Chapter Four: The 7th Epistle of Anziano Stewart to the Calabrians/Messinites

Reflections on the last 535,600 minutes of my life

In front of the Stake Center in Kaiserslautern

So this may be a bit short, I was hoping to have a bit of time to write but things happen.  I'm doing well, it's not too hot or at least not like it was last week.  Oh, by the way, I’m up to 43 liters of water that I've drunk since July 1st. =)

Anyways, I wanted to share with you 4 of the biggest lessons that I've learned in the last year of my life (on the 20th I complete a year as a missionary.)  

The first thing is the importance of being diligent.  It’s easy to decide that you're going to start doing something but we all have many failed New Year’s resolution stories that show how hard it really is to endure.  C.S. Lewis said, "you find out the strength of a wind by walking against it."  If we lie down or even stop walking we will not only never know how strong the wind is but we'll never know how far we could have gone or accomplished if we had kept walking or even began to run.  Diligence really is the key to getting things done and doing things with lasting effects.  It's also important to not run faster than you have strength, so that you can finish the WHOLE race, not just 100 meters of the 5K.  Brigham Young said, "the men and women who desire to obtain seats in the Celestial Kingdom will find that they must battle every day."  Without diligence we cannot make it.

The second thing is the importance of time.  There are 2 ways to think of the day.  Simply how to fill the 24 hours, or to think all of the opportunities that we will/can have and how we can take advantage of them.  The work goes much better when I ask myself "what's the most important thing to do right now?" instead of just "what could we do?"  Focusing on what matters most helps everything fall into place, like that FHE activity with the jar and the rocks, pebbles, and sand.  Sorella Kelly said something in this last Zone Conference that has helped me a lot.  She encouraged us to ask ourselves "if Christ had my opportunities what would he do?"

In Latin there's the saying "carpe diem" that means seize the day but literally it means make every moment count. Doing that really helps ensure the things you're doing are the very best things that you could possibly be doing.

The third thing is that I'm the only one who controls my happiness.  President Kelly once said, “we need to free ourselves from the weather.” (Many Italians let the weather decide how they feel.)  We choose if we are obedient, if we act (or are acted upon), or if we have charity.  If we choose to have/do these things we'll be happy. Punto.

Finally, we must put our trust in the Lord. (Isaiah 40:31)  When we complain it shows that we don't accept the trials or difficulties that the Lord feels we need. He has things in store for us that we can even imagine, far better than what we may have left behind. It is also empowering, when we put our trust in him, it connects us to his power. (3 Nephi 7:18) Gene R. Cook said, "I bear witness that we live far below our possibilities in living with the Lord.  We are too quick to turn to our own strength and not rely on him."  I know that if we exercise faith in him and throw ourselves in his arms not only will he catch us but he'll carry us to heights that we've never dreamed of.

I'm sorry, that's all the time that I have for today.  Thank you all for your e-mails and pictures, I love you all so very much!!  Stay safe. =)

--

Mai a rendersi,

Anziano Stewart

P.S. I forgot something that I wanted to add at the end it's a quote from David O McKay "I’m not what I want to be, I'm not what I should be, but I'm not what I was", that’s exactly how I feel right now.

Chapter Four: The 6th Epistle of Anziano Stewart to the Calabrians/Messinites

Reggio Calabria Week 2

This week was once again very hot.  It's like 35-40 degrees Celsius (95-104) and around 90% humidity.  Fun.  =) Now that I've said that, last Wednesday we went to Bova Marina to take the sacrament to a member who is 93 years old and can no longer make it to church.  It was such a great experience to get to know him and the things that he's done, they've served like 5 missions either in the Swiss temple or other various assignments throughout Italy. The opportunity to do the ordinance was wonderful as the spirit was very strong!

Looking down to the lungo mare

Anziano Malan and me are getting along great.  We get up at 6 and run down to the lungo mare and workout.  He really got into crossfit before he came out and has a sweet packet of killer bodyweight workouts. We are very similar and we are both driven and want to get work done.  So, about the spicy food here in Calabria.  Honestly it's not very spicy but it's REALLY good.  There's this paste kinda stuff called  'nduja that is sooo good. The base is made of pig salami and then they add all kinds of spicy things and you put it on pizza, bread, pasta, really anything you want.  Oh, and I forgot last week about the address of our apartment, it is "Via Filipini 85/c  /  89125 Reggio Calabria, Italia" 

Tamara is doing great, sadly she wasn't able to come to church but she was talking with her priest (orthodox) and he basically told her that our church is the only church that she could change to and he'd be okay with it. So that's amazing she does feel a little guilty because she dances (since she was like 4) and she was reading "for the strength of the youth" pamphlet and now she feels like every time she dances and it's not classical dance she's sinning. She is very prepared.

