The Beginning of the End

As we write this blog post, we have exactly one week left as full time missionaries for the Lord in this beautiful spot in His vast vineyard.  Therefore, we have started the sad task of saying our goodbyes to some very special people we have grown to love so deeply.

As part of our mission responsibilities, we continued to inspect the young missionaries' apartments.  Our last out-of-town trip was to inspect the apartments in Pisa and Livorno.  We took advantage of this trip to visit Mena LaVecchia, a sister that Darryl and his companion taught and baptized some forty years ago.  They baptized her husband as well.  Although Mena and her son have taken a lengthy "vacation" from activity in the Church, and she and her husband have long-since divorced, we remain close friends with the entire family.  And we have gotten to know Mena's current husband, Bruno.  We took Mena and Bruno out for dinner while we were in Pisa.  We had a great time catching up on news of each other’s lives, and cementing our friendship.

Bonnie and Mena at dinner 

When we went to Livorno, it was too late and too far to drive back to Siena (after inspecting four apartments in two different cities), so we stayed overnight at a B&B on the outskirts of Livorno.  And who knows what missionary opportunities might pop up when you listen to the Spirit.

It turned out the owners of this B&B are a unique couple with interests in many things.  Ariela is an Italian Jew whose ancestors came to Italy from Spain after the Inquisition, and became very well to do in the "freeport city" of Livorno.  Although her grandparents had to flee to the countryside and hide while the Nazis controlled Italy during WWII, the survivors returned to Livorno and continued a good life.  Ariela studied in the U.S. where she met Edward, an American from Washington State.  Since we were the first Mormons Ariela had ever met (although she had seen the missionaries around Livorno from time to time) she had lots of questions about the Church. 

We spent a few hours that evening sitting around their fire and talking about the Church.  We also talked again at breakfast.  We left some information about the Church and encouraged them to check out the Church's website where they could learn more.  Now we will get our missionaries in Livorno to visit them and see what happens from there.

Edward, Ariela, Bonnie and Darryl

On Saturday the 28th of February we took our Elders to visit our members who live in Certaldo, a small town about 20 miles from Siena.  We left a message and our love, as we told them we would be leaving soon.  These two sisters have been members of the Church for over 40 years, and they have been stalwarts in their testimonies and their examples for their entire lives.  We will miss them.

Darryl and Bonnie with Franca and Maria Rosa, sisters and members for 40 years

On Sunday, the 1st of March, we had our monthly missionary correlation lunch after Church.  This one was a bit special, as it was our last one.  Darryl made his now famous "Penne Senese alla Presidente Lee".  We think it was a hit.

Sisters Salmond, Rincón, Bonnie, Elders Driver and Moa

Last week we took an extended P-Day and drove up to Venice to visit the Nelson family.  Spencer Nelson, a Utah State basketball star that has been playing professionally in Europe for over ten years now, played for the Siena team last year.  We grew to love their family while they were here.  He is playing this year for the Venice team, so we visited them and took a moment to see the sites in Venice.

Logan and Hannah with the "Wees"

Although we have been in many different parts of Italy during our marriage, we never visited the beautiful northern mountains that are part of the Italian Alps, called the Dolomites.  So we drove up to Trento and Bolzano and enjoyed some cold, crisp, but clear weather as we enjoyed the beauties of this area.

German is the predominant language in these northern Italian cities

On our way home, we went to say our goodbyes to the Gori family who live about 40 miles outside of Siena.  Sandro drives truck and is gone most of the week, including Sundays.  Cinzia and their daughter, Chiara, don't have drivers' licenses, and no buses or trains run on Sunday to get them to Church.  So it has been months now that they haven't been able to come to Church.  But we visit them often, as do our Sister missionaries, and they continue to hold strong testimonies of the Gospel. Sandro is seeking a new job that he hopes will give him more time with his family and for Church service.  We pray that will happen soon.

Darryl, Bonnie, Cinzia, Chiara and Sandro
with Tobi nibbling at Darryl's fingers

Last evening we had the opportunity to attend mass in a Catholic church where a special service was held for the husband of one of our members who died about a year ago.  Lucy asked the missionaries to come and sing her husband's favorite hymn, "I Am a Child of God".  So Bonnie and our four missionaries got up at the end of an hour-long mass and sang this hymn beautifully, touching the hearts of a full-to-overflowing chapel of mass-attending Catholics.  We watched as the parents of Lucy's deceased husband shed unabashed tears during the hymn.  God moves in mysterious ways to touch the hearts of His children.

Our singing missionaries outside the Catholic church

It was so cold outside afterwards, with the wind blowing, that we couldn't let our elders (who didn't bring their overcoats) walk home.  So we crammed everyone into our little Meriva for a short ride into town.  Although it may not look very legal, the sisters were able to get the seatbelt fastened around both of them, so maybe not too many rules were broken.

The ride home, Sister Salmond on Sister Rincón's lap, and the rest crammed in the back

We love serving with these valiant, young servants of God, and we love being with our Italian members and investigators.  It will be difficult in many ways to get on that airplane for the long ride back to the States; but it will be exciting too, as we get to embrace our 10 kids and the 9 grandkids we said goodbye to a year and a half ago, and to hold for the first time the 5 new grandkids that have joined our family since we have been gone. 

Bittersweet, but we wouldn't have it any other way.