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| 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
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