Occasionally we reach the top of one summit in life

Today in Sunday school we read this great quote by Elder Ballard.  I wanted to share it with anyone who reads my blog because I think it has meaning for each of us.  It meant a lot to me.  We are just about half way through our mission and even though we are at the top of one summit, I am sure there are more mountain peaks ahead, higher and more challenging than the one we have just traversed.

It seems like that is just how life is.

Here is his quote from April 1997 general conference:

"Life isn't always easy.  At some point in our journey we may feel much as the pioneers did as they crossed Iowa-- up to our knees in mud, forced to bury some of our dreams along the way.  We all face rocky ridges with the wind in our face and winter coming on too soon.  sometimes it seems as though there is no end to the dust that stings our eyes and clouds our vision.  Sharp edges of despair and discouragement jut out of the terrain to slow our passage.  Always, there is a Devil's gate which will swing wide open to lure us in.  Those who are wise and faithful will steer a course as far from such temptations as possible, while others ---sometimes those nearest and dearest to us--succumb to the attraction of ease, comfort, convenience, and rest.  Occasionally we reach the top of one summit in life, as the pioneers did, only to see more mountain peaks ahead, higher and more challenging than the one we have just traversed.  Tapping unseen reservoirs of faith and endurance, we, as did our forbears, inch ever toward that day when our voices can join with those of all pioneers who have endured in faith, singing: "All is well!  All is well!"

Christmas in Narni, Italy

We have stayed in an agriturismo bed and breakfast that is a farm up in the mountains about an hour north of Rome.  It is a working farm with all kinds of animals.  They have a lovely swimming pool for their summer guests, but it was too cold to swim this time of year.  We woke up to a nice continental breakfast and afterwards went exploring around the farm. 

We saw Mr and Mrs Claus. (AKA President and sister Waddoups)

Then we drove over by a town called Tierini where we saw the beautiful water falls called cascata  delle Marmore.  On our way there we saw Santa galloping down the street on his horse.

It took us all by surprise, and we wondered if he had fallen out of his sleigh on his way back to he North Pole.

The falls were quite amazing.  They are the largest man made waterfalls in the world.  They were built by the ancient Romans in 271 BC.  To get rid of some marshy lands that were causing malaria, the canal was built to divert the river over the cliffs and down to the Nero river below.  It is amazing that it was designed and built way before Christ was born.  Google "Cascata delle Marmore" for more historical information.  It's quite interesting.

After our walk to th falls, we went back to our bed and breakfast for an Italian Christmas feast; the likes of which you can not believe.  We had at least 9 courses.  I tried to take a picture every time I had a different plate of food.  Here we all are before th food arrived, when we could each still smile and look comfortable.

The pits were from three olives that were so yummy.  From top and around clockwise, some sort of deep fried artichoke bits, a spinach filled pastry, something like an Italian cheese quesadea.

I hadn't finished the artichoke things but then came a deep fried rice and cheese ball, ( really yummy)  a ba on wrapped roasted potato with sage, and to the far left was some sort of yummy liver, not sure whose.

Fantastic tortellini soup.

I forgot to take a picture of the bolognese lasagne, which came next.  Believe me when I say, "it was fantastic!"

Green beans, turkey and potato carrot mix

Then we had shredded pork, which I forgot to take a picture of, I was so happy to eat it, and then came this big slice of fatted pork that I gave to Paul because I was starting to get full and we were't close to being done yet.

Next was roasted potatoes and lamb!  Wow, it was incredible!

Th we had fruit.  These mandarin oranges were really good.  All from this farm.

Next comes the first course of dolce (sweets).  A traditional Christmas cake called panatone.  It's kind of dry and not very good.  Every one gets at least ten for Christmas and they take the ones they receive and give them to other relatives and friends.  This is the Italian version of fruit cake. The chocolate and white candy below were alright.

The traditional dessert to end the feast is Tiramisu, but it's made with coffee, so we declined and they brought out this cold custard dish that was very tasty and we all were happy to see dinner end.

What a meal though.  I think we ate for about 3 hours!  

We all returned to our rooms and called kids and family.  It was a memorable Christmas.  We all missed family and would have preferred to be with them, but this was a really nice day being that we were in Italy and not able to be with family.   

The owner of the agriturismo is in the middle.  Here we are just as we were about to leave on Thursday.

Christmas Eve

After our delightful trip to Narni, we came home and gathered whatever snacks we had bought at a little snack store in Narni, and we brought it downstairs for our Christmas Eve gathering.

We had a little missionary Christmas Eve program.  First, we sang Christmas songs.  Then we had a Christmas quiz that came from the children's section of the Liahona, all about the first Christmas.  Then each couple shared their favorite christmas a story.  We all pretty much cried through all of those! Then sister Waddoups brought props and we reinacted the nativity story.  The Wilkins were Mary and Joseph! I was an angel and Paul was one of the Kings. Sister Steuer was the star and elder Steuer was Samuel the Lamanite.  President Waddoups was a shepherd and sister Waddoups was a donkey.  It was a fun to be involved in the actual dressing up.  Here are some of the cast members all dressed up!

Then we ate our Christmas Eve feast of oranges, apples, ritz crackers, bread and jam, and chocolate pumpkin cookies.  We all got to bed fairly early after a wonderful day.

