Bonnie's Birthday in the Bella Toscana

These past ten days or so have been filled with various activities, ranging from helping missionaries get out of old apartments into new ones, visiting members in their homes, interviewing and working with the Saints, helping the missionaries with English classes, teaching Priesthood and Primary lessons and celebrating Bonnie's birthday.

The missionaries have transfers every six weeks, but that isn't something we have to worry about.  Unless something unexpected occurs, it appears we will stay put in the "Bella Toscana" for the duration of our service. And we are fine with that!

 

Sisters Boscia, Hunter, Yost, Lopez and Lee; Elders Burr, Robb, Colemere and Gneiting

Sometimes Bonnie insists on a picture of Darryl, to prove he was on a mission with her.

On one very rainy P-day, the elders got their hands on a set of Bang cards. Little did they know that we are expert Bang players from way back. We did have an enjoyable afternoon stomping on the missionaries and some members who joined us as we schooled them on the finer points of the game. (Darryl had a great time as you can tell!)

In our effort to find and meet with every member of the Siena branch, we went to a rest home with our Relief Society President to meet an elderly sister. It is unfortunate, but age has caught up with her and she is not really aware of everything that is going on around her.  But we do think that she enjoys our visits, and it appears she has no other family close by.  We will visit her often.

While in the rest home, we spoke with two other elderly ladies who thought that Bonnie was so young and beautiful that she must be Darryl's daughter, not his wife.  They said to Darryl in their best Italian, "you're so ugly, and she is so beautiful, how could that be?"  They were cute, and those remarks really made Bonnie's day, since we visited them the day before Bonnie's birthday.

On January 24, we came out to our car to find it plastered with little sticky notes.  The Elders, who now live relatively close to us, wanted Bonnie to know how much they appreciate her.

After cleaning off the car, we celebrated Bonnies' birthday by driving up to the quaint Tuscan town of Castellina in Chianti. We had visited that town in the summer of 2012 when we drove all through Tuscany, and on that trip we found a great restaurant.  We returned to that same little restaurant and had a wonderful lunch. While in that little town, we dropped by the home of one of our members, and did some detective work to find another inactive member who is reported to have moved to that little hilltop town.

Now that she is a year older, she needs her glasses to see her food!

The happy couple at Bonnie's birthday lunch in the country.

On the afternoon of Bonnie's birthday, we had an appointment with a family that we have been trying to see since we arrived. The husband has met with us, but the wife has not wanted to. With the help of one of our members, we finally did get into the house to meet with the entire family. There are some serious problems that we are certain the gospel can help address. We will work with that family as much as they will let us, and trust the Lord to touch their souls with his healing powers.

Darryl had to attend a district-wide bishopric training meeting in Pisa on Saturday, so he took the more direct route (but a bit slower since it winds through the countryside). And since it was a crisp, clear winter day, he snapped a few pictures of the Tuscan countryside on his way.

On our P-Day this week we took advantage of some clear and sunny weather during the morning and drove to the nearby medieval castle town of Monteriggioni.  No one was around, so we walked the streets, Bonnie bought a Christmas ornament, and we snapped a few pictures.

Our days are full of various tasks, some mundane and some uplifting. We love the members of this small branch of God's church here in Siena, and we are trying our best to assist them with their various struggles and challenges. Those who come every Sunday are so strong, that they inspire us to be our very best. Those who are working on becoming more active have a seed of testimony in their souls that they are trying to cultivate and make grow.

Our four young missionaries are working hard to find new people to teach. They are having some success with the English class that they are teaching two nights a week. Many people come to those classes, and we are trying to help them with that work.

The gospel brings so much to our lives, and we are grateful for this opportunity to serve here in this beautiful part of the Lord's vineyard.

Change Brings New Life!

A constant in the mission field is change.  Our valiant young missionaries face the possibility of transfers every six weeks.  One never knows when the Lord and the Mission President have need of one of these missionaries elsewhere.  Plus we continue to receive a lot of new missionaries, and then there are those who have completed their service and are returning home.

