The Happy Holidays

I am talmente stufato with writing emails. But hey, it's all good. I
only have a few left.

Merry Christmas everyone, and Happy New Year. I will recount the
holidays, and that should be all.

Christmas Eve, we went over at 11am to the Senior Couple's home.
Sister Rust had prepared lunch for us, and it was a delicious lunch if
I may say. We then played cards with them, and their daughter who was
visiting. We rode our bikes home, and then had to catch a bus an hour
later to Aviano. We met Renato at a Pizzeria for dinner, shared our
Christmastime testimonies, and Anz. Douglas gave him a copy of Jesus,
the Christ. Since Renato is an English-speaking Italian, the copy was
in our native tongue, and should help him practice !

Christmas was nice, a beautiful Sunday. We made it to both Ward
services; the Italians read scriptures, The Americans had a musical
program. Then we took ourselves out to The Moschetta family's home.
She is an English student, who's always loved the missionaries, but
never has been interested in being a member. She made us Hungarian
dishes (where she's from originally), and also Italian dishes. They
were all so good! And the best, Ravioli with Gorgonzola and Walnut
inside....oh so delectable. We stayed and talked after dessert (a
Hungarian poppyseed roll) and they showed us almost every photo from
their vacation to Argentina...but hey, It was really fun. It was nice
to meet her son and husband, and to bring a joyful spirit into their
home. (It's a rare wood home...while most in Italy are cement) oooh

Of course, that night after we made it home, we were able to bike to
the church and Skype our families. They're doing great, and in my
opinion it was the best video-call session I've had in the
mission...the last one!

Cool, that's all for now. Love you!
Don't forget to make someone's day.

--Anziano Benge
1- La vigilia di Natale, Anz. Douglas presents Jesus, the Christ to Renato
2- Natale. Il pranzo. The Moschetta Family (the son took the photo)

Christmas, Sickness, it's the time of the year...

Another Pordenonese week over here for me! How is everyone doing?
For those lucky enough to Skype me on Christmas, you can tell me on
Sunday! I am extremely happy to have a mission in a country where
celebrating our Savior's birth is a big thing!
Last Thursday we went to a Mission Conference in Modena (home of
Balsamic Vinegar!) and met with Elder Paul V. Johnson of the Seventy.
It was by far one of my favorite conferences! He is a very intelligent
man, and a very good teacher. I was able to walk away at the end with
ideas on how to serve better here in Pordenone. Of course, the office
had bought our tickets home, which means everything was ill timed. We
ended up getting home from Modena at 11:10pm...exhausted, and tired of
trains.
Friday was less appealing. We did visit Renato in Aviano. But the
rest of the day was phone calls. Saturday was finding and showing the
Christmas video on the street. Then I made phone calls to prepare for
Sunday.
And kaboom, Sunday worked out perfectly. We had a wonderful sabbath
meeting, and a new move-in inactive named Daniel showed up, (the main
calls I made on Saturday were to him). Afterwards he was happy and we
took Luca (a strong new convert who hopes to move to the U.S.A soon)
to visit Daniel's new home and get to know him. He hasn't been active
for almost four years, but was extremely impressed with every member
he'd met and wanted to take baby steps to becoming active again. It
was a really good visit. After that, we had a delicious dinner with
the Senior couple Rusts, and Luca. (Sesame Chicken, just like my
mom's)!
Monday I was sick. I think it was food poisoning, but my stomach
was NOT ok. Darn that Chicken. It's the only thing I can openly blame.
Anyway, Monday night was also the Ward party for the Italians. We
went, and it was a really good experience, there were a handful of
non-member youth that came. (And some how I beat them all in Foosball)
Yesterday was just our normal meetings, with District meeting, and
Correlation with the Ward mission leader, and the Family Home Evening
thing we did. But different than normal, we had a service project from
8:30-11 in the morning. Lifting all the furniture tore some of my
muscles, and I'm pretty sore now. But everything is ok.
Nobody expect me to return with massive bulging muscles, cuz it's not
going to happen. Even with all these furniture movings up flights of
stairs and the morning exercise, I seem to only get weaker.

Well. Sorry. That was a lot to read. Love you all! I know God's
kingdom is here on the earth! Do what you can to build it!
Arrivederci
--Anziano Benge
No new photos

The Endless Week

I'll keep this week's email sweet and succinct. 

(Ed in italiano per loro che abitano qui)

Tengo quest'email settimanale che sia dolce e succinto.

We spent a majority of our mornings in the Questura, the government offices, trying to figure out Anz. Douglas' permit to live here.

Trascorrevamo la major parte dei mattini alla Questura, provando a quadrare il Permesso di soggiorno di Anziano Douglas.

No luck. We're supposed to wait for an appointment that they wrote and sent in the mail, but A) we don't have a key to our mailbox. And B) Douglas' name isn't on the mailbox. So, this should be a strange week.

Senza colpo di fortuna. Dobbiamo aspettare una lettera su cui è scritto il nostro appuntamento, però, (A) non abbiamo una chiave della cassetta postale e (B) non c'è il nome di Douglas sulla cassetta neanche al citofono. Dovrebbe essere una strana settimana a venire.

Thursday we had Zone conference in Mestre (along with a Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner together.) and it was a good day. Sunday night we had an exchange with the Venezia zone leaders, so we had to go to Mestre again until Monday.

Giovedì facevamo la conferenza di zona a Mestre. È stata una buona giornata ed c'era la cena natalizia insieme nel mezzo. Domenica sera siamo andati a Mestre di nuovo fino a Lunedì di fare lo scambio di colleghi.

It was actually the best exchange i have ever been on, and I've never had some much success as a missionary while finding. We were using this year's Christmas video, and in one hour we had several people stop!

Veramente è stato lo scambio migliore di ciò che mai ho fatto; non ho mai visto successo così facendo la ricerca per strada. Usavamo il video natalizio #SiiunaLuce ed in un'ora singola, parecchia gente si fermavano!

I have seen this gospel change people, and it's changed me. Be a Light and see what you can change, see who's heart you might touch.

Ho visto i cuori cambiare dal Vangelo, eppure mi ha cambiato. Sii una Luce e vedi che cosa puoi cambiare, guarda per chi la verità tocca.

Vi voglio tanto bene!

P.s (shoutout to Mauro and Ester, both recent converts who have been members now for just about a year!)

P.s (auguri a Mauro ed Ester, i convertiti che compirà un anno nella gregge di Gesù! Vi voglio bene. Un abbraccio a ciascuno!)

--Anziano Benge

1-Sunset after a late lunch. Tramonto dopo un pranzo tarde

2- Cose natalizie a Pordenone. Christmas stuff in Pordenone

3- the zone. La zona di Venezia (Pordenone are the first 2 missionaries on the left in both the M and F rows)

Italy Treats one Well

And insipidly, another week has fled.
And I don't have any more photos for you, I'm sorry.

This week our ward was on a trip to the temple. So we focused our week
on passing by long-missing members. We traveled to Porcia to pass by
them. En route, we met a man named Robert. He is from Ghana, and
really didn't speak English that well.
At one point in our discussion, Elder Douglas said "Awesome!" And
Robert thought that he had said a word in the Twi language "boasom" or
something. Which means "I love you."
So of course Robert just starts cracking up, and couldn't even finish
the conversation because he's laughing. He left us like that, without
us getting his number, but at least he was in a good mood.

