Institute in-service and a party

Saturday we were at a Seminary and Institute teacher in-service meeting from 9:30am to 3:30pm. Brother Valentini talked a lot in the morning about how to reach and teach millennials, whose strengths and weaknesses  are quite different than those of prior generations. We all shared ideas on things that have worked for us in the classroom. At our insistence, they used a microphone, which worked much better than without one. Although this is a stake center, the chapel is small, and has pillars in the middle. So, they set up chairs ten rows deep but not very wide. We sat in the very back so Doug could translate for the Burnses for awhile. And that's where the air conditioning is :) In the afternoon, Ugo talked about all the new resources that are available from the church for teaching about church history, such as the Joseph Smith papers, Church History Topics, and the new history volume Saints. In between we had a catered lunch, with a ton of leftovers. Overall it was a very helpful meeting, if long.

 

 

The Burns, a senior couple serving as in military relations near the base in Caserta/Naples, were also there. They just accepted the calling to teach the immigrant Institute class in Naples that I taught over the summer, so they drove up for the day of training. We got to talk to them about some of the logistics of teaching that class, assuring them that they would quickly come to love those guys. At the end of the meeting, they followed me home so I could give them the keys to the chapel down there. I am very happy to see the class in good hands. The Burns do not speak Italian, but that is fine since the class is in English. I started to translate for them in the morning, sitting behind them, but fortunately another sister from Caserta arrived who did it much better, using the wireless headsets.

While I went home to get the keys, Dee gathered up and repackaged the leftovers and cleaned up. Then I brought back some bags to put it all in so that we could take the food to Rhenald's birthday party at the Roma 3 chapel in the evening. Between the two events, we had over an hour at home. During that time I made my weekly phone calls home, and Dee was finally able to get the Verizon account for my in-laws closed, transferring them onto our account. Slowly we are managing more and more of their affairs, which is a positive thing. I also bought Samuel's used laptop on eBay.it: a Lenovo T430s (I really like that product line) for 230€; hopefully it will work well for him for a long time.

The party was supposed to start at 5pm, but in the mid-afternoon Rhenald re-scheduled it to 6:30pm. Knowing the way things are here, we left about 6:30pm and arrived around 7pm, just as things were starting. There was a good turnout, with more and more people arriving all the time and a bunch of awesome food (some of it African). Even though we were tired, it was worthwhile to be there. I looked at Rhenald's very old HP laptop and gave him some suggestions on how to configure it better. He will bring it by the Institute sometime soon for me to work on it.

 

 

 

 

The Hubers brought the loot they got at our request from the commissary in Naples this week, including two 12-packs of Diet Dr. Pepper for me 😀😋. Billy had another bad headache, which he says happens often in the summer heat, so Dee gave him an  Excedrin which seemed to help. We will bring him a little pill bag full of Excedrin at Stake Conference Sunday, and then the Hubers will buy him a full bottle next time they can.

It was quite warm in the evening, so we turned on the AC in our back office and in our bedroom to sleep. Summer is drawing to a close, but it hasn't quite given up yet.

I brought some of the chocolate popcorn to Rhenald's party where it was a hit. Jim Huber was interested in doing a DNA test to learn about his family, so I got to show him my Ancestry DNA account. You know I love to help people with their ancestry search.

With the long seminary training, I got to knit. I don't have a lot of time or energy for it in general, so it was a treat. I got the first Kraken mitt nearly finished and both Levi and Sam tried it on. I'm relieved that it fits. Now I can proceed. I had to order more needles for that project. I really like Addi for these tiny circulars (2.25mm diameter). They come in nickel plate or nickel free. I really like the nickel plate, and specifically ordered that type, but they sent me nickel free. They are just as nice, so I'll keep them. I get an actual euphoric reaction from the nickel which is strange but nice, so that's why I tried to get them. But due to allergy issues, Addi is discontinuing nickel plating. 

With the conference throwing off our regular Sunday teaching schedule, I asked what they wanted me to do. It's only a week away, but it was a little difficult to get an answer. We finally worked it out. Someone else will teach Relief Society that day, and I'll teach Primary, then on the fifth Sunday, Doug and I will teach a combined class on family history and indexing, meant to be fun and inspiring, not a blow-by-blow how-to class. We really like to do this. 

As I've probably said before, I teach the same topic for six months in Relief Society, with very little preselected material. It's fun to be creative but a lot of work. So, they're going to skip my class and instead recover the missed third Sunday lesson instead.

With Primary, I promised Levi I would bring five activities for the children to do, so I need to start prepping! When I talked to him last Sunday, he told me about his brother dropping a hairdryer in the sink. I warned him about the danger of electricity with water. For most children, that would be a good cautionary tale, but I could see the wheels turning as Levi started thinking about what he could do (probably to his brother) with this new knowledge. I let his mother know!

Good news: My dad has regained six pounds in a month. His new medication has restored his appetite and he is really perking up now that he's nourished.