December 18, 2013

Buon giorno tutti!

Well another week has come and gone in Livorno. It was a good one. The weather is still up around 20 degrees celcius and it's pretty nice. It's still going to be strange to have a Christmas without snow. But I guess that isn't what's important.

Today we went to Firenze (Florence) for P Day. What a beautiful city!!! It really is gorgeous. I'm not much for crowded city streets, so I wouldn't like to live there, but it sure is a cool place to visit. We went and saw the beautiful Duomo there. We climbed to the top of the dome and also the bell tower. Then, we went into the baptistry to check it out. All of it was beautiful...even in it's apostate state. Then of course, we went and saw the Davide statue. That was really cool. He's obviously a little naked...but it was still cool to see something that old and artistic.

We have really been lacking on miracles the last couple of weeks, but the other day as we were walking through the park, we came up to a man who was really open and willing to listen to us. He told us he was Hari Krishna, but was Catholic many years ago. He was generally interested in our message. When we got done telling him about the First Vision, he told us that he felt enlightened. It was really cool and it was such a relief from the tough weeks that we've had recently. It's funny how things really slow down right before a miracle happens. I think you really see blessings when you work through the tough times.

Well that's all for this week! Love you all! Have a good Christmas next week! Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

December 11, 2013

Well we're getting close to Christmas!  Soon I'll get to talk to my family on Skype!!  That will be awesome!!  Livorno is really nice.  Today was a beautiful day!  I almost didn't need a sweater.  However, when Livorno gets cold, it really gets cold.  Pretty crazy stuff.  Being on the sea, you see lots of different weather patterns.

Well last P Day we didn't do anything...but today...drum roll please...I went and saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa!!!!  It was soo cool.  I even did the stupid thing of taking a picture like I was leaning on it (Picture attached).  While we were there we also decided to go up top.  It was a little pricey...but definitely worth it.  It was really a once in a lifetime opportunity!

Well as far as missionary work miracles, we didn't have a lot this week.  However, last night I was assigned to teach the English class here in Livorno.  We have lots of different levels of English class and I was put over the intermediate class.  I was a litte nervous about having to teach a class by myself, but it actually went really well.  They had letters that they had written and I let them read them out loud and then I would correct any mistakes.  When we finished with this, I opened it up to questions.  They had lots of questions, but they weren't necessarily questions about English.  A lot of them asked about what my role was as a missionary and what I was doing in Italy.  So I got to answer a lot of questions about what we believe and what I do as a missionary.  Maybe the next time one of them gets stopped on the street, they will stop to listen for a bit.

Well as Christmas grows near, I hope you all try to share the Love of Christ with those around you.  I think that would be a great gift to the Savior.  Well love you all!  Buona settimana!  Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

Livorno, Italy December 4, 2013

Wow we're already into December!!  That means that I've been a missionary for seven months and I've been in Italy for 6 months.  That's pretty crazy huh?  Well like I said last week, I'm now serving in a city called Livorno.  It's a pretty city.  It's not as cool and old as Verona I'm right on the coast and I can go see the sea whenever I want!  Also, another cool thing about Livorno is that it puts me close to two cities that I have always wanted to see.  Florence (Firenze) and Pisa.  Cool right?  Pictures of the leaning tower coming soon!!  Also Firenze is a beautiful city with lots of cool things to see.  I think I mentioned last week that my new companion's name is Anziano Scott.  He is a really cool guy and a really good missionary.  One of the coolest things about him is that he is from Logan, Utah!!  Cool, huh?  We lived only 30 minutes away from each other and didn't even know it!