Saturday we had dinner with the Giurintano family. And Elder Douglas
had his first experience with trying to play chess with a 90 year old
Siciliano. I usually play, but I escaped it fortunately.
Sunday was really nice. Belal, from Pakistan, came to all three hours
of church and participated in the lesson. He says he likes
Christianity, but still doesn't quite understand Christ. Of course, do
any of us? As we learn, you can only teach someone as far as you know
for yourself. We did our best, bearing testimony in Gospel Principles
class, but it still seems he uses church only as a past time.
For dinner, we were invited to the American bishop's home, and we ate
South Korean food, and Philippine food, and then went to another
member's home for pies, pies, and more pie.
Americans are so awesome in a completely different way than Italians
are, but it is very hard to switch cultures like that for me.
Yesterday we had troubles with Elder Douglas' documents, so we have to
go in Friday this week. Aye, I've spent too much time in government
offices. Beh, persevereremo

Va bene, quel è tutto per questa settimana.
Sii una Luce. Sii come Gesù, la Lace del mondo.
Tvb
--Anziano Benge
(Austine, a recent convert in Firenze, emailed me this photo of him,
Iyke(far left), and Rocky(middle).) they are all new converts and I
really miss that city! Him and Iyke just received the Melchizedek
priesthood.

Time Surpasses

Wow, another week gone by! Sure enough, we spent our last Pday in
Venice. This Pday was in Claut, and all this travel is so fun. I must
admit

Thursday we had a SUPERB thanksgiving with the Hart family. And we
jammed together, making music with so many instruments and voices. So
cool. I feel like that was my first thanksgiving dinner inside of a
home. My only memories of other dinners have happened in churches. So,
yes, this was a triple special experience. The Harts are an amazing
American family. Again, such a good night

The time has raced by, and we've kept ourselves busy. Friday, we
spent our day in Maniago. It is Italy's knife/steel capital (who knows
why), and we did finding and passed by an old investigator. We didn't
find him, sadly. It always seems to happen that way. We got home cold
and wet, but it was fine.

Saturday, we decided to pass an inactive Roberto who lived in a
distant place called San Vito al Tagliamento. (You can look these all
up if you want.) The city was a 22 km bike ride from our apartment, so
we got there and we were exhausted. We rang, knocked, and there was
nothing, so we went and got gelato. When that was done, we tried
again, riding once more from the city center to his home. No luck, so
I began writing a note about how'd we missed him.
A couple passed as I was writing and I said, "Scusate" (okay I'll just
tell you in English)
I said "excuse me. Do you know (said Roberto)?"
They said, "Yes."
Me, "We are missionaries from his church and wondered if he'll be back soon."
He said, "No he won't.... Ha, just kidding it's me!"
I laughed, asked how they were, and then told them of how we had
ridden 1.5 hours to find him. He said he didn't have time and escaped
inside. What?!?
HOW DISAPPOINTED we were. I mean, come on!
We rode back (in the dark, with only one working light, yikes) and got
dinner at an "American" Diner. So sad, but we did give an English
class flyer to the waitress and talked with her. So that's good

Sunday, was fine. Nobody we've invited showed up though.
I can't remember anything special Monday. Tuesday, we had district
meeting as usual. Then at night we ate with another American family,
the Gublers, which was also way fun. All the Italians are on a temple
trip, so this week will be slow with the member work. I love this city
and the people.
I can barely believe how great God's work is though! There is so much
more good than bad, so much more light than darkness. Remember which
side you're on. A man cannot serve two masters.
Love you all!
--Anziano Benge
1-San Vito al Tagliamento
2-Claut Forest
3- Venice

A Green Missionary's First Lesson

Dear Readers,
As you have probably noticed, the work in Pordenone is a bit slow. We
get lessons, but not as often as other cities. So with this in mind,
you must realize that my new 'Verdino', fresh out of the MTC
companion, had his first lesson in Italian on Monday.
And of course, it was a Siciliano man, that neither of us could
understand, and he's Xmafia, explaining how many people he's killed.
But don't worry he's reformed now, though he won't come to church
because 'the bishop is evil, and the members are all afraid of him.'
Oh well, we did our best, and although he's done 15 years behind bars
and committed every known crime, he's a really sweet guy with a really
well-raised family. Anziano Douglas (my trainee's name) liked the
lesson a lot. Welcome to Italy...

Anziano Douglas is from the Riverside area in California. He's fresh
out of High school, is a gym/beach/videogame type of guy, and is
really strong in his testimony. We're very different, but have enough
in common to teach awesomeness.
(His mom is from Napoli, but she never taught him Italian, though he
speaks it extremely well already)
I picked him up Thursday from Milano and have already showed him
around the city. Sunday we had a lunch with members in Budoia,
tomorrow for Thanksgiving we have lunch/dinner with an American
family, and last night we ate with the Rust Couple. At least we're
getting fed!

The work is picking up steadily, 3 non members came to our Italian
Ward, and it's exciting. One other funny part of the week is that we
discovered that Anziano Douglas' IPad they issued him is completely
busted. It has no camera app, can't download anything, has no
Bluetooth, and no Siri. It's useless except email. Haha, we'll get a
new one later, but for now I am the only one with the Area Book App.
As the mission has gone fully digital, it's a bit hard to have only
one functioning device for Area Book, when we need two!

Other than all that, life is good. We Pdayed in Venezia, and I think
that's all for today.

E pluribus unum, Doctrine and Covenants 38:27.
"Unity, harmony, goodwill are virtues to be fostered and cherished in
every home. Slander is poison to the soul." President David O. McKay

--Anziano Benge
(Mountains are always nice
Anziano Douglas and I (the two in the center) when I picked him up in Milan)

What Brings You Joy?- Happy Thanksgiving

Another week blows by in the wind, another chill sweeps through the air.

My scarf doesn't keep out the bitter cold bite, but I don't really care.

   On Saturday we received our transfer news, and as suspected, Anziano Green will be leaving to Vercelli. I will be finishing my mission here as a New Missionary Trainer. Whoa...quite the change I may say. I take a train today after 4pm to Milano and I'll pick him up tomorrow morning! So exciting.

   Sorella Barlow, the British sister in my district, is going home. Today is her last day. The sister that will be coming up to replace her is Sister Carter! The same Carter that I just had in my district in Livorno! So yeah, both the sisters (Carter,Marshall) will be in their fourth transfer and neither speak the language too well. Likely I will be the only one in the district to speak Italian unless my newbie missionary somehow already speaks it.

   This last week we did a lot of saying goodbye, and Anz. Green finally finished the process with his Residency Permit and has it now. I'll have to do this process again with my new companion, which really sucks because doing the math, I have already spent 60+ hours inside the immigrant office/questura during my mission.

