Ostia Week 5

We went to Saint Paul's Basilica on Monday. It is stunning! It is so beautiful. The sad part is that even though it is a church, it doesn't feel holy. It reminds me of how I feel when I go to a museum or a library. It is awe striking and wonderful, but you do not really feel the Holy Ghost. Another interesting thing was that they have a giant statue of Saint Paul, and right in front of him is a tiny statue of Jesus.

We also visited the Leonardo da Vinci Museum. It was neat. He was an incredibly intelligent man. He had lots of very interesting, very fascinating ideas. It was a fun experience.

Tuesday we had a pot luck after DDM in Rome. We were going to make a fruit salad, but the fruit in Rome is very expensive, so instead we brought watermelon. It was still really good. It was fun to be able to sit and talk with everyone. All of the food was all really good.

We taught a private English lesson on Wednesday morning. The girl we taught was really nice, and it was really fun to teach her. It was also sad, because she grew up believing that looks are the most important thing. That is how she got attention, and now her world revolves around looks. It is really sad.

I have slowly been learning the importance of goals. Every Friday we plan for the next week. Part of that is we set goals, personal and companionship. At first I really did not like this part, it was really hard for me to find good goals. This week was the first week I have liked and been happy with my goals. We should all have goals in our lives to help us to improve and have fun. A goal should help give you motivation to improve. Without good goals how will we ever stretch ourselves and find what we are truly capable of. To set a SMART goal, it needs to be:

• Specific, if it is some abstract idea, how will you be able to know when you have reached it and how far you have improved? 
• Measurable, if you do not have a way to measure your progress it will be easier to give up because you are unable to feel you have improved. 
• Attainable, if you know can not attain it at the time, you will never have the drive to improve. 
• Relevant, if it is not relevant to your life, it will not help you to improve your life. 
• Time-Bound, if it doesn't have a due date, it will be easier to push it back and procrastinate. 

Goals are to help you in your life. They help you to reach your full potential. There is a quote from Elder M. Russell Ballard that says

"I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don't set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life."

Today I would like to challenge you to pick something in your life that you would like to change or improve and make a goal to get you there.

On Sunday I had the opportunity to conduct the music in Sacrament Meeting. This was because the chorister was out of town, and I was the only one of the four missionaries who knows how to do it. It was a good experience. The wards and branches here depend on the missionaries for the musical talent a lot here. Sorella Bray and Anziano Kennedy did a musical number. They got asked Saturday night if they could do it. They sounded amazing!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Letter dated August 10, 2015
*Elder M. Russell Ballard's quote is from a talk given to young adults in Salt Lake City on 18 October 1981. You can find articles based on this talk in Go For It! and Do Things That Make a Difference, both written by M. Russell Ballard.