{Survived}
14 years ago
Sunday, April 19, 2009
We began our Saturday adventure with Will and I being escorted out of the metro by the police. I was trying to take pictures for Caden, our grandson, for his school project. Then I wanted Will to take pictures because it’s quite dark underground on the metro and I knew we would get better pictures with Will’s camera. We quickly learned that you are not to take pictures there. We were approached by an angry policeman who abruptly motioned for us to go upstairs with him. We could tell he was determined to get us out of the metro. Upstairs, he motioned to a picture of a camera with a slash through it, and spoke in clipped Italian. Unfortunately we could not understand him. Will finally realized that what he wanted was for us to delete the pictures. Will deleted his pictures. I tried to delete mine, but didn’t know how. Finally, he indicated it was good enough and let us leave. You can take pictures in any church here, but not in the metro. Go figure! It was an honest mistake; we did not know.
We went on to the Castel Sant’Angelo – a military castle by the Tevere River. Admission was free because it’s Rome’s birthday this week. We basically spent the afternoon there, wandering through this huge castle and looking out over Rome. Afterwards we went in search of a famous Gelateria called the Old Bridge. Gelato is a mainstay here on any excursion. Close by we found an open-air market and purchased two ties for Will. One had to be purple stripped. I will always think of Rome when I see purple clothing. We also found a fine oil painting of Venice for only 15 euro.
We NOW have curtains in our apartment in the bedroom and the kitchen. Sister Pearson has a sewing machine so I could remodel some sale curtains I found. AND, we have a picture on one wall – our new oil. It’s a bare canvas without a frame, but it’s great to have a picture up to enjoy. When Will went back to Utah, he brought back some pictures to frame and hang. Giuseppe, our Italian friend, insisted he would take them and frame them. We are not sure when we will see them again.
We are into missionary transfers again. 18 missionaries are going home. 5 new missionaries are coming to the Italy Rome Mission. Many companion-ships are being changed. We are in charge of setting up travel schedules in and out of Rome for all this movement. Last transfer, we were working with others – learning; this time the responsibility falls squarely on our shoulders. It is going to be a busy week!
We went on to the Castel Sant’Angelo – a military castle by the Tevere River. Admission was free because it’s Rome’s birthday this week. We basically spent the afternoon there, wandering through this huge castle and looking out over Rome. Afterwards we went in search of a famous Gelateria called the Old Bridge. Gelato is a mainstay here on any excursion. Close by we found an open-air market and purchased two ties for Will. One had to be purple stripped. I will always think of Rome when I see purple clothing. We also found a fine oil painting of Venice for only 15 euro.
We NOW have curtains in our apartment in the bedroom and the kitchen. Sister Pearson has a sewing machine so I could remodel some sale curtains I found. AND, we have a picture on one wall – our new oil. It’s a bare canvas without a frame, but it’s great to have a picture up to enjoy. When Will went back to Utah, he brought back some pictures to frame and hang. Giuseppe, our Italian friend, insisted he would take them and frame them. We are not sure when we will see them again.
We are into missionary transfers again. 18 missionaries are going home. 5 new missionaries are coming to the Italy Rome Mission. Many companion-ships are being changed. We are in charge of setting up travel schedules in and out of Rome for all this movement. Last transfer, we were working with others – learning; this time the responsibility falls squarely on our shoulders. It is going to be a busy week!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Written: 12 April 2009
Yesterday was such an excellent day. We had an Easter miracle. It was our Preparation Day and we were waiting at the bus stop to go to downtown Rome. We were meeting the other office couple at the church. A Filipino lady approached us and said she was a member of the church but was inactive. She had been thinking a lot lately about coming back to church. Fatima was on her way to work, but she rode the bus with us to the church to see where it is. She lives on our street – Renato Fucini. She had been ready to leave for work a half hour earlier, but was slow in leaving her house for some reason. We showed her the church and gave her an English Book of Mormon – the one I had been marking – and invited her to our scone night on Monday night. Afterwards, we were upset that we hadn’t gotten her phone number and address. But we felt strongly that the Lord’s spirit had prompted our encounter.
