Napoli Pizza Counter:🍕=♾

Weeeyyyyy Belli,

Sometimes technology is a blessing, other times it deletes your nearly completed weekly email draft without warning. Sooooo, you're getting the unfiltered, less pretty version of what I took time to write down today!

FDR's 4 Term's Got Nothin on CYT's:
FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS! Well, actually just another 6 weeks or so, but hey, who's counting? That's right folks, expect the unexpected in the Italy Rome Mission, and more often than not you're gonna be right! With baptisms on the horizon, and zone members to learn from, President decided to leave Anziano Ferrara and I together one more transfer! In the last 4 months, I've learned to love this city, to the point where, like Ammon, I might say that, "I desire to dwell among this people for a time; yea, and perhaps until the day I die." On second thought, maybe not until the day I die, maybe just for the next 6 weeks!

Maxwell and the Boys: 
We leaped some major hurdles with Miracle Max this week, as he was interviewed for baptism by both President Amodio, our branch president, and President Pickerd. Being the stud he is, he passed both interviews with flying colors, and is sprinting down the final stretch! We discussed with him Let's vision of the Tree of Life, and the different groups of travelers that reached the fruit. Of his own accord, he declared that after tasting of the fruit he never wanted to be ashamed and leave for the great and spacious building, as many misguided travelers in Lehi's dream had done. He told us the fruit was so sweet, that the world's temptations effectively paled in comparison to the love of God. After that lesson, Maxwell did as Lehi, and invited 2 of his friends to taste of the fruit, and sure enough, they all rolled in together on Sunday! Christian and Ikay had been curious about the "blue bible" Maxwell was studying, and so they came to find out more about it! Maxwell was more than happy to hand them off to us, telling us to teach what we had taught him! He is an example already, in inviting all to come unto Christ, and taste the sweet, sweet fruit of the restored gospel! Saturdaycannot come quick enough for our dear, elect Nigerian brother!

Piano Piano:
Our struggling pianist continues to perform just well enough that they don't give his job to the recorded hymns on the LDS Music app, though it's a close call every week. I laughed out loud when the ward chorister looked over right before the intermediate hymn, and asked if I could go any faster... I responded that if I did, I would set a record for most wrong notes played in a sacrament meeting ever, she laughed back, and proceeded to (jokingly) painstakingly conduct, looking remarkably similar to Flash the sloth from Zootopia. It's actually amazing how much weekly letter material I get from playing the piano, it might be worth it after all

Wish I had more to say, but that's just about it! Just mentally prepare yourselves for six more weeks of cheesy jokes about pizza, and piano playing, cause that's what makes up my life, that and of course sharing the gospel with whoever'll give me half a chance! #LoveThoseCatholicsTillTheyLoveYouBack

Cordiali Saluti,

Anziano Toronto II 🇮🇹

🌹Things I Love or Learned From my Mom🌹

Zone Calcio Classic

I [Anziano Toronto] being born of goodly parents, (but especially a good mother) wanted to take the opportunity to share a few of the lessons that came to mind as I reflected on the impact she has made on my life.

Patience is a Virtue, and Thankfully so is Forgiveness:
Each of her children have been uniquely challenging to raise, and each posed their individual challenges to Mom, yet each challenge has been met with an astounding amount of patience. When her children make mistakes creative punishments were invented to fit the crime, such as the memorizing of scriptures and hymns, and the study of selected General Conference messages. #WillNeverForget2Nephi2:27 #NobodyMakesChristianAngry ... Despite their tendency to be "quick to iniquity," Mom has always been quick to forgive. She doesn't hold grudges, and doesn't easily take offense. She is Job-like in her patience and long suffering, and I have often found my self wishing on my mission that I had my mother's patience!

Reverence is more than just quietly sitting: 
As Camille touched on during her sacrament meeting talk, getting her (mom's) 7 children to sit through a sacrament meeting without killing one another was a weekly miracle. Sometimes however, silent prayers on our behalf didn't suffice, and sometimes the aforementioned creative punishments were in order. Time lost during Sacrament Meeting was time spent on the couch holding hands, singing Barney classics. Through this, and other experiences in church and in the temple, I learned to have a deep respect for the sacred nature of certain things. It is not inherently wrong to joke, laugh, or have a good time, but she taught me that there's a time and place. Mom exemplifies quiet dignity, an enviable attribute to be assured, and one gained through sincere love for Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the way we worship them here on the earth.

Miss I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T:
There came a certain point in the Toronto household, where the frequency with which Christian's clean laundry would appear on the laundry room floor, amd Mom's, 'Conniption risk' kept getting higher and higher. Eventually, she said, "I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!" (think Bill Cosby bath time sketch), and declared that from then on, I would do my own laundry. Similar episodes occurred in the kitchen, and on the piano bench, along with in my bedroom, each adding to my already budding independence. I learned to cook, clean, manage time, money, studies, athletics, and more from a mother who had me doing those things since the moment I was able to do so. She cultivated what was already there, until the figurative plant learned to water himself.

Cheerleader in High School Turned Cheerleader for Life:
Mom is anything but a helicopter-parent, however don't let that fool you. She's as supportive, and more so, than anyone I know, of her 7 children and husband. She has spent innumerable hours watching and cheering them on as they compete in sports, perform in the arts, showcase musical talents, and simply put achieve. When they wanted to give up and stop running, when they were frustrated with playing time, when their tennis team went 0-13, when they sang surprise solos, or squeaked away on clarinet, saxophone, and bassoon, and when they sang "Lida Rose," she was there. She was there to cheer on, encourage, calm down, laugh at (with), and cry. She was there, and always will be for those she loves.

