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Andrea |
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March 10:
Well I've finished the missionary library and the colloqui - Now what? I've been reading La Casa del Signore - it's tough because it's in Italian - so I get real bored with it real fast - I think that today I'll start reading the New Testament.
Here's a new goal: Every day I read - I'll put an entry in the journal about what I read and also my feelings in regard.
Today Anziano Perry and I had a cool experience: We went to get his permesso di soggiorno renewed this morning - but they gave us trouble at the questura so we weren't able to get it done.
Afterwards we were a little disgruntled at the Italian bureaucracy but we met a very awesome young man. His name is Andrea. We met him on the street. He's 19 years old. We BRT'd for a bit and finally cut to the chase.
He said he believes in God, but doesn't have any reason to believe in anything more or that any church is true. He said he has decided to be open and listen to different peoples' ideas though.
We taught him a first and the spirit was very strong as Anz. Perry and I bore our testimonies. We were both heavily interested in helping this guy to find the truth. I think it was this show of love that allowed the spirit to really touch his heart. But alas, when it came time for him to take the book, he didn't want to.
You could see inside of him that he knew it was right, but his fear was holding him back. He didn't see the need to take the book - but he knew it was right. We kept bearing testimony and kept inviting him. Finally - and you could physically SEE his effort, he pushed aside his fear and took the book - along with all the responsibility.
What courage and what a leap of faith. I was awe inspired. You could tell he was someone who took commitments seriously. It made me feel wonderful to see him take it. He still had a little mistrust and wouldn't give us his phone #, but he promised to call us this monday and I really think he will. He's a brand new contact, but I really have a lot of hope for him. |
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