I can grow mandarin seeds

Febbraio 28, 2013

Hosford Family,

Last day of February.  I hit 22 months in the mission yesterday. Things here are just flying.  Things are going good but they are flying. Yesterday was p-day and the first thing that I did was check to see if I had been accepted at BYU.  To my surprise I had been.  Even now I am thinking about it.  There is some stuff that I need to arrange. I need to find a service program to lead, housing  (with housing I would like 3 things:  good internet, my own room, and to live on the southside of campus), then I need to decide about classes and Italian.  Either ways it’s going to be a new adventure.  Three adventures in 6 years (BYUI, mission, and now BYU). Other than that I am doing well.  I have really proven that I can grow mandarin seeds to everyone’s surprise.  I have 2 more seeds that are trying to spring up, but they aren’t ready.  So I threw more dirt on top.  Then I added some tomatoes and peppers to the lot.  We will see here soon.

Our work is going well.  It could be better.  Sunday was a great day.  Francesca and Angelo came to Church.  They stayed for all 3 hours and the ward just covered them. Maribel who is the less active girlfriend of one of our investigators came for the 2^nd or 3^rd week in a row. She is making friends with many.  Many of our investigators are reading daily and many aren’t. However, we are focusing a lot more on feeling the Spirit and pointing it out. That and the importance of the restoration.  We have been doing a lot of work to grow the English course. We have placed many flyers that are pretty much permanent,  and are jus t waiting for people to come. We still haven’t been able to see several investigators which is very frustrating, but we are trying.  Things are a lot of fun here.  It’s starting to warm up already. It seems like we didn’t have winter here.  Last year in Siracusa it was much colder.  We are actually going there next week.  Other than that not a lot going on with me.  Just trying to figure things out.  Love you all very much and keep an eye out for my box.  –Anziano Hosford

BYU Bound!!

26 Feb 2013 Mitchell Brand Hosford 6403 Latta Springs Circle Huntersville, NC 28078 Dear Mitchell: Congratulations! You have been admitted to Brigham Young University to begin Fall 2013. Through your preparation and personal achievements, you have distinguished yourself from a very strong group of applicants. We believe you will make a positive contribution to the BYU community. It is a great pleasure to welcome you to our campus to pursue your educational goals. To be eligible to continue to future semesters, you must register for and complete this semester or term. To secure your admission, it is essential for you to read the Frequently Asked Questions located at the link below and follow the instructions in question no. 1. The FAQ will also provide you with important information regarding scholarships, housing, financial aid, etc. We encourage you to maintain the standards outlined in the University Honor Code, and we look forward to having you on campus. Warmest regards, R. Kirk Strong Director of Admission Services

I call people more than I sleep

Hosford Family,

Its funny how somethings happen.  Yesterday I sent mom an email asking about the face wash stuff and as soon as I got home it had arrived.  This last week there was carnevale here so no mail came for a couple of days, but everything came yesterday.  Last week we had transfers and this week (tomorrow) Anziano Kent Richards will be visiting Catania on his mission tour. We have been extremely busy this week with that, cleaning the house after it got destroyed for transfers, and also for our work that we have going on. For us right now, we are packed in the afternoons with appointments. We are still looking for people to see in the morning, but usually there aren't many.

We do see Francesca in the mornings and have finished all of the discussions and now are focusing on reading the Book of Mormon with her. We are trying a new thing to have them read 5 minutes everyday and we are calling everyday to make sure that they read and pray. Francesca asked is she could become a member without being baptized. I think she knows it's true. However, she lives with her boy friend who is waiting for his divorce to come through. We are waiting patiently.

After that we are about to drop one investigator, Sills Coppa who is extremely nice, but isn't taking the lessons very seriously. I love her to death but she asks us all of these questions and we show her the answers or where you can find them and she listens to use, but the words go in one ear and out the other.  We will see how it goes in these coming weeks.

We saw Anna and Massimo last night. We talked about the law of chastity which they already live and we only need to talk about the law of tithing and we will have finished everything.  We are also doing the same challenge with the Book of Mormon.  You have no idea how many calls I make everyday.  I call people more than I sleep.

