We are in LA with my
in-laws. Dee's dad is in hospice, not doing well, with 24-hour nursing
care. We don't know how long it will be until he passes, but we think it
is weeks and not months.
Given that, our homecoming has been postponed
from March 24th until April 14. Please update your calendars. We hope to see you then!
Sunday, March 17, 2019
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
All good things must come to an end
I awoke before my alarm on Tuesday, having slept pretty well. There was even time to take a quick shower and put the towels into the washer, so that there would be nothing dirty left for the Motts, just some towels hanging to dry. I took out one last load of trash, then finished packing. My big suitcases were quite full, but both were barely under 50 lbs after I got everything into them, including stuff that Dee had left and hoped to get home. At 7am I walked out, with Anziano Balzotti meeting me on our floor to help with the suitcases: two 29" and one carry-on, plus my computer bag.
There was very little traffic, and I got checked in plenty early. At one point I felt a little weak walking to my gate, but for the rest of the very long day I actually felt surprisingly good. There were no delays anywhere. Sorella Wyatt was on my flight, and several LDS folks came up to chat upon seeing my name tag. In Atlanta, going back through security after customs. I ran into Elder Renlund, one of our apostles, who was also coming home from Rome. He saw my name tag and came up and thanked me profusely for our service.
I rested but didn't sleep much at all for the entire 25+ hours from the time I woke up until I got home at about 10:30pm local time. Rich had to work late, so I just grabbed a taxi at the airport, which is a very quick way to get home. The house looked clean and organized. I didn't unpack, just had a small bite to eat and zonked out in our own bed. Heavenly! It will take a few days to get over jet lag, but I am glad to be home.
This basically closes our mission blog. It has been great for me to write it, and I hope that our readers have enjoyed it. Our homecoming talks will be in Sacrament Meeting at 10:30am on March 24 in La Costa Ward. Hope to see some of you there.
Arrivederci!
There was very little traffic, and I got checked in plenty early. At one point I felt a little weak walking to my gate, but for the rest of the very long day I actually felt surprisingly good. There were no delays anywhere. Sorella Wyatt was on my flight, and several LDS folks came up to chat upon seeing my name tag. In Atlanta, going back through security after customs. I ran into Elder Renlund, one of our apostles, who was also coming home from Rome. He saw my name tag and came up and thanked me profusely for our service.
I rested but didn't sleep much at all for the entire 25+ hours from the time I woke up until I got home at about 10:30pm local time. Rich had to work late, so I just grabbed a taxi at the airport, which is a very quick way to get home. The house looked clean and organized. I didn't unpack, just had a small bite to eat and zonked out in our own bed. Heavenly! It will take a few days to get over jet lag, but I am glad to be home.
This basically closes our mission blog. It has been great for me to write it, and I hope that our readers have enjoyed it. Our homecoming talks will be in Sacrament Meeting at 10:30am on March 24 in La Costa Ward. Hope to see some of you there.
Arrivederci!
Monday, March 11, 2019
Final full day in Italy, temple dedication
Monday marked exactly 18 months from when we entered MTC. I got up early and washed the sheets and put new ones on the bed. Just making the bed completely wore me out. I had to sit down and rest for a while. I will sleep on top of the cover tonight so that the Motts will have fresh sheets.
In the morning I walked down to the Chinese store for one last time, buying a salt shaker because I accidentally knocked it off the shelf the night before, sending glass and salt all over the kitchen and hall. I also bought another Gatorade at Conad. After all that, it was definitely time for a nap, which lasted well over an hour.
Just before 1pm I headed over to the temple for the 2pm dedicatory session. There were two lines, one for Italians and one for everyone else (much longer). After standing in line for a while, I saw Anziano Simoncini who was helping there. It was good to be able to say goodbye to him and his wife, with bacietti of course, and he said that I could go to the Italian line if I wanted to.
