Break-the-fast lunch

Sunday morning Dee went to church without her boot or a brace, just wearing normal shoes. It was exciting, though I was concerned she was maybe pushing things a bit. Everything went ok, though by mid-afternoon her feet and legs were hurting and tired. After weeks of not walking much, that is perhaps to be expected. So many people were excited to see my out of the boot, but both my feet were really sore by the end of the day. I went home and iced and massaged them. Monday I'll wear the boot again.

My temple prep class first lesson went quite well. Dee was there with me, then taught Primary music during the third hour. Jenna stepped in and helped immensely with teaching the verse. We're going to add one in Spanish next week, since so many of the kids have Spanish in their homes. I can hardly wait! This was a totally new idea for them. In my class, we went over the plan of salvation, making a diagram on the chalkboard (they still have one in the clerk's office!), with lots of good questions and comments.  This class will be very enjoyable! Rhenald and Billy took pictures of the blackboard and notes on their phones. Rhenald in particular knew a lot. He is teaching the English gospel doctrine class in our ward. I love the Nigerian accent, but it takes some getting used to.

Rhenald, Billy, Dexter

 

From church we drove straight to the Institute, with food from Ugo in our trunk for the break-the-fast lunch. Dee had made two carrot cakes, and Ugo made pulled pork and bought some wonderful rolls. We put out chips and some cookies as well.

 

There was a very good turnout (about 20 signatures on the sign-in list), including a few nonmembers, with lunch starting at 3pm. Everyone was able to eat until they were full. 

 

 

After lunch, the Fenns gave a fireside. He served in my mission in the 1970s, and he and his wife have lived in Rome for 6.5 years working on the construction of the temple. She served in the Arcadia Mission when she was young, which is near our former town of South Pasadena. Small world! She is called as a missionary to keep the history of the temple construction. They took turns, telling stories about neat things that they saw and learned during this process, and applying lessons of the temple to the lives of these kids. There was translation from Italian to English and Spanish going on, and then from English to Italian when Sister Fenn spoke.

 

 

It was a very warm day, with temps in the 90s, so it was great that the AC was working well. The carrot cakes were served after the fireside. We gave the few leftover sandwiches to our Roma 3 Anziani, and the leftover carrot cake went to the Peregos (that is Ugo's favorite). After cleaning up, we left the Institute with a big group of kids still at the campus, playing games together -- a great thing.

Once arriving home about 7pm, it was a busy evening. Together we had a calendaring session for the upcoming week. Good thing: each of us got several  important followup assignments out of that. I discovered that I had reserved a hotel for the wrong days for Wes later this month, and fortunately I was able to modify the reservation (not a given at the height of tourist season). I then made the train reservations for Dee and me to go to Naples next Saturday, and I started setting up apartment inspections for later in the month. In addition, I did a bunch of WhatsApp messaging for the Institute and made a couple of Facebook posts for the Institute events of Friday and Sunday. 

David Perego gave me the memory from his old (now dead) computer to use in the old ward desktop that I am refurbishing. One of the 2GB sticks was dead, but I was able to use what he gave me to upgrade it from 4GB to 8GB and run an overnight test. Hopefully that computer will be ready to go by next weekend so that I can get it out of the house before our guests arrive.

It was a long day for us, over 10 hours out of the house. This Sunday was not a day of rest, but we loved it.

I got to talk with Wendy, which is our Sunday tradition. She had a big week with dental stuff as well as finishing one semester and beginning another. It's very impressive how much she is doing and how well she is doing it. She is taking a double load an acing her classes. Wow!

This last week, as I think I have already written, I got a phone call from a relative in Colorado. Her kids are asking about their ancestry after taking DNA tests. So, I sent a little info on the who and where to her. We'll see if they want more.

I have discovered beet greens (which can be red or green, haha) and agretti. I am loving eating these things, and I get them at our little farmer's market downstairs. I feel great about eating these healthy things, but I love potato chips and cookie dough, too.

Doug is incredibly organized and productive. He is teaching at least three lessons every week, keeps up the attendance report, the Institute history, backs up our computers, keeps an eye on our finances, helps my parents, and writes this blog. Sometimes I hate the unrelenting dailyness of it, but when all is said and done, I'm grateful he's writing.

I'm pretty busy, too. I am called on to teach classes or music in Primary, as well as the fourth Sunday Relief Society lesson. The latter doesn't have much material, so I have to really work on it to get a good lesson. I also spend a lot of time in the kitchen, making food of some sort nearly every day. The kids come to talk with me, which is great, but makes it harder to fit in my lesson prep. There are also family home evening lessons and the upcoming singles conference to prep for. I help a few people with family history or math, and will be teaching a family history Institute class again in the fall.

Sergio Vardeu told me that one time, he taught a lesson by dancing. It was a youth class and he couldn't get their attention, so he started dancing to the concepts, and called on the kids to dance when they gave their answers. It worked!

I have had a request for Crack Chicken again, so that will be our Friday dinner. I had to put the chocolate chips in the freezer because of the hot weather. I even switched to short sleeves for the first time since we arrived.

A visitor brought a package for a sister missionary and gave it to us to deliver to the mission home. People go through so much to send things to their missionaries. Due to the customs charges, it's just not practical to send a package through the mail. One sister had to pay 65 euro in duty to receive a package (a dress).

Our new elder, Anziano Lewis, used to be in Palermo, where there are lots of Nigerian refugees. He and his companion were able to speak enough Nigerian to convince the Nigerians that they were from there, too. After about five minutes, the ruse would break down and the guys would laugh at the joke. Then, they were friends and the elders would invite them to Church. Those that came tended to continue to learn about the Church and get baptized!

Right now, our missionary numbers are down, and some rearranging has gone on. Some cities were closed and others reopened. So, we have extra sisters downstairs, waiting for a new apartment in their area. It's far for them to go, and they need a car to reach their assigned area, so with one of the mission couples gone, the sisters are using that car. But they don't have a mission credit card for gas, so the office couple has to fill the tank for them. Very complicated.

Our wonderful Simoncini couple has moved into a different apartment and won't be in our ward anymore. This is better for them, since it puts them much closer to the Temple. They host the information center there. But we'll miss seeing them.