Anziano Eads' 2 years in the Rome, Italy Mission

I made a video from some of the pictures that Nathan has sent us over his mission. Unfortunately not everyone is in it nor are all of his baptisms as those are on my other computer and not on the new one that I am now using.  I hope that after Nathan gets home he can edit this one or make his own with all of the pictures that he has.  I cannot embed it in the blog so I'll post the YouTube link. The hymn is Be Still My Soul because as an individual, and as part of our family, we testify that life is all about change, that change is the nature of both mortality and life and as such, we must place our hope, our faith, our love in our Father and in our Savior who provide an anchor, a rock as we navigate through life.

The challenge is not the changes that come, it is that we are still, and know in those times of change, that our Father is aware of us, knows us, knows our joys, our happiness, knows our afflictions, our trials, our sins and as such, prepared a way for us to overcome them, to endure them, and if nothing else, find meaning in that change. He will lift our burdens from our hearts if we let Him; key is IF we let Him. In the end, we are here, together, to lift each other, to comfort each other, to mourn when called upon to mourn together, to ease the burdens of each other, and to show what it means through our efforts to bless each others and be an example of the love of our Master.  The world is in need of love, less hate, less division, and more unconditional love.  In the end, it is our relationships with others that we truly believe matter, starting with our spouse, then our children, then family and from there, all of our Father's children.  A mission shows that, teaches that, hammers that lesson home and gives a foundation in which one can build upon for the rest of their lives. We know Nathan will do that, use that part of his life as a foundation to continue to build upon so he may bless the lives of others.

We thank President and Sister Waddoups for all that they have done for Anziano Eads, and for the wonderful pictures from both zone conferences and of Italy and the customs of the people of Italy. We give thanks to each of Nathan's companions for all that they have taught him, and hopefully for what he has shared with them. We are deeply appreciative to the LDS members of Italy, for their faith, love and support of Anziano Eads and for the people of Italy who have in anyway expressed their kindness and love towards him.  We know you have had a life long, no, eternal impact on our son and for that we are eternally grateful. We will continue to pray for you and the growth of the Church there long after Anziano Eads comes home.  Thank you!



Nathan Video 2 Years in Rome, Italy Mission

Email February 16th 2015 2nd to Last

What's up you guys?

So like always stuff from home right off the bat!

Believe me when I say I will probably make the adjustment back to normal life perfectly fine. I'm not super concerned, I can adapt really easily.  Dad nailed it when he said I've grown and matured, spiritually, and in every way.  I've had to change and adapt to change for two years and a missionary learns to do that well. Coming home means the area has changed, not all the lessons I've learned and how to apply them to life now. That will be the next challenge after the mission, to apply the spiritual lessons of two years to continue to grow for the rest of life through while navigating mortality. A mission and a mission in the Rome, Italy Mission is one of the best starts though!

Dang it! You got my song reference! I was hoping that it would be a new song. Poop!

Thanks for the info about the financial stuff. Yes, I'm buying a suit and some new shoes. So don't worry too much about it; I may buy some other things as well.

I'm super happy you guys enjoyed California! I can't believe I missed it by just two weeks, though! I'm a little sad about that, but hey there is always next year, so it should be okay. I've got plenty of time.

I'm glad the Valorie liked the car. It should be a great thing for her.That was really charitable to help her out by giving her the 2009 Altima.  Hopefully things get better for her. I'll keep her and Aiden in my thoughts and prayers. Thanks for taking care of the car I'll drive; I can't wait to start driving again.

I'm almost thinking about taking my original plan and go to SLCC and then transfer after I get my associate's. We'll see.

I was really thinking about going back to Iceberg, just because it seems like I can get my old job back easily enough, so it'd be a safe option. But I'll talk to Sister Fausett as well, just to see what I may need to do to get in.

This week was a great week for us. We were able to teach plenty of lessons to our investigators, and things went great!

