Buon (quasi) Natale!

Who's excited? I am! Although you all know that by now. This past week just flew. Il tempo è volato, as the Italians say. Really though, I feel like I was just writing emails an hour ago. I can't even think of what to say right now. Ok... Update of the week: Caroling, no snow, long bus rides, getting lost, teaching Seminary, really cold, lots of service, Grandma's cookies, piano playing, preparations for Ward Christmas Party, speaking Italian, and occasionly sleeping. 

Service. It turns out that Christmas time is a great time to do service! Whooda thunk? We spent Saturday painting, dusting, and deep-cleaning a house. One of our members knew a family who needed some help; an elderly woman that lives with her two children who have some medical problems. We were able to bring the Christmas spirit to them and give them a big hand with stuff that really needed done. I found a new proficiency in toilet-scrubbing that I didn't know I had. The job still isn't finished. We'd like to go back and finish before Christmas. The second big service we did was yesterday. It was definitely a memorable experience, that's for sure. We were helping one of our new converts move. He was baptized the week after I got to Cimiano. Anyway, he is moving to a different apartment in the city so we came over to help him and another member came with a big moving truck. He told originally that he just had some books and a few shelves. "Some" books was a bit of an understatement. We moved the contents of an entire library and we haven't even finished yet. We walked into his house and I was shocked. Every space of wall, quite litereally, is covered by books. The hallway, the living room, and the bedroom were full of books. There were even some in the bathroom. It was hard to walk down the hall because of all the books. We spent several hours moving stuff out of that apartment. We went up and down that elevator with so much stuff. The other tenants were getting mad at us... I wasn't about to carry a library down five flights of stairs though! Anyway, we're going back tomorrow to finish up the job. I respect him. Books are great, just not when the missionaries are moving you out of your apartment! Hah! That definitely made for some fun memories.

Tonight our new convert is taking us to a Nepali buffet. That should be exciting. Seeing his conversion in the past few months has been awesome. I'm sorry I talk about him so much, but he's just such a miracle. We were out caroling with him and we started talking with one man in the piazza. He bore his testimony to him in perfectly understandable Italian and then said "Lei è sempre benvenuto nella nostra chiesa (You are always welcome in our church)!" SO COOL! We were smiling the rest of the night.

"And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul" (1 Nephi 11:22-23). I love being a missionary. I love teaching people about the love of God. So many people don't feel the love of God in their lives, including those who profess belief in Him. He is literally our Father and He literally loves us. I'm so glad that everyday I have the opportunity to share this love with all of my brothers and sisters. Remember, especially this Christmas season, that you are loved. That's why God sent His Son Jesus Christ especially for you.

I love you! Merry Christmas. Love, Anziano Simcox.

Buon Natale a tutti!

It's almost Christmas time!! Who's excited? I LOVE Christmas. The Christmas Spirit has started to shine a little bit around here. The gatekeeper of our apartment put out a tree in front. It made us really happy this morning. Our little tree is still thriving. Anz. Sexton has been writing the 25 poems of Christmas, so every night we hear a reading. Sometimes they're inspiring, sometimes they're a bit cynical, but overall they make for a good laugh.

We had our Christmas zone conference on Monday. President and Sister Dibb made Christmas dinner for all of the missionaries. There was ham, potatoes, marshmallow salad, vegetables, and apple bread! Yummm. It was a great meal and a great conference. Afterward we all sang some Christmas carols. One of the sisters in my district did a musical number, so I played for her. I didn't do all that fantastic, but I enjoyed playing something outside of the hymnbook. I usually get recruited to play the piano at missionary meetings. I thought everyone was joking when they said I'd be using my music skills on my mission.

Speaking of Christmas (I'm in the Christmas Spirit lately as you can tell) the missionaries in my district along with some of the Young Adults in our ward have been going caroling. It turns out that's SO much more effective than just stopping people on the street. Now, they stop for us and all we have to do is smile and sing. I feel like that can define my life since freshman year of high school. Smile and sing. We've been able to spread a lot of  Christmas cheer and even find some people to teach!

We've been having several experiences lately where we've been able to water a few seeds planted by others. It seems like many of the people we've been contacting lately have had contact with the church in the past. One man we talked to in the park knows a member of our ward and he has taking lessons from missionaries in the past. Two Sundays ago, someone walked in off the street and stayed for all three hours of church. He knew a member family in Bergamo and they always invited him, but he never went. When he moved here a few weeks ago, he saw the church and felt guilty for never going, so he came Sunday morning! The most fruitful experience was a man we talked to on the Metro. I had been talking with someone else, and I saw him out of the corner of my eye listening in. After that man got off, I sat down next to this second man. Before I even tried to say anything, he said to me "My father is a Mormon." His parents, siblings, and relatives are all members, and his father was a branch president in Peru. He said that he just never got baptized, but he told us "maybe one day I'll get baptized..." We of course were glad to help him with that goal and we took his number. Tomorrow we have an appointment at his house with him and his wife!

And to wrap it all up, how about a Christmas scripture today? "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people" (Luke 2:10). I'll assume that most of us have heard this. Christmas is a time of rejoicing! Why are you sad?? Christ was born, lived, died, was resurrected, and lives now all to grant you eternal life! It's yours for the taking if you come unto Him! Rejoice and be glad for Jesus Christ lives and loves you.

Love, Anziano Simcox.

Buon Dicembre!

Happy December everyone! We (finally) got our first snow last Saturday. It was great. Anz. Parker was not as thrilled as I was. Winter is my season! We decorated the apartment! Anz. Parker's family sent him some tinsel and we found a little Christmas tree in the cellar. We put all our presents around the table, plugged in the tree, and it actually turned out to be a nice little reminder of the holidays! I love Christmas!! It's a little different here in Italy. It's definitely not as commercial as it is in the States. Not as many people put up lights. I guess it's a little harder when everyone lives in apartments, but we've seen a few strands hanging from balconies. I miss a lot of the things I'm used to around this time of year, but I'm trying to experience Italian Christmas as much as I can and see what I can add to my own traditions.

It's been a cold week mostly. It finally went below 0°... Celsius that is. Don't worry. Still, that's decently cold I think. I'm tired... like... all the time. I'm finally not sick though. I had a cold the whole last transfer I think. I'm glad that's finally gone. Our district went caroling at the Duomo (big white cathedral) this week! It was actually really effective. It's much easier to start conversations with people when you're singing as opposed to asking "Have you ever seen this book??" People need some Christmas cheer. Anz. Sexton asked one man "What do you like about Christmas?" to which he responded, "Nothing." Ouch...

The challenge lately has been finding people to teach. The cold is scaring people off I think. Nevertheless, a couple new people have surfaced. We had an appointment yesterday with someone we met on the Metro. We went to his house and taught him a bit about the Book of Mormon. He was pretty quiet most of the time. We were asking questions, trying to get him to open up. We could tell there was something, but we couldn't quite get it. At the end we asked if he would pray with us. After a few awkward sentences and some silence, he looked up and told us his problem: "I don't know how to pray." It made me realize the importance of the simple things. Here we were focusing on bigger things, without even checking up on the simple things first. It was a good lesson to me to always pay attention to the little things and not take for granted the knowledge that is available to me.

