Ciao!
Another crazy week - it went by way fast! Brief overview: We had a couple special trainings, one for the newer missionaries and one for all of the sister missionaries. We haven't been out as much as I would have liked (I'll explain later...), but we've been blessed with the time we've had. For one, we have a new person with a baptismal date, and, two, we have Claude back again!
The person with the baptismal date is named Pilar. She's from Ecuador and is 19. She's the girlfriend of a newly reactivated boy with a newly reactivated mother who's future husband is another investigator. Pilar is so awesome! She is super sensitive to the spirit and has already received the confirming witness that the BOM is true. However, there are some difficulties at home, one of the which being that her parents have been completely against the church. There isn't as much trust as there should be and she has to escape secretly to go to church and she just uses her boyfriend as an excuse to meet with us. But, in our last lesson, she committed herself to go and talk to her mom and share what she's been doing and how she's feeling and what she wants to do. She is, however, a typical teenager in some senses. Her boyfriend and his mom have been trying to get her to be more modest. She said something really funny last time - "Perché Dio mi darebbe le gambe se non per farle vedere?" (It means "Why would God give me legs if they weren't to show off?) So, we'll be getting into the law of chastity and modesty the next time to help answer her questions. But, she really is amazing!
And, just yesterday, we got back in touch with Claude, the man from Cameroon who had a baptismal date! He had left for a while and just finally got his phone again. We'll be trying to help him get back on track.
The trainings went really well. Again, I'm being filled with more and more love and a stronger and stronger desire to serve all these wonderful missionaries in our mission. In fact, I've been learning about and experiencing a love that lasts longer and is something that pushes me always. It's been cool as I've been praying for each of them and discussing their individual strengths and needs and feeling like I know them better and feeling a greater love for them. God has still been teaching me a lot about prayer - those seem to be the spiritual impressions that I've gotten every single day from my personal study - things that I must do to pray better. However, my prayers are going a lot better overall and I can definitely feel the difference. I feel great! I love feeling the fruits of the atonement - not just feeling some of the love that Christ has, but also in being strengthened in my weakness and in being forgiven for my mistakes. My resolve to do my best and keep on improving so that I can be a more effective instrument in bringing both missionaries and others unto Christ.
That's pretty much the extent of the changes and exciting stuff. But, I figured I should share one more thing. I was debating whether or not to share it, but I figured that my parents, when they'd find out later, would be angry that I didn't tell them earlier. So, here it goes. I hurt my toe. I'm wearing sandals right now because I can't wear a shoe without it hurting my foot. Actually, We've gotten some funny looks. Yesterday, Anziano Lehnardt (who just had an ingrown toenail removed so he's in sandals as well and has a white bandage around the same toe...) and I were walking. There were a lady and her small child that saw us and she gave us a kind of funny look, and then couldn't hold it in anymore - she let out a few really loud giggles! It made us laugh too! Maybe you're asking how I hurt it? Well, I'll tell you. We were in Como on scambio. I woke up and went in the other room to lift weights. There were 2 dumbells sitting on the floor, seemingly all ready to use, with weights and clips already on. I picked them up and started to do some bicep curls. What I didn't know, however, is that the clip on one of the weights is broken. So, as I began to curl that side, the weight slipped off the bar and came crashing down on my toe. It was a 10 lb weight and it hit square on my toe (the 1/2 - 3/4 inch width contacted from the middle of my toenail down to just past the bottom of the toenail). It hurt! I jumped around for a bit and then went in the other room. I looked down and saw that my sock was wet from blood. So, I took off my sock and examined my toe. Well, it was all black and there was blood gushing out. I got a bit light headed so I sat down. Then I washed it out. Then I layed down and put my foot in the air. Then I put it in cold water to try to slow the bleeding and prevent swelling. Let's just say I turned that water into wine... Since it wasn't stopping to bleed, I put it up again, this time bandaging it up with a bunch of pressure and putting cold things on it - first a bag full of cold water, then an ice pack, and then some frozen spinach and some frozen sausage (I'll have to get you the picture...). It kept on bleeding. Anyway, I called the doctor and the doctor said that I should come in right away. So, we left Como and drove out to Milano to the doctor. He did a cool little operation where he drilled a hole in the toenail and let out all of the blood that had built up under it (the source of bleeding was actually principally from under the nail, so ever since he had made that hole it has bled from out of that hole in the toenail instead of from other parts). He then told me not to worry, I'd be ok, but to call him back. I called him back the next day and I described that it was still bleeding a little bit and how it hurt. He told me to come in for an x- ray to see if it was broken or if there was some blood artery that had been severed or damaged.
Oh, I'm out of time now, so I'll have to finish the story next week. But, don't worry, I'll tell you the middle of the end (it's not over yet...) I'm alive and I can walk and I can get out to do missionary work and it doesn't hurt anymore. But, I have to take some medication for the next week and a half and then go in to the doctor to get the update and clearance to go back to 100% activity.
I love you!
-Anziano Barnes
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