This joy and happiness is something that we can see all throughout life. The answer is Jesus Christ and His Atonement.

December 26, 2016

 Merry Christmas to all! This week was amazing!! The Christmas season definitely brings so many miracles and it seems like our work is exploding!! 

  So the beginning of this week was pretty crazy with traveling for district caroling. Monday everyone was here in Ascoli and caroling was great! We'll talked to so many people and gave out a lot of bigliettini! (pass along cards) Then the next day we went to L'Aquila to paint their house which was a fun district activity. Then we had district meeting and caroling so that was fun. Early the next morning we were back in Ascoli, which was nice. Then that night we had a Christmas party at our apartment for the ward which was great we had a couple of investigators there one of which was Silvano. I was talking to Silvano and he is continuing to read the book of Mormon and he read the restoration pamphlet again and loved it! It's awesome to see the love and understanding he has for this Gospel! Silvano also came to church for the first time and he really like it, even stayed after to talk to us about the how much he liked the talks in church. I'm very happy to see the joy that has been brought into his life!

Christmas Eve was just filled with awesome miracles. First off in the morning an old investigator Francesca who was taught once about 3 months ago randomly rang at our door and we talked for a while and she is now going to start meeting with us again starting today! Then later that day we had a lesson with the mother of a convert who was baptized about 3 years ago. And she really liked it.  It was awesome to have members present to bare sincere testimony on how much the Gospel of Jesus Christ can bless a family. We look forward to meeting with her to share more joy!

  So about a week ago I found a guitar place, walked in looked  around for a bit because I was actually looking for a ukulele, then we talked to the owner for bit and left a bigliettino. We came back this week to get a ukulele and he invited us to his Christmas Eve party. So after the lesson we were on the way to the party and were stopped but our soon to be new friend Erik! He is African and asked if we were the church of Christ and said that he had been looking for us! He's talked to missionaries in the past when he was in Africa and really liked it, so he's been looking for us and finally found us and stopped us. So that was just a super miracle! It's not just a saying that the elect will find you! We are meeting with him this week and are very excited to see how it goes! So back to the party, we showed up and the owner was super excited to see us! It was such an awesome time because everyone was kinda confused of who we were and what we are doing here especially that I am American, So they asked and we talked to a lot of people about missionary work! The owners family was there and super happy to meet us, we were having a great time and ended up being the last people to leave. We hope to be able to meet with all of them again someday! 

  

  Then Christmas was super fun, we had church which was great with Silvano there. Then after church we just went over to our group leader's the Teodosi's house and did Christmas with them all day it was just awesome to be there in a family atmosphere! My bishop from Rome was there because he is our group leader’s son; it was cool to get closer to his family. We ate so much and just hungout, my companion got to email his family Sunday, it was just great!

  This Christmas season I think I have seen more than ever the light of Christ not only in my life and through out my day but also in those around me. There have been so many miracles this week. I know that all of this is from the extra emphasis of the life of Jesus Christ during this special season! This joy and happiness is something that we can see all throughout life. The answer is Jesus Christ and His Atonement. I love Christmas here and the opportunity I have to be able to serve the Lord at the same time!

Have a great week and continue to enjoy the happiness that comes from our Savior Jesus Christ!

Vi voglio bene 

Anziano Ruiz 

  

 Here is my desk decorated for Christmas with a classic Italian meal. Pasta! Haha

 

Christmas day with the Teodosi's and Bosco family! 

 A cool pizza place we went to

roman.ruiz@myldsmail.net

Anziano Roman Ruiz

Missione Italiana di Roma

Piazza Monte Gemma, 9

00141 Roma Italia

I know that through Christ we can find light in this world at any time

December 19, 2016

  This week was a good one! We had zone conference which was good. I always enjoy going back to Rome! Anyway, the conference was good, we talked a lot about working with the leaders in your ward which is interesting because we don't have any haha. But we also talked about working with the members which was really cool. One quote that I liked was "The missionary's responsibility's are to help and assist the missionary work of the ward." This shows the great responsibility that the ward has to do missionary work. 

  Yesterday we got to meet with Silvano (who is from Africa)and it was super good, we've been meeting with him about once a week but he hasn't really wanted to keep commitments. We have had some good lessons with him the past couple of weeks and they have been going a lot better, he really likes the book of Mormon now. So this last time we met with him he had read 3 chapters and a pamphlet we gave him two weeks ago. Then he was really excited to talk about it with us. We didn't even ask him and he was already talking about how he has to keep all of the commitments on the back of the pamphlet. So we are really excited to see where the lord takes him!

