say your prayers. Do all the little things that you spent so many years forming habits doing. And the Lord will bless you with the opportunity to do more than simply have fun. You will have the opportunity to help others of His children to find that which they were looking for - eternal life. I know that God is with us. He is watching over us and is willing to give us all blessings if we will simply reach out and take His hand. I love you all!

Dreams and Promises: June 28, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,
On Friday I was reading the Roman Forum (a 2-page mission newsletter given out at each Zone Conference every 6 weeks) and read a talk by the Mission President's Wife, who talked about her resolve to memorize a few things - the articles of faith in Italian, the Proclamation to the World, etc... I decided to match her resolve and went to work memorizing. I have never been a huge fan of memorizing things - one reason may be because I would rather be able to understand and explain the underlying doctrine that simply spout out words... and another is simply that it comes easily to me. Has there ever been something that, because it is simple and doesn't take much time, you simply forget about it, when if it took more time you would dedicate time toward fulfilling it? It's that way for me and memorization. Well, I began a program that wouldn't take any time out of my studies, of memorizing scriptures, etc, and then reciting them daily (for the first bit) in the shower, while eating (in my head), while cleaning, while watering plants or making lunch or riding bikes or whenever. And, interestingly, I began having dreams. We talked about receiving the incredible promised blessings of the Lord on Tuesday at DDM; there are lots of huge blessings that the Lord gives to missionaries, yet sometimes we are 'stuck in the doldrums' of missionary work and simply go out to do house or mostra (streetboard) and don't really work toward fulfilling a promise that the Lord has given us. We work, and we do missionary work, but we perhaps are not going towards the goal that the Lord has in mind for us. For example, in Alma 26... I think... it explains the prerequisites for "bringing thousands of souls unto repentance." What missionary, in his heart, doesn't want to accomplish that? But how many don't apply it to themselves - they think, "It was only for South American missionaries... or only for missionaries in the past - the culture today is different - you can't talk to that many people... it's impossible... the Lord wouldn't do that for me - I'm nobody, and the sort. We simply need to fulfill requirements and ask the Lord for promised blessings, and, as He has explained, "I, the Lord, am bound, when ye do what I say. But when ye do not what I say ye have no promise." The Lord is bound to fulfill His promises to His children, no matter who they are. If we want to bring thousands of souls unto repentance, we can do it, no matter who we are, if we simply fulfill the requirements stated in the scriptures we will receive the promised blessing, and stated... "There is a law... (and when we receive any blessing, it is upon our obedience to that law upon which it was predicated)." There are similar promises in the Book of Ether - Ether 3 and 4 explain how we can receive the vision of the Brother of Jared. Doctrine and Covenants is filled with promises... at the end of 76 it tells us how we can see the same, and 67 (I think) gives a promise of seeing the face of God. In person. John 14 talks about sending the Second Comforter, which Christ explains before as His personal presence. Should we not hope for and want such things? The Prophet Joseph Smith explained that such goals are essential for our salvation - the cosidetto (so-called) "Calling and Election made sure". When we realize the blessings available from the Lord, we can then work towards achieving them. Pray for them! And then, the Lord will either give them to you or reveal to you how you must improve to thereby obtain them. I have seen it - the Lord is quicker to help us repent of our weaknesses and transgressions when we are actually working towards His divine goal for us. Go and search out the blessings of the Lord, and then pray for His help to receive them! Have faith, and believe that the Lord will fulfill His promises, and we can see the miracles that were promised to the greatest prophets and the weakest of all Saints.
In helping me in my quest to become better, I had a dream a few nights ago. It was a very sobering dream, and I told it in my email, but I'll not put it online.
As the dream ended, I became aware of the meaning. Here in life we have so many things that tempt us. For one, it is unworthy thoughts. For another it is a lost temper. For another it is integrity in money matters, and another it is simple honesty and truth. And every time we indulge, every time we refuse the promptings of the Spirit, we play on the Devil's Playground. Innocent though it seems, fun while it lasts, wickedness never was happiness. He will destroy us and laugh as all our hopes of happiness run away.
I couldn't sleep after that. I thought about all my imperfections, and resolved to never again "play on the devil's playground," no matter what the cost. Nothing was worth the suffering. Nothing was worth the agony. And nothing was worth the utter dread and horror of the consequences of our actions. I hope that all of you can look inside yourselves and find the strength to overcome that last sin - that last indulgence on the devil's playground - and to walk in righteousness all the days of your life. The Lord has offered us His hand, and He will guide us and save us if we will follow His every footstep. I know it is true!