For my miracle this week.  Last night after our ward consiglio, the branch president took all the members of the consiglio to a less active member.  Our branch consiglio doesn't have many members but all of them are male priesthood holders.  When we showed up to this less active's house, I think she was excited to see us.  We sang some Christmas songs for her and then my companion gave a spiritual thought.  The moment Anziano Scott finished his thought, this sister burst into tears and told us all about how she is not well right now.  She told us how she is under a lot of stress and just doesn't know what to do anymore.  Our elders quorum president gave some counsil and then he offered for us to give her a blessing.  She accepted.  There was an incredible spirit as all 8 of us Melchezidic priesthood holder gathered around her and put our hands upon her head.  The branch president gave a great blessing of comfort and counsil.  It seemed that this sister needed this visit from us in the exact moment we gave it to her.  I'm grateful for a great branch counsil who is sensitive to the needs of the branch and is open to the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

Well sorry if the email was a little long this week.  I'm super excited to serve here in Livorno.  Love you all!  Hope everything is good there!  Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

Me, Arena, and Star

Outside my house in Livorno

Everything is good in Livorno!  I like it here.  Anziano Scott is a rockstar missionary.  It is a realy change in tempo from Verona.  We teach lots of lessons and have several people to work with.  There are almost no Africans in Livorno so I get to speak Italian a lot more.  We've already done two mostras, where we stand out on the street with some banners and a table with a bunch of stuff to hand out.  And we have done an open house of the church, unfortunately only a few people showed up.  I am the senior companion, Anziano Scott speaks Italian pretty well, but he needs a little help here and there.  Our apartement is beautiful.

 I can go to Pisa and Firenze on P Day.  So...everything is great in Livorno!!

November 27, 2013

I'm being transfered tomorrow!  I am going to a city called Livorno.  It is located on the coast.  I get to eat lots of seafood!  I will be the senior companion of an elder named Anziano Scott.  I am excited but sad to leave Verona.  

We didn't have many miracles this week unfortunately.  We had a rough week.  A lot of appointments fell through.  But I actually don't feel too bad about it.  Things are going well!

Well I'm sorry I don't have much to say this week.  I've kind of run out of time today.  I love you all! Ciao!

Anziano Cody Petterborg

The guy that let me borrow the violin

(This was a 200 year old German violin)

November 20, 2013

Ciao tutti!

Everything is good hear in Verona still.  We found a few new investigators this week and I think the work is really about to take off.  It'll just take a little bit of work of course.

So last P day was a beautiful day!  We went down to a park in southern Verona and we met up with a less active member and played Frisbee.  It was really fun!  And a beautiful day for it!  

So this is my miracle that I would like to report for the week. The other day, Anziano Burton and I were out doing street contacting.  We found an African man who actually stopped to listen to us.  As we were telling him our spill, he actually asked us to slow down a little.  I guess we are so used to trying to talk as fast as we can with Italians, that we didn't really realize that maybe the words we were spitting out were just being recited.  It got my attention and I realized that I need to make sure that I'm treating every person that I meet, as a person.  I think as I try to be attentive to their needs, the spirit will be able to more easily bear witness of the truthfulness of our message.  We did slow down a bit and re-explained our message.  We asked him if we could see him again and he accepted.  We also asked that when he knew these things were true, if he would be baptized.  Like a smart person, he thought about it.  He told us yes...when he knew that our message is true.

Well I think by next week, I will know where I'm going to.  Yep, I think they're finally kicking me out of Verona.  I love it hear and I love the members.  To me, Verona is missionary work...because that's all that I've seen.  I'm excited to get out and explore another city!  Gotta go!  Love you all!  Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

I wanted to add to this email something that Cody shared with me about serving in the Archives in Verona. I will also add a few more photos.  Sandi

Well I'm a little nervous to leave Verona, but also really excited and relieved.  I think I'm mentally tired and bored of this place.  I have the whole city basically memorized haha...that's kind of cool to say.  The weather has been up and down.  We haven't had any snow yet, but it has been raining a lot and occasionally it gets windy.  Today looks like a nice day.  The sun is shining and stuff.

So I went to the archives to help the senior couples a couple of times this week.  It's really fun work.  We bring books down from their huge library on the sixth floor and clean them on the first floor.  We use a brush and just scrub all the dirt, mold, and pidgeon poop off of them.  Then the senior couples take pictures of the insides of the books that are filled with names and dates.  Then the pictures are uploaded to be indexed.  It's pretty cool!

