Just so you know, I Love You

Hey Dad, 

     I was writing in my journal last night and it hit me. I haven't really sat down and told you how grateful I am for you. I haven't told you all the things that you taught me and how I'm striving to be a better person because of what you taught me. I haven't really told you how all those hard nights or days or weeks with you, my brothers, sisters or other people helped strengthen me into the man that I am and the one I can become. But only because of the guidance that I received in those times from you (and Mom).  

     I suppose I'll start from when I was very little and from the earliest thing that sticks out In my mind and work my way to the present. When I was very little and we were either just coming back from the New Mexico move or just about to take it (I believe it was after) we went to the Flickingers old house and talked to the man that was living there because Brad had moved out a few weeks before. I don't know why we were there, but I do remember for some reason you brought me along and that I thought it would be a good idea to rip all the Christmas lights off of the little play pen that the man had put up. You both saw me doing that and I was very scared and shy because I knew what I had done was wrong. You demanded that I make an apology but I was to scared or shy to say anything at the time. I believe we went to the hardware store to buy some lights to replace the ones I broke and then to give me the opportunity to make things right with this man and to apologize to him for doing what I did and making restitution for what I did. There are many instances where something like this had happened, but this is the first time I can remember for myself that was the principal being taught. 

     Through my life I have had to use this and especially most recently with all the pain and trauma I caused Natalia and her family. I know there are some things that can't ever be fully repaired or fixed but it's my job to try my best to undo what I've done until the fault no longer rests with me and I've learned two things from each of these experiences. First, how to avoid these situations entirely and second, how to accept the blame for, and try to fix that which I have broken or shattered. 

     The next experience I have after this would be when I was around the age of eight or nine and In rabbitry 4-H. There was a period of about 24 hours where my rabbit was without food or water and it didn't have the ability to forage for food or to get water without my direct assistance. You and mom then told me that because I didn't take care of my rabbit and that it didn't get to eat or drink for 24 hours, neither did I. And so for the next 24 hours I was watched like a hawk by all of my siblings, you, and Mom. I remember going to Cub Scouts and wanting to eat the snack, but grandma passing me because she knew I wasn't supposed to eat either. This taught me the important lesson of being able to choose my actions, but not being able to choose the consequences good, or bad. 

     This has played a huge part in my life. I'm not the best at caring about what their people say I should care about or in showing any outside interest in listening to the things that people say I should or should not do. This includes you and mom over the little things as well. This is not because I don't love you but because I feel like I should be able to do whatever I want. However, because I can choose to do whatever I want, and I always have had that ability, it's blinded me to how much my selfish choices can and so often did hurt those around me before my mission. For example, when I went skydiving and it put Mom in a concern for my very life, and sent Regann off went I got home a few hours later. Not their decision, but a reaction to my choice. 

     A third experience is when I was ten years old and Regann and I really started not to get along while we were at Pi. I treated her poorly and she treated me the same. hen you heard about this, you sat us all down in the TV room in our old house on Hayden Street s a family and talked to us about the importance of family togetherness and used the single stick/bundle of sticks comparison to make it fun for those who were just having a fun time at Family Home evening. It taught me the importance of respect for other people. 

     This one has not really had much shining from me in many forms because I have always been selfish and slow to do things unless I know or can see how they impact or can impact me. But from this point on I had an increased awareness of the importance of all human life which was further developed thanks to your love of scouting and for sharing that love with us. 

     A fourth experience is when I was twelve and I had to tell you what I had been doing in the late hours of the night by myself because you were my Bishop and my Father it was especially hard for me to come to you and tell you everything that I'd done because I knew it was wrong and I feared that you wouldn't ever love me the same or at all. 

     You showed me the importance of being understanding, non-judgemental and taught me more about the atonement so I could grasp the concept of the atonement and the importance of second chances. I have since ad to have these conversations with other bishops but they always echo that which you told me first, those many years ago. Forget yourself and let the Lord work through you. Tis is the best way to Repent, and to be a Saint. 

     A fifth experience that took place when I was thirteen or fourteen and attending 8th grade at school. I was getting bullied by many people because I was awkward, new, and all around an easy target because of my personality and lack of social experience. 

     You taught me how to stand up for myself verbally, and physically and I took your advice. I threw one kid again a locker and made him cry before the teachers saw what was going on and rushed to separate us. You taught me how to use my strength both physically and mentally to help myself and through that and the love of scripture studying that you instilled in me at the tender age of four to five years old I was able to learn how to use this same strength for others help and benefit Ina righteous way. 

     A sixth experience was when I was 15 or so and wrestling in school. You taught me some of the things that you knew from your time on school and also how to mentally fortify myself because you knew that the whole sport for me wouldn't be the physical side, but rather the mental battle. You instilled in me the ability to discipline myself whenever the situation called for it. 

