I love ROME!!

So I still think that Cosenza is my favorite city in the mission, but I think that Rome is my second favorite. This place is SWEET. The members are all spiritual giants, our investigator Floriana is going to be baptized next weekend, and everything about this place is just great!

I had a pretty good experience last Sunday. Well, it actually started on Friday or something. I get on the bus and walk by a lady that sort of smiles at us. I sit down, and try to share the gospel with a lady sitting across from me and she totally shuts me down. While she was totally shutting me down, I noticed that the lady that smiled earlier looked back at me, so I got up and started talking to her. She told me that she had actually heard of the church before, and that she has a 19-yr-old son that she is really concerned about and wants to be around people like us. So anyway, we talk a little bit about the life of Jesus Christ, and she agreed that we could go teach her more at her house. She's from Ecuador, so she spoke to me quite a bit in Spanish mixed with Italian.

So on Sunday afternoon we went over with a Spanish-speaking member to teach her. We start to teach her what is called lesson "Zero." We asked her what she expects from us, we told her that we want to teach her and meet with her three times a week, etc. Then I invited her to baptism.  Her response was that she has already been baptized (pretty common answer) .....in the Mormon church!!! I was like, "come?" (pronounced: KO-MAY? translation: what?) So then she repeats herself (speaking in Spanish, of course) and I turn to the member for verification, and he goes, yeah, she says she's already been baptized. Hahaha. So it turns out that she's a member and was baptized when she was 14 or something. haha. I think she'll come to church this Sunday.

I've got everyone in the house wearing those mormon.org shirts now. haha. We decided we all want to wear them when we play soccer as a Zone. We already call ourselves Team Rome 2. We also got team Rome 2 ties. They were only a euro because the sales have started!

 

 

       I love Italy!!!

   I love the mission!

 

In my life I have been blessed a ridiculous amount. There's this missionary in our mission that baptizes all the time, and one of my companion's told me that he has a theory on it. This missionary had a really crazy life before the mission as far as the crowd he hung out with and things, and he thinks that it's like God decided to make a deal with him that if he goes on a mission he would baptize a ton of people. Hahaha.

I feel like in my life I could've done a lot more spiritually and that I still can, but what the Lord has blessed me with has been crazy great. Today when we were teaching Floriana I told her how no matter how much we try to do to help the Lord, or things we do for him, the return is always greater!

I feel like the gospel is such a 'no-brainer'. It's so obvious that it's the way to go. I'm so happy! : )

Quick story. So today I wanted to get a pair of shoes, but I didn't want to pay much and I saw a Chinese shoe store so I decided to peek in. There were a bunch of Chinese ladies and this Chinese girl in the store. So then I hear these Chinese ladies start talking and they say (in Chinese, of course) "I think there's finally someone who speaks English!" "Go talk to him!" "Yeah, go talk to him" So this Chinese girl comes up to me and says "English".

So I say "Yeah, I speak English too." (I had originally said hi in Italian)

So then all of the ladies are like "Whoa! It's really someone who speaks English"

"He speaks English, and he's cute too! Go talk to him"

So then I say (in Chinese) "I can speak Chinese too."

hahahha. They all busted up laughing. It was pretty good.

Anyway, I've gtg. 
Love,

Anziano Banks