It means:   "So.....nothing...like...I don't know"

View outside my apartment...very Italian!

Working at the Archives

The destroyed book!

Ready to work!

November 13, 2013

Ciao tutti!

Well I reached my 5 month in Italy mark yesterday.  It's hard to believe that I've been here for 5 months.  The Italian is coming slowly.  I just need to practice a little more.  It's getting a little colder, but we still have some beautiful days here every once in a while.

So I want to share a spiritual thought this week.  Every time we go to a member's house we share this thought with them.  Elder Ballard, in general conference asked us to reach out to one person between now and Christmas.  We don't necessarily have to share the gospel with them, but if we can let them feel the love of the Savior, what a wonderful gift that would be for the Savior.  In the Book of Mormon, we read that through the small things, are great thing brought to pass.  I know that if we pray to find this one person and are willing to act on the promptings we will receive, we will bring a person just one step closer to their conversion.

Well I better go! l love you all! Buona settimana!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

What a goof!!

Butter Lovers POPCORN!!

November 7, 2013

Hello everyone! (Changed things up a bit this week)

Well the work is slow here in Verona still, but I have a feeling deep inside that it's going to pick up real soon.  Yesterday, we had an incredible Zone Conference with Elder Texhiera of the seventy.  He gave us a lot of really good advice and I think we will be able to find more investigators with the tips he gave us.  

This week, are ward had a Halloween party!  It was really fun!  They played lots of games.  During the day I had a scambio (exchange) with Anziano Modugno.  We went and bought some masks at a nearby grocery store.  After the party with the ward, the other coppia (companionship) of Anziani got home first.  We snuck into the apartment quietly, turned off the power to the whole apartment, and then ran in with our masks and scared them to death! Haha it was great!  Afterwards, we took some pictures and even created our own Halloween costumes.  It was a lot of fun.

Today for P Day we went to the American Base in Vicenza.  It was a great time.  We bought a bunch of American goods and one of the Senior couples that works on the base took us bowling.  It was very fun.  We even got to eat taco bell.

This past sunday, our ward did a fast for the missionary work and the missionaries.  In sacrament meeting, Anziano Burton and I did a musical number.  I played the violin and he accompanied me on the piano.  Then during the meeting, we bore our testimonies.  After church, the ward had a big lunch all together.  It's been amazing how much unity we have seen already between ward members and missionaries.  We were invited over to lunch two or three times just on that one sunday.  I think that as we work together with the members here in Verona more and the members learn to share the Gospel with their friends, the work will really pick up here in Verona.

Well I'm sorry for the long email...I guess I was just trying to make up for the last one.  Love you all! Got to go back to work!  Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

Vicenza Air Base Trip and Waiting for the Train

Verona Ward Halloween Party

October 30, 2013

Ciao tutti!

Work is still going well in here in Verona. Our new convert is amazing and is already doing missionary work of his own! Our members have really been helping him to feel welcome.

 

This week we recieved a referral from a member. It was quite far away and the first time we tried to get there, we got on the wrong bus with the wrong tickets. We talked with our members about helping us get there. It was amazing. Our members came together to make sure that we got to this family's home. We had to get about 3 different rides but we got there. The people took us to the house even stayed for the lesson and bore powerful testimony. I'm super grateful for members who are willing to give up their time to help us out.

Well love you all! Hope all is well! Sorry for the whimpy email this week. I'll try to be a little better next week.

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

I thought I should share this from my personal emails the last couple of weeks from Cody:

It's always a mad dash during internet. We have an hour and a half to do everything.  The only place that we can use internet are these sketchy internet points.   I feel bad that I don't send more spiritual thoughts home, but I don't have time to think of any haha.

