This week was incredible! We are witnessing a miracle! When I wrote last week, we only had 2 progressing investigators and one other investigator. Now, we have 6 new investigators to whom we've taught lessons to. Additionally, we now have 5 progressing investigators! However, along with this added success, we've also seen a lot of disappointments. Many of our appointments have fallen through, we lost contact with some of the people who we had taught, some don't want anything more to do with us, and the people, as we've been going around doing strada and casa have seemed more closed than ever before. But, we will keep working!
Our investigators are Piero, Mary, LenLo (all of whom were investigators before I arrived), Antonella, Anca, Mike, the Rus Family, Virginie, (and also maybe another family - the Ruben family - who we met in their house one time and want to be taught again, but we don't have a specific time...). We have one family right now, the Rus family (Daniel and Felice), that is absolutely amazing. They are Romanian and are orthodox, but are extremely open to new things. After teaching them once and getting to know them, they have a ton of questions. Of all the investigators and people I've seen thus far, this family is the most interested and excited about the gospel. I hope everything works out well for them.
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One more experience that I can't leave out. If you read anything, this is probably the coolest, most spiritual, and also the most strange...Yesterday we had a really interesting experience. We had an appointment with a less active member named Luana. When we got there, some missionaries for the Jehovah's Witness church were there with her. She had us come in and sit down and asked the Jehovah's witnesses to sit down so that we could learn about each others' religions. At first, they were just asking questions about our church. Anziano Pastillo took the lead and he was basically saying everything. During this I had the feeling that I needed to read the promise in Moroni and bear a simple testimony, however, I didn't have the courage to speak up because I didn't find a good chance to share. However, soon the Jehovah's witnesses wanted to "discuss" our religions. They started reading stuff from the bible and tried to refute some of our doctrines and asked some pretty bizarre questions. Anziano Pastillo said something, trying to just end the conversation, but it didn't work. Finally I had the courage to speak up, and I read Moroni 10:3-5, and shared my testimony. I said that I don't know everything, but I don't have to because I know the fundamentals, and I know that God knows everything and that we can learn from Him. I also talked about how we are not on missions to try to persuade people to join our church, but that our message is to ask God if things are true, for He is the only one who can truly "convince" someone. Anyway, I have never felt the spirit so strong as I have borne testimony, and at this time I felt for the first time a piece of the power and authority of my calling (this was the second time in my life that there was a hint of tears coupled with a reallly strong emotion as I bore testimony, and it was cool to see that Luana felt it it, and I could tell that at least one of the Jehovah's Witnesses was really touched by my testimony). After I bore testimony, they didn't speak for a little while (like the scriptures say - confounded). Eventually, the lady Jehovah's witness tried to bible bash again, but then Luana, the less-active member, shut her down, and then we had to leave. It was an amazing experience for me, a tender mercy from the Lord to receive a confirmation of the testimony that I have, as well as the power and authority I have been given. It was also neat because of what happened with Luana, the less active member. I don't know if she has been meeting often with the Jehovah's witnesses, but when I was reading the promise in Moroni, she started to quote it quietly along with me. Then, when I bore testimony, I could see her be moved. And after, when the Jehovah's witnesses started to talk about their beliefs, the spirit left. She was able to see a clear difference between the spirit and lack thereof, and we helped her come to Christ in that way, showing her that the Church that she used to attend really is the true church, and that the things she used to believe are still true, and we could see that starting to come out a little bit in her.
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The language is coming so fast! This last week, I think it was last friday or saturday, I stopped someone on the street and got his information without Anziano Pastillo saying anything - I did it all (with the help of the Lord of course)! Then, later that day, someone opened the door while we were doing casa and I got us in, and Anziano Pastillo didn't have to say anything! Then, yesterday night, I had a really cool experience. We were in Centro (downtown) and Anziano Pastillo had to go inside of one of the little shops to make some copies while I waited outside the door with the bikes. A lady came walking by and I started a conversation with her - Buona Sera! Come sta? She said that she was stanca (tired), and I laughed and made a little joke about it. We continued to talk, a little light heartedly, about some of the tiring things in life, and I ended that part of the conversation with, well, that's life (allora, è la vita!)! She laughed, and then I continued to talk and eventually got her information. The cool part was, Anziano Pastillo wasn't there to back me up, and he came out right as she was giving me her info! I am amazed at how fast I am learning, how much more I can understand, how much more I can say, and how much faster and clearly I can say it!...
So, a quick recap of the week, temporally speaking. We walked a ton! A couple of the days my feet and back were just aching like crazy! Oh, we had to walk a ton because my bike was in the shop getting fixed. But, we got it back yesterday! Oh, when we ride through the Centro, there are cobblestone streets, and it reminds me of how it feels to ride on a part of one of my favorite mountain biking trails... Anziano Pastillo said I needed to name my bike, so I named it Bonneville (after the trail it reminds me of...). Anyway, the weather here is really weird. On Friday it was really nice, probably almost 70 degrees (we were dying in our suits!). However, the last few days it has been super cold and super rainy! I had to wear my beany for my head, the gloves with the liners, and my coat with its liner as well as a sweater. Brrrr! Oh, and the rain here can be crazy. Yesterday, we had our bikes, and it was raining when we had to get on our bikes. I have never seen it rain so hard, so fast, with such big drops! After 10-15 seconds on our bikes in the rain, we were drenched! Oh, and right now it is hailing like crazy outside. Weird... had some more good food this week. I tried for the first time pasta with pesto sauce (genovese style). Oh my gosh, it is so good! That was the best food I have had thus far in Italy! I can see why Fratello Skanchy likes it so much! We also ate at a Chinese restaurant/buffet with LenLo (he is chinese...). It was good (and strange)! I ate so much fish and weird sea critters - a full plate full, piled high with all different types! Oh, with that there is a funny story and a great blessing. I went to dish up the fish, and it looked kind of strange (almost like it was raw or something). Anyway, I got it and went to the table and chose one of the strange things and ate it. It tasted really weird and hardly had any flavor. Then, LenLo saw what I was doing and told me that I messed up - it was raw fish, you are supposed to dish up what you want and then take it to the chefs to cook it for you! I had already eaten some of it, however. I prayed super hard that somehow I wouldn't get sick and that everything would be okay, and, I didn't wake up with food poisoning (and it has been about 24 hours now), so I think that I have witnessed a miracle, or at least gotten lucky with how well the different food handlers have kept the fish! Anyway, I ate lots of weird sea creatures (some of them you have to tear the little legs off, some look like little octopus, some look like insects...), and most of it was good (most...). I also tried some sushi and a bunch of other weird things that I don't even know how to describe. Oh, I had some really good fruit, some kind of berry with a seed or something, the texture of a strawberry mixed with a raspberry (but a bit more prickly). Anyway, it was good.
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Well, everything has been going great for me this week, and I am excited to get out and experience another great one!
Thank you for everything!
-Anziano Barnes
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