Hey everyone! I hope that your week has been as good as mine. I also hope you've been able to enjoy some sunshine. If not, we must've stolen it all from you. It is a beautiful day today! Right now the windows are open wide, the birds are singing, the trees are budding, the breeze is softly blowing... ahhh I love Bergamo right now. Spring has definitely arrived! I've also realized for the first time that there are palm trees in Bergamo! I never realized that snow-capped mountains and palm trees could exist in the same climate. Please forgive me. I am from Ohio after all. The tallest thing I'd ever seen before college was a cornstalk.
We wanted to go up to Città Alta again to see the duomo this time, but there was a public transportation strike today, so our plans were foiled. Go figure. Ah well. I'll include a few more pictures from last time anyway.
A few days ago, Anziano Green and I did a companion exchange. I went down to Brescia with him while his companion took my place in Bergamo for a day. Anz. Green and I were in the same MTC district, so it was a barrel of fun to spend a day with him and reminisce a little bit. Tomorrow makes one year in Italy for us you know! Anyway, Anz. Green and I arrived a little early in Bergamo to switch back with our companions, so we did a bit of street contacting and then sat down on a bench for a gelato break (Pres. Dibb approves gelato breaks, so don't call me lazy!).. As we were talking, a young woman came and sat down next to us. She was publicizing some seminar or other, but she was really excited when she found out that we were American. She'd been there a few times and she spoke English very well. We let her give her pitch, but suddenly she stopped and asked us what we were doing. It's not every day you see two nicely-dressed foreigners with nametags, is it? That opened the door for us to give her a quick overview of the Restoration. Anz. Green asked her if she had ever prayed. She said that she prayed often to what she believed was God. Her belief was that God is the universe, the overarching power that watches over us. We gave testimony that in a way, He was, but that we believed that He was much more: our Father in Heaven. She had never really thought about that before and she said to us "I feel good vibrations in my heart right now." We explained that it was the Holy Spirit bearing testimony of the truth and we promised her that this message was what she was looking for in her life. We were able to leave her with a pamphlet and some more information. Sadly, she said she wasn't quite ready to pursue lessons yet, but she was very touched by the encounter, as were we. She definitely moved up the conversion scale that day. Because we listened to her, she listened to us, and I believe that opened her heart to receive some truth. Moments like those make me love my mission even more.
Bit by bit, our investiagators are making progress at various levels. We had quite an experience on Saturday I believe it was. We were walking down the street and we met an investigator from another ward. He's been going through an extremely difficult time in his life and was grateful to have seen us, if only for a bit of confirmation that someone still cared about him. More importantly, he had been looking for a confirmation that God still cared about him. As he was talking to us about his various roadblocks, one of our most progressing investigators, whom I'll call Frank, appeared as if out of nowhere. Frank had stopped taking lessons because of work, but was and is still attending church just as much as any other active member. He appeared in just the right moment and bore testimony to this man about the power of the Book of Mormon and how itìs been helping him in his life in so many ways we were never aware of. He encourage this man to read, pray, come to church, and listen to the missionaries. For all intents and purposes, Frank was an angel who fell from heaven in that moment at just the right time. He was a tender mercy of the Lord to us and especially to this man. It strengthened my testimony that our work has much more power and influence than we ever know. As missionaries we only see the tip of the iceberg.
In this life as members of the human race we only ever see the tip of the iceberg. We do not have the capacity to see the whole picture. Each one of us is allotted his or her portion. God is the one who sees the whole picture at once. He uses each of us and that portion that each of one of us has to accomplish the entire purpose. If we are in the right place at the right time and living the right way, we will be the right piece of the puzzle at the exact moment it's needed.
As always I send you my love. Keep being awesome. I love you! Love, Anziano Simcox.
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I never was known to be very balanced was I?
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