It was very hot and humid in Rome and Naples. There were only two guys who showed up for my Institute class down there. Peter, the ringleader, had to work and was very apologetic, but I told him that it was great that he had a job! That is a big step forward for these guys, to have some income which can allow them to get their own place and not live in the refugee camps anymore. Anyway, we had a great time in class. Sunday really knows his New Testament! Each time we came to a parable or a story, I would ask if anybody wanted to summarize it, instead of taking time to read it. Each time he volunteered, and he got all the details right! We then had some good discussion about each one.
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| Maxwell , Sunday |
I got home just after 6pm, in time to hit Conad for some produce for a salad for the Sunday night senior couple dinner. It was good to get out of shirt and tie after that and sit in an air-conditioned room! Dee arrived home not too long thereafter, having spent the entire day at the hospital, being very helpful and making friends. I will let her tell the story.
In the evening, I finished working on my talk for Sacrament meeting Sunday morning and got it printed out. The talk is based on Pres. Uchtdorf's General Conference address from October 2017 entitled "Bearers of Heavenly Light". My talk assignment was short, only 10 minutes, but for some reason I struggled with it all week. Finally, Dee's act of compassionate service on Saturday gave me a final element to my talk that worked well.
Here is the story of the couple at the hospital. I had a hard time getting through to the taxi, and I was worried about standing too long while waiting. It finally came and I was on my way. Emily and Tyler Johnston came to Italy for their best friends' wedding, and stayed after for a vacation. They were holding hands crossing the street when they were hit by a smart car. The driver kept going for awhile. They don't know exactly whether she was distracted or impaired. They were thrown 20 feet apart. So, they went to a nearby public hospital, where the medical personnel told them they were okay and didn't need anything. They went back to their hotel, took some Advil, and went to bed.
In the morning, they were in really bad shape, and knew they needed help. They went to Salvator Mundi International Hospital this time, and had been there for a week when I arrived. Emily had some terrible bruises and an injured knee, but it was her Tyler who was in worse shape. Besides some stitches and bruises he had a really bad injury on his leg that needed stitches and a drain. Since he was diabetic and had high blood pressure (only in his mid-thirties), his kidneys were overwhelmed by the accident and the Advil. This was the worrisome part of the whole thing.
They were even more stressed because of communication difficulties. Even the doctors who spoke English were not necessarily fluent or understandable. They relaxed greatly when I began to translate. The doctors were very attentive and helpful. It looks like they were getting good care but they want to go home to America and were frustrated to not be ready to do so. There was talk of dialysis to help ready him for the trip. They also had to put in a central line. The poor guy was a mess.
The bride and groom had gone home after their wedding, but came back the very next day and had stayed all week. Tyler's father was there as well. I really enjoyed talking with everyone. Tyler, wife and dad all have a lot of faith and prayed sincerely for help and praised God when things went well. It was a wonderful day.
Ryan Johnson from Rome 2 ward brought Elders Parker and Dicky and arrived before I did. Not only that, Ryan came back later with goodies for everyone. He is awesome.
When I left, I decided to try to use public transit (1.5€ instead of 30€). It required a pretty long walk downhill through a gorgeous, shady street, then a tram and a bus. My foot was pretty happy and I was proud of myself. It took more than an hour and a half.