Anyway, I am loving this mission even though it's difficult. I am excited to train. Please remember that all the unfairness in the world is made up through hard work and then, the Grace of our Loving Heavenly Father and the Son.
Stay happy 
--Anziano Benge

(Autumn Dolomites, up by Claut)

A sick daze

Green had a sore throats and cold symptoms all last week. Now it's
been passed off to me. And I spent all my time writing to family, so
it'll be a short email. Sorry.

Pordenone is cold, and so is Trieste (what we did last Wednesday was
tour there). The work has been slow because it seems everyone is sick,
but Monday we saw the Giurintano family and ate a lentil pasta with
them. Every time I go over the grandfather plays two games of chess
with me. Let's just say I need to practice.

Last week there were a bunch of cancellations just as we'd be leaving.
It's so annoying when that happens.
The biggest change of all is that we've gone all digital now. We spend
many hours taking our Area Books and transferring the paper
information to our iPads. We no longer use missionary planners, as it
is all on our new app. The conversion process is difficult, and fairly
boring. It doesn't help that I have to do it all on an Apple device.
(Sorry for those who prefer Apple), but I mean there are way to many
glitches. There's also no reason my iPad should freeze when ever I use
the mail app or Area Book app, I have several GB of free space still.
It's started happening that when I try to add a new person or lesson
on the app, that my whole iPad crashes...and of course, Non esiste il
tech support.
This conversion is going to take me a very long time.
The Bora hasn't hit yet. I am suspenseful for that.
Next week are transfers, I will let you know next Wednesday. I will
very very very likely be staying here (although I thought the same in
Livorno).
Until next week!
--Anziano Benge
1- Anz. Green admires weapons in Trieste; S. Giorgio castle's museum
2- Trieste (not my favorite pDay)

An Extremely Short Email

I just threw some random contacts on this email, so I hope you don't mind!
As always, I am doing well. I'm keeping this email short because of
technical problems and time. Today's Pday was up in Barcis, so I tried
writing this on a bus, but it kept crashing. Sorry
We had our American Military Ward Halloween party, lots of people came
and we met many contacts. I got to go on Base and did some shopping at
the commissary (peanut butter, root beer, pop tarts, Jalapeño cheetos)
for things that I haven't had here.
We had a lesson with a newly moved in member named Race, from Idaho.
What a cool guy.
That's all. Love you all

--Anziano Benge
(Me forgetting to smile at Barcis with the district)

A Long Move

The most memorable day was Saturday.
Waking up at 5:30, we hitched a ride with some members and drove the
long (circa) 1 hour 40 minute trip to Belluno to help Isabel and Mario
move. In the misty, dewy morning, the Dolomites were beautiful.
Hopefully we weren't distracted too much as we hauled boxes and bed
frames, washing machines and cabinets, downstairs to load them in a
truck. (Also a fridge and a table, and two massive red couches
(massive for Italian sizes at least(actually small))). The truck, of
course, arrived an hour later and then we loaded and made the drive
back home.
Once again, we emptied the truck and this time had to bring it all
upstairs to the second story (third floor in U.S measures).
Fortunately for the men that were there, they had a lunch prepared for
us when we were finished.
Sunday was fantastic because so many members are bringing their
friends to church. We are contacting them all, and most said that
they'd be here for the dual-ward party this Saturday (which us
missionaries will be the judges for a chili cook-off competition).
There will also be a trunk-or-treat.
We've had many dinners (Italian on Friday, Senior Missionary Couple on
Monday, American Restaurant with an Airman yesterday) and we do a
'Family Home Evening' at the church on tuesdays, so yesterday I taught
that lesson.
For Even more news, we had a surprise exchange with the missionaries
in Mestre on Thursday to Friday, so both of us were there for that
night. Then, yesterday morning and afternoon was a Zone Conference in
Mestre for all the missionaries from Trieste to Bologna. Yes, I've
been to Mestre twice in the last week, hard travels!
So yeah, we've been busy, and I don't have much more to write. Today
for our free day we haven't decided what to do...so..until next time!

I love this gospel, and I KNOW it's true
--Anziano Benge
1- Driving home from Belluno
2- Driving through Cet (Belluno)
3- View from my apartment balcony. (Pordenone)

Pordenone, God Bless America

The work is very different here. Very productive.
My companion is Anziano Green, from Palmyra, NY, although his family
moved to Clarksville TN while he was out here. We get along super well
and this is going to be a really good transfer, we laugh often and
think alike.
I am the only westerner in the district though. Sorella Barlow, this
is her last transfer, is from Great Britain. Sorella Marshall is from
the Toronto Canada area. So, they often make fun of the USA, and more
especially Utah.
But guess what, too bad, because they serve over the American ward
here. There is a large military base here in Aviano, and it makes
things so fun. Yesterday we went to Burger King and it was paid for by
the members. The young single military men often invite us to shop on
base with them at the commissary, so we can get anything we want for
cheap. Though, honestly, Italian food is just fine

Thursday's we visit Renato Leban, a locally renowned artist who is a
convert. Wednesday nights we teach English to Italians. Thursday's
nights we teach Italian to Americans.
Tuesdays we have a 'Family Home Evening' serrata familiare , with
anyone from either ward. Last Saturday we painted a house for service
of some Portuguese people, (there was no communication between us,
perbacco!). Lots of people we talked to in parks, on the street, and
then lots of people came to church that were invited by members. The
work is slow but we may say that the field is ripe.
Questions?

Cool, love you all, remember your prayers!
--Anziano Benge

A (Long) (Insane) Week

Last Tuesday we went to Firenze for an exchange, Wednesday last we
went to Siena, then Thursday we were told by the mission to clean all
day to have a perfectly clean apartment then had English class (it
went well). And then Sunday rolled around; the ticket bought us
tickets to Milano (a massive train ride, may I say?) and we arrived in
the Lampugnano area chapel to hear from one of our beloved Apostles,
Elder Holland.
No, I didn't get a photo of him, but I can testify how strongly he
brought the spirit. Elder Holland shared about how strongly his
mission affected his life and gave us a lot of good counsel. I don't
have lots of time, but I will say that he advised us to be obedient so
that we might have the Spirit. The Holy Ghost is the third member of
the godhead, and sometimes we take that for granted.
He also reminded us that we missionaries are apostolic. Like him,
we are called representatives of Christ and his gospel. That is our
Full Time calling.
He finished, he shook all of the missionary's hands (actually he shook
our hands before the opening prayer), and then the meeting was over.
The office had prepared for us sack lunches. Our train left at 5, but
we missed it, and had to take the next one, which was at 6. The office
had also chosen this train for us...and it was WAY to long of a trip.
We endured another 5 hours on that train and got home after 11pm.
Yuck.
Most of our appointments have fallen through, we don't have many
lessons, and we have to spend long durations being clever in how to
contact people. Anyway, I know this mission is the best for me. It's
really hard but the 'salvation of a soul is the most important thing
any person can participate in'.(Elder Holland).
love you all!
--Anziano Benge
(Our district after a long day and hike: Freckleton, Carter, Johnson, Me)

