Buon summer to all, and to all a good, non-airconditioned night!
So, it's HOT! And Italians don't believe in air conditioning...they are convinced that it makes you sick in the throat and whatnot. ...We were sitting in ward council meeting, and I was sitting right in front of the fan, while fanning myself with a pamphlet, and the bishop comes in and gasps "Elder Wilson! Doesn't that...(hmmm, what's the translation in English...) "non ti fa male??" (doesn't that do bad to you?) and I was just like, "no way, in Idaho it snows in July!" haha. He was shocked. But actually, it has been raining a lot lately, and so it cools down sometimes...doesn't help the humidity at all, but for an hour or so it is bearable. So no complaining here! :D
This week has been great! We are working hard and seeing miracles! We printed off a picture of Morris in his baptismal garb to give to him this week, and we wrote on the back the first line of one of his favorite African songs "I have decided to follow Jesus! No turning back! No turning back!" He sang it for us this week, it was pretty awesome. The African population here in Italy is so wonderful. All (or at least the overwhleming majority) came here by boat as refugees from the wars that are going on, and have suffered so many hardships to get here to Italy. Something like 30% of the travelers die on the sea while making the journey. They are such humble and believing people.
-While we were setting up the sacarament, Fratello Saliaj (who is from Albania, and thinks he speaks English) turns to me and is like *extends his hand* "the cloth! yeah elder, bring that... that.. bring the action!" hahaha! He is a hoot!
- We taught a lesson in Spanish this week! There is a man from Peru here that is a member, but doesn't speak Italian yet because he recently moved here. It was pretty fun. he is a great guy! Yo estoy aprendiendo Español muy bien! (?)
I was reading recently in True to the Faith (wow! What a book! I had no idea how interesting it is!), about having faith in Jesus Christ, and what that means. During one of our lessons, the member with which we were teaching brought up a great point about how having faith is so much different that believing. "Anyone can believe in Christ, and still not follow him. Even satan believes in Christ!" That was really interesting to me when i pondered about that and studied it more the following day. So I was reading, and it expressed three elements that must be present in order for one to have faith in Christ. (And I didn't write it down and bring it with me, so I will have to paraphrase, but it is in True to the Faith under "faith" if you want to read it, I would reccommend it!) 1) Belief and acceptance of Christ as our Savior and Redeemer. 2) An accurate idea of the true character of Christ. 3) A willingness to act upon this belief and knowledge and to put it into practice in our daily lives. Belief. Knowledge. Action. I found the second point especially interesting. An accurate idea of the true character of Christ. It reminded me of a quote from President Uchtdorf that I wrote down somewhere in my Preach my Gospel. It read something like this. "The truth is, those who diligently seek to learn of Christ eventually will come to know Him. They will personally receive a divine portrait of the Master..." I love that! We all receive our own personal portrayl (I know I slaughtered the spelling on that word! whoops!) of Him. I know I have seen that in my life, and continue to receive, piece by piece, greater knowledge of who He really was and is, and His infinite love for each one of us.
Miracle: Our miracle this week was wonderful!! Silvio, a friend a co-worker of Presidente Caramia, is awesome! We have taught him 3 times up to this point, always with Presidente Caramia--who has been a HUGE help in explaining each doctrine in detail; the way he teaches...it is majestic! But this last Sunday, he came to church with Ezio during their work break, and Ezio gave a talk in sacarament meeting! It was very powerful. This past lesson, Silvio accepted the invitation to be baptized on the 22nd of August!! He is so sincere and humble, and willing to follow Christ! We extended the invitation after reading Alma 7:14-16 with him, and there was a brief pause while he pondered the words "venite e non temete", and he finally said "Va bene! Cosa devo fare per prepararmi?!" What a golden question! The spirit was so strongly present. We explained to him that we would be his guides every step of the way to help him know exactly what the Lord expects of us before we enter into the covenant of baptism. He was visably excited, and so was Presidente Caramia! My companion saw him out of the corner of his eye giving a little fist pump in the air after Silvio accepted. We will meet with them again tomorrow. Being a missionary is the best!
