What does it mean to rebuild the walls of your life?

Our lesson in Primary tomorrow is about Nehemiah rebuilding the walls and gates around Jerusalem.  I have enjoyed learning about Nehemiah and the symbolism of his story.  Nehemiah was living in Persia, because Jerusalem had been conquered and most of it's inhabitants had been carried off to other countries.  He found favor with the king of Persia and was in the kings palace when he received news that the walls of Jerusalem had been broken down and the gates  were burned with fire. The remaining Jews in the city were in dire circumstances.

After much prayer, Nehemiah asked the king if he could go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the city walls. He was given permission to do so and even given letters by the king to aid in acquiring supplies and assistance.  It took many many people, and a lot of organization to rebuild the wall, under a lot of sabotage and pressure from their enemies.  But with the Lords help, it was all completed in just 52 days.  A miracle.

But what I like best about this story is to think of the symbolism of each gate that was rebuilt, so that their city was secure and safe from their enemies.  

  Here's a drawing of the wall and gates that were rebuilt.

The wall symbolizes strength and protection.  In ancient cities the walls  were the real means of defense.  The wall around Jerusalem was 40 feet tall. When the walls and gates of that city were destroyed, the people had no way of keeping out their enemies.  Each of the gates had a unique name and a special purpose.  Each of the gates with the exception of one, were all burned and destroyed.  I found it interesting to learn about ut the purposes of each gate and to think about what they could symbolize in my life.

If we had to rebuild the gates of our life to renew and rebuild our testimony, what would we have to do?    Here is a quick outline of the purpose of each gate and  some ideas of what each gate could symbolize in our life.

1. The Sheep Gate: This is where the sheep were brought into the city to be sacrificed at the alter of the temple.  Jesus Christ is often called the Lamb of God.  I think this means that in order to come to the city of God, we need to be baptized and Believe in Jesus Christ and his atoning Sacrifice for us.  We need to also sacrifice our sins and come to the temple. Everyday, we need to enter through this gate and remember our Savior.

2.  The Fish Gate: This is the gate that the fishermen entered when they brought their fish to the markets.  Jesus said to his disciples, " Follow me and I will make you Fishers of Men." Matthew 4:19

We need to be sure that we are following Christ in word and in Deed.   We need to be a witness for him. If this wall is broken down, the enemy will enter in and destroy us.

3.  The Old Gate: This must have been one of the original gates in the city.  I think it symbolizes the truth of God and his ways.  They never change.  Today, his commandments and his word are being changed and modified in order to please man and to find popularity and to not offend the evil doers.  Truth and God's words will be the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  If we are trying to please man and not obey God, our wall is crumbling and we need to turn back to God and his truths.  Satan and his followers are charging in by this gate!

4.  The Dung Gate:  You can probably easily guess what this gate was for!  It was the gate for all the trash, and sewer, and rubbish to be expelled from the city.  Without this gate, the city would be dirty and really stink.  That is what our life is like of we don't repent and get rid of our sins.  We are unclean. And we stink!  This gate could be renamed "repentance". And it is a beautiful gate to have in our life.  What a wonderful gift God has given each of us, that we can repent and take out our trash any and every time we need to!

5:  The Valley Gate:  This gate opened up to lead to the valleys around Jerusalem.  Our Valley Gate is Humility.  Only by being humble and becoming as a little child can we enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.  Each time we are proud or angry or think we know better than God, we are tearing down and burning this gate and wall around it.

6.  The Fountain Gate:  This gate was down in the south east corner, near the stairs that led to the Pool of Siloah which was used for cleansing before people could go to the temple.  I like to think of this Gate as the Commandment Gate.  We need to obey the commandments because that prepares us to be able to attend the temple and to be worthy to receive the living waters of God. 

7:  The Water Gate:  This gate led to the Gihon Spring.  Water represents the love of God as it says in 1 Nephi 11:25 "which waters are a representation of the love of God. "  This was the only gate which was not broken down and it didn't need to be be rebuilt.  God's love is always there. Whether we want to enter in and come to him or not.  He is always there and he always loves us.  We just need to follow him or invite him into our lives.