 

  This week while we were finding I saw a picture of a guy throwing the discus in side of a shop so we walked in and I asked if he sold that kinda stuff and he said no. But it turned out that the picture was of his son. His son is on the Italian Olympic team and placed 3rd in disc this last Olympics! Well I'm pretty sure at least, haha unless understood wrong. But that was really cool, he showed us where a track was so maybe I'll do some running in the morning!

   Anziano Ferinotti and I watched the Christmas devotional this week and it was really good. One thing I really liked was "there is no Christmas without Easter". Christmas is a wonderful time that we get to remember the birth of Jesus Christ but this birth would be no more different or special than any other if it wasn't for the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ. Through this magnificent event, Jesus Christ became our Lord Savior and redeemer of this world! I know that through Christ we can find light in this world at any time. I am so grateful for him and everything that he is. I love this Gospel so much and the opportunity I have to share it everyday!

  I hope you all have a great week and a merry merry Christmas!

Vi voglio bene!

Anziano Ruiz 

roman.ruiz@myldsmail.net

Anziano Roman Ruiz

Missione Italiana di Roma

Piazza Monte Gemma, 9

00141 Roma Italia

Rome East Zone Conference

  

Missionary Nativity play after zone conference

Beautiful Ascoli Piceno

The track! 

A cool guitar shop I found

 Just some Christmas decorations that I made.

New Haircut

I can't explain how great this work is, but the fact that the all mighty God calls it a "marvelous work" is amazing to me

December 12, 2016

  Man every week gets faster! This week was great! To start out I did a scambio (exchanges) with our district leader in Pescara and that was super cool. For our morning workout we went on a run to the beach then played football there, it was really fun and made me miss the good old Friday night lights! Haha on the other side of the scambio my trainer was with a Pescara Anziano in Ascoli. they had some new people in English course and after they had the spiritual thought they were really interested to learn more about our church so that was an awesome afternoon miracle!

  We have a member here in Ascoli whose name is Andraya. He is an awesome member missionary! We called him the other night so see if he could do a lesson with us the next day, but told him the lesion might fall through or that we might not need him and that we would call the next day to see if we need him. Then the next morning 3 hours before the appointment he called us an said "Elders, I'm ready for the lesson!" it ended up being a huge miracle that he was there! Andraya  knows this gospel so well and helped our friend Francesco understand so much. He turned a lesson that could have gone downhill to a great lesson. Andraya also takes us out once a week and brings us to referrals. He is just an awesome example of love for missionary work and this gospel! When I get off my mission I want to strive to be like this! Through missionary work we can find so much joy and are promised so many blessings! 

  The beginning of this week we had very few lessons and it was a little discouraging, Saturday night for finding we really wanted to find some more people to share our message with. So we tried our best to find and had no luck. Church the next day was amazing, our investigator Francesco came for all three hours and loved it! Then a member convert Alex brought his brother, whose name is also Andraya,  and he loved church too. After church we had more lessons that just kinda popped up. Sunday was great and definitely made the week a lot better! This week was a representation of enduring to the end to me.  I love and strive to live the scripture 3 Nephi 15:9 "look unto me and Endure to the end". I know that when we look unto God that we can Endure all things and through that we will find great blessings awaiting us! 

  Again, I can't explain how great this work is, but the fact that the all mighty God calls it a "marvelous work" is amazing to me. I love being a missionary and helping people every day. I love Ascloi and couldn't ask to be anywhere else! 

Thank you all for the prayers support and love! 

Buona settimana.

Vi voglio bene.

Anziano Ruiz

On the coast of Pescara, during the scambio.

Centro with Christmas stuff up.

Sant' Emidio

Sant' Emidio at the end.

Centro during the day.

roman.ruiz@myldsmail.net

Anziano Roman Ruiz

Missione Italiana di Roma

Piazza Monte Gemma, 9

00141 Roma Italia

I invite all to practice their Christ-like attribute of gratitude through counting blessings

December 5, 2016 
  This week was over in the blink of an eye! I don't have much time so this might be short. A couple of days ago I went back to Rome for my Promesso, so now I'm legal here haha finally. Then Sunday we had a big stake conference in a nice hotel because the churches aren't big enough here, haha anyway it was really good. it was also super awesome to see a lot of the friends that I made in Rome, there are some much cool people there! I miss the GANS, youth and the families, there are a ton that I miss, they are all super awesome! I also got to see a lot of missionaries which is always a treat!

