I almost wrote her name, but she should remain anonymous; she is an excommunicant and deserves privacy. She is, however, the wonderful thing.
We have a list of all the GANS in Pisa, and have been asked to visit them, especially those who don't come much. Our job, as we see it, is to be mentors, "coach", to get to know them and to encourage and love them. We went down the list Monday, trying to make appointments. We had discussed the list with the bishop and the Institute director, and marked the "low hanging fruit" - those who are most likely to respond. We made an appointment with one of them for yesterday, and agreed to pass by the store where another works. We then went to the next set of check marks, those who have not been heard from in quite awhile. We also got an agreement to introduce ourselves at the store where another one of the young women works.
Then we saw this name written in at the bottom of the list. She has been excommunicated but she comes to GANS activities with her boyfriend, who is "abbastanza bravo". We called. She was happy to hear from us, and readily agreed to meet us at the central station, which is near her grandfather's house, with whom she stays during the days of the week before she goes to school in the evenings.
She hastened to be sure, when first we met, that we knew she isn't officially a member, that she has chosen to live in a manner that she knows to be contrary to the laws of God - but that that's the choice she has made and she isn't willing to change that decision. There was no belligerence in this admission; it was more just to get it out in the open so that there was no deception on her part.
There are a lot of underlying circumstances, of course - there always are. What impressed us was her openness, her sweetness, her also readily avowed love of God and of the Gospel. Our hearts ached for her. We shared with her that we also have issues that plague us, which we are continually trying to ameliorate through prayer, repentance, renewing our covenants, etc. We promised her that we also are painfully conscious of our sins and weaknesses when we kneel to pray.
We challenged her to, if she can do no more, at least "check in" every morning and every night with her Father in Heaven. If she continues to do this, we promised her that she would know that He has not forgotten her, that He truly loves her, that He is right there, ready to bless her. We told her that we will keep in contact; she was pleased to hear it.
Really, there is a very thin line between the "saint" and the "sinner".
fun thing:
We found vanilla! And jalapeno-like peppers! And okra!!??! as well as cheaper peanut butter, all at Doris' store. She is from Nigeria, and operates a store with "exotic" food. This Friday there's a Carnevale festa at church; I have vanilla and saffron; I'm supposed to bring a "dolce". Google, here I come.
We have a list of all the GANS in Pisa, and have been asked to visit them, especially those who don't come much. Our job, as we see it, is to be mentors, "coach", to get to know them and to encourage and love them. We went down the list Monday, trying to make appointments. We had discussed the list with the bishop and the Institute director, and marked the "low hanging fruit" - those who are most likely to respond. We made an appointment with one of them for yesterday, and agreed to pass by the store where another works. We then went to the next set of check marks, those who have not been heard from in quite awhile. We also got an agreement to introduce ourselves at the store where another one of the young women works.
Then we saw this name written in at the bottom of the list. She has been excommunicated but she comes to GANS activities with her boyfriend, who is "abbastanza bravo". We called. She was happy to hear from us, and readily agreed to meet us at the central station, which is near her grandfather's house, with whom she stays during the days of the week before she goes to school in the evenings.
She hastened to be sure, when first we met, that we knew she isn't officially a member, that she has chosen to live in a manner that she knows to be contrary to the laws of God - but that that's the choice she has made and she isn't willing to change that decision. There was no belligerence in this admission; it was more just to get it out in the open so that there was no deception on her part.
There are a lot of underlying circumstances, of course - there always are. What impressed us was her openness, her sweetness, her also readily avowed love of God and of the Gospel. Our hearts ached for her. We shared with her that we also have issues that plague us, which we are continually trying to ameliorate through prayer, repentance, renewing our covenants, etc. We promised her that we also are painfully conscious of our sins and weaknesses when we kneel to pray.
We challenged her to, if she can do no more, at least "check in" every morning and every night with her Father in Heaven. If she continues to do this, we promised her that she would know that He has not forgotten her, that He truly loves her, that He is right there, ready to bless her. We told her that we will keep in contact; she was pleased to hear it.
Really, there is a very thin line between the "saint" and the "sinner".
fun thing:
We found vanilla! And jalapeno-like peppers! And okra!!??! as well as cheaper peanut butter, all at Doris' store. She is from Nigeria, and operates a store with "exotic" food. This Friday there's a Carnevale festa at church; I have vanilla and saffron; I'm supposed to bring a "dolce". Google, here I come.
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