What a week...

Buon giorno la mia famiglia!!

Another wonderful week in Napoli.. Everything from rainstorms to a baptism this week, and maybe my hatred towards the holiday Halloween has changed!! Everyone sounds great at home.. Wyatt that's awesome that you are taking care of your Eagle, I remember when I did mine.. There was just so much joy, so much satisfaction, nothing better! But really, way to go.. I hope all is well at home, that's great news about the Pheasant Run house, go out and celebrate for getting that taken care of! How was the trip with Nana and Grandad? I sent them a post card so hopefully it was waiting for them when they got home.. As to my week this week... Where to begin! So last week was the baptism of Anna Pernozzoli Di Martino.. We found her the last week of my first transfer and I could not be more happy for her and her family right now.. Her husband was killed just a year ago.. She is the most wonderful Naptan woman and she has a heart of gold.. We joke nonstop with each other and to say that the Gospel has changed, is changing, and will change her life is to say the least.. When we first met her she was so distraught, overwhelmed, and stressed about life.. We tried talking with her about everything, putting every teaching principle to the test and hoping that the Spirit would help her along the way in understanding and finding peace in her life.. She has a condition with her eyes, though. We couldn't find her a Book of Mormon in Italian that was bigger.. When we finally went to great lengths to spend the thirty euro and make one at a copy center, everything changed.. I want to share with all of you my testimony of that book and the absolute power that it has in the lives of each and every individual that reads from it.. Anna was distraught, she has three girls, no income, and no one to help her....Then she began to read the Book of Mormon.. 1 Nephi, 2 Nephi, Alma, Helaman... Within only a few short weeks she had finished the entire thing and has just restarted it to comprehend more fully.. Anna bore her testimony that the peace she was searching for, the broken heart she never thought would be fixed is now the strongest aspect of her life.. As I sat there and listened to her share with us about her experience I felt the most miraculous feeling in the world.. For a moment there I felt a little piece of joy that I had never felt in my entire life.. This work is the work of the Lord and He is in the details.. He has prepared Anna for many years, He showed her along the way, He brought that peace into her life.. Please, family, I plead with you to read that book. I'm starting it for my fifth time in the mission right now and there are so many blessings to take from it.. It truly is the "most correct book on the earth" and " a person can get closer to God by abiding by it's precepts".. It's the truth.. Just yesterday we were meeting with our friend Alessandro who is about twenty years old.. He explained to us how he doesn't know why but when he reads this book he has joy.. He feels something that there is no where else in his life.. Alessandro will be baptized in the upcoming weeks.. Because of this book I know my Savior.. Because of this book I know that we can be together forever.. I know that I can have my own family someday and have more happiness now and for eternity because of this book.. I can't express to all of you the power that it has, and it's so real.. Please continue to feast upon those words! And when you have eaten the whole thing, keep your fork and call for seconds because the Lord will guide you in ALL aspects of life through the teachings in the Book of Mormon and through the Spirit of Revelation that we are entitled to each and every day.. I'm so thankful for all of your love and your support.. Know that I am doing great and that I have never felt so much joy in my entire life.. Elder Neal A. Maxwell said that "the first principles of the Gospel are for the last days." President Packer also described a miracle as "putting the basic principles of the Gospel into practice." I know this is true and I am seeing the miracles every single day.. The Italian people are ready for this message, they need your prayers.. I love you all and I'm thankful for your prayers.. I feel them every single day and I couldn't help in the Lord's work without them.. If there's anything that anyone at home needs from me let me know!! I'm only a soccer throw away (wait what?? soccer??) Arrivederci!!

Con amore,
Anziano Gatchell