As I walked up, there was Ugo, so we went in and got seats together in the first endowment room. On the other side of me was Daniele and Norma Salerno. I also saw President and Sister Dalzotto, whom I knew from the 1970s. They are now in the temple presidency. She remembered that I had taught Seminary for her in her home in 2007 so that she could see how an American did things. I also saw lots of other folks I knew, including Sorelle Wyatt and Ricks, who flew back for the dedication.
The ceremony was wonderful, with Elders Holland, Soares and Uchtdorf speaking, followed by President Nelson. His talk was completely different this time, and there was no cornerstone ceremony. A different choir sang. Brother Valentini, who sang in the one on Sunday morning, told me that there was a different choir from a different stake in each session, which is cool that so many got to learn that wonderful music. He said that it was a huge highlight for him. He also sent me the Italian translation of the Hosanna Anthem:
On the way home, I stopped to rinse and vacuum the car, so that it will be presentable for the Motts when they arrive Friday. I was still feeling pretty weak. On the way into the apartment, I can into Paolo and said goodbye, with bacietti of course. He is such a great guy. I chatted with Dee on the phone for a few minutes. Things seem to be a bit calmer there with a little bit of help and some pain and sleep meds for her dad. She is coming down with a cold, hopefully not the same one that I am getting over after three miserable weeks!
The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent at home, packing. I had more stuff that I thought, so the suitcases are very full, but I am easily under the weight limit. I dropped off the thermometer the Sorelle had loaned me and gave them some used clothes to put in the bin down the street, since I won't have time in the morning. Being on my feet much of the evening wasn't bad, and I feel stronger right now that I have in a long time. Hopefully that will augur well for my trip home.
In the morning I walked down to the Chinese store for one last time, buying a salt shaker because I accidentally knocked it off the shelf the night before, sending glass and salt all over the kitchen and hall. I also bought another Gatorade at Conad. After all that, it was definitely time for a nap, which lasted well over an hour.
Just before 1pm I headed over to the temple for the 2pm dedicatory session. There were two lines, one for Italians and one for everyone else (much longer). After standing in line for a while, I saw Anziano Simoncini who was helping there. It was good to be able to say goodbye to him and his wife, with bacietti of course, and he said that I could go to the Italian line if I wanted to.
The ceremony was wonderful, with Elders Holland, Soares and Uchtdorf speaking, followed by President Nelson. His talk was completely different this time, and there was no cornerstone ceremony. A different choir sang. Brother Valentini, who sang in the one on Sunday morning, told me that there was a different choir from a different stake in each session, which is cool that so many got to learn that wonderful music. He said that it was a huge highlight for him. He also sent me the Italian translation of the Hosanna Anthem:
Afterwards, Ugo and I hung our for a little bit and took a photo in front of the Christus status in the visitors center. I gave him a big hug and headed home.Osanna, osanna, osanna alPadre e all’Agnel. Amen, amen, amenIl Tempio è ormai completato, il Tempio è ormai completato.Possa Dio accettar quest’offerta, possaDio accettar quest’offerta. Amen, amen.O Santi, gioiam, la fede e il gran lavor hanno eretto il TempioDove oggi siamo; gioiscano gli spiriti defunti,poiché un sacro Tempio adesso abbiamo.Gioite allor, avrete redenzione, voi, prigionieri avrete libertà;grazie al Signor pel Suo eterno amore, grazie al Signor perquesta libertà, grazie al Signor per questa eternità.(Parte con la congregazione 2 volte)Soprano/ContraltiOsanna, osanna, osanna nel più alto, amen e amen.Tenore/BassoOsanna nel più alto, osanna nel più alto, amen e amen.Cantiamo anche noi con l’armata celeste,osanna al Padre e all’Agnell!(Oh) Sia gloria in eterno nell’alto dei cieli,sia gloria in eterno al Padre e all’Agnel.Amen, amen
The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent at home, packing. I had more stuff that I thought, so the suitcases are very full, but I am easily under the weight limit. I dropped off the thermometer the Sorelle had loaned me and gave them some used clothes to put in the bin down the street, since I won't have time in the morning. Being on my feet much of the evening wasn't bad, and I feel stronger right now that I have in a long time. Hopefully that will augur well for my trip home.
