Hello,
This week was honestly, really slow. I feel like it has been a month since last Monday. No idea why, guess that just happens sometimes.
Elder Peel and I made some great progress with our investigators this week! I am very grateful that the Lord has placed these people in my life because it has been a privilege to see them: learn, grow, and develop testimonies.
We taught Stephanie on Tuesday with two members. Stephanie was really happy to see all of us. It is honestly incredible to see how much the Gospel has changed her life already. I asked her to share the story of how she knew the Book of Mormon was true, and she told us she had set a specific time to read because it was something serious and shouldn’t be done on a train or while watching TV. So, she found a CD of a choir singing and listened to that as she read and she said she felt so much love from God and knew the Book of Mormon was true. This is a miracle in and of itself, because she used to be completely non believing and now she is getting baptized! Woops, that comes later in the story.
We taught her the Restoration this time and used the Restoration video to tell the history of Joseph Smith. When the video finished she said she believed he was a prophet. She also said she agreed with the entire Apostasy. At one point Stephanie was trying to explain what she was feeling and one of the members said something along the lines of “this is like learning something new, isn’t it?” And Stephanie responded “No, I’ve learned this all before.” I was amazed because the spirit is just working through her so strongly and she did learn this all before! She accepted all of this long before she came to Earth. Elder Peel and I decided to extend the baptismal invitation. She accepted the invitation before I finished the sentence. She responded with a big “YES!” Her baptism is scheduled for April 29th!! She is very excited about it and texted us this morning asking if she could invite her friends. I am so happy for her.
We went and taught Christine with another member on Thursday and had a great lesson. We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ and she agreed with everything. I really love how she just listens to us when we teach. She is a thinker, so it is pretty cool to see how well she absorbs everything we tell her. She totally agreed with everything and we decided to extend a baptismal invitation to her as well. She didn’t say yes because she wants to receive the confirmation that the Book of Mormon is true and this is Christ’s church. We were totally fine with that and I am glad she said that because that helped us figure out where she is on her path. She asks some thought provoking questions though, I’ll tell you that. I am really honored to teach her though - she is awesome!
I am very grateful for the people I get to meet and teach on the mission. This week was really slow because we had a lot of finding to do and didn’t really find anyone… but, these small moments of seeing someone changing their life are incredible and make it worth it. Almost all the friends I have made on my mission have finished their missions now and it is interesting to see that each of them tells me how lucky I am to still be out here, in France, preaching the Gospel. Sometimes it is hard to have the Eternal Perspective, but I really am lucky to be out here. I have a bad habit of just going through the motions, but I like to think I try to make every moment count. They are all right though, I am pretty lucky to be out here in France, and now Belgium, sharing the Gospel with others - helping save souls! I’m really grateful for this opportunity.
We visited some elderly members last night, the De Lauw’s, and it was really nice. I love talking with older people and listening to their stories, they have so much wisdom to share. It was a refreshing way to finish the week and spend the Sabbath Day. They are both converts and because of them all of their children and grandchildren are members - incredible.
As much as I want to start my life after the mission, I wouldn’t trade these experiences for anything else.
Love you all,
Elder Molinari
1. Companion selfie in front of a really old church
2. Sleeping selfie
3. I tried to take an artsy photo!
Forgot to mention that we had to move Jonathan's baptism because Jonathan couldn't make it to church for so many weeks in a row. Since he lives very far away from the church, we have to rely heavily on members picking him up. So, that has been our biggest obstacle. We are rescheduling it and it should be in two weeks. We have to finish up the commandments and the laws and ordinances with him and then he will be all ready to go! He came to church yeseterday and asked for a Book of Mormon for his Step father!! He is doing very well.
No comments