Prayer is a conversation with God. It's something I've definitely learned how to do here on my mission more than any other time in my life. That's not to say that I didn't pray before my mission, but I definitely do it better as a missionary. Missionaries pray all the time, together and privately. One week, I should count how many times we pray. That'd be an interesting statistic. The beautiful thing about prayer is that it works both ways. We talk to God and He talks to us. We don't need a single thing except for our hearts. We talk to God exactly as we talk to any other person, for He is literally our Father.

In the end, remember that there is always someone praying for YOU. He is Jesus Christ. He is your Savior.  "And it came to pass that Jesus departed out of the midst of them, and went a little way off from them and bowed himself to the earth, and he said:... Father, I pray unto thee for them, and also for all those who shall believe on their words, that they may believe in me" (3 Nephi 19:19, 23). 

Con amore, Anziano Simcox

The pictures are our Christmas tree and our Thanksgiving dinner.

Il Giorno del Ringraziamento!

Hello everyone! Happy Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for? I'm thankful for tons of things, like the fact that I'm serving the Lord in Italy! I thank God also for my family and friends who are always behind me cheering me on. I also give thanks that I'll be spending the holidays in Milano! I found out yesterday that Anz. Parker and I will both be here in Milano until the middle of January. I can't think of a better place to spend the holidays as a missionary.

Our plans for Thanksgiving at the church backfired, so there will be no big dinner. I'm still planning on making a Thanksgiving "feast" though. I wasn't brave enough to try to bake a turkey, so I just bought some turkey breasts and I'm going to make some stuffing with a recipe from Grandma. We'll see how it all turns out! I'm excited though. I wanted to make pumpkin pie too, but I cannot find pumpkin ANYWHERE. Mamma mia... Ah well. Apple pie is good too.

Our friend from Nepal was baptized and confirmed this week! He was so happy. After the confirmation, he was so happy that he got up, hugged the two of us and the bishop, then went down the stand and shook hands with everyone, including the counselors, the deacons, the chorister, and the pianist. He couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day. It was a good weekend. It was made even better when our mission presidents gave him the contact information for the branch in Kathmandu and the service missionaries there. He was ecstatic, and so were we.

Last Saturday we had a little conference where we met Pres. Osguthorpe (Sunday School Pres.), Pres. Ridd (Young Men's counselor), and Elder Kearon (Seventy). Although it was super short, we learned a lot of things about how to be better teachers. I really enjoyed it. I also got to see a few missionaries that I haven't seen in a long time! It's always really exciting when that happens.

Despite all this, we actually did do other things this week. We talked to people in the Metro. We talked to people on the street. We talked to people in the park. We talked to people outside of the castle. You get the picture. Talking with people is always an interesting experience. It's kind of like Forrest Gump's mom always said. "You never know what you're gonna get." Although I feel comfortable with the language, the prospect can still be a little daunting. I always try to remind myself that if I didn't have the joy of the Gospel in my life, I would want someone who did to give me the opportunity to listen! I try to keep that in the back of my head. As one man reminded us in the park yesterday, people can do whatever their mind tells them they can.

"For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have..." (Mosiah 4:19). I've had this scripture on my mind throughout the holiday season. It's important to remember where all of our blessings come from. They come from God. Of course, we also must do all we can to achieve these blessings. Good things cannot come to those who do nothing. In the end though, all things come from God. He will give us, not the things we need, but the strength to obtain the things we need. Put your faith in Him and you will have exactly what you need.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Love, Anziano Simcox.

11/20/13

Wow. Another transfer is already almost gone! On Monday or Tuesday I'll be getting a call telling me whether I'm staying in Milano or moving on to another city. I'm not sure which I'd rather do! I was ready to leave Pesaro after staying there for six months, but I feel like I've barely arrived in Milano! I'll go where I'm needed. We're all guessing that I'm getting shipped out though. We'll see! Isn't it exciting?

What can I say about this week? It's gone by so fast that I'm not even sure what my name is. It's a good thing I always wear a nametag or that could be really bad. Really though, these past few weeks have almost literally flown. It's been raining nonstop. I think I said that in my last email. I haven't seen the sun for a few weeks. My left shoe has a hole in it. I normally wouldn't mind, but when the ground is constantly wet, that's not too good. I'll probably look around for some shoes today. Last P-day we went "shopping" (a.k.a. we walked around the fashion district looking in the windows) and I forgot how much I hate shopping. Anz. Parker was having a grand old time, but I was just getting stressed. I tried to look for a sweater; nothing too fancy, but I figured I am in Italy right? I might as well get something cool. 300€ for a sweater?!?! Excuse me... I will never pay that much for anything that I put on my body, let alone a sweater as thin as paper.

In other news, Thanksgiving is next week! I will do something. We've been trying to plan a dinner at the church but it hasn't been working. If not, I will at least make lots of food for our apartment and we'll have our own little Thanksgiving dinner. It's the little things that count, no? 

Miracle time. Our friend from Nepal is getting baptized on Saturday! It should be awesome. He's very excited. Just as a side note, we've been going along this whole time thinking that he spoke hardly any Italian. On Monday we brought him over to a member family's house for dinner and he spoke Italian like a champion. That obstacle has now been eliminated. We were a little worried about how he'd do with the members if he couldn't speak Italian. All this time he's just been modest. He speaks enough to get by. We're so happy for him and he's happy as well. One of his worries was that when he goes back to Nepal this year that the Church wouldn't be there. President Dibb did some research and found a branch of members and a companionship of missionries in Kathmandu, which is where our friend is from. Can you believe it? The Church is everywhere. All the obstacles that stood between this man and baptism have been eliminated this week and he is ready as can be. We were talking about him the other day and saying how cool it is that just seven weeks after meeting missionaries on the subway, one can decide to change his/her life. When we first met him, we had no idea that he would progress in the Gospel, but his heart had been prepared and he was ready to listen. That's what the Gospel of Christ can do. It is the power to change eternity.

"And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true... And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?" (Alma 5:12, 14). Have we had this change in ourselves? Every one of us is a convert, whether we've had the truth for a day or a lifetime. 

Vi voglio tantissimo bene e vi auguro una buona settimana. --Anziano Simcox

The picture is one of the streets in the fashion district. Nothing too fancy, but I just love the old stone streets and shuttered windows.

11/13/13

Ciaooooooooooo.

Hello everyone. Thus flies another week. I'm going to crazy before long with how fast this time is going. Oh wait. I went crazy years ago. Hardy har har. 

I heard the snow has already hit Ohio! Not here. I wish though. I love the snow. Although, I'll probably take that back when I'm trying to proselyte in it. Here it's just getting cold.

The mission is just a constant downhill slope of tiredness. The longer I'm here, the more tired I get. Tireder........ No...... More tired. English...

We have got some AWESOME things going on in Cimiano. Hearts are changing. Lives are being touched. Copies of the Book of Mormon are becoming tattered and worn. Shoes are getting holes in them, mainly my left one. Journal entries are (on occasion) being written. Pasta is being boiled. Italian is being spoken. People are being baptized. In short, miracles are happening. This Saturday the sorelle, errr sisters, in our district are seeing one of their investigators being baptized. She is just thirteen years old, but she has had her life changed and she is following the example of Jesus Christ. 

