Birthday Party and Vatican Visit

OnWednesday June 15th we had a mission tour with a General Authority.  Above and below are about 50 misionaries lined up for lunch.  What a great group of amazing young men and women.

Marilynn of course prepared an amazing meal for my Birthday and had Elder and Sister Burt over.  Would you expect anything less from Sorella Valentine?

St. Peters Square.  These columns surround the square.  There are 284 columns, 56 ft. high.  Topping them are Bernini's 140 favorite saints.  Each saint is hand carved and is 10 ft. tall.

This  is St. Peter's Basilica.  The atrium itself is bigger than most churches. The huge white columns on the portico date from the fourth century.

The obelisk in the center is 90 feet of solid granite weighing more than 300 tons. Originally erected in Egypt more than 2000 years ago, it was later moved to Rome by the emporor Caligula.

Above is the world famous "Pieta."  Michelangelo was 24 years old when he completed this Pieta of Mary with the dead body of the Savior taken from the cross.  Michelangelo lived in the 1500's.

Anziano Valentine standing in front of the Basililica and looking over St. Peter's square.

Elder & Sister Burt with Sister Valentine getting ready to board the Metro.  The trains and subway are the only way to get around Rome and see the sights.  Driving in the downtown area is extremely difficult and parking is impossible.  The busses and trains are very convenient.

 

Sitting in St. Peter's square enjoying probably the biggest tourist attraction in the world.  It would be impossible to describe the enormity of it all without seeing it in person.  It is awe inspring to think of the history that has happened on this spot.  Likely both apostles Peter and Paul where martyred and buried here. 

We only had enough time to see the square and the Basilica.  On a future visit we will spend more time in the museum and the Sistine chapel.  Rome has so much history it is difficult for American's to relate to these two thousand year old sites.

Our Trip to Buccjnjano

             Below are a variety of pictures from this beautiful ancient community. The contrast

              between old and new was amazing when you notice many of these homes now have a satelitte dish attached.

                                         You are looking at a pathway that a cart would drive
                                               on. Also there are pots of flowers everywhere.

                                               We saw a motor scooter go down the steps.

                                       Most of the doors to the homes are this size and smaller

                                                   The people 1000 years ago were very short

                                     

                                     Brother Guidara showing us his tool shed and the large
                              garden he tends.  He also has an olive tree orchard in his back yard

Sister Valentine loves children whether they are Italian or American

Sitting on the back Veranda eating homemade Gelato with this three

generation family.

Saturday afternoon we drove north from Rome approximately 50 kilometers into the Italian countryside. Elder & Sister Burt was our tour guide.  We walked the narrow cobblestone streets of this very old fortress like community.  This bueatiful old structure is still occupied by many families who call it home.  A post card picture of Italy's countryside should be taken here. The streets are only wide enough to allow the ancient horse drawn carts to travel them.  After a walk around the community we visited a wonderful member family that lives nearby.  The grandparents live on one side of the house and the daughter with her husband and children live on the other side.  The grandparents just returned from a two year temple mission to the Swiss Temple.  They welcomed us with open arms and some homemade Gelato.  How much better could a Saturday afternoon be?

Wonderful Downtown Rome

This is the ceiling of the Pantheon. It is the only pagan temple in classic style still almost intact in Rome. The temple was built in 27 B.C.  After a fire, the temple was rebuilt between 117 and 125 A.D. Today it hosts the tombs of famous people.

This is the  Colosseum. This bueatiful building was begun in 72 A.D.  The amphitheater could contain more than 70,000 people.  Many gladiators gave their life here!

This is our first truly authentic pizza.  It would be hard to describe how delicious it was.  We had a "four cheese","fungi"(mushroom), and a meat pizza.  You have to experience it to truly appreciate how good it was.

Our trainers and freiends, Elder & Sister Burt, enjoy the pizza with us outside on a veranda on a bueatiful Italian Friday night.

Piazza Navona.  This public square in on of the largest and more bueatiful squares in Rome.  Three fountains adorn the  square.  The center fountain is the work of the world famous artist Bernini.  Bands played, performers and artists were everywhere. 

Trevi Fountain.  The popularity of the fountain is also due to the legend that if you throw a coin into the fountain your return to Rome is guaranteed.  You can see we guaranteed our return by throwing the coin over our shoulder!

Our first taste of the famous "Blue Ice" gelato. Between the pizza and the gelato it would be very hard to decide which was the best.  Both were incredibly good.

This fairly new building, was begun in 1870 to celebrate the unity and birth of the current country of Italy. The statue of Rome and the tomb of the Unknown soldier, as well as a wonderful museum are part of this bueatiful building.

This is Trevi fountain  mentioed above.  It was designed by Salvi in 1735 and decorated by several artists of Bernini's school.The detail and bueaty of this massive fountain draws people here from around the world.

After three weeks in Rome we finally found the time to visit some of the bueatiful and historic sights in Rome. Many of these structures date back nearly two thousand years and are known thoughout the world. On Friday evening we dressed in our missionary attire and had several young adults come up to us and visit. One group was from BYU on a study abroad trip. On Saturday we had our "P day" clothes on with my Colorado Rockies hat. One couple from Parker Colorado saw my hat and had to come over and visit with us. It truly is a very small world we live in.

Life in the Mission Office - Training



We are in the Italy Rome Mission Office with our trainers, Elder and Sister Burt.
They are with out a doubt the most patient missionaries I have ever met.
The are very organized and we are learning alot. We are so thankful for tender mercies that our
Heavenly Father has blessed us with 5 weeks to be trained, because I am not sure that will
be enough time. We love them and are very grateful for all they hours they have
given us, as we serve the Lord.