Its finally October!

(Sister Ellsworth)

Ola!

How's it going? This week was probably both the longest and shortest weeks so far. It's difficult to describe really... Or maybe I'm just forgetting my English! Haha.

It's starting to feel like October! In other words, it's not wickedly hot and we need a long sleeve shirt. Maybe a jacket at night... It's been beautiful!

I had to buy a new bag this week because my bag from the MISSIONARY MALL like blew up. Turns out a $30 camera bag works 100X better! Advice for future missionaries. Also, don't bring hangers because every missionary apartment has a bajillion hangers everywhere. Also, invest in good watches. I've already gone through three and each has broken or stopped.

We dropped a lot of our investigators this week because they were more interested in talking rather than making changes. It was really hard to let them go but we made sure to keep records of them so missionaries later on can find them. But we have two friends right now! Sanida and Alda! Both are fabulous women who are so humble ad receptive. We love them with all our hearts!

I studied the history of the church this week, from the time that Joseph Smith was instructed to restore Christ's Church until now and those early saints had such courage! They suffered every difficulty and trial with such faith, though i can only imagine how difficult it was. I learned the song Come Come Ye Saints in Portuguese and it is so pretty. It put our perspectives in place and helped us to work harder.

Transfers are next week! I've been here like three months I think... can't really remember honestly. The only bummer thing is that I'm not fluent yet! Still working hard at that. I'm able to translate in church and even take the lead in lessons. While I can have basic conversations and understand at about 90%, I've been focusing on trying to get rid of my accent. It's better to speak a little bit really well than a lot of gibberish!

We were studying Portuguese on the beach overlooking the Rio Tejo and Lisboa.

Sanida! This woman is awesome. We have been so blessed to be able to work with her!

Alda is a missionary's best friend. She is an awesome cook and always sends us home with food and happy hearts! She's tried to marry us off to everyone too, but tells us that she's just sharing the gospel. Uh huh, Alda. We know what you're trying to do!! She doesn't want us to leave, ever.

I love you guys! Miss you tons!

Sister Ellsworth

"That I may receive this great joy"

(Anziano Wilkinson)

This week has been a blur! After five long hours on a train, I finally arrived in Milan, on Wednesday evening. The next morning the trainers all met together for a short meeting, then we got to meet our new companions. In all there where 32 new missionaries that came in this transfer, which is a lot, and so there were a lot of missionaries gathered together that morning.

My new companion is named Anziano Larsen from good old Bountiful, Utah. He's a really smart kid and we share a lot of interests it seems, which is fantastic! He studied French pretty seriously for four years and it has clearly helped him as he's started learning Italian. He already speaks and understands much better than I sure did when I was as fresh as him. As a result he has a slight French accent though when he speaks, which is slightly comedic, but with time I'm sure he'll get better about it haha.

I really want Anziano Larsen to have a good experience with his first two transfers, so we have been working really hard here in Ancona and are beginning already to see the blessings of it. It's so rewarding to work hard when our cause is the Lord's cause!

As I was reading in the Book of Mormon this week, I found a verse that really stuck out to me. It's found in Alma 22, which is when Aaron and his brothers are teaching the king of the Laminates (who were a very wicked and idolatrous people). After Aaron and his brothers finish expounding to this king the true doctrine of Christ and the promise of eternal life to those who live in harmony with Christ's teachings, the king says in verse 15, "What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy."

This once wicked king had experienced a "mighty change of heart" with regards to the teachings of Christ and when he discovered the immeasurable blessings that were promised to those who follow Christ and his teachings, he was ready to give up anything for it. To him the joy that comes from the gift of eternal life was greater than anything he riches or power he could possess on earth. Eternal life is not just immortality, or living forever, but rather living forever with our Father in Heaven. Eternal life means being eternally happy and it is the greatest gift our Heavenly Father can give us.  The blessing of eternal life is not just extended to this great king, however. It's extended to us as well! This blessing is promised to all those who "repent of all [their] sins... and call upon his name in faith, believing that [they] shall receive" (Alma 22:16). We are so blessed to have a Savior who grants us the possibility to repent and improve every day. I'm so grateful for repentance and for what it allows us to become. The Lord doesn't require us to give up kingdoms in order to receive His blessings, He requires a humble heart and faithful persistence. All those who call upon the Lord in faith, seeking to improve, will receive the sublime gift of forgiveness, and all those who make sincere repentance an aspect of their everyday lives are promised the sublime gift of eternal life. What a blessing!

I hope you have a fantastic week and that you remember what amazing blessings have been prepared for us by our loving Heavenly Father!

-Anziano Jake Wilkinson

More and more miracles

(Elder Cummings)

I want to open up my letter today by again bearing my testimony that the Lord is hastening His work.  The kingdom of God continues to roll forth and one day soon it will fill the earth.

