Week 50 - Mission Clerk

by Unknown 9:13 PM 0 comments

It's been a week full of firsts this past week and one of the happiest
I've had in a long time! I got a surprise call by President Allen last
week, two weeks before normal transfer calls, and informed me that I'd
be coming up to the office to be the new clerk. So, on Monday, I came
up to Milan so I could get some office training before the new
transfer begins and Anziano Freckleton got sent off to be companions
with the La Spezia missionaries.

I was honestly a little let down when I got this phone call because
I'm still searching for that specific person that I was called here to
find and I knew that goal becomes a little harder when I'm in the
mission office for most of the day. However, now that I'm here, I know
this call was revelation. President Allen told me that he was
considering two missionaries to fill this clerk position and I wasn't
one of them. But, right before making the clerk call, he felt really
strongly that I should fill it! Working in the office the past week
has provided me with some cool opportunities like getting to work with
BIG money, driving a car again, being in an air-conditioned building
all day, and sleeping in a queen sized bed on a regular basis for the
first time in my life. Yet the reason I say this call was made by
revelation is because of my new companion, Anziano Thompson.

Anziano Thompson was converted to the gospel a couple years ago and is
the only member of the church in his family. He has shown me so much
love since I've been here. It's really weird being with someone that
likes talking to people more than me! I can make you all the promise
that there isn't going to be a more positive place in Italy during the
next month or two than the Milan mission office! ;)



During my mission thus far, I always assumed we had missionaries with
Geek Squad capabilities working in the mission office.... That's not
true at all! We are normal missionaries with Google-search
capabilities!! When missionaries call with iPad problems, my favorite
phrase is, "Have you tried turning it on and off?" There is seriously
never a dull moment behind a missionary clerk phone line... Yesterday,
a sister missionary called and explained that her and her companion
found a PlayStation Portable outside their bedroom window (on the
second story of an apartment building) that she suspected was filming
her and her companion. I HAVEN'T RECEIVED TRAINING TO DEAL WITH THIS
STUFF!

COOL UPDATES FROM BERGAMO: Alessandro got baptized AND the Garcia's
family son got baptized (a less-active family that came back to church
for the first time after Anziano Stahali started visiting them)!
Furthermore, Anziano Stahali is returning to Italy in a couple weeks
to baptized Fratello Ghillardi (he wasn't baptized, but the rest of
his family was)!!! :D