I was was lost but now I'm

Still lost, I haven't been sleeping well even when taking melatonin.
My head is swimming and normal cognitive abilities are a bit
difficult. But that is all good, it only means that today's email will
be short.
Thursday, we had a lesson planned, and he didn't show. We did finding
and then had English class which we have now started on Thursdays not
just Tuesday. Nobody showed to my base class.
Friday, two potential investigators didn't show up to our lessons. Two
more bidone, it's quite annoying. I'm losing hope to ever see anyone
progress in this city, but I just need to wash the slate clean and
start over. Before me there was a lot of disorganization going on and
even our 'strongest' investigators have no personal testimony they
just sit in on lessons and go back to their normal life afterwards.
Saturday, the summer holidays are officially 100% over. I don't think
we did anything memorable.
Sunday, Robert came to church which is good and I had to do
translation for him and a visitor from Rexburg. The rest of the day
was habitual proselyting with no recognizable success (although one
man and his wife did want to come to English: fast forward to
Tuesday--)
Monday: An awesome district meeting, I absolutely love this district.
Sorella Carter is the chill person that you just have to respect and a
really great missionary even though she's a greenie. Sorella Johnson,
the life of the party and the ward and everything. She's hilarious.
Anziano Freckleton is a great guy and just knows what to do, and gets
it done (or at least he calls those he remembers even if nobody
answers) and he keeps good discussions rolling. What a great district
Tuesday, like I said. Emily and Aldo came to English class and as I
taught them they became interested in my calling and the gospel. And
like that: restoration lesson

So, that's all, sorry. And no photos either. Love you all, stay strong
in the faith!
--Anziano Benge

It's good to write again

Even if nothing has happened...last week, if you heard, there was an earthquake.
In my area of Livorno, we felt nothing. So sorry, nothing exciting or
anything, and honestly I haven't heard any Italians talk about it.
(Thanks dad for being the only info supplier)
Yesterday- we had a zone training in Firenze. It was good to go home.
But the meeting ended an hour and a half late which was totally lame.
I don't want to complain, but sitting from 11 to 3 is really really
hard for me.
Sunday- People came to church, but like most Italians, many were very
non confrontational and didn't really want to talk to me. Even when I
tried. There are a few Americans in this ward though, and they all
came and I got to know their families.
Saturday- we made pizza and the sister missionaries made no bake
cookies and we watched Meet the Mormons with our African
investigators. It's sad because only Africans progress but none of
them can be baptized until they have documents. Even if they are
really really faithful, we just can't according to Europe's area
seventy's rule.
Friday- are appointments never showed (bidones) and a Romanian
Pentecostal talked at us for an hour. I bore testimony twice and then
he talked again, and we barely escaped before he started all over.
Jeez
Thursday- who knows, probably nothing way cool. We do a lot of finding
for English class.
Sorry, it's boring. But I have to go now. Ciao!!
--Anziano Benge
1-Ultimate in Pisa
2-the famous tower
3-me dressing up weird (i promise I didn't go out like this)

The Dry Sea

Livorno is a desert. I haven't seen so much yellow grass and dying
palm trees in my whole life! It really needs to rain.
This week I'll be explaining a lot, so if you have questions, let me know.
Firstly, Livorno is a coastal city and our area extends south all the
way to the mission border. We have inactive members that live in
Piombino, Grosetto, and as far south as Orbetello (the mission
boundary). Within my area is also the Island of Elba, the Island of
Montecristo, all those other islands nearby, and all this coast. On a
clear day, I have already seen as far as Corsica as well as the
aforementioned islands . So yes, I have seen a French island, how cool
is that?
Secondly, our district is Anz. Freckleton from Ammon, ID. And I, and
then the two Sorelle: Sister Johnson from Kaysville (I've met her
before the mission, and she was best friends with most the people who
I worked with at Dairy Queen), and Sister Carter who recently moved to
Utah from Alaska. It's a really great and fun district and the next
few weeks we'll get a lot done.
Thirdly, Michele is a member that I taught in Bologna on exchanges
before he was baptized. Just to reinstate, he was baptized exactly a
year from this coming Monday. I've seen his entire process from
investigator to full time member!
The work here is picking up, and I wish I had more time to write but I
will just say that A) we teach lots of Africans that can't be baptized
until they get out of their immigration camps. But we had 4 people who
take lessons at church on Sunday. B) speaking of Sunday, almost no
members came and I was even asked to give a full talk even though I'd
never met any of them til that day. C) every Tuesday we have English
class at night and do service in the morning at Caritas di Livorno
(soup kitchen for the homeless). That was interesting.

I have to go. Remember that those who have questions or troubles in
their lives may turn to our Savior. Emulating him brings us peace and
salvation. I love this mission.
Until next time
--Anziano Benge
1-Parco Parterre, it used to be an old Zoo.
2-Castiglioncello, where we had a lesson with Michele.

Wifi and Transfers and Pulizia

So you might be wondering why I don't write emails, and the answer is
because there is no place to send them. Our new church has opened and
it's gorgeous but the last thing on the priority list is Wifi.
Vercelli and Novara will be without wifi for up to four months, so ha.
We've done scavenging to find public wifi, and they are all extremely
slow, or don't connect. I'm supposed to see you're even reading this,
it means I have somewhat broken the barrier of discombobulated
communication and succeeded somewhere.
Last Pday we went to Domodossola and hiked a bit, learned the area up
near Iselle and had fun. This pday we cleaned and I packed and we took
apart three broken fans and made a 'robot sculpture'.
Wait...packing?! Yes, we received transfer calls on Saturday last and
they told me that I'm going back to Toscana!!! My city will be
Livorno, just south of Pisa. I'll finally get to see the Mediterranean
and I can visit La Spezia, Pisa, and Siena on Pday. I think in
English they monikered (stupidly) the city as 'Leghorn?'
This week I've had to say goodbye to everyone, except there is no one
because it is Ferragosto, also known as "leave and don't come back in
August" holiday. Maryke returned today, so I'll be saying goodbye
later.
On Sunday we had the blessing to take part in a baptism of 2
eight-year-old girls and Ting was there to watch as well. Sofia, on of
the baptized, lives with non members but comes to church with her
grandma. I was the one that began the lessons with her, even though
she knew everything, and we got permission to baptize her on her
birthday.
Ok, gotta go, I am super excited to get back on my feet and take on
another city as district leader and Senior Companion, serving with
Anziano Freckleton.
I'll update you next week!
Love you all
--Anziano Benge
1-Sofia, the 8 year old covert that we taught
2- Domodossola
3-'robot' That is definitely not a robot.

