March 22, 2022

Hello to all of our family and friends,

These last two weeks have been full.  We have seen the agencies that we work with turning all of their energies into helping the people fleeing Ukraine.  First, our Church is at the forefront, helping at the border of Poland and Ukraine, taking food, clothing, sim cards, shuttling people to train stations where the refugees can get on a train and travel to family members throughout Europe.  Latter-day Saint Charities is also helping with many organizations who are taking food, clothing, blankets, sleeping bags and other necessities into Ukraine and the 4 surrounding countries.  There are so many good people who want to serve those in need. This organization we work with (see below) delivers needed items to Siret, Romania, 1 km from the Ukraine border, and plans to take food directly into Ukraine. 

                   Food, clothing, & other items for refugees in Ukraine, boxed and loaded by Progetto Arca  

       

On Friday we traveled to Verona where a Zone Conference was held for the missionaries in the Verona Zone.  We saw very little of Verona, but the Zone Conference, conducted by the Young Missionary Leaders, was excellent.  We had an appointment in Trento, north of Verona, so left the meeting during a break for lunch.  The drive to Trento was amazing, as Trento is situated at the base of the Italian Alps.  In Trento we met with an agency called JRS Centro Astalli Trento.  The Church helped this group to purchase beds, make a social room/kitchen where the refugees, mostly men from Pakistan, can eat, mingle and learn Italian.  In Italy, when a refugee enters the country, paperwork needs to be done which, when complete, allows the refugee to work, get help from the government, and begin life.  In order to get the paperwork, the refugees need an address where the government can find them.  This agency gives the refugees a place to stay while waiting for the documents needed. Again, the personnel working at these agencies give much of their lives in helping people they don't know, trying to give them a better life.  

The Verona Zone Conference, March 18, 2022

Traveling to Trento among the amazing mountains and villages

Saturday we attended at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for another agency that helps to feed        the refugees and poor here in Italy.  In the past, most agencies would hand individuals and families a box of food and hope that it met their needs.  Many agencies are opening Emporiums, or little markets where individuals and families meet with a "listener" and are given so many points on a card that can be spent at the store.   These families have a choice of what they eat.  Dignity is given to them.  At the ceremony today, the Bishop (the one who reports directly to the Pope) said that they hope to have many other Emporiums throughout Northern Italy to help those in need. He thanked the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for helping make it possible to open this food bank.  

                 Bryan and Becky, with Bishop Mario, and the Pres. of Caritas Ambrosiana, Luciano  

We have been asked by our Leaders in Milan to attend Church in Lecco, a city close to the Alps.  It is a beautiful city with amazing vistas.  Bryan has been asked to serve as 2nd Counselor in the Bishopric, to assist the Bishop in working with the Nigerians who speak English rather than Italian.  Two meetings are held each Sunday, one at 9:30 AM for the Italian members, and one at 12 noon for the Nigerians, who speak English.  Bryan conducts the weekly Sacrament meetings for the Nigerians, the baptismal services, and conducts interviews with the Nigerians.  We have had three baptisms in the month since we have been here, all with the Nigerian members.  The baptisms are performed in other meetinghouses, since Lecco does not have a baptismal font.  Two of the baptisms were held in Como, and one was held in  a city called Muggio, a northern suburb of Milan.  Both cities are nearly an hour drive from Lecco.  It has been fun to get acquainted with the members. 

             Becky and Bryan with Morrison and Alex on Sunday, March 20, 2022in Muggio, Italy

                                 Bryan, Becky, Sandra, Kelly, Abdul and Jessica in Dossi, Italy,

                Abdul and Jessica were in our first blog.  They greeted us with the biggest smile

We revisited the Nigerian Refugee Association in the mountains in Dossi, Italy. Jessica, a former refugee herself started a housing project to help fellow Nigerian refugees get a start in Italy and to help them get their documents in order.  We met Abdul six weeks ago when we first arrived.  He was so sad.  Today he greeted us with a huge smile, and hugged us.  Jessica has helped him find hope.  I told Jessica that she lived in such a beautiful place.  She looked up and said, "It is pretty.  I hadn't thought of it as being beautiful.  I was just glad for a place to live.  I will love it more."    

 

Bryan and I love Italy, the people we meet, and the places we visit.  We send you our love and best wishes.