Another Fantastic Week in Italy!

What a fantastic week!  There were a few days that were literally some of the very very best of my whole mission.  Let me explain why.

We've been having lots of miracles with the Rodriguez family - and now there is one more (a cousin named Anna)!  They have finally started to read the Book of Mormon, and they are changing!  It is especially cool to see the changes in the mom, who is a bit stuck on being a catholic.  She still has a way to go, but the more she reads, the more open she becomes.  Last week we talked with them about baptism.  At first they were all hesitant (especially the mom).  But, after testimonies and explanations, Roberto accepted a baptismal date and the others said that once they receive an answer from God they will get baptized.  Even the mom said this!  She was the one that took the longest.  However, once the Spirit touched her enough and she said yes, an amazing spirit entered the room and the whole family was happy.  This was one of the greatest teaching appointments of my life.  We were able to teach clearly and with the Spirit, we loved openly and fully, we laughed together with the family, and there were changes made in their lives.  We're going to continue to try to help the family and help the rest of them begin to work towards a day when they can enter in by the way - baptism - that opens the gate to tons of blessings!

 ... 

There is a lot of news about the African new converts.  First of all, we went to teach on thursday night.  Emmanuel told us that he had decided to move to Napoli (a document he needs to stay here longer got denied and he was told he needed to either get a lawyer or leave the country within 30 days).  We asked when he would be going.  He said that he would maybe go that night or at the latest the next morning!  We said our goodbyes.  I was reminded of how much love I have for him and for the others.  I was also greatly reminded of the great responsibility that I have.  I thought - what if he never meets the missionaries or the church again?  Does he know enough?  What would his eternal status be?  Reflecting back on him and what he had done and what we've done for him, I was comforted (especially by the fact that when we went to teach he had already packed up - and his book of mormon was one of the first things he put in his suitcase!).  Anyway, we need to find the address of the church in Napoli so we can help him get there.  But, this isn't the end.  On Friday (the day that he "went" to Napoli), we were coming back from an appointment and we were leaving the train station.  I kind of had to go to the bathroom so we decided that we would use the bathroom there at the station (I didn't want to have to wait).  The bathroom is in the back of the station, so as we were exiting we had to turn around and make our way to the bathroom.  On our way, who did we see?  Emmanuel and a couple other of the Africans as well as one we had never seen before!  It turns out he is going to travel to Napoli with his brother who lives in Milano.  Then, once he gets to Napoli, he is going to live with another brother who lives there!  We had no idea that Emmanuel had relatives in Italy.  We also had no idea what the situation was like in Napoli.  But, he will have a house and someone to take care of him!  Also, this might be the way that the Lord has prepared to introduce this brother to the church!

I feel like I am continually changing more and more. ... Everything goes so much better when I forget about myself and do everything I can for others.  I've been realizing how much I need God's help and how much I need to apply the atonement of Christ in my life in order to receive remission of sins as well as to purify my heart and align my will with God's.  My faith in Christ has grown a lot as I apply His atonement more.  My testimony has increased about how I can change and how my vision and attitude of myself, of God, and of the world can be renewed.  I'm going to have to work on this my whole life!

-Anziano Barnes

Stolen Bikes, New Bikes, and the Train Miracle

Anziano Boscia and Barnes with new bikes in Pavia

What an exciting week... sort of.  I have two bits of news.  First the good news - we received new bikes!  The bad - the old bikes were stolen.  I'll explain later.  First, let me give the important part - the updates.

The African new converts are doing well.  We've stopped teaching in groups completely and now we teach them all individually.  Although they all have amazing faith and a strong testimony, that testimony is still very young and their understanding of the doctrines is still very limited.  Now, teaching them one by one, we are able to hit their needs exactly and make sure that each one understands, believes, and applies the important principles, ordinances, and covenants of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  ...

