Robert's Mission Call 12 03 2009

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

CHRISTMAS PHONE CALL

ALL THAT I CAN SAY IS.....IT WAS WONDERFUL!

What a treat it was to have Robert call us Christmas morning. He is doing great!
His Italian is great too....it was so neat to hear him speak in his native language and to hear the happiness and joy in his voice as he shared some of his experiences with us.

One thing that he said that made us laugh...he said to me..."mom, do you know that when you speak Italian you sound funny (meaning different from Italians)? My reply was..."have you heard yourself speak in Italian?"... It least I can say that I wasn't born there and I'm not Italian...but it sure did make us chuckle!

Robert loves Alessandria, and the members there have treated him so well...We are so thankful to each one of them for watching over him during his service there. Between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day they have 4 lunch/dinner invitations and also watched a few Disney movies on Christmas Day with a member.

Robert and Anz Weller also had the opportunity to go to midnight mass on Christmas Eve (something that I remember doing as a missionary). He was very surprised at the traditions, etc..that they do there. One comment he made was that the incense would make him high if he had to smell them all the time. (Same thought I had when I went). However he made the comment that it was good to see what others believe and practice.

He also expressed his feelings about Eliana.....she has set a baptismal date several times now..but has never followed through. Mainly because of her difficulty with the word or wisdom...she hasn't been able to give up cigarettes. From what he said, she has a few problems in her life and when she gets stressed out she smokes. Robert finally said that he asked her...look..when you smoke do you feel better, do your problems go away or are they solved? of course the answer to all the questions was no...so then he told her that if she tried something new and would put her faith in the Lord that maybe things would actually work out better for her, and her family. I was very impressed with that.

Robert loved his Christmas packages and presents! But his comment has been all along that Christmas isn't about the presents. It's about the Savior.

He sends his warmest Christmas wishes to each one of you..and wishes you all a wonderful new year. He expressed his love and appreciation to all his friends who are writing to him and their support while he is serving the Lord.

Now let the countdown begin for Mother's Day...and who knows..Maybe we can Skpe!!!

Friday, December 24, 2010

-4 CHRISTMAS CALL COUNTDOWN

Dear family!!!!

Holy freak!!!! ha ha it was so dang good to hear from them! :) (Trent, Michael, and Anthony) it really did make me so happy! Jeez I love those boys! I'm so dang excited for that video! It better work or I'll like cry!!! ha ha And I'm really happy that they are doing well! That makes me so dang happy too! Man I miss them! :)

It sounds like everything at home is going well, as usual! That makes me so happy too! ha ha What the heck is up with the Tabernacle!? Ya that is so crazy! I'm glad no one got hurt too!

And sorry for not writing you guys yesterday! My bad! We went to Torino and went to the Egyptian museum and chilled in Torino for a while so we didn't have time to email so we are doing it today! Alessandria doesn't have a lot of sights, so we went to a bigger city to actually do something for p-day!!! It was fun!! Torino is way chill!

Zio Pino and I are planning for next week!!! Call him and tell him to meet us at my apartment at 11!!! We are open from 11-2. It would be so cool to see him one more time before transfers!! This time it's a lot more likely for me to get sent somewhere else. But I guess we will just see!!!

I'm excited to get Ali's email!!! She's the best! And good for her that she got accepted!! (To study abroad in Italy, next fall) ha ha thats so dang fun! That would be so epic to see her!! ha ha

Yes I got your number don't worry and ya' around 9-10am your time is when I should be callin!!! ha ha ya' that's for sure gonna be the best part of the day!! ha ha and I think we are also gonna watch a disney movie Christmas too cause we can!! I'll explain everything when I call so I'll keep this email a bit shorter!!

Man I love you guys so much and I'm so excited to hear from you guys!! And about the tie, I just wanted to get Anz Weller something 'cause it's his first Christmas and his package from his fam didn't make it in time so he won't get it until January and I want him to have somethin to open too so I had to get him something.

The work is goin ok it's just a hard to find people period around here and Christmas just doesn't help. It's really funny to say Merry Christmas to all the Muslim people though!! They just look at you funny. President said don't use a lot of time trying to convert them cause they will talk to you but won't listen to anything you say, so now the first thing I say is "Hey do you want to change and become Christian?" and they say no, so then we just leave and it saves us a lot of time. The first time I did it a few days ago Anz Weller just started laughing when I said it! Things really are goin great!

I love you guys so much! I'll explain everything a lot more when I call you guys!!!
Be ready! ;) haha
Love you guys have a great Christmas!!
BUON NATALE!!!!!!!

vi voglio bene :)
Anziano bona

Thursday, December 16, 2010

T'was the Week Before Christmas and Trials Abound

Dear Mom and Dad!!

