Now that January is over, I am reporting that Rome had no snow. Personally I am really enjoying that. However, remember that we can't drive outside of Rome because of having no snow tires. Well, we have driven outside of Rome without snow tires--twice and we were OK. Both days the weather was gorgeous--60 degrees and no problems.
So since I last wrote, a lot has happened. On the Saturday after Epiphany (celebrated on January 6), we ventured out on Bus 80 (our favorite bus). This bus runs every 7 minutes and is just a block from our house--it takes us right to the heart of Rome. We got off near a church that has a relic of John the Baptist's head--after viewing the church (not the relic) we walked down what I call the 5th Avenue of Rome--every high end store you can imagine--until we arrived at Piazza del Popolo. I had been wanting to go there during the Christmas season as there was a display of nativities in the "basement" of the Popolo Church. To our delight, the display had one more day before it closed down, so we went and it was amazing. There were over 100 nativities on exhibit--it is a juried event--each year different artists create a nativity and then send in a picture--only 150 are selected for display. I have included a few pictures of some of them--they ranged from nativities made out of nuts and bolts, fish scales, aluminum foil, pasta, sand--all beautiful creations. It is definitely a must for next year!
Nativity with fish scales
Nativity made from river sand
Tin foil nativity
Nativity made from every kind of pasta imaginable
We then made our way to Trevi Fountain--it has been closed for reconstruction the past few years and had just reopened in November. Beautiful--however, it was so crowded that we didn't stay very long. Another must for us to see again!
Saturdays are our Preparation Day so we like to get out and about in or near Rome. However, for two Saturdays in January, we had other things going on. January 16 was an in-service day for seminary and institute teachers. We were asked to help with getting the food for snacks and lunch out and ready . The in-service was in Italian with some English translation. This lasted from 9-3. The following Saturday, Jan 23, our stake put together 6000 hygiene kits for the thousands of refugees who are fleeing into Europe. We then went to a GANS (YSA) home to help her with an assignment for BYU-I Pathway. We were treated to a lovely lunch of pasta with an anchovy sauce, chicken, and salad--delicious--first Italian lunch we have been invited to. Meals are served in several courses and take at least a half hour (that's fast) to eat and serve. Very different than the US where everything is in fast mood. This past Saturday, we went with Elder and Sister Memmott to Gandolfo which is the summer home of the Pope. There is a lovely lake which was created by a volcano and is the deepest lake in Italy. We had a wonderful time which we always do when we are with the Memmotts. We are going to miss them when they go home in April!!!! We drove around little mountain top villages (in our car so one of the two times we drove in an area that had snow tire signs all over the place), drove down very narrow roads where we wondered if our car would make it through (it was like riding a roller coaster--I am putting a picture on but unless you were there, it does no justice to what it was like!), and stopped at a great little restaurant in Marino. We love stopping by these little out of the way ristorante. They have the best food!
Lake Albano
Driving down a narrow road
We are helping with the BYU-Idaho Pathway program. It is designed to help those who would like to get a college education to get a headstart. Everything is taught in English so it helps our students learn English also. We have been asked to help with the Math this semester. I have to study several hours a week to prepare for what is being taught that week--so between the math and Italian, I have to get my student skills on! After the students finish three semesters of preparatory classes they can then enroll in BYU-I fulltime to finish their college degree. The three semester courses which they take are Life Skills, English, and Math. For many, it is a dream that they never thought they could accomplish. Several students who have been through the course and have received a certificate have been able to get a job because of graduating.
An update on Abraham whom I talked about in the last blog. He received the Aaronic priesthood in January and is so excited to pass the sacrament. One of the elders gave him a suit that they no longer needed and he is so proud to wear that every Sunday. A few weeks ago we asked him if he would like to go to institute on Thursday evenings which coincides with Pathway. He was very happy to go and even though he is not a Pathway student, he participates in the English class. He is hoping to be able to enroll in Pathway in April. It will really help him obtain a job here in Italy. We pick him up at the refugee camp every Thursday--it is really a hotel but is being used as a camp. He is always outside the hotel waiting for us each week. We love this young man so much. He told me that I am like his mother. From what I understand, his mother is no longer alive as she was killed by the unrest in his country. Continue praying for him that he will be able to enroll in Pathway.
