Road Trip! January 7, 2015

Ciao tutti!!!

Well, its only the 7th of January and we have already used half our kilometers for the month. Yay! haha. In our defense, we had to go to consiglio (which was really good), and then we did two scambi this week. One in Rimini and one in Ancona, where we are now. So we've put on a few kilometers. The good thing is that after we get home, we only have one more scambio and it's in Forlì, so it's not that far. But looks like we will be on bikes more this week. However, I do need to fix my bike. I've had no time to do so. Oh well.

I love being zone leader. It's so much fun to get to know all the missionaries. I love my zone a ton. We had such a good zone training the other day. The spirit was so strong. I'm so grateful for this opportunity to serve the members of my zone. 

One thing I've really started to notice a lot more now on my mission is how great of friends I've made. I don't really notice until they start going home. I had to say goodbye to a really good friend at consiglio the other day, and it was hard. I know I will see them again, but it's hard to beat the great bond that the mission is for us. The other day, we drove up to consiglio with one coppia of anziani and we had a blast. Then we took a different coppia home and we had a blast there too! I love the mission so much. Everyday I realize how much I'm going to miss this time I have. It's going way too fast. I'm actually starting to get kinda emotional right now. This is weird. 

I'm so grateful for this time to serve the Lord. I apologize that this email is super short. I have a million things to say right now, but I just can't seem to find the words to say them. Everyone that has served a mission understands how I'm feeling right now. 

Thank you mom and dad for raising me in the gospel. I may have been a little bit of a headache in the past and I may have done some stupid things, but I want you to know that I love you so much and I'm so grateful for what you have given me. I wouldn't be the man that I am right now without you. I really just want to thank everyone that has helped me along in my life. I have the best friends ever and I love you all. My teachers and leaders have been such great examples to me and I love them just as much. Thank you everyone. I really feel a deep gratitude for you all right now. So thank you. I love you so much.

Statemi bene. Vi voglio bene,

Anziano Langlois

I'm Dreaming of a White New Years December 31, 2014

Ciao tutti!!!!

Well, I've still never had a white Christmas, but this is the closest that I've gotten. On Saturday, we were in the church and it was raining, but when we came outside, it was snowing! I literally started running around like a little boy. I was so excited! I've never seen snow in Italy before that. Lucky us got to drive out to the middle of nowhere to visit a member in the snow. It was so cool. Then it snowed all Sunday morning and we literally had like 20 people in church. haha. Two people who had talks didn't show up, so I had to give one on the spot. I talked about the importance of a personal testimony, because that is the only way that you will stay active in the church when you get offended, or you don't agree with leaders, or what not. Everyone really liked it. That's a good sign. I was just trying as hard as I could to bring the spirit. I guess it worked out.

Anyway, its snowed all last night and we woke up to a white Ravenna. Super cool. It's suppose to snow tonight and tomorrow, so we'll see what we're in for. This morning, I turned on the car to start defrosting the window and then without thinking hit the windshield wipers with the door still open and a ton of snow fell into the car. Whoops...my bad. haha. I'm not used to cars in the snow.

Anz Polson said that I would see snow, I didn't think so, but I was wrong. We've got lots of snow. It's awesome. I like it. It is cold though. Oh well.

Before I forget, I want a copy of Lizzy's talk!!! That sounds super interesting. Please send me it. Thanks!

Well, Christmas flew by. It was so great to see you guys. Best Christmas present ever. I can't believe we are about to be in 2015 though. That's crazy. I come home in 2015. Weird...

Well, I guess you were right Mom, my emails are getting shorter. haha. I guess things are less exciting now, or maybe because I just don't remember what happened. Every day seems the same to me. It's all kinda a blur. I forget when things happened or who I was with or where I was. It just kinda all blurs together in one big mess of fun. Oh man, I love the mission. I love Italy. This is so much fun to be a missionary. Dad was right. It is soooo much fun. I'm so happy I still have 5 months left. If I had to go home when my Sorelle did, I don't know what I would do. 18 months is so short!!! haha

Allora, I love you all and I wish you all the best in the new year. I'll see you next year (literally!!)