I'm doing alright!!!
It's been a very interesting week!
Ha I think its super funny that you email Lorenza!! I love her she's great! ha ha

But ya Eliana didn't get baptized. So she was supposed to get baptized this Saturday (the 18th). Until everything hit the fan Monday and then she relapsed, and a whole bunch of other stuff happened Monday!!! ugh!!! It was just a day where like all heck broke lose and our investigators just got owned by Satan. Mattia was the only one who like didn't just get owned thank heavens!!!

It was a very humbling day. It was pretty rough but Anz Weller and I both know that it was just a prova della nostra fede (a trial of our faith). I think we both said some of the most sincere prayers of our lives. But it's OK we are picking ourselves up now.

Yesterday we had our zone conference so I wasn't able to see Zio Pino :( We are now planning it for the 29th. Hopefully we can work it all out that day!!!

The coolest thing of the week happened at the end of last week. Last Tuesday I got this call from this less active member and she said that she has this friend who is going through some really really hard times and she wanted to talk to the bishop so I gave his number to her. So then on Friday Anz Weller and I were doing some finding work and we looked across this huge field and saw some casa (houses) in a area that we had never done before and we both just got the feeling that we needed to head over there right at that moment so we did. So we got into our first palazzo (apartment building) in that area and I knocked on this one guys house and this super homeless looking guy answers and is like "o anziani venite venite!!" (oh Elders' come come!) so we walked in! We started talking to this man and then we come to find out that it was that guy who the lady was talking about! His name is Ortu and ya' he does need a lot of help in his life right now. And I know that the gospel is something that can really help him! I know if he just listens to us he will see miracles!!! So we went back to his house the next day and we taught him the first lesson and I invited him to be baptized and come unto Christ and he was like for sure!! So that was the cool part of the week!! His baptism is planned for in a month or so! Hopefully we can help our brother out and help him change his life around! It was just cool 'cause we both (Anz Weller and I) just got the feeling to go to that area and do work over there. We really can be tools in the Lords hands if we are willing to do what He asks of us!! So ya there is my little story for the week!!!

So about the other tie ha ha.... actually ya' it is a present. It's for anz Weller! I was on a scambio (splits) so it was my only chance to get him something without him knowing what!! haha But ya Andrews Ties is a super chill place! the Ties there are awesome!!

That is so cool about Alli and Julia!! I love those girls they are so cool!! ha ha I totally miss chilling with them! Tell them I say hi and wish them a merry Christmas!! Send me Alli and Julia's email!!! I'd love to email them and tell them merry Christmas! :) ha ha

Dad that is great that your gonna take mom to the gym starting next year!!! ha ha Do it mom don't be a pansy! Start off slow you don't need to kill yourself right at the beginning! ha ha and then when I get back you guys can take me to the gym cause I'm gonna need it too!! ha ha

I'm really glad eveything is going good at home! That makes me really happy!! :) I love you guys so much!! And just remember Christmas isn't about presents. It's about being with the family, and Chirst. :) I love you guys and am way excited to talk with you guys in a week!!

Have a great week and I'll email you guys next week!!! vi voglio bene!!!! :) (i love you all!)

Love
Anziano Bona

Thursday, December 9, 2010

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP IN ALESSANDRIA

Dear Mom and Dad!!!

How are you guys doing!?! I hope all is going well! It was nice to chat with ya for a sec yesterday mom! ha ha That was fun! But ya um... for Christmas we will call around 9 to 10 your time! Not any later then 1030 your time!! ha ha I'm excited for that!

So dad your story was so so cool!!! Ah man it got me!! I really can believe that happened!!!
Keyan is a great kid!! He is gonna make a great missionary!! I'm so excited to see him out here and to see the work he's gonna be able to do!! Man I've read that like 20 times I just love hearing that!! Get on my face book and give him my email address and tell him to hit me up if he has a few minutes!!

So ya it's been kinda cold around here but actually today was a decent day!! And ya we still use our bikes ha ha thank heavens for thermal's and for scarves!!! Man I love these things they save me!!! And yes we have a heater that is finally working so now going home isn't that bad!! ha ha I'm glad you got the pic! And man you just always see the pics that seem like I haven't shaved for a bit! But I do shave a lot! I think I just like don't take pics when I shave ha ha I'll work on it though!

And yes we are hoping that Zio (Uncle) Pino can come next Wednesday! He said that if it doesn't snow that he will come down for a few hours! ha ha So now I'm praying it doesn't snow 'cause that would be awesome!! I'd love to see him another time before Christmas and before I leave here!
And dang guys I miss the Jazz games! They were always fun :) ha ha and that's super chill about the hat! I bet Brian just loves that! ha ha

Thank you guys for the stories that each of you have shared with me! That one from Uchdorff and the Give My Son one. They were both really cool and both brought the spirit!! Ya this Christmas is gonna' be a good one! If possible get Brian what he wants he totally deserves it! :) ha ha

But ya my MTC group is way ballin! Anz Palmer trained when I did and now Anz Lesa and Zanni are training too and also Anz Delosso is a DL (district leader) and there are a few others who are senior comps so ya' pretty much my group is super legit and amazing!!! There are some really solid missionaries in my group!

