Every Saturday when we clean our apartment I think to myself, "I will never get this place dirty again." Then, every Saturday without fail I have the same conversation with myself. I'd like to know where the line is between dirty and clean because I feel like I'm a decently clean guy, but the dustpan every Saturday begs to differ.
Well, I've already been here for six weeks. That's pretty weird. My whole mission, time has been really weird, but it's even weirder in the office. It goes by so incredibly fast that I have absolutely no time to realize what day it is. All of Tuesday I thought it was Wednesday and then I got to the end of the day and it was Tuesday. Then the next day I woke up and it was Thursday. Wednesday seems to have not existed. The logic makes no sense, but that's what happened. That's just an example. I stopped trying to measure time.
Even though Wednesday didn't exist, we had a neat experience Wednesday night. We got a text from someone saying, "Some lady is looking for Anziano Simcox. Here's the number." Obviously we were a little confused. I called though and found that it was a member I had known very well in Cimiano. She said that she had gotten a call from someone in Utah, who had gotten a call from a Bishop in the Philippines, who had gotten a call from his sister in Milano that she needed someone from the Church to come see her. That's a pretty big circle to reach the missionaries who live 15 kilometers away, but that's ok. We went to meet the member in Rozzano, where this woman lived. The member, bless her heart, got really lost, so we ended up going ourselves. We met this wonderful Filippina sister and her husband. She had just had chemotherapy treatment that day so she was very weak. We talked with them for a while and got to know them. Before we left, we gave her a blessing by placing our hands upon her head and blessing her that she would be strong and be able to withstand her trials. It was amazing to see the instant effect that that blessing had on her. There immediately came a new light into her eyes and she seemed to have new energy that she definitely didn't have before. By the time we left she was laughing and smiling and looking almost healthy, a big improvement from when we came in. We look forward to staying close to this family and helping them through this difficult time. They haven't been to church in many years, and the husband has never been baptized (but he made sure we knew that he is a firm believer!). Despite all that, their faith is strong and it was her faith in the blessing and in the power of the Priesthood that made the blessing so effective.
We have an investigator who is ready for baptism. He struggled for a while to quit smoking, but he's gone a week now without a single cigarette. That's hard for him because everyone in his house smokes and they've realized that he stopped. They also realized that he's been going to Church and meeting with us. They thought at first that it was just a joke, but once they realized it's serious they haven't been as accepting. He said the backlash from his family hasn't been the most pleasant, so that's a new trial in front of him. He still wants to carry through, but obviously he wishes that his mother and siblings could be on his side. The baptism is planned for next Saturday. He doesn't want a lot of people to come because he says he'll be embarrassed with lots of people, but the list of "invited" people is getting a little bigger so hopefully we'll have a decent attendance. Baptismal ceremonies are important for those who come as well as those who are actually being baptized because they allow people to feel the Spirit in a special way and to see exactly what we missionaries talk about when we say things like "faith," repentance," and "baptism." He's a good guy and he's changed his life for the better in order to follow God's will more closely. He doesn't have all the answers (who does really?) but he recognizes the Spirit well and he knows that It is leading him in the right direction so he trusts in that and that God will not lead him astray.
My big project this week and next week is getting the orders ready for zone conferences. In my mission we do five zone conferences on five different days, with two zones at each conference (except for one which has three). So each day before I have to prepare the supplies that the missionaries ordered. I have used so much packing tape and cardboard already. It's crazy. We've done three of five. The other two are Monday and Tuesday, so I've got my work cut out for me. After that though my life will be pretty tranquil until the transfer week chaos starts in ten days. Although it may not seem like a spiritual experience, I've been able to have a pretty faith-building time putting together the supplies. The youth in all of Italy got together and did a big EFY (summer camp for Mormons). They took 160 copies of the Book of Mormon and each youth wrote his/her testimony/experiences in the front cover. Then they gave the books back to us to distribute to all our missionaries and have them hand them out to investigators that would benefit from those testimonies. One of my assignments is to read these testimonies before I put them in the orders. It's been an awesome experience to read all of the wonderful testimonies that these youth have and see the difference the Gospel has made in their lives. I love it because a lot of them say things like "I don't know everything about the Gospel, but I love what I do know and I want you to have that too!" These youth are great.
Until next time, y'all keep being bravi. Love, Anziano Simcox.
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