Always at home.

We inspect missionary apartments every 3 months.  When you're a missionary, you don't have a choice about where you live.  Some missionaries live in decent apartments, like ours and like the sisters here.  The four elders here, on the third floor of an apartment building on the outskirts of Napoli, that has apparently not seen a lot of change since we were here 43 years ago, make do with a large apartment that could use a lot of improvements; in fact, Blaine has received permission to do some.  The two elders' apartments in Napoli (Naples) are about the same.

We're encouraging them to bring light and peace into their living space by keeping them at the very least neat and clean.  They are responding in very positive ways; the other night the zone leaders stayed up till 12:30 scouring out their tub.  They had been told that the enamel coating was coming off, and encouraged not to scrub it too hard.  I guess over the next couple of years, that translated to "don't scrub it at all".  They started by seeing the chrome on the bathroom faucet shine when they gave it a real cleaning, and just couldn't stop from there.  They feel the challenge to set a good example, and are stepping up to it in every way.

I tell this story to illustrate how good-natured and willing the missionaries are in general.  They listen, they internalize, and they act.

As a mission and as a zone (our Naples zone includes 4 missionaries in Naples, 6 in Pozzuoli, 2 in Castellamare, 4 in Battipaglia, and 6 in Caserta, plus another senior couple), we've been privileged to participate in two great training opportunities:  Oct. 20 we arose at 4:30 to be able to be in Rome at 8:15, to receive instruction from President Russell M. Nelson, the president of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles and his wife Wendy; President Donald L. Hallstrom of the presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy and his wife Diane; and President Patrick Kearon of the Seventy, president of the Europe Area, and his wife Jennifer.

The main theme I took away:  We have a joyful duty!  Today is all we have.  "No matter how much we say of Him (the Savior), it is still too little" - a quote from Pres. Spencer W. Kimball, shared by Sis. Hallstrom.  Drop the anxiety and just work hard and focused.  If you knew who you are, your obstacles would all fall away.  You have been kept in hiding with the Lord until this time.  There is an outstanding promise to gather Israel; hence, the fourth renewal of the Abrahamic Covenant, to the Prophet Joseph Smith (the first three were to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob).

How wonderful to be halfway across the world, and to be able to listen to and shake hands with an Apostle.  Frankly, it is one among many daily evidences that we are on the Lord's errand.

On the 24th we had Zone Conference here, at Napoli.  President and Sister Pickerd, the mission president and wife, as well as the two missionaries who are assistants to the president, Elders Kelley and Rosenberg, spent time with all of us individually and as a group.  We brainstormed lots of ways and principles to teach, were reminded of the guidelines for missionaries (and of things like clean apartments), etc.  Before returning to our fields of labor, we all ate a lunch of Margarita pizza together.  That's Naple's famed pizza.

I'm going to remember to take more photos of people...but here's one of the little street market seven floors below, from the zls' apartment:

And here's Fabio, who will be baptized this Saturday, trying on missionary-hood, thanks to the loan of Anziano (Elder) Ridd's tie:

Then there's another shot of the view from the Pozzuoli church building.  Never get tired of that.   The church is on the left.

Yesterday we visited one of the sweetest people I know, Vincenzo.  Even though he's almost blind, he studies the scriptures every day, thanks to the fact that you can read anything in large type on your tablet.  He made this "casatiello" for us, a Napoli specialty.  Yes, the shell is still on the egg!  There's all kinds of yummy hammy/sausage-y stuff in there too - no, you don't eat the shell.  

You can either look at the garbage in the gutter or at the flower shadowing it.  Yeah.  We love this place.

How could such a romantic word as "caldera" have such a horrific meaning, anyway?

So there's an active volcano in our town.

Or, under our town, and the bay surrounding it.

Often in the morning, we smell sulfur.

On the upside - this place is so pretty!  And the First Century amphitheatre we see from our living room balcony attests to the staying power of this town, Pozzuoli, or Puteoli, as found in Acts 28:13-14.

Also on the upside, we're driving a hybrid, a Toyota Yaris, which augurs way less monthly expense.  We won't be driving the same distances either.  We're here to support the missionaries of the Naples zone, which includes Pozzuoli, Naples, Battipaglia, Caserta, and Castellamare.  We will probably be taking public transportation a lot; often it's a lot simpler than driving.  We've already seen the parking here is ... an exercise in frustration, at best!  After four trips to three offices, we do have a residential parking pass, though.  Another upside!

The church is a three story edifice that was originally intended to be a restaurant; don't know what happened to that plan, because before it was even finished as a building, it was acquired by the Church and repurposed as a real live meetinghouse.  Each of the three floors has a balcony that looks out over the Bay of Pozzuoli.  Another upside!  This information, btw, I obtained courtesy of Sorella Tempesta, one of my favorite member friends from when we were here as young missionaries 43 years ago.  Wow!

More upsides:  the people, of course.  First off, also of course, these wonderful missionaries, three sisters and four elders in Pozzuoli, four elders in Naples, and two sisters in Battipaglia.  There are more, we just haven't met them yet.  Secondly, the gracious members, whom we have only begun to meet:  Sorella Tempesta, the Romanos, the Parisis, the Trimbles, Stutzmans, Lassens, Warners, etc. etc.  Yes, there are a lot of Americans here, with the presence of two military bases nearby.  Thirdly, the "investigators", people who are showing interest in the message our missionaries carry:  Fratello Cono, Gerardo, Raffaele, etc. etc.  And lovely Vera, an angelic woman who understands the story of Adam and Eve better than some members, who is mother to three boys besides her one - who, when asked to read 2 Nephi 2:25, cried out with gladness, exclaiming, "I didn't know that!"

Volcano schmolcano.  We love this place.