This Summer Passes Faster than Last

Our old church has been abandoned! We are officially moved into the
new church at Via Leblis/via Monfalcone in Vercelli. Our week
consisted of service, an exchange, heat, the sun, lessons with Ting
and Serena, me going insane, and heat.
My scambio (exchange) with Carnahan was very eventful as we passed by
two inactive members who lived in Lesa. Well, we took many trains, and
had an hour 'layover' in Cuzzago which is in the middle of nowhere.
Awesomely we explained our church to 8 or so new people today. And
then we exhausted ourselves by climbing to Massino Visconti to find an
inactive (who wasn't home, but we left a note)
We decided to hitchhike back to the train station instead of walking
an hour back down. (We found later that it's illegal?) but on our
third try a nice couple helped us, and we had yet another gospel
conversation.
This past week and so we've finished almost all the lessons with Ting,
though she hasn't decided on a baptism date. Serena is becoming more
interested, and our other lessons have not shown up.
We received 3 referrals from an anonymous person...all three were
uninterested...?
Ester looks like she won't be returning until school (heartbreaking)
Maryke can't return for her baptism it seems (dreadful)
And I've been sick a few days (meh)

I don't know what else to recount to you.
I love this mission though! I swear it gets harder everyday, but I see
the change that I'm making and that's what's important!!
--Anziano Benge, I love you all!
(Anz. Wheeler, Anz. Carnahan, Victor Sponton, Anz. Cabrera, me
At a national park north of Alagna) today

The actual best pday ever

--Anziano BengeYou have to guess where we went today...based of these photo clues.
(Hint: we reached 2070 meters altitude)

from my exchange with Anz. Carnahan

--Anziano Benge1- me in the middle of nowhere (Cuzzago) waiting for a train.
2- a mile long walk uphill in the sun (Lesa)
3- our final destination (a mile uphill) Massino Visconti

il District, la Zone

--Anziano BengeMe, Wheeler, Carnahan, Cabrera

And thus: Another week bites the dust

Anziano Isaac Wheeler from Orem and I both had a good week. This is
his second city, so he's having some time to adjust. I don't sleep
very well, but even that's gotten better. We're happy and working hard
in the terrible heat.
Today I would like to mention that a dear friend from home has
recently chosen to be baptized. I found out the wonderful news from
herself, and I was overjoyed. She's started her path just as many
others have and will...
Which leads us to Maryke. She has chosen a baptism date and will be
going forward with it when she gets home. She flys today to South
Africa, and we pray that she can return on time to be baptized the
23rd of August.
Ting is continuing to progress, we met with her at a shopping center
and had a lesson in a cafe. We introduced the Word of Wisdom, which
she accepted and promised to observe with little regret. She
immediately agreed to stop drinking tea as she was used to. At this
rate, I predict that she may choose a date for baptism within the
month.
We began the full lessons with Serena, with help from Maryke and
Isabella from the ward. Serena came to church, as well as Maryke. Ting
came to the young single adult activity that night. They're all so
blessed and understand why they come.

That's all for now, gotta go!
I love you all, and remember your prayers!!

--Anziano Benge
Novara alleyway
Novara buildings

Avvicinandosi al Crepuscolo

Ciao tutti. It seems that my companion goes home tomorrow. He is so
excited, for sure.
Saturday we received our transfer news and I am staying here in
Novara. Stale months of mugginess await, but my next companion is much
fresher in the mission. His name is Anziano —— Wheeler, he's from ——,
he's coming into his 5th transfer. that's it

Next week you'll have more for sure.
This week has been that week of awaited goodbyes and long-due
last-moment photos with Anziano Jaques and the people he likes here.
Sunday was fast and testimony meeting and he gave his last farewell at
the pulpit. He is currently packing.
Both Ting and Maryke came to church again, neither considered
otherwise, and they were very happy at the end. Ester will be gone
this next month but the other ward members have opened up and become
friends so we are not worried.

Yesterday we had lunch (sushi again, I'm so sick of going to sushi
buffets when I despise them so) at the mall with Victor, Ting, and
Maryke. Afterwards at Galliate we had a massive lesson with Maryke,
Ting, and Serena present. It was awesome, spiritual, and at the end
Maryke told us she wanted to be baptized on Aug. 23, which is the
Tuesday before transfers. She asked me to preform the baptism which I
will do gladly!!! I hope that it doesn't get pushed back or else I may
not be here to do it!
Serena wants to come to church next week, and It looks like we're
going to double the Relief Society within a year if they all get
baptized :)

Well, that's all for now. I do not have time to respond to every email
or to write everyone personally, but I do Thank You.
Love you all!

--Anziano Benge
Maryke, Alessandro, Serena, Ting, Anziano Jaques (not
pictured:everyone else) sitting at an outdoor bar where we may freely
teach lessons and not freely drink soda and eat chips

New Things

Nín hǎo, en welkom, to so many, culture diverse. (Chinese, Afrikaans,
English, Italian)
I guess I'm working this week with Chinese, Italian, Dutch, South
African, Nigerian, Gambian, Republica Dominican, Peruvian, German, and
American people. It is very hard to keep a straight mind with so many
different views and languages and accents, but it's also super fun.
Saturday was the big day this week. President Dibb is no longer here
and on Saturday we were in a zone conference at Torino to meet
President Allen and his wife!! He is so very different from what you
normally see in important men; meek, mild, intelligent and he and his
wife 'wear the pants' together in the marriage.
They are from Salmon, Idaho and love outdoorsy things. He just retired
as a dentist and sold his boat and home to come out here. He served in
the Italy south mission forty-something years ago.
Sunday, both Ting and Maryke came to church and enjoyed it. Ester is
their mediator for Relief Society, but the whole ward loves both of
them. Maryke is thinking to be baptized the end of August if things
turn out.
Monday, was Independence Day!!! We had a delicious BBQ in Galliate
with Maryke and Serena and their families. There was pasta salad, made
by Anziano Jaques. All sorts of meat, provided by the amazing BBQ
chef, Hans Van Der Vliet. Sticky buns (gigantic leavened cinnamon
rolls, I could only eat half of one) baked by Serena. And ice cream
and drinks, lamely bought by lanky Anziano Benge. Afterward we had
some photos with an American flag.
It was a good week, and we taught a lot of lessons. We met many new
people and did some good. Love you all!
(A shout out to all the missionaries that are finishing their missions
soon! Finish STRONG)
--Anziano Benge
A) the Allens
B) left, Afrikaans. Right, Dutch

A Personal Letter to You All

You might think this weird, but I had the idea last night to write
each of you a personalized sentence or two. I've only sent this email
to the select individuals who I think it likely would read the email.
It's a sort of gratitude letter, and then at the end I'll update you
on my week. (Don't feel obligated to respond) Let's begin!

Dear Father, I've already written you a response to an email you sent
me. But really, thanks for writing often, humorously, and spiritually.
Love you!
Dear Mother, Don't worry about me. I'm fine. I love receiving your
emails and testimony, but I don't always respond because I'm lazy or
can't think in English. I love you as well!
Dear Hannah, keep working hard and praying! God has given you amazing
talents, he's also given you trials that you may learn. I love you and
miss jammin' on the guitars!
Dear Elder Benge, It seems Washington state is treating you well. I
miss singing with you also! Remember charity never faileth! Love you!
Dear Miriam, When dark clouds hang o'er you, turn first to your
family, leaders, and then friends. Stay in practice with all you
musical skills! Love you, and good luck with high school. It's a
rollercoaster.
Dear Andrew, are you alive? Just kidding, your parents have
thankfully written that you are in fact alive and well. Stay creative,
and play piano and guitar, or you'll regret it later! Love you and
miss you!
Dear Lucy, I'm also convinced you're alive, I think. I love you, but
make sure to keep sending me your poetry and books!
Dear Rachel, you're at that age when I come home you're going to be
a completely different person. Take care of your cough, play violin,
love life. I love you!
Dear Joshua, it is your job to say hello to Enoch and Ester because
they don't have emails. (I hope.) give them each a hug for me. I hope
you're having fun in sports and life! I love you buddy!