The guy that we  baptized is pretty cool. He's from Nigeria. We've had some really good experiences with him. He has a testimony, but I just hope he continues to build the kingdom here in Italy. It's hard when you don't speak Italian. The ward has been super good to him. They've helped him out a lot! 

We were invited to do a musical number this sunday. I went to that member who makes violins just to see if he had one that I could borrow...guess what? He is letting me borrow a 200 year old german violin to play. Whoa! It's soo cool! I love being able to pull it out and practice. I'll let you know how the musical number goes. I'm playing More Holiness Give Me! 

Anziano Cody Petterborg

 

New Sweaters... aww yeah!!

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

October 22, 2013

Ciao tutti!

Well I've begun my 4th transfer!  I'm still right here in Verona for another 6 weeks.  That's alright...this city is beautiful.

So last week for P Day, we went the Zone Leaders' house to learn how to make Panzeroti! It was cool.  Maybe I'll practice a bit while I'm here and make some when I get home.  A panzeroto is like a hotpocket sort of thing with anything you want inside.  You make the dough, make the stuff you want to put inside, put the filling on the dough and wrap it up, then you fry it.  Oh man it is good!  

I have a couple of miracles to talk about this week.  First of all, we had a baptism!  That's cool! I'll include a picture. This week we also had a member miracle. One of our investigators has been searching for a home because his landlord kicked everyone out of the apartment where he was living. This investigator has been coming to church for the last several weeks and has been making new friends in the ward. When one of the members found out that he doesn't have a home right now, this member took our investigator into his own home and allowed him to take a shower, eat dinner, sleep, and gave him a ride to church the next day. We were so stunned by this miracle! At this current time, our investigator continues to live with this member until he can find a house. I'm grateful for Christ-like members.

Vi voglio tantissimo bene!  Ciao!!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

October 16, 2013

Ciao tutti!

Well this transfer is coming to an end.  I just found out yesterday that I will be staying another six weeks in Verona! I'm really excited and I still love this city.  The weather here has been a bit cold still.  Me and my companion got a bit sick for a couple of days, but we're back on our feet now!

Last P Day we went to Castel San Pietro and went and climbed some of the walls that run along the mountain.  I wanted to send some pictures, but my camera is being dumb...so maybe next week.

This week we did a mock interview with our only progressing investigator.  He's ready to be baptized this week!   We are super excited.  We were really worried that he wouldn't be ready but he tells us that he is ready to be baptized and is excited too!

Well love you all! Back to work! Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

September 25, 2013

Ciao tutti!

Well another week come and gone!  I'm half way done with my third transfer already! That's pretty crazy!  

So I already mentioned last week's P Day.  And I'm actually writing this email at the beginning of this weeks P Day, so I don't have anything awesome to report yet.

This week's miracle!  Several weeks ago, the church received a letter requesting a Book of Mormon. It was from a man living in San Bonifacio, which is about a 20 minute train ride away from Verona. The other day, my companion and I decided to go and try to find this man. We went to the train station after lunch. When we got there, we felt weird. Something wasn't right about buying the ticket to San Bonifacio. So we decided to do something else for a bit and come back for the next train. We went and did some finding work nearby that we had actually planned the night before. We came back to the train station and felt good about it this time. We got to San Bonifacio and found that there was some sort of big festival going on. We didn't know where to find the address that he had included in his letter and nobody we talked to was from San Bonifacio! We asked several people where this address was and finally decided to ask some old men. Old men know everything. They were able to point us in the right direction. We got to the address. The next worry that I had was that this man wouldn't be home. As Anziano Burton rang the citofono, I saw a man pull into a garage down the street on a scooter. He was looking at us. A second later, we walked out of the garage and walked up to us. He asked us if who we were looking for. We showed him the letter and he told us that it was his handwriting. He even showed us some ID to verify that really was him haha. So we gave him the Book of Mormon but he said that he didn't have time for us to explain it. We left him with our number and said he could call us if he had any questions. It's pretty incredible how the spirit was able to tell us to wait. I'm glad we listened because it seems as though everything that happened to us put us in the perfect spot at the perfect time.