Everything in Rimini is going swimmingly! (except for us...we are away from the beach of course). But we are working hard, and the Lord is truly working miracles.I hope all is well at home, I love you all and remember you always in my prayers! Thank you so much for your support and prayers for our investigators and in my behalf; I feel of your strength and will be forever thankful for it!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
JULY 16, 2014
Buon di! (that's how old Italian men say it! When we walk down the street saying "buongiorno!" to people, it's always the highlight of the day to get "buon di" 'd...makes you feel Italian.)
- So everything is going well! It rained most of the week and so was pretty cold, which was GREAT! All the Italians are complaining "oh man, it is so ugly outside!" and I am just like "you don't have to wear a shirt and tie and slacks all day...you don't know what it's like!" So I'm loving it! I am not looking forward to the brutal hottness of humid summers.
-Another highlight...we got out helmets stolen! ...again! that marks 5 helmets since I got here. Come on, Italy! Noone around here even wears a helmet. (we get recognized all the time as the "ragazzi con i caschi" (boys with the helmets) Seriously, what do they do with them... I mean, I don't know about you, but I wouldn't exactly jump to buy a used helmet off of a random stranger...
-I found INSTANT POTATOES at the grocery store!!! Needless to say, I bought them all. I-da-ho, I-da-ho!
-I have been reading recently in "Jesus the Christ", during the time we have before bed, and it is so good! I love it! I am almost finished, and it is just amazing to me how comprehensive the notes are..he covers everything! and it's always like "only a brief analysis can be attempted here...*20 pages of notes*..." Elder Talmage must have been an absolute scholar! It has brought such an understanding of the New Testament. As I have read again about the life of our Savior, while using his notes and insight as a help, it is amazing the clarity, boldness, and power with which the Lord spoke and taught. He truly was the great Master Teacher.
Miracle: Our miracle this week was definitely the baptism and confirmation of Morris!! He was and is so excited to be a member of the ward, and had a wonderful experience during the baptismal service. While teaching him there were many ups and downs, but in the end he has really gained a testimony of why baptism is so important, and that because it is something so sacred and important, there are a lot of requirements set by the Lord. And of course, (as usual) it was so close to not happening! Something always goes wrong. Right before the baptism, there was a huge strike thing in centro, and Morris had to find a way to get out/around it, and barely made it on time to the church! (Not to mention that we almost flooded the church because we accidentally used the wrong hose to fill up the font...the sisters had to rush over with all the towels they had in their house...in the pouring rain...but hey, that's a story for another day!) And before his confirmation, his bike broke halfway to the church, and so we had to go rescue him with a member's car. The same thing happened in Lecco for Martha's baptism. There was a random train strike, and so the trains didn't run that day (the only day ever), and we had to go pick her up as well with a member. But! Everything worked out, and all is well! Get thee hence, Satan!
We had a chance to meet with Morris the day after the baptism and he said that he felt such a peace and comfort as he came out of the water. "It was similar to a newborn child...just giving all my burdens to the Lord and being washed clean". He thanked us over and over for sticking with it, and we are just so grateful to have been a part of it. He will soon have a calling in the ward as a ward missionary, and we are excited to involve him in the work!
Everything else in Rimini is great! We are continuing to work with the ward with establishing family mission plans, and the bishop is really working hard to make it a priority. It has been a little tough, but the ward here is so great, and I know great things are coming! I'm doing really well, and am just thankful for the time I have to serve. Italy is a great place to serve!
I hope that all is well at home, I remember you all in my prayers, and love you very much! I am so blessed to have so many people around me that love and support and pray for me. It is a great strength to me!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
- So everything is going well! It rained most of the week and so was pretty cold, which was GREAT! All the Italians are complaining "oh man, it is so ugly outside!" and I am just like "you don't have to wear a shirt and tie and slacks all day...you don't know what it's like!" So I'm loving it! I am not looking forward to the brutal hottness of humid summers.
