I hope you're all enjoying your Summer! For me, knowing that I'm going home next week has my mind in "on mode"- all the time. I have never had problems sleeping in the mission until this past week; I can't stop thinking! Last night, Giancarlo "il famoso", brought a cake and presents for me to the ward family home evening last night to celebrate my return. I don't deserve the love that man shows to me. I'm glad I got the opportunity to know him. Tonight we are going to his house to surprise him with gelato and a Mormon message video. We're excited! :) After church on Sunday, we stuck around in the church with Courage, Sunday, and Peace eating €0.90 frozen pizzas while watching On the Lord's Errand (side note: I love our prophet!). President Allen did a special church service in Ravenna and came down to Rimini afterward to interview our Nigerian friends for baptism. They all passed! All three of these boys have stories from Nigeria that will make you cringe, but now, all three of these boys are safe in Rimini with a testimony of the restored church of Jesus Christ. These guys are not the most educated Nigerian men I have ever met, but they all have an admirable faith. It's been an honor watching them sacrifice, struggle, and persevere for their testimony. Also, I've literally seen these guys learn Italian! Three months ago, they thought they were hot stuff saying "ciao" and "stammi bene". Now, we schedule appointments with them in Italian on the phone! I want nothing more than for these guys to have a happy and rewarding life. Anziano Montalto and I also went to my first Catholic mass service this week! I really enjoyed it. I was a little disappointed to see that the average age for the personnel there was probably around 60; I hope it's not an indication of the rising generation's lack of belief. That being said, the thing that impressed me the most was seeing these devout Catholics practice their beliefs. I know that we are members of the true church, but it's cool seeing other people's faith and the sacrifices they make to live it. I also enjoyed standing up every few minutes to recite another prayer (don't worry, I kept my mouth closed during the prayers)! I've been too a few different churches now and I've come to the conclusion that we are a church of sitters. Other church's stand up a lot more than just for the intermediate hymn! The miracle of the week happened at a less-active member's house. We had scheduled an appointment with the father, but when we arrived, his 18 year-old son was the only one home. Normally, this kid runs out of the room every time we come. We were excited when he invited us in and agreed to listen to our prepared message. We were able to talk about prayer and communicating with God. A couple days before going to this appointment, I had a really powerful experience due to a prayer and was able to testify with true and sincerity to this young man. I'm really grateful that I've been able to serve a mission. I'll send you guys my final adieu next week.
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