Malta | week 21

Valentine's Day picture! Regan didn't send any pictures home this week, so we are grateful to have these pictures from the mission president's blog!  http://romeitalymission.blogspot.com/

2.16.2015

This week Elder Rasband and I were able to meet with 2 of our members outside of church for the first time and get to know them a little better. Both of their examples had a profound impact on me. The first is a man from India, who is here to work for a couple months. He met he missionaries about 8 years ago in Malta and got baptized shortly after. After he was baptized he went back to India to be with his wife and kids. The closest church was 200km away, but he still went once a month every month because that is how often he could afford to go. He has come back to work here in Malta for few months several times over the years and everyone here loves him. He also brought one of his friends from work to church this week. He is unreal. 

Next we got a text from one of our members from Egypt saying that he was in a car wreck and 4 of his fingers were severely damaged, so he asked for a blessing. After visiting with him for a while he told us about some of the challenges of being a member of the church in Egypt and his dream to help build the church there. 

After meeting with both of them this week, I remembered something President Waddoups taught at Zone Conference this week. He said, "When a doctor heals someone, it is a miracle to me, but it is normal for the doctor. He does it everyday." Then he related how God is a God of miracles when we have faith in His Son and His Gospel. These miracles are so incredible to us, but they are normal to God because that is how he works eveyday. I thought of the truthfulness of that analogy as I was able to meet with these 2 men and learn more about their life stories and how the restored gospel has changed everything for them. 

It seems like every 6 weeks at zone conference I get exactly the message that I need to hear to make me a better missionary. The night before the conference there were 22 of us anziani in one apartment with 13 matresses. Even though I only slept 2 hours max, I was full of energy all day. It is impossible to not to be when you see everyone else who is carrying the same load of work in their respective cities throughout Sicily. Hope everyone has a good week!

Anziano Smith