Week 66

Ciao Fam!!!  

How a ya?  Howsit? How it be?

So I wanna apologize for writing a lame quickly last week.  Yes mom it is because "I'm following the crowd of the muscle men that leads to road rage"  

But anyways I am doing good here The work is going pretty good although it has slowed down some.  We have had to drop some people that aren't taking commitments seriously or aren't answering us when we call.   We are still finding a lot and a lot of people on the street and getting a lot and a lot of numbers but of those people, the ones that actually meet and do the things we ask are pochi.  I just don't understand why someone would agree to exchange numbers and meet if they don't actually want to.  Maybe it's because we're just too pretty. 

But yeah we've been trying to find people to teach in more effective ways.  We really want to focus hard on the members because if we work with the members we will have more success.  We have been promised this by our mission President and so I am taking it as revelation.  It's hard because one, the members here live so far away and two, they are not really super motivated to help.  I think they are just get discouraged and things after so many years of the same ole stuff.  But we are gonna keep working with them because we love them a lot and a lot.  There has been some improvement with the reverence of the ward which is great.  Now when we bring people to church they can feel it and they can want to come back.

Speaking of bringing people to church... V didn't come to church.  He had a good excuse tho and we made sure to let him know that it was really important to come to church especially right before his baptism.  So we decided to postpone his baptism until Tuesday the 28th so that he can come to church at least one more time before the big day.  He is super ready and knows everything it's just that we want the members to have a chance to get to know him beforehand.  I love him so much.  He has such great faith.  It's something that I have found in a lot of African people here.  

But yeah V is funny. He told Anziano Willits that he wanted to be baptized by him because he looked like Jesus.  And then he looked at me and I think that he felt bad because he said "you can pray while it is happening.  You can be praying in the corner."

So yeah, I guess while he gets baptized I am just going to be praying in the corner.

Anyways that's mostly the haps here.  What's going on back home?  The more I think about home the more I feel weirded out at the prospect of going home.  Like when Maham sent me that double whammy email asking about housing at BYU and then about my release date it hit me like a swift one two punch.  I felt weird.  Not good or bad just somewhere in the middle.  Idk it's the same feeling I get whenever I have to think about going through a big change.  I am grateful that I still have six months left out here, cuz I love it up here in the Alps of Italy.  I am more obedient right now probably than I have ever been on my mission.  Not that I was ever super disobedient before but it's the little things... like not leaving mission boundaries or not sneaking out at night without your companion knowing that make all the difference.  I'm kiiiiiding.

Anyways that's all.  I love you guys and miss you!

Anziano Tagg

Week 65

Hey Guyz!  

So I have very very little time to email but I'm all good and I am working hard still and loving it.

I love you all and miss you a lot.  

Today was really fun we got to go on another hike in the Alps which was incredible.

If all goes well we will be able to witness the baptism of Victor next week and that's gonna be a special moment.  

Anyways sorry for the lame email.  I will do better and send pictures next week.

Week 64?

I am always unsure of the week that I am on.  It is hard to keep track when you live in another time dimension where the weeks seem like days and the months seem like weeks.  But when I keep track in weeks it 64 doesn't actually seem like that much.  That's comforting.

But in reality I am coming up on my 6 months from home mark.  It's crazy and I'm really sad that my time here keeps running away from me.  But I also at the same time am really excited to get back and see you guys and see waz up.  I have a to do list of things that I want to do when I get back and the first two things on that list are make fake money and do sleep trick to Audrey.  (inside family joke there)

But anyways here in Bressanone things are great.  Some things that happened this week...

We set a baptismal date with V!!  This actually happened last week but I don't think I have ever talked about him.  V is an awesome dude from Ghana and we were doing exercise time in the gym near our house one day and he just showed up and started talking to us and then he said when are you guys gonna come by and preach the word to me.  Haha.  So we went back that day and taught him the restoration.  He said that while we were talking he knew it was true and that from then on he was going to be a Christian instead of a Muslim hahaha.  He has a lot of faith and it has been really amazing to teach him.  He will be baptized on the 25th of this month.  

We also had an interesting meeting with this guy we met on the street named Armando.  We had given him a copy of the book of Mormon and told him to read and then we get a text from him saying that he wanted to give it back.  When he met with us he said, "OK now I have some questions for you guys" and so we answered all of his questions about the book and about our religion.  In the end he was making a lot of excuses about why he couldn't go forward with reading and stuff because he was too old or because the BOM didn't talk about San Pietro or other Santi.  I think that he read and felt something and then was too scared of commitment and so he freaked on us with all of these excuses.  In the end he gave us back the Book of Mormon but it's OK we testified of it's truthfulness and we invited him all we could to come unto Christ.  

