Happy Spring! I'm not sure if it's technically Spring yet, but we're
going to say it is; it's been a rather sunny, flower filled day. It's
been a really rewarding week for Anziano Leavitt and I over here in
Pesaro. We've been able to see God's hand daily as we've been trying
to be the best missionaries we know how to be.
After church on Sunday, we had an emotional meeting with our branch
members and the first counselor of the Rimini stake presidency. The
general gist of the meeting is that at the end of the year, if Pesaro
hasn't increased its membership, the branch is going to be closed. Our
branch members have done SO, SO much to keep the Pesaro branch alive
and it would be a real shame if the branch was gone. The first
counselor said that to give the primary aged boys in our branch more
friendship and to lighten the load on our members, the Pesaro members
would start attending the Rimini Ward (30+ minutes away). The meeting
really made me reflect on my desires, efforts, and faith. Anziano
Leavitt and I literally have a huge influence on whether this branch
stays open or not! It is really a humbling thought.
Right now, we're trying to get into the houses of all of our
less-active members. Re-activations are just as important as new
baptisms for our struggling branch. Our goal is to reactivate the
members of our branch that have lost their way and as we do so, ask
for referrals! We're very lucky to have Presidente Di Nuzzo, Fratello
Leon, and Fratello Falchi as active members of Pesaro right now. They
have been so willing to help us visit less active members (and treat
us to the occasional slice of pizza or gelato ;)) and have been giving
out Book of Mormons to their non-member friends weekly!!
The highlights of this past week were getting into contact with some
old investigators (some of those investigators are both kinds of old).
First off, we met Marina! We passed by her house and the man she lives
with let us in. When we walked into Marina's room she had an open
bottle of wine next to her and was a little tipsy. But, she was really
sweet. She came to Italy from Russia 20 years ago and has been a slave
to alcohol ever since. We shared a brief message about Jesus with her
and she really liked it, but her bozo of a roommate kept on
interrupting our lesson by saying some EXTREMELY offensive things to
Marina. There was one point during the lesson when I was ready to sock
her roommate in the face (don't worry, I later felt bad for feeling
that way and we made him cookies). Marina is 40ish, has a very pretty
countenance, but thanks to her alcohol dependency and verbally abusive
roommate, has no confidence at all. We're excited to start working
more with her.
Second off, we were able to get in contact with Abraham! Abraham is a
Nigerian man who was taught by the missionaries way back in the day.
He understands the restoration really well and still had the Book of
Mormon gifted to him by prior missionaries.
Third off, we are now teaching a little old granny and grandpa!
They are ADORABLE. Anna, the
granny, met Mariano, the grandpa, when she was 16 years old. They've
been together ever since. They have five kids, are practicing
Catholics, and were taught by a plethora of different missionaries.
I'll attach a photo of them, but believe me, this photo makes them
seem a lot older than they feel in person! When we visited them, we
talked a lot about Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation. It doesn't
seem like they have any desire to change, but they agreed to watch
Meet the Mormons with us next week and we're hoping to spark a little
interest in them.
Side note: we think Anna and Mariano may be a little more lucid than
Angelo (the old man that let us into his house a few weeks ago).
Angelo is more than willing to keep meeting with us, but keeps on
forgetting who we are and likes recounting the same stories over and
over again. We're still going to try and work with his disabled
daughter, but my companion and I are a little bummed for Angelo (and
his daughter who has to hear those stories a whole lot more than us).
There's been a few moments this week where I've been ready to throw in
the towel for the day and have daydreamed of curling up in front of a
TV with a bag of Goldfish. But, I wouldn't trade Netflix and a bag of
Goldfish for what I got going on in my life right now. I'm so excited
I get to be part of God's work here helping out the tiny branch of
Pesaro. I'm becoming more and more aware of the Spirit and feel
blessed every time I recognize it because the Spirit is literally
telling me the will of GOD (a perfect and glorified being who created
our spirits and knows all). Life is a lot less mundane when I'm
seeking for that Spirit and doing my best to be worthy of it because
it's bringing me closer to the big man upstairs! :) Have a great
week!!
Vi voglio una barca di bene,
Anziano Anderson
1. The rain don't stop this Washingtonian. 💁🏻
2. Anziano Leavitt and I taught primary on Sunday! Would you trust us
with your kid? ;)
3. Mariano and Anna!!!
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