Week 29

Hey guys, 

Sorry I didn't really write a full email.  Just know that things are going well and I'm really happy.  Here are some pictures from this week.  We were able to go to Trieste which is a beautiful city.  I love you guys so much.  Thanks for the birthday package Mom!

Anziano Tagg

Week 28

Ciao Famiglia!  

How are you guys?  I hope everything is going silky smooth.  How are Flubba and Bruno?

So really really sad news.  Ali one of our "investigators" got fired from his job and is now moving to Austria to be a political refugee.  He has really been depressed lately because he says that everyone is against his relationship with Alisha Keys.  All of his coworkers apparently make fun of him and call him gay and call him a thief because they think he is making money from her.  Oh yeah and whenever he talks about her he says "her" and I say "Alysia Keys?" And he says "yeah her" it's pretty funny.  But yeah I feel really bad for him because he got fired apparently because he flipped a table  I guess he was tired of all the heat he was taking.  Not to mention the hackers.  He definitely needs prayers.

Anyways these last couple weeks we have been slammed with work which is super amazing but also super tiring.  Never in my life have I ever been this tired everyday.  We have seen a lot of miracles with the work however.  Like the other day some guy actually stopped us and asked us if he could read the Book of Mormon.  It was crazy.  We have now started teaching him and he is pretty much golden.  And also we had the opportunity to give this lady that the sister missionaries in Treviso found a blessing.  It was actually the first one that I have given in Italian.  The spirit was so strong and I really felt the gift of tongues in that blessing.  It was amazing to see how it helped her.  

This week I have been thinking a lot about how much miss going to the temple.  It really helped me in the MTC.  I am so sad that I will not be able to go for the next two years.  That's one of the things I want to do first thing when I get back because I really do miss it.  Maybe there will be some sort of organized trip 

Anyways that has been my week.  Sorry it was a little short.  I don't really remember a lot because I am so tired.  Missionary work wears you out dude.

I love you all and miss you so much.  

Alla prossima!! (on to the next)

1 a pizza we made

2 Venice

3 action shot

4 me gazing off into the distance

Week 27

Ciao guys!  
I hope you all had an amazing conference weekend.  I know I did.  I think that I got more out of this conference than any other conference ever.  It was great.  I watched it in English this time because it is so much better in English.  Just hearing the voice of the actual person that is speaking is so much better than hearing a monotone translation.  You guys might be thinking to your selves.  "Aw man this conference was a let down we didn't get any revelations in any of the sessions"  well I'm here to tell you that you didn't listen hard enough because I got tons of revelation.  Boom.  #spirituallyroasted #moreintune.

Anyways this week was pretty dang exciting.  We did not slam three people with bap dates as planned, because two of them cancelled and one of them wasn't ready yet because she didn't read.  It's OK though.  Maybe this next week.  The work is still going very well.  We are, on average, teaching a lot more lessons than we were before and so hopefully we turn that into some real progress.  Pray for us because we need it.  This one guy came up to us at a bus stop and literally said, "can I read that book you've got?" And we were just like "sure!"  Next time we should probably have a book of mormon in our hands.  I'm kiiidiing.  This guy was super nice and everything that he said was super correct.  He said that he doesn't view his trials as punishment but as an opportunity to grow, and that our bodies our like tabernacles.  I mean are you kidding me!!!!???  He was the most legit guy I have ever talked to.  I can't tell you how many people I have heard complain to me about how God lets horrible things happen in their lives.  And I have seen so many YOUNG people ruining their body by smoking and drinking (even at age 12!!!!!).  They just don't get it.  But this guy did.  It was so cool.  We got his number and hopefully we can teach him.  

Anyways tell me how things are going in good old Maryland.  Is it getting warm there?  It sure is heating up here. The weather is amazing.  I am afraid soon that it will get very hot.  If you can please tell me the weather status in terms of amount of Flubba hair on the green couch chair that would be nice.  Ya know, since she looses a lot more hair when it's hotter.  How are those puppers doing?  You guys better still be playing with Bruno.  In fact I bet that would help Audrey to play with him.  

How are da Brudders doing at college?  Is even getting married yet?  Is Nathan poppin out kids yet?  Tell them both to hurry up.

Also what the heck Dad you are literally working on creating artificial intelligence to help diagnose patients!!!!?!????!? That's crazyyyy.  How come you are like this super genius and I didn't even know about it?  I remember hearing about like  awards that you have gotten and books that you have written that I didn't even know about!!  How come you never talk about these things Daddio!!??? Just make sure that you keep the AI under control.  You never know when they will decide to turn on you.  Always keep an eye on your upper spinal cord because that's where they'll probe you.  'Cause you know how probing the cerebral cortex of the spinal cord can allow for connection to the brain stem and ultimately fully take over of the brain.

Anyways... today we went to Venice again with a group of missionaries.  It's funny because they have to spend money for trains to get here and we just take a bus for free because we live here lol.  We went to Murano and Burano and saw the glass makers again.  This time they made a swan and a horse.  It was cooler than last time.

Anyways that's what my week has been like.  Thanks for listening.  Have a great week! I love you and I miss you!!!

Pics

1. Me

2. Blurry pic of the white sauce lasagna I made.  I couldn't take a better pic because I ate it.

Week 26

Ciao famiglia!!  
How is everyone.  Ok, I am sorry but this is going to be a short email.  I should have written earlier in the day but I didn't have time.  