Temple Dedication Sunday
About 2am, I woke up with a coughing fit. It took a good while to stop, by which point I was thinking it unlikely that I would go the temple dedication in the morning. Fortunately, I was able to get back to sleep and awoke Sunday morning feeling decent, if weak. The Balzottis and I headed out at 7:15am to the Roma 2 chapel at Piazza Carnaro, where the dedication broadcast would be received. There are a number of chapels around Italy and the extended temple district where the broadcast can be seen. Basically, for the day the chapel becomes an extension of the temple, and you have to present a temple recommend to enter. We left so early because we thought that there might be a huge crowd, which ended up not being the case. Apparently the temple itself can hold 750 people for the event, which was basically reserved for Italians, as it should be. There would be sessions at 9am, noon, and 3pm.
When we got there, the place was completely empty. For a while we thought maybe we were in the wrong place, but finally people started showing up. Anyway, we got front row seats. The high councilor assigned to the building didn't get there until 8:15am, which was way too late because we all had to be in our seats at 8:30am for the 9am start. Anziano Balzotti started checking temple recommends in the meantime, and one of the young elders from Malta knew how to turn on the broadcast. Our chapel was pretty full, but there was no need to use any of the overflow rooms.
The dedication ceremony was wonderful, about 90 minutes long, including a brief pause while President Nelson and a number of other leaders, including the temple presidency. went out to put some cement on the cornerstone. There was choir outside to sing for him, and he had a fun time talking with everyone. Several young kids had been selected to take their turn at the cornerstone; they will definitely have a story to tell for the rest of their lives. President Nelson said that their efforts on the cornerstone were symbolic, and that it would have to re-done correctly.
Elder De Feo conducted the meeting, and the temple President and his wife, the Pacinis, spoke first, in very good Italian. Unfortunately, we realized that we were getting the English feed, so that the simultaneous translation into English was drowning out the Italian -- not good for the Italians in the group! Then the rest of the talks by President Ballard and Nelson were done in English, with alternating translation into Italian, so everyone could understand. President Nelson spent a bunch of time reviewing the history of the church in Italy, with many names recognized by a bunch of us. He read the entire, long dedicatory prayer in English, and then it was read again in Italian. After that there was the Hosanna shout, led by Bishop Caussè in very nice Italian. He obviously speaks French and English, but it surprised me when he spoke in Italian. Then we all sang "The Spirit of God", with a small choir (14 people) singing the "Hosanna Anthem" as a preface and descant. I sang that with the choir at the San Diego temple dedication in 1993, and I am asking around to see if I can get all the words in Italian. The whole ceremony was very moving. This has been a long time coming in Italy, and it was truly a day of rejoicing.
I got to see one of our GANS, Francesco Migliorisi, up from Sicily for the dedication, which was nice because he hadn't been around for a few months. On the way home we made some calls and messages to alert the broadcast team that they had the wrong feed going out, and they said it would be corrected. The rest of the day for me would be spent entirely in the apartment. I almost immediately took a 1.5 hour nap because I kept nodding off in my chair. Then I did some final loads of laundry so that my clothes can be dry enough to pack on Monday. I also wrote the Institute history for the 2019, bringing it up to date for the Motts to take over, using this blog as my guideline.
Several people, including the Magnantis, Simoncinis and Ugo, have kindly called or messaged to see how I am doing. I am still weak and tired, but each day seems to be slightly better. At this point, I think that I will be able to travel, if nothing gets worse. I was exhausted and in bed by 9pm.