Tanti auguri!

Anziano Langlois

Buon Natale! December 24, 2014

Buon Natale tutti!!!!!!

Spero che questa stagione speciale vi trovi in un tempo bello e sereno.

I love Christmas so much. It is the best time of the year. What a beautiful country to be in as well for Christmas. I can't believe this is my second and last Christmas here in Italia. Time goes by way too fast.

Well, this letter won't be really long because we are going to Skype Tomorrow. The plan is at 8:00 your time.

We also have been baking cookies. Yesterday morning, we baked a ton of sugar cookies that we are going to give to members and investigators tonight when we go carol to them. It made us feel like we were at home again. haha.

It doesn't matter that my Christmas gift is late, I got a great gift last night. Anziano Windley came and spent the night in our apartment because his comp and to get his permesso. It was so great to see him again. We can't believe just how fast the last year has gone. I still remember Skyping HIS family in Prato last year! haha.

Speaking of caroling, we had some cool miracles the other night. The other night, we went out caroling with the Sorelle in Centro. We met near the big Christmas tree, but there was a problem. No one was there. Literally zero people were walking past. However, on a cold December night that close to natale, it was the best thing that we could do with our time, so we decided to sing anyway. After we started singing people starting coming out from literally nowhere. A young man started talking to us and then pulled out his phone and said, "can we exchange numbers?". Then a family walked past and asked us if they could give us some money, we told them no and gave them a "Egli è il dono" pass along card instead. I also started talking to man and after giving him a pass along card, he asked me if we could leave him with something more, so I gave him an opuscolo of the restauration. Then the biggest miracle of all was that one of our investigators who we had not seen for a long time walked past. He left today to go back to Spain and we really wanted to keep him in contact with the missionaries there, but we decide have his info. Luckily, we ran into him while we were singing and we were able to get the information that we need to pass him to the missionaries there. It really was a night full of Christmas miracles. This is such a great time to be serving the Lord here in Italia. I really have seen so many blessings every single day.

In other news, like I said last week, I was kinda sick. Well, we were going to go on a historical tour of Ravenna with this member, but we didn't because I was sick. Then he stopped by to say hi to us, but unfortunately we weren't home. Well, we called him this week to see him and he decided to take us out to lunch in the small city, Comacchio, which is a little Venezia, but it was too foggy, so we went somewhere else and I'm not joking, we literally went to five restaurants looking for one that was open. It was ridiculous. That's one of the problems of Italia, restaurants are closed at lunch! That doesn't make any sense. Oh well. We ended up going to an adventure with him, and during that we went on a ferry boat, and found a ton of yak statues. Yeah, I know, kinda weird. but he was so sweet. I love members. They are so great.

Now for worldly news. That's super awesome that BYU made it to the finals, but that stinks that they lost. That's cool that Hamsen got drafted. What team is she going to?

Well, I love you all so much and I can't wait to see you all tomorrow. I hope you have a great Christmas eve or vigiglia as they call it here.

I love you all!!!

Spero che tutti voi, chiunque sei, un amico, un parente, un fratello, un conoscente, o un straniero, abbiate un buon natale e capo d'anno!!!! Dio vi benedica.

Anziano Langlois

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas December 17, 2014

Ciao tutti!!!!!

Let's start with the most important info first. 3 times Dad. haha. Good news about BYU women's sports, less good news about the Men's though. haha. Dodgers are such losers. You remember how we used to always say, "who'd they trade him for this time? A box of donuts??" haha. They kill me. Good thing I can't follow it that easily from here. 

For Skype info, we will probably do what we did last year, at 8:00am your time. We don't have our appointment 100% with members, but we will confirm that today or tomorrow and by next week, you will know per forza. If we go where I think we're going to do Skype, you will have a lot of fun. This family is from Napoli and so they are exactly what you imagine when you  think of a stereotypical Italian family. haha

Sounds like its going to be lots of fun this upcoming week or so at home. I can't believe it's already Christmas. Time goes by so fast. It's ridiculous. 