Elder Perkins and I saw one incredible example of this just yesterday.  Diana, the woman baptized two weeks ago, had asked us to fast with her and her husband, Mario, for her step kids Andre and Brianna.  The kids originally were going to be baptized with her, but there was a custody issue with getting permission for the children.  Diana and Mario were pretty broken up about this and with faith they asked us to join them in a special fast.  Diana also felt impressed that on the day of the fast Elder Perkins and I should go by the house of Mario's ex-wife and talk with her about baptism for the kids.  That is exactly what happened, we fasted, and after church we drove up to Atwater to go and meet the mom.

We got out of our car, walked to the doorstep, and knocked.  There was no answer, but we could hear the kids going and telling mom that someone was at the door.  We waited for a bit and knocked again.  At this point step-dad showed up behind us and was not happy.  He was pretty furious that we were there at all.  After about a minute of talking with us on the doorstep his phone rang.

It was his wife who was inside the house.  They talked for a bit, and afterwards the man walked with us to our car and ensured us that there was no reason ever to come back.

Right then, out walk the kids with written permission from mom to be baptized.  Because of the opposition we faced on the doorstep mom became aware of us being there, why we were there, and the man walking us to our car and talking with us some more when there gave enough time for mom to give the permission and for the kids to bring it out.  The fasting and prayers had been answered.

God really wants his children to get baptized.  He prepares a way for those who really want it.

Last night the boundaries in the stake changed as well.  Elder Perkins and I will no be covering the newly created McKee ward as well as continuing to cover the Hmong Branch.  While at this special Sunday night meeting the non-member brother of an active-member sister pulled Elder Perkins aside and told my dear companion that he was ready to be baptized.  With the boundary changes we also have been told about many less-active/part-member families.  This is exciting news!  That field is definitely white and ready to harvest!  Every single person I have taught who has progressed to baptism has been a part-member family with the exception of one, Sou, and now he is inviting his family to start learning.  When members get involved in the work and invite their loved ones to learn more, miracles happen.

I am grateful that I have been able to recognize the hand of God in my life this last week.  He upholds this work.

With love,

Elder Jared Cummings

Ola!

(Sister Ellsworth)

Ola!

This week was a week of some pretty crazy stuff... hold on to your pants.

First off, Natividade was baptized! She's been a long term investigator of the Church for almost a year and we started reteaching her and she was baptized the next week. She's such a sweetheart who loves Christ so much. They don't have much in their home but her family are humble servants of Christ. She taught me that even if you have nothing, you can still be happy and loving towards absolutely everyone!

Next, we have four brothers from Sierra Leone that are investigating as well. We actually met two of the brothers and their father on separate occasions and didn't know until we started teaching them! Crazy! These four brothers range in ages from 15 until 22 and are eager to learn. They have fiery testimonies already and love to talk to all the missionaries about their questions. And the fun part! They speak fluent English! Whoo hoo! We made them cookies for Daniel's birthday and the said: "These things are the best. I'm going to move to America. Do they have these in California?" They are some great guys.

There is also a young man named Rafael who said his first prayer with us the other day. We had been working for a while to try to talk to him and finally we found him outside his house and he couldn't run from us!! Haha just kidding. He has a member friend who has been a great help as well.

The last person we met was this world class body builder named Fabio and holy moly, they guy is huuuuuge... a huge teddy bear! Haha. See what I did there? Anyway, he's got a cute little girl and a cute little boy and we actually met them because the little boy said "Chão, meninas!" on the bus and it was so dang cute we just had to talk to him.

One scripture I was really pondering this week that was mentioned in General Conference was 2 Nephi 25:26 which says: 26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.

One thing I noticed about General Conference was the simplicity of the talks. Each one talked about the basics of the gospel and I could have checked off all the points of the restoration, plan of salvation, and the gospel of Christ by the end of conference. Really, it's the little stuff. Go to Church and read the Book of Mormon for goodness sake! I'm so glad for the opportunity to teach the little things and rejoice in Christ, preach of Christ, and help  others come unto Christ.

Love you all!

Sister Ellsworth

Miss Natividade! She gives the best hugs!

Goofy Africans... We had to holler in order to get them to smile XD BTW, the guy next to me chose that hideous shirt to embarrass us in public. But joke's on them! Missionaries have no concept of awkward!!

Natividade and our Elders, Elder Rosenkilde from Norway and Elder Nogueira from Brazil.

The first time we found out our member had a bird was when it landed on my head. It's a nice bird though, don't worry! :)

Do you believe in Christ?

(Sister Ellsworth)
Dear family and friends,

Y'all are cool. I love you!

So, um, General Conference happened. I think it was probably the best weekend ever. I loved Elder David A. Bednar's talk on striving to know the Savior. It reminded me of a question one of our Elders had asked me when I was a little frustrated. He asked me, "Do you believe in Christ?" Well duh, I do. I responded that I wouldn't be here if I didn't know that Christ is our Savior, the Redeemer of the World, born of the virgin Mary who have his life so that each of us could be brought back to the presence of our loving Heavenly Father. Yeah I believe in Him.

