May 30, 2012

So yes, there have been so many earthquakes lately.  The lord is coming soon.  Earthquakes in diverse places, I think yes.  They all say that it is weird.  We were at the church this time getting ready to teach a lesson and the floor starting shaking.  I thought it was gonna be like the Book of Mormon where the spirit was too strong and it just dropped the walls down, didnt happen, and it probably wouldnt have been something that I would have wanted.  But the lesson was good. 

Miracles.  You wanna hear a good one.  That lady that we are teaching Loretta, she is getting baptized next Sunday.  Well we taught her the word of wisdom and she accepted it.  She hasnt smoked since then, over a week OR drank coffee.  AMAZING!!  And she just accepted the law of tithing.  What do you know.  She keeps saying that she needs more time but it feels right so she is going for it.  Amazing.  I love that woman.  She is reading every day and hasnt missed a day in church for 4 weeks now.  She just met the bishop and wants to come.  We keep asking her on Fridays when we teach her, will you come to church?.  She gives us the best answer.  I have been there every week havent I.  I am not changing now.  YESSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!   Loretta.  YOU ARE AMAZING!!! 

You wanna hear another one.  Francisca.  Difficult bugger.  She was telling us that she didnt wanna talk to us ever again.  LIke she was finished.  Dang....lost an investigator but her ex boyfriend who we found out is now her boyfriend again was still wanting to learn more.  So I Called him up.  And it kinda went like this.  Whats up Gabriele.. Its the missionaries.  We want to see if you still want to meet with us. Maybe this week sometime.  Wednesday??  Yeah that would be great...silence, except the background, Fransisca, WHO IS IT!!!  IS IT THE MISSIONARIES:  LET ME TALK TO THEM!!!  (OKay side note, she speaks super fast and I was not ready for her)   She TAKES the phone, (some girlfirend) and starts to say that we are crazy and we need to stop bothering them.  I just follow the spirit.  I am sorry Fransisca for everything.  please meet with us one more time.  I am a missionary of the Church and I am called to help you.  I dont want to tell you, you are wrong but just give us one more chance.  She says...okay, but tomorrow I am going to really think about this.  okay....ciao. 

That was it. She hung up.  She calls us the next day and says...I heard that you Mormons marry more than one woman.   Uh oh, Polygamy.  Bring it.  I explain it.  I love you one woman, its hard to break that love in between 7.  In the past, yes, that was commanded from god to replensih the lords kingdom, but now we dont.  Fransisca you saw in church what happens.  One man, one woman.  Thats how it goes.  ( I was being completely honest with her.  I cant love 7 women all at the same time.  i cant even manage myself, let alone another 7 people, AND KIDS!!  So I only will have feelings for one person.  Just making that clear.  AHahahaha)  She hangs up the phone.  NEXT DAY...THE LESSON of ALL LESSONS!!! 

Fransisca walks in.  Ciao...I have had some time to think about church, yesterday I didnt feel good, because I wasnt going to come.  So I prayed to know what to do.  The spirit gave me an answer.  I need to get baptized on the 17th of JUNE!!  Me...with my jaw dropped....ummmmm...Yes we can do that.  Hahahahah.  The lesson went beautifully.  She wants to help us teach gabriele so that they can get baptized together.  Its great.  MIRACLES!!! 

Well, that is how i am doing.  GREAAT!!!  I love you all.

Anziano Treadway

May 23, 2012

Sooooo....hello all.  I am doing wonderful.  Still alive from the earthquake.  No need to worry.  I am really fine.  Also, things are going great with the work.  Thanks for all letters and love i have recieved and feel everyday.  Its really helpful to know that I have that support at home for what I am doing here.  I know that you all look forward to these letters so I will try to make this one good. 