One of our investigators has decided to be baptized as well! He is the man from Nepal that I've been writing about. The change we've seen in him has been astounding. When we first met him he was a bit closed off and hardly wanted to touch a copy of the Book of Mormon! He told us a while later that the only reason he talked to us that day was because we wore Jesus Christ's name. Slowly, he gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon. We had a few great lessons at the beginning, but we were seeing no progress in his testimony. Then something happened somewhere along the line. I think it might have just been our persistent invitations to read the Book of Mormon. Every night we sent a short message with a scripture reference and every lesson we would check up and see how he felt. At first he didn't read. Finally, he decided to read. That was when the big change was visible. He started become very involved in the lessons. He started to not only read the scriptures we assigned to him, but also to study them. I'm not kidding when I say that he brings a study journal to his lessons. Every night he prays and he studies the scriptures. He is excited for his baptism, which we have scheduled for next Saturday, the 23rd. We met him six weeks ago on the subway. It's amazing how a testimony like his can grow in that amount of time.

"And moreover, I say unto you, that the time shall come when the knowledge of a Savior shall spread throughout every nation, kindred, tongue, and people" (Mosiah 3:20). I've seen the fulfilment of this scripture as I've been here. One thing that people don't know about Italy, and something I didn't know before I got here, is that it is filled with people from many different countries. I've met people from Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brasil, El Salvador, the Philipines, China, Nepal, India, Egypt, Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Senegal, Togo, the DR of the Congo, South Africa, Algeria, Romania, Albania, Greece, Ukraine, Russia, Germany,  Spain, Portugal, France, the UK, and even the USA. There are more countries I'm sure that I haven't named. I'm living in a melting pot! The awesome part about the Gospel though is that it is being spread to all of these peoples, here and in their own country. There are translations of the Bible and the Book of Mormon in languages that I never knew existed. This is possible through missionaries like yours truly, but more so by average people who simply open their mouths and reach out to help someone in need. Be that light! You never know what miracle you'll bring about.

Love, Anziano Simcox.

11/6/13

Hellooooooo everyone! How did Halloween go? It was really uneventful here. I bought a pumpkin shaped cookie, but that was about as exciting as it got. Halloween isn't very celebrated around here so it was pretty normal. Thanksgiving should be exciting though! Even though it's an American holiday, we're hosting a big dinner anyway. It's super expensive for a turkey though! Mamma mia... Maybe we'll just buy a bunch of lunch meat instead.

Last Wednesday we had a new missionary conference for Anz. Parker. I saw some missionaries that I haven't seen since the MTC! It's really neat when we see each other because we can see how much we've all grown. All the missionaries I've seen since the MTC have grown a ton. I'm sure I have too. Tomorrow we have a big conference with Elder José Teixeira, who is a member of the Seventy and president of the Europe Area (a.k.a. top dog Mormon of Europe). That should be really cool. I'm ready to learn, and probably be humbled. Hah!

Anz. Sexton is walking (almost) normally! I'd say that's a miracle. He's so happy and feels like a new man! Winter is starting to creep in, along with lots of rain. I think it rained every day last week. I want to see the snow! That's what I love about winter.

As for missionary work, it's going along here in Cimiano. We had a wonderful investigator in church this week-- the man from Nepal I wrote about last week. He is so cool and so humble. We think he enjoyed church. He doesn't speak much Italian, so I translated for him. That was exhausting, but I know he was able to benefit from it. 

For my thought this week I thought I'd share one of my favorite stories in the Book of Mormon. Mosiah 24:10-17. The people of Alma were forbidden by a wicked ruler to pray. Instead of defy his commands, they prayed secretly in their hearts for deliverance from bondage. "And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage." They kept praying with FAITH and with PATIENCE. We need both to get through this life. One part I particularly like about this verse is that God promises them deliverance, but "on the morrow." He does not promise immediate deliverance. I had this conversation with someone the other day. Too many people look at God as an automatic problem-fixer. God will deliver us, but on His own time and in His own way. He expects our faith and patience, which we demonstrate through prayer and willingness to get up and work. Prayer means nothing unless it is followed by action. God can only bless us when we are doing our part. Deliverance won't always come right away, but it will come. Hold on until the morrow, and finally it will come.

Love, Anziano Simcox.

The picture is of a really neat castle grounds in central Milano. I'm so blessed to be serving in a place with so much beauty all around me.

Buon Halloween!

It's Halloween week! It's actually not that celebrated here... I've seen a few pumpkins, but that's it. I miss standing out in the yard and scaring the rotten teenage kids that try to steal our candy. This year I think I'll dress up as a missionary. Oh wait...

We've got good things going on in Cimiano! My district makes fun of me because I say that a lot. They say it's become our district catchphrase. Really though, there's some great things going on. We will definitely be seeing a few baptisms in our ward before the end of the transfer. As President Wolfgramm always said, "the greatest miracle is the changing of a human heart." We've definitely seen that. One investigator that we're working with is working diligently and reading and praying every day. He is from Nepal and has been in Italy for eight or nine months. He converted to Christianity from Hinduism about ten years ago and he is always interested in growing his faith in the Savior. He has been studying diligently and really wants to know if he should be baptized. I love him so much and I'm so excited to see his progress and to see how much his faith has grown in the past month that we've been working with him. We met him on the Metro, cioe the subway. He was looking at our nametags, so we started talking to him about how he could know Jesus Christ more.

Last Friday we had a great lesson with a part-member family. They were married a few months ago and moved into the ward at the same time. The wife is a very active member from Colombia and does not speak much Italian at all. Her husband is Italian and is not a member. At first he started attending church just to help her through the language barrier, but in that time has started to become interested himself. The Saturday of Stake Conference, he called us and asked us if we could come give his wife a blessing (we found out later that the blessing was his idea!). While he was walking us to the house from the station he had nothing but good things to say about the church and he told us that he'd like to get to know it better. They invited us over the next week for Family Home Evening. We went over with a lesson planned, expecting that they wanted us to teach. After we said the prayer, the wife opened her scriptures and said in very confident Spanish "Today we are going to talk about the scriptures." The lesson was beautiful because everyone could feel the desire she had for her husband to understand the importance of the Book of Mormon. As he translated for her, we could hear a certain conviction coming into his voice and we know his testimony definitely grew from that lesson. This weekend they are travelling up to Bern to see the temple. I'm sure that will be a huge testimony builder for him as well.

There really are some good things going in Cimiano. I love being a missionary and I thank God for the opportunity every day. Some days are hard and I'm tired a lot. The mission is just a steady progression of tiredness. I've been sick this week too. I get sick about once a year. I made it all the way to October this year, so hey. It seems though that the harder it gets, the more blessings I see. I'm so grateful to be serving God's children here. Thank you all for the continued support and love.

