Missionary Halloween

Italy doesn’t celebrate Halloween, but they do celebrate November 2, The Day of the Dead.  I did a Halloween Poetry activity in my English Class at the church on Tuesday and everyone was knowledgeable about the American Holiday.  We have one Anziano DeLiberto from Milan serving in Catania right now and Halloween Poetry particularly entertained him. I did a choral reading and Reader’s Theater that required students to be dramatic, especially in their voice.  They worked in groups then presented the whole piece together.  It was hilarious to watch them enjoy this activity.  Anziano DeLiberto told me after class, “Americans really are crazy.”  But he did want a copy of each poem for himself!

How about this group of my favorite Trick-or-Treaters? I tried to explain how my family celebrated Halloween!

Yet another year minus Kaci with this bunch! This was the year Ashley proudly announced she wanted to dress up to be a bum!  Garrett got a concerned look on his face and said he would like to be a vampire. He didn't want anything to do with the bum idea! Mike was again a pilot with the green bag and helmet to make it authentic. I have to admit it is difficult to explain to Italians why we do this???

We introduced the missionaries to a family at Sigonella a few weeks ago.  Diana, the Mom is from Peru, she has been a member for many years but has not attended church for at least 20 of the most recent.  The Sorelle is currently teaching her oldest daughter Caylee and her second daughter Ellory. 

Caylee the beautiful gypsy!

Jacob The Joker!

Ellory, the masquerade princess

Halloween on the housing areas of Sigonella was celebrated on Friday, October 26.  Mainly because they always invite the Italian Nationals who are employed at Sigonella to join in this holiday since they don’t celebrate it in their own neighborhood.  We took both the Anzaini and the Sorelle out to the Mariani for the festivities.  Now Anziano DiLiberto is convinced “Americans really are crazy.” The other three missionaries are Americans and they were delighted to see this piece of Americana in action. The streets were crowded with kids in costumes: dinosaurs, Spider man, Batman, Princesses, mermaids, Sherlock Holmes, witches everything you can imagine was wandering the streets in Mariani with a trick-or-treat bag in hand.  The security gate was clogged with Italian Nationals trying to get clearance to join the fun.  Over all it was just short of chaos!

Oh look four people joined the fun dressed like Missionaries!! Anziano DiLiberto, Anzainio Hunstman, Sorelle Catani, Dad, Mom, Sorelle Moshier, Caylee, Jacob and Ellory round out this Halloween crowd!

Missionary Work on Crete

In late August we received a missionary referral from the Military Affairs Office in the Church Office building in SLC.  Someone was deployed to Souda Bay, Greece and was searching for a congregation and/or missionaries.  Turns out after the Military Affairs searched their database Sigonella was the closest congregation. We made contact with Dustin and offered what we could from this distance.  The Sigonella Optical Clinic provides service to Souda Bay on a three times a year rotation.  They announced their fall rotation to be the week of October 14-20.  We began immediately to piece together both an optical rotation and the opportunity to touch base with our referral on Souda Bay. 

We discussed this situation with our Mission President and he requested permission of the Area Authority Elder De Feo.  Those pieces were fairly easy to put in place, the Military Space A flight to Souda Bay was another story.  We volunteer at the Sigonella terminal with the USO every Tuesday so we began following the "Space A" flight service to Souda Bay to try to figure out how to make this whole piece come together.  We learned there is no rhyme or reason to the Souda Bay service; it appears to be on a needs basis.  The optical clinic told us to sign up and prepare for October 20 departure.  We did that but the earliest flight we could get a show time for was 6:00 AM October 16.  When we arrived we were told the Flight was a C-40 with 26 seats but they were transporting Hazardous material so only active duty passengers were allowed on board.  There would be no Space A! We chatted a short while, then the announcement came that the hazardous materials could not be loaded so there were Space A seats; just like that we were on our way to Souda Bay.

Crete was absolutely breathtaking, the island and the bay reflected the Byzantine, Arab and Venetian influence from the promenade around the bay right up to the lighthouse.  The buildings are white with lots of arches and domes, exactly like you would expect.

The light house in the center of the bay is surrounded by cobblestone streets and old world retail!

The old shipping yard buildings still stand behind the glitzy new boats.

The Mosque is surrounded by horse and carriage rides that can be taken through the city.

Three minaret towers used to call for prayers five times each day stand around the city.

White buildings on the shore go all the way up the mountainside.

The Greek Orthodox Church stands in the center of town.

Brass chandelier hangs in front of the alter piece/

The art work on the walls and ceiling create interesting examples of the Greek Orthodox Church!

