talians are a very traditional people. You can see it how they cook, how they interact with one another, and in many of their beliefs. The most apparent, to me at least, has been how traditional they are in their names. If you want to guess someone's name here in Messina, you have about a 60% chance of guessing right if you say Maria, 20% if you say Giulia, and 10% if you say Francesca. This is nice when you have to try to remember the names of people you talked to randomly on the street, but tricky when Heavenly Father leads you to 3 separate new people to teach, all named Giulia, and you have to keep them all straight.
They're all great, and Heavenly Father really did bless us this week with people who were interested in hearing our message about Jesus Christ. We made it through the hot and slow month of August, and finally now in September we're seeing some fruits from our labors. I love it. I really feel God's hands in our work and I'm still trying to figure out what we did to deserve the blessings he's been giving us.
This week we had a lot of opportunities to teach and find. Some of our most memorable finding experiences of the week include:
1. The newly wed woman on her way to pick up her wedding photos. We talked on the tram, and then as we got off she asked if we could all take a selfie together so she could post it on Facebook.
2. The girl without pants. We introduced ourselves, asked if we could show her a video about Jesus Christ, all before realizing she was standing outside her front door wearing only a large t shirt. She looked at us, then down at herself, then back at us, and said "well. I'm half naked and this situation is already probably one of the weirdest in my life, but sure, why not?"
3. The Russian woman who's heart was softened thanks to my amazing companion who speaks Russian. (And Italian, Albanian, English, French, and German. She's basically amazing) the Russian woman didn't give us any means of contacting her, but she did give us her exact address is Russia so that if we ever want to visit Russia we can stay at her house.
4. The TJ man who told that I had "incorrect logic" because I said that the trials in this life are part of God's plan for us to grow. Good times.
We taught someone this week from Vietnam who had no Christian background. I loved studying for that lesson because I really had to study the basics of who Jesus Christ is. And let me tell you what an amazing study that was. He is our brother, our mediator, our salvation. He lived a perfect life. He willingly sacrificed himself for each of us so we have the chance to repent and change. He rose from the grave. And He lives now. He gives us power through His atoning sacrifice.
I am beyond grateful for Heavenly Father's plan for us, and His son who gives us infinite chances to come back to Him.
"[God] has infinite attention to spare for each one of us. He does not have to deal with us in the mass. You are as much alone with Him as if you were the only being He had ever created. When Christ died, He died for you individually just as much as if you had been the only man [or woman] in the world” - C.S. Lewis [Mere Christianity]
I love you all!
Sorella Maxfield
No comments:
Post a Comment