Vi voglio tantissimo bene. Ci sentiamo alla prossima. Anziano Simcox

10/23/13

Hey everyone! Another Wednesday comes! A new transfer has officially started. It's a lot quieter around the house without Anziano Polson. He was always a bit... not quiet. We'll go with that. Hah. Anz. Sexton, who just came in is a little more softspoken. He's also broken right now. He did something to his knee a few weeks ago, so he came to Milano to get surgery. He just had the surgery yesterday, so he is at home resting. The three of us will be taking shifts for the next week or two to stay home with him. He's a trooper though!

Cimiano is going well. The sky decided to pour buckets of rain while we were walking home with our groceries. Not even a single tomato was lost though! Talk about miracles. I'm finding it hard to believe that October is almost over! Has Christmas music started playing in your house? It has in ours. Thank you Tabernacle Choir Christmas CDs!

As far as talking to people in the street, it's been a little slower this week. Maybe I smell bad. (Don't worry Mom; I put on my deoderant every day). Maybe the world in general just had a bad week. Eh. It's not about quantity, but it's about quality. My goal is to just make people think a little bit. I know I can't convince anybody of anything, but I can only invite people to listen to what I have found to be true. I had one exchange with someone that's stayed on my mind. I asked "What do you think about Jesus Christ," and he responded, "that which my religion tells me." Now, there is a difference between faith and blind faith. Blind faith is relying on someone else's testimony. Faith is relying on your own testimony, whatever that may be. We all started out in this life with blind faith. I firmly believe though that there comes a time in everyone's life where he or she must make the switch between blind faith and true faith.

It's so interesting to talk with people in the streets, on the park, in the Metro... etc. I've learned that we are all different people, but we are all children of God. So many people don't know that, and that makes me sad. My greatest hope is that I can help people realize their divine potential. For me, one of the saddest things in life is to see someone living under their potential.

I am a child of God.

His promises are sure.

Celestial glory shall be mine

if I can but endure.

Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,

help me find the way.

Teach me all that I must do

to live with Him someday.

Til next time, Anziano Simcox.

10/16/13

Hey all. It's me again. Hopefully you're not tired of hearing from me by now!

My fifth transfer has been succesfully completed. I am now past my 1/3 mark. Ridiculous. I'll be staying here in Milano Cimiano for at least another transfer. I also found out that I will be the district leader of Cimiano this transfer! I get to conduct meetings with the other missionaries in our district, interview baptismal candidates, and do companion exchanges with the other Anziani in my district. I feel blessed to have this opportunity to serve. I'm still decently young in the mission, but I know that this will help me learn and grow so much!

We met a woman on the street while we were out doing some proselyting. She stopped and listened to us and after a few minutes we invited her to come see the church. We were close to the church, so we invited her in and she accepted right then and there! We gave her a tour of the church and said a prayer with her in the chapel. I felt the Spirit very strongly and she told us several times how much she needed to hear the message that we were bringing. She told us she believes that God put us in her path. We gave her a Book of Mormon and invited her to church on Sunday. On Saturday as we were walking past the church, we found her ringing the citofono... err doorbell? Close enough. She said she had come by just to confirm the time of church the next day. She told us that she had read "un bel po del Libro di Mormon" which means a good little bit. Then she said to us, "It can't really be true, can it?" We said "Of course it can, and you can know for yourself!" She was generally surprised by this and wanted to know how she could know. The next day she came to church. The lesson in Sunday School was all about the Holy Ghost and prayer. She said it answered many of her questions. She loved Sacrament meeting and particularly how we refer to God as Heavenly Father. She was very touched by that. When I talked to her yesterday, she said she is reading every morning and evening and she is loving it.

I attached a picture for today. This is a random arch that sits in Milano for some reason or other. The little black dot at the bottom is me. I am loving serving in Milano. I've adapted to life in the big city and I think it's great. Not that I'll ever live in a city of my own free will, but hey! 

My scripture today comes from Mosiah 2:41. "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." The ONLY way to true lasting happiness is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have a firm testimony of that. As we strive to all that we can to follow the example that the Savior set for us, we will find that happiness that so many people in this world desperately seek. If you don't believe me, give it a try. You will see the difference. I promise.

Alla prossima, Anziano Simcox

10/9/13

Buooooooooonnnnn dì.

Hello from Milano. I love being a missionary! I've had some great experiences this week. We're working hard and seeing some big things. General Conference was this week! I saw all of the sessions except for the Sunday afternoon one, because that was too late in Italy time and they didn't rebroadcast it. (For those who don't know what I'm talking about, you can check it out here: http://www.lds.org/general-conference?lang=eng) I thought there were some very inspired talks. I particularly liked Elder Oaks's, which talked about the commandment to have no other gods before the one true God. How many "gods" exist in our world today? Money? Fame? Popularity? If there is anything in our life that we put before God, we need to reprioritize pretty quickly! There were also many powerful testimonies of Christ, which helped strengthen my own testimony.

The rainy season has arrived here in Milano. I feel like I'm back in Ohio! The cold has come as well, so we are now back to wearing our suit jackets full time. The only time we ever wore them over the past six months was at church, so I feel really fancy walking around with my suit jacket! Inside the apartment, we've had to bundle up. Our apartment is old and drafty and the proprietario (English?) hasn't turned on the boilers yet so we have no heat! It's not too bad yet though. We just like to complain.

When we're not teaching lessons, we spend most of our days out on the streets or in the parks trying to find people to teach. We have been blessed with a lot of success over the past few weeks. It was a little strange at first to have so many people actually listening. I thought maybe I was on Candid Camera or something. Maybe people just get nicer in the fall. Boh! We've had some great conversations and I feel like we've been able to do a lot of good lately. Even if in the end people choose not to continue to learn more, it's okay. A huge part of our job is just to plant seeds. The mission has taught/is teaching me that rarely do we see the effect we can have on the world by the way we live. Sometimes just a smile or a "buon giorno" is exactly what someone needed that day. I never know, but I'm here to let people know that there are people that still care. Hopefully in my teaching and proselyting I'm able to leave things better than I found them. That's life, no?

I can't say I have any huge miracle to tell you this week or any cool life-changing event, but I just want to leave you with my testimony that God loves you. He loves all of us so much and He wants to bless us. Yes, there is injustice and suffering in the world, but He is aware and He will give strength to those who suffer. He can't always make everything perfect. If everything were perfect this life would be pointless. He can however give us the eternal perspective, which is that this life is a second in time. Let's make the most of it by learning what we can and loving with all we are able.

I love all of you! Thank you for your continued thoughts, prayers, letters, emails, etc. Though I might not always be able to respond, I appreciate so much every little note. I'm grateful for your support.

A dopo, Anziano Simcox

10/2/13

Whew. Crazy week. Anz. Parker finished up his first week in the mission field. It's great being with someone so fresh in the field. I love seeing the "greenie fire" as they call it. It makes me work harder too and have a more positive outlook on the work; not that I don't, but it just gives me a fresh perspective.

Since we opened a new companionship we basically started with nothing. It was back to old-fashioned street contacting and door knocking. We've met quite a lot of people and we've talked with a few that are ready to listen. One experience we had was neat. We were walking down one of the paths that runs down the canal. I'll have to get a picture of that. It's really beautiful when the canal is full. Anyway, we were walking and we stopped a man who was taking a walk with his daughter. He stopped as we were introducing our message to him and he said "I don't really believe in religion. I've read everything from A to Z and it just doesn't make sense." We then showed him the Book of Mormon and we said "Well, have you read this?" He stopped in his tracks and asked what it was and why he'd never heard of it. Obviously, we told him, that's why we're here. He was really interested to get a copy of it, so we are meeting him tonight.

