We LOVE Zone Conferences

This was our first Zone Conference with our new mission leaders, Presidente e Sorella Morris.  We felt our spiritual buckets were filled by the training and testimonies of the Zone Leaders, Sister Training Leaders, Assistants and, of course President and Sister Morris. 

Of course, no Puglia Zone conference is complete without focaccia from Santa Rita and gelati from Il Gelatiere. 

We had our "interview" with the Morris's later that evening at Pizza e Altro.  Another great day to be a missionary in the Great Italy Rome Mission. 

July Potpourri -

Here's our Bari/Foggia District for this transfer.  Sister C is on the other side of the camera.  Around the table from left to right are: 

Sorella Marshall, Sorella Johnson, Anziano Garrity, Anziano Meredith, Anziano me, Anziano Bryant, Anziano Jones, Sorella Keil, Sorella Hunter.  And in the middle, our Foggia Anziani, Pedersen and Campos.  

I'll bet you, too, would keep your kitchen cleaner with Avengers paper towels.  And they also have Spider Man TP!  

The open market, Santa Scolastica, is a quick 10 minute walk from our apartment.  We love the variety of fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, bread, fish and sundries you can find here from 7:30 - 2:00 every day but Sunday. And we think these curvy things are some sort of cucumbers gone wild!

Most merchants take great pride in how their products are displayed.  

 

Young Adult Sports Night - Always a hit!

Although it was a hot summer evening, young adult sports night is always fun!  

Several young adults, non-member friends and missionaries had a great time. 

Sister C and I just bring the sports gear and the refreshments!  

Baptism in Foggia

We have a new young adult member of the church in the Puglia Stake.  Her name is Valentina, and she lives in Foggia.  

The Elders have done a great job teaching her and the ward has welcomed her with open arms.  

It was nice that we could attend both Saturday's baptism and her confirmation at the Foggia ward on Sunday.  

We were happy to take Anziani Campos and Pedersen out for pizza after the baptism service on Saturday. 

Sister C and I spent the night at a B&B located at a reception center.  It was beautiful!  

And after Sunday meetings, we had a wonderful lunch with Bishop and Sister Dicarolo. 

P-Day to Vieste - che bello!

About 2 hours north of Bari, the Adriatic coastline is broken up by a small mountainous peninsula, home to Parco Gargano national park.  On the east tip of the peninsula is the lovely coastal town of Vieste.  Its beautiful sandy beaches are so inviting.  It's signature feature is the monolithic Pizzomunno.  We enjoyed spending some time here, but we weren't dressed for a dip in the sea.  

On the mountainous drive to get around the peninsula, we got to drive through 4-5 long tunnels, feats of man's engineering prowess.  

Member Missionary Work

The Mongelli's, faithful members of Poggiofranco ward, invited us to their home for a lovely evening, dinner and a discussion on how to be better member missionaries.  They live in a gated community about 30 minutes from Bari.  

Their patio home is next door to Sister M's dad's, Fratello Cassano.  We loved spending the evening with these wonderful saints.  Fratello Cassano, in the blue shirt, joined the church in 1976.  

The Mongelli's dachshund sort of took a liking to us.  

And "Tanti Auguri" again for Anziano Bryant's birthday!  

Look what is in Fratello Cassano's living room?  Dawn showed off her skills!

Happy Birthday, Anziano Bryant!

As we start a new transfer, we are grateful for the two new missionaries serving here in Bari. On the far left is Sister Marshall, from West Jordan, UT.  Third from left is Elder Garrity who hails from Tigard, OR.

And we started the first week well with a birthday get-together to celebrate Anziano Bryant's 21st birthday.  Dawn's brownies went well with the ice cream for a fitting celebration. 

P-Day at Canna della Battaglia

Canna is an ancient ruin about 50 minutes north west of Bari.  It was the site of one of the most famous military battles in history.  Bob Saitta had pointed us to this site a while ago, so we read up about it and drove out for a visit.  

The Carthaginians, under Hannibal, defeated a much more sizeable Roman army on the plains of Canna in 216 B.C.  The strategy he used was legendary.  Symbol of Carthage above the bench below.

Carthaginian Conquests in Puglia. 

We enjoyed seeing artifacts at the "Antiquarium" and ate our picnic lunch on a shady bench next to the ruins.  

Gaia's Mission Call

A highlight of our mission is seeing our young adults make good choices.  We are so proud of Gaia Giannini, from Lecce branch, who has decided to serve a full-time mission.  

We were thrilled to be invited to the opening of her call.  There were about 12 of us in the home, 20 on a live Instagram feed and 12 on Zoom.  Lele guesses Japan.  

Andrea guesses Canada. 

She had wanted to go to an English-speaking mission, so she was over the moon the instant she read “England Leeds Mission.” But what happened next was choice - “preaching the gospel in the Mandarin Chinese language.”  What a look of shock came over her face! 

Gaia reports to the Provo MTC on October 17.  We are so happy for her.