Happy New Year!

Famiglia mia!

Wow it was incredible to talk to you all at Christmas and I want to say thank you for all of your cards, gifts, and prayers!! It has really been an incredible Christmas for me and one that I will always remember.. You all sounded great and I hope the hour lasted long enough to get you through for the next call.. I know it did for me!! I will have to be somewhat short today, but I just wanted to let you all know of the wonderful work that is going on here.. We are working with our friend Maria Grazia right now.. Just the other day we had the most incredible lesson with her where we felt the Spirit of the Lord uplift and testify to all of us.. Following the lesson Maria Grazia offered up a prayer in which she recognized us as representatives of the Lord.. I've been in the mission for a little bit of time now, I've been studying the lanuage, learning the doctrines, doing my best to be the best representative of the Lord in all that I do.. At times it's hard, at times it's the most difficult thing in my entire life.. When Maria Grazia said that the other day and thanked her Father in Heaven for having sent us there everything else in this world just hit me like a blind-side crack-back.. I have never felt such happiness and joy in my entire life. Without fail there has never been a moment more rewarding, self-satisfying, and ultimately humbling in my entire life. I felt there for a moment what truly comes from the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the great opportunity that we all have to become like Him.. That He is the Master, the Captain, and He set the perfect example for us and as we continue to strive to change and alter our lives through repentance and following the commandments, we truly do begin to taste on the happiness that He has for each and every single one of us.. Being that this week is the week for reviews and for resolutions, I invite all of us to put the Savior and what He would think of our decisions in each of the goals and evaluations we make for this upcoming year.. Each and every year we become amazed by the fact that our resolutions and our goals are those of the same from the year before.. I promise by doing this that not only will you find the goal more easy do to the fact that it was made with the consent of our Savior, but that throughout this upcoming year we will have the continual help and guidance from Him, our Brother.. We know thoroughly that the Lord gives us commandments and obstacles only with that relating to Spiritual matters.. Make this New Years Resolution a spiritual matter by putting the Lord first through a prayer, the scriptures, and the commandments and this following year will be one that not only will you remember for the rest of your life, but will change the rest of your life entirely.. Again, I'm so thankful for all of you and for all that you do for me.. I'm humbled for your help and your prayers and for the amazing opportunity we had to talk.. I love you all and I wish you all a Happy New Year and a Buon Anno!!

Con felicità e una preghiera,
Anziano Gatchell