We met another man on a bench on the same path. We really like that path. He is Philipino, but he grew up in Italy. He speaks perfect Italian as well as English. We started talking to him and within a matter of seconds we were sitting next to him on the bench teaching him all about Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon. He asked so many great questions and kept wanting to know more and more. We set an appointment with him the next day. Not only did he show up, but he showed up early! That's a phenomenon in Italy! We had a very spiritual lesson and he drank in every word. He's looking forward to watching the General Conference broadcast this weekend.

That's something exciting: General Conference! We get to hear from a prophet and twelve Apostles who have been called by God. I always love Conference and I think it always comes exactly when I need it in my life. I encourage all of you to watch it online, or on TV, or at a chapel, or anywhere else! It's kind of like Green Eggs and Ham. Eat them anywhere, just make sure you try them! Yah it's not the best analogy, but you're going to have to deal with it.

I'm grateful for the experiences I'm having here in Milano. I feel blessed to be doing this work and I learn and grow every day. The tiredness never goes away, but the energy somehow increases. It's a strange feeling. I feel the Lord giving me strength every day when I do what He needs me to do. That's always one of God's big promises. I've been thinking a lot lately about 2 Nephi 28:30.  "For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have." As we exercise our faith, we gain more of it. Often in our lives we wait for big changes or big moments. Sure, life has a lot of big moments, but those big moments are composed of little, everyday moments that are often overlooked. Recognize and be grateful even for the smallest things because those are what make up life.

I love all of you! Love, Anziano Simcox

I never sent the picture of Valentino's baptism. Here it is. Anz. Stewart didn't make it into the picture. That's Anziano Polson and I.

Hi there everybody! I'm here in Milano, rather permanently now. It's been a crazy few days!

I think in my email two weeks ago I mentioned how I might not be in Milano for too long. I've been in a tri-companionship for a few weeks waiting for my new companion to arrive. On Saturday, President called me and told me that my companion would be flying in this week and that we would be going somewhere else that's not Milano. I packed up my bags and got ready to head out of the city! The night before I was supposed to leave I got a call from the Assistants who basically said "Just kidding! You're not going anywhere!" President decided that Milano would be a better place for us. I'm sad I had to unpack my bags (I had them packed so nicely; Kristi Chapman would've been proud), but I am grateful that my mission president is an inspired man!

So, here I am in Milano with my new companion Anziano Parker; and when I say new, I mean NEW. Yup! I'm a father again! It came as a surprise, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to be able to help another elder find his missionary shoes. Because Anziano Parker came in during the middle of the transfer, I actually got to go to the airport with President, his wife, and the assistants to pick him up. Most new missionaries don't get to meet their trainer at the airport! That was really exciting. He was excited too, but also dead tired. His plane was delayed and he ended up being stuck in Germany for most of the morning. When we finally got him home he just about passed out! Today is our first official day together. His Italian is very good for a beginner and he has the "greenie fire" burning strong. Tonight will be our first lesson together, so we have high hopes for that.

With Anziano Parker here now, that means that the two of us are opening a new companionship here in Milano. That means we're starting with nothing! On the plus side though, we have a fancy new phone. I've never had a phone with a touch screen in my life. I have no clue what to do with the thing... We've got a lot of work to do, but we're excited to do it. For the next few weeks we'd like to focus on members and less-active members. There's plenty of members here that can help us get started!

Before Anz. Parker got here though, we had a baptism! Valentino was thrilled to take this big step in his life. On the morning of his baptism he was terribly sick. We were worried that he wouldn't be able to make it! He walked into the church though with his head held high. He told his he knew that it was an important day and he wouldn't miss it for anything. Fighting the sickness and the really cold water in the baptismal font thanks to a broken water heater, he was baptized and he was overjoyed. Afterwards he bore a wonderful testimony about how he is a changed man and how he feels so much joy to have found this truth.

That's life for now. I love being a missionary.

I love you all! Love, Anziano Simcox.

Hey there! Wednesday comes again! Here I am in Milano. Somehow, I'm surviving the city! It's actually starting to grow on me a bit.

My challenge to myself over the past two weeks has been to learn the names of all of our members. It's been rough, but I'm getting there. I found out that Cimiano is the largest ward in Italy. It's fun to work in such a big ward because there are many people willing to do missionary work with us! We can only do so much without the members. First, members need to fellowship! Why should someone join the Church if they don't feel welcome. All are welcome because all are God's children. Second, it's hard to find people to teach if members don't help us do it! We could ring doorbells and stop people on the streets as much as we want, but the most effective way to get people to listen is if someone invites them!

I've definitely seen that happening here. One man named Valentino is an example. A member brought him to a wedding in the church a few months ago. There, he met Anz. Polson and his former companion. They invited him to meet with them and he became more and more involved in the church each week. Valentino said that he had been looking for truth for a while, but was having a hard time finding it. In this Gospel he told us that he has found peace and truth and he wants to receive more of it. To make that happen, he is being baptized this Sunday! He's very excited for his baptism and he has told us that he knows this is the path God wants him to take. He has a good spirit about him and I love meeting with him and seeing his testimony grow.

We had a neat experience with one of our new converts. He arrived here from Peru a few months ago and doesn't speak much Italian. Shortly after he arrived, he married a member here and was baptized. We had an appointment set up with him a few days ago and his wife would be there to translate for us. When we arrived though, we found out that she had been called in to work and that he was alone. We were worried about how we were going to communicate with him. We let the Spirit guide though and started out with a prayer that we would be able to communicate our message. We had a wonderful lesson about eternal marriage. Even though he spoke almost entirely in Spanish, we were blessed with the ability to understand him and to bear our testimonies to him in a way that he could understand us. I know that the gift of tongues is real and that we wouldn't have been able to do that without the help of the Spirit.

The Spirit is a powerful thing. Nothing can be accomplished in missionary work until we listen to the promptings of the Spirit. It's not always easy. The natural man sneaks in quite often and tries to rationalize. "Oh no, you don't have to talk to THAT person." "Oh, it's late. You should probably just go home." "Just stop trying with him. He's not worth it." "Sleep in a little bit. You deserve it." The natural man can be quite deceiving sometimes. I'm not here to listen to him though. I'm here to learn how to listen to the Spirit. 

"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father" (Mosiah 3:19). 

It's important to listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. God knows much better than us and He will never lead us astray. If we listen to the Guidance that He sends, we will be blessed. If we don't, we are missing out on so many blessings. God knows YOU and He loves YOU. If you seek Him, you will find Him. That's a promise!

Love, Anziano Simcox

The picture is a picture of our church in Cimiano.

MILANO!

Buon Giorno from the fashion capital of the world! I suppose you could call it that, although some of this "fashion" is a tad questionable. Milano is definitely different than anything I've ever seen. It's a city, but at the same time it's not, at least in the sense that an American would think of a city. Skyscrapers don't exist. Almost every building is an apartment building with businesses underneath. It smells like a city though, for whatever that's worth. There are lots of people though, many of whom are waiting for a message that will change their lives.

