Miracles continue . . .

Milano Zone 

Pilar

Ciao tutti!

It doesn't even feel like yesterday that I was here writing!  I attached a couple of pictures - the missionary ones are of our zone (the milano zone) and the girl is Pilar.  Here's the update on all of the investigators:

Gianni got married today!  We went to the marriage ceremony and it was pretty interesting - as far as I know I've never been to one before.  That aside, Gianni had asked me to speak at his marriage.  That was fun.  Anyway, he is doing great and he's really excited for his baptism (which will be next saturday!!!)!

Pilar is also doing really, really well! We did a practice baptism interview with her today and she passed.  So, she's got the basic doctrinal background and she's living accordingly!  We had a really neat experience with her earlier today - she's a super sensitive girl, and at the marriage today she got emotional.  She was telling us, after, when we were talking with her, that she knows that it's going to be like that and some on the day of her baptism. We're really excited for her because she finally told her sister (who lives in south america but who will be coming here within a few weeks) about her baptism and her sister is really happy for her.  Now there is someone close to her in her family who supports her!  The sister asked if Pilar would change her baptism to when she could be there, but PIlar says that she wants to be baptised on the 9th still - one because she really wants the blessings that will come, and 2 because it is already a special day for her.  We'll see.  But, we're really happy with how well she is doing!

Francisco is also doing well (he is the one that I talked about who the surprise less active showed up to)!  He has been listening to the Book of Mormon on cd and he usually does it for a little bit more than an hour!  He's excited for his baptism.  He didn't understand super well why exactly he needs to be baptized in this church and not in another (other than that he just feels that this is right), so we've been trying to keep on emphasining the authority of the priesthood.  We had a cool lesson with him the other day - we were teaching the plan of salvation.  We have a bit of a language barrier, so it's often hard to help him understand everything.  And, he's not one to speak up if he hasn't understood exactly.  Anyway, we were really blessed and helped this past time because, as we asked questions to check his comprehension, he responded wonderfully - sometimes better than we had taught it.  I guess that means that the Spirit was the one teaching him!

We've only seen Victor once this week.  He was doing pretty well then - we taught about the word of wisdom and he already lives 100% according to it!

Joe is also doing really well.  We had finally figured out why he wasn't progressing very much - he couldn't understand hardly at all anything that he read in the BOM (he reads super slow and his understanding isn't super high from what we've seen).  So, we gave him the BOM on cd!  We gave that to him yesterday, so we'll see if he's listened or not tomorrow when he comes to church.  However, he gives us hope because when he prayed yesterday, he said one of the most beautiful and sincere prayers I ever heard.  He really wants to know if these things are true and will do everything that he can to find out!

Nelson, Marvin, and Alba are also doing better!  They started reading again the BOM, and, of course, you can see (literally, see) a difference!  There is light in their countenances again!  Nelson brought a friend and Alba's sister came as well.  So, now we're trying to help all of them. It's a bit difficult because they are all on different levels and they all are progressing at different rates.  So, we'll see what we can do!  Oh, I need to share the thing that seemed to change everything - we finally were able to bring a member with us, and his testimony was wonderful.  When we left their house, there was an incredible spirit there, and it was after that lesson that they began again to read the BOM and make progress!  So, we're bringing members still - it works!

Here's a cool little miracle that I had on an exchange this past week.  President Wolfgramm has been teaching us some new things (and so has the spirit) so we've been putting them into practice.  We planned one night to find 2 people: a person who really felt the weight of sin and needed to hear about repentance and forgiviness, and a person who really needed to have hope in Christ (we planned that they would be in a really difficult situation right now so hearing about what Christ can do for us would be exactly what they needed).  We prepared finding approaches about how to start talking with people.  We went out trying to find them.  And, here's what happened: My companion started talking to a lady on a bench using the approach he came up with (he did the one on hope through Christ), and it was perfect!  She asked us to sit down with her.  We talked with her for about 30 or minutes or so.  In the end, she said that she wants to get baptized!  Here's the cool part, however.  She knew a couple missionaries in the past.  And, a couple weeks ago, she had randomly called the missionaries there asking if they could go see her (but she lived too far away).  God made us find this lady in the actual city right during this time of her need!  So, visualizing people spiritually instead of physically plus planning out what you are going to teach and how to approach really does work!