This week during my study I followed up on a commitment I made to a missionary who went home a couple transfers ago, to read 2 talks in the April 2011 conference, “To Do, To Be” and “What Manner of Men Ought You To Be”,  both were very good talks that I’d actually like to read over a second time.  Oh, also I heard a quote this week from 2 people.  It’s from the Lion King (my favorite childhood movie. = D )  It's when Mufasa tells Simba "Look inside yourself Simba, you're more than what you've become.  Remember who you are."  

I think our Heavenly Father corrects us in much the same way. At times we forget our divine potential and need a soft, gentle reminder to get us back on course.

Well, I don't have much more time. I hope that you all have a great week, enjoy the summer, make some sweet goals and have a lot of fun!

--

Mai a rendersi,

Anziano Stewart

Chapter Four: The 5th Epistle of Anziano Stewart to the Calabrians/Messinites

AMERICA! Eat a hamburger for me

Week 1 in Reggio Calabria!

So, I made it safely to Reggio with Anziano Malan.  He's from Morgan Utah.  He's a really good missionary.  I'm excited to be serving with him.  The members here are a pochi ma buoni.  There's Presidente and Sorella Pipolo (Geatano and Sabrina)  They are both amazing!! They might be the most solid members that I’ve seen in Italy, especially Sabrina.  They are really involved in missionary work and ready to get work done! Yeah!! Then there are the other members that really need help strengthening their testimonies and progressing in the gospel. 

Our investigators (so far) are all teenagers! Cool huh? There's Tamara.  She's 17 and from Georgia.  She is orthodox, she has read the whole book of Mormon in Italian, it took her 2 months and now has started to read it in Russian.  She said the first time that she read Alma 32, she cried.  Then there's her friend Ahlam who's 16, she's Muslim and from Morocco.  She hasn't quite finished the Book of Mormon yet.  She doesn't believe that Christ was our Savior, so the Book of Mormon has had less of an impact on her but she still really enjoys it.

President has asked us to try for a baptism during July and I really think that Tamara can do it.  She just needs to come to church, which right now is a big obstacle due to family things.  Then there's Frederico, he's an 18 year old Italian who is interested in the history of the church.  He's Italian and speaks English really well.. Next pday, we're going to go on a tour of Reggio with him. =)

Reggio is Beautiful!! The Lungo Mare is amazing.   There’s a huge castle that is on the block next to ours and there are a lot of churches, museums and other cool stuff like that. But the big attraction is the beach, everyone goes to the beach except us because there's better things to do. =)

Because Reggio is on the coast, it's kind of a long city and the church is about 50 minutes on foot from our house.  So that's a big difference from what it was like in Messina with a car. Kind of a bummer, mainly because it's very hot and humid, walking outside for 50 minutes leaves you very sweaty but the weatherman said that this week is supposed to be the hottest week of the summer.  Personally I'm skeptical, but we'll see. 

Oh, I found a note from a couple months ago about a man who is from Bitonto but lives in Provo who might have been one of the companions of James. His name is Franco Lepore and his email is leporefranco at yahoo.com.  He wasn't sure if it was James (it was a long time ago) but you never know.

Well, that's all I have for now.  I hope that you all are enjoying your trip in Paris! I loved all the photos.  Sara, don't be a party Pooper!! 

Have a great 4th of July!!

Transfer calls are this Saturday, we'll see what happens!!! =P we both are going to stay FOR SURE! 

Ciao!

--

Mai a rendersi,

Anziano Stewart

Chapter Four: The 4th Epistle of Anziano Stewart to the Calabrians/Messinites

It’s HOT and I’m COOKED

anziani home (rest home)

And here I am again, writing those that I love. Even though I do it every week, I don't think it could ever get old. To start out, I want to share a couple cool things I learned this week.  First, "sacrifice", in latin, it comes from "sacer" and "farcere".  Sacer means holy or sacred, while farcere means to make or to do.  So in a sense, sacrifice really means to make or render something sacred or holy.  It is an aspect that I have never thought of before.  Usually when you hear sacrifice you think of giving something up, but thinking of making something holy or sacred, you want to do it.  Second, (and less cool / mind blowing) is the name "lucifer” which comes from 2 words as well, "luce" or light and "fero" or carrier.  This helps show how satan was one of the most chosen of god's children as he was known as a carrier of light.  However, we always need to be attentive that we remain chosen by choosing to follow him.

Anyways, it is so hot here! (But I still prefer this to the cold by far!!) Thankfully we have a car in Messina but in Reggio it's on foot or on bikes (I think).  We’ll see how it goes.  The wind from the Sahara (shiroco) is already here and normally the wind would be nice right?! It’s torture!!  And lets not talk about the humidity.  But for all that I complain about it, I like the heat, believe me!