We met with N this week, and we started reteaching him the lessons, as we both felt that would be a great idea. So we talked about the Restoration with him and we brought a surprise member with us. Anziano Zito came back for a day and he wanted to help with the work, so we brought him to the lesson with us. It was really good, and the spirit was fantastic! Great to see my former companion!

We also met with R this week, and we're rounding out the commandments with him. We talked about obedience this week, and he was d'accordo with all of that. We also talked about how the Lord always prepares a way to overcome our trials.

We also had a really good lesson with I, a friend of ADC's. She's (ADC) been an investigator for a while, and she been on and off. We talked about the differences that come into our lives when we accept the Gospel. We taught the lesson with our ward mission leader, and it was another super, powerful, spiritual lesson.

And that was all our appointments this week. This week is another full week, we have plenty of things to do, so it's gonna be fun!

Okay you guys, I love all of you! Talk to you for the potentially last time next week via email, then in person!

NaNa

Picture of Anziano Eads, Anziano Craig Jones (Nathan's companion) in the background with members eating Gelato.

Weekly Email for February 9th, 2015 (Only 2 more to go!!!!)

Another winter day has come and gone away in Paris and Rome, but I wanna go home...

What's up you guys. You may not recognize the song, but that's okay. I found it in the mission anyways.

So, stuff from home like always. And Mum first like always.

Thanks for the pic of my kilt. Let's say it right, it's a kilt, not a dress. And yes, I did show it to my friends thank you very much!!!! Nathan's sister is getting married in May and the wedding party is doing a Scottish theme with the men wearing their family kilt/tarton 

Well, I just checked my card and you were right, it expires at the end of the month. (HUGE. We got Nathan's replacement debit/visa card in the mail this week and so his expires on 2/28/15. So if you have a missionary out plan for an alternative way in case their card expires to get cash or or travelers checks for their trip home to pay luggage fees and custom dues).  So, I am going to do my best to get things figured out and email you guys the next week about the amount of cash I should potentially need. I will for sure let you know. But on the side, I did find a good Italian suit for cheap, no more than 120. So I could buy that as well.

Nice, I love hearing about baptisms!!! That's cool. 2 missionary reports huh? Yeah, I remember Conor. He's a pretty cool guy, glad that he had a good mission. OKay, since Dad talked about this too, I'll address it more later in combined stuff. Like the car as well....and the food.....Man lot of combined comments.

Sounds like Kendra's wedding is coming along fantastically. Glad I'll be home to see all that hard work pay off, and not having done a single thing myself! Oh boy, I'm gonna get it when I get home.

Valentine's Day in California! That's romantic. Sounds like things are gonna be good. Tell Dad's family I say hi and that I can't wait to see them in the future!

Okay for Dad:

1. Man, that's hard. I think it would probably have to be when I had my first baptism that I actually did the ordinance. (Favorite spiritual experience so far) 

2. Funny memory is easy: when I did a trust fall, and no one caught me. Taught me to never trust missionaries again! (funniest thing happen on the mission)

3. Still is Alma 29, but I've really grown to like the one that says "I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me." I think it's in Ephesians or something. (Favorite Scripture) 

4. I'm starting to rethink about Pathway and BYU-I. Just not getting that confirmation that I know should come. We'll see. (What he is going to do with school and work) 

5. I talked about change. Something about how the purpose of trials is to change us to become like Christ, and that everything we go through is part of the refiner's fire. (What his departing testimony at his last zone conference was on). 

6. SO 9 of us are heading home, but 5 of us are heading to SLC. A lot of them are my friends so it should be a fun ride. (How many missionaries are coming home. For those that may not know, the last group in January coming to Salt Lake had same itinerary as Nathan and somehow they missed the connection in Dallas and ended up spending the night there in motels. They got home Wednesday instead of Tuesday. THAT better not happen!). 

7. That is a really good question. I'm not quite sure yet. Still debating. (first thing he wants to purchase after coming home). 

