Week 30 - Loving Livorno | Mission Life in Milan

by Unknown 7:49 AM 0 comments

As for my first week in Livorno, I feel like I'm living the dream right now. Awesome people, sunny days, a constant sea breeze...

This city is incredible. I have high hopes for what Anziano Buckles and I can accomplish here this transfer! And can I just say, I love being senior companion?! I was a little freaked out during my first 24 hours with Anziano Buckles because I've never felt more looked up to from a peer... It was a weird transition going from sidekick to superhero (junior to senior companion)! ;p

Anziano Buckles is from Indiana (despite his Utahish last name) and will never be seen with anything less than a SpongeBob sized grin on his face. To sum up his character in one sentence: He worked on oil rigs before his mission and was able to save up enough money to cover the cost of his whole mission by himself. He's a really upstanding guy. He has a little bit of a southern twang in his voice and wants 12 kids (no, that is not a joke). Want to hear the coolest thing about Anziano Buckles? He played Runescape before his mission. I don't mean he played Runescape in 5th grade and quit in 6th; I mean he played Runescape in 5th grade and didn't quit until leaving on his mission! It was a big moment in my life having a sophisticated conversation about Runescape with someone who actually knew what they were talking about.

My companion made me feel like a million bucks earlier this week when he said something like, "I'm not used to this, Anziano Anderson." I had no idea what he was talking about until he said, "My last companion and me never did finding work. Thank you for going at it!" I'm still not exactly sure how his trainer and him never did finding work during their 12 weeks together, but it made me feel so good when he said it because I knew I was doing the right thing.

I've literally had zero fear to stop people on the street since being in Livorno. I've never been prouder to wear the name of Jesus Christ on my lapel. My Italian has improved leaps and yards since arriving in this city. Sometimes I even surprise myself with how well words come to my mouth. I don't say these things to boast in myself. I say these things because the Lord's hand is undeniably in my life right now. I can't even describe what a tender mercy it was when I was asked to teach the Gospel Principles class on Sunday with only a few minutes notice and feel completely confident. I don't remember one instance during the lesson where the Italian language acted as a barrier for me being able to get my point across.

Highlights of the week: seeing the ocean for the first time since flying over it five months ago, having an appointment with an awesome old Italian man named Volerio after getting his contact details from street finding, singing a traditional African song in a busy town square with Anziano Buckles and our new investigator Abraham, and accidentally stopping a man talking on his phone while street contacting and then getting to have a gospel conversation with his girlfriend who ended up being the person on the other end of the line.

Livorno is an interesting place because we have HUGE ward boundaries and a really nice church building to meet in, but not a ton of members. There are only about 50 active members right now. It was really weird on Sunday because I had two ward members by my side during the three hour church block: Jerry and Michele (25 and 20 years old). Jerry and Michele are the only active members of the ward between the ages of 15 and 30 (pretty sad, right?). Jerry is African and doesn't speak Italian, so he hung around me because I'm an English speaker. Michele hung around me because he doesn't really have a lot of other logical friend options in the ward right now. It made me realize that Anziano Buckles and I need to baptize some youth this transfer to fellowship these awesome young men! ;p Right now, we are teaching three of Jerry's friends named Osas, Odia, and Avis... Alloraaaaa..... Speriamo bene... Dai!

Missionary work is physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausting. But, do you know what? It's going to be so worth it realizing the magnitude of what I did here in Italy when I see the fruits of my work in the eternities. Keep laying up your treasures in heaven; it's worth every ounce of effort you put into it. Jesus Christ payed the price that no other man could. Now, it's our turn to show our appreciation for that payment based on what we are doing, thinking, and becoming every day.