August 22, 2022

             

        Becky & Bryan, at the Rome Temple

Last week was quite a miracle for our Nigerian group in Lecco, who went to the temple in Rome, for their first time at a temple.  The story actually started 6 years ago, when two of the people, “Monday” and “Peace,” came here from Africa by boat.  Three months before their journey, Peace’s brother and all others onboard his boat were lost at sea and drowned, trying to come to Italy.  A violent storm at sea also threatened the boat that Monday and Peace were on, and they were afraid that they would also drown.  Peace had faith, and told everyone that if they similarly had faith and would all pray, the Lord would save them.  They did all pray, and although they lost all their belongings, food, and clothing overboard, only one person of the 171 was drowned.  Years later, Monday and Peace met the missionaries here in Italy, and were baptized.  The others in our group similarly came to Italy from Africa by boat, but were only baptized in the last 3-6 months.  We have been planning this trip to the temple with the Nigerian group for about 4 months, and we were so happy that this finally happened.  . 

                 

                            Monday, Peace, and Jessica, at the Rome Temple, August 16, 2022                                                                             

On Monday, August 15, as we departed for the temple, everyone was 30-60 minutes early for the train in Lecco, to travel to Milan.  But sadly, we learned that the train was cancelled, so we took another train, which had many stops.  That train hit someone on the track and killed them, so they stopped the train and told everyone to get off.  Fortunately, they told us to get back on and they would continue.  But by then, the train was so delayed that they had to change plans and not continue to Milan.  We had to take the Metro a distance, then a bus, and finally made it to Milan, where we were to take our train to Rome.  We were 10 minutes late for our train to Rome.  When we tried to change our tickets for a later train to Rome, they would not give us any credit for our tickets, and we had to pay 900 Euros for new tickets.  The train ride from Milan to Rome was about 5 hours, and was restful, after such a hectic morning. When we arrived in Rome, we tried for over an hour to get a van or taxis, to get from the train station to the Temple, but had no luck.  We called several companies, but no one could help us.  We finally took the Metro, then a bus, and made it to the Temple 2 hours later.  When we arrived, it reminded us a bit of the stories of the handcart pioneers arriving in the SL valley--where they had no murmuring or moaning after an arduous journey, just instead, sheer joy to arrive. Our group was overwhelmed to see the beautiful temple, and to know that they would now be able to enjoy the blessings of the House of the Lord.  Most of us stayed in the Patron Housing, and they allowed us to cook in their kitchen.  They Nigerians cooked their native food, which we had brought with us.  On Tuesday morning, Monday and Peace were dressed in their best clothes 2 hours early.  Later, at Noon during the Sealing session, as their baby Jessica was brought into the room and joined them at the altar, we could hardly refrain from tears.  Truly, this was a miracle for Monday and Peace, and for everyone in our little group.  

     

                           Becky & Bryan, with our Nigerian group, at the Rome Temple, Aug. 16, 2022

We also had the opportunity to visit the Rome Visitor Center, where the Christus statue is prominent, along with the original 12 Apostles behind the Savior.  It is stunning to behold. We feel so happy that we were able to visit this beautiful place, where the spirit of love is felt in abundance.  A fellow Humanitarian Services senior couple, the Guymon's, were there to assist us, as they were helping out in the Visitor Center. It was great to meet our fellow missionaries.

              Rome Temple Visitor's Center, with the Christus statue, along with statues of the Twelve Apostles

On Wednesday we did a little more temple work, then we had two vans take us to the train station in Rome.  There, we took a train back to Milan, then another train to Lecco.  We had no detours this time, and we had time to reflect on the great experiences we had with our wonderful Nigerian friends, plus one friend from Venezuela, and a young Italian, Stefano Da Ponte, who came with us to assist us.  We will also forever be grateful to Marco Dal Zatto and his wife and family, who drove from Lecco to be with Monday and Peace for their sealing.   

          

              Left: Bryan, with Collins, Monday, & Romanus.   Right: Alex, Ijeoma, & family, at the Visitor's Center.

The week previous to going to Rome, we had the opportunity to visit with some of the young missionaries in 6 cities, to do apartment inspections.  We monitor and help them with repairs, trash removal, and cleaning.  The apartments we checked are in Alzano Lombardo, Bergamo,  Lecco, Como and in Lugano, Switzerland.  We took four days to check all these apartments, due to the travel time between cities/apartments, along with our other Humanitarian services.  It was a great opportunity to sit down and chat with these missionaries and get to know them, as we try to assist them with their apartments.  Some apartments needed a few items, and others had extra items that were not needed, which we were able to take to other apartments where they were needed. While we were in Lugano, Switzerland, the Sisters took us to a grocery store that sold Swiss Chocolate for good prices. The Sisters there needed a ride to Como (on the Swiss/Italian border) to pick up a phone, then we returned to Alzano Lombardo.  We'll always have fond memories of getting to know the young missionaries, similar to what we did on our last mission, in Cape Verde..

 

After returning from church yesterday, we received a text from our son Steve that another son, Ben, had been lost in Alaska, where he was visiting.  He got separated from others while driving a 4 wheeler.  He spent the night in the woods, lost and cold.  Late yesterday afternoon, we had another miracle. About 10 AM Alaska time, Search and Rescue teams found him, and he is fine.  We are so relieved.

We send you our love and best wishes.

Bryan and Becky