Be Kind. Rewind.

(Sorry, late posting. Annie wrote this on 13-Feb)

This week has been great! Great great great! For many a reason.

We had Stake Conference (a large meeting in place of regular Sunday worship where all the members in an expanded area gather together for learning and talks and stuff). And Stake Conference was BOSS! So good. Our stake is the whole region of Puglia. The Stake President gave a talk on the beatitudes in Matthew 5. How those who are "poor in spirit" are those who are dependent on God. How those who "mourn" are those who feel sadness when they mess up and are really trying to do their best. He asked us if we had ever really HUNGERED after righteousness? And he asked us if we really are the peacemakers, or are we the people sitting in the back complaining and pointing out how other people are doing things wrong? He THREW FIRE and I feel like a better person because of it.

People in Italy are funny. I will explain how with a story I heard from an investigator.

---

Man and Bear used to be friends. They would do everything together -- play, eat, swim, and sleep. They were the best of friends and nothing could separate them.

One night, while they were sleeping in the cave, Man said -- not thinking -- "Can you move over? You smell like bear."

Bear was offended! And from nowhere he said, "Take your knife! Take your knife and cut my arm!"

"No," said Man. "You are my friend. I could never do that to you."

Bear insisted. "Cut it! Cut it!" Man refused, but Bear kept insisting, wearing him down. Finally, Man took his knife and cut Bear on the arm. Bear roared and ran away.

Man and Bear did not see each other for a long time, until several years later when their paths crossed. Man was overjoyed: "Bear! I've missed you so much! How is you arm?"

Bear said, "It healed just fine, thank you." And then coldly added. "But you remember when you told me I smelled like bear? That still hurts."

----

If you're like me, you think this story is strange and hystiercal. But it's how a lot of people are here! If you say one thing out of turn, they take it straight to the heart. I've been learning how much damage that can really do and how people can abandon something great (e.g. Man and Bear's FRIENDSHIP or the TRUTH LIGHT and KNOWLEDGE they have received directly from God) for an unkind word. They will trade their peace of mind for a grudge, and it's really sad.

The good news bears is that we've been helping some people overcome that this week. To remember why church was important to them and that small things like this aren't really the things that matter most. Sometimes we have to not look at how other people treat us. We have to rewind. And be kind. Even if people are jerks.

Otherwise, this week is good because we're seeing some more progress and WORK to be done! We've found two new families that are interested in our message and an exBuddhist who is very intrigued by the fact that God's plan is for us to become like Him. Meanwhile, we're still trying to explain what prayer is to people from Nigeria, China, and Serbia. Language barriers abound! Good thing God speaks all languages.

Shoutout to Axel Christman. I was reading the December 2012 Liahona and I saw you in it! Page 62! Check it out! :)

I love you al! Rewind, be kind!

Love y'all

Annie

P.S. The Pope resigned! Crazy, right?

And so what we have learned applies to us every day...

"And God has a lot to say in His book!

You see we know that God's word is for everyone

And now that our song is done, we'll take a look!"

-- Veggie Tales

Nothing like Christian vegetables to speak the truth!

Okay, so I've been thinking about Catholics. And as I say this, I don't mean any offense to any friends who are Catholic, but (being in Italy) I tend to think about Catholic things a lot.

We are often asked about why we don't do the sign of the cross when we pray. One of the favorite missionary answers is that, "We believe in focusing on the resurrection of Christ, not the crucifixtion." Which may be part of it, but I'm not thoroughly convinced of this answer. President Gordon B. Hinckley said that while many Christians use the cross as the sign of their Christianity, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints strive to use our lives and our actions as a sign of our Christianity. 

I lean more to the second answer. When I walk in a Catholic church and see the crucifixtion as the main focus, I wonder: "How does me seeing this help me become a better person?" or "How does doing the cross when I pray help me commune more with God/change/be the person he'd want me to be?" Maybe the Catholics have an answer. Maybe I'll try asking some of them this week. But I feel like the religious things we do should have every day application. They should help us become better people, kinder people, selfless people. I wish I was any of these things. But I do feel that my religion helps me get closer to those than I would be otherwise.

Okay, end random religious ramblings!

This week I started teaching... Japanese! Bwahahaha! Or rather, tried to. A daughter of one of our recent converts is not a member. She knows some things about our church and isn't really interested in learning more. But we found out she wants to learn Japanese! And we've bargained that we can teach her Japanese if we can do a spiritual thought at the end. That we she can learn Japanese and also more about religion (so she can actually know more before she rejects it). Because my Japanese is relatively limited, I hope she becomes more interested in religion before I run out of things to teach her!

We also had a visit from a General Authority of the LDS church (i.e. a "Big Wig"), Elder Kent E. Richards. It was INCREDIBLE! Elder Richards knows the scriptures very, very well and -- most importantly -- he knows how to apply them to real life! Did he know that was one of my favorite things? He taught us how when we try and teach our own opinions and use our own language, the Holy Ghost can't testify of the truth. In other words, stop using silly examples and weird teaching techniques. Teach the doctrine simply and help them undertstand that (see 1 Cor 14:6-9). And many other great things. Like Veggie Tales, I recommend the scriptures to everyone!

Otherwise? Let's just say I had a GREAT Valentine's Day as all of my CHRISTMAS MAIL arrived! YEEESH! A shoutout tooooo:

Jesse Sheets! I now have letter number 1 and your postcard! Thank you so much for the present. I promise to use it wisely... probably on an all you can eat Chinese buffet this Firday :)

Grandma and Grandpa Fuller: Got your annual Christmas letter. Thanks for keeping track of anyone, it's fun to read.

ANNA-SAN! ICHIBAN! Don't worry, my Japanese is also horrible, ne. Je t'aime ^^

David Ruvalcaba: Thank you so much for the photo book with you and the boys! I'm glad to know you had a good trip and holidays (and I know beause you sent me evidence!)

Hey, my brother is getting married this weekend! In France! To an awesome French girl named Chloé! I'm very excited and hope you all have happy things happening in your lives as well.

peace

sorella fuller