Um, I'm not sure if you all remember a sister in the Catania Mission named Sorella Rizo...  She taught Leona (the woman who got baptized last week) 5 years ago!! Crazy huh? Yesterday she showed us a Christmas card that the sisters made for her.  If you can find her on Facebook, make sure you tell her that "Leona Molina" got baptized!!

Maren! How was your Birthday?!? Everyone told me about it but you!! What did you have on your cake?  Did you like your gifts?

Things here are going well, we taught whopping 27 lessons last week!!!! That's a new record for me.  One of our investigators (professor Salvatore) is a professor at the university and also works in the hospital, he has a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith but tithing really hangs him up, he says it should be 5%. =/ Also Thomas S. Monson’s eyes really get him, he says they aren't pure... however, he's hilarious and come to English course.  

burnt car (you see them pretty frequently)

There is also a woman named Pina.  She sells fruit.  We see her almost every day because we are trying to help her stop smoking.  She has known the missionaries for a little while (a year or so) and has also had a couple baptism dates that she had to skip...but she has such a strong testimony of everything!  While she sits at her stand she reads the Book of Mormon.  She is so cool!! Her only problem is she keeps relapsing! =/

In 2 days I'll be in Reggio!! I can’t wait to start working there.  It'll be interesting seeing as we both (myself and Anziano Malan) have never been there and that there haven't been missionaries for 4 weeks in the city... I'm excited.

Well, my time's up sadly.  I love you all and hope you are enjoying summer!! Don’t forget! "It’s not possible for you to sink deeper than the infinite light of Christ's atonement."  Pres. Monson.

me with the Branch President in Bitonto, Pres. Panisco

 

Chapter Four: The 3rd Epistle of Anziano Stewart to the Calabrians/Messinites

Forza Italia!!!! Siam Pronti alla morte!!!

So, 3 weeks in Messina, who saw that coming? Not me.  But it's nice going back home; I'm learning a lot being sort of on the outside of a missionary companionship. We had a baptism this week! Pretty sweet huh?  The spirit was very strong, she was bawling, her husband was crying and we now have a baptismal date with him for next month!! 

I'm not sure if you all are keeping track, but today is my 11 month mark. How do you feel about that? I'm not sure how I feel about that... =/  I feel like I'm still one of the "newbies" but this morning I talked to president and he said that 70 percent of the mission is my age or older.  

Maren!! Its your birthday in 4 days!!!! Happy birthday!!!!! What are you going to do?? What do you want? What have you learned this last year of your life?  

I'm glad to hear that Ginger is feeling better hopefully she continues to recover!

So dad, How was Fathers day?!?! I hope that you weren't too busy! Too bad it's always on a Sunday.  How did you like the tie?  It's Napoli's color!! Yeah boy!!  I really liked those articles you sent me.  They both brought good insight especially the one about achieving your full potential.  I was able to use concepts from it in several lessons. It's interesting because they are things that if you're not on the ball they slip past.

One of the members we were with this week said something that I really liked and I've never really thought about.  That the church and the gospel are like a hospital where we all go to get healed however we don't have the same illness. and the cure for a cold isn't the same as pneumonia.  Although there are a couple steps in common, we are all different and have different needs and changes we need to make.

Well, sorry this is kind of short, I have a lot I need to do in this short hour and 25 min.  I love you and hope that next week you're still sane.  VIVA L'ITALIA

"Life is fragile, manage it with prayer." Harold B. Lee.

--

Mai a rendersi,

Anziano Stewart

PS

I forgot something I wanted to say, Thank you Mom and Dad for everything you have done, and continue to do for me.  They are things that couldn't be more important. Thanks for your diligence and devotion. Ciao ciao brown cow.

Chapter Four: The 2nd Epistle of Anziano Stewart to the Calabrians/Messinites

Non cadde un foglie che Dio non vuole.

Good afternoon to everyone!  I am about as red as a tomato.  =) We went to Etna today and it was so much fun!  That's why I'm a little late on writing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARA!!!

How was it? Did you like the soccer jersey I sent? I hope it fits.  What did you end up doing?

This week was another week in SICILIA.  Yes, I’m still in Messina.  Anziano Errante is still planning on coming back however, he's not sure when... hopefully soon.  But Messina is great.  We are actually having a baptism this Saturday.  Score =) She’s a Filipino lady who is maybe 45 years old.  Her husband isn’t 100% on the ship yet, but he supports her being baptized and hopefully shortly he'll follow.  