I have really grown to love it up here.  It's hard not to love it when you are on the mission.  I wrote in my journal after 2019 ended that it had been the best year of my life.  

I love you guys and miss you so much.  

Week 63

Hey guys!  
How is everything?  I hope all is well.  Here everything sure is peachy.  We had one of the funnest P-day's of my mission.  It was so fun.  We decided to just go on an adventure and go find a trail that we found on the map.  Turns out that it lead all the way to the top of the mountain but unfortunately we did not have enough time to get all the way there.  We think that there is a lake up there though so we want to go back and start earlier so can make it back in time.  I'm telling you guys we are so blessed to be living here this is one of the most beautiful places in the world.  I'll show some pictures but they do not do justice.  there was one point where we got to an opening of trees and we turned around and we were all just blown away by the view.  We were looking across the valley and over in to Austria and we could see all the Dolomites.  They are basically huge rock structures that are on the peaks of this mountain range and it was so cool.  It was awesome to witness God's creation.

There is a quote from Elder Holland and it basically says that with all the beauty and magnificence that this world has to offer with it's mountains, rivers, and oceans, Heavenly Father's prized creation is not a mountain.  It is us.  As I was on the top of this mountain chilling in a hammock looking at the grandeur of the valley and the mountains and the Dolomites I thought of that quote and it made me feel really tickly inside.  And then we got really cold up there and so we had to come down.  We went all out on the way down it was kinda sketch cuz there was snow all over the place but it was so much fun.  It was the most fun I've had in a while #missionlife.  At one point I slipped and just slid down on my back haha it was a blast.  I'm all good Mom.  

All in all it was a fun P-day.  So fun that I forgot what we did the rest of the week.  Oh yeah we've just been busy on the Lord's errand.  We've been putting in the week on the streets and in member's homes.  We really want to push these members to help us with missionary work and set specific goals for it this new year.  I think that they need a good 'lil push.  

One thing that I have noticed is that sacrament meetings have gone way downhill.  It's just really irreverent and not a very sacred experience.  We were the only ones in church fifteen minutes after it was supposed to start, it seemed as if President planned and assigned the talks 2 minutes beforehand, people were getting up and leaving, people were on their phones.  It was just all around bad.  They need to shape up their act.  And also I gave a talk and we did a real nice presentation about our missionary work and our goals and we really tried to let them know that we want to serve them and we want to work together with them to make this branch grow.  But they kinda just sat there and complained about how nobody comes to church they talked over us and were very disruptive and disrespectful.  It was lame.  I'm trying really hard to love them and I do love them, but it's just frustrating sometimes.  

Anyways that's what's goin on this week up here in good ol Brixen.  I love you guys and I can't wait to see you! Literally I can't wait... like... I'm coming home early......

I'm kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiding!!

Love Elder Tagg

Week 62

Hey Guys!

How is everyone doing?

I am well.  I am really liking it up here in |Bressannone or as it is called by it's German name, Brixen.  That's right.  Two names flex .   This week it was suuuuuuuper weird to go around in the streets and hearing people speaking German instead of Italian.  I felt like a Greenie again because there were times we were out finding people on the street and there would be a language barrier even though we are in ITALY and everyone should speak ITALIAN.  

But yeah I kinda prayed about it and I think I am gonna sforzarmi (to strain) to learn a little German.  I don't know how long I'm gonna be here but If I'm here for a while it could be useful to know how to speak a little and connect better with the people.  Honestly It's mostly for the members.  They like to speak their German.  Idk it's gonna be hard but I think if they see I'm trying to learn it'll go a long way.  

Oh yeah and in church guess what... GERMAN what the fweak!!!!!  It's actually created some problems in the Stake because basically here is how it is.  The Stake is an Italian-speaking Stake and all of the members including the ones here in Bressannone speak Italian.  The only thing is, they are so proud of their German roots and they want to do their meetings in German.  That's pretty cool and all that stuff BUT it has created major beef and problems up here in the region of Alto Adige and Tentino because there are some members who speak only Italian who live up here and in order to understand what is going on they travel really long distances and go down to Bolzano where they speak Italian in sacrament meeting.  And also vice versa there are people who live way down in Bolzano but who come here for sacrament meeting because they want to speak in German in church EVEN THOUGH they speak Italian and could very well go to church in Bolzano.  So basically you have ward boundries that are not geographical but linguistical and it has just created problems because people live so far away and have really long commutes to church.  It's kind-of a hard thing.  It's kind-of messed up because they are forcing the people who live up here and who don't speak German to either go way down to Bolzano for church or to come to church and not understand or to go inactive.  