So like I said last week, my new comp is Anz Cardullo. He's half Italian and from the factory (Provo). He is so much fun. He reminds me a lot of Jason. He's so funny. He also just came from Switzerland, so we literally have a mountain of chocolate that he always throws at me. haha. We have a brand new Sorella here, Sorella Taylor, also from Utah. She's really cool. We are so lucky to have them in our city. In the past two days, they have given us four referrals. They are so brave!!!

In Ravenna news, I'm kinda sick right now and it's super humid. Literally, my back started hurting the other day because its so cold. It's still well above freezing, but with the intense humidity, it literally chills you to the bone. Crazy. Meno male we have a car. haha

We have seen great success here in Ravenna from our English class. The Sorelle have been finding a lot of investigators from their class and the other night, we had a huge miracle. Because Sorella Curtis was training, they had to go up to Milano Wednesday night, so I covered their English class. It just started like any other English class, but then, they started asking questions like: "tell us about your church", "who was Joseph Smith?", "how do your church celebrate Christmas?". I couldn't believe my ears. So for English class, I taught the entire Restoration and at the end of class, I passed out two LdM's (Book of Mormon) to this family and got their phone number. It was incredible. This has been such a great success here in Ravenna.

I'm really looking forward to seeing you guys on Christmas. It will be lots of fun. As for my Christmas gift, I like peanut butter fingers. haha. I am going today to get mom and Linda a nativity, so I'll see what I can find.

I love you all so much and I love hearing from you all. I wish you the best of the best. Christmas is the best!!!! Remember!!!! #sharethegift

Alla prossima,

Anziano Langlois

Broken Toe and a Contrite Spirit December 10, 2014

Ciao tutti!!!

Well, first and foremost....the 9 year old kid got baptized!!!! It was awesome!! Last Saturday night. Super fun. I'm going to be honest, the actual service was really irreverent. People started clapping after the actual ordinance. Oh boy....gotta love Italians. Despite that, a lot of people felt the spirit. The couple that we are teaching are super excited to get baptized. If all goes well, they will be baptized within a month or so. Then another one of our baptism dates said that he really wants to be baptized too. He's less ready though. Then another investigator told us that he felt like he has to be baptized, so we set a baptismal date with him yesterday. On top of that, we got in contact with two new families that members brought. It was awesome!!!! Ravenna is on fire!!!! 

In sadder news, Anz Polson is leaving us. (He says hi back Mom.) I'm sad to see him go. He was a lot of fun. My new companion is Anz Cardullo. He was actually Anz Parker's MTC comp, so I've met him once or twice. He kinda reminds me of Jason. I'm excited to continue the work forward here in Ravenna. The Lord has high expectations for us here. 

Now, about the title. It was obviously a play on words on the scriptures, "broken heart and contrite spirit", found in D&C 20:37. The reason I said that is because Anz Polson wanted me to always remember him, so he broke my toe the other night. Don't worry. It wasn't on purpose and we weren't wrestling or anything. it was actually really dumb. I was standing at the bathroom door talking to him as he brushed his teeth and as he came out of the door he kicked my foot and snapped my pinky toe. It's kinda black and blue right now. It doesn't hurt anymore, but it's just annoying and I kinda limp right now. Oh well, pazienza.

We had a really fun bowling activity with our branch the other night that went really well. We had a ton of nonmembers show up. I won with a 120, which was really pathetic if you ask me, but oh well. It was really nice to just kinda relax and enjoy being with people for an hour or so, because this past week has been really stressful for many reasons. Basically, it's safe to say, that being a missionary is the most stressful thing that I've ever done, but  I love it so much. It is a blast.

Totally random question, but do you still have that pinata head, or did you throw it out? I hope you didn't. I thought about it the other day because that actor just died and one of our south American investigators was really sad.