Tiziano is still doing fantastic.  He is always calm and happy.  There isn't really much more to add than that - the spirit is always super strong when we go, he always understands really well, he reads and prays like he should.  Oh, I do want to say one thing - we ate lunch with them on Monday and he said the prayer on the food - he prays better than most members I know!  His prayer was an example for me of how I should pray!  Anyway, he is doing amazing.  We hope that something can happen so that he can make the next couple steps - baptism and confirmation.

The Rodriguez family is doing good.  Frida wasn't able to come to church on sunday because she got a last-minute call Saturday night that she had to work.  However, her brother, Roberto, came!  From what we could tell, he really enjoyed it.  We go back to see them all tonight and we'll learn more.  Oh, the sister is doing good.  She came to Italy yesterday, so we should be able to meet her tonight.

Christian, the man that has been coming to church for years who is married to a member who we taught with the Calio family last week is doing well.  I think we "broke the ice."  He is now willing to meet more with us.  However, his father is in serious health condition - he had a heart attack and is in the hospital.  They receive phone calls fairly often and they have to leave to go see him.  Because of this, we've been unable to see him more.

We haven't been working with the other investigators. 

Okay, now for the "exciting" part of the week.  On Saturday we went to the Virzo home again.  This time we got to paint!  After getting a bit messy (not in missionary clothes, of course), we went back to Pavia.  We went walking towards the bikes, and I didn't see them.  I asked my companion, "do you see the bikes?"  He said "No, where did we leave them?"  We went to the place where they were, and we found the only thing remaining that was ours: a chain that was now destroyed (see picture).  They completely destroyed the chain we had!  That's about the biggest thing that you can get here in Italy - in fact it's what people use to lock up their scooters so that the scooters don't get stolen!  Anyway, those old bikes are long gone...  But, we have new ones (see pictures).  This time we decided to get the biggest thing we can to lock up the bikes (see pictures).  Hopefully these will do the trick...

Okay, time for the amazing miracle of the week:  We had to go to Voghera (another city) for the appointment with the Calio family and Christian.  Recently, the machines where you buy the tickets haven't been accepting credit cards, so we've used cash instead.  I brought, in addition to the 5 euro I had in cash, all of the coins that I had collected over time (I had the feeling that they might have been useful).  We went and bought the ticket - it required the 5 euro I had plus a couple euro that Anziano Boscia had.  After that, all the money that we had left were the coins I had and 1.90 that Anziano Boscia had in coin.  We decided that before coming back, we would stop at a bancomat (a machine where you put your card in and withdraw money - it's like a free ATM service).  Anyway, when we came back, we tried first to use our card to buy a ticket.  It didn't work.  Then, we went to the bancomat near by.  It didn't work either!  We didn't know what to do.  I counted my money - I had 4.40 exactly.  We remembered that it cost about 7 euro if we could take the cheap train and it would take 13 to take the faster train.  There was only one train that went back to pavia within the hour - and it was a cheap train.  We decided to take it - we had to run to get there in time.  We told the conductor that we needed to buy a ticket (sometimes they let you do it on board).  He told us right away that it would be about 7 euro.  Oh shoot!  We sat down and prayed that somehow what we had would be enough.  We counted our money again - 6.30.  We had it in hand until he came.  When he came back with the bill, he showed it to me.  It showed 6.30.  I dumped my coins into his hand and Anziano Boscia dumped his coins into his hand and he left.  As he left the train car, we burst into laughter!  Nothing could have taken the smile off or our faces!  God really had helped us!  Still, in this moment, I can hardly believe that we had exactly the right amount of change to get home - no more, no less.

I love being a missionary!  I am growing so much.  I am still a long way from perfection, but slowly I am being changed and refined.  One of the coolest things is to look back on the weeks, months, and years, and see the progress that has happened.  There is a phrase in Preach My Gospel that I absolutely love - through our Faith in Jesus Christ, we receive help to change the desires of our hearts.  It is so true!

-Anziano Barnes

Teaching, Serving, Purifying

This has been an excellent week - it's gone by super fast.  This week, more than almost any other, I felt has been one of lots of growth.  But, before I get into all of that, I'll give the update on the work! ...

