I Like Your Horse

Games with the Monza/Muggio GANS (YSAs)

There are days when we feel like we are making progress with the language and then there are days when you tell a man at church that you like his horse instead of his tie. Cravatta and cavallo don't sound that similar, but sometimes the cavallo just wants to come out of the barn.

This week we were able to participate in a senior couple retreat in Como with 8 other couples. The food was amazing, the city was beautiful, the company was incredible and the counsel we received from President and Sorella Wood touched us deeply.  They referenced Elder Rasband’s conference talk “How great will be your joy” as they echoed the promise that “as you serve, you will feel the love of the Lord in your life, you will know Him, He will know you, and “how great shall be your joy.” What a powerful promise. It really hit us how much we want Jesus to know us. President Wood shared Elder Rasband’s quote that “at their return, [senior couples] have described growing closer to the Lord and closer to one another”. Then he challenged us to use this rare time with fewer worldly distractions to really focus on creating a celestial marriage.  He encouraged us to be more kind to each other. Be more patient. Be more loving. Challenge accepted! I knew that younger missionaries often look up to their mission leaders, but I didn’t know that senior couples do as well. President and Sorella Wood are special.

Invitation: Listen to Elder Rasband’s talk “How great shall be your joy”

Enjoying the sights and tastes of Como

Thursday we had the opportunity to attend the celebration of 20 missionaries finishing their 12-week training. We all met at the Bergamo train station and then did the 6-mile roundtrip hike up to Città Alta.  The view of the valley below was amazing, but the time we got to spend with the missionaries was even better.

During the hike, we also met up with a very special person to our family named Fabio. We both got to know and love Fabio from our time serving in Brescia over 30 years ago.  He was busy studying to be a doctor but still attended our weekly English classes and frequently joined the missionaries on their Preparation Day excursions. One day during her first mission Laura had abdominal pains so bad that she could only lay on the hallway floor of her apartment.  Her companion wasn’t sure what to do so she called Fabio.  When Fabio arrived he recognized it was serious and quickly scooped her up and drove them both to the emergency room. Laura’s appendix had ruptured and gangrene had begun to set in.  Laura was rushed into surgery but felt comforted that Fabio was allowed to be present in the operating room. We feel blessed to be able to reconnect with this great man here in Italy.

We often find it easier to just walk to the grocery store

We try to get out and exercise regularly. This is a park near our apartment in Opera.

It's so delicious to have your hot pasta served in a big block of Parmesan cheese 🤤 

The view of Lake Como from our luncheon 😍 

Financial self-reliance lesson with the Cimiano GANS. Many of them recently immigrated from various countries in South America 

Moving Elders from Bergamo to the darling little town of Merate