Branch Service Project

A member of our branch, Marisa, used to work with a lady who has had some serious health issues over the last ten years.  In our Branch Counsel meeting we discussed doing a service project for her.  Her name is Anna and yesterday we stacked firewood for her for the winter.  It took us about 2 1/2 hours and then we enjoyed a meal together.  Anna fixed some things and we brought some things.  The missionaries shared a message with her and Marisa gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon.

 The pile of wood was huge.

We started a human chain of workers.

 Brother Raveau and Brother Rossi  getting the stack started.

 Sorella Bennett said she does this every year with her family in Utah.

 The king of the stack.

 The completed stack.

 Sorelle Brown, Montagnoli, Bennett and Jefferies doing a little clean up work with the broom.

Lots of good food.

The missionaries were tired but happy.

Erica, Ariele, Gloria and Max had worked up an appetite.

This was a perfect date to celebrate our 42 years of marriage together September 1.

Bern Switzerland Temple

Last week we were able to go to the temple in Bern, Switzerland.  A youth group from our District went and we were asked to accompany them.  We got permission from our Mission President since the temple is out of our mission.  We went with the Rossi's who were going to work in the temple for the week.  The drive to Switzerland was absolutely beautiful.  Switzerland has four official languages - German, French, Italian and Swiss.  In the temple we heard all of those languages and English and Spanish.  I thought it would be confusing like the tower of Babel.  But instead there was order, peace and a wonderful spirit of brotherhood. It was an amazing experience.

 With Brother and Sister Rossi at Simplon Pass in the Alps.

 A huge eagle statue at Simplon Pass.

 This temple was built in 1955.  The little town of Zollikofen, just outside of Bern, was not happy that the Church was building the temple there.  There was a petition signed by many of the residents protesting it because they thought it would ruin their little town.  It was discovered that the site was not actually in Zollikofen but in another suburb of Bern and that little community had no problem with the construction of the temple.  Once the temple was completed and they saw how beautiful it was, Zollikofen has claimed it as one of their tourist attractions.

 Sorella Jefferies was able to attend 13 sessions and Anziano attended 10 sessions and 3 baptismal sessions.

 On Thursday we were assigned to spend some time with the youth group so we played games with them in a park close to the temple.  They enjoyed making a pyramid.

 Sorella Jefferies liked this unique merry-go-round.

 We ate lunch with them in the basement of the guest house.

 One of the temple workers in the temple stopped me in the lobby of the temple and asked me if I had ever been on a mission in Bari.  I looked at his name tag and saw that his name tag said Antonio Petroni.  When I was a young missionary in Bari, Italy,  Antonio was a single, 22 year old member of the Bari Branch.  He and his wife work in the Swiss Temple every summer.  We spent the evening together talking about the members and missionaries from Bari.

 One afternoon we took the train into Bern, which is the national capital of Switzerland.  This is one of the clock towers in the city.

 This is one of the many banks in the city.

 This is the Swiss Parliament building.

 In an outdoor market we ordered a ham and cheese crepe.

 It was really good.

 My companion liked it too.

 This shop had some mighty fine desserts.

 This apple fritter type thing was to die for.

 This apple turnover was also very good.

 The trip back to Italy took us through some beautiful valleys.

 We rode on two trains going back to Italy.

 You drive your car onto a train and it takes you through a tunnel.

 Looking over Brother Rossi's shoulder.  Going through these tunnels saves quite a bit of time.

Near the border of Switzerland and Italy.

Clothes Dryer

We have a clothes dryer in our apartment but it has been nice to hang out the wash  on our clothesline this summer.  Italians love to use the clothesline.  The clothes dry faster and other than the towels, they feel nice drying in the breeze.  However, Sorella Jefferies is quite particular how she likes this done and Anziano Jefferies can't quite get in line with her system.  In fact, there is a little difficulty between us as we do this task together but in the end we usually are laughing at each other and having a good time.  Sorella Jefferies hangs the important things and Anziano Jefferies is relagated to socks and washclothes.

Morning Exercise

As you all know, eating good food is an art form in Italy.  Italians do not know or care about low fat, sugar- free or low carb food.  As you can see from our blog, we have pretty much mastered this art form.  About three weeks ago we decided that we needed some exercise.  We tried walking on the sidewalks and streets of our neighborhood but between the cars, bikes and motor scooters, it wasn't much fun.  So we found a beautiful park near our apartment and we try to go there every morning to walk for exercise.  We walk to warm up, we do stairs and we jog.  It is perfect to get us going in the morning.

Carmine's Baptism

Yesterday we went to Pesaro for the baptism of Carmine.  I had the privilege of interviewing him three days before his baptism.  He is 62 years old and has been studying with the missionaries for about 18 months.  He said something that I thought was very interesting.  He said that he wished that he would have found the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when he was in his 20's but, he continued, maybe I needed a lifetime of experiences so that when I met the missionaries, I was ready to hear their message.  He is a very nice man and he will be a wonderful addition to the Pesaro Branch.

 Carmine with the most recent missionaries to teach him, Anziani Valentine and Simcox.

 With Brother Falchi, who baptized him and the branch president, Presidente Di Nuzzo.

With Anziano and Sorella Jefferies. 

Ancona

We went to Ancona the other day to do an apartment inspection.  It's about 2 hours from Forli.  It is on the Adriatic Sea.  Cruise ships and ferries stop at the Port of Ancona.  The city is built on several hills and it has a feel and look of San Francisco.

 World War II Monument.

 Views from the monument.

 All the pleasure boats.

The Adriactic Sea.