Carissimi,
Though time always seems to be my enemy on p-day, I realize as I try to piece together a halfway decent email, that I don't feel like anything happened worthy of writing this week. We may look back on my months in Napoli as the glory days of Anziano Toronto writing home, cause right now, I lack serious subject material.
One contributing factor to the lack of writing inspiration is the lack of investigators, lessons, or in other words, that which makes up missionary work. After working hard in Napoli for a few months, we got to a point where our work was cyclical, and self sufficient. We taught, new converts brought others to teach, and our finding efforts were no more than a supplement to our teaching and baptizing. It was the dream. As I arrived here in Bari, there was literally not one investigator to teach, not a single one. This has been a major source of frustration for me, as teaching (literally the thing I currently love most in this world), and baptizing has taken a back burner spot to hours and hours of supplemental finding. Throughout, we've seen some incredible people show promise, and I felt blessed and guided in many ways, yet without fail, those we find, inevitably have chosen to reject the message, and the messengers. After a year and a half, I've become accustomed to such, however I'm struggling, cause I'd love for God to override the free agency of these wonderful people, and force them to accept this life changing message, but that's simply not how it works. Sometimes I'd love to shake the ground with a voice of thunder and call all of Italy to repentance, but I realize they'd attribute such to one of their many saints, and become even more firmly entrenched in their apostasy. An aside here, the American Catholic Church, and the Roman Catholic Church are world's apart, in terms of apostasy, blatant apostasy, and I, and any other Great Italy Rome Missionary could write a novel on the subject, however, as I was invited back at Mothers Day, I'm trying to love the Catholics. Bari is a wonderful place, and I feel a deep love for the people I am serving, and I know I always will, however they never cease to amaze me with their disregard for the truth when it walks right up, taps them on the shoulder, and asks if it can change their life.
Typical street convo...
Missionary: Hey, morning, how are you?
Italian: Ehh...
M: Why, what's up?
I: Oh I'm alright, there's just so much "..." (Insert complaint about this or that in the Catholic church)
M: Oh so you're Catholic
I: Yeah, but I'm inactive, I rarely go to church.
M: Why's that?
I: "..." (insert comment about priests, pedophilia, corruption, evil, money, how the church is a business, how they never feel close to God in church)
M: Oh really, let me explain our church's belief about the apostasy... *does so*
I: You know, that is completely true, I'm 100% in agreeance.
M: Sooo, (Joseph Smith... etc, rest of restoration)
I: Wow, that message would change the world if it were true
M: It is true, and you can know for yourself by reading BOM, and coming to church.
I: Oh no thanks, I'm fine where I'm at... or, maybe I'll pass by sometime when I'm in the area... Or even, no thanks I'm Catholic, and that's just how it is...
M: *facepalm*
Literally everyday of being an Italy Rome Missionary, but hey, I'm happy to do it, with the elect who do recognize the need for change, and give us a serious look... makes my day, every time.
Besides that, I've been grateful that my mission has taught me to learn to love every missionary I serve with. I'm learning much about myself, and how to become an active part in making a relationship work, and will surely be grateful for this "small moment," which if endured well, will exalt me on high with a wife I can love, and communicate with. After all, in my patriarchal blessing, it says that after marriage, I'll spend the rest of my life learning to live together, and putting together an eternal relationship. Sounds like a process, and though it doesn't sound easy, nothing worthwhile ever is. Here's to future Anziano Toronto using his newly acquired conflict resolution skills!
I suppose this email is more of a vent than anything, and does little to calm your worries about your missionary son, but if you could hear anything from this email, let it be this.
I love the Italian's, and in the time I have left I am going to do everything within my power to allow these sons and daughters of God to choose the restored gospel.
I love you, and I hope to have more to write about in the near future. Hopefully transfers this next week can bring some much needed change. Change is the lifeblood of the mission, and of life, without it, we do not grow, yet sometimes, as Anziano Holland masterfully teaches, we kinda have to languish in Liberty Jail, in order to truly appreciate the miracles God works in our lives, and the people he is asking us to become. All I want in life is to be who God wants me to be, is that too much to ask!!? Ugh, mortality is such a refining process, and yet we couldn't rid ourselves of the impurities without intense heat, and a hammer and an anvil. So here's to Heavenly Father beating Anziano Toronto up on his anvil, cause it means he needs him to grow, learn, and become something greater.
Love you,
Anziano Toronto II 🇮🇹
No comments:
Post a Comment