First thing.  And this is something that You dont need to worry about.  I will be fine.  But the past two weeks we have been completely out of money.  Like I havent done grocery shopping for a very long time.  We have just been traveling so much that it is just all gone now.  But we are getting a reimburesment tomorrow so we are going to do our spesa then, so we have food for the last week of Anziano Valli's "life" on the mission.  It was funny.  We just didint have anything, and we have lived off pasta for the past week.  Just something that you dont wanna do, but i mean, its good, but it doesnt help the insides to work right yo know.  Just a little difficult.  Anyways...we are fine and the work continues. 

Speaking of the work.  Holy cow, talk about crazy week.  We were everywhere on our bikes last week.  Up mountains down mountain, here there everywhere.  Now i am sounding like Gato nella cappella. Cat in the hat.  Hahaha.  Anyways.  Yeah wer taught a ton of lessons last week.  23 to be exact.  We hit our mark.  And exceeded expectations.  Awesome stuff.  Always working but the work is guided by the lord.  I am really feeling good about that.  We did alot.  And we set a lot of baptisimal dates.  3 to be exact.

One of them Lorretta, such a miracle.  This is the first person that I have seen on my mission to change her life completely around so that she can be baptized.  She said that she has had a horrible life and after our visits she feels soo good.  She has been coming to church and now we are working on getting here to stop smoking.  We are going to call her everyday for as long as it takes. It is something that the lord will help her on.  Her date is for the 9th.  I am so ready for that.  Its going to be perfect. 

We had such an amazing training session the other day.  President also interviewed us.  That was nice to talk to him.  I really love my president. 

Okay that earthquake.....I felt it.  AND I woke up in the middle of the night to my bed moving.  And you want me to be honest.  It was at like 3 o clock, I wake up to my bed shaking and I have seen too many ghost movies, I thought that it was an evil spirit or something so immediately I was on my knees praying.  I didnt know what else to do.  The bed kept shaking and I thought that my faith wasnt stong enough, so I prayed even more, nothiing, so I prayed one more time, this time is like good posture not with my head on the pillow and really poured out my soul, and it stopped, still not knowing that it was an earthquake.  I didnt say anything to my collega.  I thought that the lord had blessed me with safety from the "evil spirit" in the room.  Yepp...later that day i found out that is was an earthquake.  I felt dumb.  But I thought that my prayer was really good.  Hhahahahah.  Oh good ol me in the middle of the night.  I have strange thoughts.  Evil spirits.  pshhhh

Anyways.  I love you all.  Hopefully those CDS are in the mail.  Love you

Anziano Treadway.

May 16, 2012

It was so nice to see you all this week.  I was so happy to be able to use SKype.  That was awesome.  Let me just say this.  You all look wonderful.  It maybe was skype but you all lost weight or something.  Brian is super tall now.  It was sweet.  

Okay so you know how our mission goal was to teach 20 lessons.  We didnt do it last week but we got 18.  That was majorly sweet. Really good to teach that.  Set a couple baptisimal dates and really bring the gospel into some peoples lives.  Well let me just tell you something.  This week has already been a firecracker.  We have 10 already with 2 palnned tonight.  That is crazy.  I just went on a roll and just talked to everyone.  I was a little slow, really thinking about the family for a while after that.  Monday morning was difficult but I just got in some groove and went nuts.  It was sweet.  4 monday 6 tuesday.  BOOM.  And I dont know If I told you this before But I love the africans.  I can speak english to them and they are so willing to listen and help themselves.  We taught a really sweet lesson to two guys yesterday and they were so ready to get baptized.  Like it was crazy.  I am loving Lecco

I have got to say that I do have my struggles.  things are definitely NOT perfect.  I am not the most patient person in the world and it has been a real big challenge for me to have some difficult companions.  I am really learning how to take deep breaths and just calm down.  I just start to sing a hymn or the mission song.  Way sweet.  It helps me a lot.  And writing letters helps me too.  But I am getting over myself and really putting myself to the Lord.  It is so worth it.  I am really helping people grow and they help me grow tons too.  

Thanks so much for all the love and support.  I hope that those CDs got into the mail, just waiting for some new music.  I love you .  It was great to see you all.  Ciao-dy

Anziano Treadway

May 9, 2012

Well hello there. 

