Arrived in Italy . . . And Ready to Go!!

After just a few hours of delay in London, we finally arrived in Milan where the office couple and two office elders met us.  They were a great help with all of our stuff.

But what was most touching was that Teresa and her husband, Damiano, drove down from their home in Laveno Mombello (about a 2 hour drive) to meet us at the airport.  Teresa was a teenage member of the branch in Cagliari when Darryl served in Italy so many years ago.  Darryl worked with her as he and his companion taught a wonderful family of five girls.  Darryl got to be very close to that family, and even though the parents never joined the Church, they finally did allow their two oldest daughters to be baptized shortly after Darryl left Cagliari.  Eventually all five of the daughters joined the Church, and they and their families now form a very strong backbone for the Church in Cagliari.  We only got to talk to Teresa and Damiano for a few minutes, and then we were off.  We invited them to the mission home, but logistics didn't work out.  It was such a sacrifice for them to come and meet us, and we truly value their friendship.

We went to the mission office with the office couple, Elder and Sister Harman, and went over some things that we needed to learn and have immediately.  Then they took us to dinner and back to our hotel, where we crashed for some very needed sleep.

On Saturday, we packed up a small loaner car that the office gave us to use to get down to our assignment, went in to the mission office for some last minute instruction, and then set off for Pisa where the Florence District was holding a District Conference.  We arrived in Pisa in the afternoon, and there we met in person our mission president and his wife.  Darryl's first city as a young missionary was Pisa, and he met quite a few members that he knew from his first time there.  It was a sweet experience to see so many strong members, all of whom now have a bit more gray hair.

Elder De Feo, a newly called Area Seventy, presided at the meeting, and he shared inspired messages with all who attended.  After the meeting, we drove to Florence where the Sunday sessions of District Conference were going to be held.  On Sunday morning, we drove to the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center on the outskirts of Florence for the final session of conference.  Again, Elder De Feo gave a message of hope to the Italian saints; which is a timely message as the economic situation in Italy is dire and many members are discouraged and downtrodden.  It was a great meeting.

After the meeting, Darryl participated in conferring the Melchizedek Priesthood on a recent convert in the Siena branch, where Darryl will soon be serving as branch president.

Darryl and Bonnie also caught up with Elder and Sister Capece, a senior couple from Sandy, Utah that has been serving is Siena for the past year, with Elder Capece serving as branch president.  They are completing their mission on Wednesday, and we will be moving into the apartment that they are vacating.  They were kind enough to invite us to dinner in their apartment Sunday evening, where we enjoyed a great meal and discussed many aspects of the responsibilities we will be assuming as leaders of the Siena branch.

The apartment is nice, located on the outskirts of Siena.  There are two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a nice living/dining area, and a very small kitchen.  We believe that we will be very comfortable there, once we get settled in.

We met a number of the members of the Siena branch, as well as a few investigators, and we are truly looking forward to serving with these wonderful saints.

There is much work to do, and we hope that we are up to the challenge.  But as we know, with the Lord nothing is impossible.

Highlight of the Week  Finally arriving in Italy and getting our feet wet.  We have looked forward to this opportunity to serve for many years, and now it is time to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

Lowlight of the Week  Hauling 6 suitcases and other stuff from hotel to hotel, and living out of suitcases.  That will change tomorrow!