The day was spent pleasurably in downtown Rome. We had an Italian man with us who helped us understand much of the history. He took us to specific famous works of art and sculpture. After lunch we left Giuseppe and the Pearson's and hung out at Nouvana Square and Trevi Fountain people watching. It was a very relaxed day. We took a different bus back to Termini and then decided to take a different bus home than we usually take. As we walked to the bus stop, we realized that Fatima was there. Incredible! She rode the bus home with us, visiting together the entire way. She showed us where she lived and gave us her phone number. We showed her where we live. Fatima is going home to the Philippines for one month and when she returns, she has promised to go to church with us. The story is much more involved that this, but the important part is that she recognized the Lord’s hand in meeting us.
Yes, I am making scones for about 20 missionaries and investigators at our apartment tomorrow night. It will be interesting to see who actually shows up. I will make about 4 batches of dough and hope that is enough for everyone to eat their fill. Of course, we will have honey butter and jams for toppings and milk or water to drink.
Today is Easter Sunday and we had 6 of the missionaries in the district over for Sunday dinner. It was a fun afternoon and evening. I think they were all glad to have an Easter dinner appointment.
Love, the Sommerfeldts
PS Our Internet has been down and I couldn't post the blog. Everyone went on Easter Vacation - even our Internet.
The scone night went great and Fatima showed up, for which we were thrilled! It's Tuesday night and we are madly baking cinnamon rolls from left over scone dough. I made 6 batches instead of 4. If I can keep Will out of the cinnamon buns, it will be another miracle. The missionaries coming into the office are really getting spoiled.
Yesterday was such an excellent day. We had an Easter miracle. It was our Preparation Day and we were waiting at the bus stop to go to downtown Rome. We were meeting the other office couple at the church. A Filipino lady approached us and said she was a member of the church but was inactive. She had been thinking a lot lately about coming back to church. Fatima was on her way to work, but she rode the bus with us to the church to see where it is. She lives on our street – Renato Fucini. She had been ready to leave for work a half hour earlier, but was slow in leaving her house for some reason. We showed her the church and gave her an English Book of Mormon – the one I had been marking – and invited her to our scone night on Monday night. Afterwards, we were upset that we hadn’t gotten her phone number and address. But we felt strongly that the Lord’s spirit had prompted our encounter.
The day was spent pleasurably in downtown Rome. We had an Italian man with us who helped us understand much of the history. He took us to specific famous works of art and sculpture. After lunch we left Giuseppe and the Pearson's and hung out at Nouvana Square and Trevi Fountain people watching. It was a very relaxed day. We took a different bus back to Termini and then decided to take a different bus home than we usually take. As we walked to the bus stop, we realized that Fatima was there. Incredible! She rode the bus home with us, visiting together the entire way. She showed us where she lived and gave us her phone number. We showed her where we live. Fatima is going home to the Philippines for one month and when she returns, she has promised to go to church with us. The story is much more involved that this, but the important part is that she recognized the Lord’s hand in meeting us.
Yes, I am making scones for about 20 missionaries and investigators at our apartment tomorrow night. It will be interesting to see who actually shows up. I will make about 4 batches of dough and hope that is enough for everyone to eat their fill. Of course, we will have honey butter and jams for toppings and milk or water to drink.
Today is Easter Sunday and we had 6 of the missionaries in the district over for Sunday dinner. It was a fun afternoon and evening. I think they were all glad to have an Easter dinner appointment.
Love, the Sommerfeldts
PS Our Internet has been down and I couldn't post the blog. Everyone went on Easter Vacation - even our Internet.
The scone night went great and Fatima showed up, for which we were thrilled! It's Tuesday night and we are madly baking cinnamon rolls from left over scone dough. I made 6 batches instead of 4. If I can keep Will out of the cinnamon buns, it will be another miracle. The missionaries coming into the office are really getting spoiled.
Monday, April 6, 2009
This past week has been very different. Last week Will was asked by President Acerson if he would be willing to fly back to Utah with an elder who was ill and needed to return home. Of course Will said he was happy to help however he could. It was all a little vague and we weren’t sure if it would happen or not. Then, Tuesday evening, about 9:30 the assistants showed up at our door and said that Will would be picked up at 6:30 the following morning so he could be taken to the airport. We had been at English class at the Church and also our cell phone wasn’t working. As it turned out, the elder had a seizure the next morning and so even though Will was picked up at 6:30, I still wasn’t sure if he had left for the states until I arrived at work.