When we got there, the place was completely empty. For a while we thought maybe we were in the wrong place, but finally people started showing up. Anyway, we got front row seats. The high councilor assigned to the building didn't get there until 8:15am, which was way too late because we all had to be in our seats at 8:30am for the 9am start. Anziano Balzotti started checking temple recommends in the meantime, and one of the young elders from Malta knew how to turn on the broadcast. Our chapel was pretty full, but there was no need to use any of the overflow rooms.
The dedication ceremony was wonderful, about 90 minutes long, including a brief pause while President Nelson and a number of other leaders, including the temple presidency. went out to put some cement on the cornerstone. There was choir outside to sing for him, and he had a fun time talking with everyone. Several young kids had been selected to take their turn at the cornerstone; they will definitely have a story to tell for the rest of their lives. President Nelson said that their efforts on the cornerstone were symbolic, and that it would have to re-done correctly.
Elder De Feo conducted the meeting, and the temple President and his wife, the Pacinis, spoke first, in very good Italian. Unfortunately, we realized that we were getting the English feed, so that the simultaneous translation into English was drowning out the Italian -- not good for the Italians in the group! Then the rest of the talks by President Ballard and Nelson were done in English, with alternating translation into Italian, so everyone could understand. President Nelson spent a bunch of time reviewing the history of the church in Italy, with many names recognized by a bunch of us. He read the entire, long dedicatory prayer in English, and then it was read again in Italian. After that there was the Hosanna shout, led by Bishop Caussè in very nice Italian. He obviously speaks French and English, but it surprised me when he spoke in Italian. Then we all sang "The Spirit of God", with a small choir (14 people) singing the "Hosanna Anthem" as a preface and descant. I sang that with the choir at the San Diego temple dedication in 1993, and I am asking around to see if I can get all the words in Italian. The whole ceremony was very moving. This has been a long time coming in Italy, and it was truly a day of rejoicing.
I got to see one of our GANS, Francesco Migliorisi, up from Sicily for the dedication, which was nice because he hadn't been around for a few months. On the way home we made some calls and messages to alert the broadcast team that they had the wrong feed going out, and they said it would be corrected. The rest of the day for me would be spent entirely in the apartment. I almost immediately took a 1.5 hour nap because I kept nodding off in my chair. Then I did some final loads of laundry so that my clothes can be dry enough to pack on Monday. I also wrote the Institute history for the 2019, bringing it up to date for the Motts to take over, using this blog as my guideline.
Several people, including the Magnantis, Simoncinis and Ugo, have kindly called or messaged to see how I am doing. I am still weak and tired, but each day seems to be slightly better. At this point, I think that I will be able to travel, if nothing gets worse. I was exhausted and in bed by 9pm.
Sunday, March 10, 2019
Youth fireside
Saturday morning I was up early, making multiple trips to the trash and recycling bins. It is good to get the place into shape to leave. Sorella Balzotti dropped by to take some stuff from our fridge: 30 eggs (they come here in packages of 10, not a dozen), tomatoes, and thawed buckwheat bread. The fridges are now pretty much ready for the Motts, with a few things in them but not many.
I spoke with Sorella Millet about how I was still feeling weak, so much so that, if I had to fly that day, I would say no. She just said that I need to rest; having been so low for so long, it will take time to get back to normal. She suggested that, when I fly, I get a wheelchair and all the help I can at airports, and that I should consider upgrading my ticket to business class to allow me to spread out and rest well. So I called Delta and asked. There were no first class seats left on the Rome to Atlanta leg, and she checked for a while and said that the Atlanta to San Diego leg would cost over $3000 to upgrade! I gasped. She laughed and asked, "not happening, huh?" Nope.
I walked down and renewed my antibiotic in case I am not better a few days after getting home. The pharmacies here often do not check, so you can refill a prescription multiple times, but this time they marked it, so I couldn't do it again even if I wanted to. Sorella Millet said that she has seen some of these sinus-related illnesses take three courses of antibiotics to cure. Hopefully I won't need it.
