Captain Kirk Got Irked That He Got Shirked

Dear family and friends,

I'll cast some spells with a wave of my wand.. Defeat the dark lord, yeah bring it on.. No way this year anyone's gonna die.. And it's gonna be totally awesome.. I am sick of summer and I am ready to go. Man I am glad I'm back.

I am not staying in Trento as I figured I would.. I am going to Verceli to serve with Anziano Galli. For those of you who don't remember Anziano Galli has been serving in Bolzano in my district.. He is known for being fun/crazy guy and he buys what he wants... It should be pretty fun.. I know him pretty well already. He asked me a few weeks ago if I would like to serve with him.. And I said more or less yes.. Irony abounds.. I am going to miss Trento though.. It has been really nice here.. It has gotten super hot.. I sweat a ton all the time.. I am not used to the heat with the humidity. Verceli is a smaller city in between Milan and Torino. Kind of close to Alessandra but in a different zone.

I am a little irked about how these last two transfers went with our investigators.. It seemed when I got here there was a lot of potential and also we found new people who had potential.. But everyone whiffed out at some point or is still slowly progressing.. I hope things work out with some of our investigator eventually.. I can't take away their agency and got to take what has happened happily as I can, and not to say no one has had any success, things just played out differently than expected.

We had one college student who is from Napele come.. She speaks really good English.. She liked the spiritual thoughts I have given and had a little bit of interest in our church.. A Muslim family also came Saturday.. They were really nice. Ramadan is going on right now.. Don't forget to fast:). We made root beer floats to celebrate Independence Day.. It is hard to know how good you have something until it's gone or you are away for a while.

Today our p day is on Tuesday, because they want an extra day to send tons of missionaries home.. We are going to Verona today.. I will want to finish packing tonight (it is easier packing when I can pack it all away). We had some fufu last night at emanuels.. Anziano Thomas was not able to swallow the fufu last time he had it.. (His gag reflex is strong) last night he was able to swallow little pieces.. So that was fun.. Africans tell us fufu is how they get strong.. So hopefully I am strong now.

Anziano Bingham Thomas Franklin Stanely

There seems to be a balance as people. Between not letting yourself be walked all over.. And being unselfish and doing things for others... Hopefully I will gain more skill at knowing when is a time for each.

Thomas and Me

We also said good bye to Stanley and Franklin last night.. Two Nigerian men who are both a bit older and married.. They have not seen their families in over two years.. They are planning on making a trip to Nigeria in a few months.. They are two newer converts.. They are really solid in the gospel and are the type of new converts I would leave behind when I teach someone new.

If we expect to see him come again, we have to look for the preaching of that very same gospel, and that is the message of every Mormon elder who goes out into the world to bear testimony of the truth. I tell the missionaries, “If you can bring to people an understanding and a faith to believe in this message, it will be worth more than if you were to give them a million dollars.”
I heard a missionary reporting his mission up in Oregon some years ago. He himself was a convert to the Church, and he came down with his fist on the pulpit and said he wouldn’t take a check for a million dollars for the experience of his mission, to go out and share with the world these marvelous truths.

I sat back of him, and I asked myself: Would you take a check for a million dollars for your first mission over in the little land of Holland? I began counting the families whom I had been instrumental in bringing into the Church, who have come to Zion and sent their boys and girls on missions. What kind of a man would I be if I were to sell them out of the Church for a million dollars? I could not do that for all the money in this world. There is nothing else, no riches, that can compare with the joy and the happiness that come from this great missionary program of the Church.

I know some things are a bit of a sacrifice and are not exactly perfect.. But that the end result is perfect.. That the gospel is in fact worth more than a million dollars. That it is true and worth investigating. I can't complain about the journey after I have been on it because variables happen just from the journey and you can't really do that.. (Lehi's family as an example). Making sure you are on the right journey.. Enjoying it as you can.. Allowing it to help you.. And thanking God for the journey he has given you is part of the secret of happiness I would invite you to have or get. I have not been let down yet. We thank the all mighty for our journeys.

What the heck is a hufflepuff?
Oh sit down you bubbling bubble.
Cause we all know I had mad game with the ladies.. You can go ahead and ask belatrix lestrange.

I hailo (hail you),
Anziano Gridley