The work here is going well - we are improving, and we will see the promised blessings of the Lord. We will stop playing on the devil's playground and walk in the light. We will see the success promised to the ancients. That is our resolve.
I know that this Church is true. I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that He has come to save us from the fate we know not. He knows the consequences of our actions, and so He has extended the hand to us, to pull us from the jaws of death. If we follow His commandments, we can become like Him. We can gain power over the adversary and then we can help others to flee from his face. Let us cry repentance! They must understand - they must not play on the devil's playground! I know that we have a prophet of God, and that Jesus is the Christ, and that the Book of Mormon is true. Read it, pray, and the Lord will manifest unto you His will and what you must do to become free from Satan's grasp. I love you all! Please repent!

Some optimal work: June 21, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,
Life here in Battipaglia has heated up. A lot. I think it may be 99 degrees with 100 percent humidity at night with no wind. Wow. Long sentence. In the day, it is obviously much hotter. Especially in the sun. Even so, we are out working and hopefully we will continue to see success. A man committed on Sunday to be baptized, the 15th of July. Then, Tuesday he told us he wanted his son-in-law to do it in Milan when they go in September. I talked with the daughter in Milan, and she was the one who gave us the superlative in the title. That's fine - now we have to work on the rest of his family here. Sometimes I wonder about the people here in Italy and exactly what missionary work is like in other places... I guess it's a two-edged-sword that we are called to only one mission. I have no clue how missionary work works in France, or China, or even Mongolia or Mexico, regardless of friends and family serving there. Nor what success is there... I sometimes wonder if there are the same problems there... or what other problems present themselves... or how they are affronted in the light of different situations. Missions, as a whole, are totally individual entities, as least from my perspective. It's the same way that, in the Church, someone in the ward over, or stake over, could be doing something and you have no clue. I wonder if there could be a way to correlate ideas and activities/plans between units in the Church without undermining their individuality...
We are hot right now. Sweat is running down my face.
I love the other missionaries in my apartment - we did scambi (exchanges) on Tuesday and two of them (my companion included) went to Salerno and got me a gift - a carnivorous plant (we have a lot of flies). It's a little thing, but it made me realize they care. Added to our collection, we now have 3 cedri, a walnut tree (which I'll plant at Church), an onion, basil, and a carnivorous plant. Fun, huh? It likes sun and water.
Today we went to Paestum again - the best preserved Greek temples in the world or something like that. We ate a lot at a family's house. Food is a really big part of the culture here. Lots of it. In both senses. (Come on, think a bit.) Tonight we went to a member's home and I saw how Seminary had helped a son who was almost following his brother into apostasy come back into the light of testimony. Way to go Seminary! Maybe we should invite other people to attend - nonmembers sometimes attend Seminary...
Our investigators are hitting "make or break" points - where they either tell us to not come back (and go home crying) or finally make and keep commitments. An old investigator is trying to stop smoking and committed to be baptized after over 30 years of knowing the Church. Another is trying to stop smoking as well. We are trying to find the people who will do the things that will bring them unto Christ.
We were inspired to find another finding method this week. Here in Italy they post death announcements on the walls of buildings. Sometimes they have the address of where the funeral procession will begin - the home of the deceased. I was prompted to knock one house and they asked us to come by in a few days. I then realized that those who have experienced a death in the family are often more open to the Gospel, and I have taken notice of the dozens of new notices that dot the buildings (they are big notices - half-poster size). We will see how open the people are, and who the Lord has prepared to hear His gospel.
For those of you out there, there is a film out by the Church - Together Forever - that has a scene that talks about a family that recovers from the death of a daughter through conversion to the Church. Think and see if you know of anyone who has had a death in the family, and offer to show them the film and introduce them to the missionaries. Often people close to the veil (birth, marriage, death, etc) are more open to listening to the Spirit's voice.
Spiritually and emotionally and physically and otherwise, I am doing very well. I love the opportunity to be a missionary and become intensely involved in the spiritual lives of the people around me. I love the duty to talk with everyone about the Gospel, even when it gets tiring. I love the Divine help that seems to pick us up when we take that first step - when we ring the citofono or stop the person on the street or strike up a conversation. My companion is incredible - we get along very well (even if we are incredibly different). I marvel each day how different we really are, even with blue eyes and blond hair (a rarity here).
