Hello everyone! Another day, another... oh wait I don't get paid. In
money at least, although the spiritual bank account is overflowing.
How was everyone's Fourth of July? Mine was awesome. We had a Festa
Americana in the church. I know we live in Italy, but hey. It was
great. We had a good amount of people, lots of fun, and lots of food.
Anz. Valentine and I brought lemonade, s'mores, and brownies. Our
members are obsessed with brownies. Some anziano made them brownies a
while back and ever since then they constantly ask us to make
brownies. They were intrigued by the s'mores. JetPuff not existing in
Italy, we had to resort to Haribo strawberry-flavored marshmallows.
They didn't turn out too bad though. The members weren't sure what to
think at first, but they ended up really liking them.
I had a great birthday too! Two families in the branch made me a cake
and we had a little party in the park. The cake had a golf course on
it. I think they just wanted to make it American. Hah! It was a
reaaaaaly good cake. Anz. Valentine bought me an awesome red skinny
tie. It makes me happy.
The greatest birthday present for me though was the awesome lesson
that night. We met a woman from Nigeria in the piazza a few weeks ago.
She doesn't speak Italian and she only speaks a little English. It
made it hard to teach because we weren't sure how much she
understands. We were worried about what to do, until we talked to one
of our Nigerian members, David. By some miracle, they happen to speak
the same language and dialect, which is a huge miracle because
apparently there are a lot of different languages and dialects in
Nigeria. We set up an appointment to meet with them. On the night of
the appointment, David wasn't there. We were worried about being able
to communicate. We walked away from the piazza to find a quieter
place. As we sat down, we were praying for some miracle. Out of the
blue comes David on his bicycle. He had arrived late to the piazza. He
was about to go home, but then he heard a voice telling him to turn.
So he turned, followed the path, and there we were! He did a wonderful
job translating for us. Although we couldn't understand anything they
said to each other, the Spirit was fortissimo.
Another miracle is an investigator we've been working with. I'll call
him Matteo for now. During week six of last transfer, he called us and
said that he wanted to meet with us and come to church. He had met
with the Anziani about a year ago, but now he said he knew the church
was true. To be honest, we were a little put off at first because we
weren't sure how genuine he was. As we've been working with him for
the past couple weeks, we've really started to see how genuine he is.
He has a very good heart. He has a history of drugs and has had a lot
of problems in the past with his depression, but he's ready to start a
new leaf. He wants to stop smoking and drinking coffee and alcohol. As
we've been meeting with him, it's been amazing to see his progress. He
used to smoke twenty cigarettes a day. He's down to ten now, and his
goal for today is eight. On Saturday he said he was about to smoke
number eleven, but then he remembered the promise he made to only do
ten, so he threw it away. We were thrilled. He used to drink six to
seven cups of coffee a day and now he's down to four. He hasn't drank
alcohol for two days now. He wants to start a new life. We set a
baptismal date for July 27th and he is working very hard to reach this
date. We are meeting with him every day until his baptism because he
says that he feels stronger whenever he meets with us. We are working
hard and praying for more miracles in his life.
Miracles are everywhere. I love it. They don't come without sacrifice
and our own efforts. Miracles are wrought through, and only after, the
trial of our faith. The road gets bumpy, but always remember that God
is aware of your trials. "And my Father sent me that I might be lifted
up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross,
that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by
men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me,
to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be
evil— And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according
to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may
be judged according to their works... Therefore, ask, and ye shall
receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh,
receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened." (3 Nephi
27:14-15, 29). He's at the door knocking. Are you opening the door?
Vi voglio bene, Anziano Simcox
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