8: The East Gate:  This gate obviously faces East toward the rising sun. This is a gate of Hope.  This gate needs to be rebuilt by many of us at different times throughout our life.  When we fail to look to the rising sun (son), and when the difficulties and problems of life take away our hope through Christ, we forget the power of God and the power of Christ's atonement.  He will always rise and triumph, and we can too through him.

9.  The Horse Gate:  This gate was used as the exit for the horses as they would leave for war.  The King's warriors would fight against the enemies of Judah.  We need this gate in good working order so that we too can fight against darkness and evil.  We need to employ all the best strategies we can to win our battles against Satan.  We need to put on all the protective armour of God as we fight a very real battle every day.  Ephesians 6:12 "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

10.  The Muster Gate:  This is the examination gate, or the judgement gate.  It was the place where King David would meet his troops and check them over and reevaluate if they were ready to fight.  It's where they would meet after the war, to check their loses.  We have been told to go and do and report.  We need to take time to evaluate where we are and what we need to do better.  Where we are lacking, we need to strengthen and try again.  This is an important gate for each of us too.  

I am sorry this is so long.  I was very interested to learn these things.  I hope I can remember to keep rebuilding my gates  and walls, to keep Safe from Satan's power.  

Zone conference in Rome

We arrived in Rome yesterday for interviews with the president.  We obtained our departure packet and travel information.

   We went out to dinner with several senior couples.  (Sorry about the unfocused picture)

And then we stayed with the Stephens, who use to live in the Valley View Stake in Salt Lake.  President Stevens set apart, Roland, Shelly and I think Mike before they left on their missions. He and his cute wife work in the office.

Today, was a multi zone Conference, with our Napoli Zone, the Malta Elders, and the Taranto Zone, and the Rome Zone.  There were about 70 of us there today.

Today, at the beginning of our conference, Sister Barona, who serves here in Battipaglia, gave her testimony, as all the new missionaries do.  She has only been here a month.  She already speaks such good Italian.  I heard some of the elders, at the table next to ours, ask each other if she was Italian.  I was very proud of her.

We did a lot of role plays, which were very helpful.  We practiced asking questions to help our investigators think more.  It helps us get to know them better and find out what's important to them and what their concerns are. 

Eric Mika, who was the tall freshman center for BYU Basketball last year,  was there and I got to meet him.  I got to tell him all about my famous BYU basketball player father, and we got a picture.  He said to be sure and say hello to my Dad from him.  So Dad, if you read this, "HELLO" from Eric Mika!

We also have another BYU basketball player in our Zone.  They got to go on exchanges together, yesterday, and got quite a few contacts who stopped and asked them about why they were so tall!

                                         We got a picture of our Napoli Zone.

President Waddoups gave a good talk about the vision of the church in Italy.  He shared several prophesies from three different apostles who all became presidents of the church.

1851- Lorenzo Snow

"Oh Italy! ...the future of thy story shall outshine the past, and thy children shall yet be more renowned than in the ages of old.  Where triumphant warriors were stained with gore, and princes reigned in the pomp of tyranny, the sure, though tardy working of the Gospel now weaves a fairer wreath, and will wear a brighter crown."

President Benson said, "we feel to predict under the authority of the Holy Priesthood and under inspiration of Heaven that thousands of thy children in this land will be brought into the truth and into membership in thy great Church and kingdom...."

In 1972, Elder Hinckley said, "The Lord opened this work in Italy to bring the light of the gospel into the lives of thousands and tens of thousands of His children who live and will live in this beautiful land."

We have so many wonderful friends here in Italy, (members and future members) who we pray for everyday.  We pray they will be happy.  We pray that they will search sincerely for the truth.  They could help the church grow, with their many talents and willing hearts.  I know they love God, because they love and serve in so many ways already.  

I believe these words given by apostles and prophets, about the future of Italy.  The temple will be such a blessing to these people. It will also be a light to shine the path and influence many many more people to join the church in these last days.

