Buon Giorno Tutti!

   This week has gone by really fast! Hah,a it is crazy how time flies when you are working hard. This last week we were able to have 6 lessons in the presence, and 4 others! It was pretty cool. 

   It sounds like you are all really busy too! I'm sorry I don't have much time today. Haha, we just went suit shopping! So I have an Italian suit! I'll have to send you pictures. 

   Okay, so me and Anziano Nickle are working hard and we are seeing the benefits. This week we were able to get quite a few lessons. A cool little miracle happened this week. We were doing less active finding and we ran into the house of an old investigator. They had just lost contact with the missionaries over time. But we were able to talk with them and even have a lesson! We are supposed to go back on Wednesday to teach them again. We are still teaching Francessca.   She says she wants to get baptized but time isn't important right now.  Maybe in a year or two, maybe earlier, maybe later. I feel that if she keeps thinking like this it will never happen. It is just another of Satans ways of tricking us.

   This week we also found Filipino family that we were able to give a Book of Mormon to and we are schedualed to meet with them on Thursday.

   We had an activity for the ward last night about Missioinary Work. I think it went well. We are really trying to get the ward moving and on board with finding and referring because it has been almost a full year since the last baptism. They are starting to realize what they can do, we just need to keep encouraging them, and keep being an example.  English course is going well. We have a really cool group, and they always have questions for us about the church and our beliefs. We gave one of them a talk in English by one of the apostles and he said he would read it.  It will be interesting to see what he thinks...

   We are also doing Seminary with this kid named Ricardo. He's cool, he just needs to see the importance of the Gospel.

   Alright, well I need to go.  I love you!  TTYS!

   Love always, Anziano Rigby

(Some pictures borrowed from one of the sister missionary's blogs:   ciaoroma.blogspot.com.  It is a great blog to follow about the work right now in Palermo...check it out!)

Anziano Rigby with Anziano DiCaro 

 Palermo District: Rigby, DiCaro, Nickle, Garner, Mikesell, Bradford, Nef

Palermo District again (Anziano Rigby third on the left)

Q&A with Anziano Rigby:

Hailey:  What language do they speak most in Sicily?  Italian! and Sicilian Dialect.

Hailey:  Do they usually use white bread or wheat bread for Italian sandwiches?  And do they use a special Italian sauce?  mmm, Idk. Haha, white bread?     

Porter:  What types of cars do Italians usually drive?   Pandas.  There are also alot of Alfa Romeo's. 

Mom:  Do you hold any callings at Church (pianist, Gospel Essentials teacher, etc.)?  Nope! haha not yet anyway... Vediamo...

Mom:  Is the way you go about missionary work different in Palermo than it was in Rome?  Are the people more or less receptive?  No, not really... It's all pretty much the same. They might be a little more receptive here?  

Mom:  What finding techniques do you use?   Book Of Mormon!!!  Haha, it's the best. And English course. 

Dad:  What transportation do they use over there?  Do you get a chance to ride bikes?  We always walk and use the bus system.  Bikes get stolen too often.

Dad:  Did you get your guitar?   Haha, sadly, no.  I might get it here soon at zone conference. :)

Hailey - Do they have Nutella in Italy?  Yes! That is all they have!  Haha, but it's really good so I'm cool with it. :)

Hailey - Have you eaten any really disgusting food   No, not yet...haha.

Hello fam,

   I am sorry this is a day late! We had some stuff come up yesterday, and then the internet point was full. This week has been good! It sounds like yours has been pretty good too besides all the fiasco with Bounce and what not. I am truly sorry I am not there to help you. But this is more important right now. Haha. I hope you are getting over your colds if you haven't already. I have some photos to send your way as well but seeing as we are in a little bit of a time crunch today, I'm not sure if I'll be able to send them until next week. The food here is to die for!  I had a cannoli last week and, let me tell you, they are amazing.  Its a dessert, haha, I can't even explain it. You'll just have to look it up.

   Happy late birthday Ashley! I really hope it was good!

   Okay. This week has been good and productive. We were able to meet with Francessca a couple times, and we were also able to find some less-actives. Not all of them were interested but that's alright. 

   Like I said we did a bit of less-active finding, and we were able to get into one house out of 10. There were a lot that weren't there so we will return to those when they are back.  Other than that, we are working on finding new investigators and building our friendships with the members. We are having an activity with the ward on Sunday about missionary work!!! I am really excited and hopeful that it will help the members see just how important they are in the work, and just how much they can do, and HOW they can do it.

   I think the trek would be sooo cool for you guys! You should really try to do it if you can but I know there is a lot to do, and vacation is hard to come by,  haha.  I hope everything is going well, and I really hope the whole outbuilding thing will work out without you breaking the bank...entirely... :/ 

   English course is good.  It's pretty big and the people are really nice, and investigators are coming from it so that is awesome! 

   Alright, well I have to go.  Thank you for all the E-mails and love! I love you tons and hope you are doing well.

   Love Always, Anziano Rigby

Basically the whole Roma 3 Ward!

