Intimissimi,
Figured it's been a little while, so here goes the first mass in un bel po'... perdonatemi se ve ne frega, se no, va beh, non mi importate haha
In order to set the stage for the events of the week, it must first be established I was sicker than a dog for much of it. After a night of street finding Monday night I came back, and all the other Anziani were making fun of me cause I was shivering and curled up. Little did they know this Minnesotan boy would not be in such a state without some solid cause. Went to bed as quick as possible but sleep didn't want to stay long. In and out, shivering and sweating, it was, quite literally one of the most frustrating nights of my life, just cause I wanted to sleep so bad, but was being kept from doing so by the tiniest little microbes, mannaggia (don't google translate that, take my word that it means dang haha) a essi... Anyways, flash to 6:00 when AT gives up on sleep, and gets up and starts moving around. I made it through the morning thanks to copious amounts of advil, but 10 out of 10 would not recommend feeling like I was. I passed out during Pranzo, and woke up just in time to see Anziano Cutler trying to sneak out the door with Anziano Stucki, intending to teach the lesson we had that night, trying to help me rest and recover. For some reason I wasn't having any of it, I told him to wait, and got ready fast as my poor body could, (imagine Flash from Zootopia). Anziano Cutler and I headed out into the rain, (again, probably not the best idea, but oh well), and waited for the bus that was supposed to take us to Caivano. We waited, and waited, and after 20 minutes we had to conclude it just wasn't coming. We decided to head back up to the apartment, and wait in the warmth for the bus that would arrive about 15 minutes later, this was an idea I could get behind haha. We waited, and I warmed myself, until the bus' was to arrive in about 5 min.
This is where things get real cool... I couldn't tell you it was a voice I heard, but there was definitely the thought that ran through my head saying, "well, today's not your day in general, and it would be just your luck if the bus was just a few minutes early, so why don't you go brave the cold for just a few minutes." I kinda got an "are you crazy, it's cold and wet outside," look from Anz. Cutler but we headed out anyway. Again, leaving the apartment I felt like we needed to move faster, and I turned to start down the stairs, (mind you we live on the 7th floor, and I was definitely not supposed to be leaving the house, let alone running). Anziano Cutler followed my lead and we flew down the stairs, and out onto the street, I kept running to the bus stop and low and behold, as we arrived, breathless, so did the one bus that would get us to Caivano. Literally any slowing down along the way would have meant missing the bus, and therefore missing the appointment, which, as we were about to find out, was not one we wanted to miss.
I don't remember much about the bus ride on the way up, but Anz. Cutler tells me he looked over at one point and I had my head between my legs, so I'm sure it was awesome. We arrived in Caivano, and were immediately sent in the wrong direction. 10 min later we realized this, and course-corrected. We eventually found the street, and began searching for number 41. We walked, and walked, and walked, and finally got to 39, but as we walked on, the next number was in the 140's, not ever what you want. Anziano Cutler ever the optimist, said "it's probably at the end of the street, and don't worry Anziano, I bet it skips a bunch of numbers..." It didn't. We walked from the 140's down to 43, and then to the house after, expecting to have finally reached the house. Number 25 obstinately glared right back at us. It was still raining, we were tired, I was sick, and just about ready to give up. Our phone calls were going straight to voice mail, and we simply didn't know what to do. We sat down on the street corner, and decided to call the number without the country code, and it went through. We reached the mother in law of the family we wanted to meet, and she told us to go to a certain "Bar Moschino," where the family would meet us. We looked up, and not more than 50 feet away was a big white sign that said, "Bar Moschino."
The family arrived 10 min later, and they took us to their apartment, (not more than 5 min away from where we had been searching, but impossible to find without their help), let us in, and began to ask us questions. Here's a quick run down of the family: Rita - contacted the missionaries through mormon.org, self-identifying as "thirsty for the truth," in other words, exactly what we're looking for. Nunzio - Supportive evangelist father, who was "saved by Christ," a few years ago. Similarly thirsty for the truth, but slightly less so than Rita. Domenico e Giusi - ages 10 and 7 respectively. Active, but not overly so, patient, and spiritually in tune. Before we left, Giusi kept asking us if she could say the prayer, and when she showed us she knew how, I was touched by her faith! How can one little body contain that much joy and power!
The Restoration was taught, copies of the Book of Mormon were left, a blessing or two were given, and an invitation to return was given! Two last pieces of the story, not in chronological order, just in order of awesomeness! As we followed up this week, Rita, despite being laid up by the flu, has been poring through the Book of Mormon, with a desire to know if it is true! We know she's going to receive a witness real soon! Last, as we left, Rita told us, "I already know you are true messengers from God. I prayed all day, that if you weren't such, that you would be stopped somehow along the way. Your bus would break down, you wouldn't find the house, you would reschedule because of the rain, literally anything. Yet, you are here, and you have blessed our family!"
I didn't feel another symptom the whole way home, we were on cloud 9! The late President Thomas S. Monson once said, “The sweetest feeling you can have in this world is to feel the hand of the Lord upon your shoulder,” and I absolutely agree. We felt guided in so many ways that night, and regardless of the end result with this family, the process of finding them will be one of the greatest miracles of my mission!
To prove that life ain't always sunshine, rainbows, spiritual promptings, and happy endings, I felt like I had the AIDS virus for the rest of Wednesday and Thursday, and today we got a text from an absolutely golden investigator we had found this week, letting us know his mom will not allow him to see us ever again. He promised us he would keep reading the Book of Mormon, but for right now we need a familial miracle. Hopefully this'll just be a hiccup in his eternal progression, and that we'll be able to work something out with him and his mom, that will allow him to continue on the path he was so excited to begin!
Sorry for giving waaaay too much detail about the week, but if you made it this far, you're a champ!
Vi Voglio un Mondo di bene Ragazzi!
Anziano Toronto
Zone Calcio ⚽️ (For the first time in Forever)
🍕🍕🍕
