"P" stands for Paintball!!!

Hey Guys!

   Well, if you can't tell by the title of the E-mail, today for P-day we played paintball.  We found a field behind out house and so we organized it with Napoli so it was 4 against 4.  It was pretty sick.  I think we all had fun?  Haha.

 

   So this week, as far as the work, was a little slow.  BUT, we are doing stuff.  We are working on growing it again right now.  There are people out there that are waiting for us. We just need to find them.  :)

    I'm doing good.  Haha, there's really nothing to report.  Our work is continuing to go forward.

    We taught Pietro about the Word of wisdom, which went well.  He has committed to stop smoking and he is working on that.  We are going to talk about coming to church this week cause his soccer will end soon and then it will be important for him to come to church.

  

   It has been a little warmer this week which was really nice!  Haha, I always like this spring weather...

  Well, I love you all!  Haha, I hope you are having a good time there and that all is going well.  Keep your heads up and look for the miracles around you, cause they're there!  Take care.

   Love, Anziano Rigby  

Mar. 23, 2015

Hello guys!

   Wow, this week has been pretty crazy.  It's been busy with traveling and conferences, and finding! Woo-hoo!

   So this week we went to the mission tour in Roma on Friday.  Elder Tixieria and his wife came to talk with us. They talked about finding, and faith, and repentance, and diligence in everything (especially in listening to the spirit).

   As for the rest of the week, it was a little slower but we are working hard and we are slowly getting new investigators. We ended up dropping Francesco who wasn't willing to keep his commitments. But we were also able to make some new friendships and set the grounds for new investigators.  It's a little sad and frustrating dropping people, but you know, I feel we did our part. I know that we were able to set another bap date with him because you were all praying for it but, at the end of the day, the decision was left up to him to follow what we asked him to do and he just wouldn't do it. 

   We were not able to see Pietro this week due to a dislocated knee.  He was in physical therapy all week, but we saw him this morning and he is doing well. We taught the word of wisdom and he accepted it very well.  He smokes, but he wants to stop and we were able to set a goal with him to stop smoking.  He is looking forward to his baptism on the 18th of April, and so are we! We are role playing his lessons at home before we go over and it really does make a huge difference.  I am a firm believer of role playing.  I may not have been at the beginning of my mission, but I am now.

   We also met an inactive member this week named Sergio.  He seems to know that the Church is true, but he continues to break the commandments and then make excuses to why he is doing so.  It's a little weird, but we are just focusing on helping him find the fire again in his life.  I know it's there.

  I really don't have much else to say... oh!  Haha, there was a baptism this last week! Gianni Lucci, the other anziani's investigator, was baptized.  It was a good baptism and the spirit was there. This week there is the baptism of an 8-year-old that we're helping out with.  It is soo cool! I love to see baptisms happen!  We're trying to get all the members pumped up for this work right now.  It's slowly working.

   Okay, now I don't know what to write.  Haha, alright, well I love you guys!  I wish I could tell you how much I love you!  I wish I could give you a hug when you're feeling down, when you have a bad day, and when you're just tired.  I can't help but imagine it's the same for our dear Father in Heaven... I know he loves us dearly. 

  Well, have a good week and a good day.  Thanks for the e-mails!  I'll talk to you soon  :)  Ciao!

  Love always, Anziano Rigby 

March 9th

Hey Y'all! 

   Thanks for all the updates on what's going on in your lives.  iI know that God is watching over you and keeping you safe, but also helping you learn through experiences.  After all, isn't that what life is for?  :)

    So this week was really good.  We are seeing great miracles! We were able to set another baptismal date with Francesco. He is up and down, and we never are quite sure what to think about him. We went into the lesson expecting to do a drop lesson, and instead we came out with a date for his baptism. He needs to find some self-drive somewhere between now and then!  Haha, or else it's not gonna happen...It's really the basics that make the difference.  Reading, praying, going to church. Really, it's just having a sincere interest in what you're doing.  Haha.

   We had another lesson with an investigator named Sirio.  He's from Napoli and he is progressing well.  He wants to be baptized as well.  He is praying to know his date and we are going to talk to him tomorrow.

   We also got a new investigator this week.  Her name is Giordana.  She is from Pozzuoli and she first met the missionaries like 30 years ago.  She liked them a lot and wanted to get baptised but her husband at the time would not let her.  They are no longer together and she is quite interested.  I really think she will be baptized as well.  So as you can see, the miracles are present. We have the energy and the faith!  Now it's time to reap the rewards.  I'm praying that they can all feel the spirit and that we can do our part to help them come to Christ.