Dear Grandma and Grandpa Nielson, you've always been busy people!
Always serving first the Lord and second your massive Family. I love
you, and wish love with all of your endeavors. You are wonderful
people!
Dear Grandma and Grandpa Benge, I really miss you as well! I don't
know what you're currently doing in life, but it's probably awesome.
I've always been proud of my grandparents. I love you both!

Dear Sorella Sharp, methinks you're still in Liguria? Hope to hear
your crazy adventures soon! Baptize nations, smile often, and see you
later!
Dear Sister Bucco, I'm sorry that I didn't talk to you when I
passed through Firenze! I almost missed the train though, so it's a
good excuse. I wish we could have caught up! Thank you for your
Italian teaching and preparation, I really have used it much and
cannot express fully my gratitude to you.
Cara Ester, amica, sei privilegiata d'aver un messaggio di
Italiano. Tuo lavoro missionario è la benedizione più grande di tutta
Novara. Senza esagerazione, la tua gentilezza, amicizia e carità sono
le cose che questo mondo esige.
Dear Anziano Harris, you have no idea how awesome you are. At transfer
calls I'm definitely calling to know what is going on. Keep
practicing, for practice makes perfect.
Dear Heather, I hope that you're killing it over there in the USA.
I included you on this list much because you wrote me a very kind
dedica, and I hope to hear from you and your adventures of school.
Keep smiling!

That's all! Thank you all very much. If you're reading this on the
blog and wondering why you didn't make this list it's because
A) you might be a figment of my imagination or B) I'm lazy or C) I
also make mistakes, maybe I just forgot, D) I don't have your email.

This week was slow and hot. Maryke came to church again, many of
the members love her. She was touched in sacrament meeting,
participated in Sunday School, and then spent Relief Society with her
new friend, Ester. She is sure that this is the right church from her,
and she says she'll want to have a baptism date planned before she
goes on her family vacation to South Africa. That's only two weeks
away, which means she's praying hard and preparing. She's already a
few books into the Book of Mormon.
All is well, gotta go!!
This is the Mission of our Saviour
This is love
This is service

--Anziano Benge

Evangelical Vanguards

I apologize for not distributing an email last week, the wifi
situation has become almost impossible to work with. Last week, to
make things worse, every my iPad's email info was reset and nobody
knew how to fix it until Sunday. I'm writing this email at home,
Wednesday afternoon, I can't promise you that you'll read it any time
soon. Sorry.

Our week was awesome, our South African friend, Maryke, came to church
and LOVED it. She is reading the Book of Mormon, she's praying, she's
talking about baptism. If she stays faithful the ordinance will be
soon. She was definitely prepared to receive the gospel!
Now look, she's African...but she's Caucasian! Her last name is Dutch
and Sud Afrika origin. Pale, blonde, speaks English, Italian,
Afrikaans, some Dutch and more. She's lived here for twelve years and
is hoping to get into the USA soon! Her parents have raised her well
and they love us missionaries.
We went on a beautiful bike ride with them to have a discussion about
temples. The 25k ride along the 'Ticino River Valley' (?) was
exhausting but perfect for several gospel conversations. (No photos
because I'm lame)
They hope to take us on another bike ride discussion soon, and also
want to take us shopping for the Fourth of July... I think.
Our progress with Ting is great, we hope to watch Meet the Mormons
with her soon. Our less actives are disappearing, and it's hard to
contact anyone since school got out. Oh well... I feel as though there
is more to say...hmmm nope.
I love Galliate. I love this ward and the members.
The gospel is simple, God loves us, Jesus Christ is our Savior. I know
these things!

Until next time, when I have a combination of time/wifi/care
Take care
--Anziano Benge

The Little Things the Make Time Pass:

(They're called gears)

Oh hey..hmmm it's another Pday already. Seems like I have to type out
another email about all the wonderful things I've done in Italy
recently. Well, for starters, I taught lessons. We watched Meet the
Mormons with Ester and her mother, that was great. We taught Ting the
full lesson on the Gospel, again with the help of Ester. Ester teaches
as much as we do.
We had a heap of cancelled lessons, which is normal, and we had a lot
of scheduled appointments disappear or lost after endless phone calls
without answers. That's also normal.
It's getting hot...nowhere near as bad as last year, so I have no
complaints. I can still sleep with my bedcovers on, so it's not
unbearable...obviously.

But all in all, I am doing fine! A pinched nerve in my neck has been
my only setback, I just have to ignore. This week was transfers, so
Anziano Sean Penfold in our district was moved to Modena, I believe,
and in came Anziano Lott to Vercelli. Both he, and my companion, are
in their last transfers. Both will be 'dying' this transfer, and both
Anziano Carnahan and I will be 'killing' them...which means we will
both probably do at least another transfer here after they go! (Unless
they still close this area in Novara)

Tonight, Jake, our American friend is beginning a book reading
tutorial class to help teach English to Italians. Since we don't have
an English class running here in Novara, he's asked us to join and
participate (for free)'and it should help our missionary work by a
lot. The class will be reading Tom Sawyer. If you want to join...uh,
come to Novara.

Now here's the uplifting spiritual part! These are the things I've
read, and brief summaries:
John 1:1-14. Who can deny that Jesus Christ is the light and the life?
What a great passage.

Malachi 3:6. For he is the same! Mormon 9:9, there's no shadow of a changing?
If God never changes, than neither does the gospel, and neither does scripture!

2 Nephi 29:8-9. God's work is not yet finished, and never will be in
your lifetime. Learn all that you can from the witnesses that He
lives! (Everything)

Benché sono timido e non parlo molto, io ho una testimonianza! So
sicuramente che Gesù Cristo è l'unico genico figlio del nostro Padre
Celeste, e loro ci amano più che comprenderemmo mai. Il Libro di
Mormon è un libro di scritture sacre, è stato scritto per nostro
benessere spirituale. Queste cose sono fatti a me, e loro rendo qui
nel nome di Gesù Cristo..Amen

--Anziano Benge

Novara is -———-

You can fill in the blank or come to understand that I meant 'blank'.
As in, Novara is blank. Or flat, or empty. Every time I see the alps
in the far off distance it reminds me. Ok, it's not totally empty, but
I feel as though I know it like the back of my hand. It's just a very
simple place.

