I started this post two months ago, but never finished because I hadn't asked for permission from one of the people whose story I share later. I got the approval when we went back for the temple groundbreaking ceremony, but am just now getting it finished.
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Well, we've been home for (gasp) almost three months. (It's now been over five!) How that time went by, I'll never know. We are glad to be home with friends and family, but miss the beautiful people of Italy!
I have been encouraged to keep up this blog by a few people, so I will continue to share stories that you might be interested in from time to time. Here are three amazing stories which show that miracles do happen -- and they happen often. We just need to open our eyes to see them, and then get on our knees to thank our Father in heaven for His constant love and care in even the smallest details of our life.
The New Roommate
Our two oldest daughters recently returned from their missions to the Italy Milan Mission and the Japan Tokyo Mission and decided to be roommates this school year. On move-in day a couple of weeks ago, I was helping Lisa move some of her things in. As we were on our way out, we saw a mother and daughter who looked extremely familiar coming into the building. I knew that the daughter was a ballerina and started to ask her which university she would be attending and assured her that I was sure she would be their top dancer! My daughter, Lisa, didn't recognize them at first. I thought that because they were so familiar, they must be in our home stake. In the meantime, they looked a little shocked to see us and actually had put their hands up to their chest. I wondered why they were so surprised! I couldn't remember their names. but I said, "Oh they're from our stake!" The mom slowly shook her head and said, "No . . . we're from Firenze!" (Florence!) Why, of course they were! We had just seen them a couple of months before when we were still on our mission -- and Lisa and Kimberly had met this girl when they attended a youth conference when we first arrived in Italy in 2007!
I couldn't believe it! What a coincidence. Or was it? As we talked, I found out that she didn't know who her roommates would be; she had just signed up in an apartment that had a spot available. Knowing that she would be all alone in the U.S. without a friend to live with and her parents so far away, Lisa and I asked her if she would like to live in their apartment, where there was also an opening. Our other daughter, Kimberly, spoke Italian, but even better, this cute girl would have a family here in the U.S. who would have her over for Sunday dinners, celebrate holidays with her, and could help with anything that came up. She was so excited about the idea--and her mother just started to cry.
Later, her mother told us that it truly was a miracle that we ran into each other. Apparently, when they had gone into the office to pick up her key, they couldn't find the paperwork showing that she had paid. She said they had to wait for quite some time, but that they finally found it -- just in time to come into our building at the very same moment when we were leaving. Just a half minute earlier -- or later -- and we would not have seen each other. We both realized what a special miracle we had been a part of.
Giulia, the new roommate, is at our home right now watching a movie with our girls as I write this. What an adorable girls she is and we are so happy to have this opportunity to have her as part of our family for a time. A blessing for us as much as I hope it will be for her.
Jonathan
I wrote about Jonathan and his baptism a couple of years ago. Since that time, Jonathan worked two jobs (working double shifts at one of the jobs) to earn enough money to serve a mission. He was later called to serve in the Italy Milan Mission. We just received a letter from him recently telling us that he had been transferred to Siena to be the Branch President there. What a miracle. A little over two years ago, Jonathan was baptized and became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is the only member of his family to join the church thus far. And now he is the ecclesiastical leader of the Siena Branch. The things he has learned and experienced will serve him well as he helps the members and brings others into the church. What a miracle you are, Anziano Duque!
(Note: We were able to see Jonathan when we went to Italy for the groundbreaking ceremony. We met his mission president while there and asked him if we could drop a package off to him in Siena. He gave his permission, but we were disappointed that when we got there, Jonathan and is companion were not there. We thought they might have gone to Florence for the satellite broadcast and just not returned yet. We were disappointed, but left the package for them for when they returned. We then continued on to Florence to get some things at the market. After a couple of hours shopping in the large, open-air market, who should we see but Jonathan and his companion!! We were so excited to see him. Apparently, his mission president had called him to let him know that we might drop by, but he was in Florence instead of Siena. He and his companion had meetings in the morning and then decided to walk through the market on their way to catch the train to Siena on the off chance that we might be there. The night before, he had told his companion that he would be seeing us the next day -- and he did! He's doing well and we couldn't be more proud of him!)