I got to speak with Dee for a while. Her dad is in really bad shape, having a hard time breathing when he lies down, but unable to sleep propped up. And he can't remember, so every ten minutes he tries to lie down, gets up, tries to sleep sitting up, gets tired and says he needs to lie down. Rinse and repeat. It is exhausting for her and for him, poor man. She has hospice and a home care place coming to meet with her during the day, so hopefully she can get some offload soon. Her cousin Jim, who lives there, is being a wonderful help whenever he can, but he has a life and a job.
I made a 10-minute video tour of our apartment, detailing some useful facts for the Motts to know. I also put post-it notes around the apartment explaining a few things. I put the video file onto a USB flash drive that I am leaving here for them, along with a bunch of useful docs. The video will also be uploaded to Google photos, so they could view it while still in the MTC, if they have time. I took a one hour nap, much needed, and then organized the linen closet and hung up the lace curtains in our bedroom. We had just kept the blinds down for a long time, but it is nice to get light and still have privacy.
Later in the afternoon, I walked down to Conad and stocked up on Gatorade. It is less than five minutes by foot, but I return feeling really spent. At 5pm there was a fireside by President Nelson for all the young men and women in Italy (teenagers, basically). A link was available to watch it online in English or Italian, and I chose the latter. Nathan Pacheco, an incredible LDS singer, performed a couple of musical numbers, including a very moving one where he had the congregation sing a refrain while he sang the descant. The DeFeos spoke, as well as President Ballard and the Nelsons. It was a very moving devotional. President Ballard's grandson, Anziano Huntsman (currently one of the assistants to President Pickerd), translated into Italian for his grandfather and did a fine job. The other translators were incredible. Joshua Perego sang in the youth choir, and he got to shake President Nelson's hand.
I spoke with my mom and my sister Marilyn, hopefully for the final time from Italy. Anziano Thacker called to ask if I could help drive a van which was to be ready at the temple site in case of some kind of emergency. When I answered the phone, I involuntarily started coughing quite a bit, then told him that I wouldn't feel safe driving in my current condition; he got it immediately! Later he brought me my ticket for the Monday afternoon dedicatory session in the temple, signed by President Pickerd. We also plan to participate via broadcast to the stake center nearby for the first dedicatory session on Sunday morning. It will be a historic day for the church in Italy.
I spoke with Sorella Millet about how I was still feeling weak, so much so that, if I had to fly that day, I would say no. She just said that I need to rest; having been so low for so long, it will take time to get back to normal. She suggested that, when I fly, I get a wheelchair and all the help I can at airports, and that I should consider upgrading my ticket to business class to allow me to spread out and rest well. So I called Delta and asked. There were no first class seats left on the Rome to Atlanta leg, and she checked for a while and said that the Atlanta to San Diego leg would cost over $3000 to upgrade! I gasped. She laughed and asked, "not happening, huh?" Nope.
I walked down and renewed my antibiotic in case I am not better a few days after getting home. The pharmacies here often do not check, so you can refill a prescription multiple times, but this time they marked it, so I couldn't do it again even if I wanted to. Sorella Millet said that she has seen some of these sinus-related illnesses take three courses of antibiotics to cure. Hopefully I won't need it.
I got to speak with Dee for a while. Her dad is in really bad shape, having a hard time breathing when he lies down, but unable to sleep propped up. And he can't remember, so every ten minutes he tries to lie down, gets up, tries to sleep sitting up, gets tired and says he needs to lie down. Rinse and repeat. It is exhausting for her and for him, poor man. She has hospice and a home care place coming to meet with her during the day, so hopefully she can get some offload soon. Her cousin Jim, who lives there, is being a wonderful help whenever he can, but he has a life and a job.