Okay now for the combined things:

The new car looks and sounds amazing! Can you actually come pick me up in that instead of the Outback, because I would really love to drive it home once we hit Bangater.

So the talks sounded like they were good talks. I promise I will share mission experiences that will apply to the subject of my talk. I've had and seen plenty of experiences in my mission, so it should be fairly easy.

The food sounds good. I don't have a preference for the food. Just know, that I will be cooking a lot more when I get home. Get ready to eat gluten free pasta, Italian Style!!!!!!!!!

Well as for my week:

No interview this week either. R our investigator can't come to church because of hjs work situation, and he told us that he doesn't feel that he should be baptized if he can't come to church to take the sacrament and renew that coveant. He is looking for another job so that he can come to church as often as he can.

N our investigator is doing good. He attended the recovery course, and is doing some things to begin to overcome his addiction, like putting pictures of Jesus where the temptations are strongest. We encouraged him to put pictures of the Savior as his background on the computer. Hopefully it helps, just because this addiction is hard to break. Unfortunately he didn't come to church this Sunday. Speriamo bene!

We did meet with a new investigator. Her name is J and she is from Nigeria, and has lived in Italy for 20 years, so she speaks the language really well. We taught her the Restoration last night and it went really well. We're excited to have a new simp and we're for sure gonna see some awesome miracles!

Well, in all honesty, that's been about my week. Got some good member appointments lined up for this week. Our new ward mission leader is asking us to train all the members on how to use Preach my Gospel, so we're starting that tonight.

THings are going good, and I can't believe I only have 3 weeks left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



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Love you guys!

NaNa

Weekly Email February 2nd, 2015 ( Only 3 More Emails Left!)

Well here is this week's email. Only 3 LEFT!!!!

Sorry if my capitlization is gonna be off, it's cold and my hands are a little cold as well. It snowed here in Rome yesterday, and last night. My exema's kinda come back, but it's under control (Thank you Gold Bond lotion!).

So, let's start off with things from home. Mom first like always:

Man, you are super busy this week! I am so sorry for you, but it should be okay, things will calm down soon. You got a new car! That's awesome! And as for you being the new chaufeur, yeah right. Dad will never be able to stop driving. Like you said, Dad is a driver, not a passenger, he can't change that aspect of his personality!

I should see Anziano Kenney this weekend for a Bapt interview scambio, so I'll be sure to tell him that Bishop B says hi, and how my mom knows about that.

You like my tie? In truth, I only wear that tie to special events, like baptisms, confirmations, and the like. I thought, since this was my last zone conference I should wear that tie to show that I came into the field with that tie, and I'm going out with it. Also, because you gave it to me, I have to show that I still love it, and you!

Man, honestly it was a really good zone conference, I learned a lot about now having fear and being bold and having faith to expect a miracle. If you saw the pictures, I had to do another trust fall. Luckily, someone caught me this time, but it took a leap of faith this time.

Oh about Kendra's wedding. My waist size, not my pants size, is are you ready: (drumroll please)



39 INCHES! Man have I lost weight, so whatever size that is, you could make the kilt in that size. Well, I'm glad things are going good with all of that. Hopefully things aren't too bad, but yeah, I'm glad I'm in Italy so I don't have to deal with all of this.  (Sending this to Kendra and Marcus as well, so that they can share in the joy of hearing from me. They are family after all)

Okay responses to Dad's questions:

