Dinner appointment

Saturday morning I went for a followup visit to the chiropractor, Dr. De Santis. My back was still hurting pretty badly, but unfortunately he was unable to get any movement in the vertebrae. He did some stretching and massage, which helped, but I was still in pain much of the day. He refused to take any payment because he didn't get the results he wanted, which is odd and refreshing at the same time. I pushed to pay him, but he wouldn't let me.

Federico and Cristina, two wonderful GANS whom we don't see much at the campus because they live in Ostia, got married Saturday morning. They are both wonderful kids, each having served a mission in the US. We don't know them well enough to have been invited, but the GANS group was buzzing with photos and congratulations. Unlike in the US, here you have to get married civilly first, and then you can go to the temple to be sealed.

 

We were home for the morning and afternoon, working on lessons for tomorrow most of the time. Doug and I went over my Powerpoint together. It's always more difficult to get it right in Italian, and he was a big help in smoothing it out. At 4:30pm there was a stake Relief Society event at the stake center nearby, so I dropped Dee off. Each ward had something to share: some did talks, and our ward was assigned a skit of the ten virgins parable. Another ward sang.  Dee had wanted to be involved, but wisely realized that she didn't have much spare time, so she just enjoyed being there as a spectator. I picked Dee up there at the end of the event, and we got to visit with a bunch of people. We feel like part of the stake here, knowing a lot of folks and being recognized by many. It is beautiful to feel the fellowship of the church wherever we go.

Rhenald and Joyce

From there, we drove over to Barbara Rondinelli's home on the other side of town for a dinner with her and her brother's family. He is our Stake President, a very approachabe and sharp man, and each of his kids are in one of my classes at the Institute. Dee became good friends with Barbara when she brought her niece Valentina to Seminary regularly. Her home is lovely, with artistic decorations all over the walls, and we ate a scrumptious and very filling meal. She must have spent a lot of time preparing the food. Fortunately, we were able to turn down some of the large portions they offered us. It was wonderful to enjoy visiting with them. She has filled her walls with framed items, plates, etc., all in a traditional vein. She also does silk ribbon embroidery and paints. She never married and has been a second mother to her niece and nephew, since their mother (Mariela) has a chronic liver disease.

Mariela is from Colombia. After her mission, she was very happy there, with a good job, a church calling with the YSA and a pleasant life. Her mother wanted her to go to Italy to learn a European language. Finally, she went. After a year, she really wanted to go home. There were hardly any YSAs in Italy and she couldn't imagine how she would find someone to marry. But her prayers told her to stay. Eventually she met Andrea Rondinelli and the rest is history. She loves the experiences she has had here thanks to following the answers to her prayers,  including dining with Elders Nelson, Uchtdorf, Scott and others.