 

This email wont be super long.  I hope that all is well.  I hope that you are all doing wonderful this past week. It seriously been one crazy week.

 

Alora, abbiamo avuto tanti bidone questo setimana.  Non mi piace.  Verramente una grande problema per noi.  Ogni volta chiamiamo nostri simpatizanti, dicono che si possiamo passare.  Ma quando andiamo non sono li.   Poi la piove non mai ferma.  Ho bisogno di una pausa.  Ma sono un missionario quindi non ho pause.  hahah.  Va bene, va bene. Mi piace la citta adesso. Il tempo e bellisimo.  Senza piove.  Ma avevamo solo 14 lessioni questa setimana.  Una cosa che possiamo fare bene prossima setimana. 

 

Comunque.  So my our baptismal date went down the drain in the past couple days. Just very frustrating.  We dont know what to do.  We are trying to really get them going but there is a lack of testimony. We just need to continue working and things will work out.  I know.  Just another trial that we can become stronger from.  I am really relying on prayer and fasting.  As much as I hate to fast, I am doing it to help our investigators. 

 

We did a scambio with Merate yesterday. We went out into the countryside to do some tracting.  We found someone.  It was awesome.  Then on the way back, the bike started to make a very strange sound, so I stopped.  I looked back, moved it one foot and the back tire fell off.  The lord really blessed me their. I couldve lost that wheel and gone flying.  I would not have enjoyed that.  I am really enjoying Lecco now.  I didnt think that I would be but the members are just getting better and better every single day.  They are really supporting us.  I am ecstatic.  The growth in their testimonies have really strengthened mine.  They are even doing a fast next month for missionary work.  Its great. 

 

Well, I hope all is well.  Cant wait to talk to you all. 

 

Love you

 

Anziano Treadway

May 2, 2012

Well how is it going.  I hope that everything is going well with you!  I am loving life.  I am loving Italia more than ever

So I am thinking that you all want to hear about my week with my new companion.  He is great.  He has really helped me to grow in the missionary work.  I now see all the things that I need to change to become a better missionary.  I have changed it and I have seen the blessings.  I am really growing in the language with him, starting to talk more on the phone, let me just say this, Italian on the phone is a guessing game in comprehension.  Its just really bad service.  I am starting to cook more.  I want to send some pictures home but I dont know why the pictures wont attatch.  I made homemade pizza dough, and did the whole toss it in the air kind of thing.  Its a sick picture!!  I am loving all the food.  I am starting to spread out more and trying to cook different things.  I am going to try lemon bars this week.  Haahhaha.  i am a baking beast.  I tried banana bread...failed miserably.  I am really loving the ward now.  They are really helping out all the missionary work.  

Our baptisimal date came to church, Francisca, she was just swarmed with the ward all welcoming her.  The last time that the ward had someone in church with a baptisimal date was a year ago.  We are really trying to GEM the city here and get some baptisms.  I am loving the way that that is going.  We are showing people that missionary work in Lecco is possible.  I love the ward so much.  Everyone is just amazing.  I love all the families.  We are hoping for the 19th for her baptism, I am pretty sure we are going to do it with her son, on the same day.  That will be great.  I will be sure to get pictures to you all with that.  

Life is good.  Thanks for all the emails of support here.  I really am feeling the love.  I got a funny story to telll you all.  

I was sitting on a train on exchanges with Anziano Hymas when suddenly an Egyptian man came up to us starting to talk about America and how he wanted to go there really bad.  So we started to talk back.  He brougt up how much he loved to money there and how it looks like.  So stupidly enough I pulled out my wallet and showed him a dollar.  He toook it and started to kiss it and like rub it.  The train was about to stop so I asked for it back.  He said that I had gifted it to him.  I started to try and grab it and he like said thank you and then walked off the train and gone....I lost a dollar that day!!  Good thing we use Euro.  hahahaha.  

Love you all.  The work is great.  The church is true. 

Anziano Treadway