We had a delicious lunch of green salad and meatball lasagna and of course Italian bread.  Sister Sutton and Sister Stephens were responsible to getting it all prepared for us.  It's no small task to feed 70 hungry missionaries!

Keep the Sabbath Day Holy

This is a picture of Jonathan and Elder Bandiacky.  Jonathan gave an awesome testimony today that I wanted to always remember.  He said that he signed up to play soccer and he was so excited.  He went to his first practice and his coach gave them their game schedule.  When he looked at it he saw that most of their games were scheduled for Sundays.  So he told his coach right then, that he would not be playing at any of the games that were held on Sunday.  His coach was very surprised and asked him why not.  Jonathan said that Sunday was the day they went to church.  His coach said that he could choose any time to go to church, and that he could still have time to play his game.  Jonathan then told him that all day on Sunday, is the Lord's day, and he wanted to keep the Lord's day sacred.  His coach was pretty amazed at his announcement but said that was ok, he could still practice and play the other games that were not scheduled on Sunday.

At the next practice, his coach came up to him smiling, and said that he had reworked the schedule and that now all the games were going to be on Saturday.  

This was a great testimony to Jonathan and his family, that The Lord blesses us when we obey his commandments.  

Signs

In Italy, the roads are marked very well by signs.  There are few stop lights and many round-a-bouts.  The round-a-bouts are marked well too.

But sometimes, when we come to an intersection, and we are unsure of which way to go, there are so many signs, it is impossible to read them all, as you are driving by.  Even if you could stop and look at them for five minutes you may still not find the sign for the town you are traveling toward.

The one above is pretty easy because all the signs point left, even though the street goes in both directions.  But the ones below are a little more difficult to all take in as you are driving down the road at 80K/hr.

I really get a kick out of all the street signs.  I found a few scriptures that have to do with signs.  I thought you might get a few words of inspiration from these verses.

D&C 63:8-10. "Verily, I say unto you, at there are those among you who seek  signs, and there have been such even from the beginning.

But behold, faith cometh  not by signs, but signs follow those that believe.

Yea, signs come by faith, not by the will of men, nor as they please, but by the will of God.

Coastal Cilentana

A few weeks ago, we went to Palinuro with the Heaths, and it was a beautiful day to see the three grottos and to take a boat ride aroundd the coast. Our guide pulled into a beautiful little spot and let everyone go swimming if they wanted to.  We had a delightful day.  I wish that I had brought my suit.  So I couldn't go swimming.  I put my toes in though and took pictures of the clear blue green water.

As you get closer to the grotto, the water turns the prettiest blue you ever saw.  And inside there is an underground tunnel that brings light into the grotto and turns the water into this incredible blue, which is called Palinuro blue.

We had a nice boat ride for about an hour. And we saw lots of cliffs that gave you were in ancient days sailing into unchartered lands.

After our boat ride, we drove up above the town and found an elegant hotel that we wished we had found earlier and stayed at.  It had a breathtaking view of the sea.

 We had a tailgate lunch with Pannini and fruit juice.

             It was a wonderful relaxing morning.

Our new District and goodby to Federica

Today, we had a great district meeting with all six of us missionaries in Battipaglia.  Our district leader, Elder Gemell, has just been transferred here a couple of weeks ago.  He is Maori from New Zealand.  He is solid ... both physically and spiritually.  Both he and his companion served in the military before coming on their missions.  

So today, the theme of our district meeting, was war!  Paul and I arrived last and as we entered the building, the other four missionaries rose up on their feet and saluted us.  That's not how they usually greet us, but we thought they were just being funny.  But the salute was just an introduction to our lesson today. We had a great lesson on how to win this war each of us is in against Satan.  Elder Rasband shared several verses from Alma, and we talked about the strategies we need to win this war.   each need to plan in advance and prepare ourselves, our members, investigators, and families, on what we need to do to beat and prohibit Satan and his poisonous darts from getting us.  If we are not planning in advance, we have no hope of coming out the Victor.  Satan, wants us to be miserable like he is.  He doesn't want us to choose the right.  He wants us to not worry about anything.  He hopes that we will let our guard down, so that he can march right in and take over.  We need to be vigilant and tenacious everyday.  