-Another highlight...we got out helmets stolen! ...again! that marks 5 helmets since I got here. Come on, Italy! Noone around here even wears a helmet. (we get recognized all the time as the "ragazzi con i caschi" (boys with the helmets) Seriously, what do they do with them... I mean, I don't know about you, but I wouldn't exactly jump to buy a used helmet off of a random stranger...
-I found INSTANT POTATOES at the grocery store!!! Needless to say, I bought them all. I-da-ho, I-da-ho!
-I have been reading recently in "Jesus the Christ", during the time we have before bed, and it is so good! I love it! I am almost finished, and it is just amazing to me how comprehensive the notes are..he covers everything! and it's always like "only a brief analysis can be attempted here...*20 pages of notes*..." Elder Talmage must have been an absolute scholar! It has brought such an understanding of the New Testament. As I have read again about the life of our Savior, while using his notes and insight as a help, it is amazing the clarity, boldness, and power with which the Lord spoke and taught. He truly was the great Master Teacher.
Miracle: Our miracle this week was definitely the baptism and confirmation of Morris!! He was and is so excited to be a member of the ward, and had a wonderful experience during the baptismal service. While teaching him there were many ups and downs, but in the end he has really gained a testimony of why baptism is so important, and that because it is something so sacred and important, there are a lot of requirements set by the Lord. And of course, (as usual) it was so close to not happening! Something always goes wrong. Right before the baptism, there was a huge strike thing in centro, and Morris had to find a way to get out/around it, and barely made it on time to the church! (Not to mention that we almost flooded the church because we accidentally used the wrong hose to fill up the font...the sisters had to rush over with all the towels they had in their house...in the pouring rain...but hey, that's a story for another day!) And before his confirmation, his bike broke halfway to the church, and so we had to go rescue him with a member's car. The same thing happened in Lecco for Martha's baptism. There was a random train strike, and so the trains didn't run that day (the only day ever), and we had to go pick her up as well with a member. But! Everything worked out, and all is well! Get thee hence, Satan!
We had a chance to meet with Morris the day after the baptism and he said that he felt such a peace and comfort as he came out of the water. "It was similar to a newborn child...just giving all my burdens to the Lord and being washed clean". He thanked us over and over for sticking with it, and we are just so grateful to have been a part of it. He will soon have a calling in the ward as a ward missionary, and we are excited to involve him in the work!
Everything else in Rimini is great! We are continuing to work with the ward with establishing family mission plans, and the bishop is really working hard to make it a priority. It has been a little tough, but the ward here is so great, and I know great things are coming! I'm doing really well, and am just thankful for the time I have to serve. Italy is a great place to serve!
I hope that all is well at home, I remember you all in my prayers, and love you very much! I am so blessed to have so many people around me that love and support and pray for me. It is a great strength to me!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Monday, July 14, 2014
JULY 9, 2014
Buona famiglia! :)
This week has been GREAT! :) The work is going really well, and we are working hard to build back up our investigator pool, and find the people that truly are searching for peace in this world of confusion. We have talked to so many people recently on the street that are just confused, and, dare I say, scared. Granted, the whole situation in Italy isn't the greatest, but they are just literally so unsure and apprehensive about the future. I would be too without the knowledge that I have. What a blessing it is. Whenever a problem or struggle or unsurety comes into my mind, it brings me so much peace to know that it is all part of the great plan that an all-knowing, all-loving, perfect Father has for me, His son. How blessed we are!
Which brings me to an awesome scripture that I read the other day! Doctrine and Covenants 133:59 " And by the weak things of the earth the Lord shall thrash the nations by the power of His Spirit." First of all, does that not just sound so epic? But second of all, I have come to realize, and take great comfort in the fact that I truly am one of the weak things of the earth, and that the Lord, despite my weaknesses and imperfections, will help me to become all that I need to be. How thankful I am for that knowledge and assurance. We are so blessed to be members of Christ's church. He leads it. He guides it. I know that that is true.
