Death testimonies

Sunday morning our chapel at Roma 3 was overflowing again, with a bunch of visitors from all over for the Open House, including many Americans. We didn't have enough headsets, so they had missionaries translate the talks into English by sharing the microphone, which slowed things down, but we still ended on time. Sorella Muce, who is not a native English speaker, did an awesome job when it was her turn to translate! It was a nice Sacrament meeting, followed by a good Priesthood lesson. 

Dee had some fun games for Primary, all from Pinterest. The first was "Primary Punch", where she attached some plastic cups to a large piece of cardboard, covering the opening of each cup with aluminum foil after putting something inside. The kids got to take turns punching a hole in a cup and getting the thing inside, which was something that had to do (like singing while standing on a chair) to help learn a song. They loved it! She usually has 6-8 kids, so the nine cups seemed like plenty, but with visitors they had 11 kids. When Jasmine realized that she didn't get a turn, she bawled loudly for ten minutes! Her other activity was a fishing game where they got to cast a fishing pole to get clues that taught about Jesus. She stayed afterwards for a Primary presidency meeting of sorts, since she will not be here next weekend. She wants to start letting the other leaders try what she is doing -- having fun activities -- which is normal in the US but not well known here.

Dee had been up late getting ready the night before, and so she took a nap after coming home from church. The news from LA was that her parents were again scheming and demanding to have her dad come home. Dee got to talk to her dad and walked him off the ledge, but it won't last. Fortunately she will be there soon enough.

Dee spent a bunch of time packing, including going over my pile of stuff and some of her things to make sure that she brings the right things home. Her suitcases are well under weight, but she still has two big ones plus a carry-on and a shoulder bag. We also set up the back bedroom for our four visitors that evening, with two bed and two mattresses on the floor.

Adjusting the linens

Ready for company

In the evening, we went to our final Zone Conference, held at the stake center on the temple grounds. The audio system was not loud enough, but apparently it was at max volume; too bad -- it will need tweaking. The projector is built-in, directly below the podium, so the speaker cannot speak into the mic while the projector is being used. Those two issues seem like rookie mistakes, especially since the church builds so many chapels. But in any case it was a wonderful meeting, with a lot of talking about how to be good missionaries and faithful after our missions too, including using the temple as a constant reminder. Everyone feels very fortunate to be here now as the temple is being dedicated. There were three zones present, and for a while we broke out into zone groups. 

At the end, the departing missionaries each gave their "death testimony" (meaning that they are about to go home, which is called "dying" in missionary parlance), including the Balzottis and us. We only had 3 minutes apiece, so it was quick. Dee said that we hope to serve another mission, and that I wanted Milano but she was pushing for Rome again, which got a laugh. I told a story from Pavia, about taking the Giustos as a young couple to be sealed in the Swiss temple in 1977 on my way home from my mission, and how those covenants and that sealing have blessed them ever since.

We got a photo of all the senior missionaries present, in front of the Christus statue, as well as zone photos (which the Pickerds haven't posted yet). We will really miss all these great kids and seniors.

Old folks

I drove four young elders home to stay the night with us: Mansell, Anderl, Bacon, and Cagnacci, while Dee got a ride with the Thackers. The Anziani loved the sloppy joes and crack chicken that we had for them, each eating 3 or 4 sandwiches, plus salad and dessert. They got to bed late, but they were full!

L-R: Bacon, Mansell, Anderl, Cagnacci

I got to bed about midnight after cleaning up, and Dee was up even later than me. Because she is flying Monday, being sleepy isn't necessarily a bad thing.