In the afternoon the Knieses and Balzottis came up with a list of items to buy for the office at Metro, with lots of paper goods and office supplies, but no food. They asked us to go get it all sometime, no rush, but Dee had the idea that I could do it right away, since there was a bit of down time for me. The office supply portion of Metro is upstairs, so I had to get a small cart which could fit up the escalator ramp. As a result, with all the stuff that I bought, the cart was filled to overflowing. It was bulky but not very heavy, except for the three boxes with reams of printer paper. I drove it back though the rain, with heavy thunder and lightning, and was able to carry it all up myself in two trips, including one with the little dolly they use. The rain, which started light but got heavy after I returned, cooled things off nicely for a while. I was also able to place an Amazon order for some things that were not in stock at Metro; the Knieses were pleased and amazed that the stuff would arrive the very next day.
Just after 4pm we left for our evening of service. We dropped off Sorella Balzotti at home (her husband was off putting in ceiling lights again). That gave us the chance to drop off our computers and some shopping bags at our apartment, before heading down to the mission home for the evening dinner. It would end up being very helpful that our car trunk was empty. We got to the mission home before 5pm, helping to set up basically the same dinner as on Monday night for departing missionaries. We got to sit in on the last few minutes of the President's training before the dinner began. The APs again were the waiters, shuttling all the food and plates to/from the big dining room table. There were six new elders and three sisters who continually offered to help us out, but we wanted them to stay with their group. Among them was an Anziano De La Rosa from Mexico who does not speak English (so they had a young Spanish-speaking sister translating for him all day), but his Italian is already very impressive. We enjoyed visiting with them all. I got to have a long conversation with Anziano De La Rosa in Italian. It's clear he's still thinking in Spanish, but he is doing exceptionally well and is light years ahead of the American missionaries. Elder Faletti had trouble getting his visa, so after the MTC, he spent a transfer in Tacoma. He was really worried that he would forget all his Italian, but he was able to have a conversation with me in Italian. President Pickerd had me give the prayer on the food at the beginning of the evening, which I did in Italian. Then he told them I had served there when I was young. It's great to plant the seed that they can come back when they retire. The dinner was reasonably uneventful; we filled up the plates and did the dishes, with time to eat our own plates of food in the kitchen during the process, and visiting with the APs.
After the dinner, there is a big ceremony where each new missionary learns their first city and companion. One at a time the President calls them up in front of a map of Italy. He hands them a golden envelope containing their assignment, and Sorella Pickerd takes a photo-op shot of them receiving the envelope. Then the group starts clapping, slowly at first and then faster, while they open the envelope. Once they get the card out, the clapping stops, and they read the city and companion, then point to it on the map for another photo-op. The photos will be forwarded to their parents (via email, I assume) so that they will know where their child is going. It was fun to see their excitement. Anziano De La Rosa was put in the Roma 1 district, which has all native Spanish speakers. Another young elder was assigned to a native Italian companion; I later told him how lucky he was, as that happened to me in 1975, and it was a wonderful experience which forced me to learn the language quickly. At the end of the ceremony, we all sang the rousing mission hymn together and had a kneeling prayer. I love singing the mission song. Sister Pickerd told the new sisters that she and I know the original words in English. Now, it's in Italian. I like it both ways. Sister Pickerd is doing so much better. Her energy is back after her chemo and it's great to see her participating.
Anziano Ferrara, a fairly new AP and our former district leader in Roma 3, asked me for help with his cell phone. It has been booting into "safe mode"; we don't quite know what it means, but it is annoying and seems to block some activity. He worked on it for a few hours without being able to get rid of it, so he gave me the phone during the golden envelope festivities. With a little bit of Googling and some testing, I was able to figure it out: his phone case was too big for the phone (Samsung A5), so it was continually pushing the button for decreasing volume. Pressing that button during boot forces an entry into safe mode. I just took the case off and restarted the phone, getting rid of the problem, at least until the next boot. He was amazed at how quickly I figured it out (he was hampered by not being allowed to use Google ;-) and admitted that the case was not a good fit.
While the post-meeting happy chaos was going on, with the Knieses and Balzottis there to explain some of the logistics of the next morning's travel to the young missionaries, my phone rang. It was our ZLs, asking me to go pick up a pair of elders from Pescara. They were coming into town for the night on the bus (just over two hours from Pescara), with Anziano Bell having all his suitcases in tow for a transfer the next day, while Anziano Mansell would take his new companion back to Pescara. Whatever prior plan was in place to pick them up hadn't worked out, so I was happy to do my little part. Transfers here are incredibly complex, with cars, trains, buses, and planes involved. Some of the trains split in two and go in different directions halfway south, so one of the key points of instruction is to sit in the assigned seat, not with friends in the neighboring car, so that you end up in the right place!
Dee went home with the Knieses, as there would not be room for four of us plus luggage -- two large and one small suitcases -- in our small car. The train/bus station (Tiburtina) where I needed to pick them up was only about 15 minutes away, although I missed one turn along the way. That is very easy to do here, even with a good GPS, because often there are three or four possible turns all at slight angles and distances from each other. Anyway, I arrived there a few minutes early, enough time to buy a cold lemonade, and then their bus arrived. They were to stay the night at the apartment of the APs, right across the piazza from us, so I basically just drove them home. It is always nice to visit with these great kids, particularly making connections between us and their former companions, some of whom were Ganziani in past transfers. I was home by about 9:15pm. The sisters below us had called to see if we had a key to the Roma 3 Sorelle apartment, as they needed it the next day to deliver a newly transferred Sorella. Fortunately, because we just inspected that apartment for the first time, we do have a key to give them in the morning.
When the Knieses drove me home, I saw our Sorelle walking across the piazza with buckets and brooms. They were on their way to clean the new Roma 5 Sorelle apartment. The best part is I got to give Sorella Yanacallo a goodbye hug. I wish we had had more time together.
I have received three emails from the manager for our rental units back home about leaks, breakdowns or moving out. I'm sure glad they're taking care of things for us. I can't imagine what it would be like to work it all out from here.
Working in the office was an opportunity to see the unflappable Sorella Balzotti in action. She knows how to laugh in the face of stress and keep a smile on her face. She also knows how to say no if a project is too much. There are about 160 missionaries, about a third of them move each transfer, there is onerous paperwork involved in being in a foreign country, things are breaking down all the time, and she just laughs her way through it.
Poor Sorella Oveson phoned to say their kitchen sink in Ladispoli is entirely plugged up now. The plumber says he doesn't have time to come help them. She was trying to think of a Christlike way to get him to help. I told her to buy plastic everything on her mission card until they fix it and I'll urge Bishop Calabrese to get it taken care of ASAP.
I was so happy to get a message from Emily and Tyler, the couple I helped in the hospital a month ago. He is doing very well, almost back to normal. She sent me a photo of them and said very nice things. I loved hearing from them!
The GANS kept asking us about the Institute, so we're opening up for tomorrow. We'll have a game night and I'll make cookies. I won't mind the day in air conditioning in a spacious room, either.