Learning about the gospel of Jesus Christ and applying it to your life is the fastest way to find lasting happiness!

February 13, 2017

  This week felt pretty fast! So I'm staying in Ascoli!! I have a new companion his name is Anziano Parkinson he's super sweet!  We were actually in the same MTC group so we've both been out just over 7 months. The cool thing is that my trainer Anziano Anderson was his follow up trainer so we have a lot of story's about him haha anyway we get along and work very well together!

  So my old companion Anziano Farinotti is training in Napoli right now so that's pretty exciting for him. I was really happy to serve with him for 3 months! I really learned a lot and we did some great work here together! I'll miss him, especially asking him how to say stuff in Italian correctly that was really nice haha. So when Anziano Farinotti left I made him some carbonara for one of the last meals and wow, I surprised myself, it was good! Anz. F said that it was one of the best carbonaras he's had in his life so coming from an Italian, I was pretty proud of myself! Some lucky friends will get some when I get home! So I'm happy that I'm learning how to make good food!

  The day before Anziano Farinotti left we pretty much stopped by all of our good friends that we have made here and it was super fun and good! The first person we met with was Francesca she was an investigator a while ago I've taught her only one time but I remember that she really felt the spirit while we taught her. She's in a difficult time in her life right now and wants more joy. She kinda stopped seeing us because she just had too much going on; but since Farinotti was leaving she came to say bye. So when she came we started talking about why she stopped seeing us and taught a little lesson. We told here we are here to help the people in her situation, meeting with us, learning about the gospel of Jesus Christ and applying it to your life is the fastest way to find lasting happiness! But it's all a choice, it's all her choice, we invited her to find her faith that she already had and to meet with us to find this happiness in her life! It was a very spiritual lesson and she agreed to do so. So we are really happy for her and to watch as the lord heals a wounded soul!

 With Anziano Parkinson and I being so young in the mission and serving together we have a lot of positive energy for the work! It is so sweet and we are seeing this energy impact the work here in Ascloi which is just awesome! So our first day here we had a good long weekly planning session to get him familiar with the work that we have here already. After that we had some appointments lined up for the evening but they all fell through. We were left with 4+ hours of street finding to do. So we went out and attacked the finding. The whole time we talked to every person we saw! If we weren't having a conversation then we'd stop someone and have one. And it was like that for just about the whole 4 hours strait. It was sweet and just in that one night we got about 10 new contacts which is probably more than we've gotten since I've been here! The next day we had a sweet service volunteering at a pharmacy, it was really cool and there were some other volunteers there also. We had a good conversation with them and got 5 new contacts then finding that night we got another 3-4 contacts! We are on fire finding right now and it's just sweet! One cool thing is one of the nights we were finding we ran into Francesca’s mom and little sister and started talking to them and the mom said that she's been wanting a spiritual uplift in her life so we said "We can do that for you that's why we're here!!". So me and Anziano Parkinson are working together so good and we are ready to blow up the work even more here in Ascoli!

  Another perk about being young in the mission and having an American companion is we actually do stuff other than email on pdays! So I'll have some more Pday adventures in Italy to tell! Today was super sweet we pretty much just went around the city and looked for some sweet pictures to take! It was a success! We tried getting to the bell tower of the building of the main Piazza here but it was closed off so we decided to ask the guy at the front desk if there was a way we could somehow get up there and he said no but was still excited to meet two Americans and actually ended up giving us a huge personal tour of the building! It was super sweet and we got to see "the key to the city" and everything. There is just so much detail in everything here its so beautiful! So we had a sweet Pday and are ready to attack another week! I'm so happy to be a serving here in Ascoli and with Anziano Parkinson. I love the missionaries and the miracles that we get to see every day, it's truly amazing!

I hope everyone has a great week! Thank you for the prayers and support! 

Vi voglio bene! 

Anziano Ruiz 

New companion Anziano Parkinson

I have more fully found myself as I have lost myself in the service of others.

February 6, 2017

  Wow this week flew by and so did this transfer! We get transfer calls tonight and I would love to stay because I have grown a great love for the people here, but I also love to be where the lord wants me! Even if that means leaving. This week started a little slow and ended strong!

  We always have Silvano Sunday night so the very last appointment of the week. It’s a pretty smart idea because even if we do have a slow week we can end on a great note! Silvano received the Aaronic priesthood yesterday and it was an awesome experience. Since I've been here in Ascloi I've been able to be a part of many different priesthood ordinances and I have really seen and especially felt the power of God manifest through them. It's just amazing that we have this power on the earth today and it's such a blessing.

  So something funny. Our member Alex, who is my age, asked me to give him and his friend haircuts this week when they came over for lunch. It's funny that they totally trusted me that I could give them a haircut and they thought I knew how to cut hair because I think I mentioned it to them a couple weeks back just messing around. But the truth was I'd never cut anyone's hair before so I totally didn't know what I was doing! Haha so they came over and I made some good pasta for us then I cut their hair. Haha so I actually did a good job! And they were calling me "barber Ruiz" haha they thought I was super good! It was really funny! My mom must have passed the genes down!