Anyways this week has been really great.  We got so much work done.  It was so amazing to see the work explode here this week.  It was full of talking to people, serving people, and teaching people.  I love it.  Especially when we get to do it in Venice that is the best.  

A quick recap of our investigators:  B is doing good but she hasn't read in a while.  I think she will this week.  If she does and has prayed as well, then my companion and I were thinking of talking a lot about baptism and then extending an invite.  Because I know that she knows the book is true but she doesn't want to come to church.  If she realizes the importance of baptism and has that goal then she will realize the importance of the sacrament and coming to church.  It's kind of a bold approach that we have prayed and fasted about.  Let me know what you guys think.  We honestly might do that with Gi... and Pa... too because they know the Book of Mormon is true as well.  That is the problem here, everyone knows it's true but nobody acts.  Maybe if they understand baptism and have an actual goal that will change.  Let me know what you guys think.  

Anyways so yeah things are going well here.  My health is good.  I need to focus on my diet and taking the meds though.

Anyways I love you guys so much.  I'm sorry this letter was lame.  Get pumped for conference y'all.  I'm calling that they change the duration of the mission

Ciao!!

FOOD WEEK

Week 25

Ciao Famiglia!  How is everyone doing?  

I heard that Daddio has been in Las Vegas for a bit, that's cool.  Don't gamble because you have no poker face.  Also one thing that you might learn from the neurology conference dad is that in order to treat cystic chronic NIV disorder you have to use an experimental medication called placebo 114.  Essentially what it does is it enters into the bloodstream from the primary pulmonary tract to the brain stem, and eases the inflammatory tissue using a catalyst.  Did you know that Daddio?  Also now you know what it feels like to be signed up for something you didn't agree to.  It's one of Mom's old tricks. It's how she got me to go on a mission.  I'm kiiiiding.  Make sure you send me a video of the Jabberwocky poem haha.

How have things been at 3600 Hayes Manor Lane?  That's the right address right?  Better be because that's were I sent the letter to.  Maham you Facebook stalked my companion again!!?  Haha that's ok.  Is his Mom nice?  Also you will never ever guess my secret ingredient in my lasagna so just stop trying.  I do put carrots in the ragù but that is not the secret.

Anyways this week was an awesome week.  We met with some really cool people,  had some really good experiences, and did some really good missionary work.  We were able to see B and G which was the first time that I have met either of them.  They are both really cool people and have really good ideas.  I know that they both have a testimony of the Book of Mormon, but up until now they have been impossible to meet with.  That is so sad.  To see someone gain a testimony and then something else in the world holds them back is probably the worst thing about the mission.  But we were able to see both of them and so hopefully this is the start of something really good.  The one thing that does concern me with B was that she said she didn't want to come to church or be a part of any church because she likes to be alone instead of being a part of a community.  Sooo weird right?  I guess we really just have to stress the importance of coming to church and getting baptized when it gets to that point.

We also met yesterday with a man named R.  He is really nice but also really likes to Bible bash.  I think he is a born again Christian or something.  Any suggestions for avoiding bible bashing in a lesson?  I have really learned this week that Italians can talk.  Both B and R talked our ears off.  B talked mainly about her life the past couple years and so it was good because we were there for her to listen.  R just read verses from the bible and tried to convince us of his points.

My comp and I are doing a food week this next week.  We are just gonna fill the week with the best food that Italy has to offer.  I'm gonna make lasagna, pesto, pancetta (which is a really good red sauce that basically tastes like bacon because you put bacon in it), and gnocchi ripieni (which is kinda like a potato pasta with cheese inside).  My comp is gonna make salsiccia (which is another really good red sauce that you cook with sausages), carbonara (which is an eggy pasta), and then at the end we are going to make pizzas with all of the different red sauces that we made throughout the week.  It is going to be amazing.

Well that's it for this week.  I Love you all Ssoooooo much!!

Love Anziano Tagg

Pics

Week 24

Ciao Famiglia!  Come state?

This week Anziano Melchin died.  I killed him.  It was kinda sad to see him go.  He and I were really good friends.  Probably my favorite comp so far.  He reminded me of Evan a lot.  Hepner, my last comp, reminded me a lot of Nathan.  It's weird.  Both were really really fun.  So yeah, he's gone and now Anziano Larsen has replaced him.  I thought I was gonna train this transfer but it didn't happen.  That's ok though because Anziano Larsen is a really cool kid.  He's from Idaho.  I'm excited for this transfer or two together in this awesome area.  I am actually a bit relieved that I'm not training right now because I don't feel ready enough.  I don't even know if I can be senior companion yet because I don't have a lot of experience. But I'm just gonna rely on the Lord and I know everything will be fine.

This week has been crazy.  We got 8 bidoni which sux but that's ok.  We have like a couple legit Italian potentials and I'm so excited about it.  Anziano Melchin was a stud and kept on working hard all the way to the end.  

Other than that there wasn't much that happened this week.  We just did our best to work our hardest.  It was so amazing to be able to work in Venezia during Carnevale.  The costumes of all the people were beautiful.  I'll send some pictures.

Let me know how things are going at home.  I love you all.  Sorry for the lame email.  This P-day was very weird and busy and now it's late and I can't think of anything that happened.  

Anyways tell Audrey to getoufromwayfromroundemboys and tell Eliza that my Mario picture was better than hers.  

I love you guys and miss you all so much!!!!!!!

Ciao!