Welcome to Italy

 

Paris: No, this is NOT the colosseum in Rome. We took advantage of a missed connection to visit a few sights in Paris. Walking around in the rain brought the added benefit of keeping us awake and minimizing jet lag.

A computer system glitch caused a two-hour delay of our flight from Salt Lake City to Paris. This made us miss our connection to Milan and gave us a 10 hour stop in Paris. After flying into a different airport in Milan, catching a taxi, and transferring from one hotel to the next due to unavailable rooms, we climbed into bed around 2 AM. This could have created some frustrations, but instead we chose to find the tender mercies from this as well as the next few days here.

David A. Bednar gave a great talk and defined tender mercies as the Lord’s tender mercies are the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Here are a few tender mercies we received this past week:

• Smooth flight and Safe arrival in Milan

• The delayed flight allowed us to get to know another MIssionary couple better (Rindlisbacher’s) while spending some time in Paris

• Time in Paris helped us stay awake and therefore quickly get on Italy time

• The Nielsen’s (office mission couple) took us under their wing several times to help us get situated

• Brought us a semi-new mattress for our apartment (super comfy)

• Took us out to ice cream twice

• Date night: Taught us how to take the train to downtown Milano

• Nice apartment with air conditioning

• Good food options (Bread, Pizza, Gelato)

• Grocery stores have almost everything (feels like a giant Harmon’s)

• Because we tried to attend a baptism yesterday (but the person didn’t show up)… we ended up being at a YSA activity soccer/volleyball at the same church with 30+ people (so fun!)

• We can understand and speak more Italian than we expected (still have a ton to learn)

• Different country, different language, but the same sweet spirit in church

• A nice ward that was very welcoming

• The previous mission couple we replaced (Miles) have reached out several times to be sure we know what we are doing and how to use the apartment (so kind)

• Modern technology: 2 SIMS card in 1 phone helping us keep connected with family in US and "friends" in the mission 🤯

  We wonder what tender mercies we will experience this week! We have been physically tired, mentally exhausted and often confused.  It seems easier to focus on the hard / different.  However, when we reflect our tender mercies we forget the hard.

Invitation for the week: 

- Track your own tender mercies this week

- Listen to Bednar's talk about tender mercies https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2005/04/the-tender-mercies-of-the-lord?lang=eng

Milan Airport: On our flight from Paris to Milan Laura gave up her seat so this sweet mother and daughter from Russia could sit together. After the flight they gave her some chocolates and a hug (her love languages ♥️) 

SLC Airport: Never easy to say goodbye.  Over the last week we were lucky to be able to spend some time with each of our kids (and their families) separately

Merate: So much history and architecture to digest.  We found this gem in the adorable city of Merate while picking up the keys for a new missionary apartment there.

Merate: The owner of the Merate apartment said it is in a building that was used as a hotel for the postal service around the year 1200 as they brought mail from Switzerland to Milan

Milan Duomo: After a busy week Anziano and Sorella Neilsen took us into Milan for a date night this weekend.  Since they were in PDay clothes, I shed my tie to 'fit in'

Mission Office in Opera: Standing outside the mission office on our very first day in Milan

Tender Mercy: During our layover in Paris we were stopped by 'Gordon' who told us he served a mission in Korea years ago. He adopted the English name 'Gordon' after our previous prophet Gordon B Hinckley.  He has a goal to visit as many temples as possible and showed us his 'temple tour' photo album.