On a little bit of a different note, I have to renew my Permesso (already) because Italy only gave me a year, even though the church always pays for 2 years...that's Italian government for you. But hey, at least I didn't get 6 months. That happens often. But so the only place that you can go to get the right size pictures for the documents are these super shady picture booths outside of random supermarkets. So we go to the first one, and it's broken, so we have to ride our bikes 20 minutes to the next closest one. I sit down, and at least it's working, so I pay, and get everything all set up, and then realize that the camera is tilted waaay down, and that the "adjustable" seat is broken. So long story short as the time is ticking down and I'm scrambling to figure out a way to get into the picture , I end up shoving myself against the back of the photo booth, kneeling down on the ground and streching wayyy up to get enough into the picture to be tie knot and up, as is required. Needless to say, it's a good looking permesso picture. Oh well, it's not like that will be on my identity card for the rest of my mission or anything... :)
Our investigators are doing really well, the biggest news in that MORRIS IS GETTING BAPTIZED TOMORROW!!! We were finally able to work everything out, and he has just been super great about everything, and has a huge desire to come unto Christ. So we are really excited for him and his decision! He is a great man, with great faith, and he will be a great strength to the ward!
Miracle: This week has been a wonderful, miracle-filled week! The miracle I want to share, though, happened last night! We were told on Sunday that Fratello Bruni, who has recently started coming back to church after being less active for a long time, expressed his desire to the bishop of wanting to come with the missionaries to lessons, to help him renew and re-feel the way he did when he was taught and baptized 14 years ago. So we invited him to come with us to teach Luigi, who is super solid and has a really strong testimony of Jesus Christ. We began the lesson by talking about prayer, and how Jesus Christ can bring a peace to our lives that is unlike anything else in the world. Fratello Bruni opened up in the middle of the lesson, talking about how he has been having struggles with his 28 year old son, and how he has been doing everything that he could do, but that nothing was working, and that he just now realized that he needed to pray, and he hadn't been doing that. And then Luigi jumped in and bore his testimony of how prayer has helped him raise his 15 year old daughter, and how it really does work! We talked about how Jesus stands at the door, and knocks, and waits...but it is us that need to open the door so he can come in (Revelations 3:20). Tears came to Fratello Bruni's eyes, and he bore a wonderful testimony of the peace and joy he felt at his baptism. Sometimes the lessons are more for the members than the investigators.
Everything else has been going well! We are excited for Morris to be baptized tomorrow, he has really been making a lot of progress and showing a large desire to be a member of the church; this week will be 6 weeks in a row that he has come to church! We are excited for him. Also, Cristian is doing well! We plan on going to visit him tonight and invite him to the baptism...hopefully that will make a big impact on him.
Well, that's about it for this week. Thank you all so much for your love and support and prayers, they are felt! I remember you always in my prayers as well. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!
-Anziano Wilson
This week has been GREAT! :) The work is going really well, and we are working hard to build back up our investigator pool, and find the people that truly are searching for peace in this world of confusion. We have talked to so many people recently on the street that are just confused, and, dare I say, scared. Granted, the whole situation in Italy isn't the greatest, but they are just literally so unsure and apprehensive about the future. I would be too without the knowledge that I have. What a blessing it is. Whenever a problem or struggle or unsurety comes into my mind, it brings me so much peace to know that it is all part of the great plan that an all-knowing, all-loving, perfect Father has for me, His son. How blessed we are!
Which brings me to an awesome scripture that I read the other day! Doctrine and Covenants 133:59 " And by the weak things of the earth the Lord shall thrash the nations by the power of His Spirit." First of all, does that not just sound so epic? But second of all, I have come to realize, and take great comfort in the fact that I truly am one of the weak things of the earth, and that the Lord, despite my weaknesses and imperfections, will help me to become all that I need to be. How thankful I am for that knowledge and assurance. We are so blessed to be members of Christ's church. He leads it. He guides it. I know that that is true.
