Trip to Avalino

We had a good lesson around the kitchen table with Flavia, her aunt Delia, her grandma, and nephew Americo.  The elders had prepared a lesson to teach her family about the doctrine of Christ, which is faith, repentance, baptism, Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  We read so many good scriptures together.  Elder Ostler has only been in Italy for two weeks now, and he gave several parts of the lesson.  He did a great job. Elder Taylor has only 4 more weeks before he goes home.  He bore a beautiful testimony at the end.  Americo hung on to every word.   But something is holding back the aunt and grandmother, we don't know what.  Americo wants to come to church with Flavia.  He is reading his Book of Mormon .  But his mom thinks he is too young and she does not want him to come.  They like us coming to visit and even to teach, but they don't want to change.
She fed us her special hot chocolate which is like warm chocolate pudding.  Yum yum

We left Flavia's about six pm, and Paul got a call from our district president, saying there was a meeting for all branch presidents at 8 in Casstldimmara. There was no way to drive home the hour and a half and then drive our own car an hour to the meeting, so the missionaries drove us to Casstldimmara . These distances between the towns in our district are a killer.  Just the distances for our ward boundaries are a long ways.  Paul had a funeral to attend a few days ago which was over an hour away.  He took three ladies from our branch who knew this sister who had passed away.  Apparently it was quite an experience being in the  car with the three of them.  They told story after story of people in their family who had died and of some who they were sure had been out in their caskets alive.  One casket fell off its stand at the church.  They felt it was because the person inside was still alive.  I think that the italian people are a bit superstitious when it comes to death.