I made a 10-minute video tour of our apartment, detailing some useful facts for the Motts to know. I also put post-it notes around the apartment explaining a few things. I put the video file onto a USB flash drive that I am leaving here for them, along with a bunch of useful docs. The video will also be uploaded to Google photos, so they could view it while still in the MTC, if they have time. I took a one hour nap, much needed, and then organized the linen closet and hung up the lace curtains in our bedroom. We had just kept the blinds down for a long time, but it is nice to get light and still have privacy.
Later in the afternoon, I walked down to Conad and stocked up on Gatorade. It is less than five minutes by foot, but I return feeling really spent. At 5pm there was a fireside by President Nelson for all the young men and women in Italy (teenagers, basically). A link was available to watch it online in English or Italian, and I chose the latter. Nathan Pacheco, an incredible LDS singer, performed a couple of musical numbers, including a very moving one where he had the congregation sing a refrain while he sang the descant. The DeFeos spoke, as well as President Ballard and the Nelsons. It was a very moving devotional. President Ballard's grandson, Anziano Huntsman (currently one of the assistants to President Pickerd), translated into Italian for his grandfather and did a fine job. The other translators were incredible. Joshua Perego sang in the youth choir, and he got to shake President Nelson's hand.
Saturday, March 9, 2019
Scanning, shredding, cutting
Friday I finally got to stay home and relax. I slept fairly well, but woke up early. I walked down to get a haircut at 8:30am. At the end, my barber, Francesco, asked if he could give me bacietti (kisses on the cheek), which is very common among friends here. By about 11:30am, I was falling asleep, so I took a nap, which ended up being over two hours. Even though I have almost no more cold symptoms, I am still pretty weak and tired and am starting to get worried whether I will be well enough to travel by Tuesday.
I spent a bunch of time in the afternoon scanning a pile of docs that Dee left for me. Slowly I am also putting the apartment into shape, throwing some stuff away and putting away other things. I walked down to Conad to get some more Gatorade. In the evening I used box cutters to tear down a bunch of cardboard boxes, big and small, that we had accumulated during our mission. No sense in filling up all that space for the Motts.
Somebody visiting from Canada somehow got my number and called to ask if the temple visitors center was open. I was pretty sure that it was closed until after the dedication, but she said that they had been told back home that it would be open. She wasn't very happy with my answer, but I couldn't think of whom she could call to verify. After a while I realized that I could ask the Hydes, a senior couple assigned to the visitors center. Sure enough, it was closed as I suspected, so I called the lady back and gave her the definitive answer.
I was able to get to bed fairly early. I didn't talk with Dee during the day, but we did message quite a bit. The temple dedication this weekend will be great, but I can hardly wait to get home.
I spent a bunch of time in the afternoon scanning a pile of docs that Dee left for me. Slowly I am also putting the apartment into shape, throwing some stuff away and putting away other things. I walked down to Conad to get some more Gatorade. In the evening I used box cutters to tear down a bunch of cardboard boxes, big and small, that we had accumulated during our mission. No sense in filling up all that space for the Motts.
I was able to get to bed fairly early. I didn't talk with Dee during the day, but we did message quite a bit. The temple dedication this weekend will be great, but I can hardly wait to get home.
Friday, March 8, 2019
Doug's final day at Institute
Thursday morning I woke up after almost 8 marvelous hours of sleep! That has been a long time coming. I still was feeling a bit weak all day, but with enough meds was able to make it through. Anziano Balzotti called to ask if I could help him drive some missionaries from one train station to another, because the subway line was down. I simply wasn't wasn't feeling strong enough to drive anywhere, and I suggested that he simply have them just take a taxi, which was cheap and easy. He liked my suggestion. Late morning I walked down to Conad to stock up on Gatorade (trying to keep my fluids up) and another bag of cough drops. I also got an email from the Motts at the MTC. Somehow they manged to run into Daniele, who also just arrived there, and make the Rome connection.
