2 for 20

Wow, I had a lot of emails and have very little time left!  A few cool things from this week is all I'll write:

Anziano Kessler's birthday happened on the 24th.  That was fun.  Now we're both 20 years old.  Weeeeeird.

I'm in Padova today!  It's so good to be back!  My Permesso di Soggiorno [residency permit] FINALLY ready to be picked up... y'know, the one I started in late March, 2013.  Ha!  It's amazing to walk these streets again after 7 months.  Bizarre to say "That's where that one story I told you happened!" to Anziano Kessler.  We'll head back to Verona after this.

Yikes, no time left!  Sorry for the short email!  Thanks for all your love and prayers.

Anziano Burton

I want what God wants

This week was infinitely better than last week.  We're still not seeing a lot of numbers in our work, but my attitude is getting much better and I'm starting to understand the whole "successful missionary" thing.  Starting to.  But I'll get to that.

What contributed to this week's awesomeness?  Well, tons of things, really, but I'll just type out three:

FNAA

Things are going well here in Verona.  The weather's been cold and rainy and the work slows down because of it, but we have a lot of potentials we're calling and have a new project to keep us going.  It's called FNAA: Find New Activators Always.  We're looking for something new every day to keep us going and finding and working hard.  It's not easy, but it's fun and different.

Anziano Kessler is teaching me a lot more than I'm teaching him.  I'm so happy to be with him and dread the day we'll part.  My journal is bursting with thoughts and insights he's given me without even trying.  I'm really proud of him.  He'll be an amazing missionary.  He has the right attitude.

Find a Way

Thank you for bearing your testimony at the end of your email, Mom.  Dad did the same thing this week.  I'm always touched by testimony, especially here on the mission.  Anziano Kessler and I have seen a dip in the work and our (okay, my) attitude has suffered.  We often talk about our purpose, and how to know if we're doing well as a missionary. 

He's helping me come to the conclusion that a missionary is happy when he does his job: invite and help others to come unto Christ.  How do we do that?  By making direct invitations and committing people to act on the word of God, to try out His way and obey His commandments to receive His promised blessings.  That's what changes lives, creating a personal relationship with Heavenly Father.

Patience

Christmas meals and presents (Anz. Kessler bought me The Little Mermaid!  He knows me so well!), new years' haircuts and silly pictures.  The mission is so much fun.

Thanks for reminding me of how many people love me and of my siblings' good choices.  I'm very, very happy to hear it.

It was so good to see my family on Christmas!  I always get that feeling afterward--not just with Skype, but also with these emails--that I forgot to say something important, or that I said something silly that didn't need to be said.  I think we all get that way.  The weird part is that there's nothing we can do about it.  I'm reminded sharply of that as 2014 rolls in.  There's no way to turn back the clock and try again, or try it a little different.  We've done what we've done.  Now it's just forward, and making today better than yesterday.  I don't know if that makes as much sense as it does in the little philosophical nook of my head.

Buon Natale, Everyone!

I got emails from Sister Spriggs and the Moon family, both of which contained adorable pictures that focused me on family and how wonderful--and quick--life is.  I saw Baby Anziano Burton in my super young mamma's lap, and I saw Adri and Lauryn Moon--who in my mind are, like, newborns--riding horses with their little brother.

It's hard to believe how fast it goes.  One Christmas after another, and suddenly you're a missionary.  A few later I'll be a f-f-faaaath... yeah, I don't wanna talk about that.

Before I go, I want to recount to you all a few Christmas miracles!  They both involve me getting really mad or sad, and then being super humbled by God's awesomeness.  Firstly, because someone was a little slow getting out of bed (coughanzianokesslercough), we missed our train to Milan on Thursday by a matter of minutes.  I was...really upset.  We ended up taking another train an hour later and arrived at the Milano Centrale station at 11, which is when we were supposed to be at the Lampugnano church building.

Good will towards men is peace on earth

Well, as far as numbers go this wasn't as good of a week.  But that's okay.  We did teach 10 lessons, which ties for the 3rd best week I've ever had (and that shows how much of a miracle 21 was, eh?).  This week will be even less, but that's because we had Zone Conference all day yesterday, today's PDay, and tomorrow we're going back to Milano for some New Missionary Training.  That'll be so fun.

We're working pretty closely with one young Italian guy we met going house to house.  He has a strong faith in Christ already, but is having a hard time accepting our invitation to read the Book of Mormon.  He likes us, though, and we love him, and as we keep meeting (in a new convert's home!) and feeling the Spirit together, I think he'll change his mind and start to search for the truth.  Anziano Kessler says we'll baptize him.  I don't disagree.