Buon Giorno!
This week has been really busy, and it's gone by so fast! We started two new progressing investigators (teachers who act like investigators and progress like an investigator would, so we teach them until they drop us or until they get baptized)......
Another progressing investigator that we started was Nicholas. He's a 20 year old boy who we met on a train, saw that he was depressed, talked to him and he let us come over to his house. We found out that he'd just gotten out of drug rehab and he'd had a very hard life. His dad died when he was nine, and his mom started dating really abusive boyfriends. He was super mad at the world, at the men who had beaten he and his mother, and he said he was mad at God for letting all this happen. The only thing we could really do was love him and listen - and we did. We had the opportunity to testify to him that God loved him, and that he could have peace in his life. Then an awesome thing happened - the anger and frustration left, and peace took its place (Fratello Aunu, who played nicholas, is a very good actor, but we could tell that it was more than just Nicholas on the outside that was touched, Fratello Aunu was touched inside as well). We taught him how to pray so that he could learn for himself that God loved him and so he could find lasting comfort through Him. We then committed him to pray, and he said he would - and said he'd do it "right now!" The prayer he gave was so simple yet powerful. We all left on an amazing spiritual high; this was probably the most spiritual experience I've had so far at the MTC. The next day we found out from our teacher, who had talked to him after the lesson, that Fratello Aunu said that his life was changed because of what we taught him. Wow!
So, here are some other fun things about this last week. One day, when we were playing our crazy game of MTC soccer - like 20 on 20 - I scored two goals! I was the MVP, even though there are tons of people that are really good - college good, if you understand what I mean. We're going to get 23 new Italians next Wednesday. Wow!
Thank you all for your letters, your support, and especially for your love.
-Anziano Barnes
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