Tranfers hit our little town of Siena this last week.  Sister McCann, who had been in Siena for awhile before we came and who came back to Siena about a month and a half ago when the Mission President brought sisters back to Siena, has been transferred to Genova.  It is always sad to say goodbye to these young missionaries, but it gives us the chance to say hello to new ones.

We had Sister McCann and her companion, Sister Hunter, over to our home for a quick brunch before she needed to catch the train out of town.  It was great to spend a few minutes with her to thank her for her service here in Siena to the branch and to the investigators who they are teaching.  Sister McCann will be a Sister Training Leader in the Genova Zone.  That is basically the same assignment as a Zone Leader for the elders.  She will be working with the sisters in that Zone and teaching them how to be better missionaries.

 

Sisters Hunter and McCann for the farewell from Siena brunch.

Unloading the car for Sister McCann's transfer to Genova.

The sisters at the station with Darryl's first counselor, Simone.

President Dibb told Sister Hunter, who was the junior companion, that she would not only be a senior companion, but that she would be a new missionary trainer.  This means that she will receive a brand new missionary!  She was very nervous about this new assignment, but she will do a great job.

All trainers are required to go to the mission home in Milano to pick up their new companions.  They have no idea who they will receive until they are actually in the meeting with the President.  There were four or five new sister missionaries, and one of them was a native Italian.  All the sister trainers wanted that one for their greenie!  And, as fate and the guiding direction of the Spirit would have it, the new Italian sister, Sorella Boscia, has been assigned to our fair city!!

 

Sister Hunter helping Sister Boscia with her bags after a long trip from Milano.

The day after Sisters Hunter and Boscia came back from Milano, we took them with us to do our home teaching with a sister who lives about an hour from Siena.  This wonderful sister has a precocious 3 1/2 year old son, and it is a joy to visit them.  Although she hasn't been able to get to church (she doesn't drive much and her husband is not a member), she participates each week in Institute via Skype.  We took her some Primary materials so she can teach her son the gospel.  They pray together every evening.  We hope to see her in church as soon as the weather warms up.

Doris and her son, Daniele, with the sisters and Bonnie.

 On our way back to Siena we decided to go and find a sister who lived out in the country.  Our address wasn't perfect, but after asking in a few bars (not exactly like the bars in the States), we found her apartment down a dark country road.  We knocked on the door not knowing what to expect.  A man, probably her husband, opened the door, and was quick to tell us he wasn't interested.  We explained that we were there to see this sister and wondered if we could talk to her.  He said she was out doing the shopping.  We left a letter with all our contact information and a few church materials.  We hope the materials got to her.  This is a sister who probably hasn't had any contact with the church for more than a decade, so who knows what will come of our visit.  But all we can do is to find these lost sheep, and invite them back into the fold.  The choice is always theirs.  That is God's plan.

Death visited our branch this month.  Our wonderful Relief Society President, Sister Feri, has been taking care of her 97-year-old mother for years now.  Her mother wasn't a member of our branch, but we have visited her often over the past few months.  Her health has been slipping, and she passed away after a brief stay in the hospital.  Her kidneys simply failed.  Whenever anyone loses a loved one it brings great sadness.  And that sadness was amplified when you have been the primary caregiver for that person for decades.

Sister Feri and Bonnie, in happier days.

However, we saw how Sister Feri's strong testimony of the restored gospel and her knowledge of the plan of salvation has buoyed her up and helped her face this challenge.  She shared with us her plan to do her mother's temple work in a year in the Rome temple, and have her parents sealed there for time and all eternity.  It is marvelous how such knowledge brings comfort and peace, even in times of great sorrow.

