It was a lovely week. We did a scambio (splits) in Verona and I got to be with Sorella Pope, one of my favorite people from the MTC. It was a blast. We taught a solid lesson together and got Gelato, did some finding, and walked past Juliette's balcony so it was 24 hours well-spent.
One day last week, I talked to a drunk man named Marcello. We chatted for about an hour. He was super drunk but loves God and the Bible and told me a bunch of Bible stories. He wanted a Book of Mormon in Romanian, his native language. It took us about a week to get our hands on a copy. Now we had it to deliver, but he wasn't answering his phone. Before heading out to the park where we had met him, I wrote in it for him and carried it with me, just in case. And guess what? He was there! Asleep on a bench. I set it down next to him and we kept going. About 30 mins later we get a call. He was so touched that we had remembered, and my testimony/note to him in the front meant so much. I had marked 2 Nephi 2, it addresses what we had talked about when we met. He opened and started reading it over the phone. Long story short, it was a beautiful reminder for me that Heavenly Father knows each one of His children. He knows where they are and what they need. I love getting to be a part of these little experiences that have grown my faith immensely.
We had the privilege of meeting Chris. He's German and a little before we came he called the missionaries to ask about where the church here meets, etc. Of course we followed up with him and met up to chat. We talked for a while, he did a foreign exchange in Texas when he was in High School. He knew a lot about the church already. He knew that your average LDS members are usually happy and have solid families. Good stuff like that. Coming from a Catholic background, he was skeptical of church leaders and tithing and them getting "free labor" from young missionaries and stuff like that. We talked for a while and finally he told us why he was interested in the church. His wife left him 3 years ago and now he's a single parent of a 5-yr-old. He wants a Mormon wife bc of our strong family values. I can honestly say I have never heard that as a missionary! He might come scope out our 20-person branch. I suggested the multi-stake single adult dances, but he'd prob be more successful if he were a member.
We have some solid investigators we are working with and they're doing awesome. This weekend we fasted with our Nigerian buddy, Lucky, to help him have the strength to stop smoking and drinking.
Today we did another hike with the district and it was a lot of fun! Südtirol is still breathtaking. We rode up a mountain on the world's oldest cable car! I was scared to death but we didn't die so it's all good!
Also this week: an American and an Austrian made a dang good lasagna!
I love y'all, have a great week!
Sorella Riley
Enjoy some pics in the mountains, in Verona, graffiti, and some political stickers.
No comments:
Post a Comment