Week 41

March 7, 2016

What an awesome week!!!!  Yesterday was stake conference so Elder Herbertson, an Area 70 was here. On Saturday morning we got to go with the stake president to pick him up at his hotel and teach Mauro! He is such a cool guy, he's from Wales and likes hiking (he's been to Crater Lake) and has a ton of cool stories.  One that he told us was about the super cool inspiration they received while reorganizing Elder Saffer's stake in Sweden.

We found out that they wanted to do this lesson with us on Tuesday, and it was a straight up miracle that we were able to meet Mauro at 9 am to teach him. We thought a lot about it and decided finally on what to teach, but as we talked about it in the car, President Diniciacci politely let us know that we were basically just going to let Elder Herbertson go for it. And he DID. The spirit was super strong, he cited a story about another dad from a part member family making the step to get baptized after 17 years. I was under the impression Mauro didn't speak English, but he understood it pretty well and eventually said in his thick Italian accent "yes, I know it's true". President Diniciacci also brought some powerful testimony and after we left, told us "now I know why that appointment almost got cancelled but then didn't. It was needed". 

All three of our progressing investigators came the next morning to stake conference, where Elder Herbertson did an incredible job again. He clearly was pretty busy, as he was the main speaker at five separate stake conference meetings. Saturday night during adult session he told an incredible story about a shy woman who took the challenge to pray for someone to give a Book of Mormon to.  She ended up giving it to an African woman on the bus to work, who took the lessons and wanted to be baptized. Then her sister got mad and came up from Africa to "save" her. She came to Bishop Herbertson who said "this is a big mess. Why don't you listen to the missionaries' message and then we'll sort this all out." Two weeks later she wanted to be baptized, and her husband subsequently came up from Africa to fix his wife and sister in law. Bishop Herbertson had the same conversation and four days later he came back desiring to be baptized. This couple then returned to Africa where they converted over 30 members of their family and hundreds more came into the church as the result of a small act of courage by a shy Mormon woman in England. 

On Saturday night at the end of the adult session President Diniciacci grabbed me to tell me how he is really grateful for my smile, "it really makes other people happy". That is super gratifying, I've really tried to make a conscious decision to be (not to fake being) happy. 

On the way to Terni for an exchange I was reading in 2 Nephi. What an interesting coincidence that we had just met someone from Lebanon. The police came over to check all of our passports, and on the front of her passport book was - you guessed it - a cedar.

Miracle of the week was Manfreddi!! That guy we talked to with Fabio. He met us in church and we had a sweet lesson with him. He is pretty smart; we often had to say "yes, that is what we were about to explain". Before we even asked him to do so, he committed to read the Book of Mormon every night and wants to be baptized on April 23rd. 

Actually no, this is the real miracle: remember Margherita? She was a lady who lives in another area we street contacted on New Year's Eve. Well, we got word that by her second lesson she had read through second Nephi, cried during the lesson, and kissed the Restoration pamphlet! YES! 

Love, 

Anziano Cannon 

Zone conference! I can't believe we've been at it for SIX TRANSFERS! 

Notice how Anziano LaPray has been in this picture five out of six times. 

Janos is leaving for the Philippines. We're hoping soon after he will go on a mission!