On Sunday, we had a dinner with an inactive American who lives in
Galliate. We ate fajitas.
Fajitas don't exist here, so it surely was a treat. It was more of a
dinner party, with several associates and students of this member (he
served a mission here long ago, and now teaches English). We had to
teach all the Italians how to make fajitas. They didn't understand
that you used your hands, and that the veggies and meat were supposed
to be all mixed together in the tortilla. We met some interesting
people, like Maryke from South Africa, and Serena from the
Illinois/Missouri border; who were both our age. As well as two
Italians who were our age, Marco and Martina, I think. They played
guitar, and I got to play some after we ate our gelato dessert. I
haven't played guitar forever! Yikes

Monday to Tuesday I had an exchange with Anziano Penfold in
Vercelli. We had a few lessons, but he also showed me the nearly
completed chapel that they're building. It's in a distant location
that almost makes me angry; it's already extremely difficult to get
people to come to church, not to mention ourselves. Now, the new
church, which will open in September or July, is a twenty minute walk
from the station, and no buses that go near it. Rain, or boiling sun,
the suited missionaries of Novara and their nervous investigators are
going to have to take the costly 20 minute train ride and then walk 20
minutes to get to church. Just to get wifi on Pday, it will take
Novara Anziani over an hour there, and an hour back...making iPad
services for emailing defunct. It will be better to go to Internet
points and pay to use computers, like we did my first transfer in
Italy.
I think of this, and realize it's such a small sacrifice compared
to what others might have to do, I'll try not to complain, as I've
already done too much.
I love this as it is, and know the church is true.

Vi voglio tanto bene
--Anziano Benge
-1- Galliate
-2- Vercelli, alps in the distance

I should probably change something up.

One of the worst things about missionary work in Novara is that you
fall into a boring habit every week. You always leave the house at the
same time to always do finding at the exact same park, because it's
the only place people exist. We always teach the same people Friday at
4. We always teach the same people Thursday nights. Church, institute
where no one comes. Pday, where it costs us too much to go anywhere,
we don't have wifi...
The thing I can see to fix this would be passing inactive members in
distant lands, but again, the problem is we don't have money, AND all
the missionaries before us were the same as bored, so they've already
compiled a list of what inactive members don't want to see us (half of
them), and which ones don't live at the address anymore (the other
half).
Sorry, I feel as though there is nothing else to remark to you.
Everything is progressing slowly, but fine.
Shoutout to Sister Liz Surace who just left on her mission to the SLC
temple, she'll be in the MTC. Also thanks to Endurance, the most
faithful Nigerian member in the stake. Thanks to Victor Sponton, who
always knows when our nights are open, and invites us to Burger King
or homemade food with non members. Much thanks to Ester Celgie, the
most recent convert here; she is extremely faithful, makes our
missionary work so much easier, and is the best friend anyone could
have.

Vi voglio tanto bene!!

--Anziano Benge

I'm trying not to be bored

Dear, Adatti Vernici Schioccati
This email will send when I get wifi. That may take a while as:
-Novara has no wifi in it.
-We didn't make it to the church
-Tomorrow we have to go to Brescia for my companion's Permesso.

He's in his 14th transfer, and yet he still has to go apply for a new
one though he'll be home in three months. This is Italian/mission
beauracracy. Anziano Jaques, from Boise, he draws and is a really fun
guy.

We're making the best out of Novara. It's not bad, we're just...alone
out here. If Italy was like the USA, Novara is like the city: Grand
Island. Never heard of it? It's because it is in Nebraska, and that's
how I am beginning to feel. It is just the Italian Midwest, lest
spunk, more dowdiness. I'm not complaining, I'm just putting it how it
is; I'd LIKE to leave sometime in the future, but I'm also not going
to escape...unless I start melting. I could stay here for a long time
and have no problem with that.

We teach a lot of inactives. We taught a guy named Gian Luca in
Vigevano; the first time we'd met him (Anz. Young and I) we gave him a
Book of Mormon. As we met him this second time, he'd already read to 1
Nefi chapter 20. We're definitely sticking with this guy, whenever we
can get out there!!

I've done some reflecting, and I partially consider myself able to
write some in Italian, so enjoy this poem I made for you:

-Or sono; Mi parse così
Or sei; Le tue vestigia ne seguì
Fiamma vivissima, il tuo sorriso fu
Il sacro fuoco guida, e mi pigli tu
Or sono; Mi parse un secolo
Or sei, non mai troppo lontano
Incendio baldanzoso, l'amore sempre c'è
-Mi butto nei braci, il motivo—? Ardevo per te

Anyway, I'm gonna go na
Love,
--Anziano Benge

No time at all...and niente

Transfers
I have nothing to say , and no time to say it. We saw Anziano Young
off, my new companion will be Anziano Jaques, but he comes in tomorrow
from Bolzano so I know nothing about him. I spent 2 weeks with Anz.
Young here in Novara, and he's a good guy! Now he's gone, but we had
good work! Our week has been finding, and member passbys, and saying
goodbye.
I'll be in Vercelli with Anziano Penfold and Anziano Carnahan until
tomorrow, but now I've got to go... We'll hear from each other!

--Anziano Benge
(Arona, a beautiful lake city)

Novara, the Italian China

The covered hall to the castle in Vigevano

The view from the castle's hall (Vigevano)

This email title is not in reference to our Chinese investigator Ting,
who is taking the lessons. She is from near Shanghai, kinda. And has
lived here for a few years and has started saying prayers, it's
awesome.
No, really the title is because this area in Piemonte (Piedmont), is
packed with rice paddies and more rice paddies. On trains, we just see
blue sky on the ground as well as upwards. It's cool, but it also
makes Novara the highest population for mosquitos ever. Darn
My companion is Anziano Young, he is from Bountiful UT and totally did
the theater program at Woods Cross High school. We already sing around
the town, except I don't remember English or lyrics. He has really
really bad allergies, but it only uses like 50 tissues a day and
doesn't stop the work. Hopefully it gets better in summer or he's
going to have a hard summer, poor guy. I'm his 4th companion and this
is his first city still. His last two companions both were moved to
the office, so I really hope it doesn't happen to me as well.
We have Ting as our progressing investigator, everyone else are
inactive, and of course we do 6 hours of finding everyday. Yeah.
Novara is nice, nothing compared to Firenze, I wish I hadn't been
transferred but it wasn't my choice. I've seen Mortara (it's ugly) and
the awesome village of Vigevano (awesome castle and piazza there).
That's it for now!!

--Anziano Benge
(The only thing in Novara is outside our window)