Narni (Narnia)

We have taken a road trip for Christmas with three other senior couples.  We are staying in a agritourisimo place between Narni and Tierini in the Umbria part of Italy, north of Rome.  Oh my!  It is such a beautiful place.  Today we went to the nearby town of Narni, where CS Lewis got the inspiration for the title of his books about Narnia.  The town use to be called Narnia.  It's a beautiful old old walled town up on the top of a mountain.  Th streets are all cobblestone and so narrow.  Every turn, I want to take a picture of  the old old buildings, doorways, or town piazza's which are small gathering places for people to talk and sit. 

                                             Sister Miriam Steuer and I 

 

 Look at the little shoes up on the window ledge.

We had a yummy lunch with hot bean and mushroom soup.  Then we had cold cuts with a lot of different salami's and cheeses and yummy bread.

We found the street named September 20th which is a popular street name in most Italian towns.  Italy was unified on September 20, 1870, when the people rose up against the Vatican and the church and unified most of all the separate Italian states.  Now every town has a September 20th street that leads to the town cathedral.  Here are us 4 sister missionaries along with two random Narni citizens.

Rome

We got to stop by the Rome temple today and see its progress.  They are starting to remove some of the scaffolding.  So now we could see the color of the granite exterior walls.

The steeple had been added to the stake center which is one of four buildings including the temple.  There is a round visitor center and also housing for temple patrons and workers.  It looks like progress is being made.  When all th scaffolding is removed then we think they will be starting on the interior.  The interior is suppose to roughly take 1 year to complete.  It's exciting.

Miracle in Sicily

We made a quick trip to Sicily on Monday.  One of our sister missionaries needed to pick up her permisso down in Catania on Tuesday morning, so after zone conference in Napoli, Paul and I and our two sister missionaries from Battipaglia drove 8 hours to Sicily.  

We had to take a ferry over from Messina to Sicily and then drive 45 minutes to Catania.  Mt. Etna was errupting and so we got to see the bright lava spews going up and then it looked like a river a fire going down the side of the mountain.  It was quite cool looking.  We arrived about 10:30 at night and took the sisters to stay with the Catania sister missionaries! and we got a cute bed and breakfast near by.  In the morning we were at the questura 15 minutes before it opened and we dropped off the sisters to get their permisso. A permisso is like a visa which allows us missionaries to be in Italy legally.  The place was only open until 12:30, so we hoped she could pick it up in that time.  After two hours, sister Gio called us and said they started with #42 and she was #70.  There were 20 people from the day before who had their names recorded and they got #42-61. Unfortunately, after two hours they were only up to #46.  It looked like she wouldn't be able to get it before they closed.  We had to return home that afternoon, because we were giving another sister a ride from Catania up to Battipaglia and then to Rome on Wednesday! as her missin as over and she was flying home on Thursday.  Due to Mt. Etna errupting, the airports in Sicily were closed, and so we had to leave Tuesday afternoon.  

I am sure all of us were praying silently that somehow, sister Gio would be able to get her permisso.  

The Lord heard and answered our prayers in a mighty way.  There was no doubt that a miracle had happened.  With less than a half an hour before closing, and the questura was only on #51, a man gave the sisters his number.  He said that he knew some missionaries several years ago in Egypt and knew they were good people.  He had #52.  #52 was the last #called that day! ....and sister Gio was able to get her permisso.  We were all so thankful!  You can not imagine how miraculous that was!  We know this is the Lord's work.  No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing... Not even the unorganized questura!

We were able to go down to the center of town to see the cool duomo and elephant square.

Last fall on our cruise we visited Catania and it was neat to see it again.  We walked through the outdoor fish market that we saw last year.  I have no idea why there is a statue of an elephant here but it is quite remarkable and memorable. The cathedral is beautiful that borders one side of the square.

As we parked our car, sister Gio recognized Brother Paola who is LDS. He was selling his vegetables near the outdoor markets.  We stopped and talked to him.  He has been a member for 42 years and he was so so happy to see us four missionaries.  He gave us three bags of fresh fruits and vegetables.

We then met up with sister Fuller, to give her a ride back to Rome.  We stoppd at a granita place to get a lemon granita, which is a combination shaved ice/ice cream.  We watched sister Fuller share the gospel with the young man who was serving us.

He said he wanted to know about our church and what we believe happens to us after we die.

So she got one last referral before leaving Messina. Our own, sister Mathews,who use to serve in Battipaglia, now serves in Messina, so we called her to give her the referral. It was great to talk to her again.

We made it home safely Tuesday night and then left Wednesday morning to drive sister Fuller to Rome.

We are back home again tonight and we are thankful for safe travel, and for these great young missionaries who are so wonderful.  It is a privledge to serve with them here in Italy.

Jon's Reception

                                                       Nathan and Kaleb

                                                     Paul and Sarah and five

                                                Shelly and Ryan and family

                                                   Roland and Lizzy 

                            Breezy and kids

                       Dan and Kylie and kids

                                                      Tommy and Cam

                                                           Mike and Christy

                                    Jon and Kenzie with most of the grandkids

                                                Scherbel brothers

                                         Seven granddaughters seven and under

                 Most all the Scherbels .....but missing Mike, Rhett, Sarah, and Carrie