Monday, May 25, 2009

Francesco cooking "Real Italian" in our kitchen

Two pastas - different than you have ever tasted - absolutely delicious

Leg of lamb, potatoes, done with garlic and rosemary

Delicious beef, bacon, cheese, rosemary dish with cherry tomatoes

I think all we do is eat!

Suddenly, we are getting all sorts of invitations to eat at member’s homes, and have investigators to our apartment for an American meal. One investigator, Francesco, came to our apartment and cooked us a several course real Italian meal. It was our first one and WOW – good stuff. I am taking Italian cooking lessons by helping him in the kitchen, and helping with the meal at the several members’ homes. Some of the meals are simple, and some are several courses. Pasta has a whole new meaning to us – no red tomato sauce, but very delicious food.

The members here are so totally dedicated to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It takes many of the families from 45 minutes to an hour and a half just to drive to church. (or take the bus, which many of them have to do) Friday night there was a talent show and dance (and of course food) at the church. It was so much fun and allowed us to get to know people in the ward better.

Tonight we are inviting Francesco to our apartment and serving him a roast beef, potatoes and gravy, salad, rolls, banana cream pie type of dinner. The Italians are just as interested in trying our food as we are in trying theirs.

We suggested last night at Vacarono’s house that they pray about a family that we could teach the gospel to. Then we suggested that we cook an American meal for them to try. They thought that would go over great. If anyone would like to invest in the missionary fund, send money for food – roast beef costs money. Jokes – kind of!

We will probably extend the same invitation to the Garcia family on Wednesday. I love cooking, everyone loves to eat, and that seems to soften up the hearing glands so the gospel can be taught. The young missionaries love it because we can’t speak the language well enough to go it alone, so they come along to translate, eat, and teach the lesson. We bear testimony and it seems to work well for everyone.

So, our more relaxed schedule has changed. Now we have scripture study in the morning, work at the office all day, coming home at noon for language study, and then are out in the evening to English class or at someone’s home. Or they are at our home. Missionary work is not for the faint of heart. But it is so exciting that we love it!

On the weekend, we traveled to Terni by car. This is a city to the north of Rome where we have missionaries living. It is fun to see the different areas. The drive was beautiful and we ate an interesting meal at noon at an outdoor patio type of restaurant. The travel is also good for us because we are in charge of train schedules during transfers, and as we see the countryside we are more aware of where the missionaries are traveling and what routes they need to take.

Field of wild poppies just outside Rome

Amphitheatre on way to Terni - 4th century BC - next to the ancient city of Sutri

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Palace: Reggia di Caserta

In trying to keep up with the missionaries that come into the office with a full cookie jar, we decided to drive down to Caserta by Napoli again this weekend to buy baking supplies at the Naval Base. There is a missionary couple, the Warner’s, in our mission stationed there, which makes it convenient to get on base. They are very hospitable and allow us to sleep over when we go their direction.

On Saturday, we toured the Palace: Reggia di Caserta, which is a sister palace to the Palace of Versailles. The entry way is very impressive, but the grand staircase, where the Lord and Lady of the Palace greeted their guests, is amazing. In true Will fashion, the “hat” pictures by the lion are some of my favorites. The hat belonged to Elder Warner, but Will had a lot of fun with it.
We are including several pictures inside and outside the palace. We walked for two hours to see all the rooms on one floor inside. The rooms are full of murals, framed paintings, some period furniture, and some tapestry. There was even a theatre room. In it was a huge display for the Nativity. At first it really seemed overdone, but when you realized that the artists’ intention was to show everything else that was going on at the time of the birth of Christ, the congestion made more sense. This display – behind glass – filled the entire room.

"The witch, the lion, and the wardrobe"

Will / the hat/ the lion

What you see as you are walking up the grand staircase!

Above grand staircase

Entry way to Palace

Lord of the Palace crowned with victory

Painted Ceiling in one of the rooms

Nativity

The grounds were equally impressive, stretching toward the mountain about 1 km away. They included huge lawns, treed areas, statues, fountains, fish ponds, bridges, and a waterfall coming down the mountain at the end.

View from Palace into "back yard"

Karen outside of Palace: Reggia di Caserta