Lift Where You Stand:
Mom has always taken and run with the opportunities she has been given to serve. Whether it was simply making a meal for a sick sister in the ward, or helping out in nursery or primary, no matter the calling, Mom has responded with enthusiasm, impacting lives wherever she went. Like President Monson, she was focused on the one, and I remember many times going to the houses of friends to lift them and serve them. I remember in particular trips to Holly's home in Minnesota, and who could forget the time I accidentally ate a dog treat thinking it was a cookie for me? As President Hinckley would tell her, "You never know, you never know the good you do," (one of my favorite Mormon messages by the way, makes me think a lot about Mom). Can't wait the neighborhood of celestial mansions Mom's building up for herself and her posterity with her dedicated service here on the earth!

Love for Learning:
Inspired by her professor father, and (all but formally titled) teacher mother, Mom has always sought to instill in her children a thirst for knowledge and a love for learning. This resulted in a reluctance to pollute their brains with cable television or mindless TV, and instead replaced them with learning programs such as Planet Earth, Marty Steiffer, and the ever classics, Eyewitness "Birds." School House Rock, America Rock, Liberty Kids, and more. She taught them to read early, and helped them with their homework where she could. Trips to the library were a biweekly adventure, (If not only to avoid late fees), and the same for trips to the science museum, and even the occasional art gallery. Children were expected to take their education seriously, and were gently encouraged to strive to do their best in school. Luca, (famous Pescara Luca), loves the quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley that says, "Il processo di apprendimento è interminabile," and that just about sums up Allison Toronto real well!

Dad, you got a good one!❤

The happiest of Mother's Days to the best of the best! Loved interacting with each of you yesterday, and loved even more the fact that I'll be able to see all of you wonderful humans before Christmas!

Forgive your missionary for his overlong, rambling testimony. He had thought his thoughts were gathered and coherent, but there's always something else he wants to tell you he's come to know for himself!

I'd love any pictures you captured of our short time together, and Anne Katherine tells me Simeon is or has already translated the epistle from your favorite Roman disciple of Christ!

Next week you'll hear about transfers and we'll be back to the typical missionary update, don't you worry!

Vi voglio bene!

Anziano Toronto II 🇮🇹

Zone Calcio Classic (no smile)

I Stand All Amazed

Carissimi,

What this week lacked in pictures, pizza, and sunshine, it made up for in spirituality! I'll also see most of you in a week, so you can see my face then😁

I had a wonderful experience yesterday during Sacrament Meeting as I played the piano. I had picked out the classic "We Thank thee o God for a Prophet," one of the simpler hymns to play, for the opening song, and everything went fairly well. Mistakes here and there, but for the most part despite a lack of practice it sounded halfway decent. Then came the sacrament hymn. I had chosen one of my personal favorites, "I Stand All Amazed," or in Italian, "Attonito Resto," yet had grossly overestimated my ability to play the song, and that was evident as I stumbled through the intro. Finally we arrived to the first verse, and the congregation hesitantly began singing along. This gave me confidence, as the piano became less audible, and I started focusing less on hitting wrong notes, and more on what the song had come to mean to me.

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,
Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.
I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,
That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.

As I sat there playing, I literally felt confused. Why in the world would my Savior, Jesus Christ, literally suffer, bleed, and die for me? What had I done to merit such a priceless gift? I thought of the line from President Faust's "This is the Christ," which says "How many drops of blood were shed for me?" I continued on to the second verse.

I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine
To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine,
That he should extend his great love unto such as I,
Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.

Nana always said, "There is not a bribe sweet enough or punishment strong enough to deter Christian from doing his will or accomplishing what he wants." I am that soul, so rebellious and proud. Yet he extends his unending, unconditional love with "pierced palms, and scarred wrists," as Elder Holland once described them.

Music has played a large role in spiritual experiences throughout my life, and yesterday morning was a continuation, an affirmation of such. As I plunked out the third verse, again I was touched. I sat there playing wrong note after wrong note, missing flats and naturals alike, and yet the world did not cease to spin, nobody told me after the meeting that I should never play again, in fact, many thanked me for playing. I was reminded of Brad Wilcox's classic, "His Grace is Sufficient." He said something to the effect of, "we don't tell the amateur pianist he can't keep playing the piano when he hits a wrong note. There aren't just two options when it comes to the pianist, Carnegie Hall or giving up. Why do we see this so clearly when it comes to learning the piano, yet fail to do so when it comes to grace. We are not earning heaven, we are learning heaven."

Elder Lynn G. Robbins spoke to a similar effect in this last conference, as he taught of those learning new languages, who make thousands of errors, maybe even a million before desired fluency is attained. For now, I'm still in that thousands of errors stage, both concerning Italian, and the more important language of the Spirit. Yet I learned as I played the piano that those errors are inconsequential in the grand scheme of the heavenly symphony. Our Maestro is ever patient, and as C.S. Lewis once wrote, "Is even pleased with our mistakes."

An hour before the meeting, as I completed personal study, I read the words spoken years ago by then Elder Boyd K. Packer;

"I cannot with composure tell you how I feel about the Atonement. It touches the deepest emotion of gratitude and obligation. My soul reaches after Him who wrought it, this Christ, our Savior of whom I am a witness. I testify of Him. He is our Lord, our Redeemer, our advocate with the Father. He ransomed us with His blood. Humbly I lay claim upon the atonement of Christ."

Like Elder Packer, I'm doing my best to lay claim upon the Atonement of Christ, through daily repentance, and gradual change. I know I'm gonna hit wrong notes along the way, because I'm writing my own Magnum Opus, and fortunately it's not finished yet.

"No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat,
Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet.

Oh, [Christ's Atonement] is wonderful, wonderful to me!"

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

See you Sunday!✌

Anziano Toronto II 🇮🇹