My companions (yes I meant that to be plural) are Anziani Polson and Stewart. Anziano Polson is one transfer ahead of me and Anziano Stewart is two behind me, so we're a decently young companionship. I wouldn't know what a more expereinced companionship would be like because I've never been in one! Although I'm not a new missionary anymore! This is the start of my fifth transfer! Time flies. "Why are you in three?" you may be asking. I don't know. The rumor is that I'm supposed to have a companion that for some reason or other is not here right now. From what we've heard he should be coming in three weeks. When I got here in Milano, every other missionary had heard that except for me. Hmmm...  Ah well! That'll get figured out eventually. For now, though, I'm here in Milano and I love it!

Milano to Pesaro was a big change. I went from a small branch of fifteen to a thriving ward of 150. In this ward though, there are about 600 other members who for one reason or the other are less-active. As you can see, we have our work cut out for us! Our job is to reach out to these people with love and discover what might be holding them back from partaking of the blessings of the Gospel.

As I said at the beginning, this city is filled with people. That's the other difference between here and Pesaro. Pesare was a smaller seaside city with lots of space. Milano... is not. There are so many people and no space to breathe. For those who know me well, you might know that "Austin Simcox + city" can be a very entertaining combination. Here's a list of things I've learned about city life in the past few days.

-How to stand on the subway and not fall over.

-What it means to "mind the gap."

-Busses will arrive when they darn well feel like it and not a second earlier.

-The people standing by the cathedral offering bird seed are much more interested in your wallet than in the birds.

-The same goes for the nice man at the train station offering to carry your suitcases.

-That puddle on the ground is anything but water. Walk around it in order to avoid finding out.

Hopefully that helps some of you for your next adventure to the city.

To finish I want to share an experience we had. We had an appointment with someone at the church, but he cancelled it. Instead, we offered to come to his house instead. He was a little reluctant at first, but finally agreed. He lives in a run-down part of the city in a tiny beat up apartment. When we walked into the apartment, it was pitch black. He told us he left the lights off because he didn't have the money to pay for the electricity. We sat down at the table and read the Book of Mormon by the light of a single candle. Although there may not have been much physical light, the room was glowing with spiritual light. He loved reading with us and talking with us and I could feel his strong testimony of the Savior. This reinforced my testimony that aside from whatever earthly obstacles we may have, we can find strength in our testimonies and live in this imperfect world.

'Til next time, Anziano Simcox

Arrivederci Pesaro!

Waiting for a transfer call brings me back to high school days. It's something like waiting for Mrs. Cook to put up the cast list... without a refresh button. The call came though! Today I'm packing my bags and tomorrow I'm getting on a train to... Milano! I'll be serving in the Northeast part of the city in an area called Cimiano. It'll be a big change, but I'm excited to have a fresh start. I've been in Pesaro for over five months now. I've met a lot of wonderful people that I will be keeping with me throughout my life. I've seen a lot of miracles, I've seen lives change, I've had doors slammed in my face... but the negatives pale in comparison to even one tiny glimmer of hope in someone's eye. Now I'll be off to Milano to have new experiences, meet new people, and help more of God's children get back to Him.

I will definitely miss the branch here in Pesaro. Though they are tiny in number, they have amazing faith. I have become close with all of them and I definitely won't be forgetting about them. Milano will be a big change. I'll be going from a branch of fifteen active members to a ward of about 150 active members! How's that for change?!

I'll sure miss Anziano Valentine too. He's been a miracle in my life and I know he'll hold down the fort in Pesaro. It's been wonderful to see his testimony and his desire to do the Lord's work improve in these past few months.

Enough about me! Let's talk about missionary work! A great new investigator has come out of the woodwork. She was a referral from someone who knew the Anziani several years ago. She is drinking in everything. She is hungry for truth and she is really looking. She reads the Book of Mormon on her own and she always has so many questions--so many that we can't even teach a whole lesson! She wants to know everything and she wants to find God. She is good at listening to the Spirit. I've loved seeing her progress over the past week and I'll be sad to leave her.

Other than her, the teaching pool has been kind of tight. Since Matteo broke his leg, he's been living in a community and we have little time to visit him... Pietro has disappeared off the face of the earth for a while. It's really frustrating to see people make so much progress and then all of a sudden... nothing. We've been doing a lot of finding work and we've definitely met a lot of different kinds of people. We're all on the same path, whether we realize it or not. We're all trying to make it back and I can think of no greater blessing at this time in my life than being able to help people make it back and to bring that extra light to people.

My message this week is simple. "Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." How can someone who has love for God and all those around him have any impure thoughts? In Preach My Gospel it is written that the mind is like a stage of a theatre, but only one actor can be on stage at a time. If we are filled with love, we cannot be filled with unrighteousness. When there is light, there can be no darkness. If we have that perfect love, we are willing to follow all that God has commanded us. That is the way to happiness.

Alright everyone. I'll hear from you next week in Milano!

Vi voglio bene, Anziano Simcox

August 28th

Hello. First off, I don't like this new way to respond to emails. Dear Gmail: stop. CHANGE!!.....

Whew. Ok. That's off my chest now. Hello from beautiful Pesaro. Not much has changed here, except for Gmail's service. The weather is finally cooling down a bit. We are no longer drowning in sweat anymore. We actually had to turn off the fans last night! Woo! 

We've been back to the streets trying to find people. A lot of times, they don't want to listen. Sigh. We're also still being flooded by tourists, so that makes it a challenge too. I've met so many people from so many different countries though! I've met people from the U.S., Russia, Ukraine, Germany, the U.K., France, Austria, and name any other European country. I actually had a chance to use what little German I remember with a man in the piazza. He said he only spoke German so I just told him in German that God loves us and I gave him our card. Shout-out to Herr Sharples.

Yesterday we had a really fun branch activity. Every Tuesday night our little branch meets together for la Serata Familiare (Family Home Evening). Yesterday one of our member families prepared the game. We all sat in a circle and each held part of a string. The goal was to pass a ring down the line while the person in the middle tries to guess who has the ring. I don't know if I explained that well enough, but it was really fun. We have an 80 year-old woman named Livia who comes to our church. She's our favorite. A year or two ago, she started losing her mind. She still comes to church, but anything goes with her. Yesterday she just kept playing with the string. She ended up with the ring, so she went into the middle of the circle. She actually guessed right and was so proud of herself! Then the other game we played was called "Giovanni è morto!" There wasn't really a goal except for to see how funny you can say "Giovanni è morto! (Giovanni is dead!)" to the person next to you. When it came to Livia's turn, the person next to her told her that Giovanni was dead and she got the most surprised look and said "Who's Giovanni?!?! How sad!!!" By the third or fourth time we got around the circle she figured out it wasn't real and just started ignoring us. Even she was having a fun time by the end though and we had a great evening. We have those activities once a week so that the members can invite friends and also so that people can understand that we're not just crazy people! They always make for a good time and for good food. :)

I love our branch and I'll definitely miss them when it's time for me to go. They're super awesome. They've been on fire with missionary work lately too! We're doing our best to help them. Without members, missionaries can't do anything.