Then this old Elder, about to go home, asked me in all the wisdom of pure service for two years, "Do you believe Christ?" I remember that I knew a lot about who Christ is, why He chose to die, and why we need Him, but did I believe him? Did I believe that His Atonement would work in my life too? I believe yes. I've felt it... I would not be able to do this work without the strengthening power of Jesus Christ at my every step, every breath, and every word. We come to know of the Savior as we follow Him, serve Him, and teach of Him.

Do you believe Christ? Do you believe that He can help YOU? You, as an individual son or daughter of the Almighty God, can have help. You just have to accept it or even just acknowledge it!

I love you guys so much,

Sister Ellsworth

Conference Weekend

(Elder Cummings)

This week has been an absolute blur.  We had transfers to coordinate, apartments to open, we had to drive down to Fresno and back twice, and with General Conference on top of that our proselyting time was seriously impaired.  We still managed to teach even more lessons than last week.  Needless to say, we were busy.

General Conference was a real treat.  It is an incredible blessing to have living prophets on the earth today.  Their teachings are for our time.  We can find needed direction in their words.

We had many people that we visit attending the sessions.  Tawn, a recent convert of just over a week, showed up to the Sunday Morning session with a white shirt and tie, the first he had ever owned!  He loved hearing from the apostles.  I have no worries about him.  Sou, another recent convert, was furiously writing notes for the extent of the meetings.  He wants badly to be closer to God.  I feel so grateful to have had a hand in helping both of these gospel men progress towards conversion.

Foua has entered a rough patch.  Her father threatened to pull all financial support for her and her five kids if she got baptized.  He shared some other harsh words with her.  Despite being Christian himself he would rather his adult daughter go to no church rather than this one.  She has now dropped her date.  This is a trial of faith for certain.

We are still seeing great evidences of the hand of God in her life and in the lives of others!  Last night we popped by to visit Pete Hernandez to see how he liked general conference.  He loved it!  So did his non-member wife!  They invited us back tonight to share the message of the restoration with her, with Juan, their catholic neighbor, and Rokan, their muslim friend.  Both Juan and Rokan are interested and already promised Pete that they would be at church this coming Sunday.  Rokan has read half of the Book of Mormon in the last few days.  Miracle!

I hope you all find time to recognize the hand of the Lord in your own lives as well.  Have a great week!

With love,

Elder Jared Cummings

Training

(Anziano Wilkinson)

So last Saturday I got a very interesting transfer call. I was called to train a new incoming missionary! As of right now I still don't know who it is, but I'll find out on Thursday. That's a big deal because it means that for the next three months I will be helping this new missionary learn the ropes of missionary work. I will also have a great impact on his first impressions of being a full-time missionary. And of course, to top it all off, if he is not from Italy then I will have to also teach him how to speak Italian, or if he is from Italy, then I won't be speaking much English for a while! So no matter how I cut this cake, I'm going to be having a pretty big change in my life soon. In fact, as I am writing this I have less than 24 hours before I will be in Milan meeting my new companion. Wish me luck!

In other news, the church's biannual worldwide General Conference was held this past weekend and it was amazing as usual! I noticed a big emphasis this year on the Book of Mormon and the power of it's messages. I was really impacted by this because I feel that at times we fail to recognize the incredible value of the book. It was prepared over the course of more than a thousand years and was the work of tons of inspired people. And it was written exactly for us! The Book of Mormon is one of the greatest demonstrations of God's power and care ever, and yet we can hold it in our hands and read it in whatever language we speak. He has given us this amazing tool so that we can know with surety that God really has restored His church on the earth. We can read the book, we can ponder its message, and we can pray about it, and when we do, God will fulfill His promise and confirm the truth of it in our hearts. Every time! As it says in James 1:5, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

That diction is by no means wishy-washy: "let him ask... and it shall be give him." Our Father in Heaven yearns to answer our sincere prayers. He does not beat around the bush when He speaks through His servant James, or any of His other prophets, about this topic. I remember the first time that I asked Him whether or not the Book of Mormon was true. The answer came to me as a powerful, yet gentle, feeling of warmth  and peace. And even now, each time I open the Book of Mormon and read it I am filled with these feelings that come from nowhere else but God. The Book of Mormon is true! It's amazing! Our Heavenly Father answers prayers! He doesn't enjoy seeing us confused or lost. He doesn't want us to go through life in the dark, without answers to our spiritual questions. After all, He's a God of light, not of darkness!

Treasure the Book of Mormon, read it, and ask God if it is not true and He will give you the answer! Have a great week and wish me luck as I pick up my new missionary Thursday morning!

-Anziano Jake Wilkinson