Last Tuesday we gave a blessing to a brother of a member. In that house there are 6 people, 3 that became new investigators.  We saw them last Monday and we see them this afternoon.  They have real problems and we are hoping they start progressing.

We have lots of other work going on. Things here are going great. We are super busy. I am very very tired though. We set a big goal that I am hoping to accomplish these three months. You should see my Mandarin tree, it's growing well.  It now has 4 leaves.  Love you all very much.  See you in 11 weeks. -- Anziano Mitchell Hosford

BYU-Idaho

08 Feb 2013

Mitchell Brand Hosford 
6403 Latta Springs Circle
Huntersville, NC 28078


Dear Mitchell:

Congratulations! We are pleased to offer you admission to Brigham Young University-Idaho. Rich blessings and life-changing opportunities await you here.

Below are the next steps in your Admission process:

STEP 1. Learn about the Three Track System: BYU-Idaho operates on the Three Track System, comprised of three equal semesters: Spring, Fall, and Winter. Each BYU-Idaho student is assigned a track consisting of two of these semesters. Please visit www.byui.edu/admissions to learn about this unique system that allows BYU-Idaho to admit thousands of additional students each year.

STEP 2: Submit your track questionnaire: Visit web.byui.edu/admissions/questionnaire to complete a track questionnaire used in the track assignment process. Please complete this questionnaire within one week of receiving this message.

STEP 3: Watch your email: You will be notified of your track assignment by email after the application deadline has passed. More instructions about your next steps will be included in that email.

At BYU-Idaho, we are very interested in your success as a student. Therefore, we use ACT and SAT sub-scores associated with your highest overall composite ACT or SAT score to help identify students for the Academic Transitions program. This program requires you to take additional pre-requisite courses prior to enrolling in some Foundations courses if your ACT or SAT sub-scores are below certain levels. If we do not have your test scores on file, you will be held to the Academic Transition requirements. For more information on these requirements and information about how transfer courses may satisfy the requirements, please visit www.byui.edu/academic-support-centers/academic-transitions.

Once again, congratulations on your acceptance to BYU-Idaho! We look forward to having you on our campus and feel that you will enrich the University.

Sincerely,

Admissions Committee
Brigham Young University-Idaho Admissions Office

The work is great

The Hosford Family,

We got transfer calls on Saturday.  Sadly, Anz. Prieto got transferred up to Rome.  He will be in a house with two of my old companions.  My new comp will be Anz. Kasper.  This will be his second city. His first was Pozzuoli like me. This will be his fourth transfer.  I am starting to realize two things:

1) I am really old in the mission
2) I barely know anyone because I have been stuck here in Sicily so long.

I am happy to stay here in Catania though. I think I will finish here, but its not certain yet. I would love to see Rome, but I really love Catania. Things are going well here.  We have received several referrals in these couple weeks. I am excited for transfers to end so I can get back to work. Its good transfers came.  I am also sending a package home.  Hopefully in about a month it will arrive.

Not a lot has happened here.  We have a general authority that will come and visit February 15th or something and once again because I am district leader I have to go to a special leadership meeting.  Which is a real joke honestly. However, the work should be starting back up again about Friday. I have started making a lot of calls to start getting everything organized. We need to have a good couple weeks.  I have been slacking a little bit.

We are still working with the typical old investigators: Emanuele, Anna & Massimon, the Zappala Family, Antonio, and some others. We do have a new investigator from Senegal named Teresa that we are trying to see in these coming days. We had a very good first discussion with her but she can only see us once a week.

Then we have the cousins of Zappala Family that we need to get out and see.  Usually we see them with the other family, but we just got their number and we are going to try to see them this week. 

We gave a blessing to a man last Tuesday. It was technically a referral and there were 6 people there that said we could come back, so we are going to try and see them this next week.

We also received a couple referrals.  These next two or three weeks could go very well if I get on the ball.  I just need to have a very good week this week.  Well, things are going ahead here in Catania.  The work is great and the weather is still very warm.  Its not at all like my first winter here.

Love you all very much.  Anziano Mitchell Hosford