Wonderful thing for Weds., 25 March:
We do a fair amount of lost-lamb searching. We can attest to the joy that is felt when one is found.
We saw M. in church in Florence Sunday with delight; we had heard that he had been in church the week before (we are back and forth between Prato and Florence wards), but this was our first opportunity to see him in months.
M. is an American student in Florence. He has been taking a lot of art trips. He got a little lost.
We asked if we could come visit. We said that our job here is to encourage. He said, "I really need that."
So yesterday, with homemade cookies in hand, we met him and the elders at his apartment. What a great visit, what a wonderful, uplifting talk we had. He shared about unmet expectations, about getting distracted and caught up in other things; we shared about crying unto God "in our wilderness" (Alma 34:26); we talked about Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life. We saw delight and relief in his eyes, we felt ourselves connecting. I think he felt at home.
Oh how I love this work.
Fun thing:
Found this great store under the train station at Florence called "Tiger". It's pretty much a glorified dollar store, you might call it the IKEA of dollar stores. I bought half a dozen journals and some stuff for the grandkids' Easter baskets. Woot!
Showing posts with label Tree of Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tree of Life. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Thursday, February 19, 2015
His children
Wonderful thing for Wednesday, 18 February:
How some people trust us. After our mission prep lesson yesterday, one of our students shared some very personal concerns with us. She shared her struggles and feelings, and she asked Blaine for a blessing of comfort (see lds.org, family guidebook, priesthood ordinances and blessings).
We just kind of look at each other after occasions like this, and marvel. We're just ordinary people; why do others give us the inestimable gift of their trust? It really makes you prize your calling; I don't know of too many other things that motivate me to do my best.
The concern and love that fill the heart, the lightness of spirit and the approbation that we all felt after that blessing, the closeness to this sweet, sweet daughter of God - these are all morsels from the Tree of Life!
fun thing:
Blaine got most of the fun, but that's okay. I just love doing anything with our missionaries. I was the dropper-off and picker-up of him, and Elders Christensen and Lott. They did a hike that was a little more demanding than the one we did last week with the sisters - not that the sisters couldn't have handled the climb last week...we all know who that would be... Even with a brisk wind on a chilly but sunny day, they had a super time.
How some people trust us. After our mission prep lesson yesterday, one of our students shared some very personal concerns with us. She shared her struggles and feelings, and she asked Blaine for a blessing of comfort (see lds.org, family guidebook, priesthood ordinances and blessings).
We just kind of look at each other after occasions like this, and marvel. We're just ordinary people; why do others give us the inestimable gift of their trust? It really makes you prize your calling; I don't know of too many other things that motivate me to do my best.
The concern and love that fill the heart, the lightness of spirit and the approbation that we all felt after that blessing, the closeness to this sweet, sweet daughter of God - these are all morsels from the Tree of Life!
fun thing:
Blaine got most of the fun, but that's okay. I just love doing anything with our missionaries. I was the dropper-off and picker-up of him, and Elders Christensen and Lott. They did a hike that was a little more demanding than the one we did last week with the sisters - not that the sisters couldn't have handled the climb last week...we all know who that would be... Even with a brisk wind on a chilly but sunny day, they had a super time.
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