Well, thanks for the sports report dad. I love this time of year. College bowl games are so much fun to watch. Let's hope BYU wins this year.

That church mosaic that Tim was talking about it sweet. I've seen it twice. It's super cool. I'll definitely take you guys there. As for looking at hotels, I haven't been doing that, but I'll start I guess. What if I can grab up a spot in someone's house? I know of a couple of members who offered to give us a place to stay if we came to visit. I don't know. I'll keep my eyes out. It will probably be easier for you dad to just look online because we never have time to go into hotels and get quotes. haha.

Please keep reminding me about BYU deadlines. Those are important. I'm trying to talk with my friends via email to get some ideas for housing when we get back, but they are usually slow to respond. 

Mom, I am currently on the lookout for a nativity for Linda, so I will get you one as well. I love Italy during the Christmas season. I wish you could see it. It is so beautiful. I don't think I need anything from America, but I still like gifts if you want to send something. It's not necessary. If I think of something, I will let you know.

Don't lose the faith. Keep on working hard. I love you all.

Anziano Langlois

Rainvenna December 3, 2014

Ciao tutti.

Well, it's been raining literally for the past week straight. It's not super fun. I'm very wet. Good thing we're on a new month, so we have a new set of kilometers for the car. Now we can use it instead of biking in the rain, like we've been doing.

It sounds like you guys had a great Thanksgiving day weekend. Ours was pretty good too. We preached the gospel. haha. We did have a Thanksgiving day party that was a good success. We had twice as many nonmembers as members there. Talk about awesome. They was literally enough dolci to sink a ship, like Anz Polson always says. I didn't end up eating anything that night though because there were literally always people around the food table and the whole reason we did that activity is to meet new people, so I went around and talked to a ton of people. Our members said that it was the most successful activity that they have ever had. Awesome, right?

We also went and played some calcio this week with some of our investigators. It was super fun. I know it doesn't really matter, but I totally killed it. I played really well. I'm getting a lot better. I also played against an ex pro soccer player....maybe....still not sure about that one. But I did beat him. hehehe..get schooled son.

In random news, we've been trying to get our car fixed ever since before I got here, when the anziani before me got in an accident, and we just now are getting it fixed this week....maybe. And then we just found out that we need an oil change. I'm tempted to just do it myself, but I don't think the mission will let us. Everything relating to cars here is super expensive. Holy cow. Over 1000 euro for just two plastic parts. It's a total ripoff. 

We also had some success this week with social media finding. We are really focusing on getting our members to use social media to share the gospel. We had a member come to teach a lesson with us, but unfortunately our investigator didn't show up. So we decided to watch He is the Gift with him, and then we asked him if he knew of anyone that would benefit from this Christmas message. He immediately pulled out four or five names and that very night, sent off this video to his friends. It was great. We will be following up on these friends of his shortly.

Speaking of that video. you should all go watch it. I also want you mom or Lizzy or someone to post that video on my Facebook with this status:

Christmas is such a special time of year. It's not because of the presents or the fact that families are usually together. It's because the whole world, regardless of their circumstance, career, or belief, turns their heart toward the first and ultimate gift of Christmas; the savior, Jesus Christ. He is the gift that keeps on giving. We can find more happiness and satisfaction in our lives thanks to Him, then we could ever find on our own. He lives. I testify that He loves every one of us. Discover what He offers you. Embrace His loving grace. Share the joy it brings with everyone. #sharethegift

I'm so grateful that our Heavenly Father inspired men throughout history to create the technology that we have today, like the internet, social media, smart phones. I know that this is a fulfillment of the ancient prophecy that every nation, people, and tongue will hear the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

I love serving the Lord. I can't believe I have only 6 months left to serve Him here in Italia. I truly am blessed in more ways than you can imagine. I love this country. I love these people. I love the gospel. I love my savior.

Anziano Langlois 

Christmas Came Early November 26,2014

Ciao tutti!!!!