  Saturday night I went on a scambio with Anziano Cagnacci he is a greeny in his second transfer right now and is native Italian so that was super fun I hope I'll get to serve with him one day! so that night we went to a dinner appointment with the Olmos family. Right before I left Rome I met them and we both really wanted to have dinner together but I got transferred so we couldn't. So it was super awesome that we got to do that! they are so so awesome!! Their boys played the guitar and it was so sweet haha I wanna learn someday when I'm home! the Olmos are from Sandpoint Idaho that's why we got along so well! I have family  there. After dinner and the guitar playing with shared a spiritual thought on blessings, the spirit was amazing! there is the saying that goes "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% what you do with it" and it applies perfectly to counting blessings and happiness. Through blessings we can recieve 10% happiness but when we recognize them, thank God for them, show gratitude and maybe even write them down we can receive 90% more happiness. I invite all to practice their Christ-like attribute of gratitude through counting blessings, and by this we can experience the true joy that a simple blessing like "the sun was out today" can bring.

  Also this  week we had the chance to meet with our friend Silvia! She loves the missionaries so much but is not to interested in changing her beliefs. Silvia is about 75 and works as a tailor. A couple of weeks ago we gave her a Book of Mormon. We wanted  follow up and it went okay, she is really set on her beliefs. For the closing prayer she asked me to give a prayer but for it to be spontaneous and from the heart, which is perfect because that is how we believe we should pray. So I said the prayer (in my not so perfect Italian) and after she was crying and told us how she felt that spirit so strong that we are certainly two special angels in her life, and how grateful she is to know us. It was an awesome experience and a huge testimony to me of the amazing power that a simple prayer can bring into a room. I love being here, making friends and bringing the spirit to people's live's, it is such a great opportunity. 

Thank you all for everything and have a great week!!

Vi voglio bene 

Anziano Ruiz 

 Some awesome members that we visit every Wednesday. They are so crazy loving  and just straight up Italian! Daughter - Alessandra, Grandma, Mom - Roberta. 

Of course, have to take a picture of the Maserati/ Ferrari store.

More cooking

 More sandwich making      

Christmas tree Mom made and sent from home.

  roman.ruiz@myldsmail.net

Anziano Roman Ruiz

Missione Italiana di Roma Piazza Monte Gemma, 9 00141 Roma Italia

I am so happy to be here on a mission, to share the amazing Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to spread happiness and salvation.

November 28, 2016  

  This week was great!! Tons of miracles! So the man we found last week is progressing so much! It is awesome his name is Francesco and as of right now he has accepted a baptismal date for the 17th of December. Francesco told us that a couple of weeks ago he had a dream and saw two bright people that he didn't know but he knew he could trust them, as he was explaining this to us he said that he now knows that they were us. So that was a really cool story to hear. So he has been a huge miracle, he will say comments to us during lessons like "when I am baptized.." or after well say a phrase starting with "if this is true..." he will say "if it wasn't true I wouldn't be here". He also said that he felt like his life needed a new path and he knows this is it. Francesco is awesome!

  This week we also had a Thanksgiving party at our apartment which was super fun! I  We were invited to go to Pescara (2 hour train ride away) for a thanksgiving party but Anziano Ferinotti said that it would be better to have our own here so members can actually come, and try to invite investigators. So we did that and since I was the American of our group here I was in charge to plan it. But luckily for me when you have a party with Italians you can just tell people there will be food and have them bring something and that's all you have to do. Haha so we did that and had an awesome turn out! It was amazing we had about all the members, some English course students and their friends, and we had about 6 investigators.  It was great to be able to talk to everyone and strengthen relationships with investigators, you become more friends instead of a teacher to then. That's how it should be. It was also great  to see where my Italian has come by talking to so many people. It was overall a great experience.

  The other day we randomly ran into Paulo in Centro, He is a referral that we met with my first day here. We tried to have a lesson the first time with him but he didn't have time but we were able to leave him a Book of Mormon. It turns out that he read 20 pages of the book of Mormon! Such a miracle! We are trying to get an appointment with him. I'm excited to see what the lord has planned!

  We had a lot of other miracles this week but it would be too long of an email to tell them all. The end of this week was slower, One day we had 4 lessons planned and none of them happened; So later that night while I was writing in my journal I had the opportunity to write my testimony and just reflect on what I am doing here and where the lord has taken me. I am so happy to be here on a mission, to share the amazing Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to spread happiness and salvation. There is nothing I would rather be doing. I love you all and hope the best for you. Thank you so much for the prayers I can truly see them throughout my day :) Have a great week!