This week I've started over the Book of Mormon. I've been gaining some really cool insights. Every morning we have an hour of study by ourselves when we study the Scriptures, Preach My Gospel (the missionary manual), and other materials. While study is focused on investigators and members, I pick up a whole lot as well. Never underestimate the Scriptures. I definitely didn't appreciate them at home. They are literally words of God. He speaks to us through them. Very specific answers can be found inside. As I've said many times before, God is waiting to bless us. Some blessings are dependent solely on our asking for them. 

A bleh a bleh a bleh a that's all folks. 'Til next time, Anziano Simcox

L'amore perfetto scaccia ogni timore

Ciao ciao ciao. What can I say about this week? It's been a long one.

This past week was a huge holiday in Italy. It's called Ferragosto.

Nobody really knows why it's a holiday, but they celebrate it anyway.

A lot of people get work off for a week or two and they go on

vacation. Pesaro has been flooded with tourists. Thursday was the

actual holiday. EVERYTHING shut down--even the grocery stores.

Proselyting has been difficult lately because everyone's brains are

shut off for the holidays. Here's one real conversation I had:

"Ciao! We're missionaries from the Church..."

"Oh no. I'm on vacation right now."

"Oh cool! Where are you from?"

"Pesaro."

"But you said..."

"I'm on vacation."

I've had that conversation more than once. If people haven't

physically gone on vacation, they're at least mentally on vacation.

From what I've heard, everything will get back to normal by

September... Mamma mia...

Story time. We have a new member named David. He is from Nigeria and

he has been here in Italy for a little over a year. He doesn't speak

much Italian, but he loves the members and the members have genuine

love for him. They have been trying to help him improve his language

skills by talking with him, inviting him over for lunch, and being his

friends. This past Sunday they asked him to give a short talk in

church. He was very worried, but he knew that the Lord would help him.

We met with him a few times last week. He wrote a talk in English and

then we helped him translate it. We also assigned him to write his

testimony in Italian on his own. On Sunday he got up and gave a

powerful talk in almost flawless Italian. We could feel how much he

was relying on the Spirit to bear his testimony.

The weather has been a little crazy here... The 40° heat is gone thank

goodness, but it's still hot. Yesterday it randomly decided to be

cold... We actually had to wear sweaters yesterday. Also, it poured

cats and dogs yesterday. Pesaro has random monsoons every couple

weeks. They only last for ten minutes or so, but they do a bunch of

damage. We saw a motorcycle flying down the street once. It was scary.

Luckily that time we were safe inside the church. This time we got

caught in the thick of it. Anz. Valentine's bike is broken again. Go

figure. We were walking to a member's house and it started coming down

hard... It was bad... Ah well! It makes for fun memories. Now I can

look back at my crinkled planner and remember the time I was stuck in

the monsoon... It won't be the last time either! I love Italy!

Ok. There's my life for now. Italian holidays and freak monsoons. I

found a great scripture a few days ago. This is Moroni 8:16, "Perfect

love casteth out all fear."  It's so simple, but it's a great motto.

If we do things out of love, we have no fear. If I love the people I

see all around me, I have no fear to talk to them about the Gospel. It

works in everyone's life. Be not afraid. Love instead.

Con tanto amore, Anziano Simcox

Affinché possano provare gioia

Buon giorno! How are you today? There are miracles in Pesaro my friends. It's been a hard week, but a rewarding week as well.

I'll start with a funny story first. It was Friday morning and we were getting ready for our weekly planning session. About five minutes in, our carbon monoxide detector went off. We called the mission office and they told us to go outside and call the fire department. For all the flack I give Italians, their fire department had a pretty quick response. About five minutes later we hear sirens off in the distance.

The firemen sweep the house and say that there's nothing there. This whole time the alarm has still been going off. Four of the firemen huddled in a circle all taking turns trying to disable it. Eventually one of them just pulled out the wire. Hah. Who needs an off switch when you can just pull the wires out? One new CO detector later and we are back in business.

Now back to missionary work. Carmine got baptized! It was a wonderful ceremony. Anz. Valentine and I were standing behind the font as witnesses and we pretty much got baptized too as he went under. Hah! The next day in church was just as amazing, if not more so. The branch president, the district president, Anz. Valentine, and I put our hands on his head and confirmed him as a member of the church and gave him the gift of the Holy Ghost. After we had finished, Carmine looked up with tears in his eyes and just said, "Wow." For a man of many words as he, it was beautiful to hear him just simply say, "Wow." I'm so happy for him and look forward to seeing his testimony continue to grow.

The weather is getting a bit cooler now. It's no longer 100 degrees at least. Thank goodness. I was slowly melting there for a little bit. I'm grateful to be here in Pesaro, however much I might complain about the heat. I love the people here and it's been such a pleasure to interact with them and help them grow closer to Christ. I've had two scriptures on my mind lately that I'd like to share. The first is from the Bible in Psalm 118:24. "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." The second is from the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 2:25. "Adam fell that men might be; and men are that they might have joy." Our entire purpose of this existence is to have joy. Not just temporal joy that comes and goes, but everlasting joy. So that we can have this joy, God has shown us the way, which is through His Son Jesus Christ. Following His example, we find that eternal joy. Life may come with its challenges and difficulties, but if we walk in the Savior's footprints we will always be able to find peace--come what may. Keep walking and keep following His example and you will find the way.

Vi voglio bene, Anziano Simcox

Sei mesi

Buon giorno da Pesaro! Beautiful, sunshiney, extremely hot and humid

Pesaro... It's really hot here. Even at night. There's no rest from

the heat. Our poor fans are dying. One of them actually collapsed last

week. Partly because we dropped the bunk bed frame on her but hey...

We named her Betty. She's a trooper, and our number one fan... ... ...

Pity laugh anyone?

Aside from the heat though, we're doing okay. We're still adjusting to

working in four, but things are starting to settle down. It's a weird

change and our apartment is a little cramped, but andiamo avanti.

We're getting a new kitchen here soon so that should be exciting. Just

in time for me to leave right? Figures. Our kitchen is really old and

nasty so they're ripping out everything and putting in an Ikea

kitchen, whatever that means. We're excited. That's one of those

simple joys of missionary life.

As of yesterday I've been a missionary for six months! Crazy right? I

feel like I've been here forever, but at the same time no. I remind

myself sometimes that I'm still only in my first area. I feel really

old though. Hah. I love Pesaro, however hot it is.

Our friend Matteo broke his leg. That was a bit of a downer for all of

us. He was playing soccer and tripped... He's farther away now, so

it's harder to visit him, but we're trying to do the best we can. He's

keeping a positive outlook though! He actually thinks it's kind of

funny in retrospect. It's kind of like me when I tore my ACL. It's

hilarious now that I look back. Actually that was hilarious in the

moment... but hey.