1. I'm coming home with the three I came out with, that way we can use them after I get home. They are still in really good condition. (Dad asked if he is coming home with all the luggage he went with or leaving one item as he had talked about doing that as some missionaries leave one of their bags). 
2. I am perfectly fine with waiting to come back to Italy, as long as we can come back! (We may have to postpone our trip until 2016 since Anziano Eads' sister is getting married and that is a lot of expense). 
3. Cool, already addressed the new car. (Told him about his Mom's new car since we are driving her old car to my older sister so she can have it).  
4. The car will stay clean. My old car was really clean, and it would've been better, if you had given me more of a warning about the sale. (We had the car Nathan will use detailed and it is super clean now and I informed him I want it to stay that way; in the past neither kid has a great reputation regardless of what Anziano Eads thinks he remembers of keeping their car clean; well at least to Dad's standard of keeping a car clean). 
5. Cool. (Dad got a Fiio X3 super hi fi stereo player that puts any iPod to shame for the clarity of the sound. Dad is on an anti Apple crusade right now).  
6. I think I'll be okay. (Dad asked if Anziano Eads will adjust to sleeping by himself and not with a companion).  
7. Will do Dad! (Some real cool connections with other Anziano in the area Nathan is serving. His companion Anziano Jones was trained by Anziano Burton and Anziano Burton who came home last transfer, his mom works at the school where I work and of course we have shared some observations and thoughts.  Then Anziano Kenny who is the Zone Leader with Anziano Kelly is best friends with Tyler, who is Anziano Eads' Mom's boss/owner son.  So lots of connections. That isn't clear: Anziano Kenny is best friends with Tyler who is the son of Todd who owns the company where Lynda (Anziano Eads' Mom) is the Controller.  

Well, what to say about this week. Some nice miracles happened, and then some things kinda brought it down.

Time to start with the bad news I guess I could say: Nabil didn't past his interview. He has some problems with the law of chastity, kinda like we suspected, but he opened up about everything now, and we can really start helping him out with everything, and overcoming his addiction.

We're gonna be doing all we can to help him out. We are going to see if he would let us install blocks on his computer to help him out, and we are also going to try and get him to attend the recovery corse that our ward holds every Tuesday at 8. I think that would help him out a whole lot. But man has he made some changes, and I have no doubt that he'll make more.

So we did have a miracle with Nabil this week. For a while, he hasn't been taking super good care of himself, wearing the same clothes and the like, but yesterday when he came to church, he had showered, shaved, and was in a nice button up shirt and suit! I couldn't even recognize him! It was nice to see some one who is really trying to come closer to Christ, and is willing to make changes for that.

Okay, bad news over, good stuff.

So we met with Robinson, whose another investigator, and he is awesome! He has expressed a strong desire to be baptized, and he is definitely working on that. He has accepted everything that the Roma 2 Anziani have taught before us, and he is willing to live the commandments. He should be having his baptismal interview on Saturday, but that is liable to change depending on the Capis. The only problem would be his work, as he helps an old sick man, and he can't always come to church. But he has told us when he can come, he will.

We also have a lot of referrals to contact, and we're working on getting them to be investigators. We set up appointments with two of them for this week, so by the end of it, we should most definitely have at least 2 new simps, but I feel inspired to say we'll have more.

Okay, well, that was our week in all honesty. Kinda rough at the end, but overall, on my point of view, things can only go up from here.

Next week, love you guys!

NaNa

Anziano Eads Last Zone Conference, Rome West

A HUGE thanks to Sister Waddoups for providing these shots of Anziano Eads at his last zone conference in the Rome West Zone.  He and Anziano Rasmussen came out together in the MTC and have served in the same area before.

Anziano Eads and Rasmussen (they were in the MTC together)

Anziano Eads and Rasmussen (they were in the MTC together)

Anziano Eads and Rasmussen with Sorella singing the Hymn of Rome  The tie he is wearing is significant. It is the tie his Mom got him and to me (his Dad) shows his love for his mother. Anziano Eads has ALWAYS worn a teal tie to zone conferences in the past, but this one was for his Mom as it should be. 

Anziano Eads being Nathan! 

Anziano Eads eating (soon no gluten for him at home!). 

Anziano Eads bearing his departing Testimony at the Zone Conference. At their first and then their final zone conference they bear their testimony (beliefs). These show some emotion on Nathan's part if you really know him and his mannerisms and Mom and Dad do. 

Anziano Eads bearing his departing testimony as he gets emotional . 

Anziano Eads departing testimony (looks to be intense for Nathan). 

