September 17, 2014

Ciao tutti!

Well I have transfer news!!  Are you ready?  Drum roll please!  I am staying another two transfers in Trieste!!  And you know why?  Because I am training!!  Woohoo!  I'm kind of excited and nervous at the same time.  I'm a little bummed that I have to stay in the same city for so long...however I do love this city and there's nowhere else I would rather do it.  I'm going to miss Anziano Gardiner too.  So will the rest of the ward here.  We have so many friends.  We really did good work together.  Guess I will have to make another companion work...a greenie...un verdino.  This will be fun. 

Last week on our way home from zone conference, we talked to a girl on the train.  We spoke in English because she really wanted to practice.  The conversation eventually led into if she was a religious person.  She told us a little about her background.  We talked to her about The Book of Mormon and she was really interested.  This past monday, we had a lesson with Martina.  We brought one of the girls who is preparing to go on a mission.  The lesson went really well.  She told us that she likes that she can express herself and that she is discovering new things that she never knew before.

Gotta go!  Love you all!  Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

September 10, 2014

Ciao tutti!

Another great week in Trieste!  Transfers are just around the corner...but I don't think I'm going any where.  We're a little worried about Anziano Gardiner...we will miss him.

We are still having amazing lessons with Matteo.  He told us that since we have been coming to see them, he has noticed a change.  We asked him how he was feeling and he told us it's a lot like the salt metaphor that we explained to him.  It's hard to explain.  We took our recently activated member Max to the lesson and he bore powerful testimony of the blessins that come when we obey the commandments.

Sorry for the brief email.  I'm about out of time!  Love you all!  Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

September 3, 2014

Ciao carissimi,

Hope you're all doing well.  Another great week here in Trieste!  We have started into september.  That's so crazy.  Time is just cruising.

This week, we saw our new investigator Matteo a couple of times. He's doing really well. He's reading The Book of Mormon and asking his girlfriend questions. On sunday, his girlfriend, Alice came up to us and thanked us for the work we are doing. She told us how much it means to her. She told us that many missionaries have tried in the past without success. She told us that now he wants to invite us over for dinner, ask us questions, and be our friend. We have really made a good connection. I don't think it was because we are just good missionaries (even though we are ;) ) but I believe that the Lord knows when it's the right time for everyone.

My mom asked me to share a thought in my email from my studies.  I was reading in the Liahona this week and I found an article that I really like about the different ways we can do missionary work and how it was done in the Book of Mormon.  I'll share the link

The Work of Salvation: Then and Now BY ELDER L. WHITNEY CLAYTON Of the Presidency of the Seventy

Well I better be on my way!  Love you all!  Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

August 27, 2014

Ciao tutti!

Still working good in Trieste!  Fall is coming on fast!

This week we baptized Guido!  Everything is going great with him.  However, I was a little worried about not having any other investigators to work with.  But the Lord blessed us with a miracle sunday night.  We went to visit a less active member and her non member husband sunday night.  We had a really good discussion about God and how he cares for us and answers our prayers.  He shows a lot of potential and we set a return appointment.  We're excited to see where he goes.

Well I gotta run!  Sorry for the short email!  Love you all and Buona Settimana|

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

August 20, 2014

Ciao tutti!!

Whew!  I cannot believe how fast time is just flying by!  Middle of August already.  Everyone is back in school?  Fun stuff!!

Yesterday, we had an apppointment with Guido to discuss the interview questions before the real interview. We discovered a problem that needed to be solved by someone with a little more experience. We talked to the Zone Leaders. They talked to the mission president. Everything was taken care of within the space of 10 minutes. Guido is right on track for saturday!

 

So a couple of weeks ago, I lost my camera.  I was sad for a while, but I finally got over it and moved on thinking the Lord was trying to teach me something.  You'll never believe the miracle that happened just yesterday.  We were at Max's house for lunch, when I got a phonecall.  It was one of the members who was at the church.  He told me that a woman had called the church and told him that they had found a camera of an Anziano Petterborg.  He wrote down the number and called me.  When he told me, I couldn't believe it!!  So last night I called this lady.  She told me that her dad found the camera somewhere.  I didn't understand if he found it where I left it, or if he found it somewhere else.  But they looked through the pictures and found out who's it was.  This morning, I met that woman and she brought my camera to me.  I have it right here with me.  Everything still intact.  Memory cards, thumbdrive, pictures.  Everything.  I can't explain how I feel inside.  I have prayed so much that I could find it.  On monday in Family Home Evening, I told the story about how I lost it.  The subject of the night was faith.  I told every one that I had lost it but that I hadn't lost my trust in the Lord, thinking maybe there was something he was trying to teach me.  He was trying to teach me something indeed.  Finding this camera has answered a lot of prayers.  Not just the prayers to find it, but others I had about various other things.  It blows my mind that there is someone up there who is very aware of me and my concerns.  Miracles!!!