Well, I guess I got this from dad, but I'm already excited for Christmas. We've been listening to Christmas music for weeks now. haha. And Anz Polson likes country music, so it always makes me think of you dad. Whenever he asks me if he can turn on music I always say, "slaves need music too". Of course, I had to kinda explain that one to him at first, but now he's used to it. haha.

Alright, so basically this weekend was awesome. We went up to consiglio, which was really fun. It was Anz Andersen's birthday, so I got to wish him happy birthday in person which was really fun. Then the next day, we went to Prato (yes, I made it back!!) for the Saturday session of stake conference. It was literally the best thing ever. We had some time, so I took Anz Polson on a giro of my old stomping grounds. I love that city. It is so pretty. Then I just got to see member and member and talk to them and you should have seen the smile on my face. I was literally the happiest man alive. I. LOVE. PRATO. I miss the members soooo much. They literally had to pull me out of there to go home. I didn't want to leave. The really cool thing was that this one member family's son (who's not a member yet, but we were super good friends) came only because he heard that I was going to be there. When he got there, he started looking through the crowd for me (I saw him first) and we he saw me, he had the biggest smile on his face. It was so awesome to see him. I love that kid!!! (If all goes well, and my pictures work this time, he's the one with curly black hair and his arm around me). Anyway, it was literally like Christmas for me. So great to see everyone. I basically already have some appointments set up for us when we go to visit Prato. haha.

 

That's all great and fun, but now it's time for such a hugeeee miracle!!!!

We are teaching this family where the wife is atea (aethist) and has been really hard to work with, because she believes in all of the commandments and in the bible and the Book of Mormon, but she doesn't believe that God exists. I know, its kinda weird. But during the past few weeks, she's started to pray and she feels really good when she prays. And then, after we invited her to literally ask God if he exists in a prayer, she had a dream that night, where her brother who had passed away and was really close to her told her to keep reading the Book of Mormon and to keep following the path that she is on. She then had this same dream the next night. We testified about the many different ways God answers our prayers and last night, she told us that she actually believes in God now. She said that she's had too many proofs lately to say that God doesn't exist. We couldn't believe our ears. Miracles really do happen!! Even the coldest of hearts can be softened by the power of the spirit.

We had a baptismal interview for the 9 year old kid and he passed, so he'll be baptized on the 6th. Super awesome. This family that I just mentioned above have their interview on Saturday, so we'll see what happens. Hopefully we are going to have a very white Christmas, if you know what I mean. (hint: baptismal clothing is white) haha.

OK, in other news. Congrats on Regiment's finish. That's a good score in WBA. Way to go and not to fall to silly gimmicks. It's called MARCHING BAND, not run around and cover up your bad marching with "jazz running" and props. Sorry dad. I guess I'm kind of a purist. haha. Thanks for the pictures. I really like the new uniforms. They are sweet. They are also very Blue Devils. Oh BP. hahaha. Speaking of him, he needs to write me sometime and tell me when the jazz CD will be done (if that ever happens). 

That's so cool that you thought of Shelise to help out at work. She's super brava, so tell her I say hi! Don't worry dad, when I get back, you'll have your runner back. I love driving way too much. haha.

That's really crazy that everyone is coming home right now! It makes me remember how fast the end is coming. I'm not ready!!! haha

That's really cool about Josh's mission he gets to go on. I was actually wondering how he was doing. He must be doing better. Send him my love and support.

Well, I'm going to try and attach some photos. So let's hope it works.

Oh yeah, now like I'm counting or anything, but less than a month until Skype on Christmas. WHAT?!?!? That's crazy.

Well, I love you all so much and I love hearing from you all! Hope you have a great week!! Remember, Facebook for the dead and then I invite you all to post a Mormon message on your Facebook page this week. It's such a powerful way to share the gospel!!! We are going to flood the earth with the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It is true. Joseph Smith is a prophet. I am a witness of this.

Siate fedeli,

Anziano Langlois

 

Anziano Andersen