Last Thanksgiving Here

Dear Family and Friends,

It would be wrong not to say what I am grateful for and since I wasn't there to say it at the Thanksgiving table, you'll have to listen to my belated comments.

It would be rude not to thank my family first. That is my Heavenly Father and my brother, Jesus Christ. Without them, I would not be here. Without my parents and their amazing upbringing of me, I would not be here. Thanks to my siblings, I had a great time growing up, having fun and learning still, an education that prepared me for the experience that I did not expect, Italy.

I am so grateful for Italy. You can focus so much on what's wrong and doesn't work and there are certainly some aspects of Italy that are funny. 1-4 o'clock breaks, bidets, hand gestures, crazy street traffic, etc. But I just love it! There's nothing that really makes an experience depressing by thinking of how the grass is greener on the other side. There is no other grass, I'm in Sicily and there's no where else I should want to go or even compare this great island. There are things I will gladly take from their culture, like food, emphasis on family time, getting out of the house more, and general friendliness to random strangers. Sure normally you find those that don't say a word back, but Sicily has some of the nicest people I have ever met.

Speaking of people, I am thankful for all the members I have ever served while I was in their areas. This week we had another wonderful pranzo from the great Rochira family that filled me to bursting, just because it was so good and I can't resist that. They are such a sweet family, with laughter and with the spirit of helping others. They culiminate family love and I hope to follow that example for my family someday, including the italian cooking(seriously, I'm grateful that I have a love for cooking now. I made an oreo cheesecake and tiramisù ). The members here have spent what time they could to make me feel more at home, help me fulfill my purpose, and be a light in my life.

I thank each and every one of my companions. As I said in my talk in the american Sigonella Branch this last sunday, I have begun a journal that records all the lessons I have learned from my mission and really, it begins with my companions. I'm grateful for Anziano Draghi, Easton Anderson, Moscon, Albright, Mars, and my current companions, Perfili. They have taught me a lot and I am trying to write it all down. I hope they know that I appreciate and love them. They helped me when I needed it and gave me lessons that I will take for the rest of my life. They made me who I am and have made my mission the way it is.

The mission has been a miracle and I can't repay God enough. I say a lot of words and so I should show it with a story, rather than just write all these great sentences. We were walking in a park and we proceeded to stop the 2nd guy we had seen on a bench. We asked if he wanted to watch a video and he said sure. We showed him SiiunaLuce to which he then asked who we were and then where are church was. This led to a church tour later that afternoon, teaching him the Restoration, and he even came to church that weekend. Santo is amazing and I'm so glad I got to take part in that. That wasn't me, that was God. But I am grateful that we were worthy and ready to follow the prompting, go into the park, and were prepared to teach when called upon.

I'm grateful for forgiveness, especially forgiving others, because that was needed this week, as well as prayer and repentance. I'm grateful that I still got a little taste of Thanksgiving from an American family living here and getting giant arancini from a nice couple who want to begin investigating the church again. I'm grateful that I got to work hard this week and that I had a fun P-day playing ultimate frisbee with an entire zone of great missionaries, including Anziano Morrill and Gunnell from the MTC, who I hope to have influenced just a tiny bit. I'm grateful for every trial or at least I am trying to be grateful for them and see them as stepping stones to growth.

You see how easy it is to be happy and cheerful when you see the blessings before you? I certainly saw that the best thing to do is to look at a situation or people with grateful eyes and find the best in it or them. Nothing is easy nor ever will be and it is easy to be a pessimist. I choose to see things with the help of Christ's light as they are and always try to improve nonetheless. Will there be times still where I doubt my purpose being here? Yes. But now I have a long list of things to say I received from this mission and if nothing else, I know more than ever that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that we need Him more than ever in our lives. If that's all that comes, even though He always promises more, that is sufficient for me.

Vi voglio bene!

Anziano Price

P.S. If I get transferred, you'll find out next week :)