Week 44 - No cold sores

Livorno

This week was probably one of the most stressful weeks of my
mission.... I don't have a lot of "why's" that explain why it was, but
I'm definitely glad I made it to p-day without getting a cold sore (my
body's normal response to a stress overload). Luckily, I also managed
to go under the radar this week and avoid getting any bug bites. I got
to show off my perfect genetics at the last zone training when
everyone was comparing their bug bites and I had nothing to compare!

Last Zone Meeting with President Dibbs

I think the highlight of my week was my Family Home Evening... African
style! We thought it would be good to get our African investigators to
see that our church isn't just for Italians and have an event targeted
at our English-speaking friends. So, on Friday night, we made some
pizza in the church and watched Meet the Mormons together. They all
had a blast! I think the comment that made my night came from a man
who has been in Italy over a year (after devouring a few plates of
pizza), "That was my first time eating pizza... I had no idea it would
be so delicious!"

Another great part of my week was our lesson with Niccolo. He wasn't
lying during our last appointment when he told us that he would bring
his friend to the next lesson; he came with a man named Nicholas! I
can't tell you how cool it was getting to teach them because of how
genuine they are. We watched the film of the restoration and they both
understand the story of Joseph Smith and the significance (to an
extent) of what it means if he was really a prophet. Since both of
them were born Catholic and are now atheist, they asked a lot of
questions about the Holy Ghost. They both have a glimmer of hope that
this COULD all be true, but they are very hesitant about asking God if
the Book of Mormon is true... They want to receive an answer, but at
the same time they want their answer to be from heaven and not a fake
sensation that was conjugated up by their mind. Hearing their doubts
made me really wish that they had come to church last Sunday. We had
our fast and testimony meeting and there was some VERY powerful
testimonies born of the validity of the church.