Miracles and Birthday!

Cara Famiglia,

 

Well this week was just awesome! Anziano Webb and I are having an awesome time here in Busto Arsizio. The work is picking up too! We have unfortunately not been able to see Arthur though this past week. He stood us up when we had a member come to the lesson on Saturday and everything, so we passed by the next day and he was super sick, wrapped up in a blanket and just about to go to the hospital. So we gave him a blessing! It was cool, and when he gets back from the hospital we hope to be able to keep teaching him. He doesn't know how long he'll be there though. Saul is also good, we just keep teaching him and he's super open to everything. He kind of shares the opinion of his parents in that he doesn't want to be baptized if it's a mistake, so we just have to make sure he gets a super solid testimony. Pray for him to get answers to his prayers! Another miracle we had this week was with an Italian family of five! Anziano Dean and I found them on a scambio two weeks ago, and they gave us a bidone the Sunday after when we were supposed to see them. So we called them and they had read the pamphlet we left and said 'Look, we don't really think we're going to change our religion', but they agreed to let us come over again anyway. So we went over on Sunday and had an awesome Restoration lesson with them! They understood everything perfectly, and agreed to be baptized when they know it's true! We are super excited for them and will go back to see them on Saturday. Miracles just pile up here. I dunno if I mentioned but it's actually a mission standard of excellence to recognize a miracle every single day. So for the past couple weeks we have been writing a miracle on a sticky note every night during planning and putting it up on the wall. And the wall is getting full! It helps us remember how much the Lord has blessed us.

 

We are also working with some other people who I may have mentioned in the past: Ravith and Elisabeth. He is from Sri Lanka, she's from Ecuador. They live together and have a seven year old daughter named Mariam. They are super nice but they are really busy and hard to teach because neither of them speak Italian perfectly, and we don't have any material except selections of the Book of Mormon in Sindhala for Ravith. But they are awesome, we had a good lesson with them with a member last night. Roberta is also cool, we weren't able to see her this week because all of a sudden Monday morning we went to give a blessing to the Second Counselor in our ward who is suffering badly from cancer. He went to Germany for a special two month treatment today, so pray for him!

 

Other than that everything is great. We have interviews tomorrow, and then Saturday we get to go to a special meeting with missionaries with Walter F. Gonzalez of the Presidency of the Seventy! And then Sunday is Stake Conference. So we will be spending a good amount of time in Milano this week. Today was great, Anziano Webb even woke up early to make me breakfast in bed! Haha it was really funny, I did not see it coming at all, but Anziano Webb is the man. Then we went and did shopping and slept and threw the (american) football around. A relatively normal P-day. Next Tuesday is Anziano Webb's birthday though, so we are going to go see the Milano Stadium for P-day next week.

 

So today I read 2 Nephi 2 during personal study and it just about blew my mind. It's amazing! It covers so many aspects of the Gospel and really brings in the full effect of the Fall of Adam and Eve as a personal thing. Anziano Webb and I were talking about it and thinking how every single emotion we feel is thanks to the Fall. So thanks Adam and Eve, you guys rock! I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world, and that this is His work. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives. I know the Book of Mormon is true, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is led by living apostles and prophets! I love you all a lot! Thanks for your prayers!

 

-Anziano Benjamin Smith