I returned a week ago from Italy. The plan was to secure a home and enroll Junae in school. Mission accomplished... with a few adventures thrown in for fun. I traveled with a friend and we arrived in Rome at about noon. We got lost looking for the mission home but our wanderings took us right to the Colosseum. Later We had the privilege of meeting President and Sister Kelley, presiding over the Rome mission. The mission home is beautiful and lunch was delicious. We enjoyed learning about the Rome mission and the great missionaries serving there.
That evening we drove to Florence and met Vittorio's family. He is a foreign exchange student who has been staying with us this year. The next day we toured the city. I love the hike up to the top of the Duomo where you can see the entire city.
At about four the next morning we set out for Taranto. The plan was to arrive by 9:00. It took us a bit of time to find the autostrada, but after we were on the road, we felt confident that we would make good time. A couple of hours outside of Taranto I noticed we had half a tank of gas. I felt fairly sure that it would get us to Taranto, given that we were driving a fuel efficient Volkswagen Polo. Well... thirty minutes outside of town.... the car slowed to a stop. We waited nearly five hours for help. The experience included pushing the car a couple of kilometers, waving at a farmer for help - who waved back and drove away, and a tow truck driver - who when he found out I was looking for a home, announced that he was newly divorced and I could live with him. He was excited to tell us that the city he was driving us to - 30 km in the opposite direction, was the birthplace of Rudolf Valentino. That was supposed to make us feel better. Anyway, we finally got our car back and arrived hungry, tired, and not too much worse for the wear at the home of Tonia Delle Foglie, who took tender care of us after a very long day.
The next day we headed to Crotone, to see Anziano Kinzie, my son who is serving in the Italy Catania/Rome Mission. We arrived in Crotone at about 4:00 pm and shortly after I leaped out of the car, Daniel received the biggest hug of his life! We had a great time together. There was a Family Home Evening being held in the chapel and it was so fun to meet all the members, especially Salvatore, the young man he recently baptized.
The next day we headed for SICILY... our new home. I was thrilled to board the ferry which crosses into Messina. It was also nice to not have to pay anymore road tolls. We arrived at Siracusa at approximately 8:00 pm. President Nudo, the new stake president in Sicily, and his wife, took us to their home where we were treated to a delicious dinner. The next morning we set out in search of a school for Junae and a home for our family. Sister Nudo was invaluable in covering as much territory in the shortest amount of time.
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