I know this Gospel is true. We as missionaries pray often and I have felt the confirming witness of the Spirit that this work is the work of God. There is no other way into His kingdom except by and through the authority of His Son Jesus Christ - the authority that was restored to Joseph Smith and that we hold today. We are not just another Church to make good people better. We are out to procure salvation for the human race through the making and keeping of sacred covenants. No one else can do this! We have the key to eternal and lasting happiness and peace. We know the absolute truths in life. What greater blessings can we ask for? May we all go out and talk to one more person each day - go out of your circle of comfort. Become the outgoing person you wish you could. Smile and talk about your family. Talk abour your missionary. Talk about your Sunday School class. Talk about your prophet. Talk about your Savior. Just smile, and pray. It will come naturally, and your mouth will be filled with what to say. The words will be given to you in the very moment that you need to say them. I know - it has happened time and time again to me.
I love you all!

A very pensive missionary: June 14, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,
First, to answer one of the questions, we have been informed that the 'quiet' hours of Italy go from 1:30 to 4:30. Stores are often closed around then, except for bigger supermarkets. Some restaurants are open - it depends on the menu. Museums are often only open in the morning, and sometimes have a maximum entrance time of 1 or 2 in the afternoon. It also depends on where you go... But it is incredible that the whole city shuts down at lunch time.
This last week has been long. We had transfers, and received an elder from Las Vegas, Nevada. He talks a lot about girls and cars and sports. Hopefully I can keep our apartment together for a while. Today we went to the Reggia di Caserta again - the other missionaries wanted to go and my companion had never been there before. We then went to see the Royal Apartments, which weren't on my ticket. The gatekeeper didn't seem to notice... they really didn't value the extra €4,20 (can you see the euro sign?) that my conscience made me pay before we left the building.
I've been thinking a lot this last week, maybe because it was the first week of the transfers, about how I can become a better missionary. We see amazing miracles and have great success, but here in our mission there just aren't the incredible signs that you can find in other parts of the world. President talked to us about statistics this last week in Zone Conference - he had never talked about statistics before and it was very sobering. It has made me think.
We've seen a lot of very sad things this week. We passed by an investigator that was losing interest, after about a week, and she was horribly ill. She lacked the faith to ask for or believe in a blessing, and she told us she had lost everything in life - even hope and faith. There was nothing for her when her health was poor. I almost left the appointment in tears. Then a boy we were worikng with began working a little while ago and we lost contact with him for a short time. We met him and he has begun smoking again - 30 times the amount, doesn't read the Book of Mormon, doesn't pray, can't come to Church, and was a totally different person. He had essentially died spiritually. It was incredibly disheartening to see someone with so much potential throw away eternal life... Another good investigator is moving tomorrow, and never told us. And then the 3 others in my apartment start talking about sports or cars or whatever and I find I have time to think. Our missionaries are very good missionaries. They are, on a whole, incredibly diligent. They are obedient. They are faithful........... I think this letter would be better if it were lighter in subject matter.
We went to an agriturismo this last week - a sort of restaurant on a farm - and it was gorgeous. It was amazing. It was from one of our investigators and we met his mother there as well. We invited her to hear the Gospel and she told us to come back another day to talk about it. That's fine with us. We have tons of people that we are teaching about the Gospel - finally our bikes are taking us places when we need to get there. We had Zone Conference on Monday, and the trainings were great. The weather is beautiful. Our apartment is getting much cleaner. Life is going well.
I know that the Church is true. It's in the times of difficulty that testimonies stand on their own. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that Gordon B. Hinckley is the Prophet of God today. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that we can all return to live with our Father in Heaven one day if we are faithful. Sorry this email is a bit shorter - I am a bit pensive. I love you all!