The conferences this week again went great!  Now, finally, we are done!  But, it's just the beginning...  We sat down with president Wolframm yesterday to discuss reccomendations for transfers, and tomorrow night we'll meet with him again to finalized the transfers for next week.  That means that next week is going to be super busy and crazy with the new and departing missionaries.  I'm excited!

This week, at one of the conferences, I was overcome with love for the missionaries there.  I don't think I've ever felt so much for people in my life!  I had a similar feeling the next day at the next conference as well!  It was so cool!  My prayers are getting a lot better - I think I had another one of my best prayers last night - I felt supercharged after I had finished.  I'm really grateful for how much God has set me up to learn and grow, and I'm thankful for how much I have and still am growing.  I want to become even more converted and even more committed to the Lord's work!  And, piano piano, it's happening (piano piano = "small small" or slowly)!

Vi voglio bene!

-Anziano Barnes

Blessings continue!

I can't believe that this week is already over.  It feels like it was yesterday when I was back on the computer writing, and it's even been an extra day!  Honestly, everything is such a blur that I can hardly even remember what was in this week and not another.  I'll be going through my notes and trying to figure things out...

Gianni is doing wonderful!  He gets married this saturday and next saturday he'll be baptized!

Pilar is doing quite well also - we had to "reprove with sharpness" this week because she had made some pretty dumb decisions, but we she expressed her godly sorrow through tears and then changed!  She's still really excited for her baptism, and whenever we go to teach her, there is always a really strong spirit.

Victor is doing pretty well also.  Last week he got lost for about 4 hours in Milano before making it to church for the last 20 minutes.  And, this week, he made it (earlier, thank goodness!) but he had to leave early so that he could get back to where he lived in time for another commitment he had.  We should be able to work out rides for him in the future so that he can stay until the end of church.  He keeps on reading the BOM every day, and he is really excited for baptism and he knows that it is the right thing for him.

Nelson is doing quite well also!  He came to church last week, but he didn't show up today.  We don't know why - he didn't answer his phone.  Hopefully he has a legitimate reason...  However, he also feels good about his baptism and he's continuing to make progress in the BOM!  There's always a great spirit when we go to see him at his house.

We got a new person as well!  His name is Francisco!  He's from Santo Domingo.  We went to him last week to give him a BOM on CD in spanish (he can't read) and we went back this week to check up on him.  Oh, this is a cool miracle by the way.  We went to watch the restoration DVD with him so that he could understand better why our church is different and so that we could be set up to invite him to baptism.  A couple minutes after the DVD had started, a 40 year old-ish lady walked in.  He said that she was a lady that lived there.  She walked in, looked up at the TV, and said "I'm mormon.  I got baptized when I was 16."  Completely not expecting that sort of answer, especially since she realized who we were by the film, we told her we'd talk more after.  It turns out she hasn't been active since she moved to Italy over 10 years ago.  We asked her to share her testimony about why she got baptized - she got really excited with that and shared her experiences with us and Francisco. By the end, she was telling herself that she was going to come back to church!  We turned to Francisco, and I don't remember exactly how it happened, but basically what came out of his mouth was that "I already know that this church his true.  [pointing to his heart] I felt it here as we watched the movie."  We took the opportunity and invited him to baptism!  He accepted a date!  So, in the end, we had an unforseen member with us to bear testimony, we reactivated a less-active, and we set a baptismal date all in the same lesson!

Today in church we got blessed a ton with a couple referrals from the members.  They brought their friends!  The friends are interested and we have appointments to meet with them during the week!

This week was full of interviews/trainings (there were 3).  They all went quite well!  And, in addition to that, we had 2 exchanges (one we were both in Torino and the other was a normal exchange with the elders in Pavia - I stayed here with one of them and Anziano Osborn went there).  The one in Torino was quite strange and I was a bit dissappointed in not being able to do what I would've normally wanted to do.  But, after leaving the exchange review/ companionship inventory the next morning, I was no longer dissappointed in the least - we were both really edified and we learned what we needed.

I am feeling great and doing great!  I was reading my patriarchal blessing this morning as well as the notes I have from my setting apart and a father's blessing I got right before leaving, and I was amazed to see how many of the things have been coming to pass!  It's incredible!  I was reminded and taught of some things that I need to keep doing and improve, but mostly I was just filled with gratitude for how much God has been doing for me!