We now have some new investigators - they are a miracle!  One morning we got a phone call from a member with a referral.  But, there was a catch...  He had given a book of mormon to this lady who he met at work, and this lady said that she needed some help - a translator - to translate from Italian to English.  Anziano Boscia was the one who talked on the phone and said that he felt really strongly that this was going to be an excellent missionary opportunity to also do some service.  We went to the house and it was a crazy situation in the family and I had to help translate. It was cool, actually, because we were able, in the end, to help sort out some difficulties and misunderstandings in the family.  Now things are much better.  ... Anyway, after I translated, we taught a little bit.  We went back again yesterday to continue teaching.  These people are elect!  They are searching for the truth "but are kept from it only because they know not where to find it."  We're trying to help them gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon.  It is really cool to see how so many things worked together to bring this miracle - a member referral, an opportunity for service that made a big difference in the family, and some new investigators that are amazing!

We also were able to help the members a lot this week.  We did a bunch of service for the Virzo family.  They're incredible - I don't know how they do all they do (6 kids under 8 and tons of work and other commitments).  So, we helped them with one of the projects in their house - we built one of their rooms (we did the sheetrock).  It was cool, because as we were about to go, Sister Virzo asked us if we'd been "commanded" to take better care of the members in the ward.  We said no but that we wanted to help strengthen and serve the members in the little ways we can.  She says she's never felt so loved before.  And, the cool thing is that, ever since we've been helping, their desire and joy in doing missionary work has increased a lot.  In some way, our little acts of service and our example are radiating to the members and they are getting more excited about missionary work!  This happened with another family as well!  We went to a Calio family.  The next day we got a text message thanking us so much because they had felt the spirit really strong and had a great time with us, and they said that they could still feel the "spirit" that we brought.  They, too, have a referall for us that we will be meeting tonight!

I said earlier that this week has been one of growth.  I'll explain briefly.  I've been trying to "purify my heart," or get rid of all the "carnal" and "worldly" desires and instead be filled with the desires of Christ.  I've prayed a bunch, fasted, and tried really hard.  And, there has been a tiny bit of progress, but it feels so good to see the little changes!  The gospel of Jesus Christ has become so much more real for me.  I think my faith in Jesus Christ has grown more in this week than it has for a really long time.  What have I done?  I've changed the way I study.  I've changed the way I pray.  I've been trying to apply the atonement and teachings and attributes of Jesus Christ in my life.  My determination to obey with exactness has increased.  It is a battle inside, but when I've forgotten myself, stripped myself of pride and selfishness, and turned to the Lord, the "tides change," and I come out victorious.  More than ever, I feel ready to give myself completely and let the Lord use me to do His work.

He is the Savior.

-Anziano Barnes

Another Amazing Baptismal Service, August 7!

Baptism and Confirmation Day for Bismack, Kelly and Frank

Buon giorno!

The baptismal service was amazing!  I don't know why they weren't smiling in the pictures - the whole rest of the day they couldn't tear the smile from their faces!  Anziano Boscia performed the baptisms and I performed the confirmations.  However, the font was not filled up correctly and it was way too small (it's sort of like a swimming pool style font, set up with PVC type pipes).  Kelly, the first to be baptized, hit his head on the side of the font before going into the water.  So, after that, the members gathered around the font and pulled from all directions to enlarge the area, and after that the others didn't hit their heads.  However, Anziano Boscia is a little bit too small - he couldn't get them out of the water by himself, so one of the members stood on the side and pushed them up.  However, it was an amazing experience for each one of them and also for the members and others that came (I'll explain later).  Afterwards, Bismack said to me "Ah, yes, it's finally done.  We've been waiting and talking about this for a long time."  These men are absolutely amazing.  And now, looking back a little bit at our situation with the new house  and no electricity, we realized that we never would have met these men  if we had not moved into the new house.  So, notwithstanding the little inconveniences, we did the work of the Lord - it was all worth it!

