Two by two

There could hardly be a better way to finish 18 months of faithful service than with a baptism.

The Ritchies served the majority of their 18 months in the mission office and left a lasting impression. While serving as the financial secretary, Anziano Ritchie was able to do more than ever because he spoke Italian. He was known for order and discipline and taught many a missionary the importance of budgeting and planning. He also made great strides in improving the quality of apartments throughout the mission. Many old apartments were closed, many new ones opened and countless others were refurbished.

Sorella Ritchie was known for her unmatched kindness. She faithfully guarded to make sure that missionaries did all that was required to legally stay in Italy. This is no easy task. Her kindness and patience was much appreciated by every missionary who went through the sometimes maddening process of legal documentation.

We will be forever grateful for the service the Ritchies offered.

After 10 months the Ramptons have also left us. They served in the Young Adult Center in Milan where they will be dearly missed by many of the youth of the Milan Stake. They are now serving in the England London South Mission. We wish them the very best for the duration of their mission.

 

We are excited to welcome the Capece couple from Sandy Utah. Anziano Capece served in Italy as a young man and he and his wife have returned to serve a mission together. They will take the Rampton’s spot serving in the Young Adult Center in Milan. We welcome them and are very excited for the adventures that await them in the coming months.

GEM- part one

Once upon a time President and Sister Wolfgramm found themselves at the MTC preparing to come to the Italy Milan Mission.

Long before that, however, President Wolfgramm had learned an important lesson when he was trained as a stake president. Every big project, he learned, needed a battle cry. A battle cry would give purpose and direction to work. It would be a constant simple reminder of what the end goal was and what was really important. In times of excitement it could be shouted at the top of you lungs, or whispered quietly to oneself in times of need.

A perfect example was that of the Vietnam war and the war in Kuwait. The Vietnam war seemed to drag on- no one really knowing what they were fighting for or why. There was division and confusion on exactly why they were fighting. Kuwait on the other hand had a clear purpose that was made clear in an unforgettable two word battle cry- Liberate Kuwait.

And so, our fearless President and Sorella Wolfgramm knew that as they prepared to lead the Italy Milan Mission they would need a battle cry, which brings us back to the MTC. One night they met a few missionaries that would soon be serving under them. They talked and got to know them and as they walked away they said to themselves, “They’re just gems.” They had found a battle cry.

Gems stands for “Grow Every Missionary.” The Wolfgramms, as you may have noticed, were very wise. Although they were coming to lead 150 missionaries they knew that each of the 150 was an individual. Each with their own personality and opportunities, strengths, weaknesses and passions. One less wise might think they were coming to lead a mission of 150, but the Wolfgramms knew that they were going to lead 150 ones.

They would have different expectations for each missionary. Some would know how to work, some would know how to study, others would be more ready to love and others more ready to knock on doors. Although they would expect different things from different missionaries there was one common expectation, and that was growth. As we already know, the Wolfgramms are smarter than average, so they knew that it didn’t matter the condition a missionary might be in when they came to them but, that they would leave them better. They would leave be more ready to love, they would be a little smarter and they would have greater faith in Jesus Christ.

And so our very smart President and Sorella Wolfgramm went to work. Today they grow, they nurture and they push each missionary to new heights helping them realize who they can be and all that they can do.

So if you ever find yourself with an Italy Milan missionary take a moment to look for the gem in them. Watch how they work. Watch how they help each other. Are they better than the last time you saw them?

 

Do you have a battle cry? What is it? Does you life have direction and purpose? What has helped you grow? How have you helped other people grow?

Three by three

At this time in your life, a mission call from the Lord, my young friends, is the most important work that you can do. Prepare now, live righteously, learn from your family and Church leaders, and come join with us in building the kingdom of God on earth—accept your divine appointment in so great a cause.

-Ronald A. Rasband

Arriving and departing missionaries is always a time for reflecting on what has been and what is yet to come.

This week we had the bittersweet experience of sending home three super sorelle.

Sorelle Burgoyne, Williams and Willey each left their mark in their own powerful way and will not be soon forgotten.

A special thank you goes to Sorella Burgoyne who started this blog among the many other things she did working in the mission office. She spent almost a year working in the office and did an amazing job.

