A week of miracles

This week, has been really really full of miracles. We have been doing interviews in English course to gage people's interest in the gospel, and we have been shocked to see how many people are very curious. Also I have also been surprised at how many more women are interested in learning about the gospel than men. We basically do a lesson zero with them, and it definitely gave me a great understanding of how difficult it is to be an elder.

Before English course on Tuesday this week a woman named Simona stopped me, and asked if she could learn more about the church. We did an amazing lesson zero with her, she opened up so much, and shared such a desire to learn more, and then we invited her to pray about Joseph Smith. We did our next lesson she told us that she had prayed about Joseph Smith and that she had no doubt that he was a prophet, she has accepted a soft baptismal invite already and we are hoping to set a date with her this week. It is amazing how quickly things can change.

Last week I was pretty sure I was never going to get to teach another lesson in my mission, and that I was literally going to spend the next few months chasing little tiny Sardegnians down the street trying to convince them to listen to me. She came to church on Sunday, even though she works nights and was only able to get two hours of sleep, and she really enjoyed gospel principles. Which is kind of a shock because Sorella Winegar and I taught it on prayer, and we made a really big deal out of how prayer needs to come from your heart, and then I asked a man to read Matthew 6:6 which talks about not praying to been seen by men. It is immediately followed by the Lord's prayer, which is what we spend all of our time trying to get our investigators to stop saying. So instead of just reading verse 6 he goes on to read the Lord's prayer, all while two other missionaries, one member and, I are trying frantically to figure out how to get him to stop reading it. I'm actually surprised no-one picked up on how panicked we were.

Either way, she loved gospel principles then during sacrament there was a woman sitting behind her who was making negative comments about everyone who got up to bear their testimony, and S....... was pretty angry afterwards. We had a really long talk about how the church is perfect the people are not (thanks for that pep talk growing up mom, I've used it a lot on my mission), and the importance of being a good example. She is determined to help improve the ward through her example. I'm praying desperately that the save of the branch and the attitude of the members won't defer her from what she knows is true. Just for the record, this is an amazing branch, it just is full of human beings just like, every branch, ward, stake, and mission in the church.

We are still working with Alessandro. He has a very different set of problems. His biggest struggle is comprehension. We have decided to pass him to the elders, because they formed a really great connection with him on Sunday, and we feel like they will be able to better serve him, because they can invite men to the lessons, instead of women. There is a lot of unity in this district and it is bringing a ton of miracles.

We have also formed a really great connection with a couple from English course. They did a p-day with us and invited us to a family dinner at their house. During dinner the whole family asked a lot of questions about the gospel. After dinner one of the sisters pulled me aside and told me that she isn't fully convinced by the catholic church, but that she feels a light inside of her so she knows that there is a God. We exchanged numbers and she agreed to start taking the lessons. We have decided to officially ask Manlio and Anna to take the lessons as well this week. Sorella Winegar is very nervous about it, because she doesn't want them to feel like we have been using them. I have tried to explain the importance of being bold and our purpose, but I still think she is really nervous. Which I guess is understandable because it is her first transfer. So there is a lot of work, we are excited to see how everything turns out. We are looking forward to zone conference in a few days.

Thanks for all of your prayers. I have been seeing a lot of miracles recently on my mission, and I think that comes a lot from your faith. I love you all and I hope your October is wonderful. Fall and Halloween are the things that I miss most in Italy.

Vi voglio BENE!