It's hard not seeing a ton of success in the work, but I really feel good about our efforts this past week. I've also been SO happy; I feel like I'm finally getting into the rhythm of things. The funniest moment of my week was probably getting kicked out of someone's house while teaching a lesson. We were teaching an African, who is renting a room in the house of an African family. When a little boy in the African family walked downstairs during the lesson and saw Anziano Gibbons and I in his house, he SPRINTED upstairs shouting for his mom. When the mom came down and saw us, she wasn't very happy... Apparently seeing two, young, white boys in her living room wasn't a daily occurrence for her (or her son). ;p
It's funny because when I wasn't a missionary, the best compliment I could get from someone was probably something like, "I think you're cute." But, as a missionary, things are different... I got a compliment this week that made me feel so good! During a lesson with an African man, he told me, "When you talk, everything makes so much sense." That is EXACTLY what a missionary wants to hear when teaching a lesson.
Also, thank you so much for the birthday sweater you guys sent me. Not only is it super classy, it's also much needed right now. Tracting has been VERY cold lately. Since becoming colder in Pistoia, I've noticed a couple of things... One, I see a lot more kissing everyday (I didn't think it was possible). And two, a lot more people are stopping on the street to talk to the Mormon missionaries. :D It's funny the responses you get while street contacting sometimes... But, it's always a struggle talking to people that just don't get it! Some people think that they know secret mysteries about the heritage of Mormonism and have the need to share it with the missionaries in an attempt to discredit our message. What they never seem to understand is that as Mormons, we aren't ashamed of our past because it's the truth. Some people just can't grasp the concept that with a testimony of the Book of Mormon, EVERYTHING is true!!
I had my first zone conference this past week and it was awesome! I feel like I learned a ton, strengthened my relationship with a lot of Elders and Sisters, and ate a delicious Thanksgiving-style dinner prepared by the Hydes. One cool thing I learned at zone conference is from a presentation given by my mission president. He talked about how we sustain our church leaders as prophets, SEErs, and revelators... The emphasis is on the seers! Isaiah the prophet was one of the greatest seers in history and because of this, a lot of (non Christian) scholars think that Isaiah has to be more than person because of how accurate his writing was!
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| Florence Zone Conference |
Another big thing talked about at zone conference was how we can use our iPads more effectively. They told us quite a few suggestions that I'm going to implement into my mission work. But, there's one way that I've been using my iPad that I thought you guys might get a kick out of. When we've been doing house to house tracting, I've been pulling up a picture of Jesus on the iPad and sticking it in front of the eye-hole! It hasn't gotten Anziano Gibbons and I into any houses yet, but it's definitely a good conversation starter.
Non mission or spiritually related, one thing that I've been meaning to tell you guys is about the broken feet I see here. I'm not sure why (birth defects, mob retaliation, self-inflicted pain, etc.), but there is a lot of beggars that have broken feet... And when I say broken feet, I'm talking about REALLY broken! There's quite a few people that I see that walk around with a foot 180 degrees the wrong direction. It's always a horrifically sad sight to see.
Before I go, I want to brag about my companion a little bit... And this story is unrelated to the fact that he made my bed for me yesterday! I want to tell you guys how nice it is knowing that our companionship is being led by the spirit. Last night, Anziano Gibbons and I were going to bike somewhere to do some tracting. I was following Anziano Gibbons on my bike and he randomly pulled into a store parking lot. I was pretty confused and shouted up to him, "What are you doing man?!" He replied, "I'm trying to follow the Spirit." After biking around the parking lot for a second, we started to leave. But, at the edge of the parking lot we stopped a man named Giacomo. Giacomo turned out to be a total stud! We ended up saying a prayer with him and getting his number for a future visit. :D
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