Oh, what a beautiful day!: June 7, 2006

Dear Family & Friends,
Since the email a little while ago when we talked about the incredibile heat, Battipaglia has turned into paradise. We have rain and thunderstorms at night sometimes, or bright, clear, sunny days, or brisk winds that dry our clothes and sheets even while it's pouring rain! (That's a story - clothes dryers don't exist here because of the high cost of electricity. So, we have to hang up everything to dry. I had my sheets hanging up outside yesterday (it was a beautiful morning) and then stormclouds gathered and it poured cats and dogs. The sky actually turned yellow-green from the updraft - picking up soil or debris - and I wondered if I would still have sheets when I went home to our 7th-floor apartment. Well, I arrive home, go outside, and because the roof above the balcony where we hang up sheets is exactly placed as it is, no water can touch them. Only the raging, rushing wind. They were dry. It was pouring. Incredible.) We just got transfer calls and I am staying in Battipaglia for at least another 6 weeks. Battipaglia (as a tourist site) is near Salerno - one of the major port cities in Italy. Salerno is on the edge of the Amalfi Coast - truly, one of the most beautiful places in the world to simply see the countryside as you're driving along the winding mountain roads. There is also, close to Battipaglia, Paestum - an ancient site with the ruins of Greek Temples - one of the best-preserved Greek Temples in the world is here in Paestum. The pizza in Napoli is world-famous (everyone will tell you that you can't find anything like it anywhere else... it's true), there is always Vesuvius and the ruins of Pompei and Herculaneum... there are certainly lots of things to do, as well as the beautiful seasides (not Napoli, but on the islands of Capri and Ischia... or a little further south). Battipaglia is famous for a type of fresh cheese called Mozzarella di Bufala.

The work here in Battipaglia is great - we have a long list of people and it is growing... pages and pages long! We have to plan out exactly how to contact everyone to make sure no one slips through the cracks, and we are seeing great blessings. One man came to church on Sunday, even though Saturday he had diabetes at 385 (whatever that means... he was really sick) and he can't walk more than 2 meters without someone supporting him and he is almost blind and feels always sick and can't wear shoes because his feet and legs are so swollen... and he came to Church. He loved it - he mentioned that he felt happier the moment he entered, even if everyone didn't come to say hi. He will probably be baptized this transfer, and then he will be a great help for the rest of his family.
We have been trying to teach entire families... but their schedules make it almost impossible. We are hence teaching different parts of families at different times... and hopefully they can all progress together. My companion is great - I'm really grateful that he and I can spend a bit more time together. We learn a lot from each other and he knows, as I know, that the work we do is true. This is the Church of Jesus Christ. He is at the head.
We have perfected the way to ask storekeepers if they would like to hear the Gospel. We have had a bit of stress - like any other type of situation, people can tell you flat out, "No." But it went to another level when a woman saw us and began shaking her head before we even entered to ask about leaving English Class flyers. She said no to absolutely everything. It helped us remember what most people would say when we knocked on their doors. Most people say no, which is why we have to find other ways to ask them. People don't want to say yes at their doors - they want a low-stress commitment. So, we simply need to find better ways to give options to learn about the Gospel. There's www.mormon.org or passalong cards (we really don't use them because people don't call here - it's our number on the card so we would know...) or simply inviting them to activities. We will probably do a bunch of activities here... but that's another story.
Oh! Another thing - on Friday I was looking in my mouth as I flossed and found that one of my teeth was gold-orange underneath... and that when I shook my head really hard I felt a slight pressure near the tooth. I thought to myself, "Cavity... I have a cavity?" I took a few pictures and asked my companion to look... and brushed my teeth about a thousand times between the times I used mouthwash and floss. I went to the dentist on Monday and he looked inside my mouth and there was nothing. Huh?!?!!?? I had looked right before going down (he is in our apartment building) and there was still something there. He said all there was was a slight crack in the tooth (all natural) that would need to be filled so that food couldn't get inside. I guess my fervent prayers made my cavity go away, so that he could do some preventive work on the tooth. I had to pay 40 euro for the procedure... but then another elder went down (I told him to go - he has a big cavity and was having gum problems) and taught the dentist the Gospel. Isn't it incredible that we can help people to understand the truth in every situation - even in the dentist's chair?
Transfers will happen tomorrow - I am staying with my companion and our difficult elder is going to Rome. We'll get another elder in is place - I don't know him very well, but I am sure he will help the work along here in Battipaglia. More than that... we are working hard. The weather is great, and we are seeing blessings.
I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that He came to save us. I know that God is our Father and that He loves us - each of us individually. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church on the earth. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know because I have prayed to God and He has answered my prayers. May we all turn ourselves to Him - our we loyal to our own thoughts and beliefs, to those of our parents and friends, or to the thoughts and intents of our Creator? Let us all take the time to ask God to reveal to us the truth, that we may all know His plan for us here on the earth. I love you all - go out and share the good news with everyone!
Anziano David Peterson

Some days I wonder...: May 31, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,
Here in Battipaglia we are seeing many miracles. The weather cooled down a bit - we again have the incredibly beautiful Italian weather that everyone talks about. Time seems to run by here; transfers are coming up next week again, and I think I may be transferred (I only tell you when there's a chance I could leave). I've only been here in Battipaglia for 3 months... and with my companion for a couple of weeks... I'm not sure what will happen just yet. I know that the Lord will help me no matter what the assignment is.