   Me and Anziano Pope are doing well together and we are becoming better teachers together.  Haha, he's a good missionary. 

   Other than that, I don't have much to say.  The district is doing well and I'm really excited to see the work that will be done this transfer!  Woo-Hoo!

   Haha, I love you guys and hope you are having fun!

Love, Anziano Skyler Rigby

Rain!

Hey guys!

  Alright, well I don't have much time.  Today we are going to a member's house who lives a little ways out.  It's raining outside right now, but it's not that heavy.  It's nice here when it rains.  It acts like a purifier.  After a day of rain, you can look out at the ocean and see everything.  The islands, the boats, the waves on the ocean.  It's really cool.  It's just like baptism.  After the washing, its all calm. Just like after baptism. 

  We saw Pietro today just for a moment. He was limping pretty bad. When he was playing soccer yesterday, he hurt his knee. (sound familiar...?) So needless to say, he's not playing soccer anytime soon... so we're praying for him that he can get better.  We still are hoping he can come to church!  We were talking with him this last week about the Book of Mormon and he said he believes it it true. And he wants to read it all the way through. We are seeing miracles. And our new investigator, Giordana, is way cool too.  As well as Sirio.  We are passing Sirio to the elders in Napoli and he will get baptized there.  He wants to be baptized and we even talked about it with his family this last week when we went to their house. We explained it all and they really thought it was cool. They felt the spirit and I'm hoping that they will take the lessons in the future.  :) 

  Alight, well I love you all!!!  Oh man.  Thank You so much for all your prayers and your love and support.  And your good examples.  You guys rock!  Haha, have a good week!

  Love always, Anziano Rigby

March!

Hey guys! 

   Okay, I'm gonna make this quick.  Sorry! 

   Well, haha, needless to say, I think both me and Anziano Pope were a little surprised to hear that we were staying together for a third transfer!  But we're excited for this transfer!  We are becoming better at teaching together and we are seeing miracles! 

  So yeah, this week we were finally able to set a baptismal date with Pietro!  Woo-hoo!  It's set for April 18th.  I am sure that he will be baptised.  He is just what this branch needs.  We are working on doing more role-plays and I am really excited to see the effect that it has on our teaching.  I know that it's making a difference. 

   Francesco is not progressing, sadly.  He is stuck behind old addictions.  He thinks they're just gonna go away on their own. He just won't act.  We are giving him this week and if he isn't progressing and keeping his commitments, we're going to drop him.

   Other than that, this week has been full of finding. We did a scambio with the other Anziani here in Pozzuoli.  It went well.  I was with Anzizano Davidson and we had some fun while finding.

   So yeah.  That's the week. We are seeing miracles!  We have some cool people that we're gonna start teaching this week.  We'll see what happens!

   Well, I love you guys and hope you are all well.  It sounds like you are.  Take care and I'll talk to you next week!

   Love, Anziano Rigby 

Feb. 23, 2015

Hey guys  :)

   Wow, this week has gone by fast!  It was packed with stuff, which was cool.  First, we had a scambio with the Zone leaders Wednesday and Thursday.  It went well.  I was with Anziano Grahm on Wednesday and we were doing finding.  I always enjoy doing finding with new people because it gives you a chance to try something new, see what they do, and it helps get you out of the rut of saying the same thing over and over.  We had some success and I'm hoping that they get some new investigators out of it.

   Zone conference was really good and I really thought that it was directed to our Zone.  A lot of it was about using time wisely.  If I have learned anything, it's that time is precious!  So I'm hoping we can take the teachings and roll with them this week and into the next transfer.  Which brings me to that.  We get transfer calls this Saturday!  It's crazy how fast time flies!  Haha

   I am really excited to see the miracles come from our faith and our hard work!  

  Other than that, I don't have much to say for this week.  Francesco was sick, and we saw Pietro once. We talked about baptism. We covered it really well, explaining the why's, how's, blessings, promises, and everything else. His problem was that he was already baptized as a child.  So we explained a little more about authority and the restoration of that authority to Joseph Smith.  In the end, he agreed to pray to know if he needs to be baptized again.  So, yeah.  Haha, that's about it!  I love you guys and hope you are having fun!  Take care  :)

   Love always, Anziano Rigby

Valentines!

Hello Y'all! 

   Haha ....Ah! That's my reaction to you receiving that e-mail! Mamma Mia! I'm not sure whether to be happy or scared!  Haha, not scared just...I don't know.  I can't explain it.  (We received the email with his release date of May 26th and I asked him how he feels about only having three and a half months left.)