God's Timing
Two years ago, a member of the Rome Stake named Alfonso approached me at an activity. I later found out that he had first approached my husband and asked him if he could possibly help him find more stable work that would pay enough to take care of his wife and son and his widowed mother who was living with them. My husband, thinking that I might be the better resource, referred him to me. I remember that, at the time, I was a little surprised that an Italian would be asking us about employment when we really didn't have any connections with anyone who could give him a job. I politely said that if we heard of anything, we would let him know. I asked him to send me an email and a resume so that I would know what his qualifications were and left it at that. He sent them . . . and there they sat for several months.
One day, one of Scott's friends was at our home studying with him and said, "Guess what? My dad just got a promotion! He is now in charge of Human Resources at such and such organization!" At that moment, something nagged at me until I finally remembered why -- Alfonso who had asked us to help him find a better job had mentioned this organization in his letter and resume! I pulled up his email that he had sent me a several months earlier and realized that he had been hired here and there by this company as a security guard, but that they had always been temporary work for two or three months at a time. (In Italy, they have a law that once you have hired someone for a permanent position, you must keep them until they retire, regardless of job performance. Because companies do not want to be locked into hiring someone that they don't know, they will often hire temporary staff for a short period of time.) Alfonso had mentioned this company and said that he would most love to work there in a permanent position because of their stability, reputation, and salary. He had applied there before, but had not "won the interview" because, as he said, you often needed someone to help you get an interview.
Because we had met the father of Scott's friend at the kids' basketball games, I decided to write him an email asking how this man might be able to get an interview. He was very responsive and said that while he didn't do the hiring, he could make sure he would get an interview. He said that "the rest would depend on how he presents and defends himself."
We forwarded the resume on and I later decided to send him Alfonso's first letter to us (some of which is found below):
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First of all I'd like to thank you for accepting to at least listen to what I have to ask.
I'm very sorry that we never had a lot of occasions to know each other better but every time we met I could feel your strength and your spirituality. It's been a long time since I've been thinking of different options to improve my family situation and the other day when I saw you in Church I felt that talking with you could be a help.
I would like to briefly tell you a little about me.
I lost my father when I was 10 years old. You could even say that it happened before when I was 3, because dad had a car incident in 1979 that left him seriously injured and in a vegetative state. Even my mom is very ill now, due to a life of stress and a several physical problems.
Anyway now I'm married and I have a 5 months old child (he would now be a little over a year old), but with a mortgage, a rent, some debts from the wedding, I really struggle to get to the end of the month with my job that I have now.
As one of my last resorts, I have thought to ask you if you are able to help in any way. I am not sure how, but felt as if I should at least ask.
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The father of Scott's friend was very positive about the situation and asked if he could forward the letter onto the person doing the hiring. He said, "I think he should have this letter. The story is so moving."
Although they didn't expect any positions to be open for several months, they invited him to take the tests that would be required of him once a position opened up. They later discovered that he had already completed and passed the tests from earlier applications.
We were notified when there was an opening several months later so that Alfonso could submit his application. A few months later, he was given an interview. A few months after that, he was given a second interview, and finally, he was told that he had received a job and would begin in October -- just in time for the birth of his second child!
This is part of the letter that he wrote to us letting us know about the job:
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"The role of Mr. _________ was crucial in order to obtain this outcome so I really want to thank you for your efforts and prayers. Really there are no words to express how grateful I am to the Lord, to you and to Mr. _________. This job means a lot for me and the well being of my family so thank you, thank you, thank you!"
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This is what I wrote to him in return:
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"Oh happy day! There are no words. I know that it is all due to the Lord and His having his hand in the small details of our lives. Why else would you have randomly asked us to help you when we were not in a position to find work for you? Or to hear from a friend of Scott's that his father has received a promotion at the very place that you wanted a job! There are so many small miracles at work for us every day. I'm sure Heavenly Father loves when we notice them and realize the love that He has for us."
Yes, the miracles in our lives just go on and on. May we continue to see them and thank Him for the love that he shows us with the daily miracles he performs on our behalf.
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