Sister Anderson Mission Blog: Unanswered Prayers

So last pday we just had a chill pday taking naps because Sorella Orr still wasn't feeling too good but we did take a venture out to try "Barbecue Hooligans". It was really good but Sorella Orr was very disappointed when we didn't get a bun. I think we accidentally ordered it healthy style haha. They we went and saw the Cattaneo family. They were all sick but Daniele said he wants to come to church this week so we've got some high hopes there.

We passed by a few sisters this week like Sorella Huapaya. I always love seeing Sorella Huapaya. She told me about how when we went to visit her in the hospital and we shared a message that the girl that she shared a room with was listening. We talked to her too. But she told about how that woman really needed that message and how she had given up on God a long time ago. Hearing our message she decided that maybe it wasn't right and that God still cared about her even though she had not gotten everything in life that she wanted. When I remember that, I remember how frustrating it was. We could not find the hospital room that she was in, it took forever to get to the hospital, and it was the only thing we did that day. In the end it was worth it. I think it's funny to look back at the days because usually the most frustrating days are the ones that pay the most.

Saturday we had a baptism. It wasn't a baptism for our ward but the man getting baptized has a lot of friends in our ward and comes to our ward about half the time. His name was Simone. So that day we spent mostly filling up the font. The heating wasn't on in the church and we didn't know how to turn it on but in the end it was a special day and at least the water was warm! He asked me to give a talk on the Holy Ghost and so I did that. All went well!

So on the 6th it was a holiday. They call it the Befana. Really what it is is a Christmas witch. And if you were good the year before she brings candy in your stocking or coal if you were bad. They don't do stockings at Christmas, really more for this day. It's funny though because guys will joke around and say "tanti auguri" like happy wishes to you and basically they are calling you a witch... or the befana. Anywho, the holiday resulted in less buses and we missed the last one home (or it never came, you can never really tell) so we bundled up and made the hour walk home. Surprisingly it went by really fast! We were both wearing 50 layers so it was okay. We felt like Ralphie from the Christmas Story walking out the door haha.

We got a lot of bidone this week but also a lot of miracles. (Bidone= getting stood up) we were let in doing pass-bys and we got to meet some new people. We got to see Milli, one of our investigators, and get to know her and her doubts more. Mondi, another investigator, introduced us to his friend.

One thing that someone brought up in church this week was the song by Garth Brooks "Unanswered Prayers". That really hit me this week because with things falling through, it gets really frustrating. Sometimes you feel a bit desperate and are searching for an answer. He's there though and He loves us all more than we can imagine. I'm grateful for the "unanswered" prayers that I've had personally because they've always led me to something better. And most of all, just because we feel like we don't get an answer does not mean that He is not here with us every step of the way.

Oh and attenzione! It snowed on Tuesday. Granted it was wimpy flakey snow that didn't even cover the ground but it snowed. Right now it's crazy though because there's a ton of snow in the south of Italy which is weird because it never snows there.

Peace out! I love you all!

Tanti auguri Befana!