I gave a talk in Church on Sunday on studying the scriptures - I think the best part was the reference to the importance of food for the soul. Here in Italy, active members miss church because "they have to cook lunch"!?!? People lock their doors during lunch. They unplug their phones. The schools and workplaces close. The police station isn't open. You can't buy a bus ticket for the busses that don't pass. Trains don't come. Even 800 numbers on products give hours to call - either in the morning before lunch, after lunch, or both - but never during the sacred meal hours! How many of us spend so much time and effort making sure that we eat each day, whether preparing lunch the night before to take to school, or cooking, or shopping for food, or going to a fast-food restaurant, or working to have money to buy food to eat or anything? We are obsessed with food. We refuse to live without it. For a day a month we have the opportunity to go without it during the Fast Day of the Church, and we can prove our independance of foodstuffs... but how much time and effort and work do we put into spiritual nourishment? Is our every waking hour spent working toward our spiritual wellbeing? Or do we simply work for food that will get eaten or go rotten? In the scriptures it explains that we must not work for that which does not last - how can we ensure that we have the right attitude toward something as simple as food or as important as the scriptures? Scripture study is important - I remember during my time at BYU that someone in some talk said that we should spend MORE effort learning about spiritual knowledge than we did learning the things that would teach us in a specific profession or career. That's an interesting concept - if you're like me and spend over 50 hours in the classroom, how can you spend more effort learning about the Lord? It really made me think about the importance of the knowledge we take for granted. There's a lot I've always taken for granted. Many of my companions have siblings that are inactive in the Church. I know that all of my siblings are little, and that I'm the oldest cousin, but I really never thought twice about the given fact that everyone in the family was a member of the Church and everyone held and magnified some sort of calling. Our Mission President said something that made me think a while ago - "I'm sure that every one of you has a family member - a brother, a cousin, an aunt, that has fallen away from the Church..." (talking about the importance of working with less-active members). I thought about it, and I couldn't name anyone. I'm sure there's someone - a third-cousin-twice-removed-by-marriage-in-law or something like that, but we are so blessed that all of us believe. I pray that all of the little ones can keep the heritage - that we can all be an eternal family one day - all of us.
We fixed our bikes, finally. I had no clue how to fix the brakes - they weren't clamping hard enough... so I grabbed one of those bike socket things and went out and it was actually really simple. They all work now... my companion pumped up the tires and we need to only buy another helmet and we are off!
The other companionship had a bit of an argument on Sunday. And shortly afterwards, our house really didn't seem like it had a spirit of peace. I went into our room and just prayed for a while that the Lord would help them to work out their problems... and He did. They are friends again. Even when I thought that President was going to have to do another midnight transfer. I know that the Lord will grant answers to our prayers if we pray in faith. He does and will!
We continue to do "negozio" ("store") - our newest and best mode of finding. We take English class flyers and ask if we can leave some for the people that come into the store. They say yes, and then we ask if they have ever seen/spoken with missionaries before. We then invite them to hear the gospel. It's really obvious who is interested and who is not. The people who are not tell you straight out, "No." People who are interested will give you an appointment, there in their store, during an hour that is less busy. The inbetweeners will tell you they are always busy and there is never time. They may still be interested - you can tell that by their actions the next, and 3rd, etc time you go. We have talked with many people, and our English Class is booming. You don't have to do it with English Class, just something. You can have publicity for anything, or ask about the store - how long they've been there, if they carry a specific item... people just put up huge walls when the first thing you ask them is about religion. I'm not exactly sure why - perhaps it's simply because in society today religion is not really accepted as a public expression. People from other religions don't really talk with you. Or something like that. Either way, you only need to break the ice before asking them to hear the Gospel. It works best in little stores - the owners are the people who works there - that don't always have tons of people inside. I'm grateful the Lord has helped us find another way to find His children. Next step? "Chiesa" ("Church") This one will be a bit harder. I'm going to try before I leave Battipaglia.