My sister Lisa and her daughter Brecken and their friend Ann and her daughter Addie were here to visit last week. It was so wonderful to see family and spend time seeing the sights with them. Lisa was here for Pio's baptism in Lugano, Switzerland--this is Guilia's husband. We went to Guilia's baptism shortly after we arrived in Italy. We were given permission at that time to go but this time we were not because it is not in our mission area. Remember it took us 4 hours by train to get there and that was on the fast train traveling nearly 300 kilometers an hour. We were able to go to the Coliseum with them which was awesome. Actually, it was quite amazing that we were even able to go with them. Since the Paris attacks, the center of Rome including the Coliseum and Vatican have been off limits to the missionaries because of the large crowds that are there--it has been for safety reasons--we took our favorite bus 80 with Lisa to a stop fairly close to the Coliseum and told them we would wait for them at another location which was less crowded. We left them and found a place to sit so that we could decide what we were going to do. Just as we sat down, the sister missionaries called and told us the ban had been lifted for the Coliseum so we went and found Lisa and were able to go on the tour with them. The guide was from the United States and was very informative about what happened at the Coliseum. We also had a tour of Palatine Hill which is the ruins of Nero's castle. The view was a great view of Rome and a close up and personal view of many of the Roman ruins. After the tour, we parted ways with Lisa and company because we had Pathway that evening and they wanted to go to Trevi fountain. The next day (Friday) we took Lisa and Brecken to the Vatican--yes, Vaughn drove through downtown Rome!!!! Before dropping them off at the Vatican, we took them to an area called the Keyhole--again an amazing view of Rome. The keyhole is what it is--a small keyhole you look through to see the Vatican--we love it and what is unique about this area is that you stand in Italy, look through the keyhole into a piece of land owned by Malta, to see the Vatican which is its own country. On Saturday we took Lisa and company to Tivoli which has become one of our favorite places to visit. The gardens and fountains are so amazing. We are looking forward to going again in the spring when everything is in bloom. A big thank you to Arianne Woods for going with us and driving her car so that everyone could go! Arianne is in our ward--her husband works at the temple site. We found a little pizzeria to eat at and everyone went crazy for the pizza with Nutella on it and also the margarieta pizza.
A view through the keyhole without seeing the Vatican but it's there!
My little sister and me
At the beginning of January, President and Sister Waddoups invited us to go with them on a day trip to Deruta and Ovieto. Deruta is a mountaintop village about 2 hours northeast of Rome and is famous for pottery making. Sister Waddoups wanted to find some pottery to send back to the states--she didn't find what she was looking for but they bought a beautiful pottery lamp for the president's office at the villa. While in Deruta we visited an ancient kiln which dates before the time of Christ. The man who now lives over the kiln also has a pottery museum and sells pottery he makes out of the museum. His family discovered the kiln in the 1700's while they were building the house that he and his family currently live in. He is a many generation pottery maker. His wife is from Cleveland and when he found out we were from Ohio, he went and got her and we had a very pleasant visit. We bought some pottery necklaces he made along with a small pottery container for jewelry. Then it was on to Ovieto--there we went to the piazza where the church is one of the finest as far as workmanship in Italy (the outside that is--inside wasn't anything spectacular). This church was built in the 1300's. We walked along the many streets filled with small shops and I made a purchase of a pottery nativity along with a handpainted nativity ornament. Sister Waddoups collects nativities also so she made a couple of nativity purchases as well. It was a fun day and we enjoyed spending the time with the Waddoups.
The lady from Cleveland--we are standing in front of the ancient kiln
Sister Waddoups and me on a random street in Oviato
One thing that we have started working on is the Billion Graves Project. This project is taking pictures of graves and then downloading them so that the information can be available for genealogy research. We have only been to the cemetery once but oh my goodness!!! I have never seen a cemetery this large. Some of the graves look like little apartment buildings with the graves stacked one on top of another. The pictures of the deceased are on the outsides of the grave--some of the graves are larger family plots which are actually buildings. One part of the cemetery belongs to the Vatican and is for the priests who die at the Vatican or you can pay to be buried there since it is part of the Vatican. One thing we have learned is that if your family doesn't pay to keep up the gravesite, they take out the body and put it a common grave and then prepare the gravesite for someone else who's family will pay.
We love our mission and love living in Rome. God's Blessings to all.
Our amazing district before transfers last week.
