Howdy everyone,
I hope you all had a filling week. Today, instead of going to visit a pretty place, we decided to be men, and be at the gym all day shredding, and toning our Italianized bodies. I can't move a muscle in my body, but we like to be healthy and strong, so we can do more.
As we have officially entered August, Italy has gotten smaller in natives and larger in tourism. Those natives that are still here are either about to leave, or are working through the whole month and don't want to see us. It is quite the favorite month of the missionaries.... said no missionary here ever! We, however decided to take the month by storm and try to find as many people as we could to teach during the month, regardless of who will be staying or going.
Delfino has been quite something lately. He is really taking everything we say seriously. He studies it and ponders it. He really is progressing. In fact one day he was telling some of his friends about us, and they are evangelists, and they want to know what is different about our church. So we have an appointment with like 4-5 raggazzi (teenage boys) to talk about religion. For me this is pretty freaking awesome!
One day we decided to stop by Delfino's house even though we did not schedule an appointment. We just thought we would say hi. He wasn't there, but his older brother, Pierre, was there, and his younger brother, Prosper, too. They let us in and when they told us Delfino wasn't there we got the grand idea to ask them if they wanted to know more about our religion. Being the religion their father is a part of and the religion their brother is investigating, they said sure. We had a great restoration lesson with them, and now they are wanting to know more as well. We really hope that they all continue to share this desire so they can be united with their father (who is less active, but we will change that) and continue to feel of the savior's love for them.
Charles is doing really well. We shared with him the video Hope of God's light and he really had a feeling in him. We talked about how sometimes it takes us a while to know that God has been answering our prayers, but once we get that feeling in our heart, the feeling of the Holy Ghost, it pushes us to find it again. We can't expect to sit in darkness waiting for someone to turn on a light. We need to take steps, even if they are just one at a time. The feeling we will get from the Holy Ghost will give us all the confirmation we need, to know that where we are going is the right path. We told Charles that the feeling he felt during that video was the Holy Ghost and that that was thing the thing he has been searching for. He recognized it, and although he is still not fully acknowledging that he knows what we say is true, he is making those little steps he needs to come closer to the savior.
I would also like to express the power of just having your friends over when the missionaries are around. We were teaching one of the new converts in the area, and his friend walked by him. We introduced ourselves, and himself likewise, and then he started walking away. I at first said out loud to myself, "shoot I didn't get to ask him if he would want to listen in on what we were teaching" and then our new investigator, hearing what I said, immediately yelled at his friend to come back real quick. This time I was able to ask him, and he happily said yes. Now we are teaching Clifford (this friend). It is surprising how much people are more open to sitting and listening to you if a friend is here with you. If we would have met Clifford while we were on our own, who knows if he would have said yes to us, but with the comfort of a friend, it is so much easier to feel less burdened to sitting with the missionaries (like we are a burden....)
Other than that, we are really hitting this area with all we got. It's been tough weather and no one on the streets want to listen to us, but we try never to think of the rough times. We are only inviting the uplifting moments. We are really focusing on the spirit. The Holy Ghost is such a patient and calm teacher. It can be easy to get worked up when an investigator is saying things that you either don't want to hear, or are not true. It's easy to get defensive, to get upset. But when we teach by the power of the Holy Ghost, we are only able to teach to the heart and upon the soul. We study what we need to know, but we let the spirit be the ultimate decision maker. And when we allow the Holy Ghost to play his role, we can better see its affect on ourselves and others. When we think of the promise in Moroni "and by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things" it really is true. The Holy Ghost is our personal witness of the divinity of the gospel. We won't all see visions of God and Jesus Christ, but we will get that witness from the Holy Ghost. "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." John 14:26 The Holy Ghost brings to remembrance, the truth we ALREADY know. By the power of the Holy Ghost we can know all things. I have a huge testimony of this. I have seen it work in the lives of many people I have taught here in Italy, and in myself. He works differently for all of us, but he is that still small voice, that comfort, that assurance that we get when we know something is true. And he will help us come closer to God. He is always letting us know.
I hope everyone eats a nice ciok mente gelato, and pets a dog this week. Yes I know, weird things to say, but I do it almost every week, and it always brings me happiness. It will do the same for you!
Anziano Chase
Me sleepy after long hours of work
Perché egli vive🇮🇹🇮🇹🇺🇸🇺🇸
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