We taught in a bar this week. It was a bit odd - we had taught outside when the men asked us to teach them - because at the beginning everyone was smoking. They offered us something to drink, and we ordered the most expensive thing on the menu - fruit juce. Huh? Whatever. We then sat down in this little area probably used for playing cards, but perfect for teaching the Gospel - a bunch of chairs, a little table, open area. They all stopped smoking within minutes, and the bar got quiet. Everyone that wasn't listening left, and all the people that came in sat down. We talked about the Restoration, bore our testimonies, gave away a copy of the Book of Mormon and a few pamphlets about the Prophet Joseph Smith, and left them with the commitment to pray. A few were really sincere - I don't think any of them were really drunk. People at bars here either like to hang out or fall down. These were good kids. As I look back on the work here, I see a lot of people... I'll have to do some good thinking to determine what my effect on Battipaglia has been.
I know that the Gospel is true, that Jesus is the Christ, and that missionary work is the way to be happy. Go out and talk to them! All of them! If you don't know them, introduce yourself and become friends! I love you all!

I think it may be 103 with 100 percent humidity: May 24, 2006

Dear Family & Friends,
I think the flower that grows to be 6-7 feet and covers our picture window starts with an A or an N. I don't remember exactly what the name was... and we ran out of seeds a few years ago, I think - it was from when Mom and the other kids went out Garage Sale-ing and there was a woman giving away flower seeds. I think we used all of them... but they re-seed naturally (obviously). Sorry I don't know the name.
Here, we have also done some gardening, when it isn't so absolutely hot that we are sweating at night with the fans on and the doors open... it doesn't help that our apartment is on the last and seventh floor - the roof absorbs a lot of energy and we have eternal sunlight. On the good side, our gardening endeavors are improving. I seem to be slightly contagious in enthusiasm for interesting things - when the 3rd Cedro (a huge lemon-thing) came up and the others are growing fast enough that you can go out and see them bigger, a new little yogurt cup appeared outside next to the pot of Basilico, my kiwi seeds, the onion with Chestnut seeds, and the growing Cedri. My companion was the culprit - he had planted an orange seed. Then, a few days later, one of the elders says he's going to steal a cedro when he leaves - to grow here in Italy. I told him to plant his own, and supplied him with a few seeds. Only one elder is missing in the test of faith... and I'm not sure that he is going to enter the race. Va bene.
This week we had interviews... and it is hot! We have so much humidity, and Battipaglia is actually below sea level - which causes the air itself to be heavier than normal, thus becoming more prone to humidity and a better heat conductor. Nice, right? I'm grateful that in November it will be cooler. It's only going to get worse. I talked with President about our joint problem. I am grateful that I don't have to make the final judgment. The Lord knows everything, and President said that the missionary department wouldn't send home a non-diligent missionary for the problems we have anyway. So, it goes on that we continue with the hope and faith that the Lord will give us miracles. And He does. I'm grateful to have a mission president that trusts me, and that I trust him.
We have a lot of work here... we are fixing our bicycles so that we can get to enough appointments in the afternoon. That was another story... but we are teaching many families. It is incredible that when we finally ask to teach everyone in the family that suddenly we get tons and tons of referrals. Sort of makes sense... but sometimes you forget to ask, right? We taught an excellent lesson in one family's house, and at the end we had 1,2,3... maybe 9 adults listening? And these aren't people that sit down and listen. They were yelling a little bit earlier in the appointment, and talking with each other, and getting up... it took 10 full minutes from the time I folded my arms until when we said the prayer, because we waited for everyone to come in and be reverent. It happened. It was awesome - all of them were touched and will read and pray about the Book of Mormon.
We finally have made it with our members - we are taking them with us to appointments! The first time was a total flop, but the second was better, and even though our members keep simply not showing up, we have faith that the Lord will (forgive them and) help them improve. Not that we don't need to improve. I realized recently that I as a teacher am very assertive, which means that my companion or the investigator sometimes gets steamrolled. I've gotten much better at realizing it - something inside clicks when I've been talking for too long, or I've been teaching too much of the lesson. I just as recently realized that my companion really doesn't know Italian very well yet. He has trouble understanding sometimes, and then he has trouble expressing himself as well. We'll work on that. Well, we are at another internet place because the other one is closed for some reason (all day), and they just told us they need to close to go home. I'll finish.
I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that He came into the world to save us. If we believe in Him, repent of all our sins, are baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end, we can be clean before Him at the last day. Missionary work is a joy - it is certainly hard, but it only brings forth good fruits - a good thing can only bring forth good fruits, right? Go out and do missionary work! I love you all!
Anziano David Peterson

Sprouted cedri (and faith): May 17, 2006

Dear Family & Friends,
This last week has been fun... even though the time from my last email is only a few days back. Va bene. Everything has suddenly begun to fall in place - we have hit the miracle stage. I'll begin with a little story.
