Malta - Week 2

This week we are feeling a little more comfortable with the lay of the land!  We can actually drive to the grocery store without navigation!  Fact is, we found out the grocery store is only about 1.5 km away and takes only 4 minutes to get there.  It seemed so far away the first time we went because we really didn't know what we were doing.  But now we're on top of it!  We have conquered the grocery store run!  And after 3 visits to the internet store last week, they finally sent a guy on Monday out to install a new unit and the internet is up and running!  

Our little Toyota Corolla with Steve in the Driver's Seat

We had a game night on Tuesday at the church. It's held weekly and usually around 25-30 people come, made up of mostly friends and a few church members. That night, the missionaries decided we should play Mafia.  It was an interesting choice of game since we have so many different people who come, who speak so many different languages.  Just explaining the game was pretty complicated. But we muddled through it, and everyone seemed to have fun anyway!  We met a lot of new people, and we enjoyed the night as well.  I made brownies for refreshments from the brownie mixes from the grocery store. They are not like the brownies we have in the US, especially the amazing Ghirardelli brownie mix from Costco.  But everyone raved about how good they were! 

Wednesday was P-day and Steve and I wanted to venture out and see more sights.  Valletta is the Capital City and holds the distinction of being Europe's southern-most Capital City.  It was strategically built in 1566 by the Knights of Malta to enhance its defensive position against potential attacks from sea and land.  It was named after Grandmaster Jean Parisot de la Valette.  It is the #1 city to visit in Malta and the whole city is a UNESCO World Heritage site, so we definitely thought it would be worth exploring!  It is only about a 20-minute drive from our house.  We parked in a lot just outside the entrance to Old Town.  We thought we were in an official city lot, but quickly discovered we were not.  A little old man directed us to a parking place and when we asked how much it was, he said whatever you want to pay.  Steve handed him 5 Euros and we were on our way.

These are some pictures we took while meandering around the streets of Valletta

Good Gelato!

The inside of St Paul's Pro-Cathedral

St Paul's is very simple.  The most ornate cathedral in Valletta is St John's.  We wanted to see it, but there was a long line, and it was a hot day, so we decided to save that for another time.

We found a cute little cafe for lunch and then decided it was too hot outside to stay any longer but decided to go see Upper Barrakka Gardens before we left.  When we got there it was super crowded.  We soon discovered the reason for the crowds, the Cannon Saluting Battery was scheduled to fire in 10 minutes, leading us to join the crowds of people gathered along the balcony to watch the cannons fire. 

 

I was excited when I got this picture!

But then Steve stole the show with this one!

We had an English Connect Class on Wednesday night.  We were excited because a new family from China showed up.  We don't even know how they heard about it.  Because of our experiences in China, we love the Asian Culture.  We immediately fell in love with this family.  They moved here from Chengdu just a couple of weeks ago.  The mother speaks pretty good English, but their two kids and the father are trying to learn more. We were excited to have them join our English classes.

On Saturday, President and Sister Morris came to visit.  We were responsible for picking them up at the airport, making appointments for them and being their private chauffeurs for the entire time they were here.  That was a little nerve racking for us, since Steve is still learning how to drive on the roads here. 

We dropped them off at the Hilton and wandered around St Julian's Bay while we waited for them to get settled in.  It was our first visit to St Julian's and it was so gorgeous there. 

St Julian's Bay

 

Sister Morris, who is actually my cousin Cindy, brought me some delicious chocolates from Italy. We spent most of the day at the church with President Morris while he conducted interviews.

That evening, they took us to dinner at a beautiful restaurant at the Hilton. It was located beside the bay. The weather was ideal, and it was so fun to spend time visiting with them. The evening was truly enjoyable.

The purpose of President Morris' visit was to find a new branch president. In the past, the senior missionary has served in this position.  But we all felt it was time for the branch to have a local branch president, one who could serve for several years in the position, instead of only one year. We were thrilled when President Morris was inspired to call Santiago Gomez Gallego as the new Mosta Branch President!  He called Steve to be the first counselor and Jason Beck as the second counselor.

The new Branch Presidency of the Mosta Branch

Pres Morris, Steve Curtis, Pres Gallego, Jason Beck

Morrises and us at the front door to our chapel

I wanted to post a zoomed-out photo as well to capture more of the appearance of the front entrance. The chairs on the left belong to the outdoor seating area of the Kabob Restaurant, which is situated beneath the Chapel.

Later that day, we invited the Elders and Sisters for Sunday dinner.  Sister Paulo (from Portugal), Elder Capozzoli (Springville, UT), Sister Suarez (Argentina), Elder Borjas (Peru), Elder Chandler (Spanish Fork, UT) and Elder Dobbins (Las Vegas, NV)

This is a great group of young men and women who are dedicating two years of their lives bringing others unto Christ.  We are grateful for the opportunity to be working with them!