The flight home was a little insane as Will and the other elder had to change planes in New York. City. Actually they had to take a taxi to New Jersey to continue on their flight home. The other elder was so weak when they arrived in Salt Lake that Will wheeled him out in a wheelchair to meet his family. His mother burst into tears when she saw him. This elder, a super missionary, is 6’1” and weighs 95 lbs. He is a very sick young man.
Will didn’t fly out of Salt Lake to come back to Italy until Saturday morning. Needless to say, he has been a bit tired since his return. He was in Utah just long enough to try and get his internal time clock changed to Utah time and then flew back across the world. He was able to talk to Bret on the phone and see several of his own children and grandchildren. In fact, they had a traditional family Easter Egg Hunt on Friday. Will was also able to attend an endowment session at the Draper Temple with Jim and Maray. No one was more surprised to see Will than our sweet little neighbor Norma, who lives across the street from us in Draper.
While Will was away, I had a P-day and Cam Ballantyne was in town with some friends. Cam is Peter’s brother. These four young adults were good enough to put up with my company during Saturday. As I traveled downtown to meet them, I was kicked off the bus twice because there was a Communist demonstration going on downtown. When I finally did meet up with them, we took a tour of the Coliseum and the Roman Forum. The tour guide was very informative, even though you had to listen pretty closely as he was speaking fast, broken English. It is really warming up here and the day was a gorgeous one. After treating everyone to gelato at the end of the afternoon, rain clouds were sputtering and I rode the bus home while Cam and his group returned to their lodgings for a nap before their night rendezvous.
Sunday morning, Will arrived about 8:30 at the airport. He slept on and off a good part of the day, trying to get turned around the right direction once again. In the evening, we invited the other mission office couple over to the house to watch the Saturday morning session of conference on the computer and have dessert with us.
Then, early this morning, about 3:30 we experienced an earthquake here in Italy. The epicenter was about 70 miles from us in L’Aquila. Our missionaries there were not harmed, but many lives were lost and much damage sustained. We felt our entire apartment building swaying back and forth for about a minute.
So you can see that we do not lack for adventure. Hope you enjoy the pictures and are maybe even checking out a little Italian history.
Love and Hugs,
The Sommerfeldts
The flight home was a little insane as Will and the other elder had to change planes in New York. City. Actually they had to take a taxi to New Jersey to continue on their flight home. The other elder was so weak when they arrived in Salt Lake that Will wheeled him out in a wheelchair to meet his family. His mother burst into tears when she saw him. This elder, a super missionary, is 6’1” and weighs 95 lbs. He is a very sick young man.
Will didn’t fly out of Salt Lake to come back to Italy until Saturday morning. Needless to say, he has been a bit tired since his return. He was in Utah just long enough to try and get his internal time clock changed to Utah time and then flew back across the world. He was able to talk to Bret on the phone and see several of his own children and grandchildren. In fact, they had a traditional family Easter Egg Hunt on Friday. Will was also able to attend an endowment session at the Draper Temple with Jim and Maray. No one was more surprised to see Will than our sweet little neighbor Norma, who lives across the street from us in Draper.
While Will was away, I had a P-day and Cam Ballantyne was in town with some friends. Cam is Peter’s brother. These four young adults were good enough to put up with my company during Saturday. As I traveled downtown to meet them, I was kicked off the bus twice because there was a Communist demonstration going on downtown. When I finally did meet up with them, we took a tour of the Coliseum and the Roman Forum. The tour guide was very informative, even though you had to listen pretty closely as he was speaking fast, broken English. It is really warming up here and the day was a gorgeous one. After treating everyone to gelato at the end of the afternoon, rain clouds were sputtering and I rode the bus home while Cam and his group returned to their lodgings for a nap before their night rendezvous.
Sunday morning, Will arrived about 8:30 at the airport. He slept on and off a good part of the day, trying to get turned around the right direction once again. In the evening, we invited the other mission office couple over to the house to watch the Saturday morning session of conference on the computer and have dessert with us.
Then, early this morning, about 3:30 we experienced an earthquake here in Italy. The epicenter was about 70 miles from us in L’Aquila. Our missionaries there were not harmed, but many lives were lost and much damage sustained. We felt our entire apartment building swaying back and forth for about a minute.
So you can see that we do not lack for adventure. Hope you enjoy the pictures and are maybe even checking out a little Italian history.
Love and Hugs,
The Sommerfeldts
Sunday, March 29, 2009
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