Life in Italy on P-day

Another really rough P-day! Yesterday we felt the need to get out of the city and see the countryside. Will was tired of our concrete jungle. It was beautiful and green and the sun was shining. With the other office couple, we traveled by car to Orvieto about 60 miles north of Rome. (Towards Florence.) Part of the town is down in a valley and the old part is on top of a small mountain. It is quaint and looks like a medieval town. There are narrow, cobblestone streets throughout the town and most of the streets are so narrow a small car can barely drive down. There is a fort on top of a sheer cliff with an stunning view.

Of course, there was a church there that was famous and a must see. We were told it was erected around 1200 A.D. The interesting characteristic of this church is that it is constructed of alternating rows of black and white marble blocks – both inside and out. Each row is approximately 12 inches wide, and the effect makes one think of a zebra. The detail on the front of the church is incredible.

Elder Sommerfeldt, even though he was dressed in P-day clothes, managed to find people to talk to about the church, and actually placed two Books of Mormon with Jen and Alicia, two girls from the United States who are living in Orvieta on a study abroad for four months. One of girls said she had had a friend who was LDS and she told him that one of the things on her to-do list was to read a Book of Mormon. So, we will put our testimonies and a picture in each book and send them out to the girls.

Sister Sommerfeldt says that she learned today that she should always have a Book of Mormon in her backpack ready to give away. It’s a learning experience, but we are getting better at what we are supposed to be all about right now.

We were just thinking about a promise that was given to us by Elder Mask from the Quorum of Seventy. He promised us that there were people being prepared for us even before we would arrive in our mission field. We just never know when we might be at the right place and the right time to touch lives around us. Who knows, maybe these girls are some we were meant to meet. Missionary work is sooooo fun. It can even be fun when we are having fun. So, yes, we love what we are doing.

Love and Hugs,
Elder and Sister Sommerfeldt