Great district meeting
Thursday morning was our district meeting at the Roma 3 chapel. We left home on time, but traffic on the freeway started out very slowly for the first few minutes, and we wondered whether we'd even make it. Fortunately, it cleared up quickly and we arrived a few minutes early. The weather was mostly overcast, but slightly warmer than it has been. I've been wearing sweaters so that I don't need to wear my coat indoors all day.
Our district leader, Anziano Ferrara, is doing great things at our meetings. He has us start with five minutes of personal study or reading, on whatever topic we want. It sets a very reverent and quiet tone for our meeting. After reviewing the status of the missionary work, he led a lengthy and wonderful discussion on pride, humility, and service, using a talk by Pres. Uchtdorf in the October 2010 General Priesthood meeting. Everyone shared some insights as to how we can focus on serving others. For me, the best quote was "We don’t discover humility by thinking less of ourselves; we discover humility by thinking less about ourselves." Overall, we left the meeting very uplifted and unified. We have a new sister, Sorella James, who just transferred into our district, and she was fun and sharp.
All afternoon we were at the Institute working on upcoming lessons. Ugo dropped by for a while and we had the chance to discuss a few things. About 5pm the Ganziani went out on splits with Nathan and Adrian, two of our GANS who hope to go on missions soon. Adrian and Anziano Waddell actually talked with a young man on the street who then attended English class in the evening, so it was a successful outing!
In the evening, we had a visit from Blake, a young man from Irvine, California, just out of high school, who is living here for nine months to attend a dance school (ballet). His mom had contacted some senior missionaries to see if there was anything we could do to help him when he gets his wisdom teeth out soon here. Of course, as missionaries, we actually can't do much, since we cannot drive or house anyone other than missionaries or family members, but we asked him to come in to get to know him a bit and see if we could figure something out. He was very personable and thoughtful, a truly nice young man. Blake thinks his roommates can probably help and keeps telling his mom he is fine. He is not active in the church, but we were happy to find out he lives in our ward boundaries, so I suggested he meet Friday night with Bishop Perego, who might have some ideas for him. Blake said he will come after school for the dinner and to meet with Ugo. I also told him about church on Sunday, and he seemed interested in trying it. Blake also loved the food we offered him: Spanish rice, sandwich fixings, and some cookies. He got to visit with a few of our GANS kids and seemed to enjoy that too.
Dee's online family history class went pretty well, from what she said. I was too busy with Blake and other visitors to sit in. She really knows her stuff and works hard to prepare her materials. Friday will be easy for her by contrast: she only has to prepare a meal for 15 - 25 people! 😁