     You don't know this but maybe you have or could have guessed it, but that mental fortifying is the main reason I am able to serve a mission. It's kept me from losing to a very bitter adversary of mine, time and time again when all I had to do was nothing, or almost that. But because of everything that I'd learned thus far, it was less of a struggle for me to remove myself from temptation. 

     Most recently at the age of nineteen, you taught me the importance of temples when you went through with me my first time and were crying. There weren't any resounding words from you that day, but just through the way you treated the occasion and from the way you looked at me as I struggled with my lack of the happenings and technicalities that take place there, was enough to root in my breast a love for the temple and it's importance in this life and the life to come. Also, that actions do speak louder than words, especially if words won't do at all. 

     

     I Love You Dad,

Anziano Anderson

P. S. I can call for Christmas on the 24th, 25th, or 26th but only for one of those days and I'm 7 hours (or 8?) ahead of you. 

P. P. S. I love you

Weekly Letter

     I knew this would have to happen sooner or later, but I have to say that exactly 5 months after starting my journal that I got from my dad and which holds an account of everything I've done from the 24th of June to the 24th of November is full. Not super exciting or anything, but now I'm on journal number two, and I wanted you all to know that. 

Pizzas eaten: 40

- This number hasn't changed much because pizza is not very good here in Sicilia. They prefer to focus on the Canoli and gelato, so those numbers will be climbing quite a bit while I'm here. 

Gelato Eaten: 31

- The gelato here is served on a bread bun. I mean ok, sounds weird, but it's really not when you realize they have chocolate, cinnamon and just sweetened rolls for after you've eaten most of the Gelato. 

Book's of Mormon: 55

- This number will not be going anywhere for a few weeks until we get more book's of Mormon in. Because Sicilia is an island, and we happen to be in a very secluded part of that island, we don't get mail very *surprise!* often. 

1. Not your average week

2. Zone Calcio

3. Mission Conference

4. Catching the Bus

5. Cool thing that happened

Not your Average Week

     This week started off (or ended technically because here in Italy they start their weeks on Monday, not Saturday) with a two hour bus ride from Agrigento to Palermo so we could go to the stake conference that was being held there seeing as church was canceled where we live that day for this conference. We got there with exactly five minutes to spare, carrying all of our bags and such because we planned to stay there for good four nights. 

     The reason for this is we had mission tour that wednesday and also a zone calcio (soccer) planned for that Monday where we played for two hours and I, not being the most apt runner, stayed by the goal and just defended for two hours racking up most of the bruises on either side except for maybe the goalie on the other team because he was there the whole game and we weren't being very nice when it came to kicking the ball softly. Mission tour is basically General Conference for missionaries where one of the apostles or member of the seventy comes and talks to us.

     This time around we had Anziano De Feo come to talk to us. Massimo De Feo, he gave a talk in general conference in the April session of this year. He is a wonderful man and I got to shake hands with him four times. I say that because all of the times except for one were unexpected and a little awkward for me. More on this later. 

Zone Calcio

     So as you might have guessed, Soccer here is fairly more popular than football or basketball is, or any other sport. It makes sense that the Anziani gravitate towards it because there are not many basketball gyms and even fewer basketballs but Calcio (soccer) is in abundance. We pay five euro to rent a pitch (field) for every person that plays and then we get an hour or two depending on how busy they are that day or what they rates are. 

     Nobody got seriously injured but we all got some pretty nice bruises and the next day we were all very sore and incapable of much speedwalking or sudden movements. 

     To end our Preparation day we went to the senior couples house, Sorella and Fratello Smith because they have wifi and they bake cookies every Monday for the horde of missionaries that comes over to use this wifi and send their emails home. The cookies were awesome and I was able to meet the Smith's before they went home. They left on the 23rd so they could have a late Thanksgiving with their family and just finish their year and a half with a good meal. 

Mission Conference

     Mission conference lasted from 8 am to about 4 pm with a lunch break somewhere in the middle. The senior couple that lives on the American base here in Italy brought a whole bunch of Dr. Pepper and A&W because most of the missionaries here had not had one for about a year and a half or longer. I was not one of them, so I let everyone else have the doctor pepper while I had my root beer. Italians really don't like root beer because it tastes like their cold medicine. However, they have this drink called bitter that tastes like our cold medicine that replaces root beer. I laughed a little when I figured that out. 

     Anziano De Feo is a very nice man who an Italian native, from an area in our mission and who also served in our mission so naturally he likes this mission a little more than most all the other missions in the world. 'm not saying that, I'm just repeating what he told us. There were some very good things pertaining to missionary work that he mentioned, but the thing I want to share with you is what he told us about our Mantle as a missionary. 

