Inspiring e-mail to President Waddoups:
This week we had a miracle: we were on the bus when this guy came, saw our my name tag and said "Ah the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!" (which is kind of odd because my name tag is in Italian). Then he told us how he was the first Italian baptized. We don't believe that is true...but turns out he was baptized a long time ago and is now one of our in actives! On Monday we visited him and he told us about how special his baptism was, how he has noticed a void in his life, and wants to start reading and praying again. He and his wife (who is not a member) promised to come to church this Sunday and we're going over for dinner and a lesson next week! He totally wants to come back to church, but all he needed was the invite. It was definitely a miracle that we happened to take that bus to meet him!
Showing posts with label July 2013. Show all posts
Showing posts with label July 2013. Show all posts
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Letter to President
An inspiring e-mail from a "greenie" who has been in the mission field one week:
The work here is going on. I have found that I love teaching, and teaching anything! I absolutely love lessons and I loved teaching at our English class last night. We taught a part-member family this past week. Adamo, the dad, is not a member but Emmanuela the mom is. She is so awesome, in fact they both are. Adamo agreed to come to church this Sunday and agreed to what my companions call the soft baptismal invitation, so when he finds out it is true, he will be baptized. When we were teaching them, I pulled out my photo album and told them about my part-member family and how it was much like theirs. Then I told them about how going on a mission is kind of like the Plan of Salvation becuase my family sent me out here to do my best and learn and grow and help all those I can and they are awaiting my return, and God sends us here to learn and to grow and to help others and He, too, awaits our return with joy. The Spirit was very strong there. It was incredible.
We are also teaching Paolo. He is a lawyer and very smart. He has found the Book of Mormon to be true and believes in the Gospel and in Christ, but he refuses to come to church, for now. But we will keep working with him, about 2 times a week now, and I think that once the Spirit is there more, he will have a greater desire to follow Jesus Christ.
Pamela is another woman we are teaching. I have only met her once, and briefly, but I think she is excited about the gospel, just not very motivated. We'll see how things go when we teach them this week.
Presidente, this is hard work, but I want to be here. I want to improve and be better, and I want to be more bold. I'm not very patient with myself, but I am learning. I know the Lord needs me here and I am excited to find out why!
Evening Mission Council
July 31, 2013
Gratefully, the living room of the villa opens up with the sun room on one end and a dining room on the other end. This allowed enough space for meeting.
The theme for the evening portion of the council was obedience. The missionaries assembled at the villa are the leaders of our mission. They were counseled to be obedient and set a good example for those serving in their areas. They set the tone. If they are obedient, the younger missionaries will be obedient. It was a good meeting.
At the end of the meeting, they sang the mission song. They always sing the mission song. They love the mission song.
Gratefully, the living room of the villa opens up with the sun room on one end and a dining room on the other end. This allowed enough space for meeting.
The theme for the evening portion of the council was obedience. The missionaries assembled at the villa are the leaders of our mission. They were counseled to be obedient and set a good example for those serving in their areas. They set the tone. If they are obedient, the younger missionaries will be obedient. It was a good meeting.
At the end of the meeting, they sang the mission song. They always sing the mission song. They love the mission song.
Mission Council Dinner
July 31, 2013
Oh my! This is the largest group we have had spending the night at the villa. I actually had to sit five places at the table in the sun room to accommodate them. (I don't know why I bothered. They were so excited to be at the villa and be together that they just squooze (sp?) in with everybody else. This is the first time our mission has held an All Mission Council with both Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders. We had 16 ZL's, 13 STL's, 2 AP's, 2 Senior Missionaries, and my husband and me. That's a full house. We served grilled hamburgers, potato salad, chips. watermelon and gelato. Dinner was noisy and loud, but they were excited to see former companions.
Oh my! This is the largest group we have had spending the night at the villa. I actually had to sit five places at the table in the sun room to accommodate them. (I don't know why I bothered. They were so excited to be at the villa and be together that they just squooze (sp?) in with everybody else. This is the first time our mission has held an All Mission Council with both Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders. We had 16 ZL's, 13 STL's, 2 AP's, 2 Senior Missionaries, and my husband and me. That's a full house. We served grilled hamburgers, potato salad, chips. watermelon and gelato. Dinner was noisy and loud, but they were excited to see former companions.
Ants
July 31, 2013
I've heard complaints about ants from some of the missionaries and I've seen lots of them outside, but I'd never seen them inside the villa until the morning I was scurrying around trying to prepare for all the missionaries to descend on the villa that night.
Somebody told me once that ants were drawn to syrup and would crawl into it, get trapped and die. That sounded great to me. My only challenge was that I didn't have any syrup, but I found a bottle of molasses in the cupboard and decided to try that. I put some in front of the door where they were coming in. When I checked a while later, the ants were lined up next to the molasses just like pigs lined up at a trough.
It reminded me of sin. People rush into things because it's sweet and easy. They don't stop to think about the consequences.
(Just for the record, syrup might work, but molasses turns hard. I suggest a shot of Raid.)
I've heard complaints about ants from some of the missionaries and I've seen lots of them outside, but I'd never seen them inside the villa until the morning I was scurrying around trying to prepare for all the missionaries to descend on the villa that night.
Somebody told me once that ants were drawn to syrup and would crawl into it, get trapped and die. That sounded great to me. My only challenge was that I didn't have any syrup, but I found a bottle of molasses in the cupboard and decided to try that. I put some in front of the door where they were coming in. When I checked a while later, the ants were lined up next to the molasses just like pigs lined up at a trough.