Always Space Transfers

--Anziano Benge

Surprise surprise, I was told Sunday that I am leaving (at noon
today), luckily I had given my testimony because I wasn't told until
after sacrament. I had two days to say goodbye to everyone and pack.
No more Firenze, no more Toscana, and exactly like when I came to
Florence, I'm replacing the Elder who is going into the office.
Apparently whenever the train a new Office Elder early, I'm supposed
to go clean up whatever city they're leaving.
My new city: Novara, for those who have never heard of it (most of
you), it borders my first area of Lampugnano on the west, but is in
Piedmont and is the second largest city in Piedmont after Turin. Also,
I hear, that there is literally nothing there. Who knows, it doesn't
even have it's own ward, and I'll have to go to Vercelli every Sunday
on train.
My new companion will be Anziano Young, he's been there for four
transfers so he might only stay these last two weeks. He's the trainee
of Anziano Taylor, the Zone Leader here in Firenze. I'm not way
excited, and I hate being thrown around, but I'm going in with a good
attitude. Apparently there are some nice lakes to visit, and Aosta (A
city I want to open) is in my zone, and so is the Matterhorn..so,
yeah!
I said goodbye to Mauro, the wonderful man who was baptized soon after
I arrived. I said goodbye to Austin and Iyke, my Nigerian brothers. To
Malu and Paolo, who hopefully will be baptized this summer, and she
gave me two really nice expensive pens (and a kilo of fresh Parmigiano
to take with me). I will miss Firenze!!! I will miss Bishop Ferrini,
Isaac Tatsap (mission leader), Fratello Riccardo Brighella (we helped
him optimize his new smartphone with accessibility for his 96%
blindness), Sorella Letizia Boschi, Fratello Rich Rodgers, the Mulkay
twins, Richard Boakye from Ghana, Jerry and Patrick as well, Luigi,
Alex, 'crazy' Roberto Romagna, Alessandro e Manuela, Felix, and
everyone!!
We had a successful week, we taught, we set a baptism date with Felix
(who just moved from the Reggio missionari to us). We worked hard, and
we stopped weirdo agnostics on the street. There was a soccer game
yesterday 3-on-3 in a tiny court, Missionaries versus ragazzi (some
boys that had made fun of the other Elders). I didn't play, because
I'm terrible and it wouldn't have been fair, but I taught 3 watching
children the gospel and they accepted it and brought pamphlets to
their parents. The game's deal was, if the 'Americans' win ten points
first, then they were allowed to teach the Italian teens the first
lesson; if the Italians won, then the Americans would buy kebap for
them all. We won 10-7 fair and square. Anziano Taylor and Anziano
Pesci will teach them this coming Saturday.
Last Friday we were near centro to teach a lesson, then we stumbled
into 20 carabinieri with riot shields, and another handful with gas
masks and suits. We got ourselves away, and found out that ISIS was
doing a demonstration parade thing. Nothing bad happened, other than
we had to cancel our lesson.
That's all for now! I love the mission!
(The banks of Parco Cascine from Viadotto del'Indiano)

The First and Last Supper

This week was the wonderful, blessed, holy day of Pasqua.
Easter here is celebrated from Thursday until Monday night, and
unfortunately for me, this was my only Easter in Italy. They hand out
giant chocolate eggs as gifts, and they have an alright seasonal
dove-shaped cake called Colomba that they eat.

Spring has brought me allergies, and also a slight sickness in my
belly. Nevertheless, the work goes on. Friday night we had dinner with
Sorella Letizia Boschi at her house, with Riccardo and her parents. We
ate delicious homemade pesto genovese, and creamy cheese potatoes, and
chocolate cake. We shared our Easter message and bore testimony. Anz.
Harris is struggling with the language enough that we've decided to
try speaking Italian 24/7 so he can participate more in lessons.

Sunday, heaps of people came to church, and it was a very spiritual
day. We had to do translation for the CTR 10 class, because there are
many visiting Americans. (Speaking of visits, this city is 'flowing'
with tourists. I am glad that I'll probably leave before summer when
it will go nuts)
Easter night, la sera Pasquale, we had a wonderful dinner with the
Morelli family. Brother Morelli is the one who did the direct
translation at the microphone for Elder Christofferson. His wife and
daughter were there, and his eldest son, Christian (the old ward
mission leader), is away on vacation in the US of A. We ate some nice
spinach pasta from Alto Adige, and roast potatoes, and well-made
chicken loaf stuff...I'm not sure if I could explain...

Not much else has happened, we've been doing finding, we watched Meet
the Mormons with Malu, and all of our other investigators seem to have
evaporated into 'quel vuoto che non ha fine'
Buona Pasqua!
I can't say much more, other than I know that our Savior lives. He is
the One who overcame death, both physical and spiritual, and he is the
head cornerstone of this Church. A Catholic man told us we would be
damned for preaching against the 'oldest religion in Italy', but I
only felt a quiet gratitude for our Lord and Mediator; the work is
hard, but I've felt his hand in the everyday life I give out here in
Firenze. I know He lives, I know He loves, and I know there's a plan
for each of us.
Study, pray, be good. Nel nome di Gesù Cristo, amen

--Anziano Benge

Shaking the Hand of an Apostle: No Photos Sorry

I don't have proof, just a few hundred alibis. Yeah
Anyway, this Sunday was our Stake Conference with Elder Cristofferson,
he is so apostolic!! I don't know if that means anything special, but
to me I know he is an Apostle of the Lord, very humble, quiet, but a
special witness of Christ.
Mainly I would like to share how he told us that any point in our life
can be a turning point, and how important the family is. He promised
so many blessings at the end, for families, and then asked to shake
the hands of all the children and missionaries. It was a great
conference, and many people were touched, including several
investigators and less actives.
The rest of our week was a numerous amount of 'bidones', where we
confirm and they still don't show up. We met with Joseph, who still
understands very little, but his home gives us an infinite supply of
referrals and new investigators, so we're always working with that.
We are using the new Easter videos to do finding...if you haven't seen
them go find the site!
Followhim.mormon.org or seguiLo.mormon.org
#Hallelujah, right?!
Well that's all, Buona Pasqua!!!
--Anziano Benge

Shaking the Hand of an Apostle: No Photos Sorry

I don't have proof, just a few hundred alibis. Yeah
Anyway, this Sunday was our Stake Conference with Elder Cristofferson,
he is so apostolic!! I don't know if that means anything special, but
to me I know he is an Apostle of the Lord, very humble, quiet, but a
special witness of Christ.
Mainly I would like to share how he told us that any point in our life
can be a turning point, and how important the family is. He promised
so many blessings at the end, for families, and then asked to shake
the hands of all the children and missionaries. It was a great
conference, and many people were touched, including several
investigators and less actives.
The rest of our week was a numerous amount of 'bidones', where we
confirm and they still don't show up. We met with Joseph, who still
understands very little, but his home gives us an infinite supply of
referrals and new investigators, so we're always working with that.
We are using the new Easter videos to do finding...if you haven't seen
them go find the site!
Followhim.mormon.org or seguiLo.mormon.org
#Hallelujah, right?!
Well that's all, Buona Pasqua!!!
--Anziano Benge

This is a message for: You

--Anziano Benge

You know who you are. :)
Ok, let's talk about this week... It wasn't great.
We had sun, we had cancellations, we had lunch. I'm not sure I can
expound much. Our favorite part of this massive finding week was going
down to Montelupo, where we passed by a few inactive members and an
ex-investigator. We had no success there, but did some finding, had
some conversation, gave out pamphlets. It's a beautiful little town!
Our main focus of our work is with Luigi, who we saw Saturday and has
a very strong testimony (he's just SO busy), we have Alessandro and
Manuela who decided to move again because they found mold spores
everywhere (we bought them a Winnie the Pooh hat and boots for their
soon due daughter). We meet with Joseph and his wife and daughters in
Empoli, but they don't understand anything we teach or our purpose,
they'll have to be dropped unless they begin listening and committing.
I'm happy, even though my shoes are falling apart around my swollen
feet, and the Spring has arrived. Tuscany is awesome, the work is
marvelous, and the truth is real... Next Sunday, Elder D. Todd
Christopherson is coming to our Stake Conference, hopefully I'll say
something on that!
Ciao
(Here is a picture of a Toscana seesaw in front of a massive Villa, in
Montelupo)