Alright, I want to write these experiences down real quick before reading/replying to your letters, cause this week was epic.
Ok, so I guess this is Italy's rain season or something, because the past two weeks it has rained EVERY DAY, for at least half the day, so it's been a little difficult. And then the short times in between rain, the roads are wet and muddy, and thus we're getting muddy water splashed up on us from our bikes, but COMUNQUE, Friday was awesome.
So just a little bit of a setting for this story, we have been really focusing on going to see members, and less-active members, in hopes of incorporating them more fully in our missionary work, because we're horrible at finding people. So, it had been about two weeks with this focus, and nothing noticeable had happened, in fact Anz VanAuker even turned to me Thursday night and told me that he was leaning on me with this whole <<working with the members>> thing, because (he told me) he has no testimony of working with members (not that I did either, but I was hopeful). So Friday we had another appointment with a less-active couple. Things were a little stiff at first, and they weren't very open with us at all, so it was kind of rough. BUT we found out that he wasn't a member, only she was. And he had just arrived from Ecuador a year or two ago, so he was very uncomfortable with the italian language so far, thus the nervousness/awkwardness. SO, I tried throwing the tiny bit of spanish I knew in there, and he immediately opened up, and was smiling, and told us that he had been studying the gospel in Ecuador, but wasn't sure about some things yet, but wants to be baptized! Score!
Friday Part 2:
So, as we were finishing the lesson with the Romani's (less active and nonmember in the above paragraph), we started noticing the clouds rolling in, and thunder and lightning were becoming more and more frequent. So we finished up and headed down to our bikes, praying that we'd be able to make it all the way to Carlo's in time (carlo lives 30min on bike NW of our house, and we were something like 20min SE of our house at the time. South Monza to East Cesano Maderno). Our appointment with Carlo was at 7:30, and it was about 6. So as we were walking out to our bikes someone yelled out to us <<Elders!>> (Not <<Anziani>>, <<Elders>>). So we turned around, fairly confused, thinking that it was some spanish speaking member or something. His name turnd out, was Oscar, and he was a member that had recently moved here to italy, spoke english, and didn't know where the church was. So we gave him our biglietto and started to head on our way again. But then the rain started, and it started FAST. So we left our bikes at the pole they were locked to and took shelter over by Oscar underneath the palazzo we had just come out of. So, with nothing else to do, we started talking to Oscar again. Found out that he is from Argentina, lived in the States for 10yrs driving a semi (and there learned english) but then got caught and deported lol. So now he's living with his sister and her family in Italy.
Then some random, crazy guy pulled up in a work truck, and got out and started walking around staring up at the rain, and just enjoying it, like some crazy person. Then crazy random guy started walking towards us, and we soon found out that he was the husband of Oscar's sister. So we got to know him a little bit. He's 37 yrs old, just got back from a skate park (and still had his knee pads on) and his name is Marco. After a couple more minutes Oscar asked us where we were headed, and if we had an appt or anything, so we told him about Carlo that lives in Cesano Maderno, and how he's going to get baptized tomorrow, and everything, and he immediately started asking Marco if he could give us a ride. Unfortunately, he couldn't because he can't drive anyone else in his work truck. But then Oscar started talking about the other truck he had, and turns out he also had a pick up truck (NO ONE IN ITALY HAS A PICK UP TRUCK. NO ONE!). So Oscar went and checked with his sister, and in a few short minutes Marco was giving us AND our bikes a ride, 30min away. Awesome! Even better, we had a captive audience for 30min, and he started asking about the Book of Mormon and everything, so we gave him a copy as we explained it's history. We then just so happened to drive right past the church, so we pointed it out to them, and told them they were invited to come on Sunday. So we got to our appt, a couple minutes late, but we got there, and thanked them for everything, and that was it. Didn't have too much hope that they would come to chuch or anything, but hey, we got a ride to our appointment.
Sunday.
At 9:15 a fratello knocked on the door to our classroom and beckoned us to come out there, and there was Marco (dressed in a suit and everything), his wife, and Oscar. So after getting over the shock that they actually came, we got Marco's wife (who turns out is a member) to Relief Society class and Oscar and Marco came with us to Elder's Quorum. About 10min into the class Marco turned to me and asked me if he was allowed to make any comments, and of course I responded he could. So, he made a lot of comments, was well accepted, and things went great! By the end of church we found out that he also has 2 daughters (9yrs old and 11yrs old) who were already off to primary before we got to see them, and the whole family came out of that building loving it! Marco went around thanking everyone that spoke in the classes and whatnot, and someone invited them to come again next week, and Marco responded by saying <<of course, we have need of this>>. AWESOME!
So, we're seeing The Romani's again today in a couple hours, and then Marco and his family right after that. So awesome.
I can't get over how incredible the Lord is with timing, and placing people in our path for us. If we hadn't been focusing on members and less active members, we wouldn't have found F.llo Romani, and if we never went to their house, we would have never run into Oscar, and thus Oscar's brother-in-law. Man, I love the Lord!
In response to emails:
Haha no, the pizza guy had never had a cookie like that before in his life. In fact, most italians (and I'd even say europeans) have never had a chocolate chip cookie. They have flavorless and stale storebought cookies that they eat for breakfast, but those can't rightfully be called cookies.
Carlo's baptism went great! We were worried no one would show up, but we had about a dozen people show up, so it turned out really great! Hahah and we didn't have a pianist, becuase the 5 ppl in the ward that can play piano were busy, or out of town, so for the hour that we were at the church filling the baptismal font, I started practicing Choose the Right, and I am a Child of God. Haha it was a joke! but still better than nothing. I confirmed him the next day in sacrament meeting, and it was awesome! He's awesome!
With the lunch appts, we had one on sunday, and it was pretty awesome. F.llo Mollica (ex-Ward Mission Leader) and his family came, as well as his mother and father-in law, and it was all at F.llo Mollica's Grandpa in law's house. So it was quite the family reunion. But it was way fun to hang around with F.llo Mollica while they were preparing the food- he brought his guitar and showed us a few of the songs he's been working on (He's wayy good!) and even showed us a Missionary Blues song he wrote hahaha it was hilarious. It was talking about no one letting the missionaries in, so the missionaries turned to each other and asked each other what they should so, and they decided, <<suoniamo!>> haha it was funny. Then he had me show him some of the stuff I knew, and he really liked some of the chord progressions that I had written, and thought it was very amusing how different I play the guitar (being american and all). So yeah, it was fun. But unfortunately, for most of the lunch appts, we have to ask, and with a lot of the members it feels very awkward to ask, but our zone leaders have reassured us that the italians expect us to ask, so I guess we'll keep asking... The food is always great! The desserts not so much, but the food always!
Sii forte, abbi fede, e prega ogni giorno.
Anziano Bushman
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