Week 33

Hey Famiglia!

I appologize in advance for my short email.  I am absolutely beat.

Today we went to Venezia for probably my last time on a P-day.   Sadly, I will probably be transfered this next Wednesday.  I will know for sure on Saturday where I will go.  I have really loved it here in Venezia and I will miss it a lot.  I am so proud of the work we have done in this part of the Lord's vinyard.  Even though not everything worked out smoothly.  I know that we did our best and that is what counts.  We really helped this area to grow.  I have especially loved the opportunity I have had to play the violin in church for the past like 3 weeks.  Everybody tells me it brings the Spirit well and so I'm happy.

Again I apologize for my short email.  I'll try to do better next week.  I'll let you guys know where I am going when I know (hoping genova)

I love you all.  Ciao!

Week 32

Ciao a tutti!  Como estan?  Todo bien? 

This week we have gotten a lot of rain so the work has been a but more difficult.  Not a whole ton but a little bit.  J is still doing well and he is ready for the 25th.  We were talking the other day and all of a sudden he was like, "So who is this Joseph Smith?"  Ha ha ha.  It was a face palm moment but we reminded him and he remembered who he was.  Maybe we need to go over the restoration again just to make it all clear.  I am so excited for him and his family.  They live in Nigeria still but I think that the ultimate plan is for them to come here.  If they do come he wants them to be baptized as well.  

So how did you guys like the safety zone?  It is so dumb ha ha.  I sometimes feel uncomfortable when they crack a dumb joke and then slap on at the end, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" Ha ha it is pretty important though. Some stuff is good to know.

Anyways, lately I have been really trying to reflect on myself and what I can do better as a missionary and as a person.  I think it's a really special thing, when someone takes the time to pray and ponder about how they can better themselves.  Every time that I have done it I have always gotten loads of answers ha ha.  Probably because there is so much I need to improve.  No but even with the smaller stuff like getting into good habits of little small things.  Heavenly Father still loves to hear about those things and knows that they are important.  

The mission has helped me so much to be able to improve and to be able to recognize how Heavenly Father talks to me.  It's a skill that is very important and I am so grateful that I am out here to be able to learn it.

Well that is about all for this week.  Ciao!

This is a picture of my goof companion...

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Week 31

Ciao guys!!

How is everyone?  I hope everyone is doing alright.  I am doing well here in Italy.  We are taking a pretty chill p-day and just playing basketball with some members from the ward.  

This week has been pretty dang good.  We talked to M about baptism yesterday.  He was really open to it and the lesson went really well.  We didn't fix a date because he wants to be totally sure and that when he gets a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and of the church he will ask us and we will set a date together.  He is super cool.  The only problem is that he has no job and is about to be evicted.  When that happens he will move back in with his Mom.  It's crazy how many forty and fifty year olds still live with their parents.  Here it is a pretty normal thing haha.  

Other than M we have  our friend J who is a beast.  I love teaching him because it is so simple.  Italians like to complicate things.  Especially in our ward.  Too often in Sunday school they talk about stupid things like Hebrew traditions and mosaic law.  They never really talk about important stuff and when they do that's as far as they get.  They don't actually DO anything.  I'm actually getting kinda mad that this ward isn't helping us with missionary work.  When we bring people to church nobody talks to the investigators.  I wanna talk to the ward missionary leader about that but it is so hard to meet with him.  It's a little frustrating.  

Some members are good though, it's not all bad.  Like there is a return missionary that just got back from England and he is amazing.  He helps us so much with missionary work.  There are others as well that are studs.

Anyways that's basically where we are at with the work.  It grew really quickly like a month ago and has remained steadily good but has grown a lot the past couple weeks.  So thats why I kinda want to get out and hit the streets with some nice finding.  It's not always successful but I believe that the Lord blesses us in other ways when he sees that we are doing our best.  

That's about it for this week!  I love you guys and miss you!  Ciao!

This weeks pictures are just food and turtles.  The week of my birthday this Brazilian family made me this huge cake.  They are the best.

Elder Tagg

Week 30

Ciao Famiglia!

This week has been a roller coaster.  Full of ups and downs.  Mostly ups which is good.  The work is going really really good.  We had two people that we are working with decide to be baptized!! We are so excited for J & M both for this month the 18th and the 25th.  However the day after we set a date with M he texted us and said that he doesn't feel ready   It was really strange because he seemed soooo strong and so sure when we committed him.  Maybe he read something or something happened that made him doubt.  He said, however, that he just needed some time to think about it because it is a really important decision that he takes seriously.  He always follows what he thinks is right and I have faith that he will search with real intent and find that he does in fact have the desire to be baptized.  We will see.  

We also have plans soon to invite a couple other people to be baptized.  The problem with some of them is that they "can't"  come to church.  We are hoping that with the goal and desire to baptized will come also the motivation to come to church and progress.  

One thing that I have noticed is that this work is absolutely exhausting.  Worrying about all these people, trying to show them the way, loving them.  It really takes it out of you.  I go to bed every night so tired that I fall asleep almost as fast as Evan does haha.  But seriously this work is the hardest thing mentally that I have ever done.  Its pretty stressful and I'm starting to loose hair like Daddio.  But I'm not yet slowing down like him.  I am still running pretty regularly.  

Today we played basketball with a kid in our ward and his Dad.  At first we played Italy verses US and Anziano Larsen and I absolutely trashed them.  We felt bad so we changed up the teams.  It was so fun though.  I might have gotten a bit burnt.  I guess that's 20× more likely to get skin cancer.  Oh well .  I'll just make it better by connecting the cerebral cortex tube in my brain to the tibia and fibia veins making it so that I am immune.  Bet Dad doesn't know about that one.  It's pretty experimental.  

Let me know how things are going in the US!  Is the economy still kickin'?

I love you guys a lot and a lot.  Ciao!

Pics:

1 me beating a kid in our ward at chess

2 Larsen and I

3 me looking out into the distance

4 me looking into the camera

4 a Brazilian family in my ward made me a cake for my birthday.  They actually are from Sao Paulo and know Nathan.