Treasuring up

Every time I go to an appointment, I put my trust in God to help me say the right thing for this person, at this time.  That pretty much dictates my thoughts and, mostly, my actions.  I still spend too much time on Facebook.  It's an ongoing battle.  I'm getting better at it, though, by God's grace.  I do my best, but still stumble (and not just as it relates to time spent on Facebook).  My all time favorite piece of counsel from the Church's wonderful addiction recovery manual is, when you find yourself dealing with the same ol' crap and not succeeding in overcoming it, submit AGAIN to the will of the Lord.  Say, "I place my life and my will in Thy care."

So, I'm a flawed person, accompanying my husband to visit and strengthen another person.  Who am I to think I can succeed at THAT?  I just put all those doubts on the back burner and remember this verse from The Doctrine and Covenants (6:36):  "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not."  He in His divine "somehow" takes my little lump of an offering and magnifies it, giving me "in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man" (D&C 84:85).  It is a marvel.

We come home every day edified.  It is such a privilege to be here, doing what we are doing.

And now a few photos:

 Ok I admit it, this is another one from the balcony of the church!

I took this because our Jared has a story from his days in Provo, of the "nine-foot couch".  This is modular, so it doesn't really count in the one-up category.  It's at the home of our Young Men's president Brother Warner.  Their apartment is uncharacteristically large for Italy.  We had a youth "fireside" there Sunday.  Blaine and I presented ideas about talking to their friends about the Church, then the sister missionaries modeled a conversation, then we had the kids practice, with the missionaries and the leaders.  We were happy with the response.  Then we put the couch back into manageable portions.

 We had a little Family Home Evening with Mimmo and Patrizia, and Elders Draghi and Price.  Blaine has made several gospel-oriented board games.  This one has to do with the Plan of Salvation, and is very diverting while also being instructive.  "A good time (and a good learning experience) was had by all."

So look closely at this car.  It was rained on, as were all the other cars in the whole Napoli area including ours - and rendered extremely dirty as a result.  Blame it on the sands of Northern Africa!

 So apparently this is what you get when a baby is given a name and a blessing in Sacrament Meeting...the candy inside was baby blue heart-shaped with chocolate inside.

New do.  Now that the experience is in the past, I can laugh about it.  They did a great job, very indelicately - meaning my head was crying afterward.  Speaking napolitano the entire time, with no interest in my efforts at conversation.  A hole-in-the-wall family enterprise.  Very reasonable.  In about three months, I may be ready to go back.

We love this place.  Have I said that before?