Anziano Eads departing testimony

Anziano Craig Jones who is Anziano Eads' companion and Anziano Eads role playing. How grateful we are that Anziano Eads has such a great departing companion who works hard, loves the work and loves being a missionary (as you can tell from his letters on his blog at this LINK I really encourage you to read his blog, it's really wonderful and as with missionaries, you can see the growth over time).  

Anziano Eads role playing with the Sorella leaders. 

Anziano Eads role playing with a Sorella that was hurt. Last transfer Anziano Eads mentioned how he and Anziano Zito helped this Sorella and her companion out as she adjusted to being in the boot. 

Anziano Eads and the back of Anziano Jones' head as they role play or discuss. 

Coming Home

As Nathan's father, I have mix feelings to be honest about him coming home. I fear that I won't be as sensitive to daily miracles that occur in all of our lives if we have the faith to exercise, do the work to bring them about, and listen to the Spirit to know we are where we should be. What a blessing it is to have a missionary out as it rises one's own spiritual growth.  I do not think I can share ALL the many, many blessings that Nathan's service has brought to him, to his mother, to me, and to his sister. I testify that Nathan is closer to our Father in Heaven, having left a spiritual youth and is coming home a spiritual son of of God. 

I am not sure if I have shared this YouTube clips on here, but man, this video sure brings back memories. I remember driving down to the MTC a 30 minute drive, and then walking around and taking pictures with Elder Nathan Eads. I remember driving over, pulling over, opening the back of the Pathfinder and a missionary taking out the bags as Nathan said good-bye. I got in one kiss on his forehead and a love you before Nathan was walking forward, never looking back, anticipating the journey that was coming. I will never forget the grief and loss I felt for the next two weeks until I prayed with all my heart to my Father and He answered me, reminding me that Nathan was His son long before Nathan became my son. That our Father loved Nathan and as with me, almost 30 years ago, our Father had taken care of me, protected me, blessed me, taught me, and transformed my life. Would I deny my son that opportunity? The opportunity that solidified my own conversion to the Gospel and provided the foundation that ensures I cannot walk away or deny what I have learned? There was more but the point was made, and suddenly as I gave Nathan, my only son and one of only two children that were miracles that came into our lives, to my Father, the burden was lifted, my heart was comforted and I knew then that I had to trust in my Father. I had to exercise faith in Him as I have done in the past. 

I remember shoes with holes and have a picture or two of Nathan with shoes with holes in them. I remember working in them in the winter and again in the summer in North Carolina with water seeping in and soaking my socks.  It was a great feeling. 

Finally, I hope we can provide to Nathan the joy of coming home to a family. I hope and I know and testify that the home coming that happens at the airport is a micro experience of what it is like to go home and be greeted by our family and loved ones in the Spirit World. In the end it is family that is the cornerstone of our faith. I cannot wait to give Nathan a huge hug. Coming home in 5 weeks and yes, I admit it, I am SO looking forward to it! 

I modified a couple of words to fit for serving in Italy: 

Coming Home

I said good-bye to my old life, 

Followed my heart, for more than five thousand miles, 

I lived the joy, I've known the pain, 

I felt the hand of God, out on those frozen streets, 

I walk today, on blistered feet, 

And now the echo of these canyon walls 

Make me want to sing, 

I've never seen beautiful, like a journey's end, 

When nameless faces become my best friends

I've never seen wonderful, like walkin on, 

Into this mountain fortress that God made of stone, 

I've never seen trouble rolling underneath my feet

I'm coming home, 

I prayed so hard, my faith would last,

Buried my past on those ancient streets, 

We all had nights, we'd lie awake, 

Prayin we'd wouldn't ever be the ones, who never got to say, 

I've never seen beautiful, like a journey's end, 

When nameless faces become my best friends

I've never seen wonderful, like walkin on, 

Into this mountain fortress that God made of stone, 

I've never seen trouble rolling underneath my feet

I'm coming home, 

I thank my God, on aching knees, 

I raise my prayers, and He hears me, 

I've never seen beautiful, like a journey's end, 

When nameless faces become my best friends

I've never seen wonderful, like walkin on, 

Into this mountain fortress that God made of stone, 

I've never seen trouble rolling underneath my feet, 

Oh, I never seen anything that feels, 

Like coming home, 

Like coming home, 

I've never seen beautiful 

and I'm coming home

Weekly Email January 26th 2015 "Oo I wanna be there in my city . . . "

