Maronite priest

Friday morning we got to stay at home. Dee went out to the Chinese store and Conad to buy a few things. On the way to the campus, we filled up the car all the way, with my new credit card working flawlessly. The last few times I had to use cash and so couldn't completely fill it up.

I found a fun quote in a blog that I follow. It was from an Islamic scholar who lived almost 1000 years ago, talking about the life of Jesus. The blogger said that he doesn't think that the quote is something that Jesus actually said, but it is something that he should have said: "Even though I managed to raise the dead, I have never been able to cure an idiot!" 😁

Dee spent all afternoon cooking the bacon for the crack chicken for the evening dinner. That smell is so tantalizing. We had a good-sized group for my Seminary class. The lesson was again on the atonement of Christ, giving them a real-life situation to analyze and figure out how to apply the atonement and which scriptures were related. It led to a very nice discussion. After that we played bingo, as always, and they still remembered their scriptures pretty well after the long holiday break. After class we enjoyed peanut butter bar cookies from Dee, and then several of them went off to the mall to try ice skating. A new recipe, called school cafeteria peanut butter bars. The peanut butter icing was so good.

 

Meanwhile, the Ganziani showed up to teach a lesson to a guy who approached them on the subway and asked how he could visit the temple. It turns out that he was a former Maronite priest (a branch of the Catholic church) from Beirut, living here in Rome for some years. They had a very spiritual lesson, and he was quite interested in reading the Book of Mormon. My wife's great uncle was a Maronite priest, and she has cousins from Lebanon, so we decided that she and this guy might be cousins. A picture was in order, after everyone enjoyed a peanut butter bar. I told the missionaries that I had married an exotic woman, and they were astonished to learn all the different backgrounds in my wife's family tree! 

As is common these days, there was drama at my in-laws' house again, with various health challenges. Dee had to make some phone calls to the US to help smooth over some of the issues.

My Institute class on D&C 77 - 83 went well, with lots of participation on the various topics we covered. We had several folks who haven't been out much recently, and I was able to get a number of them involved in the conversations. As always, we started out small, but ended up with the room almost full. Apparently the kids are reluctant to enter the classroom when they show up late, so Dee and I agreed that we need to do a better job letting them know that it is ok to do so.

Andrea had his baptismal interview during my class, and he is set to be baptized on Sunday. It is a cool story. He was found when two of our kids went out on splits with the missionaries: they met Andrea on the street and invited him to English class. He has come pretty regularly for many months and made good friends with our group. Then he started dating Almendra. So we are happy to see him making this step.

After class, my wife's meal was very popular, with almost everyone taking a second sandwich, and a few taking three or four. There were also chips and cookies to enjoy. A bunch of the kids stayed late to play games after we went home. Anziano Castro asked for the recipe.

 

Still a few crack chicken sandwiches left

 

 

Our first full week of the new year is completed. We were tired but very happy with all the kids who have shown up. We need to savor these remaining weeks.

I got to tell Anziano Kane, who is pretty new, about the word biscotto (cookie), which literally means twice cooked. Then, I told him that spaghetti means little strings. Anziano Castro, who is from northern Italy, said in surprise, "O cielo!" I love it when he says that. 

A new seminary student arrived with her mother. She was too late for class, but hung with the kids for awhile. Meanwhile, her mother broke down and cried, so I sat with her and tried to comfort her. They're new to Italy from South America, with economic troubles and a daughter with a chronic illness. I am very concerned for her.