But yeah that's the shpeel.  Don't get me wrong these people are wonderful people.  And they've apparently also kinda softened up with the whole German thing because in church it's a weird mix of German and Italian.  Before it was straight German.  They are awesome people.  I was able to get to know them this Sunday in church and after wards at the Christmas party.  I played stille nacht which is silent night and it was a hit!  It was fun.

Also.  It is absolutely gorgeous up here.  I'm enjoying the Alps a lot.  we sometimes go running on the trails up here and it is super duper fun.  Alps flex  AND they have some of the best meat in the world up here.  They have this specialty called spek.  It's cured and smoked meat that is super good.  Meat flex 

Speaking of flexing.  My comp is big into working out and lifting weights and stuff.  My arms are jelly right now I can barely even type this.  Jelly flex 

That's about it.  Also if you are wondering why I am writing today instead of Wednesday it's because I'm a disobedient missionary and I do what I want.  Disobedience flex 

Im kiiiiiiidiiing today is P-day since Christmas is on Wednesday.  President said.  Obedience flex 

Well that is all I love you guys.  You're my favorite.  

Anziano Tagg

Week 61

Hey guys!

Right now I'm actually really sad because I am on a train to Bressanone.  Contrary to what I thought/what President told me/what I then told all the members in Ravenna, I'm leaving Ravenna and going way way way North.  When I heard the news I was shook, and then really sad, and then I got over it, and then I was sad again, and then I was in denial, and then I was bargaining, and then I was angry, and then whatever else there is in the stages of grief.  Haha it's ok though.  It's actually a mix of emotions because I am really excited to go to the beautiful Bressanone way up in the Dolomite Alps in the middle of winter.  

Ok I just about had a heart attack while I was typing this because I thought for some reason that I had left my violin in Ravenna but then I realized that I have it right next to me.  I did however forget my "you can call me Elder cook" apron.  Managgia

OK to continue this email,  yeah I am really excited to be in Bressanone.  I will be bottle breaking a missionary from Anziano Ward's group and apparently he's a cool cat.  His name is Anziano Willits.  I think I spelled that right.  I will miss everyone in Ravenna and in the Bologna Zone a lot and a lot.  I'm proud of the work me and Anziano Ward did together and I hope Anziano Willits and I can do the same.  

I'm really grateful for the mission.  It's been the best thing that has ever happened to me and it has brought me closer to my Heavenly father through His Son Jesus Christ.  I don't know if Audrey has even thought about going on a mission but Audrey, you should definitely at least consider it.  It could be what the Lord wants you to do, and you will get so so so so much out of it.

That's all.  I love and miss you all and I am really excited to see you again in 5 SHORT TRANSFERS HOLY CWAP!!!

Catch you on the flippity flop

Anziano Tagg

Elder Ward

Week 60

I think that 60 weeks is right.  But yeah how is everyone?

The week here was pretty great! It was kind of a normal week.  We walked a TON and my shoes are starting to wear out.  One of them has a huge crack in the bottom of it.  But I think I can just fix it with some duck tape and make it last for the rest of my mission.  Duck tape fixes everything.  Even sadness.  Also don't worry Mom I don't need new shoes I have plenty.  In fact J... (the new convert)  recently decided that he wanted to gift to us each a brand new pair of Italian shoes.  He is suuuuuper nice.  He shouldn't have done that.

Anyways.  Things have slowed down from when we were super crazy busy preparing people to be dunked.  It has given me time to think and reflect on the mission and stuff and how grateful I am for it.  IDK, maybe it's the Christmas spirit that gets me feeling some type of way.  They've put a bug huge Christmas tree up in the main piazza del popolo and they have also put an ice skating rink in another main piazza.  It's pretty cool.  I really like Christmas in Italy.  But nothin' beats Christmas at home.

Today we went and we saw the mosaici again because none of the other missionaries in the zone had seen it.  It's always really cool to see all the cathedrals and the paintings and the mosaics.  But honestly It kinda strengthens my testimony of the restoration from the apostasy.  I mean just look at this mosaic that I'll attach.  Apparently according to this depiction Catholics believe that Jesus was baptized by the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove who spit some water on his head while John the baptist was just kinda chilling and also Jesus was naked and also there was the "Jordan river spirit" who was also just chilling there watching.  It's insane how Satan has taken something so simple like baptism by immersion and twisted it so much. Mom, maybe you should censor the picture of nakey-baby Jesus too 

But yeah I hope you all are doing super well.  I love you all and miss ya!

Ciao 

Anziano Tagg