We left a little early so that I could show the Balzottis where to take the Motts next week to get their codice fiscale. The government office is right next door to the temple, but parking and finding the right entrance is tricky, so I walked him through it. We arrived at the Institute early, taking the freeway again. Anziano Balzotti is now fairly comfortable with our various routes downtown. Soon a very familiar group showed up: Riccardo, Krista, Jomar, plus former Ganziani Mansell and Smith. Riccardo had a big hug for me, since he will be out of town starting Friday. They all hung around for a while, with me finishing my lesson prep.
In the afternoon took my second antibiotic pill from this new course, hoping that it would reverse the tide. For Seminary, we had 8 kids, plus two others (Matteo, Pamela) who couldn't make class but dropped by briefly to say goodbye. As long as I stayed seated, I was doing pretty well. We played bingo after a short lesson, then ate some cookies, and I got big hugs from all of them as they left. This class has been a lot of fun for everyone.
For Institute, we had a big group: about 35 kids signed in during the day. That was very gratifying, especially because of the last minute schedule change due to the Friday transit strike. The Balzottis got the crack chicken dinner all ready and warming in the crock pot, then drove up for a final dinner at the mission home with departing missionaries who had stayed an extra few days to attend the temple dedication. They got back in time to set things out at the end of class. They have been so wonderful, quietly and efficiently helping out while I have been somewhat out of it due to my cold.
There were some folks from Meridian Magazine who wanted to interview some of the kids and get photos of them for an article. It was challenging to find room for them, my class, as well as the online Pathway class that evening, but somehow it all worked out.
Our lesson was on the Kirtland Temple dedication, D&C 109-110, which I skipped ahead to because of the temple dedication coming up here this weekend. I had them sing "The Spirit of God" to the tune of "Now Let Us Rejoice", which is apparently the melody used back then. It is fun and a bit strange to hear, but the meter works perfectly. We read a bunch of verses from the sections and discussed the power of the temple and its covenants in our lives. There were several visitors in town for the temple dedication, who participated nicely in the discussions. Amazingly, I was able to stay on my feet for over an hour during the lesson, which I attribute to the adrenaline I get from teaching, not to mention Excedrin.
At the end of the lesson, I invited Anziano Balzotti in for a presentation from me and the two Ganziani: our final Ganziano tie! Twenty was exactly the right number to buy. He was delighted with the gift, and the kids applauded loudly.
After that we had the closing prayer and crack chicken sandwiches. I sat down in the kitchen for most it, but I got to visit, hug, and take photos with a lot of the kids. It was a wonderful sendoff for me.
Here are some photos of me with different kids.
It was a bummer last week when I missed Dee's finale, but this evening made up for it. Once I got home, I had a brief chat with Dee. Her dad is home: confused, agitated, weak, and generally not doing well. She needs to get some in-home help real soon, and she knows it. Now I just need to get better enough that I can fly home.
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| Pamela |
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| Donatella |
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| Valentina (Daniele's sister) |
Our lesson was on the Kirtland Temple dedication, D&C 109-110, which I skipped ahead to because of the temple dedication coming up here this weekend. I had them sing "The Spirit of God" to the tune of "Now Let Us Rejoice", which is apparently the melody used back then. It is fun and a bit strange to hear, but the meter works perfectly. We read a bunch of verses from the sections and discussed the power of the temple and its covenants in our lives. There were several visitors in town for the temple dedication, who participated nicely in the discussions. Amazingly, I was able to stay on my feet for over an hour during the lesson, which I attribute to the adrenaline I get from teaching, not to mention Excedrin.
At the end of the lesson, I invited Anziano Balzotti in for a presentation from me and the two Ganziani: our final Ganziano tie! Twenty was exactly the right number to buy. He was delighted with the gift, and the kids applauded loudly.
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| Andrea, Almendra |
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| Maria Jose, Ilario |
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| Francesco, Joyce |
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| Linda (we gave her a ride home too) |
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| Chris |
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| Jayno |
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| Joyce |
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