October brings us the counsel of prophets and apostles!

On the young missionaries' P Day, which is Wednesday in our mission, the sisters called and wanted to borrow or come over to our apartment and watch "Charly".   They said that it was our mission president's favorite movie, and that he permitted missionaries to watch it.  We said OK, come on over because we have the movie and they could watch it on our "big screen", which is about 18 inches high.  It was a cold rainy afternoon, so they came over, put on their warm socks, and everyone had a good cry as we watched "Charly".

That same evening, as Darryl was returning from a ministering visit with a member of his branch presidency, the sisters called on the phone and reported that they had missed the last bus and were stranded in a small little village about 8 miles out of Siena.  So we got into our little Meriva and drove out to the rescue.  The sisters should thank heaven for a senior couple here in Siena.  Otherwise, they would have had a long walk.

General Conference is always a special time where we are privileged to listen to timely counsel from God's prophets and seers, as well as other leaders of the Church.  Here in Italy, however, there are some logistical concerns (as in other parts of the world) because we are eight hours ahead of Salt Lake City.

So, we decided to invite our missionaries over to our apartment on Saturday afternoon for a light dinner before the Saturday morning session of conference was broadcast live.  That started at 6:00 pm our time.  So Bonnie made a great potato salad and Darryl made three different kinds of sliders, and we shared a good, old American dinner with our missionaries before sitting down to watch the session.  After the session was over, we acknowledged that we had been fed spiritually, and it was then time to feast on Bonnie's warm apple crisp.  The missionaries went home, and we stayed up to watch the afternoon session by ourselves, which ran from 10:00 pm to midnight, our time.

Sisters Andromidas and Remund, Bonnie, and Elders Garner and Warnick

Gathered around our "big screen" to watch Saturday's session

Even though General Conference is now available to almost anyone in any part of the world over the Internet, our stake leaders still encouraged us to get try to get the members together for a few sessions of conference on Sunday.

So we did just that.  We asked our Activities Chairwomen to assist us with a meal for the branch, and we invited everyone to bring something to share.

Darryl and Bonnie made a Pesto Lasagna, together with a Vegetable Lasagna, which constituted the first plate, together with a meat sugu prepared by one of our members.  Others brought antipasti, main dishes, drinks, bread and desserts, and we were ready.

We gathered together at the church at 2:00 pm, and the sisters watched the Women's Conference broadcast, while the men watched the Priesthood Session from the night before.

Some of the sisters watching the Women's Conference

And the men watching the Priesthood session

At 4:00 pm, we put the water on for the pasta and did the final preparations for our branch dinner.  About 23 of us sat down and enjoyed a wonderful meal and lots of good conversation.

Then at 6:00 pm, we all gathered in the chapel to watch the Sunday Morning broadcast live from Salt Lake City.

Then, after cleaning up the building, we went home and watched the Sunday Afternoon Session of conference, and we didn't even fall asleep.  Amazing!

We had some great experiences this week.  We attended a Zone Training meeting on Monday, and heard the "dying" testimonies of four great missionaries that will soon be returning home.  One of those is our own Elder Garner, who we have grown to love here in Siena.

The sisters from the Zone love to get together at these meetings, and they always want their picture taken.  They are a strength to the mission and the wards or branches where they serve.  We know that we couldn't do as much as we do without our dedicated sisters, Sister Andromidas and Sister Remund.

The great sister missionaries of the Firenze Zone

On Tuesdays we are at the Church from 10:00 am to noon to run the Genealogy Center.  Not many stop by at that time, but this week we had one of those moments that every missionary hopes and prays for.  About 11:00 am, a young man of about 19 came in, and said that he was from Albania, but lived here in Italy now, and he has been looking for the Church of Jesus.  It turns out that while in Albania he had a friend who is member, and that friend invited him to Church there.  He went and participated in the English classes, and he became good friends with the elders there.  They taught him about the gospel, but then he left for Italy.

We had a great talk, and Darryl called the elders to see if they might be nearby.  They were not far away, so they come over to the Church and took over from there, teaching him a lesson and making an appointment to teach him again tomorrow.  He seems like one of those "golden" contacts.  We will hope and pray that he accepts the truth and exercises his agency to align himself with the restored Church of God here on the earth.

We are enjoying our opportunities to serve the people here in Italy, and we are grateful for the guidance that our living prophets give us to address the challenges of an ever-changing world.  May we listen, learn and apply, as we journey down our own paths toward our eternal goals.