  We had a pretty cool experience this week. So there are two referrals that are older women named Giuliana and Rita. Rita is the daughter and she is in very bad conditions from an accident I believe, and Giuliana takes care of her. So the first time we met with them was the first week I was here; and we have been trying to meet with them ever since. This week we finally got to meet with the them again! So we went with Andraya the member who gave us the referral; in the past lessons have gone not as planned with him. So we wanted to share the message of the Restoration and we planned for that specifically. Then when we got there we were just talking about the situation and what not then I felt like the Restoration wasn't the right message for them, so I told my companion that I thought we should teach the Plan of Salvation. And that's what we did. We had already mentioned that we were going to share the Restoration so we explained to them what we felt prompted to do, then taught the Plan of Salvation very simply but with such great power and spirit. And it was perfect for them, we really hit the Atonement and Resurrection, they were such special points for them that gave them so much hope for what is to come. Rita just had the biggest smile on her face and it was so good to see the happiness we brought into the room. This is why I love serving. I love to make people happy! Also President Spencer W. Kimball said, “We become more substantive as we serve others—indeed, it is easier to ‘find’ ourselves because there is so much more of us to find!” I have more fully found myself as I have lost myself in the service of others. I'm so happy to be here I can never thank God enough for everything I'm learning.

  The work is amazing here in Italy I'm so happy to bring joy to people's life! I hope that all can find this joy! Thank you all for the prayers, we see and feel them. Have a great week!

Vi voglio bene 

-Anziano Ruiz 

View from Paolo's house

A beautiful sunset

More beautiful views!

The bread is from this new bread place 

we started going to to try it out,

 it's always cram packed with people 

and we wanted to figure out why.

 It was good!

 Some interesting views

This is made completely out of cardboard

 This is Ugo, he is funny to talk to and I'm wearing his hat. He sells pet food and anything related to that.

Rita and Giuliana

Alex with his new a haircut by Barber Ruiz.

A really special part of baptism is receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Having its companionship is really the way we can walk with a newness of life!

January 30, 2017 

  This week was great! When I look back it seems like nothing happened and it was slow but when I actually think about it quite a bit happened. This week started with an exchange with the Pescara Anziani, it was really good! I was in my area with Anziano Hansen who is a greenie, so that was interesting. Haha it was actually really cool to see just how far my Italian has come! It was a successful scambio. We were able to teach and have great conversations on the street. It was kinda difficult to do all the talking myself and not being able to ask my comp for words haha but it was all good! 

  Yesterday night we had a cool experience from following the spirit! We just had a lesson and were on the way home, when we were about 2 min away from our door and I saw that it wasn't 9:00 yet I said, we need to stay out till 9.  If we wanted to do more finding it was about a 20 minute walk and we didn't have time for that. So we were stuck with finding something to do near our house but it was dark and cold so no one was out. Then a name popped into my head, Giorgio! Giorgio is an old investigator who has worked with the missionaries a bit before I was here and he lives close to us. So we decided to go to his apartment and ring him. His wife (who didn't like the missionaries before) answered the door and was very friendly with us but said that Giorgio was at work. So we were bummed, but then remembered that he also worked close so we walked over to where he works. The gate was locked but the lights were on so we walked around the side to see if we could see anyone and we saw him outside but then he walked inside so I started calling his name for him to come out but he couldn't hear, so that was a bummer. We wanted to check the gate on the opposite side of where we were so we walked over there and it was open! We finally got to talk to him and he was really excited to see us! We started talking just to see how he was doing then he started talking about when he took the lessons and he said that he has been missing the missionaries lately and their message! So he was really happy that we came and we are going to meet this week! So we are pumped for that. Giorgio owns a soccer/tennis campus and rents his fields so he's really into sports just like me, we connected pretty well! I'm pumped to see where the Lord takes this! I'm so happy to have his hand in this work and the Holy Ghost to lead me; if it wasn't for them we wouldn't have had this sweet miracle last night!

  Speaking of the Holy ghost, this week our investigator Silvano was baptized, confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and given the Gift of the Holy Ghost! It was truly an amazing experience for everyone! Silvano just has an awesome testimony and great faith in Jesus Christ, it's so amazing to see and be part of bringing a soul unto him! When we met with him yesterday he said he can really feel the difference from having the Holy Ghost. Hearing his testimony just makes mine grow so much, a really special part of baptism is receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Having its companionship is really the way we can walk with a newness of life! Being a missionary is just awesome and I love it!!

  I hope everybody has a great week finding more joy through serving out Lord! Thank you all for the prayers we feel them!

Vi voglio bene!

Anziano Ruiz 

Where you baptize someone if you don't have a baptismal font or even a church building because your town only has about 10 or so members in it.
- In a portable font in the missionaries apartment! 

Anziano Ruiz had the privilege of baptizing

 Sylvan Reno Mbenza Miangua!

