Let me paint you a picture (only figuratively though, I can't actually do it for you, you're going to have to get out you're own paper and choice of drawing instrument) Okay, so start by drawing a.... yeah, nevermind, too hard. SO..... there's a family. Giovanni is about 70 yrs old and a non active member. He served in the military when he was younger, and thus has been hardened a bit by war. Giuseppina is his wife, and she is about 60 yrs old. She's a non-practicing Catholic (just like the other 95% of Italy) that LOVES to talk, and LOVES to talk about how good of a person she is, and she's really funny =) Esperide is their daughter. She's 21 yrs old, and has known the missionaries since she was 10. So, for 11 yrs the missionaries have been trying to baptize Esperide and Giuseppina. They live about 2 hrs away, and it seems like the visits have turned more into social visits. But, with the persuasion of our Branch President, the missionaries accompany him every other month or so (the Branch President lives in a nearby, equally far away city) to see this family. So the first two times I went there, I did not have a good experience. I went into it each time expecting to be the missionary that was going to change the situation, but nothing happened. I wasn't able to get a word in, and both times we didn't even get to share the lesson we prepared. So, take 3 came along this last Saturday. I was determined not to waste a third visit (and 4 hrs of train rides) and made sure that we had a super focused companionship study beforehand to prepare for this lesson. The comp study went great! We outlined every little detail of the lesson, we talked about little activities we could do to keep their attention, but most of all, we focused on why this was important to them. As you probably guessed, the lesson went great! We taught with power and authority, and each time Giuseppina tried to tell us that she was already doing everything right, we were able to kindly interrupt her and continue on. We used the Plan of Salvation to describe the "why" of the gospel, and focused on talking about what the Celestial Kingdom will be like. At the very end, we applied it all directly to our invite: that they need to read the scriptures and pray. Almost instantly there were objections, with Giuseppina saying she can never find time, and Esperide didn't look like she even wanted to read, and Giovanni didn't think he would be able to remember to read each day. But after 5 min of inviting them over and over, and reitterating the importance, Esperide piped up, like an angel from heaven, suggesting that they read as a family each day before dinner. So that way Giuseppina finds the time, and Giovanni doesn't forget, and they agreed!!!
And now, the aftermath: That was all on Saturday. In the lesson we were also wanting to invite them to church, but with the fuss they put up with reading and praying, the spirit directed us not to. Which was kind of a bummer. But, that night, as I went to pray before going to sleep, something told me that Giovanni may have enough desire to come to church, and I got the impression that I should include him in my prayers, to give him the strength he needed to wake up early enough to get to church. Now, I've heard people say before things like "oh, I knew you were coming, I just had a feeling, I knew it!" and they would get all excited, and personally I've always thought they were kinda weird. Firstly because I didn't really believe that they knew before hand, and secondly because them knowing beforehand didn't change anything. And for those of you with those same thoughts, honestly I don't know what to tell you. But the fact that I knew he was going to come, and then he actually did come to church, was amazing! It was just the most awesome feeling that God wanted to show me his power in telling me something that was to come. I can't describe it, but it was awesome. Oh, and we called this family yesterday to see how the reading is going, and they're still going! Score!
So, yeah. That was awesome. Esperide is going to get baptized. We had a pretty sweet Training meeting yesterday in Milano. Oh, and just out of curiosity, I don't suppose you know how far it is from Siena to Milano, do you? Yeah... it's 400 km... And how long did you say that takes in the cheap trains? 8 hrs?!? And that's only one way. So you could say we're pretty tired by now. Trains aren't the comfiest either. But, we had a super awesome Conference thing yesterday, so it was worth it. We learned a lot about applying the scriptures to help resolve people's concerns, so it was fun. Saw a lot of good friends. SO yeah. That's about all I got for today.
You guys are great! Keep up the prayers! I can definitely feel them! I love you all! Take care!
Anziano Bushman
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| Anziano Bushman's Christmas card |
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