2013 Ends at YSA Conference at Lake Garda!

Christmas day found us feeding the missionaries again!!  We invited our Siena missionaries over for a Christmas brunch.   Bonnie made her now famous cinnamon rolls, and Darryl put together one of his breakfast spreads of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, grilled onions and mushrooms, fried potatoes with all the fixings.  Before the brunch, we all sat around our living room and read the Christmas story and talked about the gifts that we might be able to give Christ during the upcoming year.  Since we weren't able to do this with our own children and grandchildren this Christmas, we enjoyed our time with our adopted kids, the elders and sisters that are currently serving in Siena.

Sisters Hunter and McCann with their Siena calendars we gave them.

Elders Robb and Gneiting with their calendars.

After they left, we had the chance to exchange a few Christmas gifts.  Darryl got a new printer for the apartment.  He can now print out some nice color pictures of the branch's activities and other things.  Bonnie got a new bathrobe and some more cooking materials, since it seems that feeding the missionaries and the branch members is a major part of her assignment here in Italy.  We also gave each other a couple of appropriate movies that we can watch while ironing and doing laundry.

In the afternoon we went to the Nelsons' home, our American family in the Siena branch, where we shared a nice Christmas dinner.  Bonnie made a tremendous banana cream pie and hand-dipped chocolates (in honor of Grandma Lee) for the occasion, and it was loved by all.

The best part of Christmas day was the day was the evening when we were able to call our kids and grandkids.  We used the modern technology of Skype to speak first to Kathleen and her family.  We were able to talk to each of our Minnesota grandkids and watch them open their presents from Babbo and Grammy (that's us). We then called our other kids who had all gathered for a Christmas lunch at our home in North Salt Lake.  Again we were able to speak with each of our seven grandkids that had congregated there, and we watched them open their gifts as well.  We also talked with each of our kids and their wonderful spouses.  It is bittersweet watching them grow up from afar, but at least we can talk to them on occasion and watch their progress thanks to Skype and Facebook.  We also got to talk to our Moms, and that was a great blessing!  (Darryl's sister, Cheryl, her husband, Kim, and his brother Dave, were also on the call.)

On Friday we were back at it, doing home teaching visits and helping the sisters teach an investigator.  It is always a blessing to visit our members in their homes.  They feel much more comfortable, and we are able to get to know them on a much more personal level.  We visited a family in Certaldo, and after our home teaching message and enjoying some cinnamon pull apart bread that Bonnie had brought, they invited us to take an evening stroll up to the old city.  We hiked up to a beautiful, old hilltop town where Bonnie was able to find an interesting Christmas ornament to hang on our tree.  It is on these informal occasions, walking up and down the old streets, that we can have one on one talks with these members and learn exactly what they are struggling with and how we might best help.

Bonnie is learning the language better and better every week.  On our evening hike up to the old town of Certaldo, Bonnie was chatting away with the family's 17-year-old daughter.  They were really communicating well.  "Piano piano" (slowly, a step at a time) Bonnie is becoming more comfortable with the language.

On Saturday we attended a baptism of three new members in the Montevarcchi branch of our district.  The other missionaries in our district work in this city, and these wonderful three sisters (a Mom and her daughter, and younger friend) were taught the gospel by the great sister missionaries working in this area.  It was wonderful to see three more of God's children accept the covenants of baptism and begin on that straight and narrow path that leads back to the presence of our Heavenly Father.

 

Michel before her baptism, with friends from her new branch family.

Sisters Yost and Lopez (with ZL Torgensen) and the three new members.

On Sunday morning we gathered at the church and left the branch in the capable hands of our ward clerk (a former Branch President of our branch), and we loaded three of our Young Single Adults into our little car and headed off for the All-Italy YSA New Year's Eve conference.  The conference is being held at a small mountain town called San Zeno di Montagna, which is north of Verona overlooking Lake Garda.  It was a 3 1/2 hour drive, but we arrived safely.

The view from our hotel window.

Simone, Darryl's 1st Counselor, making the moves.

150 YSAs eating together!

Simone and Anthony from our Siena branch.

Jessica and Bianka from our Siena branch.

About 150 YSAs from all over Italy are attending this conference; including four of our own YSAs from our branch.  They are eating, dancing, learning, and interacting together.  We hope that they are being filled with good things, both spiritually and physically, that will help them in their daily journey along the straight and narrow path.  And we also hope a few of them will find their future spouse among the valiant YSAs in attendance.  That is always a goal of the leaders of these YSA events, is it not?

Lake Garda 

The Piano Man

Cinderella goes to the Ball

Sunset over Lake Garda

They have a big New Year's Eve dinner planned for tonight, but the dinner doesn't even start until 8:30 pm.  Then a big dance that will last until who knows when.  We will see if we can stay up until midnight tonight.  This work is mighty tiring and trying, but someone has to do it, right!?!?