You remember when we went to the Amalfi Coast - that really famous place that's absolutely gorgeous beyond imagining? Well, when we went we bought an Amalfi Lemon - these huge lemon-like objects that are about the size of a bowling ball (maybe a little smaller at times). They are obviously not normal lemons. Inside, they are not pulpy like other citrus fruits, but instead have a thick white layer... there is the same layer in a normal lemon between the skin and the juicy pulp part. It's thick and dense and tastes a bit bitter and a lot like a lemon. In the middle, there is the equivalent of a tiny lemon interior. Well, there are also seeds inside. And those of you who know me well know that I love to experiment, especially with growing things. So, I planted a few cedro (they are called cedro - singular, cedri plural, pronounced chedro similar to ade-row) in a little glass cup with some dirt inside and tried watering it for a while. In the meantime, our Basilico was growing and I saw lots of results... but the cedro looked like absolutely nothing was happening. I kept watering it, almost every day... and then almost lost hope after many weeks went by. It's been a long time! Then, a few days ago, I went out to water the plants and saw a sprout - a type of plant I had never seen before - with a thick little base and two thin, serrated leaves. It was a cedro! It was much easier to water now that I was seeing its success... and two days later another cedro popped out of the soil as well! What miracles - for weeks and weeks my efforts (and the sun's and rain's) go unnoticed, and then bam! everything falls into place. Missionary work, and much of life, follows the same pattern.
We spend much of our time preparing or maintaining things - planting seeds and watering their unseen husks, storing food and money against unseen emergencies, praying to an unseen God... everything we do, in fact, is a result of an internal belief that causes us to act. When a belief is founded in something that is true and good, it becomes faith. Hence, the difference between watering dead soil and watering seeds planted long ago. Between talking to a wall and talking to a friend... and often it seems that there is a type of "activation energy" even with faith. For example: it took many weeks of faithful effort and care to help my cedro simply sprout. In the same way, an investigator in the Gospel may listen for many weeks and then finally make the commitment to be baptized or to come to Church - they make the visible changes that we have been waiting for. Extraordinarily, the day the first cedro germinated a family finally committed to be baptized - we had taught them for weeks and weeks without real signs of fast progression and then we invited and pop! the feeling changed... they are now progressing towards a common goal - to be baptized in the true Church of Jesus Christ so that they can receive the blessings of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost in this life and eternal life in the world to come. Wow - it was a miracle - and it was a little thing. The next time a cedro came up, another man, this seed planted by someone else very long ago, made the same choice. He had read the Book of Mormon with missionaries in the past and knew it was true. He explained, "I believe the Book of Mormon is true because when you read the book it doesn't tire you... it contains an energy that fills your soul - an energy that you can't get from reading a normal book. It's like the Bible - you can read it over and over and over again and you feel a connection with the supernatural that tells you it is true." He explained perfectly the Holy Ghost - and now he knows, as we know, that God speaks to man today. We can hear His voice. We can feel His power. We can have His peace. Let's tell it to everyone! This is how we are the people that we are - through the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I'm grateful that our family is broadening its "area of effect" so that we can better help our communities and friends to come unto Christ. They are looking for it... they are waiting for it... they are searching for it! Sometimes, it only takes simple actions. Inviting people over for dinner (we pray before dinner), or for Family Home Evening, or to meet the missionaries, or to have a part in a Relief Society Group or a youth service project. Once we know people and they see us, let us reach out and invite them. Preach My Gospel says something that has always made me think - people are not likely to change unless invited to do so. I know that this Church is true. I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that we are all missionaries. Let us pray for our own efforts - not just missionaries with the tag abroad. Then the Lord will consecrate our efforts for His own good. I love you all!
Anziano David Peterson

A new finding method that will change the world!: May 12, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,
The Mother's Day call will happen on Sunday - I'll call in the morning before Church at 7:00am your time (2:00 our time) - my companion's family has Church at 9 as well in Utah and I wouldn't want you to miss choir. Sorry if you have to wake up early so that everyone can still be ready on time to go the Church. Va bene.