   Haha, well this week was a whirlwind of action!  We moved into our new apartment and it is pretty cool (literally...the heater is broken).  Haha but we have one that works in one of the rooms so in the morning we go in there.  :)  But as soon as we moved in there, we started to see miracles.  It was/is really cool.  The first night we were there we dedicated it and as we did so I felt a difference in my surroundings.  I always like to think about it.  The ability we have to call upon God for his protection and blessing is amazing.  Only if we are righteous though!  And then I think of the priesthood and I think of all the things that have happened during my mission that have strengthened my testimony and my knowledge that the priesthood is real.  It is power, real power.  And hardly anyone knows about it!  Some do, but they don't have it (even if they think they do). We are acting as God's messengers. 

   (His dad asked him what his most uplifting experience was this week)  I don't know, I guess you could say that was one of my uplifting experiences.  Haha, also, we were studying the Abrahamic covenant and it is really cool.  I am constantly amazed at how much I can learn just by studying the scriptures!  I often forget the power in studying with the spirit.  There is no substitute.  

   So, like I said, we are now moved into our new apartment and we are seeing miracles!  We have found people that have been in contact with the Church in the past but stopped meeting with them. There's a lady that lives above us that had the missionaries over for dinner and she has a Book of Mormon.  This was a long time ago, but she remembers!  We also found this man... well, he found us. He lives above our investigator, Pietro.  He wanted to meet with us after our lesson, so we went to his house and started talking.  Turns out he is, or was, a member of the Church.  He was even married in the temple. As we talked, he expressed his desire to come back.  We left a spiritual message and he, along with us, bore testimony of the truthfulness of this Church.  Meanwhile, Pietro sat listening.  I think it was good for Pietro.  We want to set a baptism date with him, and I think that he is ready.  We will see!  I laughed a little at your joke about Pierre.  (Our family prays for his investigators by name and a couple days ago our other son forgot Pietro's name during prayer and called him "Pierre"...he knew it started with a "P."  I joked that there is now an investigator somewhere in France who is receiving an extra dose of the spirit.)  Haha, but at the same time I choked up a little.  I can't express my gratitude that you are all praying for those I meet here.  I feel power in that fact.  I can't tell you how sure I am that prayer works. It works!!!  Especially in settings like this.  God listens to his children.  Jesus loved little children, and isn't he the Only Begotten of the Father? Aren't they one in purpose and desire?  So then why would we think anything other than that God is aware and very pro-active in comforting and answering the prayers of children?  (Sorry, I went off on a little tangent there. There are just so many cool principles to learn!)   We invited Francesco to baptism again and it was a long lesson.  He said that he knows that the Catholic church is not correct all the time and in his words "fa schiffo," but he's happy where he's at?  He really doesn't want to leave that church.  And he says he hasn't received an answer that this church is God's true and only church.  He kind of takes it as an answer, you could say, that God doesn't want him to leave the Catholic church... It was...disheartening.  I came to the realization that he's not ready yet to receive his answer.  Even if he did get it (which I think he kind of is getting an answer)...but he just isn't willing to follow it.

   Alright, well, funny story for the week!  Haha, so last night we were coming back from Fratelo Bonner's house after correlation and we get on the bus and we're talking. Twenty minutes later I look out the window and we are turning on a weird road. ...Huh that's weird.  We start asking around and it turns out we were on the wrong bus!  We were on our way to Aversa! Haha, fun detour.  Anyway, we had to get a train from there to Napoli and while we were on the train we were all talking and telling stories.  We sat by this nice-looking lady,  probably mid-fifties.  She seemed like a business lady.  We continued to tell stories and, as we are getting to Napoli, I was finishing this story that was kind of funny so we were all laughing and what not.  And we started to get ready to get up when the lady across from us starts laughing...and laughing and laughing!  Haha, we were all so confused!  And then she said, while laughing, "I'm sorry, I just understood what you were saying!" Haha, as she continued to laugh and leave the room!  Hahaha, it was the weirdest thing ever.  She apparently understood English enough to follow along, but she didn't realize what happened in the story till a little later.  She also apparently thought it was funny!  Hahahaha, It was a good laugh.  I was glad that I could brighten someone's day.  :)

  Well guys, I love you all!  Thank you for your prayers and for your support.  Take care and I will talk to you soon!  :)

   Love always, Anziano Rigby

   P.S. Happy Valentines day!!!! <3 <3 <3