The things between Anziano Osborn and I are going great!  I love serving with him.  I'm acquiring some of his attributes, and I love it - it was exactly what I wanted and needed!  His influence is helping me be a lot more full of energy and much more able to spread that energy and spirit to other people (it's been especially evident in the trainings we've been doing).  He's also an amazing example to me in searching for opportunities to serve and then giving of himself.  This, too, is just becoming part of me!  Going back to what I was saying before with how so much of my blessings are being fulfilled, it's so cool to see how God has set me up to learn and grow and make me who He needs!

Vi voglio un sacco di bene!

-Anziano Barnes

Mother's Day

Mother's Day on skype! It's awesome! There's just nothing like hearing a son's voice, seeing how happy he is, and learning that he's grown another 1 1/2 inches!

Missionary work in Italy is rising!

This week has gone by way too fast, but it has been great!  Quick overview - Monday we were finalizing our preparations for the upcoming training.  Tuesday we went to Rimini to do a training and left to Firenze that night.  Wednesday we did the training in Firenze and afterwards we did an exchange with the zone leaders there.  Thursday we were back up in Milano.  And, yesterday, we did another scambio with the zone leaders here in Milano.  And, just so you know, I won't be writing until next monday because we won't have P-day next saturday (we'll be too busy).  Anyway, here's the latest news on our investigators:

Pilar is doing fantastic! We had planned to teach her the law of chastity (her boyfriend member, Mario, was supposed to be there as well).  But, Mario didn't come so we decided to teach her the word of wisdom instead.  She accepted that easily!  Then, she surprised us (remember, just a few weeks ago she was asking us "why would God give me legs if not to show them off?") - she asked us what kind of clothes she needed to wear.  She was completely okay with modesty.  Then, taking it to the next level, asked us "so what am I supposed to do when I go to the pool?"  We didn't really know the vocabulary for these kinds of things so we had to do some stick figure drawings...  She just barely got 3 new bikinis, but she said she'll get rid of those and she'll use her swimsuit that's modest!  Then, if that wasn't enough, she asked us about tatoos and piercings!  She was fine with that as well.  And, we want to be sure that she is preparing for baptism for the right reasons (not for Mario).  She told us that she's doing it for her.  She talked about how Mario, in church, tries to joke around with her, but she tries to ignore him and feel the spirit!  We asked what she would think if Mario went on a mission (he's 17 now).  She said that she would be super happy - she's already talked to Mario about that and has told him that he should go because she'll still be here and his friends will be here and it'll be a great experience for him!  Basically, she couldn't be doing much better!  We just keep praying that her mom's heart will be softened so that she'll accept Pilar's choice.

Gianni is still doing great!

Nelson, Alba, and Marvin (first door southamericans) are doing alright.  Nelson is doing fantastic - he's reading quite a bit and he's loving it.  He always feels super good when he reads, but he's not sure if that's his answer.  Alba and Marvin haven't been reading at all.  So, we read with them last night in Alma 32.  They got the message.  Marvin saw that if a seed doesn't grow, it doesn't always mean it's bad - if you don't nourish it, it'll never grow.  Alba got a similar message - if you want a seed to grow and to taste the fruit, you need to feed it!  They recommitted to reading every day and they'll be coming to church.  We're sad because they're not progressing like they should - they're lacking some of the light in their countenance.  However, we're sure that when they recommence reading and when they come to church, it'll come back!

Our African brothers Victor and Joe are alright.  Victor is getting a lot more wheefy.  Joe, however, is doing alright.  He tried to come to church last week, but there wasn't a bus that passed.  But, nevertheless, he walked 15 kilometers to try to find a tram.  However, the tram didn't go either!  He's figured out the schedule so this week he should be able to make it.  He's still not sure if the Book of Mormon is true, but we're trying to help him read every single day and to help him understand how the answer will come.

