Make it so number one, and we have won

Buona Vita Family and Friends,

Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. 
Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. 
You don't really want to know. 
You want to be fooled. 
But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige"."

Alberto and Anziano Gridley.
Uomini Molto bello
(Very handsome men)

Cards on the table. Alberto was baptized and confirmed last weekend!=) It went alright, but we certainly learned what we can do better next time. We forgot the document that we needed the Senior couple missionary to sign at our apartment. The Senior couple missionary was already late to another thing so this was pretty intense and we needed to hurry so that we could attend his baptism. So we had to drive over to go get that with them. But Anziano Larson had forgotten the keys at the church, so we had to drive back and get those. We then got the keys and got the document and had him sign it. I hurried and changed and yeah. I Baptized him. I learned that there is a simple, but fine art to it. I dunked him hardcore with water splashing outside the font on to a few people that were nearby.

The baptismal program.

Legendary Whoops. I had to do it twice though, because I didn't get him completely under the water. I then stumbled over a word of the prayer the second time so I said it again, and now he is Baptized.

Now you can see why it would be easy to cause too
much water disturbance with it splashing over the edge.  

He was really chill and happy, telling me that it was all right and to be tranquil in Italian. I wasn't freaking out but it
would have been nice to have been more clutch.

We also were worried he wouldn't be on time to church for his Confirmation the next day, because he's always missed sacrament meeting. He came on time though. We now just need to finish some paper work stuff and it will be official. He is such a good, funny, character. He likes to do things his own way. After church he was playing a little bit of poker on his phone. (against computers, don't be too uptight about it).

Anziano Larson, Alberto and Anziano Gridley

During the talks that two sisters gave before he was baptized it was basically like they were talking to each other. She said ciao to him and he started talking back to her. He bore a really interesting testimony, he doesn't really use the format yet, but he wants to take his wife to be sealed in the temple. He is heading back to Equador on Friday. Thank you for your prayers and good thoughts.

Anziano Larson it seems has always been sick this last transfer. So besides being just regularly sick this last week he also cut his big toe, toe nail to close to the nail and got a disgusting super painful ingrown toe nail. In order for it not to get worse than it was, we mostly stayed inside for a good portion of last week. He is getting better though so that is good. I kept joking to him that a quick and easy solution would be amputating his big toe. He only thought I was only so so funny.

Here in Italy lunch is almost sacred. You eat it with your family and you get off work and school to do this. (Which is good and bad). Hence on Sundays in order not to interfere with the especially sacred Sunday Lunch, Church is held at 9 in the morning.

A bunch of Italian stores, and Anziano Larson
with the decked out coat he bought here.

Two times a year there are huge sales or Saldi(s) as the seasons change and hence they try to sell all the things they didn't sell off the last season. Anziano Larson had his last Saldi here just barely, so we went to a store outside of Alessandria today, on a train and then a bus.

Anziano Larson lost his wallet earlier this week for a few days. He was freaking out. We almost went to report it to the police etc. He found it under his bed, by his dirty socks, however, so that is good.
It has kind of been a bit crazy around here recently.

I found a missionary quote book this last week in our appartment which is really actually good. There are quite a few motivating quotes that are written by important people in the past. I read it all that day. Needless to say I liked it and picked my favorites which, I'll make a highlight paper of, which y'all can read some day if you wish. A funny thing is the author is this return missionary who compiled all of these motivating good quotes. He also added a few of his own, some of them are really bad like... The best way to complete your effective goals, is to make effective goals. We as missionaries here make fun of him a bit for that, but he really did make a good book, even if some of the quotes are repeated a few times.

I keep over thinking a lot of things out here. I have a lot of time to think and to improve myself out here among other things, sometimes I just think too much. As Beauty and the Beast teaches, thinking is a dangerous past time. A mission is a really good thing though. Anziano Larson said, my mission has been 90% been for me to become better etc, and 10% for others. I recommend a mission to my family and friends, even if you don't see all the reasons why, you will experience why, if you have the faith to be obedient and go.

It seems for everything from everyone, there are always excuses. In the end you just need to act and do the good things you should. Don't let the excuses hold you back. I need to bring back our old Alto Gioco.

In life we need four things from others:

1. We need to be loved. 
2. We need to be trusted. 
3. We need to be understood. 
4. We need to feel that our work is appreciated. 

The person who gives this talk talks about how he had a really good dog that he loved and took care of. That dog got ran over by a car, he ran to help the dog, and the dog violently bit his hand. His dog would never normally bite his hand. Sometimes when we are in pain, we do things we normally would never do. Hence make sure you have all four of those things, then check that others that you care about, (and even those you don't quite as much) have these things as well.

Thank you for the letters=).

Self-mastery is doing things even if you may or may not like doing something, but do it anyways if it is a good thing that needs to be done. I invite y'all to pick one thing to take some Self-mastery of your life. Don't punch your brother... etc. As proverbs says  It is better to win control over yourself than over whole cities. If you take that seriously you'll find a whole new challenge. (Also help others=))

Are you watching closely...

With Love,
Anziano Gridley