We have been in Napoli a lot recently. Far away from our work, and our contacts... we had District Conference on Saturday and Sunday (there was a BYU study abroad group there Sunday morning - the exact same group that was there last year at the Napoli District Conference... strange...), Zone Conference Monday, Tuesday was normal, and then my companion went to Rome for another conference Wednesday and Thursday (hence why the email is two days later than normal). I went to Pozzuoli - Paul did missionary work there. Our revelation at Pozzuoli was while we had a short time to do finding work, we didn't know the area very well, and we really didn't have time to teach. So, we pulled English Class flyers out of our pockets and went into the smaller stores (as much as I love supermarkets, there is little one-on-one contact). We invited the store owners to come to English class, then, upon looking into their eyes and determining their worth as a child of God (infinite), we invited them to hear the Gospel. It worked really well - the coppia (companionship) of missionaries in Pozzuoli has a couple return appointments and we'll see if others come to English class. The reason why it is such a good way of finding? The people are industrious - they own their own shops; they cannot "not be there" - they are always there; they are social - lots of referrals; and I could list a few more. Our biggest problem is finding people who are interested in the Gospel and who are willing to make and keep commitments. Keeping commitments is the hard part. It's probably like that all around the world.
We had some really great appointments this week (when we were here) and I have realized the importance of differences in personality. Each of the many people we are teaching has different social and spiritual needs, and hence our teaching style needs to be different. For example, we are teaching a family that owns a Caseificio - a cheese factory and store - and they are very social creatures. It means that they give us tons of referrals and talk about us to everyone they meet (they'll be great missionaries one day). It also means that they make decisions only when great numbers of people around them are making the same decision. Read the Book of Mormon? Sure! It sounds like a great idea! ...but I have no time! This last week we taught them with their friends and when the friends committed to read the Book of Mormon the family committed to read it. They'll read it together and progress in the Gospel together. I think I understand better what President Hinckley meant when he said that every new convert in the Church needs a friend. There are people in the world that, without a friend in the Church, could not progress. There are people that couldn't progress without a source of knowledge. There are people that couldn't progress without an opportunity to serve. All of us needs each one, but there are people that have helped me to understand them much better.
Then, one day we were teaching the sister of a contact... we were afraid that there wouldn't be a male present (absolute rule in the mission that there is a male present) but we then found out that she cares for an elderly man and lives as a boarder in his house. Perfect! She speaks Russian and Italian very well (what a strange thing to teach in a language that is not native for either of us!) and we brought her a Book of Mormon in her native tongue. We explained it and she had tons of questions. We read some of it together and she became very excited - there was a word that hit her incredibly - Istina (pronounced EE-stee-nuh . She explained that in Russian there are two words for truth - The first is truth, like "tell me the truth!" or "It is true that 1+1=2" Yes, it's true, but it isn't really necessarily worthwhile or important. The second - Istina, on the other hand, is a sort of fountain of all truth, from which truth springs. You take all the truth and boil it down and you get Istina. You take papers and papers of truth and file through all of them to find the Istina. Scientists when they are searching to find universal truths are looking for Istina. And in the Book of Mormon, Moroni 10:5, it explains that through the power of the Holy Ghost we may know the ---Istina--- of all things. Not simply the truth, or the factuality (is it right or is it wrong), but the fundamental truth - the Istina - of all things. She realized that the search in life was for this Istina, and the Book of Mormon promised to have it. She will most definitely read it (and I will use the word Istina with any Russian-speaker I ever meet from now until the end of time) and then help the rest of her family to learn the Istina of all things - the everlasting truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It truly made me think about the difference between the Gospel and other things. In English, I agree, that through the power of the Holy Ghost we may know the truth of all things, but sometimes that is difficult to explain to someone. "Will it really tell you what the 3rd integral of this equation is?" No - it tells you the things that are really important - the Istina of all things. The fundamental, basic truths upon which the laws of the Universe are based - the truths that formed the Earth and the Heavens and all things that in them are. Truths that testify of Christ as the Savior and God as our Father. Suddenly I wish there was a word so used in English (more in Italian right now... verità has about the same meaning as truth in English) that could explain the truth that we claim. I know that the Gospel is true. I know that the Gospel is Istina. It is the collection of the basic, fundamental truths that will lead us to live happy, peaceful lives here on Earth and to have Eternal Life in the world to come. May we all turn to the Holy Ghost to find the Istina of all things! We have it - revealed from God! The fundamental truths that will stand the test of time! This is what everyone is looking for, whenever they look for perfection - whenever they look to find out more truth about anything... they are looking for Istina. I know that this Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is true. I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that we, by following the Gospel of Jesus Christ, can live with Him again. I love you all - go out and share the Istina!
Anziano Peterson