Interestingly enough, Dustin, deployed for two weeks beginning on Monday, October 15, one day before we arrived!  We were able to find another couple who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints also at Souda Bay.  He is a military contractor, he and his wife living off base.  We organized a Branch dinner and both members of the branch attended.  We had a great experience learning about them and their stay on Crete.  They actually hold church at their home and when TDY or deployed church members arrive the attendance increases from two to however many happened to be in Souda Bay.  Pretty amazing no matter how remote you are, there is a way to stay involved with the Church!

The Souda Bay Branch and the Sigonella Missionaries; we had a branch dinner following this photo! Amazing Greek dishes were served and enjoyed by all.

I am confident that we must return again to find Dustin!

The Art of the Italian Sandwich

In Italy the lunch is the “thing,” reposo is the other thing.  Lunch begins at about12:30 with reposo lasting until 4:30-5:00.  During reposo everything is closed including schools, Italians try to get home for lunch or pranzo so they can follow up with a nap or rest. Then the second part of the day begins after reposo Usually 4:30 or 5:00 ish! An Italian sandwich shop in Siracusa has perfected the art of making a sandwich.  It has been featured on the late Anthony Bourdain show and highlighted by trip advisor.  Follow the script of sandwich making and you will understand why! 

Caseifico Borderi

International awards and recognitions

Slicing the hard cheese!

Chopping three kinds of lettuce!

In my best Italian I asked what the herb was he was adding.  With a huge smile he looked me right in the eye and said in his best English "mary wanna."  Killer sandwiches and a sense of humor!

Last step is wrap the soft cheese inside the sliced meat.

The perfect sandwich is ready to wrap and eat!The problem is trying to get this sandwich stacked 6 inches high into your mouth! YUMMMM!

October General Conference in Naples

General Conference in Italy begins on Saturday night at 6:00PM, the time delay leaves all day Saturday and all day Sunday open.  This year General Conference was also followed by a Federal Holiday, Columbus Day.  We were scheduled to attend a senior couple Military Relations conference in Naples, Italy knowing we could see the Naples area and still be able to see General Conference without missing any Sunday activities on Sigonella.  Seemed like a perfect opportunity to explore Naples and share conferences with the Burns!

First on the list was to see Pompeii. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area, was buried under 13 to 20 ft. of ash and pumice in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79. Many of the inhabitants were also buried before they could escape.

The artifacts preserved provide an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of the city. During excavations liquid plaster was used to fill the voids in the ash that once held human and animal bodies giving often-gruesome images of their last moments.

Many frescos and mosaics have been preserved that provide information of the everyday life in Pompeii.

At the time of the eruption, the town may have had some 11,000 inhabitants, and was located in an area where Romans had holiday villas. William Abbott explains, "At the time of the eruption, Pompeii had reached its high point in society as many Romans frequently visited Pompeii on vacations." 

The city of Naples as well as our tour of the Military facilities in Naples was great information to inspire new directions and ideas for Sigonella.

We visited The Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sanmartino, 1753 in the old town of Naples.  It is preserved in a family mausoleum in The Sansevero Chapel. The remarkable tissue-like quality of the marble is one of the most impressive monuments in Italy.

The every famous Napoli Pizza that we hear about from all the missionaries who transfer from Napoli to Catania did not disappoint.  Sorbillo did not disappoint!

During the Battle of Monte Cassino in the Italian Campaign of World War II (January–May 1944) the Abbey was heavily damaged. The German military forces had established the 161-kilometre (100-mile) Gustav Line, in order to prevent Allied troops from advancing northwards. The abbey itself however, was not initially utilized by the German troops as part of their fortifications, owing to General Kesselring's regard for the historical monument. The Gustav Line stretched from the Tyrrhenian to the Adriatic coast in the east, with Monte Cassino itself overlooking Highway 6 and blocking the path to Rome. On 15 February 1944 the abbey was almost completely destroyed in a series of heavy American-led air raids. The Commander-in-Chief Allied Armies in Italy, General Sir Harold Alexander of the British army ordered the bombing. The bombing was conducted because many reports from the British commanders of the Indian troops on the ground suggested that Germans were occupying the monastery, and it was considered a key observational post by all those who were fighting in the field.  However, during the bombing no Germans were present in the abbey. Subsequent investigations have since confirmed that the only people killed in the monastery by the bombing were 230 Italian civilians seeking refuge there.

MWR provided us with a great boat trip down the Amalfi Coast.  The bright colors of the villages surrounding their cathedral and the beautiful water make the north coast of Italy a geographic wonder not to be missed!