On a little bit of a different note, I have to renew my Permesso (already) because Italy only gave me a year, even though the church always pays for 2 years...that's Italian government for you. But hey, at least I didn't get 6 months. That happens often. But so the only place that you can go to get the right size pictures for the documents are these super shady picture booths outside of random supermarkets. So we go to the first one, and it's broken, so we have to ride our bikes 20 minutes to the next closest one. I sit down, and at least it's working, so I pay, and get everything all set up, and then realize that the camera is tilted waaay down, and that the "adjustable" seat is broken. So long story short as the time is ticking down and I'm scrambling to figure out a way to get into the picture , I end up shoving myself against the back of the photo booth, kneeling down on the ground and streching wayyy up to get enough into the picture to be tie knot and up, as is required. Needless to say, it's a good looking permesso picture. Oh well, it's not like that will be on my identity card for the rest of my mission or anything... :)
Our investigators are doing really well, the biggest news in that MORRIS IS GETTING BAPTIZED TOMORROW!!! We were finally able to work everything out, and he has just been super great about everything, and has a huge desire to come unto Christ. So we are really excited for him and his decision! He is a great man, with great faith, and he will be a great strength to the ward!
Miracle: This week has been a wonderful, miracle-filled week! The miracle I want to share, though, happened last night! We were told on Sunday that Fratello Bruni, who has recently started coming back to church after being less active for a long time, expressed his desire to the bishop of wanting to come with the missionaries to lessons, to help him renew and re-feel the way he did when he was taught and baptized 14 years ago. So we invited him to come with us to teach Luigi, who is super solid and has a really strong testimony of Jesus Christ. We began the lesson by talking about prayer, and how Jesus Christ can bring a peace to our lives that is unlike anything else in the world. Fratello Bruni opened up in the middle of the lesson, talking about how he has been having struggles with his 28 year old son, and how he has been doing everything that he could do, but that nothing was working, and that he just now realized that he needed to pray, and he hadn't been doing that. And then Luigi jumped in and bore his testimony of how prayer has helped him raise his 15 year old daughter, and how it really does work! We talked about how Jesus stands at the door, and knocks, and waits...but it is us that need to open the door so he can come in (Revelations 3:20). Tears came to Fratello Bruni's eyes, and he bore a wonderful testimony of the peace and joy he felt at his baptism. Sometimes the lessons are more for the members than the investigators.
Everything else has been going well! We are excited for Morris to be baptized tomorrow, he has really been making a lot of progress and showing a large desire to be a member of the church; this week will be 6 weeks in a row that he has come to church! We are excited for him. Also, Cristian is doing well! We plan on going to visit him tonight and invite him to the baptism...hopefully that will make a big impact on him.
Well, that's about it for this week. Thank you all so much for your love and support and prayers, they are felt! I remember you always in my prayers as well. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!
-Anziano Wilson
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
JULY 2, 2014
Buona tutto!!! :)
Well, so this week has been amazing! :) Things are going really well; Rimini is just so great! SO many tourists are coming to visit now, but the upside is that I'm basically fluent in Russian by now. Also we saw another seagull attack a pidgeon and fly off with it in it's mouth recently....so that was a thing. I didn't even realize that they....did that. What is happening in Rimini!
Anyways, things are going really well! We have been working hard and seeing miracles! Our district meeting was really good this past Monday, our district leader talked about how 99 degree water won't boil, no matter how long it stays 99 degrees. It's that extra 1 degree (celsius) that allows it to boil. It's the same thing with missionary work. We can give 99% for as long as we want, but the real miralces won't occur unless we are 100% ready and have 100% of the faith required to perform them. I have been really trying these past few weeks to just give up everything that I want, and really focus on doing what the Lord wants, because I really do know that He wants what is best for me anyways. And there have been lots of struggles, lots of imperfections, but I really have been seeing a difference in...well, everything! I just love being a missionary! I can't believe a year has almost passed already, time needs to slow down, I have a lot more work to do! But our district leader is hilarious, he was like "so, it says in Preach My Gospel that as a district leader I'm not supposed to do a few things...and make quotas is one of them....but that's kind of exactly what I'm gonna do! We are striving for 100 miracles this transfer, so call me up every night to tell me about your miracle stories, and I'm going to write a list!" We are pretty excited about that. The day after he said that I was on a companionship exchange in Forlì, and we saw so many miracles. I was humbled as at the end of the day I looked back at all the little things that I wouldn't have noticed, that really the Lord had done for us. He puts so many people in our path, it is wonderful!
