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