Fwd: Transfers and a cool week.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Benjamin Jolley <benjamin.jolley@myldsmail.net>
Date: Wed, May 18, 2011 at 2:49 AM
Subject: Transfers and a cool week


Dear Family,

This week has been quite the week. I will start with transfer news. Anziano Russo is leaving for Brescia, which is east of Merate, as junior companion to Anziano Blaga, who is romanian and a transfer older than him. I will be training again, in Pesaro, and I will be the District Leader. In Ancona, Anziano Osborn will be training. I will be the district leader over us and Ancona, so I have two new missionaries in my district and Anziano Osborn who is barely past 6 months in the mission. I'm old. Missionary old. It's downhill now.

This week has been a lot of fun. well, a lot of fun since Sunday. We did a lot of finding work, got a lot of bidoni and didn't teach at all for 4 days. It was... depressing. However, on Thursday, Anziano Russo started to get really upset around 7 PM. He threw his nametag on the ground, then he threw his backpack in the air. Also, he said something like "If the Lord is helping us, now's the time for him to show it." It was kinda ridiculous. For some reason, when his mood was SUPER down, I was SUPER happy. And I was determined to make a long finding day not a failure and to show that the Lord WAS helping us. So I started inviting everyone I saw to listen to the gospel. I got about 4 numbers and 2 return appointments in about the last half hour of the day, making my companion a little... well... surprised. And angrier. because now he couldn't be angry about the day. what now, depression?!?

I'll skip to Sunday, because I don't really remember Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, we went to church, where an ex-missionary showed up, so the members had prepared a lunch in church for him. Because of this, two of our less active families came to church, and one of them, Jackelin, came with her boyfriend Ricardo. I chatted with him during the lunch, and got his number and an appointment to teach him on Friday. sweet! referral! Then we went and got a couple bidoni, and then we taught Liz, a peruvian, with her husband Sergio, and their adorable 1 year old son. (I was thinking about my nephews). They were very interested and gave us a return appointment, even though they are very busy, for the end of the week.

Monday, we went out, did some casa, and found two fathers who were conveniently at home with their children for the first time in a long time. they became new investigators. Then we got separated while we were riding home, I went left, Anziano Russo went straight, and then I just decided to head home when I didn't immediately find him. I called President when I didn't see him, and while I was talking to President, he came back. President said "ciao anziano" and as I was about to hang up said, "wait, wait!" he told me then that I would be training again, and I would be the district leader. That was exciting. We went back out after lunch, and nothing particularly exciting happened.

Tuesday, our Zone Leaders came down to Pesaro to have companionship study with us. Random, but OK. As we studied, Anziano Dunshee asked me to read a talk by Elder Holland out loud, about how all the prophets before had their dispensations in failure, but this one won't. I was very touched. So then we went out, gave a man a Book of Mormon, and I was filled with power as we went and did finding work. I stopped everyone. and everyone was interested. I had 3 people stop me as we were going around, who asked "who are you guys? I've always wondered that!" We found a nice old lady doing casa who tried to give us back the Book of Mormon, saying "I don't understand how someone could write their own Bible!" We then bore testimony to her and she then asked if she could keep it and started crying, saying that when she has a bad day, she pulls it out and reads a little, and is happier. It was a little strange how she went from so angry and trying to give us back the book to wanting to keep it and humble and happy after we testified. Yeah, that was awesome.

Today, we woke up, ate food, and studied. We're heading to Bologna later tonight so that we can get to Milano early tomorrow morning.

Much love,

Anziano Jolley

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