OK, I know what you are all thinking,
what does that title mean, well, I'll let you know. So here in Italy,
when an appointment falls through, you say "ci ha dato un bidone" which
literally means, they gave us a trashcan. Its kinda weird, but funny to
think about. So basically, this week, we've gotten a lot of bidoni,
which is never fun, but we've also seen a ton of miracles this week as a
result.
The first one that comes to mind happened a few days
ago. We had planned to bring one of our new converts to go teach
another new convert's wife because their are friends, so we set up the
time to pick her up and walk with her to the lesson near by. While
coming back to Pavia from another lesson, we called to confirm the
lesson and we found out that the husband was still in Lodi and would not
be there, so we couldn't go over. We couldn't get a hold of our other
member who was waiting for us, so we hopped on the bus to go tell her in
person. The first bus was super crowded and we couldn't get on, so we
started walking. We then caught another bus which was also pretty
crowded. After a few stops, more and more people got on, so I decided
to go stand next to this man. Turns out that man was one of our less
actives and the husband of the member we were trying to go talk to. So
we went with him to his house and got to teach them as a family for the
first time in a few weeks. We're really trying to help them and its been
hard, because they keep on cancelling on us, so this definitely was a
miracle. I'm so grateful for the little tender mercies of the Lord. He
really is putting us in the path to help his children.
Then yesterday, we set up this really good
lesson with one of our eternal investigators to get him to see the
church and to meet our vescovo (Bishop). We had it all planned, and we went to
his house to pick him up and everything. And there is no answer. We sat
there and suoned his citofono and called him for about 30 minutes. We
then realized that the lesson wasn't going to happen, so we called up
Vescovo, who was already at the church that we had to cancel. He then
asked us if we could come and stop by the church anyway, so we did. He
then gave us some really good advice on how to help our investigators
progress through using the "chiave di volta" or "keystone" scriptures of
each lesson. He then gave us some really good advice of how to get more
success finding people. It was stuff I already knew I should be doing,
but for some reason, as human beings, we don't really like change, so
we're a little stubborn sometimes. But him telling me those things over
again, really helped me realize how stupid it was of me to not change
just the little things to improve our work. After saying goodbye to him,
we taught 2 lessons on the bus coming home. Its about a 10 minute bus
ride, if that, so that was just a further proof of the blessings that
come, when we humble ourselves and submit to the will of the Father.
Especially being out for almost a year, I realized just how much time we
waste here and there. This time really is short, and we need to be
using it wisely. This is our "4 minutes". We need to do all that we can.
Don't be afraid to change. The Lord will always be there to help you.
Other miracles/stories. Last p-day, we were playing
some Frisbee near the fiume, when all of a sudden, this German Shepard
showed up and started chasing the Frisbee. Of course, we just turned it
into a game and started messing around with the dog. It reminded me so
much of playing with Jack. That goofball. Then we started talking to the
owner and his friend, and we ended up getting their phone numbers and
we actually taught one of them the other day. It was such an awesome
miracle. Sport contacting. It works!!!
Then, one day we were in Voghera, and we walked all
over the place. Got a bidone on one side of the city. No one was home
for a pass by on the other side of the city, so after walking all day,
we decided to try and use the bus which we had never used before. A bus
showed up right as we thought that, so we thought it was inspiration....whoops. Turns out, this bus took us to another random
part of the city where we had never been. So we got off, said a prayer,
and started walking back towards centro (because we had a map, thank
goodness). While walking for a while, we heard someone honk, and it was
one of our members. So after Anz Parker hugged them for "saving us" (he
was a little fuori di testa that day), they asked us what we were doing,
and we told them what happened. They then offered to give us a ride
back to the station. While driving there, Fratello told us that they
usually don't take that road, but he felt that needed to and thank
goodness he did. It was such a little but so awesome of a miracle. It
fits perfectly with Dad's two miracles he shared with me this week. I
know that if we are willing and LISTENING, the spirit will prompt us to
go to the people who need help. Thank you so much Dad for being such a
great example to me thousands of miles away. I'm really trying so hard
to work on following the promptings of the spirit immediately when the
come, and I know that if I keep on trying, I will be able to fine tune
that skill.
In other funny news, we walked to the church this
week because we barely missed the bus and then last night after English
class, we missed it again, so all 6 missionaries walked back from the
church. It was probably a funny sight. haha. Also, this week, we stopped
by some members we had told that we were going to be in the area, and
right as we walk in, they direct us immediately to the kitchen where
they have the table already set for us. They made us some really good
pasta that smelled amazing, but unfortunately, we were fasting that
night, so they just made it anyway and gave it to us to take home. After
running back to catch the train, that pasta smelled mighty good sitting
there on the train. haha. It was really good. Gotta love the members
here. They are so awesome and they feed us like crazy. Oh my gosh. So.
Much. Food!!! I love it, its awesome. haha
Its getting pretty hot here right now, but luckily
the mosquitoes or zanzare aren't out yet, so we are still alive for the
moment. I wish I had a spring break. I'm so tired all the time and I
just need a break. But like dad always says, "you can sleep when you're
dead", so I just keep on going. I'm so sorry to hear that Jake died,
please tell Terri that I'm sorry. I loved that dog. I remember when
Patrick and I used to chase him around her front yard.
As for Shellie's birthday, tell her that I say
"Tanti auguri di buon cumpleanno! Spero che abbi tante buone cose e
tanto felicità!"
It always puts a smile on my
face when BYU soccer wins. Especially as much as they do. 4-0, that's
the score line I like to hear. haha. I can't believe the Dodgers are in
first. Hopefully, we can stay there for longer than we usually do.
Thank you for the notice about the birthday posts
people left on my Facebook. It's so weird to see all those names. I just
remember such happy times with all of those people and I can't wait to
see them all again. As for the peanut butter bars, they were really
fresh. So that worked, and now we have an extra tupperware. haha
As for tracting around the university, we don't do
that a ton, but basically anywhere you go in Pavia, there are a ton of
college students. We are usually out on the fiume, so that's where they
are all sitting a studying on benches and what not.
And speaking of Bishop or should I say, Vescovo
Hackney, I was actually thinking about him this week. I was thinking
about how much fun we had in Priest's quorum and scouts with him. I
still remember him being my advocate for my Eagle board. So Bishop,
he is a very special shout out to you. Thank you so much for all you
have done for me. You really have helped me become the man that I am
today, and I'm so grateful for that. I know that every time I asked you
how your day was, it was going to put a smile on my face, and it always
did. I've even pulled your "is that tie felt?" joke a couple of times.
Works every time. haha. I've always loved your positive attitude for
everything and I know for a fact that today "è il giorno migliore della
mia vita". Thank you for everything Bishop.
I love you all so much and I hope you all have a
great week! Oh yeah, before I forget, I just opened my last bottle of
clearcare, so I wanted to know what I should do. Should I just look
around for some other type of cleaning solution or what? And what times
would work best for you guys to Skype on mother's day? We're still
figuring out that stuff, so I'll let you know.
Anziano Parker says hi and thanks for the chocolate.
State mi bene!
Anziano Langlois
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