venire a Cristo: The Culture in Bagheria

Thanks for downloading all those pics and posting them! Sorry I sent so
many at once. It sounds like things are going good back in the mitten
though! It’s nice to hear that things are warming up and the weather is
getting nicer! It’s off and on every day here. One day it will be super
sunny and nice and then 4 hours later it will be cloudy and winds
blowing like 50 mph. I don’t get it but I just take it for what it is.
So yeah that old guy just lives in that lighthouse has been for 15
years. He does some crazy artwork though. We will probably go back
sometime in the next couple weeks so I’ll send some more pictures when
we do go back. Yeah, that view was crazy. Italy has a lot of good
views like that because the beach leads right into the mountains and
the city is just in between or the cities are in the mountains. Hiking
here usually ends up being a pretty good p-day activity because when
you get done the view is worth it. Thanks for that little thought
about faith. The point you bring up is so true too. It’s tough
being out here because everyone says they have faith here. "sono un
credente" I’m a believer. They have "faith" in Christ but idk if it’s
true faith. It’s more just cultural tradition to believe in Christ. Here
it’s not religion it’s culture and so it’s hard for people to accept
something different because they aren’t just changing religions, they
are changing their whole culture. Also a lot of people here are scared
of change. Things have literally been the same for 2 thousand years
and they’re scared to do something different. Here becoming Mormon or
LDS isn’t just a religious change it’s truly one of the biggest life
changes that these people will ever make. But we are working hard :)
Thanks for all the updates back home! It’s nice to hear what’s going on
and don’t worry dad keeps me updated on the sports world. I’ve decided
to ignorantly fill out a bracket and I’ll send it home to y’all so let
me know how I do. But for now that’s pretty much it. Not a lot of new
stuff happened this week. Today we don’t really have anything planned
so I think we are just going to be doing some shopping and stuff. Oh
Wednesday we have a mission conference here in Palermo and all the
missionaries in Sicily and Malta are coming here. Also Anziano Texiera
of the 70 is coming to talk to us so that should be exciting. Oh and
April 28 we have a BIG conference in Rome. Everyone is going up cuz
Elder Bednar is coming to talk about how to use iPads :) I’ll probably
still be here in Bagheria so I get to take the 14 hour train ride up.
FUN...... That’s pretty much it though! Love you all and thanks for all
the prayers! I see miracles because of them every day!

Ciao Ciao

Anziano Yskes

This is the view from the top of the hill in Bagheria. So Bagheria sits at

the base of a mountain so you can see the sea at the bottom of the hill.

I’m sitting at the base of the mountain basically. We do a lot of proselyting

here so I love this hill......

The Library in Bagheria

The church in Bagheria. So in Italy every city has their own Saint that
protects the city and they celebrate their Saint every year. In
bag-swag its San Giuseppe so they set up a bunch of lights and banners
and stuff. They had a band come and play and stuff. It’s pretty cool but
I don’t understand it.