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| Caught Anziano Rodriguez half smiling as he came around training each zone as the newly called Assistant! |
Zone Conference:
You give it a few weeks and we always seem to find our way back to the spiritually enriching hours spent listening to and learning from mission leaders and the Holy Ghost. As Anziano Ferrara, Sorella Palacios, and I prepared the training portion we had been assigned, we bounced ideas around until we landed on change through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. As is common for Anziano Toronto, and Christian Toronto before him, the night before Zone Conference came, and my thoughts were still entirely unorganized. This time it wasn't for lack of preparation on my part... I had spent hours, and hours studying the Atonement, and more specifically the repentance process, yet the outline of the training wasn't coming as it had often done in the past. Jumbled ideas, quotes, and principles refused to form themselves into the concrete plan I wanted. That evening, I bounced what I had off of President, based on study, and life and mission experience, and he shared a myriad of scriptures, along with his own understanding of what needs to take place in order for the Atonement to take true effect. I went home, and though steps had been made in a positive direction, I still lacked clarity. I woke up early, and again, made progress, but I didn't really know what I was going to say until I began saying it. As we touched on different aspects of the Atonement, scriptures and quotes I had studied came to mind, and I truly felt that which I taught. The atonement has helped me to begin singing the first few bars of the song of redeeming love, but like Stairway to Heaven, the intro keeps on going forever! In this life I won't ever get done singing that song, and surely as with my voice, and instruments I've learned, I'm going to hit some wrong notes along the way. Regardless of that, Christ allows me to keep singing in his choir, and for that, I'll sing his praise evermore!
Missing: a Competent Pianist
Mom always told me I would regret the day I quit piano lessons, because I'd be sent to somewhere on my mission where they'd need a pianist, and I wouldn't be able to help them out, (this among other reasons of course). Until last week, her prophecy was no more than an empty threat to a young boy who preferred spending time on a basketball court or football field, rather than on an uncomfortable piano bench hitting wrong notes for half an hour before she let him get to where he really wanted to be. Anziano Stucki was sent off to Rome, and with him all the sightreading capability the city of Napoli possessed. Last Sunday, the ward suffered through a few a capella hymns, and apparently the suffering was felt most keenly by Sorella Ariante, the music director, who approached me after the meeting and asked if I would prepare to play the next week. Friends, Sweet Hour of Prayer, and a few other selections can only get you so far, so pray for this amateur pianist as he plays for the 2nd week in a row this upcoming Sunday. His classics are exhausted, and he needs some serious divine intervention to keep his fingers on the proverbial straight and narrow keys. It doesn't help that the F key is broken in the bass clef...
Amalfi:
P-day took us once again out to the beautiful Amalfi coast, just an hour or so south of Napoli. Gorgeous, but far too tourist based for me. Sky high prices, and not much to do for a missionary who can neither swim nor go boating... but highlights included seeing a paper museum from the outside, (then realizing it cost 4€ to go inside), seeing a stunning church from the outside, (then realizing it cost 3€ to go inside, and the 4 hours of travel getting there and back. Only a missionary could give Amalfi a 3/10, and a stingy one at that, but what's a guy to do???
A young 47, and an Actually young 22:
I would be slacking in my duty if I neglected to mention the significant current events, the former having taken place this last week, and the latter yet to come. Jonny J celebrated a birthday this week, and lucky for him this is only going out to family, so the world won't know he's one year older! As for Sim Shady and Amy Kate, all I can say is auguroni da Napoli. One of the toughest parts of the mission is only being able to well wish as your dear friends and family celebrate milestones and more around you, but know that if I were there, I'd eat only 1 plate for mom's sake, and give you both a CYT sized bear hug!
They say the mark of a distinguished missionary writer is his or her ability to take a week in which little happened, and make it seem like it was the best week of their life. That's why I'm not a distinguished missionary writer haha😉
Jokes aside, it was a great week! Love what I do, and I know without a doubt I'm where the Lord needs me to be! I bear testimony that through the Savior and his Atonement our mistakes are written only in expo marker, as opposed to sharpie. President Ezra Taft Benson once declared that, "Christ changes [missionaries], and changed [missionaries] change the world." I'm a changed, and changing missionary, and I'm trying to change the world, one person at a time.
Love you with all my heart!
Anziano Toronto II 🇮🇹
Zone Conference Pics
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