It reminded me of sin. People rush into things because it's sweet and easy. They don't stop to think about the consequences.
(Just for the record, syrup might work, but molasses turns hard. I suggest a shot of Raid.)
Supplies
July 30, 2013
It takes a lot of effort to organize and prepare for 30 people at the villa. The mission office couple accompanied us to Metro Mart to get supplies. Metro Mart is kind of like a Costco or Sam's Club. It's a lot different than the little stores that surround the villa. Everything comes in bulk but it''s Italian style bulk. We still can't get many of the items we've grown accustomed to in the States.
It takes a lot of effort to organize and prepare for 30 people at the villa. The mission office couple accompanied us to Metro Mart to get supplies. Metro Mart is kind of like a Costco or Sam's Club. It's a lot different than the little stores that surround the villa. Everything comes in bulk but it''s Italian style bulk. We still can't get many of the items we've grown accustomed to in the States.
Adding Beds
July 29, 2013
We have 18 twin size beds upstairs on the 3rd floor and 6 twin beds in the basement. We also have 5 mattresses we can move wherever we need them. You would think that would be enough beds, but it's not. In order to accommodate the upcoming Mission Council with all the Zone Leaders (ZL's) and Sister Training Leaders (STL's) we needed more beds for sisters.
The Assistants literally assist us in everything. They are wonderful. One would think they would love the diversion from being a full time missionary, but first and foremost they are missionaries. They are extremely obedient and do all that is asked of them. They make train and plane reservations, gather information for reports, drive us to and from the airport, assist with incoming and outgoing missionaries, do presentations at Zone Conference and Specialized Training Sessions, and numerous other things. We asked them to get six new bunkbeds and assemble them so we would have room to accommodate all the sisters at the Mission Council. With all those additional beds, we are able to have all the missionaries spend the night at the villa. (We have beds for everyone, but they are so close together it's difficult to maneuver your way around them. It's never for more than just one night and they love being together.)
We have 18 twin size beds upstairs on the 3rd floor and 6 twin beds in the basement. We also have 5 mattresses we can move wherever we need them. You would think that would be enough beds, but it's not. In order to accommodate the upcoming Mission Council with all the Zone Leaders (ZL's) and Sister Training Leaders (STL's) we needed more beds for sisters.
The Assistants literally assist us in everything. They are wonderful. One would think they would love the diversion from being a full time missionary, but first and foremost they are missionaries. They are extremely obedient and do all that is asked of them. They make train and plane reservations, gather information for reports, drive us to and from the airport, assist with incoming and outgoing missionaries, do presentations at Zone Conference and Specialized Training Sessions, and numerous other things. We asked them to get six new bunkbeds and assemble them so we would have room to accommodate all the sisters at the Mission Council. With all those additional beds, we are able to have all the missionaries spend the night at the villa. (We have beds for everyone, but they are so close together it's difficult to maneuver your way around them. It's never for more than just one night and they love being together.)
Monday, July 29, 2013
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Round-A-Bout
We had a missionary who was having some real struggles and decided to just leave the mission. Miraculously, one of the members found him before he got very far and we brought him into the mission home with us for a few days. He began to see the error of his ways and eventually decided to return to his area of service. While he was with us, we had to run an errand and took him with us. We're still struggling to find our way around so when we got to the round-a-bout, we missed the turn and had to go around again in order to get to the right turn. Our missionary said "Thank goodness for round-a-bouts".
It struck me as a very profound statement. We should all be grateful for round-a-bouts in our lives. Sometimes we lose our direction and we are grateful for the opportunity to get back on the right path again. If we sin, we have the opportunity to go back and do it right the next time.
Many of our investigators are stuck in a round-a-bout and they just keep going around and around. The missionaries come along and give them directions and they take the right exit and head down the path they should follow.
Our missionary had missed a turn in his life, but he was able to go around again, see the error of his ways, and get back to where he needed to be. He is now following the path that will get him to the destination where he really wants to be.
Terni to Rome
July 28, 2013
It's expensive to drive in Italy. Gas is expense and most of the freeway has toll booths. If we travel great distances, we can easily pay $30 to $50 in tolls each way.
We were anxious to get to Terni this morning, so we took the toll road. On the way home, we didn't have anything really pressing to get back to for a change, so we told Tom, Tom to avoid toll roads. It took us longer to return to Rome, but it was a delightful road and we drove through a lot of little communities and saw some great sights.
We have been wanting to see the catacombes (catacombs) or cimiteri (cemeteries) of Italy. We've heard a lot about them. We were thrilled to see a sign today that took us to one.
Orte
Nepi
It's expensive to drive in Italy. Gas is expense and most of the freeway has toll booths. If we travel great distances, we can easily pay $30 to $50 in tolls each way.
We were anxious to get to Terni this morning, so we took the toll road. On the way home, we didn't have anything really pressing to get back to for a change, so we told Tom, Tom to avoid toll roads. It took us longer to return to Rome, but it was a delightful road and we drove through a lot of little communities and saw some great sights.
We have been wanting to see the catacombes (catacombs) or cimiteri (cemeteries) of Italy. We've heard a lot about them. We were thrilled to see a sign today that took us to one.
Orte
 |
| Eggplant |
 |
| Tomatoes |
Nepi
 |
| How appropriate that the catacombes should have cats. |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)