December 17, 2014

Ciao tutti!
Well I am here in Bologna now, but because of an exchange I had to do with the district leader in Vicenza, I've only spent two days actually in Bologna...but it's been fun!

Yesterday, on an exchange, we climbed on a bus.  Anziano Duclos asked the driver for directions.  He must have recognized the accent because he asked us where we were from and what music we liked in English.  He told us that his favorite kind of music was country.  I listened to a lot of country music before the mission and so it was easy to have a conversation with him.  I never thought country music would get me very far on my mission.  He was super excited about the English class that is taught in Vicenza and told us he would come.

Are you all ready for Christmas? I am! Well I better be on my way! Love you all! Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

December 10, 2014

Ciao tutti!
Well it happened. I have finally been transfered....noooooo!! I feel more like I'm leaving home again.  I'm going to a city called Bologna.  President Dibb has asked me to be a zone leader there.  I'm pretty nervous! But I know Heavenly Father will help me out.

This weekend we had another baptism! It was a beautiful service. Matteo informed me afterwards that he felt like he was in a completely different world.  And someone else told me that Matteo had told them that going down into the water, he saw his life flash before his eyes.  When he came up, he literally felt like he had been reborn.  His baptism was really a miracle and he made some amazing changes.  Then on sunday, we had his confirmation.  I got to be the voice for that...interesting experience in Italian.  The three others that got baptized last sunday were also confirmed.  Four confirmations in church! It was amazing. Many members told me that they had never seen four confirmations take place in one sacrament meeting.  There almost wasn't time for the bearing of testimonies haha.

Well I love you all! Buon natale! Ciao!!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

December 3, 2014

Buon giorno tutti!
Well we have jumped into December!  Christmas is just around the corner.  What gift are you giving to Christ this year?

On sunday we had three baptisms!  That in itself is a miracle.  However, I think that just as important as the baptisms are the people that baptized them.  My companion baptized one of them, but we had two different members baptize the other two.  One of them has been recently reactivated.  It was great to see him in the water for the first time and exercise that priesthood authority that he is considered worthy to hold.  It was a special moment for a lot of members in the ward especially this once-less-active member's mom who came up and thanked us after the baptism.

Saturday Matteo is getting baptized! And on sunday we'll have four confirmations! Crazy miracles!  I'll let you all know how it goes.

Have a great week! Love you all! Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

November 26, 2014

Ciao tutti!!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!  I hope your holiday is happy and that you eat lots of turkey, potatoes, stuffing and whatever else gets placed in front of you:)

Matteo and Alice are married!!  The ceremony went really well.  I've seen an Italian wedding now.  It's nothing too special if that's what you're wondering.  Next step, baptism.

This week we were given a cool referral from one of the GANS in our ward.  She told us that she got a friend request from someone she didn't know and usually she woudn't have accepted it, but for some reason this time she did.  After she had accepted this young man that had sent the invited started talking to her and almost immediately the subject turned to religion.  This young man is from Nigeria and has recently come to Italy.  He wants to start attending a church and make some big changes in his life.  We're excited to start working with him especially since we have three Nigerian investigators that are getting baptized this sunday.

Well I don't have much else to say!  I hope you have a great week and a wonderful beginning to your holiday season!  Ciao!

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

November 20, 2014

Ciao tutti!

Still working hard in Trieste!  We have a few great things happening in the next couple of weeks!  Sunday, our Nigerian investigators are getting baptized, monday Matteo and Alice are getting married, then Matteo is getting baptized on the 6th of December!!  Fun stuff!
So you may have noticed that my email arrived on thursday rather than on wednesday.  Well that's because yesterday, we had a multi-zone conference in Verona with Elder Fingerle of the seventy!!  He gave us lots of great council and trained us in several different areas.  It was a great conference!!

One of the things that Elder Fingerle talked about was improving in every field by 1% in order to hasten the work of salvation and he made a comparison to an English cyclist team that one the Tour de France a couple of years ago.  I had a memory pop into my head as he was talking to us.  When I was in high school and trying out for the soccer team, I remember my dad telling me, "When the coach tells you to jump..." And then I interrupted him, thinking I knew the answer, "I ask how high" And then my kind, gentle, and wise father said, "You ask him that on the way up".  All of us at some point or another have been called by the Lord to fulfill an assignment and we obeyed.  But do we ask "the coach" how high he wants us to go?  Only He can tell us how high, how far, in what way and where we need to carry it out.  I invite you all to ask our Heavenly Father where you can improve and how you can carry out your individual assignments better this week.

This week, one of our investigators that will be baptized on sunday, told me, "I wanted to bear my testimony in [family home evening] but I was scared." After I told him he should share the good feelings he had he told me that since he met the church, his life has been changed. He told me that since he has been coming to church on sunday and the various activities his faith in Jesus Christ has been stregthened a lot and that he never wants to leave.
Well I love you all!  Ciao!
-Anziano Cody Petterborg

November 12, 2014

Ciao tutti!!

Well just another chill week here in Trieste.  Things are moving right along.  Man, all of the investigators we have are getting baptismal dates...I guess we'll have to go find some more to set with...

This week already we have been able to set two baptismal dates.  They are two of our investigators that we have been seeing for a while.  Both of them have a great desire to change their lives and live according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We have lots to teach them still and the both have several things they need to change in their lives but their desire is pure and they are excited to make this step.  We set the dates for the 3rd of January so it will be a great way to start of the new year for them.

I have a thought for you all today.  I was reading in Matthew 7 today at the end of the chapter where it talks about the wise man and the foolish man who both built houses on different foundations.  And as we know, because of their different foundations they had different results when the rain finally came.  But the thing that stood out to me was that they had to build those houses. The wise man built his on the rock.  Building a house takes time and resources.  How much time and what resources do we use to build our "houses"?  And just as a house takes time to build, so does our testimony.  It doesn't come all at once but line upon line, precept upon precept.

Well that's all folks!  Ci sentiamo e vi voglio un mucchio di bene! Ciao! 

-Anziano Cody Petterborg

 

November 5, 2014

Ciao tutti!!

Hey it's my sister's birthday!!  Tell her Happy Birthday for me and give her a big hug if you see her :)

This week was kind of slow...except for sunday.  In sacrament we had an investigator in church for the second time.  It was fast and testimony meeting.  All of a sudden, he had the urge to get up and bear his testimony.  Well sort of...he got up and spoke about some really strange things.  One of them was that he believe in reincarnation...just like us!! What? Who's teaching this guy? Don't look at me! So needless to say, we got some funny looks from some members.  But that wasn't it.  After he had sat down, he stood back up and asked if he could say something else.  Well the bishop was telling him yes and the 1st counselor was telling him no so he just stood right there in the congregation and yelled over the crowd that he was willing to give massages to anyone that wants one.  Pretty exciting meeting.  Haha oh man the funny stories you acquire on your mission.

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

-Anziano Cody Petterborg