We are sad to see them go, but excited for to see what they might do with the rest of their lives. They are leaving the mission having done so much and they have been well prepared for the rest of their lives.

We also had the pleasure to welcome three wonderful new missionaries.

 

They may be the most international group of incoming missionaries yet.

Anziano Young from Australia, Sorella Gomez from Mexico and Sorella McNamara from the United States.

We are excited for these new missionaries. It’s so exciting to see them on the brink of such a great experience. Already we love them and pray for them. We are grateful for their preparation and we anxiously anticipate the great missionaries that they surely will become.

How is it done?

Twenty lessons don’t just happen. An essential to success is planning.


Planning, in fact, is a basic part of missionary work. There is a whole chapter in Preach My Gospel dedicated to planning, once a week missionaries hold a weekly planning session and not a single day passes without a nightly planning session. Why so much planning?

Steven B. Allen, head of the Church Missionary Department, recently visited missionaries in the Florence Zone. “What is the most important part of each day?” he asked. Studying, teaching or lunch may have come to mind, but in answer to his own question he declared 9:00 pm to 9:30 pm- nightly planning- was the most important time of the day.

Elder Allen told the story of one day when he was being driven to the airport by a pair of missionaries. One missionary sat in the back sleeping, while his companion drove. The driver lacked the passion that one might hope a missionary would have six months before going home. Elder Allen pondered what he could do to help this missionary in the remaining ten minutes before they reached the airport.

“If I told you something that would triple your earning potential when you get home, would you listen?”

The missionary perked up.

“Study and put into practice the principles found in chapter eight of Preach My Gospel.”

Months later Elder Allen received a letter from the missionary who drove him to the airport. He had taken the advice and his mission had changed completely. He said that he felt like his whole mission had been a success because of those last six months. He was going to college which wasn’t something he had been planning on before. This young missionaries life had been changed.

And it’s no wonder. Think about the men who wrote Preach My Gospel. The Prophet and the Quorum of the Twelve apostles are some of the best and brightest in what they do, not to mention their prophetic calling.

We must plan in order to be successful. As missionaries plan we set goals and make plans to reach them. We set objectives and work towards them so that our work may have purpose and direction. As we plan we take ideas and desires and figure out how they can really happen.

As we work to consistently teach twenty lessons each week we are learning how to be better organized and better planned. We are being blessed as we strive to help others in a more organized, better planned way.

How can planning be an act of faith? How is planning a principal of the Gospel? What skills do you hope a missionary would learn? How have you been blessed by skill you learned as a missionary?

Twenty

In 1999 President Gordon B. Hinckley gave congratulations for the 300,000 convert baptisms the previous year. But, his congratulations were followed by an admonition to do much better. In fact he talked of doubling that number to 600,000. Since then missionaries and members of the church around the world have worked to answer this prophetic call to improve.
Almost as if in response to this call to duty Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave a promise that if missionaries would consistently teach twenty or more lessons every week the number of baptisms will double and missionaries will improve as teachers.
We in the Italy Milan Mission believe this promise is true and we are making great efforts to consistently teach twenty lessons a week. In working to meet the challenge we have focused on planning to help us reach this lofty goal. After all it isn’t easy to organize such a busy week without a conscious effort to teach more. As missionaries have stretched and committed themselves to this goal they have witnessed not only the promised blessings, but also a greater sense of purpose and a greater spirit of determination and happiness.
Last July we were able to reach this goal on a missionwide basis and blessings came as promised. In that month of consistently teaching twenty lessons there were exactly double the number of average monthly baptisms.
But why is this so important to us?

Maybe this helps?


The numbers are meaningless without the faces behind them, but when we remember that these figures represent the lives of human beings, our brothers and sisters, the call to action- to teach twenty lessons and double baptisms- takes on life and vigor. There is a sense of urgency and feeling of excitement in our work. In essence the call to double baptisms is a call to double the number of people that we help have faith in Jesus Christ and repent. It’s twice as many people finding joy in following the Savior and making a commitment to follow Him. How could we not go on in so great a cause? This is the work of the Lord among His children.

Do you believe in this apostolic promise? How have you seen the Lord work in your life?

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.