Puglia in September - Che Bella!

We had our first district council of the transfer.  Elder Jung, our new district leader, and his companion, Elder Fjord, are stationed in Foggia, but came to Bari by train to be with the rest of us.  Elder Jung was born in Argentina to a Bolivian mother and a Korean father.  But he grew up in Bergamo, Italy.  Great young man.  

After district meeting we had lunch for the Elders and our new friend Nicola Cassano.  He used to be a member, then joined an evangelical church, but is now attending our church again.  Nice man just a couple of years younger than me.  

We had a very meaningful single adult activity last Saturday.  One of our GANS, Carmen, suggested we join in a community effort to clean up Pane e Pomodoro (Bread and Tomato) beach.  We had a good turn out and one of our GANS was interviewed by a local TV station.  Afterwards, we walked to Santa Rita in Bari Vecchia for their famous focaccia.  

Thursday, instead of just having the sisters over for lunch, Dawn decided to have a cooking class.  They prepared a wonderful meal of insalata caprese and spaghetti alla carbonara.  It was yummy.  

Last Sunday, we attended church at the Taranto 2nd ward.  It was a nice meeting.  The bishop asked us to bear testimonies and Dawn did a great job.  We also inspected the Elder's and Sister's apartments while we were there.  I'd like to see some upgrades to a number of items.  Things just get old, wear out and break.  

The temperatures are just perfect with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s.  Beautiful early fall weather.  Dawn and I are enjoying having the young adults over each Sunday evening for FHE, teaching seminary on Wednesday and English class on Tuesday and Thursday, and having a young adult activity usually Wednesday evenings.  We are looking forward to general conference this weekend.  

Week One of the Transfer

Continuing the birthday celebration, I took my sweet wife to U Gnore, a nice seafood place near the Poggiofranco ward.  We enjoyed tasty apps and seafood pasta.  I made the ultimate faux pas by asking the waiter for grated cheese on my shrimp pasta dish.  He said "no!"  I guess you just don't put cheese on fish, period!  Who knew? 

And more birthday news...The 4 sisters "heart attacked" our front door on Sunday afternoon.  They are so cute.  We are delighted to have two more sister missionaries here in Bari.  

Our GANS family home evening was very enjoyable last night.  We had four faithful young adults.  We reviewed an article by Brother Brad Wilcox and then discussed organizing a trip to the temple in Rome for the GANS of the Puglia Stake.  Dawn's brownies were a big hit for refreshments.  

We also started teaching zoom seminary class this last week.  We teach the doctrinal mastery portion and I think our first lesson went well.  Here I am teaching seminary again after 41 years.  Amazing!  Here's a photo of our seminary faculty and priesthood leaders in our zoom meeting last week.  

Seems like we get a day to recoup and then we hit it hard again.  But at least, we get the day to recoup!

Last but certainly not least, we got a letter from home - our Boise North Stake actually.  It was penned by our former ministering brother Geff Anderson, also a member of the high council.  We appreciated getting this timely missive.  It made our day! 

  

Happy Birthday Sorella Cannariato!

Someone has a birthday today.  Her first one in Italy.  I fixed her an omelet for breakfast, and then there's a great florist just a couple of blocks from our apartment, and of course, we needed a stroll to our favorite gelateria this afternoon.  As we're teaching seminary class and helping move stuff into the sisters apartment tonight, birthday dinner will be later.  Happy birthday to the best companion I could have!  

Life in Bari busy and good

We loved our Puglia Zone P-Day trip to lovely Alberobello.  All of the companionships met up in this scenic town known for its famous cone shaped "trulli."  This city is clean, well-maintained and beautiful.  The round roof "shingles" are stones that fit into place without any mortar.  Simply amazing.  

We had two opportunities to wish President Nelson a happy 97th birthday.  First, at the Alberobello P-day and second at our GANS activity that evening. 

 

We are at the end of this transfer period.  Here's a photo of our "going away" luncheon as we are saying arrivederci to two of our Anziani, Elder Reay on the left and Elder Mathis.  Elder Reay has been here in Bari over 9 months and as one of the two zone leaders, has taught us so much.  Elder Mathis is our district leader and is a righteous, obedient missionary.  We will dearly miss them.  

We are getting a new set of sisters and the Elders will be in a threesome for a bit.  Sorella Cannariato and I have been busy shopping for things for the sorelle apartment (mattress, comforters, duvet and mattress covers, pillows, towels, kitchen gear, new microwave, etc.)  We filled the trunk of our car three different trips.  So glad Bari has an IKEA!

Welcome September!

We're glad to say good bye to August.  Temperatures are now in the low 80s for highs and mid-60s at night.  

After Tuesday's District Council we did "Stack the chairs" -  a Bari district tradition.  We get to sit on the number of chairs equal to the number of transfers we've served.  Note the corresponding hymn number cards we're each holding.  

Sorella Cannariato and I had a lovely P-day on Saturday.  After helping the sisters get their green passes, Dawn and I drove 5-7 minutes to spiaggia Pane e Pomodoro (bread and tomato beach).  We loved dipping our toes in the Adriatic and just relaxing on the beach.  Later that evening, we walked to dinner at a Chinese restaurant and had a nice meal.