Vi voglio bene

Anziano Ruiz

 Piazza Ventidio Basso

 

Places I see every day 

There are so many cool streets here. This is just what you think of when you think of Italy.

   

11 pound bag of pasta!

 roman.ruiz@myldsmail.net

Anziano Roman Ruiz

Missione Italiana di Roma Piazza Monte Gemma, 9 00141 Roma Italia

New area, Ascoli Piceno!

November 21 2016 

  It was a crazy week with transfers but it still went super fast! So last Monday I got my transfer call to Ascoli Piceno to serve with Anziano Farinotti!! I was so sad to leave Rome, I really loved it there. The people are awesome and I will miss the GANS. But I was really excited to come here to and serve with Farinotti. I actually wanted to come to Ascoli because I heard they get snow for Christmas! So it was a wish come true, it is so pretty here! I am in the middle of the mountains so everything is very green I love it so much. You can look up in the mountains and just see little houses scattered around its super cool. The Centro here is awesome too, it is super old school Italian, so so cool I love it! 

  Getting here I first took a bus to L'Aquila and that ride was absolutely beautiful.. I can't explain it.  It was just so pretty. Then I met my companion in L'Aquila and went to Ascoli, It was dark so I couldn't watch out my window sadly. Anziano Farinotti is awesome!! He is a native Italian from Bergamo, up north. We already knew each other from a mission conference a while ago so I was really excited to serve with him. He is learning English  but it is already pretty dang good. We talk in Italian when we are out of the house which is sweet because I need the practice, I am really excited to learn a lot more Italian.
  It is a big blessing to have Anziano Farinotti as a companion. We work good together, my first night here (Thursday) we were on the way to Centro to do some finding (about a 15 min walk), and offered an old man some help to carry his groceries. He said no but then asked us about out church and what we were doing. We started talking to him taught him a little about the book of Mormon and he said we could meet again. So we met Sunday and had a lesson about the restoration it was good!
  My first day here (Friday) we already saw some awesome miracles! Maria Pia is an investigator who plans weddings so she is always super busy and never has time to meet. We really wanted to see her so we planned on bringing her some brownies Saturday morning so we did and she was home! She was so excited to see us! Maria Pia loves the missionaries so much! She told us she she is usually never home on Saturday mornings and it was a miracle that we got to see her! While we were visiting her she asked if she could say a prayer and she thanked God for letting us see her. That was an awesome miracle.
  My first Sunday day here was great!! We have church in our apartment and it is such and awesome experience! There are about 10 members that come and they are great examples to me. It is amazing to see how sacred every hour of church is to them, especially the sacrament. You can just feel the love that all in the room have for the atonement of Jesus Christ. The spirit is amazing.
  Since our apartment is the church we can have people over which is sweet, usually we are not even supposed to tell people where we live. It is a unique experience and opportunity we have and one that not a lot of missionaries get. I am very thankful for that!! For thanksgiving we are having a party at the apartment with the members, I am really excited! Being in Ascoli and having church in my apartment also means that we have to keep the house really clean, but that has been cool, it has actually grown my testimony that on how a house can be the closest thing spiritually to a temple. And the first step is cleanliness. I thank my mom for teaching me how to clean / making me clean. Haha Anyway Ascoli is super awesome and I love the people here so much already! I can't wait to help grow God's kingdom!
  Thank you everyone for all the prayers. Have a great week!

Vi voglio bene!

Anziano Ruiz 

 The bus ride from Rome to L'Aquila was beautiful. 

(these pictures, through the bus window, do no justice to this beautiful countryside)

This is what I think of when I think of Italy.

My new companion, Anziano Farinotti, and I.

Here is Centro of Ascoli, it is super sweet. We do finding in all of these areas.

 

  Some pictures from the roof of my apartment, pretty sweet.

  It's amazing to see the members commitment to follow Jesus Christ. Even if that means going to church in a apartment. Here is how we set up.

Forte Malatesta

On the way home from pronzo there was a soccer game with a ton of people watching outside the stadium.  It was super cool. 

Last meal I made for Anziano Anderson and myself.

 roman.ruiz@myldsmail.net

Anziano Roman Ruiz

Missione Italiana di Roma Piazza Monte Gemma, 9 00141 Roma Italia