Last Sunday in Roma 3 with Jhamil

Anziano Rigby and Joyce, a member baptized while he was there

Recent convert family in the Roma Ward

Anziano Rigby's selfi in Villa Borghese, last P-Day in Rome

This is Palermo from our balcony

Palermo!!!

Hi!!!

    Ahhh! It is so weird to be out of Rome! I had been there so long it was starting to feel like I was gonna live there forever. I was hard to leave, But now I am in Palermo and it. is. Awesome. I have yet to really see much of it still, but what I have seen, and from the people that I have met, I really like it, and It feels like I've known some of the people for a long time already. Its really cool. 

It sounds like you guys are staying busy and you are all well. I am glad. Just try to ignore the Obama talk, you know the truth. ;) haha. Yes I received the packages! Thank you sooooo much!!! haha they are awesome! 

On another note, because they had me fly down, there were some restrictions on what I could bring weight wise sooo. I brought on suit case full of clothes and necessities, and my backpack. the rest I had to leave at the office. Including my guitar :( but they are gonna try and get it down to me this week. (sending it with the ZL...maybe. haha vediamo. But I have the Bose and the helicopter and the workout stuff so no worries. :) Hahaha we are in a 4 person house again and the others are Anz Garner, and Anz Di Caro. He is from up north by Milan. He. is. Hilarious. And he loves the Helicopter. haha I'm thinking of just giving it to him because it makes him so happy. And he might E-mail you mom so just so you know. haha He is really cool.

   Alright. It is a strange feeling to leave one area and go to another. At first I was really sad, and I didn't know how I was going to feel, but It was a small reminder of the importance of following direction given by our Heavenly Father. When I left and came down here, I was nervous, but the next day, and every day since, I have felt the presence of the Holy Ghost very strongly, and I have met so many of the members and some of our investigators, and I have had nothing but love for them already. Even though I don't know them. It just goes to show the Lord always has in mind our happiness and well being just like a father. When we follow him we can be assured that we will be blessed. 

   One of my goals for this transfer and while I am here in Palermo, I want to become a better missionary in the sense that I want to become more Christ-like. I want to have more love for others, I want to become a better teacher, I want to follow, and feel the spirit more, And I want to help others come to Christ. I don't know why I feel different, but I have more of a desire to serve. And it is wonderful.

   I also just finished reading the Book of Mormon again, and it was great. I can't wait to start again.

   We did a lesson with Francessca this last week. And she is wonderful. She has some things to do before she is ready for baptism, but with patience, love and persistence, we are going to get there. 

   Other then that I have met a couple of the Less active members and Members and I am really excited to try and help them come back to church. I love less-active work, and It is such a great feeling to see a family or a person that was once lost, come back to the church and to be welcomed by the ward and to be worthy and ready to once again take the sacrament. It is a miracle. It truly is.

   Alright well I am now going to send pics! So I will talk to you later! Have a great week I love you!!! :)

   Love always, Anziano Rigby 

Hello everybody!

   Happy new year!  Buon Anno. haha.  This week has been pretty good.  And yes, I am getting transfered down to Palermo in Sicilia with Anziano Nickel. I am sad to go, but I am also excited to go help the people there...(And to eat the food) :) 

   We had a good New Years.  It was uneventful which is good, and we were able to clean the house the next day which was needed. I am so glad to hear that you are all well. It sounds like some cool things are about to happen! I cannot tell you enough how important members are in missionary work!...Good Members! (If you have bad members, it ruins your investigators...haha) But I would challenge you all to be better member missionaries. Work with the missionaries.  I know you are already awesome members, and awesome missionaries, but we can always do better.

   We taught Miguel this week about the law of chastity, the 10 commandments, keeping the sabbath day holy, and obeying the law of the land. It went well and he seemed to understand everything.

   We also taught Alessandro about prayer.  He has finally started to read the Book of Mormon, and we want to ask him what he remembers and what he is learning the next time we see him.

   Other then that, we were not able to meet with anyone else. We did go to Alma and Marco's house, but Alma was sick. So we were not able to do a lesson, but we were able to give her a blessing. 

   Well, I love you and am glad you are doing well. Keep up the good work, and I will talk to you next week!

   Love always, Anziano Rigby

Okay, haha, yes I have been transfered! I'm going down to Palermo in Sicilia! And my new comp is Anz. Nickel!  I'm kind of sad, but I'm also pretty excited.

Q&A:

Questions asked by Elder Rigby's little sister:

Are there orange trees in Italy, or citrus fruit?  SI! There are a ton of orange and citrus trees and they just got ripe about a month ago.  

Do they have Converse shoes?  Yep! A lot of girls wear Converse and a lot wear Nike.

Do they have dessert at Zone Conferences?  Yeah, it's usually just a little treat of some kind, like wafers.

Other Questions:

Are the New Years celebrations different in Italy than here?  Yes, in the fact that they are pretty crazy! We had to be inside no later then 9:00 and then everyone shoots off fireworks. There are some that sound like cannons. I'm not kidding. They are super loud. They usually set off all the car alarms. At midnight I was laughing and thinking to myself, "so this must be what it sounds like on the front lines..."