Buongiorno a tutti!
This week has been a wonderful, verrryyy hot week! Man, the weather just comes at you like a ton of bricks all at once! It is so hot and humid! But, hey, the Italians are all in a great mood now that summer has finally arrived.
We have had so many amazing experiences this week. We have been really busy lately going from place to place, and this Friday we have to go all the way up to Milan for Mission Leadership Council. That means 7 hours in the car...hurray ;P But it will be a great experience.
--This past saturday we went up in the middle of the beautiful hills of tuscany to help one of the members do some yard work and prune the olive trees -(that was so Italian.). Just imagine yourself amidst the rolling hills and forests up in the mountains. It was beautiful! Sister Zuppardo is such a saint! I could go on for days about her faith and goodness. The members of this small branch are so awesome! But anyways, sister Zuppardo has been sharing the gospel with a ton of her friends, and just recently invited us to come over for a Family Home Evening. We talked about Ether 12:27, and it was incredible. It turned into a huge discussion about weaknesses and strengths...the Spirit was greatly felt.
--Sunday was a fantastic day as well! We had gotten late the night before, and so had not had time to plan the day out very well, and so, on a whim (I say that, but now I realize it was a clear impression), we decided to drive out an hour and a half to go see this investigator and his wife that hadn't been answering our calls for over 2 weeks. He is amazing, though. So we weren't sure what was going on. When we arrived, they were miraculously home, just returned from the hospital...where, they expressed to us, their young baby had just passed away. We had planned on teaching them the Plan of Salvation, and it was perfect. They both broke into tears as we explained that families are forever, and we had a wonderful experience together. It was a miracle.
--I read this morning something really interesting to me, especially since at the conference with Elder Bednar we talked a lot about the word . "understanding". I was reading this morning about the correlation between understanding and feeling. A quote from the conference came to mind: "you don't truly understand something until you feel it with your heart. I read in Mosiah 12:27 where it talks about "applying your heart to understanding". That is so interesting to me. Only when we apply our hearts do we truly understand.
--As far as investigators we have a lot of wonderful potential. We currently have 4 progressing investigators, Paul, Stefano, Festus, and Harry. They are all great people with good hearts and great faith, and we hope to see them baptized in June!
--Miracle: This week has been full of miracles! The one that I would specifically like to share happened just yesterday. We went over to an investigator's house, Stephen, whom we had met on the street just a few days earlier. He warmly welcomed us in and we had a wonderful experience teaching the Restoration, and he and his friend that joined in on the lesson were touched. We extended the invitation to be baptized, and, though they were doubtful due to the fact that they have already been baptized, the Spirit moved quickly in us to address and overcome that concern. Festus' reply went from "for me, it is a no. I have already been baptized", to, after the explanation "yes. 100% yes." After the lesson Stephen tenderly thanked us for coming and changing his life. He has been praying for a long time for a change to come into his life. It is such a blessing to be a missionary!
--Everything down here is going really well. The biggest struggle is getting people rides to church--we have more people willing to go than are able get there--but the members are wonderful and helpful, and we expect great things in the near future. I have committed myself make a number of changes in my missionary work and my life because of the precious knowledge that Elder Bednar gave us. The Spirit has taught me a number of things that the Lord expects of me, and I welcome the invitations to improve that have come.
I love you all and thank you for your support and prayers. Things are going really well here; I am thankful for this precious time that I have to be serving the Lord. I hope you all have a great week In bocca al lupo!
Love,
Anziano Wilson
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