Our missionaries are teaching English classes to whomever in the city might be interested.  Those classes weren't going well in 2013, but the elders and sisters decided to put a big push on for the classes that were to begin in 2014, making flyers and passing them out all over the city.  We were overwhelmed and pleased by the number of people that have come to our little branch for these English lessons.  We teach a very beginning class, as well as one a bit more advanced.  The elders take one and the sisters take the other.  A number of the students have expressed interest in learning more about the Church, or in doing genealogy work.  This will not only be a good public service, but it might be a good finding tool as well.

Sisters McCann and Hunter teaching the alphabet.

Their students, with Bonnie helping from the back.

The elders teaching the more "advanced" class.

We spend a great deal of our time home teaching, visiting teaching, and simply visiting the members of our branch.  During these past 12 days we have traveled many hundred kilometers all over Toscana to assist and serve wherever we can.

Darryl has asked our American professional basketball player, Spencer Nelson, to home teach with him to those four or so members who speak English.  Here is a photo of Spencer with one of our members from Nigeria.  She was very excited to have her picture taken with someone so tall!!  Her conversion story is one that most people will not believe, but it must be left to another forum.  

 

Spencer Nelson with Tina.

As we mentioned in one of our first posts after arriving in Italy, we fully expected to serve with two sister missionaries.  However, because the sisters' apartment was so old and unhealthy (full of mold), the sisters were transferred temporarily out of Siena, and a set of Elders took their place.  After three and half months now, we have finally gotten those elders out of that old apartment and into a clean apartment that is fairly close to where we live on the outskirts of Siena.  We spent all day yesterday helping the senior couple in charge of missionary apartments, and our two young elders, move into and set up this new apartment.  The elders are stoked to be in their new digs, and we hope that the illnesses that have plagued them will disappear and they will march forth with renewed strength in preaching the gospel!

Ringing in 2014!!

We are slowly getting accustomed to the Italian eating schedule.  We made it to 8:30 p.m. for our New Year's Eve "Cenone", which means "giant dinner".  And that it was!  All the YSAs came to dinner dressed in their finest gowns and suits, some even in tuxes and ball gowns.  It was great fun to see them all decked out for a night of celebration.  Our giant dinner lasted from 8:30 p.m. until about 10:30, and the big dance didn't even start until 11:15 p.m.

We went down to the main auditorium that the YSAs in charge had converted, with lots of hard work, into a dance venue worthy of this big celebration.  All four of our Siena YSAs were there, and we snapped a few pictures of them before the witching hour came.

Jessica, Simone, Anthony and Bianka

With the "Ancients" added

Tripping the light fantastic!

While there are surely some who people raised their eyebrows about such a gathering, given the time, distance, and cost of the event, it is immensely valuable to have these events where 150 or more of the future leaders of the Church can get together and understand that they are not alone in their struggles and challenges to live a Christ-centered life, amidst the worldliness that surrounds them everyday.  We are sure that our four or five active YSAs in Siena wonder, at times, if it is worth it.  When they have the chance to rub shoulders with others from all over Italy who are working hard to live the gospel, they realize that it is well worth the price.

Plus, these events give our YSAs the chance to meet other members who might, given the right set of circumstances, be their future eternal companion.  It is so important that we do all we can to assist these wonderful YSAs find someone they can go the temple with, someone who will assist them in formulating eternal family units.  We hope that a few of them found some possibilities on this front as well.

Apparently the grand ball lasted until 4:30 a.m.; however we made it only until 12:05 a.m.  We then bid goodnight to our young friends, and crashed.  We must say that this is probably the first time in many years that we actually remained awake until the ringing in of the New Year.

Earlier that day we had some spare time in the afternoon, so we walked around the small mountain town of San Zeno da Montagna.  While we were walking, the other senior missionary couple, Italians who now live in Arizona and are serving in the south of Italy (in the Rome Mission), drove by and invited us to explore the small towns down near Lake Garda.  We drove with them and had an enjoyable "passagiata" with them.  Here are a few pictures we took that afternoon.