JuanCarlos is amazing!  He understands things so well!  We were with him yesterday and we were speaking about the Book of Mormon.  He was saying how it's really nice because it makes it so much easier to understand the gospel principles that are also contained in the bible.  He made an interesting example about how 2 different instruction manuals for building things - one has all of the things necessary, but doesn't contain a step by step process.  The other, however, shows very simply how to put everything together.  He loves how the BOM teaches the doctrines so clearly and simply!  His big problem is that he can't come to church due to a Peruvian dance club.  He knows that he should put God first, but he doesn't want to give up the only social life that he has and the only thing that reminds him of his home back in Peru.  But, we think we have a solution - GANS (the young single adult activities)!  They meet three times a week for various things - an FHE, activities, and institute!  He'll be going this Sunday evening to one of the activities!

My scambio down in Firenze was great!  I was with Anziano Weller!  Here was a cool little miracle:  we were walking on the street and at a certain point we were going through a tunnel (it was super loud and we couldn't hear anything, let alone try to communicate with anyone).  But, that wouldn't stop us from trying to share the gospel!  We stopped a guy and he motioned for us to come out with him from the tunnel so that we could speak properly.  He was super cool!  His name was Ducio.  He's searching for something more in his life and was interested in what we had to offer!  We were able to get a return appointment with him!

The scambio that I did here in Milano also was great!  I was with Anziano Rodriguez.  It was a blast.  We had really lofty goals because we needed to have a lot of miracles if we were to reach our goals for the end of the week.  And, it happened!  In the morning, for one of the hours, we had planned to find a young, Italian couple in a certain area.  We went out and were knocking on doors, and a 30ish year old man opened the door.  He told us that it was not at all a good moment for him to talk.  We asked why and he told us that one of the people most close to him was about to die within the next couple days.  He was really closed for the first part of the conversation, but slowly, as we talked, his heart was softened.  His wife, whose mom is the one who will most likely die within the next couple days, is in despair.  She is mad at God because her mom was super religious and doesn't think her time has come yet.  One day, when this guy came home, he found his wife on the couch, drunk, with 4 empty bottles of vodka - she had never had even a sip of alcohol before.  He doesn't know what to do for her.  He's never believed a ton in God, he doesn't pray very often at all, and in this period he is beginning to question even more.  I don't remember exactly what we talked about or what we said, but I do remember seeing how he changed.  We were about to finish, but we wanted to get in and invite the spirit even more (we had been on the doorstep for 15 or 20 minutes, and he didn't want us to come in because it was really messy inside) with a prayer.  He let us in!  We knelt down with him and Anziano Rodriguez offered the prayer, pouring out his soul for him and his wife.  After that prayer, Anziano Rodriguez asked him if he would like to say a prayer.  He said yes - there were a few more things that he would like to talk to God about.  He opened his heart up to God in prayer, and he began to cry.  After the prayer, he thanked us for coming over - we had given him the recharge of faith and courage that he needed to be able to go forward and also to help his wife.  He wants us to come back!

I love being a missionary!  I learn so much every day!  I've been able to recognize better the promptings of the spirit and how to understand when He's with me.  I've been trying to give extra attention to the little thoughts that come and act on all of them.  I still have a long way to go, but I feel like they're coming more and more frequently.  I don't know if I've ever felt so many little things in one week ever in my life!  God is answering my prayers - I am changing so much!  It's becoming so much more natural to focus on others, be guided by the Spirit to help them, and thereby be an instrument in God's hands.  The way I pray, study, and just think throughout the day is being molded and improved!  I love Anziano Osborn - he is so great!  I always feel wonderful when I'm around him.  He's always telling me how much he cares about me and sharing with me things that he likes about me.

I don't know if I shared this last week,but the mission is doing so well!  We're breaking almost all of the records and the missionaries are more committed and full of energy than ever before!  The work here in Italy is rising!!!

Vi voglio tanto bene!

-Anziano Barnesto

Another super amazing week! and more baptismal dates...

CIAO!

This week has been super amazing - God just keeps continuing to bless us abundantly!  Here's an update on the people that are making progress:

Nelson, Alfonso, and Alba (the south Americans that we found from the very first door we knocked on) are doing fantastically!  They came to church last Sunday, and, even though it wasn't super reverent and their were lot of potential hang-ups, they had a great experience and they all loved it!  I don't know if I've ever prayed so hard that God would consecrate that experience for the welfare of their souls - and He did!  Alfonso accepted a baptismal date!  He, due to his past beliefs and religion, was the slowest to progress, but he's been touched by the Spirit a lot, and now he is continuing to search for his answer (he still isn't 100% sure if it's the right thing), but he tells us that when he knows, he'll be the first to "get in the water!"  And, Nelson, 2 days ago, accepted a baptismal date!  He told us how much he loved church and how now he desires to keep on going every Sunday for the rest of his life!  We're going back tonight, and we're hoping to help Alba commit herself to be baptized as well so they can all work together to be prepared!