This week we had Stake conference and Zone conference.  I'm pretty conferenced out!  But they we're all very helpful and instructive.  The Bishop here asked that we participate in the Saturday session of Stake conference.  So we took a 3 hour bus to the middle of the island to Enna.  The ride was very long but there were some good talks.  You’ll remember the Nuno’s he’s now the Stake President and he is great.  Then there was the Sunday session which was pretty sweet, I'm not sure if Germany was involved, but, it was a broadcast from Salt Lake for all of the western European countries.  It was almost ALL about families, the importance of families, how to raise families, etc.  I really liked it.  Oh wait; there was the bus ride on Sunday.  We were riding along (a little bit late) and there was a big bang! Everyone screamed and the driver pulled over to the side of the road.  One of the wheels had exploded! Nice! =P we sat there for a nice 45 minutes and thankfully another bus was able to come and take us to conference.  Gratefully, no one was hurt. =P

Then there was Zone conference on Tuesday which is always nice to attend.  President Kelly has been Mission President for 2 years now and his training was on what he's learned as a Mission President.  He said some really great things about time management, being Christ like, and being diligent.  He's great.  As you can see in the picture.  2 of the sisters were wearing a red and green shirt, so we made the Italian flag. =)  I also got to see Anziano Miller which was really great.  

I was also able to have my 3 month interview with President.  It was nice, we really only talked about Anziano Errante, but it's such a blessing to have those 15 minutes every 2 transfers.

That is terrible about Ginger!! Holy cow!! I hope she recovers quickly.  I'll be praying for her.  And you to Abby, just make sure you look everywhere. You're not really in a spot to be picky... =/

Sounds like graduation was pretty fun, that’s good you were able to go.  That’s sad the Carlson’s are leaving....

That story of Julianna is the best!!! It’s great to hear things like that that she knows that prayer works!! 

As far as your trip for summer break, you should consider going to Northern Italy.  I discovered a secret out.  The ties that I’m buying... you can buy 100 of them in a huge warehouse in either Bergamo or Como for 2 euro per tie.  Pretty sweet huh?!?! ;)

Well, I need to go... You all are so great.  Have a great 1st week of summer; take lots of pictures (I loved that you sent some to me!!)  Be safe enjoy the sun once it comes, wear sunscreen.  Drink enough water, stay safe, and remember I love you!!

-- 

Mai a rendersi

Vi Voglio Bene,

Anziano Stewart

Chapter Four: The 1st Epistle of Anziano Stewart to the Calabrians/Messinites

Ora et Labora (The Work Now)

(The Chapel were we held Sacrament meeting every week)

Wow, It's been a long week, which is nice because lately they have been FLYING BY! First, leaving Bitonto was hard.  I really am going to miss that city.  The bus ride down was very long.  We left at 0700 and I got to Messina at 1600.  Cool story, the lady I sat next to was going to Paternòf (where we lived for four years), because in a month or so she's going to get married to a man from there.  Why am I in Messina still?  Good question.  My companion is away on “home leave” due to family problems.  Nothing is for sure but hopefully I'll be in Reggio in a couple days.  

Work in Messina right now is at the max! Last transfer there were 2 companionships and now there is only 1.  We are basically teaching all day, which is really nice.  Teaching is what I love most about missionary work and having the chance to do it 5-7 times a day is really a great experience.  And from what I hear I need to take advantage of it because Reggio isn't like that.  But I'll explain more about that once I know for sure how it is.  Another blessing here is the fact that there is a car.  I said to myself previously in the mission, I don't ever want to serve in an area where there's a car.  I’ve changed my mind.  It's amazing!! I never realized how much time you could cut out without walking (even at a missionary pace).

I learned a saying in Italian this week. "é meglio dire 'chissà' che 'se avessi saputo'." Literally it means "it's better to say who knows than if I/you only knew", so kind of like saying, “better safe than sorry”.  Oh! English course! Because I'm here and we're in threesome we were able to do three levels of English course (that is where I learned this saying) It went really well and at the end one of the students gave me a really great compliment, he said that I was the best missionary English teacher that he had ever seen, pretty cool huh?  

That's good news about the blog, thank you so much for working that out!  Do you put pictures in the text or just on the sidebar?  That is hilarious about Julianna using advanced vocabulary like that, good job J!

How is grandpa doing?  Last I remember hearing was he was having a pretty hard time adjusting without grandma.  Is it still like that? 

Abby, it's good to hear that you're finding some nice job opportunities and school's going all right.  And you reached 100 lbs., nice!  Who is still living in Bitburg? What do you do in your free time?

Mattie, Sara, Maren, J, why is it that I have to hear about what you are up to through mom and dad?!?! I want to hear from you!

(Sicilian pizza, the best pizza in the world and only 5 Euro)

Well I'm glad you are getting those packages, and I hope you like the gifts.  I've already had a couple graniti, a couple brioche, and a cannolo. I didn’t realize how much I missed them! =)

This transfer the mission is focusing on inspired questions.  If you have a copy of Preach My Gospel, I'd recommend reading the part on questions.  It’s bel potente, and very useful. So I'm going to leave you with a question or two.

What matters most to you right now?  Do your actions show it!

Mai a rendersi.

--

Vi Voglio Bene,

Anziano Stewart