Comings and goings

 

This last week we said goodbye to 16 great missionaries

We will miss their faces and all that they brought to the mission. They have left a strong legacy of love, diligence, leadership and above all dedication to the Lord. We wish them the very best as they move on to whatever they may do in life.

 

Fortunately life goes on in the Italy Milan mission and this week we welcomed 11 new missionaries.

First the Americans…

 

and then two great Anziani from Italy and a wonderful Sorella from Argentina.

    

Welcome to Italy!

It’s always so exciting to see new faces and wonder what they will make of the next two years. Their futures are bright, so full of opportunity, growth and learning. They face the unknown future with faith and courage, still unsure of what is really coming.  Surely each of them will see good and bad moments as they take on this adventure. We hope and pray that they will overcome weakness and hardship, achieve great goals, witness miracles and discover the thrill and beauty of serving the Lord in Northern Italy.

Gli Anziani

We LOVE our senior missionaries!  It’s really, really, really hard to see them go.  We have learned so many incredible principles from their diligent efforts and stalwart examples.  What a privilege it is to be able to serve with them!

I hope that each one of you reading this blog—every parent of a missionary, sibling, or whoever comes into contact with this post will make the decision to serve a mission.  There is no greater joy.  It is the best decision that you could ever make.

For those of you who fall under the delightful senior missionary category (don’t shy away from your age, embrace it!), I echo the words of Elder Robert D. Hales:

“My brothers and sisters, if you have felt stirrings to engage in this work, however quiet those feelings may be, do not procrastinate the day of your service. Now is the time to prepare; now is the time to be called, the time to sacrifice. Now is the time to share your gifts and talents, and now is the time to receive God’s blessings for you and your family. “There is a constant need for more couple missionaries,” President Gordon B. Hinckley has said. As this work rolls forward, that need is increasing. Let us, in our richest years of experience, maturity, wisdom, and most of all, our faith, rise to meet that need as only we can.”

Please, please, please heed this call!  We need you. 

Elder and Sister Herndon

We are so excited for the new couples who have come to join us here in the Italy Milan Mission. Elder and Sister Jacobs will be going to Pordenone, Elder and Sister Peterson are headed off to Bergamo, Elder and Sister Lynch will be taking over for Elder and Sister Ritchie in the office, and Elder and Sister Herndon are headed home from Pordenone. Wow! We are so excited for these wonderful people who will make an irreplaceable contribution to the Lord’s work here in Italy. And we thank Elder and Sister Herndon for their devoted service and loving efforts. What great miracles we have seen at the hands of our beloved senior missionaries!

         

Elder and Sister Jacobs                                                              Elder and Sister Peterson

Elder and Sister Lynch     

“Your life is your preparation. You have valuable experience. You have raised a family and served in the Church. Just go and be yourselves. The Lord has promised that angels will go before you” (see D&C 103:19–20). Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Couple Missionaries: A Time to Serve,” Ensign, May 2001, 25.

As you make the decision to serve, know that angels have gone before you. 

These senior missionaries are those angels.

The new batch

I hope you never get tired of this picture:

But I hope you realize that it’s even better with 10 brand new missionaries!

What a good lookin’ bunch they are!

Anziano Eveson, Anziano Walsh, Anziano Iacovelli, Anziano Hess, Anziano Thomas, Anziano Misrahi, Sorella Forbes, Sorella Bush, Sorella Bunker, & Anziano Briscoe

 

And…

Anziano Healey has returned to us after his medical leave! 

We are so excited to have him back in the field! 

 

 

 

Here is a rather…interesting bunch of missionaries!  We’ve gotten to know this crew well as they have served as Trainers, District Leaders, Branch President, Zone Leaders, Assistants to the President, but most importantly, MISSIONARIES and servants of their Heavenly Father.  Aren’t you glad when they don’t come back the same as when you sent them off?  These missionaries have grown so much and we have been so privileged to learn from them and see many miracles together.  They are going to do great things with their lives—as long as they learn from and apply their mission to their life.  The gospel is great, isn’t it? 

It just…makes sense. 

    

Anziano Stoker, Anziano Duque, Anziano Anderson, Anziano Duersch, Sorella Pastano, & Sorella Mullen

Thankful

We have put another slideshow together and would like to share it with you. It contains that which we are thankful for most (apart from all of you, of course). We truly do have so much to be thankful for. Thank you. For who you are. We love you! And want to wish you a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Buon Natale!

Can you believe that it’s here!  We hope that you all have a wonderfully Merry Christmas!  Don’t forget the reason for the season!

“This is our testimony to all mankind. It is our gift and blessing to the world.

He is our joy and our salvation, and we will find Christmas of greater meaning in our own lives as we share these truths with others.” -Gordon B. Hinckley

We love this gospel and we love being able to share it with the people here.  Your missionary sons and daughters are priceless and we are so grateful to have them at our side.  We know that we have a living Savior who loves us and will succor us in every need, in every situation in which we find ourselves.  He is Wonderful, our Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

Anziano Sanders e Babbo Natale!

The Nativity

 Verona and Mestre

Anziano Proctor and Anziano Squarcia on the present hunt

The Magnificent Seven

This transfer, we received 7 wonderful anziani!  We are so excited for them to join our ranks and be able to witness and participate in the myriad of miracles in the Milan Mission that are happening EVERY DAY!  Here are some photos from the first day of these great missionaries...
 

 

Anziano Sanacuore, Anziano Ibba, Anziano Modugno, Anziano May, Anziano Mustafaraj, Anziano Gessel, and Anziano Murphy

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Then, as always, we sent three of our beloved missionaries back into the anxious hands of their families.  I recognize that this picture is not crystal clear, but I hope that you can see what I can in their eyes. 

The greatest miracle is a change of heart.  As missionaries leave, it is hard to say goodbye.  But it is rewarding to be able to look into their eyes and see that they have come to know their Savior more, trust their Heavenly Father, and heed the Spirit.  That gleam in their eyes is joy.  The kind of joy that lasts forever.

D&C 18:10-16

Anziano Snedaker, Sorella Ryan, and Anziano Healey

Ready or Not!

Can you believe that it’s been six weeks already?  We sure can’t!  Ready or not, we picked up three marvelous missionaries three weeks ago.  We had a wonderful time with Anziano Moh, Anziano Hatch, and Sorella Soh!  We went to the Duomo, the Bone Church, got some scalp massages, ate delicious panzerotti and delectable gelato, talked to a great variety of people, and placed copies of the Book of Mormon!

What a great day!

Anziano Moh, Sorella Soh, and Anziano Hatch

And then we were forced to give up three missionaries the next day.  Talk about heartbreaking!  We are so grateful for the examples and service that these three GEMs have rendered in the time they have spent devoted to the Lord.

 

Anziano Patullo, Sorella Baranova, and Sorella Alexander