Fwd: home

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Benjamin Jolley <benjamin.jolley@myldsmail.net>
Date: Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 3:57 AM
Subject: home

I am blown away. This is my last email that I'll send from this email address as a missionary. wow. I don't really understand what is happening. It feels to me like all other transfers, I'm off to a new place to go preach the gospel meeting different members and seeing a different city. That's how I feel. I don't really feel like I'm going to be released soon. I know that the church is true. And maybe that's exactly what I'll do. I'll just continue to preach the gospel and meet new members and new people while also learning to provide for myself and figuring out what this mysterious "school" is. I ask myself often "what is it that normal people do every day? I don't remember." Maybe I'll have to have the missionaries come by shortly after I'm released to explain the plan of salvation and the purpose of life. I think I'd be a golden investigator. I love my mission. I love these people. I'm excited to come home, but more just sad that everyone will only speak english and not the myriad of languages that you speak here. A missionary who had been in Italy previously told me that the first thing I'll notice about america will be that everyone is fat. I guess I'll find out. This week has been a good one. Our apartment has lots of paint fumes in it because for three days some painters came down and painted our apartment. It makes it look a lot nicer.

 

This wednesday we taught the Zanchini family and invited them to invite their friends to hear the gospel. They said "you look tired. It's because your about to end your mission, isn't it?" maybe so. Then we biked across the entire city top speed to Sorella Tassi's and talked with her about the plan of salvation inviting her to think about people who'd recently had a death in the family who could need this message. She mentioned 4 people. hurray!

 

Thursday, we went down to Rimini for a baptismal interview for Claudia. Super cool girl. Super ready. As I asked her about her if she believed that Joseph Smith was a prophet, she said, it has to be true. Everything in me tells me it is. Well done sister missionaries! in there a month and already baptizing. later on we taught Moreno and Laila about genealogy work because Laila wanted to know why it's so important. I gave her a few scriptures to read and ponder on. She then asked me if I'd ever thought of going career. So I explained that's not how it works. I would. but fortunately for us and the church, that's not how it works. The church would be in trouble if I was in a high leadership position right now.

 

Friday we taught Esli, a new contact about the Book of Mormon. He has 4 children under 4 years old. Among which are triplets. crazy. His wife was pretty interested as well. It went pretty well. Then we taught a girl named Lorodaina with her brother in law Claudio from Romania about the Book of Mormon. She said she wanted to come to church. Pretty cool girl, hopefully she gets baptized. That evening we taught the Young Men in the branch about missionary work. It was hilarious. here's why: 1. All of them were investigators. There were Yvette's three boys, Cesare, Raphael and Jean-Jacques, and then one of the De Simone boys, Maurizio. They were super rambunctious and crazy. Our YM President after about 10 minutes was exhausted. Anziano Guest and I were just laughing our heads off thinking "We were exactly like that as kids!" Crazy night.

 

Saturday, we went out to Kenneth's, a new convert from Nigeria who just moved into our area. That was tough. They're in a tough situation. They're refugees from Libya. They have people assigned to take care of their temporal needs who didn't give them food or money for over a week and a half. That would be hard. Anziano Guest will be going to them with the branch president soon. Later we taught the De Simone boys about the Restoration. They understood super well and in general are just amazing. We asked them to get permission from their dad to be baptized, and sunday they had it, written. Then we taught Roger who unfortunately has stopped making progress, and is moving to Cesena, which makes teaching him and getting him to church a lot harder. But it'll be ok.

 

Sunday we had church and the youngest De Simone boys, valentino 6yo, stole my planner and pen and drew dinosaurs and super saiyan Jesus and all sorts of funny drawings. Afterwards we taught them the Plan of Salvation, which they drew out for us. They are so bravi. They read every night and pray every day. YAY! Later on we went and did some casa and taught several people, a cool kid named Precious from Nigeria who wants to come to church next week, and a college student in the next door who accepted the Book of Mormon. funny story. As we knocked doors a lady yelled through the door, I can't come to the door because I have to wash my husband! Then we went and taught a man named Tony the restoration, and invited him to church, and he said yes.

 

Monday we taught Fratello Nzoungani about obedience to commandments and then we went and visited sister Garcia in the hospital. That was a special experience to read about the atonement with her.

 

Yesterday we found a super cool guy named Andrea who accepted the invite to read the Book of Mormon and a return appointment. Yay! Then we went to Moreno and Laila's, who just talked and talked and told us some funny jokes and were just grand fun to be with. And then we talked about missionary work and went home.

 

Today is my last p day. I'm flipping out. I love you.

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