Happy New Year!

(Anziano Wilkinson) 

The past few weeks have been very busy for us. First of all, we survived the end of the year, the crazy Italians who shoot fireworks out their windows (which apparently is not that uncommon of a sight, I'll post a picture below), and the seemingly endless rain which followed for the entire week after.

We have seen a lot of progress in the people we are working with and have added several people to our teaching pool! One of those new is named Harish and he comes from India! He is getting his doctorate in mathematics at the University of Pisa and speaks fantastic English, but little Italian haha. However, apparently his courses are in English so his schooling is going just fine. He is fantastic and has made sure to teach Anziano Mattson and I how to properly eat Indian food. Who knew I'd learn the basics behind Indian cuisine while serving a mission in Italy!

While teaching him about the plan of salvation we asked him a question about what he believes happens after we die. He said he didn't have one anymore, but when he was younger he believed in the common Hindu belief of reincarnation. He said he stopped believing in reincarnation when he came up with a mathematical proof that proved it couldn't be true. Then he excitedly proceeded to tell us his proof. He's a funny guy for sure, but (although I'm not an expert on the subject) his proof seemed to make a lot of sense haha.

This week I've been thinking a lot about how I'm going to make this year better than any before (a hard task, considering how blessed I really am!). I think too often we think of New Years resolutions as things that apply to ourselves and thus we forget to think outwardly when we set goals for the new year. I think this may be part of the reason why basically 99% of New Years resolutions are not kept for longer than a month: they fail to see beyond ourselves and are thus too shallow! As I have been thinking, my thoughts have been turning constantly back to service. This year I want to serve more selflessly and seek actively for chances to help others; chances both big and small!

There is a verse in the Book of Mormon in Mosiah 2:17, which reads, "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." This concept is such a profound one and tells us many things, among which is that God truly does love us! He rejoices when we are served by others and when we serve others because he knows that service brings gratitude and happiness to both the server and the served. In fact, the wording of this verse would seem to imply that he gets just as much joy from our service as the recipient!

The more we serve, the more we make those around us and ourselves happy. The more we serve, the more we please our Father in Heaven and in turn we are all blessed more! Service brings happiness and is by nature selfless (because serving ourselves isn't really service). So on that note I invite you all to join me in setting a goal to serve more and do so more selflessly this year! I know that as we do this that we will all be blessed and will find ourselves very uplifted by the year's end, and everyone else too!

Have a great week everyone, happy New Year, and don't forget to look for opportunities to serve!

-Anziano Jake Wilkinson

A Roman candle being shot out of a window.

We found a Chevy.  And it was a pickup truck no less!