     He said "I hope you never feel like an accomplished missionary. Say this because, the calling you have is much greater than you could ever hope to fill and if you feel accomplished then you are tricking yourself into thinking you've done all that you can do. That is wrong. There is always more to do."

     Now, he said this with love. But it also translates to any calling in the ward or branch or church where you live and are a part of. If you have a calling, try not to feel accomplished. Do your calling, learn it well, and magnify it. There is always room for improvement, so if your are ever feeling comfortable thinking you've done all you can remember "All is not well in Zion. There is always something to do." 

Catching the Bus

     After conference, we all got our flu shots, said goodbye to all the people that were there, and started our journey home. We had to take the Tram to get to the bus station, and boy did we have absolutely no time to spare. When we got to the bus station, my companion started to sprint, leaving me in the dust because I was carrying a duffel bag and a few other things so I was loaded down. I kept up with him for a moment or two and then h lost me because he's a fast little guy and I am not the most apt at running. 

     If we missed this bus we would have to take another tram back into the city and spend another night in palermo because it was the last bus out of the city. However my companion told me that he felt like if he sprinted the whole way there, we would make it onto the bus. So he sprinted and he caught the bus as it was starting to pull out of the station. He got the driver to open the doors and then distracted him until I could find the bus and get on board. 

     We tried to sleep on the way back but I couldn't even fit in the bus seat so that's how my two hours went. We got home safe and sound, and exhausted. 

Cool thing that happened

     We invited our English course to come to church this Sunday because we were having a primary activity, and they all said they would try but we didn't have very high hopes because we knew it was a half hearted reply. However, Francesca, the lady we helped after course for an hour last week decided to come by because her church gets out a few minutes after ours starts, so she was a few minutes late, but thought it was super cute watching all the little kids sing and hearing everyone talk. 

     After church, one of the members came up to her and introduced herself to Francesca and they hit it off. Francesca also said that she wants to come back next week for church so she can be there for the whole three hours and not just the last hour which for us is sacrament. 

     The whole branch was excited to see someone new and they all told us that we were doing great work and wanted to have us over for lunch or dinner sometime this coming week. 

*bonus*

Your antipasta recipe is this: 

Tuscan tomato soup

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 diced white onions, small

5 cups canned tomatos

1 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 cups heavy cream or milk

1 cup basil pesto

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook onion in oil until translucent at medium heat in a pot big enough for all ingredients to go in. Add tomatos, bring to a simmer. Add broth, simmer 15 minutes. Add cream, pesto, salt and pepper. Blend to make smooth, makes roughly a gallon, and is better the next day so don't feel like you need to eat it all on day one. 

1. My comp and I on the tram 

2. This rose is all over Sicilia

3. We made cinnamon rolls

4. My companion in front of a very strange tree

5. All of us after zone calcio

6. For those of you who have been to my house, you will recognize this spoon. 

Agrigento, the birthplace of Stella

     Ciao tutti! 

     This has been quite a week for me. I know I say that every week, but it's true! every week is more and more involved than the last because I'm able to understand more and more of what's being said and more frequently now, I'm making friends with all the members in the wards I'm assigned to. I want to talk about a few things in this email, some fun, others a little more serious. But overall I want you all to know that I love you, and that I wish the best for you always! 

Pizzas Eaten: 39

Gelato: 29

Book's of Mormon: 55 (this number hasn't changed a lot because we don't have any copies of the book to give out here in Agrigento. We've ordered some though) 

1. Comparison. Stop It. 

2. Audio Recordings

3. English Course in Agrigento

4. Other Things Worth Mention

5. Coolest Thing of the Week

Comparison. Stop it. 

     First off I want to start by saying how important it is that we never compare ourselves to others. Ever. It will destroy you if you do. Mentally, spiritually, just don't do it. However, self comparison is encouraged. Compare yourself, who you are, with yourself, who you were. For me, I did a lot of self comparison this past week with who I was just before I went into the MTC and who I am as of today while I write this email. I will attach pictures of my first day in Italy and then one of today to show you just how much I've changed physically in the four months that I've been gone. 

     Other changes that can't be seen in a photograph would include my ability to speak and understand the language. Never once have I felt like I've gotten the language down, even a little, while I was in the MTC. I knew I was the worst Italian speaker in the whole group, and it wasn't for lack of trying. But since I've been here in Italy, my ability to speak in Italian and to understand other people when they speak has improved to the point where I can almost start telling jokes. I can understand them, but just not deliver them quite yet. Spiritually, I'm doing well. I'm more in tune with the spirit and less and less afraid to act on the promptings that I recieve no matter what they are. 