Update on Tiziano - wow!  He's finally reading the Book of Mormon, and he loves it!  He still has not recieved an answer (as of yesterday afternoon) - hopefully he kept our invitation to pray last evening and hopefully he recieved and recognized an answer.  However, he is doing absolutely amazing.  We heard a little bit more about his story of how he got introduced into the church.  About 6 weeks ago, at Eurospin (a market), he saw two boys in white shirts and ties.  He was with Daniela (his wife - the less active member), who told him who they were - us!  One of those missionaries was me - he recognized me after seeing me again (it's funny because I only went to shop at Eurospin once, when we were living in the old apartment)!  A few weeks past.  In those weeks, he started asking more and more questions to Daniela.  Okay, now a little bit about Daniela - she was not doing very well at all - physically, mentally, socially, or spiritually. One day, the old bishop came to their home and gave her a priesthood blessing.  Tiziano was there, and was moved to tears from seeing it.  Her situation changed completely (she went from almost dying to being healed almost immediately - there was something in her body that usually takes a long time to be regulated and increased to normal that was fixed to perfect in 3 days after the blessing).  A day or two after she was better, they were driving and took a wrong turn and ended up pretty close to the city of the Virzo family.  This day, in particular, we (the missionaries) were at the Virzo home.  After miracle and more miracles, we had been there from lunch until early in the evening.  As we were preparing to leave, the Virzo recieved a phone call from Daniela (who is a friend to Sister Virzo) asking if she could stop by.  She informed us that there were some people coming that they would have liked us to meet and if we could stay a few minutes more.  That day is the first day we met Tiziano.  Two days later, they came to church.  A few days after that, we began teaching.  It is absolutely amazing how everything just fell into place!  And now, there is another miracle - Daniela's children!  She has 3 boys.  1 is 10, 1 is 9, and one is 5.  The 9 and 10 year olds are fantastic - they just started reading the book of mormon.  Their spirits are so willing and ready - they want to learn the gospel!  We will be working with them and hopefully they can be baptized in the coming weeks!  However, they are going to be with their father (because he and Daniela are separated) for 3 weeks.  But, when they return...

And now, as for me and Anziano Boscia, we will be staying together for another transfer!

Lessons from being sick and staying at home all week long: Even though we had to stay home all week, I still learned and grew a lot.  There was one night that I could not sleep (my mind would not slow down and my stomach sensations were a little bit too unpredictable...).  I was laying in bed, but I had the strongest desire to go and read about Jesus Christ.  I had one of the most spiritual experiences that I've ever had that night as I studied about Him.  There was another night (I couldn't sleep again...) that I really wanted to sit down and write.  So, I opened my journal, and, for an hour, I wrote about what I was feeling, thinking about, learning, and trying to do better.  After that and trying to fall asleep (but finding myself unsuccessful), I decided that I wanted to do something nice for Anziano Boscia.  So, I wrote him a poem.  I have been thinking a lot lately about Christlike attributes(especially charity) and about motivations/desires.  I want to strip myself completely of selfishness and pride and I want to serve, motivated purely by love.  I think this will probably take a lifetime to work on, but I am realizing how important it is in missionary work.  People can see when you love them.  People can tell when you really care about them and their well being.  They can see it in your countenance.  In the end, the most important thing is that.  I know that I alone will never be able to accomplish this work or accomplish this goal that I have - I need the merits, mercy, and grace of Christ.  I have been thinking also a lot about how big of a role prayer has in helping me.  "Pray with all the energy of heart..."  "Counsel with the Lord... so that he may direct thee for good."  "Pray always... that He might consecrate thy performance for the welfare of thy soul."  These are a few of the scriptures that run through my head a lot.  Now I just have to apply them better!  It will take time and work, but it will work with time!

Thanks for your love and prayers!

-Anziano Barnes

Amazing and spectacular investigators!

What a week!

Most of our week has been centered on helping our recently baptized new converts and the 3 men that will be baptized this sunday.  They are all doing amazing!  You can see the light that is coming into their lives - it is an amazing thing to see how the gospel changes lives!  Other than that, we've been really busy doing other things!