So ya guess what.... we are like 99% sure that Eliana is gonna finally get baptized on Saturday! Tight now I'm on a scambio (splits) with the DL and he is gonna interview her later tonight! Hopefully she just feels better and isn't sick!!! ugh sickness!!! But I know she can feel better and know that she will!!! It really has been super awesome to see the gospel change the life of her and her family!!! I just love them so much so we are so happy for them!!
Ya we have had a few rough weeks but the Lord has finally blessed us. We also heard this great news about this less active family who has a 12 year old child who isn't baptized and they want us to start meeting with them so he can get baptized!! So we are super excited about that as well! Patience really is the key! The Lord wants to see how we deal with the hard times but I know that if we are just patient and keep doing what we are supposed to that the Lord will come through and help us out!!
So ya things are going great here! ha ha Anz Weller is chill and all is going good! It's just cold! I also think I might be gaining one or two pounds!!! ha ha This food is just way to good!!! ha ha Man, Kinder ( a brand of food/sweets) is just the best thing ever invented by man! :) ha ha

Well guys I hope that all keeps going well back at home! Thanks for all you guys do! You guys are the best! Can't wait to talk to you guys some more next week! But now I gotta go there is work to be done!!
love you guys so so much!!!
Love
Anziano Bona

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

robert alessandria apartment



This is Robert showing us his apartment in Alessandria....

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

SNOW AND BLESSINGS AND PRE CHRISTMAS PARTY

Dear Mom and Dad!!!!

OK first of all let me tell you about the 120 euro charge....

um.... i bought and i pod 'cause president said we can have them now. i hope that's OK!!!! hahahah jk!!!!!! just playing!!! ha ha I wish that was the reason but unfortunately its not!

So on Thanksgiving we were at the church at one of the gans (young adult) things and we were taking pics and my camera fell and totally broke!!! :( i was so mad!! ugh!! So then I went to that store to get me a new camera. And that's what I bought. I bought like the same type so we can still send stuff back and forth! It's like the one I had just a little nicer. It was the cheapest one out there that was the same type! Sorry I know it was a lot... my bad. Don't worry I'll be careful with the new camera and with not spending too much money.

So I'll probably send two packages home. One with just a little bit of stuff/things that I don't wanna take around anymore and the other with some food!!! ha ha Are you sure that that's all you guys want? If there is anything else really just let me know! ha ha

I'm glad that Thanksgiving went well!! That's so fun! I love the Tubbs family I miss them and love them so much! Thanksgiving was good here too. We just chilled and put up our little Christmas tree!! ha ha It's so cute and it has lights and everything! ha ha We wore our Christmas hats and just blasted our Christmas music the whole time!! ha ha It was like a pre Christmas! ha ha it was so much fun until I dropped my camera!!

Transfers..... ya we are both staying here! We get to have Christmas and New Years together!!! I'm excited it's gonna be fun! Anz Weller and I get along great! ha ha We have taken a few video and cool pics and I'll make sure to send it right after New Years! We get along great and are doing good work together! He's gonna be a way solid missionary once he gets the Italian! He's doing really good though he is solid!

I'm glad you liked the pics and stuff! ya Nick is interesting.... he is in love with the missionaries , he's nice and we are learning patience and charity with him.

You should send me the memory card back with a video or pics or something since last time didn't work!!! ha ha

Ya it's like freezing here!!! And like snows a ton!!! ha ha So last night we took our bikes out like 30 mins away and once we got out there it started to snow! And it was like a blizzard!! It was going crazy!!! We took a video of it ha ha but it got like 10x worse then the video shows!! ha ha and then we had to ride our bikes home in it!!! It was crazy!!! ha ha Kinda fun but scary too!!!!

So I was like shoot we gotta go home to a freezing apartment, but you forget that God loves his missionaries! :) so we got home and there was heating!!! The repair man came and fixed it!! ha ha So now we are good at home!!! It was a huge blessing!!!

But ya it was nice to see my boys Dunshee and Iolnick. i love them!! And I'm the only one who does the short big tie thing!! ha ha But ya I'm trying to get it to catch on!!! We will see how that goes!! ha ha But ya its nice to have fun ties!! I'm coming home with only Italian ties :) ha ha

So ya things are going great here!! 24 days then I get to call home :) ha ha ya!!! That ll be fun! ha

I'm glad to know all is going well at home with David and with everything! In the end he is still family.

I love you guys so much! I'm glad you guys are gonna watch a bunch of movies! ha ha That'll be fun!! ha ha

Keep up the good work! Love ya dad Love ya mom!!! You guys are awesome!! Have a good time at work and at home!
Keep doing what you know is right!!! The church is true don't forget!!!! ;)

much love!!!
Anziano Bona