Let the sun shine in

wonderful thing for Monday 29 Dec:  Sometimes I just can't get past "I love being here!".  When we sat down to plan the week (actually, we started yesterday), we came up with a list of 20+ people that we want to "focus on".  We are meeting with our young adults one-on-one (two on one to be precise), just to hear what's going on in their lives, what's exciting, what's a challenge, how they feel, how they're doing spiritually.  We've had some beautiful experiences so far, and afterward we feel so much closer to them when we see them, and we can tell that the feeling is mutual.  We've been encouraging them to receive a partriarchal blessing (https://www.lds.org/topics/patriarchal-blessings?lang=eng).  The Florence Stake is only a few months old, having been a district not six months before we came, and the first stake patriarch was just called in November at stake conference, so it's a very opportune time.  We're trying to do everything we can to strengthen them personally.  We just found out that two of our wonderful young women are leaving us, one to return to her native Albania, and another to go to Germany in the hopes of finding better work.  They are both very new converts, but also very strong, faithful young women.  We will really miss them.

fun thing:  We finally have curtains in our bedroom!  I cannot believe how much more homey it makes it, plus now we can open the taparelle (blinds) all the way.  Since we're on the ground floor, and people walk by on the sidewalk just feet away from us, I've never opened it more than enough to let in the sunlight.  The window is full length; now we'll be able to let the sun shine in - and just in time, because this place really has a hard time heating up with this radiant heat; a little sunshine should help.  We found the curtains stuffed up on a shelf; I washed them and hung them up to dry, and today I made time to press them, and Blaine hung them.  So much nicer.