Buongiorno famiglia!!
This week has been pretty amazing! It is SOOOO HOT. And so humid.
At this point we are just constantly sweating, all the time, it is the worst. My companion says I'll get used to it...yeah, still waiting for that. (the employee that works at this internet point just hooked up a huge fan to the wall right next to me...so this is what heaven feels like...) :)
But as far as the work goes, it is going GREAT!! We still have been having a little trouble working with our investigators to get them to start coming to church and progressing, but we have been seeing so many miracles! The ward here just got their first bishop EVER!! Vescovo Zufolini! He is such a great guy, I am so excited for that. The ward has great things in store, I can feel it!
Cristian is still doing relatively well. He found work! Which is a huge blessing for him and his family (and really, really hard to do here in Italy with this crisis going on), but it also means we can't meet with him as often. But he has already read all the way through Alma in the Book of Mormon! He is having some wonderful experiences with that.
Stanley is doing Super well as well! He is such a tender-hearted guy! Sincerely searching and just wants to know everything about the gospel. We recently taught him about what the 10 commandments are and why the are so important. He loved it!
Last sunday there was a historic conference especially for Europe, held and transmitted from Swirtzerland: Elder Andersen and President Uchtdorf spoke to us about their experiences living in Europe and about sharing the gospel. They spoke about the special culture here, and how it is such a blessing to be here, even if the people are a little more closed to many of the principles in the gospel. I remember vividly something that President Uchtdorf said: "My dear friends, just hold on a little longer. There are great blessings in store for this special land. All in the time of the Lord." (or at least something like that.) I loved that comment.
He also spoke about when he was taking a taxi on his way to his hotel after arriving, and how he had had an opportunity to share the gospel with the taxi driver. During the conversation the driver asked something about why the family is so important to the church, and why there are such extensive family history programs in the church. President Uchtdorf's reply was classic. "Well, we don't have a whole lot of time right now, and I'm not so good at explaining things anyway, but why don't I give your information to some of our missionaries. They are better at explaining these things anyway, and can tell you exactly why it is so important." I thought that was funny...a member of the First Presidency saying that. But a perfect example of how everyday referrals to the missionaries can work. Can you imagine being a missionary and getting a referral from President Uchtdorf!? I bet the missionaries there were pretty excited!
So we had a bunch of extra cookie dough from when we made cookies for a district meeting, so we made a cookie pizza the other day! A big cookie, the size of a pizza. So that was exciting. I asked my companion if we should try eating it with tomato sauce...but he declined (he was secretly excited about the idea, let's be honest.)
Also I bought a basketball!! We found one (finally!) in a Chinese store, and so that is going to be sweet, as soon as we find a court...
My bike brakes have recently begun to screech like a banshee every time I brake...so loud....so with that coupled with the big laminated sign we made and attached to the bike that says "La Chiesa di Gesù Cristo dei Santi degli ultimi giorni Mormon.org"...everyone in Italy knows when the Mormons are coming.
Miracle:This week we had a wonderful miracle!! One of the families in our ward, the Canuti family, invited two of their friends over for a family-home-evening, and invited us to come over as well! It was a wonderful experience; one of the people who came over for the activity was baptized when he was 19, and still has a solid testimony of the Gospel, but hasn't been active in the church for many years (he is 44 now). He and his girlfriend, who had no knowledge of all of the church, or anything about it, came over to eat dinner with us and after we shared the message of the Restoration. The spirit was so strong as we testified of the Savior, and especially when the man, Roberto, bore his testimony of when he was baptized and the spirit he felt. At the end of the message Fratello Canuti offered the woman a Book of Mormon to read, and she accepted it! She said "oh thank you! Now I have something to read while I'm at the beach!" ...Whatever gets her to read I guess. She is really a special person, with an honest and searching soul, and we could notice in her eyes the real interest she had in the message we were sharing, especially after her boyfriend's testimony. We are expecting and praying for great things with them! What a blessing it is to be a missionary!
I am really tired these days, but I truly have felt the extra strength that comes from the Lord as we do our best to keep going 100% even and especially when it's tough. It is one of the greatest things about being a missionary. I just love being a missionary so much. It's the best thing!
Thank you all so much for your prayers and support, I love you all!! Have a wonderful week!
-Anziano Wilson
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