Piano, Piano, Lives are Touched

We have been fellowshipping and teaching a mother and daughter who have been members of the Church for many years, but live in a small (and beautiful) hilltop town about 30 miles outside of Siena.  The Mom, who is now in her seventies, served as Relief Society President many years ago when they lived in northern Italy.  However, they don't have a car and there are no trains that run to this town.  There are the occasional buses that go to Siena, but there is absolutely no bus service on Sundays.  Thus, they haven't been able to attend church.

When we first arrived in Italy more than a year ago, we would stop by when we were in the area but we could never find the Mom home.  There was a woman who would always answer the door, but she never indicated that she was the daughter, and just said that our member was not home.

After months of attempted visits and some phone calls, where we were always told that she was too busy to see us, we finally had a break through.  The woman that had always opened the door was the daughter, and she had recently moved back in with her Mom.  Her records, however, were not in our branch.  One day while she was at the bus station in Siena, she saw the elders.  She was going through some major addiction recovery efforts, and felt the need to draw closer to the church that she had known as a child.  Plus, there were some serious problems in the home, and she asked the elders to have us call her Mom.

To make a long story somewhat shorter, we finally were able to visit with the Mom and her daughter.  Our first few visits were nothing short of explosive, as there was bitter fighting between the daughter and a brother, the Mom and an older daughter, etc., etc.

We decided to have our sister missionaries teach the daughter separately, and we concentrated on helping the Mom through some serious issues.  Piano, piano (slowly, slowly as they say in Italian) we were able to bring gospel principles of love and forgiveness back into the home.  We wouldn't let either of them spout hatred and disappointment during our visits.  We brought the gospel to them through singing the hymns, prayer, and simple gospel messages.  Yes, even Darryl sang in these small encounters, and the Spirit seemed to come in spite of it!

Bonnie, Aleandra, Sisters Remund and Salmond, and Letizia

The sisters were helping the daughter get through some major issues as well, focusing on the positives of the gospel and not dwelling on the negative.  We have moved ahead and now we can teach the Mom and the daughter together, without the problems we encountered at the beginning.  It has been, and will continue to be, a long road, but with the help of the Lord and the good will efforts of all concerned, spirituality can be heightened and joy can be found!

Our last visit was at the end of our young missionaries' P-Day, so we arrived in this small town a bit early and we all enjoyed a great pizza cooked in a wood-fired oven before our visit.  This is the same pizzeria that we took two other sister missionaries to in December 2013 when we first knocked on this good sister's door.  It takes time and "stick-to-it-ness", but miracles can happen.

Sisters Salmond and Remund

And Bonnie, enjoying pizza!  That wine wasn't for us!

The current team of missionaries in Siena is about to change!  Sister Remund, who has been with us since August when she came into the mission as a greenie is being transferred this week to Brescia where she and another great sister will be opening up that city for Sisters.  Elders are there, but now the ward and branch in Brescia will be blessed with Sisters again.  We know there have been Sisters there in the past, because our daughter, Kristine, served there about 15 years ago.

The oldies

Elders Moa and Johnson

Sisters Remund and Salmond

Also, Elder Johnson, who has only been with us for about three months, is being transferred to Switzerland; yes Switzerland.  We have one city, Lugano that sits right on the Italian/Swiss border in our mission.  Most of the residents of that city speak Italian.  However, because of Switzerland's strict visa rules, it is almost impossible to assign our U.S. citizen missionaries to that city.  So the mission needs to find missionaries that are citizens of one of the European Union countries to serve there.  Elder Johnson holds dual citizenship; U.S. and British, so he can serve in Lugano.  He will be senior companion and district leader in the beautiful, and expensive, lake city of Lugano, Switzerland.

Knowing that two of our missionaries would be leaving us this week, we had our missionary correlation meeting on Sunday after church, over one of Bonnie's great, home-cooked meals.  We enjoy rubbing shoulders with these great missionaries, and they help keep us young, at least in our own minds.

Sisters Salmond and Remund, Bonnie, Elders Johnson and Moa

Last evening we had our branch FHE, and we celebrated the birthdays of all members and missionaries that have birthdays in January.  We also used the occasion to say goodbye to these two missionaries that will be leaving us.

Elder Moa, our district leader, will be training a brand new missionary, and Sister Salmond will be a senior companion to Sister Rincon who has been in Italy for about three months.  We look forward to meeting and working with these new missionaries, once they make it to our beautiful city.

While we don't have many of our members come to our weekly FHE's, as most of our members live outside of Siena, some of our single members who live close by come regularly, and we have many investigators, friends of the Church, and members who are coming back into activity participate with us at these events.

For example, the picture below shows our two elders, Moa and Johnson, with Paolo, an Elder that is coming back into activity, Kleis, an investigator with a February baptismal date, Enrique, a member who is a great friend to the Elders, and Eugenia, a long-time attender of our English classes, but who isn't yet ready to learn about the restored gospel.

Paolo, Elder Moa, Kleis, Elder Johnson, Enrique and Eugenia

It is beautiful to have a church that opens its arms and tries to serve all those who have a need.

And here is a picture of our Sisters last night at FHE with Azzurra, a wonderful young lady who they have been teaching for months now.  She wants to join the church, but is struggling with a Word of Wisdom hurdle.  We are here to help, and to love her and accept her as she continues on the path towards the gospel.

Sister Remund, Azzurra, Sister Salmond

And here is our good friend Angela.  She comes to our activities often, and we have taught her the gospel.  She doesn't want to change; content with her spiritual life.  That is her choice, and we open our arms to her as well, providing the friendship that she needs as she walks her road alone, without family or loved ones close by.  Her current thing is her new IPad that is stressing her out to no end.  So she wants Darryl to teach her all he knows about this new technology.  She was blown away by what Siri could do.

Kleis, an investigator, Elder Moa, and Angela

We have learned that the gospel of Christ is for all; and those who take upon themselves his mantle as members of his church have the lifelong obligation to love and befriend all who come through our doors.  Yes, there are requirements for membership in God's church, and people can lose their privilege to be members through their actions, but those hard decisions are left to those with the mantle to be judges in Israel.  As for the rest of us, the less judging we do, and the more loving and accepting of all we become, the closer we will be to what Christ wants us to be.

Christ taught us all an important lesson in love and service, no matter the circumstance, through the story of the Good Samaritan.  May we use that principle as a guiding light in our lives is our hope for us in particular, and all our loved ones as well.