I was so excited for the companion-exchange last week that I forgot to mention... Solomon received the Gift of the Holy Ghost! He's now an official member of Christ's true church on the earth today. And speaking of last week's scambio (companion-exchange), it was RAD! I feel like I had to use the word rad because I was on scambio with Anziano Vasquez, my zone leader from Huntington Beach, California. I think I heard the words rad and gnarly at least 100 times before my 24 hours were up with him. ;p I got to teach lessons with two of Anziano Vasquez's investigators. One of the investigators worked at a gelateria and gave Anziano Vasquez's new friend some free gelato. ;) The other investigator was this really humble African man who is getting baptized this Saturday. I was a little freaked out when I met the man getting baptized this Saturday because his thumb nail was SUPER long (all the other fingernails were properly trimmed)! Afterward, Anziano Vasquez told me that growing out the thumbnail is a, very gross, Italian style.
Since Anziano Vasquez is a zone leader, we got to drive around to places all day in a car. Not only were we able to get every a lot faster, we were also able to jam out to Christian Rock music all day! ;) The whole scambio was a major success in my eyes because I learned so much from Anziano Vasquez; it was very cool getting trained by another mind (I've only experienced training from Anziano Gibbons). The most important thing I learned from Anziano Vasquez was probably about the importance of dropping people when they aren't keeping commitments.
In other news, Pope Francis came to Prato yesterday! Unfortunately, we couldn't see him... But, we were over in Prato at like 11:00 and there was still a TON of people all over the city (his speech was only from 8-9)! I was a little jealous of all the people wearing yellow baseball caps around the city (I don't know the significance behind the yellow, but they all looked cool).
I also want to tell you guys about a little miracle(s) that happened yesterday. I was having a really hard morning... Then, when I started reading my Book of Mormon during personal study, my mind was elsewhere. I was reading the words, but was getting no meaning out of what I was reading. When I caught myself doing this, I was at the end of verse three. When I started the next verse (now focused on what I was reading), it was EXACTLY what I needed to read. It's amazing how often the Book of Mormon speaks to you. #TheBookOfMormonIsTrue But, that's not all. God really didn't want me to forget that he was looking out for me because when I walked out of the apartment- BOOM! I found a €5 bill laying on the ground. Because of these little miracles, my hard morning became a little easier.
Now, I feel like I need a paragraph dedicated to the senior missionary couple serving in our ward. I love them! Due to my awkwardness, I don't think I've ever really been able to connect with adults very well in my life... But, during the past month, I have grown so close with the Hydes! On Sunday night, they came up with the idea to have a family home evening in Carmignano at Solomon's house. Anziano Gibbons and I were super pumped and invited a ton of Africans. Unfortunately, none of the people we invited came... Nonetheless, it was a great family home evening. The five of us all sang songs, had a little spiritual thought, played games, and ate super spicy African food prepared by Solomon. Although we didn't have a big turnout, Solomon had a GREAT time and I'm really glad we did it. Our goal is to get the tradition of Family Home Evening started, so Solomon and others can have their own every single week! So, we're going to try and host another FHE in Carmignano in a few weeks (hopefully with a bigger turnout)!
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| The Prato District |
Earlier this week, I convinced the sisters to bring a scale to district meeting, so I could see the damage. I'm at 163 pounds... A 10 pound increase from entering the MTC! I'm getting a little worried about what the next two years is going to do to my body. I think a lot of my weight gain is a result from the generosity of Grazia, a woman in our ward. Grazia is in charge of keeping an eye on the church building, so she literally comes to the building everyday. When she's at the building, she tends to leave food for Anziano Gibbons and I in the cupboard (pies, cakes, cookies, chocolate, chips, etc.). And since Anziano Gibbons and I have to visit the church building almost everyday of the week for some reason or another, we eat A LOT of food brought by Grazia! Ezra sent me an email this week telling me how we gained so much weight at one point in his mission that he had to keep the top button of his shirt unbuttoned all the time. Luckily, I haven't gotten to that point... Yet. ;)
I hope you all have a great week family! Anziano Gibbons and I have been cleaning the apartment all day (you do a super-clean once per transfer) and I really wish it could've been as fun as the 4:30 clean-up-sessions back home. ;) Also, in today's shopping trip, I only spent €25 (the normal for me is €40)! :D I'll leave you with some parting words of wisdom: put flour in the mix when you're making French toast. The fluffiness of the finished product is unreal. I love you all! Please keep me and my investigators in your prayers.
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