Well I had an interview this past week with President Dibb.  He has challenged my companion and I to teach 21 lessons this week!  The highest amount of lessons I have ever taught was 14.  It's definitely going to be a challenge, but we're going to give it a try!

Well gotta get back to work!  Love you all! Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

October 9, 2013

Ciao again tutti!

Well another slow week has gone by. I don't have much to report. We are still looking for people out on the streets and everywhere! I've decided that Italians are super stubborn haha. But Africans and Sri Lankaans are always super nice and willing to listen to us. Guess we'll just take the gospel to those that will listen!

We didn't really do anything for P Day last week but I did buy a new coat for winter. It is gooood lookin! I'm excited! It's a good thing too because it's starting to get cold here. We've had a lot of rain the last couple of days and it has really cooled things off.

So for my miracle this week. The other day, we called one of our investigators to see if he could meet with us later in the day. He told us that he couldn't tell us right then but that he'd call us back later that day. My companion and I thought we probably wouldn't hear from him, but we were wrong. He called us later that day and wanted to meet. The only problem was that he wanted to meet in ten minutes! So we hurried to the apartment and gathered all of our stuff. We've really been trying to get members to this investigator's lessons so we decided to give a member a call, just to see, even though it was short notice. I called one of the members that has been helping us with this particular investigator and he said he could come! It turned out to be a great lesson and I am super grateful for great members who are willing to drop everything to help us out.

Well love you all! Hope all is well! Gotta go! Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

He's a natural at modeling... ;)

At some Ancient Ruins near Lake Garda

October 2, 2013

Ciao tutti!

Well I can only write a short email this week. There's not much to report really. I would like to say that we didn't quite reach 21 lessons. It was sad. However, we did see many blessings because of our hard work! So we actually ended up stopping 112 people on the street! That's a lot! We got 3 new investigators from these 112 people. That's a tough ratio but that's kinda how Italy is. Well I love you all and how you're all doing well! Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

September 18, 2013

Ciao tutti!

Well another great week in Verona! Not really too much to report this week.

So the last couple of P Days have been really fun! Two weeks ago, I went with the zone leaders and my companion Anziano Lovett to Lago di Garda! Very beautiful! Last week, with my new companion, Anziano Burton, and the other new anziani that are living with us, we went to centro to see the Arena and Torre dei Lamberti.  It's all stuff that I've seen before but it's cool to see it again.  This morning, however, was awesome!!  We went and played soccer! We had 4 companionships! So it was 4v4 and it was super fun.  There was also a dirt bike trail close-by...we went jumped the bikes a couple of times haha.  It was fun to get some energy out and get a little dirty.

So not many miracles this week.  But! I did learn a good lesson! Anziano Burton and I planned one night to find a ragazza wearing a red sweatshirt. We set out the next morning to find her. We searched everywhere but didn't find her. We stopped to pray for help and continued our search. We found a couple women wearing red but not a red sweatshirt. We searched for a good hour and a half. We have decided that Heavenly Father has a sense of humor because at one point we walked out to this intersection and there were four or five people all wearing red shirts! So after much searching, we never found the ragazza. But I learned a lesson! We can't limit ourselves to just one person or people. There are so many people who are ready to hear the gospel and we need to talk to every one we meet. I think this is the lesson Heavenly Father wanted to teach me.

Well gotta get back to work! Love you all! Vi voglio bene! Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

New companion!! Anziano Burton 

September 11, 2013

Ciao tutti!

Whew I've started my third transfer here in Italia. Pretty crazy. I am now completely finished with my training as a new missionary and I'm a real missionary now! I got a new companion last thursday. His name is Anziano Burton. He's a pretty cool dude and we've already done great work together. I'm still here in Verona but I am working in a different in a different area and living in a new apartment. It's a great opportunity to learn more about this beautiful city!