Joe, the African, has been doing great as well!  He didn't come to church last week, but we sorted out that problem and he's committed to coming this week.  He, also, said that he's not 100% sure if this church is right.  However, he wants to know which church is true (some JWs have been coming and teaching some of his friends) and he understands very well that the only way to know is from God.  So, he told us the other day that he had decided to fast for this knowledge.  We'd never even mentioned that to him!  He started his fast yesterday, so we'll hear how it's going later on today!

Victor, the other African that chased us down to say that he wants to meet with us is doing great as well!  He, too, accepted a baptismal date!  He's 19, plays soccer (he's SUPER good), is really intelligent, and is just a really nice kid.  He understands really well why he needs to be baptized.  And, yesterday, we had a really cool experience with him.  We were teaching the plan of salvation, and, near the end, he stopped us and just started to thank us for what we were teaching because he could feel inside of him that it was true.  He went on to tell us how the JWs have been coming and teaching him as well.  They, too, tried to explain their interpretation of God's plan, but he felt that it wasn't true.  So, he decided not to listen to them anymore.  He feels the spirit and wants to continue!  He says that he feels like he is "on top of the world" every time he reads the BOM.  Oh, a kind of funny thing he does - when he studies the BOM, he tries to understand everything that it says, so he studies all of the footnote references as he goes along.  He must have gotten a little confused a couple days ago because he saw Ne. in the footnotes and thought it was Nehemia, when it was actually Nephi!  But, he's studying every day!

Gianni is doing fabulously as well!  He's basically ready for baptism.  We did the practice baptismal interview with him last sunday and he did it like a champ!  He'll be baptized one week after he and his future wife get married (so he'll be baptized on the 2nd of June).

And, the really cool miracle of the week - Pilar!  She is doing super good!  Her mom is still very against the church and what Pilar is doing.  However, she's taking it really well.  She still studies the BOM every day for a good amount of time.  She has some of the most heartfelt prayers I've ever heard.  Actually, about prayers, she told us yesterday that she feels like she doesn't know how to pray.  She said that "I don't pray like you guys or like Mario. When I pray, it's as if I were talking to a friend that is right beside me."  Great!  You probably praying better than us!  And, yesterday, she committed herself to baptism!  We were teaching and she told us that she was scared to be baptized.  At first she said that she doesn't understand why babies don't need to be baptized.  There's a "battle" going on in her head - one side says that what we teach is right, but then the other part tells her that what she's believed forever was right.  We talked for a minute, and then we felt to talk about one of the points in Moroni 8.  We asked her "Would it be right that a baby, who is pure and who can't sin, if they're not baptized, can't return to live with God?"  She thought for a minute, mentioned something else, and then basically just rerecounted to us what the right doctrine is!  But, that wasn't her real problem.  She was still scared.  She's scared that her mom would reject her completely.  A lot of her family already has turned their backs on her, and she fears that this would push them over the edge.  But, fortunately, the Spirit was working - both in us and in her.  Earlier in the lesson (we were teaching the Gospel of Christ), teaching about faith, we tried to illustrate the faith she has by asking "If Christ asked you to do something, would you do it?  Why?"  She said yes because she would know it's the right thing and she'd know it would work out.  Well, at that point, little did we know that we'd need that to back us up later with baptism.  She told us how she feels ready for baptism (She's always said in the past that she isn't ready at all...) and she would do it even today.  But, the big problem is her mom.  But, into our brains came the question we asked ealier, "If Christ asked you to be baptized, would you do it?"  She reflected, and said yes.  And then, together, we chose a day for when she'll be baptized.  She wants to be baptized the same day as Gianni (the dad of Mario, her boyfriend)!  The spirit was so strong during the lesson - we all left supercharged!