Carmine is getting baptized on Saturday! He's really excited. He's

such an inspiration to me. He is a person who likes to take time to

make the right decision, hence why it took him a year and a half to

choose to be baptized. We were a little sad at church on Sunday

because Pietro didn't come again. Our investigators can't make

progress unless they come to church so we were sad that he will be

missing that step in his conversion. Carmine talked to us and gave us

a lot of encouragement. He told us that he's stood up the Anziani

plenty of times. He said that the first Anziano that found him never

had the pleasure to see him in church, but here he was in front of us

now. As missionaries we never know the seeds that we plant. I could

easily look back at my time here in Pesaro and at first glance it

would appear that I haven't seen much accomplished. Numbers help us to

quantify, but they can never measure a person's heart. We as

missionaries will never know the changes that we helped to bring about

in someone's heart. As Pres. Wolfgramm always said, "The greatest

miracle is the changing of a human heart." While at first glance the

physical results of our labors may be much, I know that a huge

spiritual harvest is in the future for whoever is willing to do all

that God may require. His purposes are much higher than ours and we

never know the miracles that He has in store, even if we may never

realize them.

That's my message for today. Sometimes in life we go about thinking

that we're not going anywhere, but I promise that if you are pushing,

you are going somewhere. Anz. Miller always loved to tell this story:

An old man once hired a young boy. The young boy's job was to move a

boulder from point A to point B. The young boy pushed, yet the boulder

did not move. Every day the young boy pushed with all his might, but

the boulder would not budge. This continued for a year with the

boulder making absolutely no progress. Finally the young boy went to

the old man and said, "What is the point of doing this? Every day for

a year I have pushed this boulder and it has not moved one inch! Why

don't you just move it yourself?" The old man replied, "Of course I

could move it myself, but what good would that do? Look at yourself!

Look at what you've become!" The young boy looked at himself and

realized the difference that pushing the boulder had made. His body

was stronger. His mind was stronger. He had a newfound determination

and willpower that he had lacked a year before. He had not moved the

boulder, but he had moved himself. The young boy had become a man.

Keep pushing that boulder. Don't give up. Love, Me.

Sto morendo di caldo

I'm really tired. I claim no liability for the following. We played

soccer today in Ancona with the other Anziani. It was nice. I haven't

played in so long! Then we went and did grocery shopping. There's this

really good cereal named Master Crumble, but it's only sold at a

specific grocery store chain here in Italy. Whenever we go to Ancona

we make it a point to go to Lidl and get Master Crumble. It's. So.

Good. Those are the simple pleasures of missionary life. The other

simple pleasure is when you try to carry all of your groceries while

biking. Usually I just attach it to the hook on the back of my bike,

but today it didn't work and my face ended up on the ground. It was

pretty epic. Sadly, one peach passed away in the catastrophe... I'm

totally fine---just mourning for the peach.

Pesaro is great, but REALLY HOT. This week it hit 41°C. For those who

don't have their temperature converter handy, that's 105°F. Mamma mia.

I had no idea that Italy ever gets this hot. Apparently it does. I've

been drinking LOTS of water. I already drank lots of water anyway, but

now I drink more. Hah!

The work in Pesaro goes along. We have four Anziani here in Pesaro

now! It's weird sharing our apartment with two others. Their names are

Anz. Anderson and Anz. Kekoolani. They're great missionaries though.

Anz. Kekoolani is fresh off the plane; another new missionary in

Pesaro! We've been trying to figure out how to make it work with four.

Pesaro isn't that big of a city, so we're learning how to share space.

It's fun though. The members love having four of us now and it's

getting them more excited about missionary work. We've seen a small

surge of member missionary work as members have been sharing their

testimonies with people around them. It's awesome!

Carmine is excited about his baptism next Saturday! We are too! The

members are really excited to see another baptism in Pesaro. They're

few and far between, so whenever there is one, you can feel the

excitement.

As I've said before, one of the blessings of being a missionary is

being able to talk to many different kinds of people throughout the

day. Everyone has a story that makes them who they are. I love hearing

these stories and being able to help these people understand what has

brought me so much joy. It's hard when people don't want to accept our

message or just blow us off immediately. Some people look outwardly

disgusted by us the moment they see us. There are always people who

will listen though. There are always people who are prepared to

listen. It's wonderful to find these people and be able to help them a

bit on their journey to eternal life. It's where we're all trying to

make it in one way or the other.

I don't have a big story to tell this week or a crazy miracle to

write. Of course my whole life is a story and every day is full of

miracles. Everyday I have the opportunity to share what, or who more

specifically, brings me joy: Jesus Christ. I bear my testimony that He

is our Savior. He lives. He loves us. He is waiting to bless us. The

purpose of the Bible and the Book of Mormon is to bear witness of

Christ as our Savior and Redeemer. I have no doubts about this. He is

real. He loves us. He loves you. Come unto Him and be saved.

Vi voglio un sacco di bene,

Anziano Simcox

Trasferimenti #3 ed altre storie da Pesaro

Hello everyone! It's me again.

So first, how about an update on transfers? It's that time of year again already. I found out that I will be spending six more weeks in Pesaro. I love Pesaro, so I'm not too upset about it. Anz. Valentine will be staying with me. Here's the crazy news: we're getting two extra missionaries! There will be four Anziani in Pesaro. Whew. Our apartment has enough room. We spent most of our P-Day today trying to organize the apartment. It doesn't look to bad. We look like a missionary apartment now with the way everything is crammed in. We'll be a little cozy, but it'll be ok. We're excited. It will definitely be a blessing for the work here in Pesaro, and I'm sure the members will love it too.

Let's start off with crazy miracle time. We have an eternal investigator named Carmine. He has been investigating the church for over a year and he's been coming to church for a while. In every way except baptism, he is a part of the branch. He's super awesome. He has a great testimony and great humor. He loves my last name too. Every time he sees me he says it as loud as he can and says "un nome forte!" Hah! He's never had anything against getting baptized, but he's always told the Anziani he wasn't ready to pick a date. He wanted to wait until the time is right. So, we just treat him like a member of the branch knowing that when the time is right he'll come to us.Well, on Sunday he had us over at his house and told us that he is ready. He wants to be baptized on August 10th! There will be a baptism in Pesaro! We are excited and he is very content. He's planned out the whole ceremony. It's kind of funny to watch. It's almost as if he's planning a wedding. We're glad to see that he's ready and so happy about it.

We've been trying to put more emphasis on member missionary work lately. A few weeks ago, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles did a conference about missionary work called the "Work of Salvation." If you haven't watched it, go watch it now. It is awesome and does a wonderful job talking about the members' responsibility in missionary work. When we have such a great gift as the Gospel, we should have the desire to share it! Imagine that you found the cure to cancer. Would you hide it, or would you share it with as many people as possible? Of course you'd share it with everyone you saw! That's the same way we should treat our testimonies. Our testimonies are precious. Just as that cure to cancer is a cure to physical disease, even more are our testimonies cures to spiritual disease. If you have a testimony, regardless of the shape or size, you have the responsibility to share it with those who have not yet realized their own and even with those who already have one. The Savior Himself said, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:19-20). If you have a testimony (and I know that all of you reading this have a testimony of SOMETHING in some way or other) go share it!

There's my discourse for this week. I hope you learned something. I love all of you. As always, thank you so much for your emails, letters, prayers, and thoughts. I'm grateful to know that I have so many wonderful people supporting me.

Vi voglio bene,

Anziano Simcox