December 5, 2007

Buon Natale! In 20 days! Time goes very fast. I have just finished my first transfer with my incredible trainer Anziano Scoville. I have 15 transfers left and i am so excited! well, on monday we recieved our TRANSFER CALL! Dun dun dun! This is when the Mission President calls us and tells us where we will serve this next transfer and who our companion will be. Could i get a drum roll please!.... buddu buddu buddu buddu.... pretend that this is a drum roll, it was the best i could do! I am... Staying! I am very glad about that. I feel that i have much more work to do here in Ostia. But... I have a new companion. His name is Elder Breen. I have never met him before. I heard that he's from Vegas, a snowboarder, and pretty chill. I am excited to meet him and learn from him. His a youngin like me. This is his 6th transfer and my 2nd so we are a young companionship. My companion is being transfered to La Spezia to be District Leader there. He will do an incredible job. I love this Elder very much. He has taught me so much and is a great example. I love the way that he does missionary work because it's different than i pictured, and so effective. His new companion is Elder Shepheard. He will have sisters in his District which is cool. One of his sisters is Sister Kenney is one of my favorites! Then the other two elders in our appartment recieved their big news as well! Anziano Goddard, our District Leader, is... leaving and going to Napoli to be a Zone Leader. Elder Funk has been here longer than any of us (for 4 transfers, is whole mission) and he is staying for a 5th. His new companion will be Anziano Silva who is in his 6th transfer and he will be district leader. We have a very young appartment... which is good. we are very excited. It is going to be a huge challenge for me but a good challenge. I will now have to talk a lot more and use my italian. My companion now who is leaving tomorrow is fluent and is incredible with the language, so i am trying to pick his brain and obsorb all i can before tomorrow. It's crazy how fast things change. But i know that change is good, hard at times but good. We listened to talk yesterday given by a general authority in the 50s or 60s entitled: "I am the Gardner here". It is an incredible talk and touching, real, relatable story. The General Authority tells a personal story when he bought a farm previously owned and not kept up very well. He went out and started to prune a tree that was very tall and growing very large but wasnt producing any fruit. He cut down most of the branches so that it was very small, but able to grow and produce fruit over time. He looked at it and he could here it say: "How could you cut me down? I was doing so well, growing and becoming so big and you cut me down." And he replied back and said "I am the gardner here. I know what is best for you. I cut you down so you can growand produce fruit. " He then told a story of him in the army when he was cut down and he was doing so well but the Lord said to him, " I am the Gardner here. I know what is best for you. Trust me and all will be well". We need to constantly remember that we are not the Gardner. We dont know what is best for us. He does. He is the Gardner, he gives us what we need. He provides and teaches in ways we dont expect, but they are the best ways! I know that this change is hard but very needed. I will learn so much from these new missionaries. In my life i have had many challenges that i thought were too hard to handle at the time but now looking back i know that they were exactly what i needed. Remember always to trust the gardner and always know that He is playing a gigantic part in each of our lives. I cant even explain the amazing miracles i have seen and experienced here. I saw the smallest miracle last night that one might say is just a coincidence but no, i know that it was a miracle. We were running down the stairs to make it on the metro. As i went to get on a lady whom i met before on the metro hit me, because she was on the phone, gave me a smile, and waved to me. That showed me what a difference a hello can make. What a difference a little chat on the metro make in someones life. I will see her again and talk with her more. Well, i got to go. My companion is waiting for me. I love you all.-LOVE: ANZIANO BEAU RICHARD BREWSTER