Dinner while on scambio (exchanges with other missionaries)

 with Anziano Hansen.

When we serve, we grow a greater capacity to love others, develop more selflessness and gain Christ like attributes

January 23, 2017   

  Man this week was a crazy one! So Monday night it started snowing/raining and it didn’t stop till about Friday so we have had only about a foot a snow but so much rain! So a good week of wet feet! We also had quite a few earthquakes this week and pretty big ones! The first one happened while I was shoveling snow to make a walk way to the other parts of our apartment. We live right next to the train tracks so we heard something and felt the ground shaking a bit and thought it was a train but after a second everything started shaking pretty hard. The next couple were while we were at a Store called Globe looking for snowshoes. The second earthquake hit hard! It was just so loud, people yelling, running in every direction, and everything was shattering and falling off the shelfs, it was definitely a frightening experience. Then a couple more hit while we were there. After my companion got shoes (they do not have my size) we went over to have pronzo and a lesson with a nonmember family and they were super awesome!  They made some really good food too. So the mom, Gabriella, was a referral from our awesome member Andraya!  We haven't taught her all of the restoration yet but we gave her the pamphlet. While we were preparing pronzo we started talking about the Restoration and her daughter (28ish) asked the mom what it was and Gabriella explained the restoration pretty much perfect to her daughter! It was super cool. We talked a little about eternal families and it was good! There was also another pretty big earthquake while we were at their house haha.

  Because of the snow this week we had the opportunity to do a lot of service and that was super awesome! We stopped to help some people get their cars unstuck and that was really fun it just feels so good to helping people! So if you ask people in Italy if they want some help they'll usually say no. So I tried a new approach and it worked! I just go to them and say "hey! I can help you!" then take the shovel out of their hands and start shoveling haha so I'll remember that for whenever the next opportunity comes! 

  So this week I was asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting and I was pretty nervous to speak for so long in Italian but it was actually good! I decided to talk on service because I did a little extra of that this week. While I was studying for the topic it really hit me how important this point is! If we look at the life of Jesus Christ and strive to follow his perfect example we will find ourselves serving all! The mission has really grown my testimony on service, when we serve, we grow a greater capacity to love others, develop more selflessness and gain Christ like attributes. My life right now is dedicated to serving others and I really haven't been happier. When I look at my 2 year service it's not a loss of two years at all,  but an opportunity of an life time and a lifetimes worth of lessons. I am so great full for the opportunity to be set apart as a full time missionary, it is really such a blessing. And it is just amazing to see the Lords hand in his work.

  I hope you all have a great week and stay safe! Thank you always for all the love prayers and support!

Vi voglio bene! 

Anziano Ruiz 

Lots of snow this week!

Earthquake devastation in Ascoli Piceno. 

This is the 5th series of earthquakes since Roman has been in Italy. He has always been over 100 miles away from the center of them each time but has always felt them. 2 out of the 5 have caused fatalities. 

 Anziano Ruiz- loving the Italy Rome Mission

Ascoli Piceno at night

This is truly Gods work! We see his hand in it every day!

January 16, 2017

 This week was good and very quick! We did a lot of traveling this week with exchanges and zone conference! So Wednesday night we went over to Pescara to do an exchange then Thursday night we left from there to Rome for zone conference, then Friday night we were back in  Ascoli doing some good  ol’ missionary work! It was good.

  This week we had a lesson with Silvano and just talked about baptism and it was super good he really wants to get baptized but is a little hesitant about it. So we talked about a date and during the lesson told him that we don't want to make him choose this date but that he should seek help from God. At the end of the lesson he gave a beautiful prayer thanking God and asking him if this was the right date from him. After the prayer he said that he felt really relaxed and then told us to invite Vescovo Teodosi to the baptism on this date! We were really happy that he is learning to have so much faith and for his decision to be baptized! It's amazing to think of the change that I have seen in his life in just this short time that we have been meeting. It's just a testimony builder to me of how much happiness that comes from applying the gospel of Jesus Christ to your life. 

  Zone conference was great we talked a lot about the Holy Ghost and its influence on the work. There were a lot of sweet mission stories told and it was over all good! It's interesting that we talked about this because that's something that I have been focusing on lately and really just all through my mission. It's cool because there is so much you can learn just from one aspect of the church. Growing up with knowledge of the gospel you don't always realize how special the Holy Ghost it. A mission goal for myself is I want to follow the promptings of the spirit 100% and really just let God guide me in his work. There have already been so many miracles from this goal. I just know the Holy Ghost is so real. I have felt it before it has manifested truth to me and because of it I have the knowledge that we are all children of God and he truly loves us like a perfect father.

  This is truly Gods work! We see his hand in it every day! Thank you all for all the prayers love and support. I hope you all have a great week!

Vi voglio bene!

- Anziano Ruiz 

Rome East zone

 roman.ruiz@myldsmail.net

Anziano Roman Ruiz

Missione Italiana di Roma

Piazza Monte Gemma, 9

00141 Roma Italia