The Italians put nativity scenes in everything! This is in a motorcycle.

Elder and Sister Franceschini who took us on the outing, and President Fiorella of the Florence District

Even though we were tired after the New Year's Eve festivities, some of our YSAs who closed down the dance at 4:30 a.m. were exhausted.  Some were able to roll out of bed and make it to breakfast; and most of them made it to the closing meeting where our mission president and his wife spoke.  Darryl got to take two different car loads of YSAs to a train station about 45 minutes away from the conference site, before loading up the car with three of our four Siena YSAs for the long trip back to Siena.

Jessica and Bianki wanted to stop in Verona on the way back to see Juliet's balcony. Bonnie told them  that Presidente Lee would be happy to take them to Verona.   Darryl tried to tell them that Shakespeare invented the story and there really were no Romeos or Juliets in Verona and that it really wasn't Juliet's balcony; but they wanted to go anyway.  So we stopped in Verona about 4:00 pm, visited the Roman arena where they now hold outdoor opera performances in the summer, and made our way to Juliet's balcony.  The small streets were packed with people, since it was a holiday, January 1, 2014.  We finally made it to the little alley that is dedicated to Shakespeare's fictional play of the star-crossed lovers.  The pictures below depict what we saw.

Bonnie with our three YSAs

The Arena of Verona

The ancient Arena with a modern twist!

Juliet's "Balcony"

People stick their gum on the wall, and write their names on it.   Why??

And the letters to Juliet hanging on the Christmas tree.

Everyone wants their pictures taken with Juliet, and they feel the need to feel?!?  Again, why?

On Saturday we were asked by the mission president to go to Pisa to interview an investigator who was preparing for baptism.  It was a cold and rainy day, but we decided to take a more direct, yet scenic route to Pisa (as opposed to the longer route on the freeways and toll roads) and see some of the countryside.  The Toscana is even beautiful in the dead of winter. 

We stopped for a few minutes in the hilltop town of Volterra, famous for its alabaster work.  Here are a few pictures we took of this old, medieval city.

Before heading over to the Pisa chapel for the interview, we thought we would stop by and see Sister Filomena LaVecchia.  Sister Mena was one of the first persons Darryl had the privilege of baptizing into the Church some 40 years ago.  We had a great visit with Mena, her son Dominco, and her second husband, Bruno.  Even though Sister Mena may be taking a break from full activity in the Church, she remembers with great fondness her spiritual journey and the wonderful friends she has made in the Church.  We hope that someday she will find her way back to the fold and enjoy, once again, the blessings she can receive among the Saints.

 

Bonnie, Mena and Bruno

Darryl, Bonnie, Mena and Bruno

Darryl's interview went well, and a young man from Nigeria will enter the waters of baptism next week.  We hope that he will grow and progress in the gospel, and will be one of the many Melchizedek priesthood holders that we need to turn this district into a stake.   

On Sunday, even though we had less than 30 people at Church, we had a wonderful fast and testimony meeting.  The elders are teaching a family, and they came to most of the three-hour block.  The mom got up in our testimony meeting and shared her feelings with the branch, and it was a very touching moment.  We hope that they will feel the converting power of the Spirit and decide to unite themselves with this small band of Saints in this part of the Lord's vineyard.

Yesterday we began our quarterly assignment to inspect seven of the young missionaries apartments in our part of the mission.  We went to five apartments, three in Florence and two in San Giovanni, and took out the white gloves.  Darryl felt that the apartments were just fine, but Bonnie found ways to help them improve their cleaning and the general appearance of their living quarters.  We took our tools and fixed some things, got a list of items they needed, and enjoyed our time with the missionaries as they engaged in this more menial side of their missionary experience.

All in all, we have started out 2014 on the run, with high hopes for a great year!  The financial crisis in Italy is grave, but we are dedicated to trying to help our members find good jobs and progress along the path of self-sufficiency.

We wish you all a Happy New Year!