on the Lord's errand

We got home too late last night, so this is Thursday's post:
wonderful thing:  Do you know how long it takes to compose a 12-minute Sacrament Meeting talk in Italian?  I don't know either; I'm not done yet, and I started last Sunday.  Wednesday I completed the basic talk.  Yesterday, I went over it, trimmed it down, submitted some translating I'd done to Sister Bagni so she can tweak it for me, and formulated a couple of other concepts I'd like to add - which will mean more trimming down.  According to Google, 1500 words equate to a 12-minute presentation.  Blaine and I also went over our Institute lesson, who will present what, for our class on Saturday evening, then for our class of English speakers on Sunday afternoon.  Of course, we also went over our goals and what we're doing to meet them.  We have decided that we need to follow Ammon's example and do some service in the ward in general, to build mutual trust to the point that we can all open our hearts to each other.  There's a doctor, Fratello Orlando, who lives on the very outskirts of the ward boundaries - his address actually reads "Bologna" - who has reached out to us a couple of times.  We kind of put him on the back burner because we're here specifically to work with the GANS, and there's plenty to do in that field of labor.  I just couldn't get him out of my mind, though.  Yesterday we called him and asked him when would be a good time to come visit.  He has an engaging personality.  He was with the brood of puppies his wife's dog delivered recently.  I forget the breed, but they're huge dogs - and I think there are nine puppies!  Sunday he showed us some of the scratches he has suffered from their doggy enthusiasm.  He told me on the phone, in English, "They're dreadful!"  We agreed to set a date for a visit this Sunday.  He was obviously happy we had called; he kept thanking me.  He and his wife have raised a good strong family, but all their children are gone now; I know that one lives in England and one lives in Utah.  They live so far from everyone else in the ward, in the mountains, where apparently in the winter, it's virtually impossible to get to their house.  Until recently, he was working as a ship's doctor, but felt that he should be closer to family (so I guess there are other family members nearby), so he found a job as a prison doctor.  From his description Sunday of that work, I felt to thank Heavenly Father for my challenges.
Yesterday afternoon, according to plan, we drove to Florence to make "cold calls" on some of the less-active GANS there.  Blaine had spent a fair amount of time with Google Earth, mapping out where all the GANS in Prato and in Florence live, so that we can make good use of our visiting time by choosing a certain zone.  Accordingly we chose a certain zone, and drove to the first address...which was right in the middle of all the tourist spots, meaning that finding a parking spot (challenging in the best of circumstances) was impossible.  We ended up going to the same parking garage we had used when we brought Elisa to the train station, knowing it would cost a bundle, but what can you do?  Then we walked back to the first address, only to find that it is "sbagliato" - there is a hotel there.  We quizzed the clerk at the desk just to make sure, which did not make us his favorite Americans.  So we set off for the next address, using walking mode on our GPS.  There were five doorbells at the door of that apartment, none of which carried her name.  We rang every single one of them, ready to give an explanation of ourselves, with zero success!  On to the next address, which turned out to be quite a long walk (we need to be aware of which shoes we're wearing...), with the same results.  Three people came up to the door as we were going over our address list to make sure we had the right one, and to see who else we might find in the area.  One of them was an older lady who was very willing to help, and pointed out which bells were students.  As we spoke, the door opened, and lo and behold, out came Gabriele, a GANS who will be leaving for his mission soon.  The woman was his grandmother.  He told us the young woman we were searching for had been gone for a couple of years!   After promising the grandmother, who has been less active for years, that she would be blessed through her grandson's mission (which we know from personal experience), we headed back to Piazza della Stazione, where we planned to attend Institute at one of the members' apartment, stopping at a Trattoria Pizzeria al Chirola to dine on the way.  Fun part:  Tagliatelle with butter sauce and slices of black truffles!  I am certain that dish will be on the menu in Heaven!  It was totally worth hearing Keith Urban or whoever else it was, blaring over the speakers.  Apparently "Chirola" has something to do with cowboys; there were horseshoes on the placemats.  We ended up arriving late at Institute, but the living room was packed with earnest young adults, engaging in conversation with the teacher, Sister Ferrini.  We met some we hadn't met on Sunday afterward, an enjoyed receiving input from Brother Ferrini.  Then we took our tired feet back to the parking garage, where we did indeed pay a bundle, and drove home.  The GPS was still set on walking mode!  Let's just say we took the looong, scenic route home.  Blaine could hardly stay awake, so it was a true blessing when we finally drove into the parking lot of our building.
That is what being on the Lord's errand looks like sometimes.  We can cull the list of GANS in Florence.  We made some kind of progress in our responsibilities.  We dedicated it all to Him.  That's good enough...by His grace.