Change Brings New Life!

A constant in the mission field is change.  Our valiant young missionaries face the possibility of transfers every six weeks.  One never knows when the Lord and the Mission President have need of one of these missionaries elsewhere.  Plus we continue to receive a lot of new missionaries, and then there are those who have completed their service and are returning home.

Tranfers hit our little town of Siena this last week.  Sister McCann, who had been in Siena for awhile before we came and who came back to Siena about a month and a half ago when the Mission President brought sisters back to Siena, has been transferred to Genova.  It is always sad to say goodbye to these young missionaries, but it gives us the chance to say hello to new ones.

We had Sister McCann and her companion, Sister Hunter, over to our home for a quick brunch before she needed to catch the train out of town.  It was great to spend a few minutes with her to thank her for her service here in Siena to the branch and to the investigators who they are teaching.  Sister McCann will be a Sister Training Leader in the Genova Zone.  That is basically the same assignment as a Zone Leader for the elders.  She will be working with the sisters in that Zone and teaching them how to be better missionaries.

 

Sisters Hunter and McCann for the farewell from Siena brunch.

Unloading the car for Sister McCann's transfer to Genova.

The sisters at the station with Darryl's first counselor, Simone.

President Dibb told Sister Hunter, who was the junior companion, that she would not only be a senior companion, but that she would be a new missionary trainer.  This means that she will receive a brand new missionary!  She was very nervous about this new assignment, but she will do a great job.

All trainers are required to go to the mission home in Milano to pick up their new companions.  They have no idea who they will receive until they are actually in the meeting with the President.  There were four or five new sister missionaries, and one of them was a native Italian.  All the sister trainers wanted that one for their greenie!  And, as fate and the guiding direction of the Spirit would have it, the new Italian sister, Sorella Boscia, has been assigned to our fair city!!

 

Sister Hunter helping Sister Boscia with her bags after a long trip from Milano.

The day after Sisters Hunter and Boscia came back from Milano, we took them with us to do our home teaching with a sister who lives about an hour from Siena.  This wonderful sister has a precocious 3 1/2 year old son, and it is a joy to visit them.  Although she hasn't been able to get to church (she doesn't drive much and her husband is not a member), she participates each week in Institute via Skype.  We took her some Primary materials so she can teach her son the gospel.  They pray together every evening.  We hope to see her in church as soon as the weather warms up.

Doris and her son, Daniele, with the sisters and Bonnie.

 On our way back to Siena we decided to go and find a sister who lived out in the country.  Our address wasn't perfect, but after asking in a few bars (not exactly like the bars in the States), we found her apartment down a dark country road.  We knocked on the door not knowing what to expect.  A man, probably her husband, opened the door, and was quick to tell us he wasn't interested.  We explained that we were there to see this sister and wondered if we could talk to her.  He said she was out doing the shopping.  We left a letter with all our contact information and a few church materials.  We hope the materials got to her.  This is a sister who probably hasn't had any contact with the church for more than a decade, so who knows what will come of our visit.  But all we can do is to find these lost sheep, and invite them back into the fold.  The choice is always theirs.  That is God's plan.

Death visited our branch this month.  Our wonderful Relief Society President, Sister Feri, has been taking care of her 97-year-old mother for years now.  Her mother wasn't a member of our branch, but we have visited her often over the past few months.  Her health has been slipping, and she passed away after a brief stay in the hospital.  Her kidneys simply failed.  Whenever anyone loses a loved one it brings great sadness.  And that sadness was amplified when you have been the primary caregiver for that person for decades.

Sister Feri and Bonnie, in happier days.

However, we saw how Sister Feri's strong testimony of the restored gospel and her knowledge of the plan of salvation has buoyed her up and helped her face this challenge.  She shared with us her plan to do her mother's temple work in a year in the Rome temple, and have her parents sealed there for time and all eternity.  It is marvelous how such knowledge brings comfort and peace, even in times of great sorrow.

Our missionaries are teaching English classes to whomever in the city might be interested.  Those classes weren't going well in 2013, but the elders and sisters decided to put a big push on for the classes that were to begin in 2014, making flyers and passing them out all over the city.  We were overwhelmed and pleased by the number of people that have come to our little branch for these English lessons.  We teach a very beginning class, as well as one a bit more advanced.  The elders take one and the sisters take the other.  A number of the students have expressed interest in learning more about the Church, or in doing genealogy work.  This will not only be a good public service, but it might be a good finding tool as well.

Sisters McCann and Hunter teaching the alphabet.

Their students, with Bonnie helping from the back.

The elders teaching the more "advanced" class.

We spend a great deal of our time home teaching, visiting teaching, and simply visiting the members of our branch.  During these past 12 days we have traveled many hundred kilometers all over Toscana to assist and serve wherever we can.

Darryl has asked our American professional basketball player, Spencer Nelson, to home teach with him to those four or so members who speak English.  Here is a photo of Spencer with one of our members from Nigeria.  She was very excited to have her picture taken with someone so tall!!  Her conversion story is one that most people will not believe, but it must be left to another forum.  

 

Spencer Nelson with Tina.

As we mentioned in one of our first posts after arriving in Italy, we fully expected to serve with two sister missionaries.  However, because the sisters' apartment was so old and unhealthy (full of mold), the sisters were transferred temporarily out of Siena, and a set of Elders took their place.  After three and half months now, we have finally gotten those elders out of that old apartment and into a clean apartment that is fairly close to where we live on the outskirts of Siena.  We spent all day yesterday helping the senior couple in charge of missionary apartments, and our two young elders, move into and set up this new apartment.  The elders are stoked to be in their new digs, and we hope that the illnesses that have plagued them will disappear and they will march forth with renewed strength in preaching the gospel!