Audio recordings

     I've been getting mixed feedback on the audio recordings in place of these emails so I think I've found a way to make everyone happy in that regard, which you will see in the end of the email. 

English course in Agrigento

     English course! If there is one thing I look forward to twice every week it's English course. The people here are awesome and my advanced English course likes to debate. That's how they choose to learn and practice English. I get to use my big English vocabulary while I talk (slowly because they are good, not great yet but on their way) and they ask me what the words are that I use. We discuss things like the American culture and then the things like that. After a heated debate on gun control and consumerism however, I decided to start choosing the subjects that we discussed and that way it doesn't devolve into a massive argument like the first time. 

     After our course on Thursday (Giovedì) we were asked to stay a little longer by one person, an older lady by the name of Francesca. She is currently attending two English courses. Ours, and another that a native Italian speaker is teaching. Naturally the two teaching styles and methods clash a little bit, but not too badly. I mention this because we stayed with this lady for an hour after course to help her with her English homework from her other course, and during the whole thing, we got an appointment this next Thursday to teach her about the plan of salvation. She is a wonderful women who is just going through a bit of a rough patch in her life and is trying so very hard to improve herself. 

      I offered to give her a blessing of comfort and she accepted and then started to recite a prayer in Italian but stopped and looked confused when she saw how confused and lost I was. A blessing here is a little different then the blessings in our church, and I happened to forget this fact. But that was alright because it allowed us an opportunity to teach. 

     One more fun tidbit of information about English Course: the English course attendees outnumber our church members by about four to one, almost five to one. 

Other things worth mention

     The rest of this week involved me eating my first Gelato in Sicilia and let me tell you, it's a whole new meaning for the term "Ice cream sandwich" because they literally put to Gelato in a brioche bun and hand it to you with a little spoon so you can eat all the stuff spilling out of it. 

     Another thing I noticed is how this city, Agrigento, is the city of cats. I walk outside and in the few hundred meters it takes me to get from our very nice apartment to our preferred finding area, I see no less than 15-20 cats either grooming themselves, killing each other or just glaring at us. 

     The people in Sicilia are also more ambient. There are less of them here than in Napoli but I've seen more people slap each other in the week that I've been here than in the four months I was in Castellammare. I don't have a whole lot more to say other than my companion, Anziano Tucker, is teaching himself how to play the ukulele (soprano for those of you who want to know) and because of this decision I get serenaded nightly in Italian to a few newly learned chords. 

Coolest thing of the week

     The coolest thing that happened to me this week was after English course on Tuesday, one of the people who has been attending regularly and is also and English teacher who has a great vocabulary but wants to be able to speak faster and with more confidence (which is why he attends course in the first place) saw me struggling to conjugate for reflexive verbs and a few tenses (past, ancient, future, conditional, etc) so he offered to teach me Italian on Saturday and Wednesday for as long as I'm here for the last hour of our day. It's very much Ike the MTC, but I understand most of what he's saying which is new to me. I'm expanding my vocabulary more and more each day, and these courses are really helping me with that. 

*Bonus Section!*

     Thanksgiving is almost here, and I have no recipes other than one for cheesecake and another for stuffed chili's! I love both of those things, but I'm trying to compile a recipe book while I'm out and I need help to do that. Your assignment for the week is to send me one recipe that you love, and I don't care it's for. Cookies, bread, meat, whatever. Here is a recipe for all of you that I found here in Italy for cookies. There are a lot of old cookbooks floating around the mission, so I find these and compile them into the best recipes that each book has to offer. This week the recipe will be for Dolce (Sweets) and next week will be for an antipasto (Starter/appetizer). 

You will need:

4 cups chocolate chips (broken candy bars taste better but it's good as long as it's chocolate) 

2 2/3 cups flour

1 Tsp. Baking Soda

1. Tsp salt

1 cup softened butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 Tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

Drections: 

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, mix butter, white and brown sugar, and the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Next, melt two cups of chocolate over low heat, or in the microwave using 20 second intervals, stirring until melted and smooth. Mix this chocolate in with the eggs and sugar. Gradually stir in the flour mixture. Once flour has been stirred in, add the other two cups chocolate (not melted). Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 - 9 minutes at 375° Fahrenheit or until cookies are puffed. Cool for two minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Makes about 4 dozen cookies. 

Until next week! 

Anziano Anderson

P. S. I can't follow links to sites because Google is  blocked on all our devices.

1. Me, August 8th when I got in country. 258 pounds, no clue what was going on. 

2. Me, today. 244 pounds, still not sure what's going on but getting there.

3. I didn't know batman was part of the avengers! 

4. Markets here in Agrigento. This one was selling honey.

5. My ice cream sandwich

6. I'm too big for Italy

7. All those tags! 

8. A tad bit more information