At that point, the car was already packed, so I just drove down to the Institute, arriving a couple of hours earlier than usual -- not a problem, given that we have WiFi and AC! Dee would arrive about 1pm. Sister Rondinelli, the wife of our wonderful stake president, dropped by to give my wife the addresses of some good yarn shops in Rome. She and Dee hit it off during our trip to Switzerland last month. She has a friend at work who is really into that kind of thing. The two of us had a nice conversation about culture differences, in particular language issues, such as the use of lei vs tu (formal vs familiar pronouns). She is from Colombia, and it took her a while to figure that out when she got here years ago. She said that it was fine for us to use tu with them. Dee showed up as she was about to leave, and the two of them had a good visit. Their son is one of our GANS who had been struggling for a while but is now working on submitting his mission papers. Their daughter is one of my Seminary students.
In the early afternoon we got a wonderful piece of news from Ugo, and I quote: "The lease is ours!" He was talking about the new apartment down one floor where we hope to move the Institute. Signora Chirra, our delightful neighbor (and owner of the cafe downstairs) who would be our new landlady, gave us a good deal: five months free rent to use towards tenant improvements. Now we have to see how much the build-out will cost and if it's possible with the budget the church gave us. We were absolutely giddy! It is not all done yet, but it has been a long road to get past this major hurdle.
In the afternoon, Samuel, a Nigerian immigrant who applied for Pathway last month with my help, came by to check on his next steps. Classes start next week. He had lost his phone, which had his gmail password, so he couldn't get access to his emails anymore. We tried a few recovery options, but nothing worked, so we finally set up a new gmail account and linked that to Pathway so he could get messages again. He needs a computer but has little money, so I offered to help him find something used on eBay for under 300€, which seemed to work for him. He also needs internet at home, but we discovered that for now his cell phone has a temporary 50GB data plan that he can use as a hotspot until his landlady gets internet going. He is very slow on the computer, and it was frustrating at times, but I just decided to be very patient and try to help this nice guy have a chance at getting ahead. We have so many blessings by comparison. Ugo has funds anonymously donated to pay for Pathway tuition for deserving and needy students, so Samuel will have his first semester tuition ($205) paid, which is great.
Next Tuesday there is a new Anziano coming into the mission from up north, and we will pick him up at the train station and deliver him to the mission home, as the rest of the office staff will be busy with the new arrivals at the airport. We are happy to help out. Anziano Balzotti sent me the cell number so we can figure out how to connect when he arrives.
There was a whole lot of messaging during our afternoon with cousin Lynn about the many health issues with my in-laws. We realized after a while that it was her day off, and then we let her be, as she is doing too much already. She really cares about my in-laws, and we are grateful to have her involved. I had made up a spreadsheet for her hours and expense reimbursements, which I will submit to Norm to compute payroll taxes after Lynn verifies the data I entered. In the future it will be easier, as I was catching up on almost two months of payments.
I also got a message along with a photo from our doorman, Paolo. The photo showed the wallet of Anziano Ferrara, one of the APs, which had been found somewhere in our apartment complex, where they also live. Paolo realized it was probably something from one of the missionaries, so he contacted me. I recognized it at once and thanked him profusely, then called Anziano Ferrara, who was absolutely delighted. Having been pick-pocketed here in 2015, I could relate to the despair he was going through. It is great that somebody was honest enough to turn it in.
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| The game is afoot: Junior, Manuel, Alessio, me, Vania |
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| One particularly big play! |
I went to the dentist for the impression part of my implant. The fun began when they tried to match my tooth color. Compared to those who drink wine, espresso and smoke, my teeth are brilliantly white, though not so in California. Three people spent the next hour trying to select an appropriate color. All I use is Sensodyne whitening toothpaste. We'll see what they come up with. The dentist is strongly interested in the Temple open house coming in January, and having some trouble in his marriage. He said he prays all the time. I hope that something he experiences with his exposure to the LDS church can be a blessing to him in his troubles.
Alessio, our pizza maker, went to the Friendship Center to teach Italian cooking. He made carbonara for about ten refugees and also zeppole (similar to donuts). He has a great, calm demeanor and does things without fanfare. He told me about his first trip to America, which he did with a dislocated ankle. It was his first flight ever, and he had to change planes at Kennedy in New York, which is enormous, and he doesn't know much English. He nearly cancelled the flight due to his terror at the concept, but he made it. We laughed hard while he told his stories.