So last week for P Day we went to the beautiful Lago di Garda. It is a large lake just north of here. It was so pretty and there is a castle on the shore and ancient Roman ruins. Unfortunately the internet point that I went to won't allow me to attach pictures...sad day. I'll get some sent home eventually.

The other day we met with a man from Sri Lanka that the sorelle had referred us to. He doesn't speak English very well...or Italian. It's very hard to teach him in a way that he understands. We brought a Book of Mormon in Singhala to give to him. After we had explained a little bit about the Book of Mormon, we were very unsure about what he understood. We asked him to read 3 Nephi 11:7 in his language. As he began to read, the spirit filled the room. It was like a light bulb turned on inside his head! We then showed him a picture of Christ appearing to the Nephites and he nodded and smiled as if he now understood everything. It's amazing how the Book of Mormon brings everything to light. Simply reading from it's pages can bring in a powerful spirit, even if it's in a language you don't understand.

Well gotta get back to work! Love you all! Ci sentiamo!

-Anziano Petterborg

September 4, 2013

Wow we started September this past week!! That's pretty crazy! That means that I've been a missionary for 4 months!  I've got only 20 left! I better use them wisely. 

So it is the end of the transfer.  Luckily I get to stay here in Verona! I will have to change apartments but I'm super glad that I get to stay in this beautiful city.  Anziano Lovett isn't so lucky...he is being transfered to Ancona.  That is a city much farther south.  I hear that it's pretty down there but the city is a lot smaller.  He'll get to open an area and train again.  Poor guy...good thing he is good at it!  My new companion is Anziano Burton.  I haven't met him yet but from what I've heard he is a pretty good guy so I'm excited for that.  Another 6 weeks in Romeo and Juliet country!

We didn't go anywhere for P-Day last week, unfortunately.  We did go to Lago di Garda today...but you'll have to wait til next week to hear about that!! It was really cool!

We had another slow week...not a lot to report this week unfortunately...however, I would like to share a spiritual thought.  One of my Zone Leaders shared this thought one morning as we were leaving the house.  In 3 Nephi 11, Christ appears to the people living in America.  He is introduced by God our Heavenly Father, "Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name-hear ye him." Heavenly Father expressed his appreciation for his son as he introduced him.  That could make us think, how would God introduce me?  We are all his children and He loves us very much.  But if he were to introduce you to somebody, would he say "Well, this is So-and-So...he's...well...good luck."  I challenge all of us to take an accounting on where you stand with God.  Alma chapter 5 is a great reminder to us all.  Heavenly Father loves each of His children more than any of us can know.  He wants us to reach our full potential and knows how to help us reach that potential.

Well I gotta get back to work! Love you all! Ciao!

Spent some time with my friends before the next transfer!

Went to Lago di Garda

Made a trip to an Army Base in Vicenza & bought peanut butter and other good stuff!

August 28, 2013

Ciao tutti!

Things seemed to have slowed down here in Verona a bit.  We have slowly lost a lot of our investigators unfortunately.  However, it has given us a chance to reevaluate and see what we really want in an investigator.  It has given a chance to kind of start fresh.  So, we have been doing lots of finding work the last couple of days and really searching out referrals from our members.

So last P-Day we decided there isn't much else left to see in Verona...so we really didn't do anything to fun to report.  We just ran some errands and stuff.

This week had a couple of experiences that I would like to talk about.  On thursday, all of the district leaders had to go to a meeting in Milano, including my companion Anziano Lovett.  In our zone, all of the district leaders have brand new trainees who are in their first transfer (I'm in my second) and so all of the trainees had to go some where while their trainers are at this meeting.  Well, that leaves me as the most "experienced" and I ended up in charge of two really green missionaries for the day.  Luckily, we met with mostly Africans that spoke English, but we did have to do some finding work and we had to use Italian for that...it really put my Italian to the test...but it was a really good experience! I really helped me to see where I'm at and what I can improve on.

