YSA Activity

Last Saturday evening we attended a Young Single Adult activity in the Rimini District.  We have just been called to be on the YSA council to help plan and put on activities.  We met in the church in Rimini and had dinner, visited, and watched A Muppet Christmas Carol in Italian with English subtitles.  Above are (l to r) Marco, Miriam and Mila. 

 After a game of Foosball, Miriam fixed piadina.  Marco brought vegetable balls with yogurt dip and chicken.

 Costanza brought delicious bread and salad.

They could all speak a little English so Deanne loved talking to them.  We all enjoyed the good food and the movie.  It was a great start for December and the Christmas season.

Dinner with the Raveau Family

 Last week we invited the Raveau family to our apartment for dinner.  Xavier and I had a branch presidency meeting, we ate dinner, and then played games.  Xavier is from France so we decided to have french toast in his honor.  Of course, french toast is not French but they loved it, especially with a little peanut butter on the side.  We also had hash brown potatoes and bacon and rice krispie treats for dessert.

 Elodie loved playing Don't Eat Pete.

Since we used peanut M&Ms, Deanne loved playing too.

Mutual Activities

 A few weeks ago, the Young Women had a mutual activity to learn how to make pasta.  Gloria is the only young woman in the branch so Deanne decided that she would learn along with Gloria.

 Gloria and Mom cut up the zucchini, garlic and ham.

 Brother Rossi was the expert and taught the ladies how to make pasta from scratch.

 We all got into the act of cutting and separating the noodles.

 After the noodles were cooked, they went into the frying pan with the other ingredients.

 A little parmesan cheese added on top.

 The results were delicious.

 Last week the Young Men and Young Women in the branch prepared dinner for the leaders.

The youth did a terrific job and we all enjoyed the food.

Thanksgiving Day In Italy

 Our Thanksgiving meal.  We had turkey sandwiches, potato salad, cheese puffs, potato chips, apple crumble and ice cream.

 And a second helping of apple crumble and ice cream.

And then Deanne decorated our little Christmas tree.  We have so much to be thankful for.  We are in a country that we love with people that we love.  We have such wonderful family and friends.  We are truly blessed and are grateful for a kind and loving Heavenly Father and His Son, our Savior and Redeemer.

An Afternoon in Rimini

We had a meeting in Rimini last night so we decided to spend the afternoon checking out the city.  Rimini was built by the Romans in 268 BC. 

 Construction of this bridge was started under Caesar Augustus in 14 AD and completed under Tiberius in 21 AD.  It is made of limestone and recent inspections have shown that the massive stone piers rest on wooden piles driven into the ground under the river which are still intact.  Cars and pedestrians use this bridge.

 This is the Arch of Augustus.  It was built under Caesar Augustus in 27 BC.  It was the main entrance to the city of Rimini.  It is hard to imagine that it still stands and it was built before the birth of Christ.

 These are the ruins of a Roman amphitheater that was built between 116 and 138 AD.  It could seat about 12,000 people.

This is the Tempio Malatestiana built during the 13th century by the Malatesta family which was a very rich and powerful family in Rimini.  After it was built, the family fell out of favor with the Catholic Church and the Pope at the time condemned it as a place of Satan worshipers.  It has since been reinstated and is again used as a Catholic cathedral.  

Happy Birthday Deanne

 After the District Meeting we had a little birthday party since we would not meet again until after Deanne's birthday.  Left to right are:  Sisters Bunker, Pearce and Jefferies and Elders Owens, D'Addabbo, Christensen, Iacovelli, Sanacuore and Modugno.  These missionaries are amazing.  They are hard-working, good young people.  The Church is in good hands with young people like these preparing to become leaders.

 Deanne with her "adopted daughters" Sorella Pearce and Sorella Bunker.

Then on her real birthday we took Anziano Christensen and Anziano D'Addabbo to a restaurant for lunch. 

We then had a birthday brownie and ice cream at our apartment and Deanne thought that was the end of the festivities.

 At about 9:30 pm fifteen members of the Forli Branch (that's just about all of them) surprised Deanne at our door.  They brought food and goodies and we had another party.

 Sister Flamini made this delicious birthday cake.

 The birthday girl with Sister Tarroni.

 With Elodi and Sister Rossi.

 With Erica Raveau.

And with her gifts which included a scarf, ceramic pitcher, puzzle, card signed by everyone and Swiss chocolate.  So after all of that, and a couple of Tums, Deanne's birthday came to an end.

Castles and Fortresses

 This is a castle in San Marino.  San Marino is a country surrounded by Italy.  It is the oldest Republic in the world.  It is about an hour from Forli.

 It was a windy day in San Marino but it was clear and the view from the top of the mountain was spectacular.

 This is the fortress of Meldola, which is about 15 minutes from Forli.  They are presently restoring this building so you can't go in it right now.

This is the fortress in Castrocaro, which is about 20 minutes from Forli.  All of these structures date from 1000 to 1300.  This country, before it was a unified Italy, was full of city-states that were their own countries and they battled each other for land and resources.  You can see that these fortresses built on hills were virtually impregnable and protected these city-states from being taken over by opposing forces.