I learned a good lesson today about our companionships and relationships with others from the letters Moroni sent to Pahoran.  Remember how he accused Pahoran of not sending aid and helping his armies.  He pretty much called him a traitor and blamed him for the deaths and injuries of his soldiers, and for loosing a couple of cities to the Lamanites.  Pahoran was in big trouble himself, in Zarahemla, unbeknownst to Moroni.  The King men were overtaking the government and Pahoran was unable to help himself, let alone Moroni and his army.   
I have heard this story many times and really thought it was an example of how to forgive others when they say bad things about us.  And that is kind of right, but there's more.  It teaches us about communication and seeking to understand others before we accuse them, or get mad at them.  Sometimes, when things go wrong in life, and there is more stress or obstacles than we can handle on our own, we need the help of others.  We assume they understand our needs, and if they don't help us, or respond to us, as we think they ought to, we get offended and angry.  But really, everyone is fighting a hard battle.  We don't know what they are going through and if we don't seek to understand them first or explain where we are in need, how we can help them or allow them to help us.  Read chapters 60-62 of Alma for this story, and see what you learn about communicating with your spouse and children.

                  We have eaten at Donna Sofia's with the missionaries this past week.

                                 

Anziano Rasband received his birthday package from his Mom.  He was pretty happy to get it! 

We went to the train station this morning with the sisters, to say goodbye to one of our English students, and our dear friend Federica.  She is going to England, where she has a job, and where she was for several months last year.  She is the sister to our dear Martina.  They both are such such dear girls.  We love them to pieces.

Bye bye Federica. Ci vediamo presto, quando viene a Star Valley.  Buona fortuna.

Capri

I realize that I haven't been very good at posting some of my favorite pictures from this past month's pdays.  We have seen some beautiful new places and revisited a few old favorites.  Sister Rose Sutton, who serves in the mission office, came to visit us a week ago, and we went to Capri with her and with the Heaths.  I had always wanted to go to Capri because we heard it is so beautiful.  And it was.  But, it also was quite expensive.  The ferry ride over was 40 Euros which is about $50/ person.  The bus tour was another 40 Euros per person.  Plus lunch, I think it cost each of us over a hundred Euros each.   (I think there are equally beautiful places along the Southern Coast which are free to see.)  We went to the Famous Blue Grotto, which was stunning and quite adventurous as they put five of us in a tiny little row boat with our guide, and usually they only hold two or three passengers.  We were packed in like sardines.  I wasn't sure if we would ever be able to get out.  But we did. It was fun but squishy!

The opening into the Grotto was very low, so we had to all lay back into the row boat, so we wouldn't hit our heads as we entered.  The cave was large and very open.  The water was very blue and beautiful.  The Grottos in Palinuro were just as pretty though and the boat ride was an hour and a half, instead of five minutes, as it was in Capri.  The island was very beautiful though and the views were beautiful.   We walked along the paths up high which had incredible vistas of the blue Mediteranean far below, dotted with boats and yachts. 

The Emporer's gardens were beautiful with overlooks to the sea and long steep walking paths up to it.

                                  Lots of expensive clothing and shoe and purse shops.

        And beautiful pathways and stairways and hidden ways off the path we walked.

It was a very hot and humid day.  My hair frizzed way beyond it's natural inclination to friz. I looked like a red faced Brillo pad!  But other than that, it was a perfect day.  Everything was beautiful. I still have to pinch myself to see if I am not dreaming of being in Italy.  It seems surreal to see such beauty and majesty. Our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ have given us such a wonderful gift  of creating this world for us.  I am so thankful for the rich colors and awesome design of this part of God's earth.  As it says in the Doctrine and Covenants 104: 14:  "I The Lord stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork: and all things therein are mine."  My favorite verse is in section 59 verse 18: "All things which  come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden th heart."  

My heart is certainly glad when I see this beautiful part of his world.