My other story I want to talk about is a miracle that we had.  A couple of days ago, my companion and I were doing some finding work. While we were out and about, a really prized investigator texted us and told us that they didn't want to meet with us at all this month and that they preferred that we didn't send them text messages every now and then. We were very disappointed but we quickly said a prayer to make sure that we kept up our spirits and we asked that we could find someone else to take their place. The next doorbell that we rang, a lady answered the citofono and let us in. She said we couldn't meet with her right then but she had heard of the church and wants to learn more! She has a husband and two kids and we are super excited to teach them this coming friday.

Well sorry for the really long email this week! Love you all! Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

August 21, 2013

Hello again from Italy!

Well the work is having a slow start from last week's holiday, but we're excited to hit it hard this next week!  Everyone should be coming back to town and be ready to hear our message.

So in the Utah/Idaho area we have what is called "Temple Hopping". It's where you go and try to see a bunch of different temples in Utah within a single area.  However there are not any temples in Italy (yet) but there are lots of old Catholic churches! Especially here in Verona!  So last week for P Day we did some "Church Hopping".  We went and saw about four different churches here in Verona.  All of them are very ornate and beautiful...and kinda creepy at the same time.  One of the churches that we went to was the Duomo of Verona.  They were having some sort of mass going on there.  We watched for a bit out of curiosity but we decided it would better if we just left...

I mentioned how this week kinda slowed down as far as finding people because of the holiday.  However, it was our best week for getting new investigators! We got four new investigators this week!  Pretty stinkin cool!  I would like to tell you about 3 of them...because they're a family.  A couple of weeks ago we met a boy in a park. He stopped us and asked us if we were American in English. We told him we were and we stopped to talk to him for a bit. He told us that he was born in the United States and that he had been living here in Italy for most of his life with his grandma, his mom, and his two sisters. About a week later, we saw him walking down the street and we stopped to talk to him. He invited us to his house for a drink of water. We visited with the whole family for a bit and set up a time when we could come back and talk about our message. Our first lesson was so awesome and the whole family has a desire to read The Book of Mormon and learn more about our church. Because there is not a man in the house, we will have to pass them to the Sorelle but they are such an awesome Italian/American family and we're excited to see their progress.

Well gotta get back to work! Love you all as always! Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

Homemade Apple Pie yummy!  Thank You Elder and Sister Mann!

It isn't very Often that you see pictures of Christ in Gethsemane in Italy

We made it in the newspaper!  A new bike path in Verona.  The members were excited to share this with us!

August 14, 2013

Hello everyone again!  Everything is really good here in Verona.  It gets pretty hot some days but it rained today and I hope that cools things down a bit.  The work is acually moving kinda slow in Verona right now.  This week there is a big holiday here in Italy called Feria Agosto.  All the stores close down and everybody leaves town for a week!  It is difficult to find people to teach.  It narrows things down to Africans and Sri Lankans but va bene we can't keep the gospel from them!

For P Day last week we went to the Resurrecturis.  It is a big cemetery here in Verona with lots of old statues and pictures.  It was really big! My favorite part of the cemetery was the entrance.  It had some really cool statues on it.  One of the statues looked strangely a lot like the Angel Moroni.  Kinda cool. 

So like I said before, the work has kind of slowed down for this week.  But that doesn't stop the miracles!  One of the less actives we have been working with finally came to church!!  It was soo cool to see hime there.  I don't know if I've told you his story so I'll go ahead and tell you about him.  About a year ago he had a stroke.  It made it really difficult for him to get to church because half of his body was paralyzed.  He has been going to therapy and has actually made a huge recovery! That is a miracle in itself!  He takes really long walks everyday to keep the muscles loose.  For the past couple of months, we have been inviting him to come to church.  He is hard to catch at home because he's always walking and he never answers his phone.  But we try to meet with him as often as we can.  We have had some awesome lessons with him.  I was so excited to see him at church! And he was able to sit by some of our African investigators and explain to them what was going on.  We hope that he continues to come.

