The Voice of Truth

Monday morning I tried again to get the printed cell phone bill for the mission from the Knieses. I was going to drop by the office on the way into town, but they had taken it with them in their car. That is three times we mis-connected -- Murphy's Law rules! They ended up giving it to the Balzottis later in the day, and I picked it up after we got home in the evening. Now I just need to find some time to analyze it.

I walked down to Conad to get some produce for my dinners. My back was still hurting, but Dee suggested that I try heat instead of ice, and that seems to have done marvels. The pattern has been that it hurts most in the morning, but as the day goes on it gets better. Heating it up, using a rice-filled sock from David Perego zapped in the microwave, seems to speed up the process. It still feels like something is significantly out of alignment, but at least the discomfort is less. I plan on applying heat Tuesday morning right before heading to the chiropractor.

We drove to Metro on the way into the Institute to get food for upcoming meals and desserts. We had enough stuff in the car leaving the house that I stayed outside while Dee went in. It took her quite a while, partly because of the slow checkout lines at that hour -- clerks here often visit with customers for a long time without moving the process forward. It rained really hard for much of the time she was inside, but I was under a cover, so the front half of the car got a nice wash, while the back half stayed dry and dirty, unfortunately. The rubber gasket under the front of the car came loose yet again, so Dee bought duct tape (called nastro americano here), and she taped it up enough to not drag on the ground again. With my back, I can't do that, and she is much lower to the ground and more flexible to boot, so she is doing all the close-to-the-ground projects for now.

We got to Institute a few minutes late, and Riccardo showed up again to work on his thesis, which is due this week. We all ate together and had a fun conversation, talking about differences between Italian and American culture. His English is so good that we can ask lots of questions about phrases and idioms. I spent much of the afternoon on lesson prep for Friday. Working with Virginio on the phone, we also got the FamilySearch computer fully up and running as a FH Center, with full access to the locked records! Dee is really excited. I did an image backup of the "good" system in case anything ever goes wrong.

Dee cooked chicken from Metro for Friday, as well as lemon bars for FHE dessert. With it being P-day, there were a lot of young missionaries around at our very central location. In the evening, the ZLs held a planning meeting for the upcoming Zone Conference, while we had FHE. I gave the lesson, using pieces from Fabrizio's talk the day before and playing "The Voice of Truth," an awesome song from Casting Crowns, which talks about having the faith to overcome fear. I wasn't sure ahead of time exactly how it was all going to go together, but the lesson went very well. Lots of the kids had good things to contribute about how we can use God's bridges instead of building walls. Grace was in tears as she talked a little bit about some of her current challenges, and she said that this lesson and this song was just what she needed. The spirit was very strong.

FHE dssert cooking

L-R: Grace, Anz. Mansell, Ludo, Giulia, Anz.Smith, Jomar, Junior, Emmanuel

Lemon bars are served

  

 

It was the birthday of Dario's mom, who passed away early this year. He didn't want to be alone, so he invited a couple of good (non-member) friends to FHE. He really has some wonderful friends in his life. Grace and Dario are dating, and they haven't been here much for FHE before, and it was good to have some different faces. The dessert was well received by all, and then they played a very noisy game in the library.

Meanwhile, Ludo needed some help with his mission medical exam papers. Apparently they are available only in English, which is really surprising to us. He has a doctor appointment Tuesday and wanted somebody to translate the four-page form so he could show the doctor how to fill it in. I chided him gently about waiting until the last minute, as it was a bunch of work, but I got it done and emailed back to him before going to bed at 11pm. Google Translate is my friend.

When I announced enchiladas for Friday night, Anziano Smith's eyes lit up and he had to fan his face. He even took pictures of the refreshments. He is loving the food at the Institute.

The elders are revamping the calling card some more. They're doing such a good job. No more party graphics, hah.

We had TWO nonmembers volunteer to clean up the Temple grounds with our group. It was an eight hour commitment, and Andrea and Junior both wanted to come. So cool.

I decided to try some different shoe inserts from the Chinese store. They cost less than two euro and have made a huge difference. I'm so happy! I'm getting some more to bring home, even. When shopping, it's a balance between being prepared and knowing we're going home in six months. We also want to leave some stuff for the next couple to help in the transition. I'm getting excited to think about having a dryer when we get home while at the same time I'm sad to leave these people and our life here. I know we're going to miss it. But I can hardly wait to hug our kids.

My orthotics are ready after two weeks. Now I just need to find the time to pick them up. Also, I'm going to see a different dentist on Wednesday. I want a second opinion on the cavities that my dentist found. We had only been here six months, and he found THREE cavities, including a crown to redo. I have heard three different people say he found they needed three cavities fixed.