I recently learned how to change a bike brake cable! We bought it at the store and my companion was like "do you know how to change that?" and I was like "I assume I know how..." And i did! I felt pretty proud of myself. They should have a bike repair crash course (pun intended) for each new missionary. But I never realized how simple bikes really are...we repair the brakes a lot.
As far as our investigators go...Cristian is still awesome. Not making a ton of progress, unfortunately, but I recently asked President Dibb what he thinks we should teach him, and he gave me some really good ideas! He is a really good man, just has a lot of struggles right now. Thank you all for your prayers for him!
Morris is doing great! He has come to church 4 times in a row now!! He is a champion!
Stanley is still busy with school, but reading and praying on his own each day! He is one of the most sincere men I have ever met!
Our activity was a HUGE success!! Members brought their friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was super fun, and the spirit was definitely felt. Fratello Saliaj was way too good at being the guy in the great a spacious building though...he got like 10 out of the 30 people to let go of the rod!!! Oh mhy goodness, he got them so bad. "here, take my hand, I'll help you out, okay, that's it, lower your head..come with me...HAHAHAHA" And another 10 got tricked by the "fake" line we put, leading off the wrong way when it split off. They were a little upset about us being tricky like that. But everyone loved it! And the food contest was greatt!! mmmmmmm! Italy :)
The sisters got an awesome new investigator, the cousin of the elder's quorum president in the ward. She is so sweet and nice, and she LOVED the activity, especially when she was blindfolded! Quote of the night came from her: "Come on! Come with me, this is the way out! Let go of the rope!" -Fratello Saliaj. Her reply: "Sorry, I don't talk to strangers!" ...actually, that quote ties with the one from Fratello Bazan "get thee behind me, satan!!" hahaha.
Miracle: One of the greatest miracles this week happened while I was down in Forlì on a scambio. We had just finished walking 45 minutes or so to centro (because Anziano Taylor's bike was being repaired), and we decided to stop by a member's shoe shop to make sure everything was going well and to see if we could do anything for her, since she is a recent widow. We talked with her for a few minutes, while one of her customers, waiting for his shoes to finish being repaired, listened in. As we were heading out the door we introduced ourselves to the man, gave him a smile, and told him that if he ever needed anything, to ask the owner of the store, and she would know how to contact us, and we went on our way. As we were out talking with people on the street, we had some wonderful experiences, and we soon received a call from Sorella Rossi, the owner of the shoe store. She told us that a few minutes after we left, the man waiting had asked her about the church, and asked if he could take with him the copy of the Book of Mormon that she had on display on a table in the shop! He said he was interested to read it and learn more about Jesus Christ. It really struck me that even though we didn't say hardly anything to him about the church, he felt something different as we spoke (or at least, I hope so!) and wanted to know why. He was very kind, and we are expecting great things from that!
Everything else is going really well! We are working to get our current investigators to progress, so that we can more thoroughly involve the awesome members here. We are also trying to meet more often with the members to strengthen them even more. They are all excited to do the Lord's work! I love you all and am very thankful for all that you do and are! I love you all and wish you a wonderful week! I remember you always in my prayers!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
Well, so this week has been amazing! :) Things are going really well; Rimini is just so great! SO many tourists are coming to visit now, but the upside is that I'm basically fluent in Russian by now. Also we saw another seagull attack a pidgeon and fly off with it in it's mouth recently....so that was a thing. I didn't even realize that they....did that. What is happening in Rimini!