I hope everyone is helping the missionaries wherever you live! It sure helps when we have the help of our members.  Our lessons are so much more spiritual when we have the testimony of a member.

Well I gotta get back to work! Ciao tutti!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

This picture is actually from last week, but it's of Cody and his companion after a big rainstorm!

August 7th, 2013

Well another week come and gone here in Verona. It's getting so hot here! We've been told that August is the hottest time of the year. I'm pretty sure that it gets up above 100° F at least once a day here and humidity makes things very sweaty. But! All is well here! The work is still moving along!

Last week for P-Day, we went to the Basilica of San Zeno here in Verona. It was a really cool building! Lots of old paintings on the walls and the doors had brass or bronze images of a bunch of different Bible scenes. I was really surprised to see how big and spacious it was inside. There are lots of old buildings and churches like that here.

So a few weeks ago, my companion and I were passing by a less active member. While we were waiting for an answer to the door, I noticed a man in his car, stopped at a stoplight, looking at us kinda funny. I waved at him and he shouted back, "Siete Mormoni (Are you guys Mormons)?" I answered back, "Sì!" By then, Anziano Lovett turned around to see who I was talking to. The man asked if we had an English class and we told him that we did. Anziano Lovett then ran across the street and gave him the information about our English class. The next week at English class, he showed up with his fiance. They are super nice! The following week after English class (we always share a spiritual thought at the end) the woman came up to us and expressed that they would like to learn more about our church and that they would like to attend church. They were talking to the right people! We didn't see them for a couple of weeks, but they came last night. We were able to talk to them some more about setting up an appointment and we will be seeing them tonight! We are super excited! English class miracles!!

Well that's all folks! Love you all!

Ciao!!

-Anziano Petterborg

 

 

July 31st, 2013

Well I just started the first week of my second transfer! I'm not the newest anymore! In fact, the zone leaders told me that I'm not even a trainee anymore!  I'm a junior companion! Woohoo moving up in the world!

So last week for P Day we didn't really do anything fun.  We just bought tools for our bikes and stuff.  So I'd just like to talk a little about the cars I've seen here in Italy.  Most of them are very small.  The most frequent brands are Fiat and Opel and really they aren't that impressive.  But! I have seen Lamborghini and a Ferrari! Both of them were soooo cool! It was the first time I had seen a Ferrari in my life! But I must say the most impressive vehicle I have seen here is a Ford F-150 pickup truck...oh yeah.  You don't see pickup trucks here very often and I was super thrilled! I wanted to run up to it and give it a big kiss! But I didn't...that would have been weird.

So last week we had a baptism! It was a 9 year old boy.  His dad joined the church a couple of months ago and now we are working on the family! It's been so awesome!  Shortly after this boy was baptized, his little sister who just turned 8 told us that she wanted to be baptized next week! Haha we told her that we needed to meet with her some more so that we could teach her, but she will be baptized in the up coming weeks.  It's so cool to have so many baptisms in a short period of time.
So I do have a cool story that I'd like to share that happened this past week.  Anziano Lovett and I were just finishing up door to door work in an area and we were headed to another area.  We realized by the time we got to the next area, we would have to turn around and come back to the park that was nearby.  So we decided to just go straight to the park rather that waste our time.  It was a good thing! As we were coming into the park, we saw one of our investigators coming in as well.  It was strange to see him there because we usually meet with him at a spot 10 minutes away. But we waved him down and he told us that he was coming to the park for a break, because he had been looking for a job all day.  It's strange how the Lord puts the people that he wants you to talk to, right in your path.  We taught him the Plan of Salvation and we set up a baptismal date.  When I began to invite him to be baptized I said, "Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ..." and then I didn't get to finish! He said, "Yeah! Yeah! That's what I want to do!" Haha it was soo cool. But I did finish the question and he accepted enthusiastically. 

Well that was my week! Love you all and I'm grateful for all of your support! Talk to you next week! Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

   Zone meeting with the new mission president