Twenty Thousand

Friday morning we woke up early (6am) after a late night so that we could leave at 8am for a special conference with Elder Brent Nielson of the Seventy. He is the Director of the missionary department of the church, in town for a final walk through of the temple visitors center, which is under his department. We got to have over two hours with him, and he was awesome, speaking without notes the whole time. We drove the two young Anziani who live in our piazza over there, since the Sorelle had to leave early. He talked a lot about what is happening with missionary work throughout the world and emphasized that we are all part of one team, so that if people ask "how many people did you baptize last month?", we can respond "twenty thousand!" He also talked a lot about the atonement, using two talks by Elder Bednar, discussing the difference between the redemptive power and the enabling power and how that relates to missionary work. Overall, it was a very inspiring meeting, although we were both tired. He was accompanied by a colleague from the missionary department, Greg, who was the guy who came up with the church's Light the World initiative at Christmas time.

After the conference, we had to leave right away to do some shopping for dinner and get to the Institute. There is a Lidl downtown, more or less on the way, and we got there quickly. Unfortunately, Google Maps routed us in such a way that we could see the entrance to the parking lot but couldn't enter, so I parked illegally on the street with my blinkers flashing while Dee went in to shop. The lines were long, but she got everything she needed in about half an hour. She had to make several trips to get everything from the parking lot into the car, because the cart's wheels locked when it left the parking lot. Unbeknownst to me, she had had a bad headache all morning at the conference, and she kinda snapped at me when she got to the car. Some minutes later, while we were driving to the Institute, she apologized. I replied that it would have been nicer if she asked me what she needed me to do instead of getting upset that I didn't do it, and she burst out singing "Doing What Comes Naturally!" -- we both laughed really hard.

Somewhat surprisingly to us after all that, we actually made it to the campus on time. Kids started showing up for Seminary, and I got to help Matteo with some physics problems this time. Dee went right to work in the kitchen, as she was trying new recipes and had a ton to do. She made another carrot cake, this time for the Seminary kids, and then an Irish apple cake for dessert in the evening. Dinner would be tortellini with cream, bacon, and peas. Timing all that was quite a trick.

At one point, the intercom rang and a guy said that he was there to work on our heater. We didn't know that we had any issues, but we invited him up. A minute later the doorbell rang, and an older guy came in and started to beg for money. He was quite insistent, even though we gently asked him to leave several times. Finally I told him that if he didn't leave I could call the police, and he at first muttered something threatening but then left, right as the actual heating guy showed up. We were very puzzled, at first thinking that the beggar had rung the intercom, but no. So we asked who had sent the heating guy, and he didn't know, so we asked him to leave too. He went out and called his boss, coming back in a minute with the names of the church FM folks, so we apologized and let him in. The whole sequence was very strange. Anyway, he was able to fix the one radiator that didn't work before; apparently there was an air bubble in the line. It is the one in the entryway where I often sit to prepare lessons, so it will nice to not have that be the cold spot anymore!

Fabrizio dropped by with his wife and their five-month old son, Mathias, who is sooo cute! He looks closely at you and then has a wonderful smile. Fabrizio is a former GANS who works nearby and often joins us for Taco Tuesday.

There were nine kids for Seminary, including Jeff who is new to our class but knows all the others. We had a short followup lesson on the Godhead, followed by some fun scripture games. They are slowly learning their mastery scriptures, and they all love how we play, with lots of laughter. Afterward everyone enjoyed Dee's carrot cake, and they hung around for a good while together.

 

 

Aysha showed up early for the evening class after volunteering at the Friendship Center nearby. She asked if she could help in the kitchen, so Dee put her right to work, slicing apples and doing other things very capably. It was a big help and much needed. 

Aysha at work

 

The evening class was quite full again. During the day we had 30 people sign in, while is higher than usual. We discussed D&C 43-49, spending the most time on spiritual gifts. I asked the kids to name some specific gifts that they saw in their classmates, and it turned into a nice discussion, where they got to get positive strokes from each other. Three new nonmember girls, friends and relatives of Almendra, were there in the class, and we had two other girls in the other rooms getting taught lessons by the young sister missionaries. Overall there was a great spirit and energy all evening.

Dee came in right at the end of class and announced that dinner was running late, so they shouldn't go into the kitchen yet. She asked for three helpers, and Aysha, Karina, and Dario volunteered, later joined by Vania. We had to wait about 30 minutes until the pasta was cooked and ready, with everyone working well as a team. Everyone loved the food, and there was more than enough to go around, even with most kids having seconds.

 

 

 

 

Afterward the kids stayed late to play. It took a long time to clean up, and we didn't get home until after 11pm, which is unusual. Dee says that she can do it all much quicker next time, but I am not sure that she should try that recipe again because it took so long. By the time we got to bed, it was midnight, and we made a solemn pact not to set any alarms in the morning.

Aysha was really good. She cut up ten apples into tiny pieces and then simply took over making the cakes. Later, she saved teh cream sauce. She is only 18, first time away from home, which makes her even more amazing.

Earlier in the day, Ylenia and Dmitri went out and found me a really good potato peeler, since ours had gone missing. Then, they peeled all the apples.

Several other kids helped. Dario grated cheese and cooked tortellini. Carina took the cooked tortellini out of the water and served everyone. Vania cut up the bread.

Vania comes to FHE most weeks, and this week, we found out she is in our ward. This means she hasn't been to church in over a year. We're hoping she feels more welcome after this week.

We told the student council about our replacement couple being called. Maria Jose and Joyce in particular were heartbroken. We've started mentioning it to the other kids, ,and they gasp with shock. They love us, and we love them.

The refugee camp where we used to bring dinner has been closed. The last time we went, the men were violent, gathering in a big group to fight and throw food. It got bad enough there that they were all dispersed. I don't know what happens next.

My knee has started acting up. I may have to see a doctor, since the Advil isn't doing the trick. I need to be able to walk around here. I had a shot before we left, which lasted a whole year.

Ivan came Friday night and saw the posters from the Peruvian food night. He was desolate to have missed the food. He said, "You had chicha morada? PAPAS A LA HUANCAINA?!! You should have seen his face. Yearning. Heartbroken.

Wednesday night, there was a lot of Spanish in the kitchen. I could understand them when they asked for various utensils, pots, etc-sometimes with a little sign language to help it along.

Friday night, Nathan asked if he could take a little piece of the apple cake home. little piece=pezzatino. Then, he changed it to pezzatone=big piece. Italian is so fun.

The hardest part with the Friday night cooking is answering the intercom. It's in the next room, and I have to stop, clean or dry my hands, run to the intercom, etc. Ugo is now going try to get one in the kitchen. Yay! He is also checking on getting us a second oven, now that moving is not imminent.