What a wonderful week! Merry almost Christmas!! We have been seeing so many miracles!! It just seems like we are always in just the right place, at just the right time!
--Oh man, I am so exhausted. But this week has been great! We have been doing this 12 days of Christmas thing (I think I wrote about that last week...? The days go so fast I have to idea, it all meshes together...but it's where we leave a little present and a note on sister Capodicasa's doorstep each day for the 12 days before Christmas. Just for fun, and to show her a little love this Christmas (she has a really hard family situation), and it has been getting INTENSE! In Italy it is not like in America where you can just walk up to someone's doorstep and leave the present, ring the doorbell, and run. In order to leave something on someone's front doorstep without them knowing in Italy, you have to ring a random person's bell, make up some excuse (Noone will help you do anything nice...we tried explaining what we wanted to do to the first few people...and they were just like "no, no, non mi interessa!(I'm not interested)"...), and then walk into the Palazzo though another door, find the door of the person, ring that bell and then sprint out through like 3 doors to get out to the street! And let's keep in mind here that Italians don't have doorknobs. Instead, they have a stationary knob in the middle of the door, and there is a little tiny button hidden somewhere in the vicinity of the door, which opens it. Needless to say, it is quite the adventure! So two days ago, as we were going to ring one of the neighbor's bell, we hear it unlock by itself. At first I am thinking "Oh, sweet! We get in easy this time!" And then the door opens, AND IT'S HER!! (Sorella Capodicasa, the person we are doing it to.) I hurry and shove the present (A little nativity scene) in my pocket, and button up my coat (this is where having a HUGE coat comes in handy...Thanks mom :) ), and my companion blurts out "Oh hey! We came to visit you tonight for Family Home Evening!" (Genius!) To which she replies "oh, you two are so inspired!!! Great idea! (HA!) I'll be back in 20 minutes, and then we will start!!" But we were pretty sure she had already been suspecting that it was us who had been leaving these presents on the doorstep, and our "Deer in the Headlights" faces when she walked out of the front door, I'm sure, made her even more suspicious of us! So, long story short, we call the other missionaries and organize a plan. A genius plan, if you will. While we were inside doing the Family Home Evening, she was asking us all these questions about what we have been up to the last few days, and told us about how she had been getting these presents on her doorstep for the past few days, etc, etc....and we just kind of play it off like "Oh, man! Great idea! What are the presents... I wish we had thought of that!" To which she was just kind of like "hmmmm...*suspicious face*.". But about 20 minutes into the conversation, the other missionaries did the whole doorbell ditch thing, and left the present right there on the doormat! She runs to the door, sees the present, and is just like, "No! I was sure it was you two!!! Now I have no idea!!" ...and then she told us all her secret plans to catch whoever it was!! haha!! We are so good. She has really been appreciating the presents though. What a wonderful time of the year! :)
--Yesterday was a day full of miracles. We were led to so many people who needed our help; including a homeless man who had holes in his shoes. (So, A member had given us these lightly used shoes on Sunday, saying, "Oh, just find someone who needs them!" ..we were a little confused, wondering how in the world we would find someone...but the Lord led us right to him!). Also, while we were searching for someone to give the shoes to, we passed by the Dioquino family (members from the Philippeans) at the exact time when they were finishing this huge background thing for the Christmas program on Friday. They had just finished, and said a prayer because they had no idea how to get it all the the church (it was raining and they have bicycles). And it turns out, out of the 1 in 100 times we are out and about in the car (usually in Alessandria we just ride bikes), we had the car! So we just put the stuff in the back and drove it to the church just in time! The mother was like "You see, kids? The Lord sent us two angels to help us!" It was a wonderful experience.
--We had to wait in line for an hour to use the email at this internet point today. Gotta love it! :P
--The other day we went to go visit sister Gallio, a new convert in this ward. She has two little kids, and is divorced. But the special thing about her is that one of her kids, Eduardo, is about 14 years old and handicapped mentally. He is a special boy. He is only handicapped slightly: he is able to get around by himself and do most things by himself, but he just needs some extra attention and care. Both Edo and Gretta (the daughter who is 11) are waiting for the permission from their father to be baptized (in Italy you need the permission of both parents if you are under 18). Edo asked us this week to give him a Priesthood blessing to help him with school, and it was a wonderful experience. You could just feel, so strongly, the spirit that was there, and the special spirit that is in him. It was amazing because usually he is just up and down all over the place (most of the time he runs on all fours pretending to be some kind of animal), but during the blessing he was completely calm, and just listened intently. He knew exactly what was happening. After it was over he looked over at us, gave us each a big hug, and then went back to his normal self, jumping around like a frog. What a privilege it is to hold the Priesthood of God, and to be able to serve and help others.
--It is starting to get SO cold! (Well, Idaho winters are definitely way worse...I have just been softened up here in Italy...) Plus it is just foggy all the time here. If the ward weren't the best ward in all of Italy, Alessandria would be a tough place to serve!
--Speaking of the ward being the best in all of Italy...Our bishop is such a CHAMPION! He is so engaged in missionary work it is insane. If everyone in Italy were like him...two years from today everyone would be a member! He is from Sicily, and just shares the gospel with everyone!! What an inspiration!
--Miracle: This week we had a wonderful miracle: THE BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATION OF DANIELE!!!! What a miracle his whole progress in the gospel has been! From a sign-seeking atheist, to a committed truth-seeker, to now a strong believer, it has just been a miracle to see his heart change and open so fully to the commandments. He has been an example to us missionaries and to his girlfriend as well. She, since participating in the lessons with us, has gained a greater desire to follow the commandments and become active in the gospel, herself! At the baptismal service the Spirit was so strong, and Daniele bore a powerful testimony afterward. We also had the chance to show a few mormon messages and bear testimony about the spirit of Christmas, and how we need to all share the Gift our Heavenly Father gave to us over 2000 years ago! There were some non-members in attendance, and it was a great experience for all. Daniele is such an amazing guy, and will be a powerful leader here in Italy.
--I was blessed with the opportunity of confirming Daniele and being the vessel through which he received the Holy Ghost. The Spirit was so strong in that sacrament meeting. And daniele's entire demeanor just changed. He is so much more calm and peaceful; it just radiates! Those are memories I will never forget.
Everything in Alessandria is going really well! We are now on the lookout for more progressing investigators, but we have faith that as we continue to search we will be led to them, or them to us. We have been having so many opportunities to give little, "random" acts of service to many people. It has made this Christmas season so much more meaningful! Thanks for all your support and prayers, I love you all and remember you each day in my prayers.
Love,
Anziano Wilson
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