First, update on Tiziano - wow!  He is golden!  He wants to be baptized and right now is doing all he can to try to get a response from God that the things we have been saying are all true.  There isn't a ton to say - he's is just spectacular!

Update on the Africans who will be baptized this next sunday - Bismack (his real name is actually Baranger...), Kelly, and Frank.  Bismack and Kelly are both doing really well.  Kelly, for a bit last week, was sick, and during those days we weren't sure how strong his testimony was.  However, after he was better, he seemed stronger than ever.  The thing I like most about kelly is that if you look at him and smile, he lights up and starts laughing - it's hard to not be happy when you are with him!  Frank's story is a miracle.  President Wolfgramm had to do the interview for him, so he came on Sunday during church to do it.  After the interview, Frank walked back into the room happier than I've ever seen before, with a light that never had existed before - he was able to feel the burden that he'd been carrying be lifted.  The atonement works wonders!  We are super excited to be able to work with these 3 men and to help them enter the gate that leads to eternal life - baptism!

Okay, the other things we did this week:

We've been able to strengthen our relationships with a ton of members.  We've worked a lot with the Virzo family, and our relationship with them is getting really strong.  We also met another member - Fratello Ciorrli.  He is amazing as well.  We had one of the best lessons that Anziano Boscia and I have ever had when we were with him.  We were more united than ever, it was one of the most spiritual lessons we've had, and we were able to help him a lot with his difficulties right now.  Also, we visited the family of the bishop that was just released a few weeks ago.  Their family is spectacular!  Here are a few of the cool things that they taught us:  First, they have a garden, and this garden is known in their town as the most productive - magical in fact.  Why?  They bless the garden and bless the seeds.  They pray for their garden.  Then, they let it grow naturally.  The food that it produces is wonderful - we got to eat a bunch of stuff from it!  They also do missionary work - as a family!  They have some projects planned to help a few different people begin learning about the church.  Also, we met another family, the Di Caro family.  First, when I walked into their house and took a breath in, it smelled just like the Morrison home in Fallbrook!  When we went, they had also invited 2 couples (each with one partner that is a member and one that is not).  The lesson that we had was incredible - the spirit was super strong.  As we concluded the lesson, everyone was left speechless - everyone was sitting back, thoughtful, peaceful, and happy.  It was an amazing contrast to what it was like earlier (it was loud, the conversations were unfocused, and people were chattering like crazy).

Also, we did a bit of service for some people - during one of our lunches we baked a bunch of cookies and I wrote a short poem to go along with the cookies.  We went around to the Virzo family (to thank them because they washed our clothes this week), Rhida and his family (some less actives we're working with), and the Natale family.  When we went to the Natale's home, we were able to meet with both the mom and the dad - something that hasn't happened for more than a month!  Everyone really enjoyed the cookies and the note!

Yesterday we had a training in Milan by President wolfgramm.  It was incredible.  We learned a lot of things that we need to apply in our work.  However, everything is centered in love.  If we would just love the people how we are supposed to, everything else follows naturally!  I realized something as we learned.  All of the things he had taught, we have done with the Africans.  The only way I've ever taught like how I do there is when I've been with them - I haven't been able to put it into practice anywhere else.  And, as President promised, it works (8 people have been baptized and confirmed members of the true church)!  I guess I just need to love everyone as much as I love these men, and then everything else will follow!

We're still without electricity, but the people from the electric company came yesterday and we sorted some things out.  WIthin a week or 2 (or maybe a couple more years...) we'll have electricity! ...

Anziano Boscia and I are doing great together.  We are more united than ever ... He is an amazing example to me, especially in his relationships with others.  The way he works with members and the investigators that we have is incredible.  It's something that I've never been able to do and something that may take a lifetime to put into practice.  I want to be able to open up and love fully like he can!  He has an amazing capacity to connect with anyone and everyone.  I hope I can follow his example!

-Anziano Barnes