I copied and pasted that story from an email I sent my mom...hopefully it made sense.

I know that Heavenly Father is aware of every single one of us.  He wants to hear from us and he wants to help us.  

Gotta go!  Love you all!  Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

August 13, 2014

Ciao tutti,

This is going to be a brief email, so I apologize in advance.

 Our buddy Max has been set apart as a ward missionary!  We are super excited to being working with him.  We had correlation with him and our ward mission leader and we already have many things planned for this coming week.

This next week, our mission is doing a "Consecrated Week".  We are all going to reconsecrate ourselves to the Lord and the mission.  Maybe you could all pray for us this week as we try to do our best to consecrate our efforts for our gain.

I love you all!  Have a great week!  Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

August 6, 2014

Ciao tutti,

Well transfers have come and gone again.  I'm staying another one in Trieste.  And another one with Anziano Gardiner.  This is the first time that I've done three transfers with a companion.  Guess there's still something that I need to learn from him!

Guido bore his testimony in church!  He's not even a member.  He said in his testimony (that reminded me of the way Elder Holland talks, kinda fiery) that he's studied a lot of religions in his life.  Not just christianity, but Bushism, Islam, and whatever else there is.  He says that none of them follow more correctly the laws and commandments of God more closely than The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints does.  It was powerful.  All the members looked at us and gave us thumbs up haha.  His baptism is coming up on the 23 of August.  He's doing good.

Our less active buddy that I talked about a couple of weeks ago, Max, is doing really well.  He was just informed that he will be receiving the Melchezidik priesthood in the spring!  And he just got a calling to be a ward missionary.  We're so excited to work with him.  Last week for P-Day, we went with Max and we bought a bunch of ties that were on sale.  Pretty fancy.  He's more than just someone that we're working with, he has become a really close friend.

Well gotta be on my way!  Love you all!  Buona settimana!  Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

July 30, 2014

Ciao Tutti!!

Rain, rain, and more rain.  This place is going to flood!  I can't belive all of the rain we've been getting.  But I am sure grateful to have the cooler weather. 

Walking to the park the other day, we met an investigator that we hadn't seen for a while because he had changed his phone number.  We got his new number and then he told us that he would shortly come meet us in the park.  He kept his word and met us there shortly after.  He brought his girlfriend with him and we taught them both the Restoration.  We gave them both copies of The Book of Mormon and assigned them a chapter to read.  Later that day, he called us and thanked us for the chapter and for the message that we had shared with them.

Things keep happening here in Trieste, which is really awesome!  This week, transfer calls are coming and that makes me a little nervous.  I don't want to leave all of this good work that's going on.  I don't think the chances are big that I'm out of here...but you never know.

My mom told me that I can't just "plug on" anymore....so I guess I will have to come up with another way to describe the work haha.  Just speeding a long with lots of enthusiasm and miracles!  Love you all!  Buona settimana.  Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

July 23, 2014

Ciao tutti!

Just plugging along still here in Trieste. It's been kinda rainy and kinda sunny.  The weather can't really make up it's mind 

Our baptismal date, Mario, is still doing good.  This week when we met with him to talk about tithing, he had already read the pamphlet and was teaching us about it.  We have decided to move his baptism to a sooner date.  August 10th.  He liked the idea, but he told us that we need to inform the bishop and he told us he really needs to meet with him soon so that he can get to know him better.  Things are good!  He's going to make it!

Last P-Day we had an unexpected interruption.  While we were doing our emails, we got a call from a less-active member who needed help moving a some furniture.  We thought about it a minute and accepted.  When we met up with him, he told us that it would only take about 2 and a half hours to complete the job.  Ok sounds good.  We went to work hauling lots of big cabinets and stuff down from the fourth floor.  Luckily most of it fit in the elevator.  Then we stuffed it into a van.  It barely all fit inside that little Italian furgone.  We kept plugging.  When 2 and a half hours arrived,  we weren't even close to being done.  Kept plugging and finally we get it all finished....5 and a half hours later.  Whew!  There goes P Day!  It's all good though.  We were happy to help.  I think we saw the blessings of our sacrifice too the next day when we gave out to copies of The Book of Mormon and received two phone numbers.

Well that was pretty much my week!  Love you all!  Buona Settimana!  Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg