The Work Marches Forward

We had our first opportunity this week to travel to a small town about 30 miles outside of Siena to visit a family that was just baptized into the Church earlier this year.  The Gori family consists of a mom and dad, and a 18 year old daughter.  Their conversion story is so inspiring.  They have been friends with another very strong family in the branch for over a decade.  This family introduced the Goris to the church 10 years ago, and they met with the missionaries.  But they weren't ready at that time.  They had, a few years prior, lost a young son to cancer.  The parents were always questioning why God would allow that to happen, and what, if anything, was happening with their son in the afterlife.  The mom would spend many hours at his gravesite, mourning her loss.

One day she and her daughter needed to shop for bread.  They never went to this certain store for bread, but on one particular day, they went to this store and who should be standing right in front of the bread area, the family who had introduced them to the church 10 years prior.  Sister Gori felt this was an answer to her prayers, and she was now ready to learn about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  The missionaries taught the family, and Sister Gori was ready from the start.  They came to Church, and they felt the Spirit of the Lord as they mingled with the other members of the Siena branch.  Brother Gori felt the Spirit too, but he had a few bad habits to kick.  A wise branch president challenged him to accept the Gospel and keep all the commandments, and he agreed.  The parents were baptized together in the cold waters of Siena's portal font (see prior post).  Their daughter was baptized a few weeks later surrounded by her Young Single Adult friends in the Firenze chapel.  (She wanted warm water!)

Although they, together with many Italians, are experiencing some very difficult financial times right now (the unemployment rate is high and the government taxes and fees are even higher), they are faithful members who are growing in the Gospel.  It is a miracle to see people change as they continue to live by the Lord's precepts.  Now that they know the true principles of the Lord's plan for all of us, they have a certain knowledge of what is happening with their son in the afterlife, and they are looking forward to being reunited with him as an eternal family, as they continue their preparations for the temple.

On Tuesday we had the opportunity to visit Spencer and Julie Nelson.  Spencer used to play basketball for Utah State, and he has been playing ball in Europe now for about 10 years.  His wife, Julie, just had their third child days before in an Italian hospital.  Everything went well.  Spencer had just dislocated his shoulder in a game after a hard pick set by George Karl's son.  So Spencer asked for a Priesthood blessing.  We took the full time elders back that evening and gave him a blessing.  They are a great family.

We took part of our P-Day to visit a couple of the hill towns near Siena.  It was an overcast day, but warm enough.  We visited Montepulciano and Pienza.  Some great old towns with wonderful architecture and beautiful vistas.

On Thursday, Darryl held his first Branch Council.  The members of the branch who help direct the affairs of its organizations are strong, and some travel 30 plus miles to come to these meetings.  And gas isn't cheap here.  We marvel at their faith.  All are committed to growing the branch.  The Florence district has a goal to become a stake by the end of the year, and we will do our best to help that effort.  While Siena will not have enough members or Melchezidek priesthood holders to become a ward for awhile, we will help get the ball rolling.

On Friday we needed to get some much-needed office supplies for our home office.  We had to go through the center of Siena for this, so we stopped for a moment to take a shot or two of the famous "Campo" of Siena where they have run the family Palio races for at least the last 500 years.

On Saturday, our branch genealogist (who is also Darryl's Branch Clerk and serves on the District Council and holds a few other jobs), planned a branch activity to publicize the Genealogy Center we have at the church.  We, of course, also used this as a great opportunity to introduce the Sienese to the church.  So we got a permit to put up a display in one of the busy town squares, and we handed out pamphlets about the program to whomever seemed interested.  It brought back great memories of working a street board as a young missionary.  Darryl seems to have lost a bit of his courage, but he was able to speak to a few people about the church and the program.  Bonnie, on the other hand, was not shy at all, and did all she could to get the word out, even with a few less language skills than she would have liked.  (But it is coming, slowly but surely!)  It is time to gird up our loins and invite all we see to hear the good news!!

Sunday is the best day of the week, however it can get a bit hectic and long.  Today was the Primary program.  At first we didn't think that we would even have one, because we only have one active Italian primary boy who is about 10, and he doesn't come every Sunday.  But with the encouragement of the District Primary President and the help of five American children who happen to be part of two families that are living in Siena right now and coming to our branch, we were able to pull it off.  Bonnie helped greatly with the music as the children sang four songs.  Our Italian primary boy gave two different scripture talks, and the two little American children (ages 3 and 5) sang "I Am a Child of God".  The other three American children, ages 7, 8 and 11, sang three songs and gave great talks.  Their dad had served a mission in Italy and is now heading up the Study Abroad program for the BYU students here, and he translated their talks into Italian as they were speaking.  Our branch primary president and our district primary president gave wonderful talks, and one of the young single adults from the BYU group played a violin solo.  All in all, the Spirit was strong and it was a wonderful meeting.

We are now preparing for a district meeting tomorrow in Firenze.  Bonnie is making her famous banana cake for the missionaries, and we will see what good news they have for us.

Highlight of the Week  Visiting members in their homes and hearing their conversion stories.  Also, feeling the spirit of the children of the branch as they share their simple and heartfelt testimonies.

Lowlight of the Week  Darryl came down with some kind of stomach ailment that slowed him down a bit, but things seem to be getting better.

P.S.  We love sharing our adventures with all who have a desire to read our blog.  We hope someone out there is reading it, especially our kids.  And we would love to hear from you too!  There is a "Comment" button below where you can communicate with us and share your thoughts.  If you have a desire to do so, we would love to hear from you.