Buon giorno!
Good to hear from everyone this week.. Thanks for the letters and all that you do. Big congrats again to Tanner.. Three kids by the time I'm home is my bet...any takers?? Grandad? Anyway, the work is moving along here very fast.. It seems to be a common theme to take two steps forward and one step back, seeing that all of life is based upon progression maybe that is a good thing that it's always two steps forward.. We had a few wonderful experiences in this past week that I would like to share.. Just yesterday we had planned to go out to another city, Mesagne.. In years past there were missionaries that served there and we felt that there was someone still there looking for us.. We took a bus out there yesterday morning and this bus left us truly in the middle of nowhere where we wanted to be or had planned to be.. So we decided to start our work there.. Moving through palazzi and the homes we kept feeling that there was something more.. After much rejection and a lot of slammed doors, it was just about the hour of lunch where everyone goes into WWII hiding and a great hibernation after their pasta.. We tried one more palazzo before we had to head back and sure enough it was the one.. On the third floor was a woman named Luisa who had lost her husband and was in a time of difficulty when we arrived.. As we sat at her doorstep and explained to her our message she told us that she knew our message that she was just waiting to talk to us.. Turns out she was ready to join the Church about thirty years ago in Germany when she had to move back to Italy for her family and with her husband.. We expressed to her that we came to this city today to find her and now that we had if we could return to share more of that message she once knew.. She agreed and we will head back that direction next week! I was definitely strengthened by the Lord's ability to place His imperfect servants in the perfect situations to help His children receive His help.. It's incredible to hear the amount of stories by the members of the Church and the boldness that the missionaries had in the past.. It strengthens my testimony every single day of the miraculous work that this is, not only here in Italy but in all the world! Just the other day I received a package of letters by all of the youth and some leaders back at our home ward in Tonaquint.. Absolutely melted my heart to feel of their love and their support for us missionaries.. Tell them all thanks and for Sister Schaffer for pulling that together for me.. Also tell Kameron Kershaw that our number one goal right now is to find a Catholic Cardinal to be our next Branch Mission Leader here at Brindisi, if he has to know.. I'm so thankful for all of you and all that you are doing.. Please pray for my good friend Sara.. She reminds me exactly of Hayley and we're working with her right now to find that identity that she is a daughter of her loving Heavenly Father.. A simple knowledge that we have had for our entire life and a love that can sustain someone into eternities.. I thank all of you again and I'm so grateful for all that you do.. I love you, let's all keep making these two steps forward, the step backward will always come.. But when a step goes backward, a knee goes down and we find that strength through prayer to that loving Heavenly Father.. Have a great week!!
con felicità e amore,
Anziano Gatchell
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