Summer is Ending, Fall is Coming!

When we planned the timing of our mission, we gathered all the available information about the possible completion of the Italy Rome temple, and we tried to time our mission to be in Italy during that historic time.  However, the best-laid plans sometime fail, and we are sad that we won't still be serving our mission when the Rome temple is completed.  The church has not yet announced a firm date for the completion of the temple, but we have heard from very good sources that the temple will not be completed until at least the fall of 2015, and maybe later.  We are sad that we won't still be missionaries at that time, but it will just give us another great excuse to come to this beautiful country one more time!!

Speaking of temples, until the Rome temple is completed, Italy is still in the Swiss Temple district.  And our stake just held a temple trip for our youth, ages 12-13.  (Those 14 and over were attending an all-Italy EFY event during the same week.)  We were so pleased to help our newly activated Francesca get ready to attend the temple with youth from our stake.  It was a great step for both mother and daughter as they said goodbye in Firenze.  Francesca had many wonderful experiences during this week at the temple, and she made some great new friends among the youth of the church.

Francesca meeting her stake leader

Lucy and Francesca, before the bus took off for the Swiss temple

We held our weekly Family Home Evening for those members that live close by, and we had a good turnout, with our missionaries and their investigators.  Thanks to Darryl's "Coke" (as in Coca-Cola) habit, which he is trying to break, we had 10 empty plastic bottles which we labeled with various vices, and we used oranges to bowl and try to eliminate these vices from our lives.  Much fun was had by all.

Last week, on P-Day, the sisters wanted to visit Montepulchiano.  So they made an appointment to visit a member family that lives nearby at 6 pm, when P-Day ends, and they convinced us to take them out a few hours earlier so they could visit some of the beautiful hill towns in that region.   We were happy to oblige.

On our drive through that region, we saw this beautiful field of sunflowers, and we had to stop.  The word for "sunflower" in Italian is "girasole", which literally translated means "turn to the sun". 

Sisters Andromidas and Remund in a field of sunflowers

It was a beautiful day, and we took some beautiful shots of the Tuscan countryside.

Montepulchiano on the hill

Flowers growing in ceramic shoes outside a shoe store

On Saturday, August 30, our oldest grandchild, Lena, was baptized.  It was bittersweet not being at the baptism of our eldest grandchild, but we know we are where we are supposed to be at this time.  But thanks to modern technology and a kind bishop, we were able to "attend" the baptism via Skype.  We are so proud of Lena and her decision to open the gate and start down that straight and narrow path that will lead her to eternal life with her wonderful family.

Our sweet Lena!!

We had a Zone Conference on Monday, September 1, in Firenze, for both the Firenze and Rimini zones.  We had about 60 missionaries there, as well as our Mission President and his wife, and the Assistants.  Bonnie was in charge of the luncheon for this hungry army of God.  She prepared a wonderful meal (with a little help from Darryl).  She decided to give them an even better version of Subway's famous meatball sub, together with a fresh green salad with all the fixin's, and bowls of fresh fruit.  What this entailed, of course, was a visit to all the bakeries in Siena (or at least Darryl thought so) to make sure she found just the right bread, and a day-long assembly line in our small kitchen of mixing the right proportions of beef and pork, veggies and spices, and frying the meatballs to get the right sear, and then baking them in a home-made sauce to keep them moist.

A car full of food for a hungry army of God

The chef and her assistant

The missionaries were filled with food and fun!

After all the work, including a fully-loaded car with all the goodies, and a trip to Firenze, the meal was a big hit!  All the missionaries loved it!!

While we were preparing the physical feast, the missionaries were enjoying a spiritual feast, which included the mandatory role-plays.  Here we have our Siena missionaries doing their role-plays during Zone Conference.

Elders Garner and Reese doing a role play

Sisters Remund and Andromidas doing the same

After the conference, we all gathered for the obligatory zone picture.  It is fun to watch the missionaries interact as they get together and renew old friendships and talk about their work.

Notice all the cameras sitting precariously on the fence

The Firenze Zone

We continue to work with our less-active members, visiting them in their homes and encouraging them to rekindle the fire of testimony that once burned in their hearts.  We are teaching a 74-year-old woman (a former Relief Society President in her branch up north) and her 40-year-old daughter.  They live about 45 minutes outside of Siena, and there is absolutely no bus service on Sundays between their little town and Siena.  Since they have no car, they can't come to church.  So we, together with our missionaries, are taking the church to them as we remind them of basic gospel principles and encourage life changes that will bless their lives.

Summer is drawing to a close, and with it the grapes are ripening and the countryside is getting ready for the harvest.

And we are working hard to hasten the work in the Lord's vineyard, and gather in those who have open minds and searching hearts.  For the time is close at hand that the Lord will gather in the sheaves unto himself for the final time.  May we all be part of that work, and not "sleep through the restoration"!