Anyways, things are going really well! We have been working hard and seeing miracles! Our district meeting was really good this past Monday, our district leader talked about how 99 degree water won't boil, no matter how long it stays 99 degrees. It's that extra 1 degree (celsius) that allows it to boil. It's the same thing with missionary work. We can give 99% for as long as we want, but the real miralces won't occur unless we are 100% ready and have 100% of the faith required to perform them. I have been really trying these past few weeks to just give up everything that I want, and really focus on doing what the Lord wants, because I really do know that He wants what is best for me anyways. And there have been lots of struggles, lots of imperfections, but I really have been seeing a difference in...well, everything! I just love being a missionary! I can't believe a year has almost passed already, time needs to slow down, I have a lot more work to do! But our district leader is hilarious, he was like "so, it says in Preach My Gospel that as a district leader I'm not supposed to do a few things...and make quotas is one of them....but that's kind of exactly what I'm gonna do! We are striving for 100 miracles this transfer, so call me up every night to tell me about your miracle stories, and I'm going to write a list!" We are pretty excited about that. The day after he said that I was on a companionship exchange in Forlì, and we saw so many miracles. I was humbled as at the end of the day I looked back at all the little things that I wouldn't have noticed, that really the Lord had done for us. He puts so many people in our path, it is wonderful!
I recently learned how to change a bike brake cable! We bought it at the store and my companion was like "do you know how to change that?" and I was like "I assume I know how..." And i did! I felt pretty proud of myself. They should have a bike repair crash course (pun intended) for each new missionary. But I never realized how simple bikes really are...we repair the brakes a lot.
As far as our investigators go...Cristian is still awesome. Not making a ton of progress, unfortunately, but I recently asked President Dibb what he thinks we should teach him, and he gave me some really good ideas! He is a really good man, just has a lot of struggles right now. Thank you all for your prayers for him!
Morris is doing great! He has come to church 4 times in a row now!! He is a champion!
Stanley is still busy with school, but reading and praying on his own each day! He is one of the most sincere men I have ever met!
Our activity was a HUGE success!! Members brought their friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was super fun, and the spirit was definitely felt. Fratello Saliaj was way too good at being the guy in the great a spacious building though...he got like 10 out of the 30 people to let go of the rod!!! Oh mhy goodness, he got them so bad. "here, take my hand, I'll help you out, okay, that's it, lower your head..come with me...HAHAHAHA" And another 10 got tricked by the "fake" line we put, leading off the wrong way when it split off. They were a little upset about us being tricky like that. But everyone loved it! And the food contest was greatt!! mmmmmmm! Italy :)
The sisters got an awesome new investigator, the cousin of the elder's quorum president in the ward. She is so sweet and nice, and she LOVED the activity, especially when she was blindfolded! Quote of the night came from her: "Come on! Come with me, this is the way out! Let go of the rope!" -Fratello Saliaj. Her reply: "Sorry, I don't talk to strangers!" ...actually, that quote ties with the one from Fratello Bazan "get thee behind me, satan!!" hahaha.
Miracle: One of the greatest miracles this week happened while I was down in Forlì on a scambio. We had just finished walking 45 minutes or so to centro (because Anziano Taylor's bike was being repaired), and we decided to stop by a member's shoe shop to make sure everything was going well and to see if we could do anything for her, since she is a recent widow. We talked with her for a few minutes, while one of her customers, waiting for his shoes to finish being repaired, listened in. As we were heading out the door we introduced ourselves to the man, gave him a smile, and told him that if he ever needed anything, to ask the owner of the store, and she would know how to contact us, and we went on our way. As we were out talking with people on the street, we had some wonderful experiences, and we soon received a call from Sorella Rossi, the owner of the shoe store. She told us that a few minutes after we left, the man waiting had asked her about the church, and asked if he could take with him the copy of the Book of Mormon that she had on display on a table in the shop! He said he was interested to read it and learn more about Jesus Christ. It really struck me that even though we didn't say hardly anything to him about the church, he felt something different as we spoke (or at least, I hope so!) and wanted to know why. He was very kind, and we are expecting great things from that!
Everything else is going really well! We are working to get our current investigators to progress, so that we can more thoroughly involve the awesome members here. We are also trying to meet more often with the members to strengthen them even more. They are all excited to do the Lord's work! I love you all and am very thankful for all that you do and are! I love you all and wish you a wonderful week! I remember you always in my prayers!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
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