Hold Fast to the Rod, and Bring Someone with You!!

We are working with our full time missionaries and our branch leaders on a new branch mission plan.  This small branch of Siena seems to remain about the same size, with new people coming and going.  Although the Sunday attendance fluctuates greatly, it is mainly due to visiting tourists and student groups who come to Siena to study for a few months.

Therefore, as a branch council, we have looked closely at our list of "permanent" members, and we have made it a goal to increase our Sacrament meeting attendance by focusing on those members and reaching out and trying to help our less active members return to the fold.  We have set a goal to have at least five new baptisms for 2014, and to help reactivate at least eight of our brothers and sisters who are longtime members of this small branch of Zion.  If we can achieve these goals, we can augment the attendance of our core group of branch members quite significantly.

The Toscana is one of only two or three areas in all of Italy that is still a district.  Our district leaders are working hard to do all that is necessary to allow the Church to make a new stake in our region, and we here in Siena want to do our part to help move the work forward.

We are beginning to see some fruits from the labors of so many dedicated members.  In Sunday today, we had a small family of three (Dad, Mom and daughter) with us for all three meetings.  They are sincere searchers, and we are working toward setting baptismal dates for these good people.

Also, we had four of our less active members in Sacrament meeting today, two of whom have not attended a Church meeting for at least all the time that we have been here, and for probably a lot longer than that.  With the help of all our members, we are reaching out to these good people and trying to help them rekindle the flame of testimony that once burned in their bosoms.  The road back can be difficult, and we want to help smooth out the rough spots and walk beside them along the path that will lead to the tree of life.

We have a wonderful district of young missionaries to help us in this work.  Our district consists of a set of elders and a set sisters here in Siena, and a set of elders and a set of sisters who work in the Montevarcchi area, which is near Arezzo.  With these eight young missionaries, and a bit of help from the old couple in their midst, we are trying to reap the harvest here in this part of the Lord's vineyard.

 

Bonnie and Darryl, with our district of young missionaries
Elder Asxon, Sister Boscia, Elder Robb, Sister Roth, Elder Burr, Sister Yost, Elder Locklear, Sister Jarvis

It seems that this last week and a half has been one for giving priesthood blessings.  Darryl has been asked to give at least three Priesthood blessings to members and/or missionaries, and it is a good feeling to be able to exercise Priesthood power and call upon the healing powers of heaven in behalf of good people.

We have been very busy preparing lessons for Primary (we had 5 children in Primary this week, 3 nonmembers), Sunday School, and Institute.  We have a number of members who live quite a distance from Siena, so on Friday afternoons some of us gather at the Church where we connect, via Google Hangout, with other members for our weekly Institute lessons.  Both of us prepare diligently for these lessons, and we enjoy reading the scriptures and mining the gems of wisdom and truth together with the young members who attend our Institute class.

On our trips to visit members that live outside of the city, we have taken the chance to detour to some beautiful places in the Bella Toscana.  Spring is definitely on its way, and we have been blessed with some beautiful weather (although it is cloudy and rainy right now).

Ascione, a small village in Tuscany

The medieval Duomo of Ascione

A view from the hilltop

In the middle of forested hills lies the Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, still is full use today

Another view of the Abbey

A view from the Abbey

Yesterday, on our way to visit a member in Certaldo, we took a short detour to walk through the ancient hilltop town of San Gimignano.  This town is famous for the many towers that still stand, remnants from the days when the more well-to-do townspeople would build towers to show off their wealth.  Tradition states that the people of this town could go from one end of the town to the other from tower to tower, without ever touching ground.

Towers of San Gimignano

San Gimignano's town square

Announcing the birth of a baby girl!

This Gelateria right on the town square was voted "best gelato in the world" two different years.
So, of course, we had to try it!  And it was very good!

Bonnie in a park in San Gimignano

Darryl holding up the doorframe

Gelato is the dessert of choice from at least March through November, and we love it!  We will now be on the search for the best Gelatarias in each town we visit, so we better keep up our walking!

This was our first gelato of 2014, about 10 days ago in Siena.

Sisters in Zion, a wonderful group!

A week ago we celebrated the birthday of the Relief Society.  So in Sacrament Meeting the sisters of our branch formed a small choir and sang "As Sisters in Zion".  They were going to sing it in five different languages, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Albanian, and Italian, but a few of our members weren't there, so they just sang it in Spanish, English and Italian.  They were great!

This past weekend was the Chocolate Festival right here in Siena, at the Campo.  We walked around the square and snapped a few shots of the wonderful delicacies made from one of God's greatest gifts to mankind, chocolate!

Shoes made of chocolate!

Anyone for some mouse-infested swiss cheese?  No, well I'll take it then.

The chocolatiers protecting their wares from some unexpected sun.

Each day of our missionary journey brings something new, and sometimes quite unexpected.  We run down to the church to assist in the upgrading of computer technology, we research relaxation exercises for missionaries that are having a hard time sleeping, we fix drains and clean chapels, and we visit our members whenever we can.  We support our young missionaries and encourage our young single adults to stay on the straight and narrow path, even when it seems everyone around them is leaning out of the great and spacious building pointing fingers and laughing at them.

As our prophets continue to warn us, the challenges facing Latter-day Saints will not get any easier.  Now is the time to stand up and be counted.  Now is the time to hold fast to the unchanging truths God has revealed, and be beacons of light and hope in an ever-dimming secular world.  As we watch this small band of Saints in Siena do just that, we are inspired and encouraged, and we take heart and receive strength from their examples.

It is a privilege and an honor to serve the Lord here in the beautiful Toscana.