We've had some other cool miracles in finding new investigators.  On Wednesday, we were having a rough day - 3 of our appointments fell through and we weren't finding anyone that would even listen to us.  Then, due to a series of events that were definitely not coincidental, we found ourselves at the edge of a parking lot.  I felt the desire to pray really hard.  So, we stopped and said a prayer, asking for people to teach.  And, sure enough, the next people we see and talk to are amazing!  There was a father, Stefano, who is maybe 30 now.  He was sitting outside of his car with his 2 year old son, Frederico (he's probably the cutest 2 year old I've ever seen - he's a huge chatterbox - as we were trying to talk to the father, Frederico was going 100 mph talking about whatever would come into his head).  A minute later, the mom pulled up in her car.  Apparently the Spirit touched them because they accepted a return appointment in their home!  We went last night to see them, and it was incredible!  Right after we finished saying the opening prayer, Stefano looked at us and said "I got emotional during the prayer."  What do you feel?  "Well, I just feel really good."  He had felt the Spirit!  We were only able to be with them for a few minutes before having to leave, but they committed to reading the BOM and we'll be back to see them next week to help them understand the need of the restored gospel in their family!

Also, I had a scambio this past week.  We had set some goals together and we had planned to do about an hour of strada (street contacting) and then a little over 2 hours of door knocking.  In our short time on the street, we were incredibly blessed!  On the street we wanted to find our "replacement" - a young man, clean shaven, and just looking like a good kid.  After getting out of the car and talking to the first couple people, we looked in the distance and we "saw him."  We both started in the same direction towards him at the same time!  And, sure enough, he was interested!  We had 3 other people we wanted to find (we had planned to find them at home...).  We wanted to find a South American family, a young Italian couple, and a "mixed" family - part Italian part south american.  And, on the street, in our few minutes, we found the Italian man from the Italian couple and the south american family. We have return appointments with both of them!  Unfortunately, we didn't ever find that mixed family...

I've been learning so much!  I got rebuked quite a bit by the Spirit and I've been discovering more ways that I'm prideful.  It's amazing how even the smallest bit of pride or selfishness can make everything else go downhill.  Actually, I had a really cool experiece from Thursday to Friday.  I was frustrated with myself because I wasn't sure what I didn't do right, I wasn't feeling the best, and I felt like I wasn't able to show my love for people or help them out very much.  But, line upon line (from my thursday night prayers to my friday morning prayers to my study friday morning) I figured out what was wrong!  I had to change the way I was praying and the way I was thinking, and then I figured out exactly where I messed up and what I could do to change it.  At that point, I felt a ton more able to bless the lives of others.  That, in fact, is my goal for myself.  I want to turn outward completely and focus on others and thereby be an instrument in God's hands in blessing His children.  And, this week, more than ever before, I've felt like I've been able to do that and I feel like I know how to do it and my mindset and heart desires are a whole lot more in harmony with what they should be!

Vi voglio tanto bene!

-Anziano Barnes

Blessed with lots of people to teach!

Ciao!

I don't know where to begin!  This week has been incredible in so many different ways!  I guess I'll start with all of the people we're working with and who we've found!

On sunday we found an Italian family of 4 (Paolo =dad, Eliana = mom, Emilio = 20 year old son, Lorenzo = 13 year old son)!  The mom's name is Eliana, and Anziano Jenson and I found her and gave her a BOM a few weeks ago.  We weren't able to set up a return appointment, but she said that we could pass by some evening because her whole family would be home.  Well, we went and they were all home!  They are so cool!  After teaching about the restoration, we asked them what they thought it would mean in their lives if this message was true.  The mom replied that it would be a revolution!  Their priest probably wouldn't be too happy to hear that they were going to another church!  But, they committed to finding out if the BOM was true and they said that if they knew it was true, they would act accordingly!  The mom and the 2 sons are super catholic - the 2 sons help to distribute communion during mass.  But, they want to learn more.  We're most excited for the kids - they seem the most interested.  We were a little worried for a bit because we asked to be able to come back a few days later, and the mom said that she thought it would be better if we waited for a few weeks, but we explained how if they wanted to know, there would need to be some consistency.  The father understood great and said, yeah, you need to "strike when the iron is hot."  The mom, still a little skeptical, said, let's let Lorenzo (the younger son - 13 years old) decide.  He said to have us come!  Right as we were about to leave, the mom realized that it would be Lorenzo's birthday that day.  She was like "It's your birthday, you're not going to want to be here, are you?  Do you want them to come even on your birthday?"  He smiled, and said, "I'll be here."  Yes!!! So, we'll go back tomorrow to see them again.

