Crazy things have been happening in Genova this week. Sorella McCann and I have certainly had some fun and interesting experiences!
Let me just start with Monday. So last week Sorella McCann and Seare were doing a scambio and got two new investigators from Equador who are devout Evangelists. They were actually trying to find a less active member who didn't live at the address anymore, and instead this young evangelist couple who now lives there let them in. We were a little nervous that all they wanted to do was bible bash with us and so we were definitely planning for our next lesson on Monday to explain our purpose to them. Well when we came into their house we found four other people all sitting around the room who were obviously expecting us (sidenote, they didn't tell us these people were going to be there). We weren't exactly sure what to do so we just sat down and started talking to all of them. It turns out that they're all from the same Evangelist church and had come to hear our message/share their message with us. Let me just say, they're part of the evening took about the entire time and involved lots and lots of prayers, praising the Lord, singing hymns (all standing up), and a very dramatic sermon. They asked us if we sang hymns in our church and so we sang "I am a child of God" for them. I was getting kind of nervous by the end because we weren't going to have any time to even have a little lesson. But then at the very end they asked us if we had a message to share. We decided to read a little scripture in 2 Nephi 31 which talks about the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost being one and they really like it. In fact, it was probably thanks to that verse that we were able to find some common ground and spark their interest in our message. So, we have a return appointment for the following monday and four new investigators! It was interesting because they were all genuinely interested in our message but it took an entire evangelist church service basically to gain their trust. I've definitely never had a more informative and cultural experience about another religious faith and it ended up turning out pretty well in the end.
We didn't think that the night could get any weirder, but THEN on the way home from that appointment (we were already running late) we ran into one of our less actives from Russia who is a little interesting, we'll say. We had about 15 minute conversation/lesson with her and at the end she gave us two huge bouquets of flowers that she had picked from the ground to give to someone in our ward on Sunday. It was perfect cherry on top of a very weird evening to begin with.
If there's one thing I've learned from this experience as well as from countless others on my mission, it's that you NEVER know what to expect!!! You ALWAYS have to be on your toes and ready to accept and embrace anything that comes your way. It's just like Forrest Gump would say- "Life is like a box of chocolates- you never know what you're gonna get." It is so true, ragazzi. I am so grateful for ALL of the experiences I've had on my mission, good and bad, and the best part is IT'S NOT EVEN OVER YET! I still have three more weeks to go, and they are going to be glorious!!!
Non posso descrivere quanto che vi voglio bene... alla prossima!
Love,
Sorella Lyman
P.S. Today is my 18 month mark!!!!! WHAT?!!?!! Here's a picture with me and Sorella Harward to celebrate. :)
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