Tell me if you guys get the song reference! (Anziano Eads is putting a song reference in his email titles from now until he comes home). 

Well, the hectic week of transfers is over, and I had a really different experience. I had to help organize and then move people around for transfers. Not a whole lot, but only a little bit. Just had to have some people come and stay over and then get them where they needed to be. I guess it comes with being one of the oldest missionaries whose staying in Rome.

But things are going good cumunque.  Anziano Jones is a great dude. He likes to work hard, and I'm glad, because I want to keep the work growing here in Roma 6 and he's definitely gonna do that. I'm happy I got some one like him as my last comp (KILLER) (Killer is the companion that sends you home. The missionaries call it dying when you leave the mission and your last companion is your "killer."  Weird reference in our opinion). It's gonna be a fun transfer.

All right things from home.

Wow that be some car deals going down (My older sister's car gave up the ghost and we are getting a new car for Lynda and proving my sister with Lynda's older car). Thanks for getting the car already to go, I really appreciate it (We got the car Nathan is going to drive/have all tuned up and worked on, and it will be totally detailed this week).

Sounds like you guys are keeping Kendra busy and that things should be going okay. The room won't be too bad, So in answer to your questions, yes it is the same color as at the one house and I don't really care about my bedding color. Whatever you want. I was thinking a cool brown or something to go with the color of the room.

 Okay now answers to Dad's questions. This is gonna be long :

1.  Yes Dad I still have my iPod shuffle. I have iTunes installed on my hard-drive, and I use that to change music on the computers, whichever one I need to use.

2. Camera is starting to frick out a little, the screen goes inverted colors, but it's holding out fine. I just have to smack it.

3. Yes (Dad asked if he had kept a journal on his mission). 

4. That is hard. Depends. I really loved Napoli, but I also really loved Ragusa as well. It's a tie. I have learned from all of them though and enjoy each in its own unique way (Question was favorite area so far). 

5. A. Sleep.
    B. Relax
    C. Eat American Food. (What 3 things is he looking forward to doing when he gets home). 

6. I'll need new ones.

7. I wanna see all of you. But as for Coda in particular, false. I really wanna see my Xbox. (Asked if he wanted to see our beagle Coda more than anyone/joke). 

Well, one heck of a week later, and the work is going good.

It was for sure a different experience having to really help out a lot with transfers, that was something I've never done before. But I enjoyed it, helping others out and making sure they got where they needed to be. Anziano Jones arrived perfectly fine, and we started working right away.

So, we've met with Nabil a few times this week, and we answered some of the questions he had about a lot of things. The nature of God, more about the Holy Ghost, and then the temple. He's actually asking some good questions and he really wants to know more about the Gospel, but it's the profound doctrines. We've tended to focus on the basics, so he's doing okay. We did move his date to the 7th to give us a little leeway to get him an interview. This Saturday the interview should go down.

Oh, we have another new investigator. Robinson was an investigator for Rome 2 but he lives in our area so they passed him to us this week. We met with him on Wednesday and taught him the Law of Chasity, and that was an amazing experience. Robinson accepted the commandment without any problems, and now he's been taught everything. He also has a date for the 7th and he is on track for the interview this Saturday as well.

Besides that, it's been finding and trying to contact people. It's kinda interesting every time we call and no one picks up their phone. But we're not giving up hope, still trying our best to keep the work growing, and the Lord is definitely blessing us for doing so.

All right you guys, next week!

Love ya!

NaNa