On Monday we found a man from Santo Domingo named Francisco (it's in South America).  He is so great!  We realized last time that he can't read.  He accepted the BOM and said he would read, but after he said that he hadn't read, we said that we'd like to read together, and when it was his turn to read a couple verses, we saw that his capacity to read is very low.  So, we'll be going back with the BOM on cd in Spanish for him tomorrow.  That way, he can begin to put into practice our message!

On Tuesday we found another Italian family!  It's a young couple (late 20s) with a 1 1/2 year old daughter (Andrea, Carmella, and Sara)!  They're from Napoli and they are so amazing as well!  They want to have a better outlook on life and be able to face challenges differently, and they believe that it will come through our message!  It's so fun to teach them!

On Wednesday we found a young man (20) from Peru!  His name is JuanCarlos - he is super interested!  We've seen him a few times now and he accepted a baptismal date for the end of may!  He understands amazingly well the restoration and the plan of salvation, the role of the savior (he even used the word "advocate" to describe what he believed Christ does for us)!

And, of course, we still are working with Nelson, Alfonso, and Alba (the people we found knocking on our first door together).  They are progressing very well!  They are loving the Book of Mormon so much!  Nelson has had a couple experiences where he is touched directly by the Spirit due to some of the things that he read that were directed to him!  Alfonso, who used to have the hardest heart of the 3 (but still fairly open), last time asked us some really cool questions and said some really cool things that have been showing how much God has been working on his heart.  He asked "What do you have to do to become a mormon?"  Also, he asked "After you're a mormon, you're happier, right?"  It was really funny, because his questions just came out of nowhere and weren't at all connected to what we were teaching (in our minds, because the Spirit is the real teacher and was teaching Alfonso the better things...).  However, looking back, we can see how truly connected those questions were and how the Spirit was preparing him and teaching him even before we explained different doctrines (we were teaching the plan of salvation to them, so the answers fit in perfectly at the perfect time).  It's so cool to see how much God does for His children!

We've worked a little bit more with our African brothers.  However, only one of them is really solid, who is Joe.  He says that he still wants to prepare himself for baptism.  He committed to come to church, and he's having Joseph, who came to church 2 weeks ago, show him how to get to church throughout the week to make sure that he can get there on Sunday.  And, we had another cool miracle with another african man named Victor.  We were pretty close to their area (we were actually going to Andrea and Carmella - the Italians from Napoli), and there were some Africans playing soccer out a ways.  One of them, I guess, saw us, and left the game that he was playing in and came running after us.  We didn't see him until he was really close, and he asked us "Do you remember me?"  "Ummm... No."  "You saw me last week, I was carrying something."  At that point I realized that it was one of the many that Anz. Jenson and I met last week.  He said, "I want to meet with you guys.  I want you to teach me more about Jesus and about what you believe.  Can you come tomorrow?"  Anyway, we're going back tonight to see him!

As you can see, God has been blessing us tremendously with lots of really cool people to teach!  It's really exciting!  I'm growing and learning a lot.  I don't know if I've ever felt the power of the atonement in my life so strong before.  There's a phrase in preach my gospel that says "He [Jesus Christ] can heal us, both physically and spiritually."  I felt that!  It's amazing to see how much our spiritual well being affects our physical well-being!  I've been learning how important it is to live in exact harmony with the restored gospel, for I can feel a huge difference with even the slightest deviation.  I feel like I'm also coming closer and closer to God's will.  I'm striving to focus on others - in prayers, in my studies, and in my thoughts throughout the day.  It makes the biggest difference!  I've been seeing how, when I do that, I'm filled with so much more love and the Spirit is able to help me know these people better and what they need and how I can be an instrument in helping them.  I loved reading these couple verses in the BOM: they're in Moroni 8:2-3. Mormon writes to his son moroni this part that really hits me"I am mindful of you always in my prayers, continually praying unto God the Father"  Those 3 words jumped out at me and the Spirit called me to repentance.  I've been changing the way I work with my companion, the investigators, and the zone leaders.  And, it feels so good!

Vi voglio bene!

-Anziano Barnes