Malta - Week 8
Party Week!
This week was a lot of fun! We kicked it off with a game night on Tuesday. We played 'Name that Tune' which quickly evolved into a full-blown dance competition. The Latinos brought a lot of energy to the dance floor, with some pretty impressive moves. It was a night of enjoyment for all!
Wednesday was P-day and the Elders wanted to go to Koi Restaurant where they serve an All-You-Can-Eat Sushi Lunch. We had tried two other times to eat there, but the since the missionaries can't all fit in our car, some of them had to take the bus and the buses were late, so they didn't make it on time for the lunch hour. This time we were determined! We actually got there early and had plenty of time to eat. It was definitely worth the wait! The food was amazing and plentiful!
After lunch, we found a bowling alley in St Julian's Bay and went bowling!
Malta does not have an abundance of modern buildings, but there's one I've always admired for its contemporary design and aesthetic appeal. Although I've passed by it several times, I just noticed for the first time that it's actually joined with an older, original building. Someday, I hope I'll have the opportunity to see the inside.
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After running around all day, we made it back just in time to teach our English Class on Wednesday night.
Thursday was Sister Paulo's Birthday! This was also her last week on her mission before going home to Portugal, so I decided to take her, Sister Christeche, and Veronica (our newly baptized member) out to lunch at this darling little restaurant that is across the street from the Mosta Dome, appropriately named, "The Cake Box".
It's always great to have a girl's lunch out. We had a delightful time!
That evening, we joined Sister Paulo for another birthday party with more of her friends at Machu Picchu Restaurant in Sliema.
As we were walking back to the car, I couldn't resist snapping this shot of the Valletta Skyline all lit up. I've taken several during the day, but this was the first night shot I've taken.
On Friday Evening, we invited some Maltese friends over. We enjoyed the time we had with them. We also enjoyed learning a lot more about Malta and we're hoping to spend more time with them in the future. (I forgot to take pictures.😞)
On Saturday night, our English Class was cancelled, so we took the opportunity to go eat at the Salini Resort again. All of the servers there remembered us from the last time and quickly came over to chat with us. They always make us feel welcome and the food is super good!
On Sunday, we attended our first Munch and Mingle after our church meetings. (It's a potluck lunch.) We enjoyed the time to visit with all the church members and visitors during that time. It was a crazy day because Steve had to be at church at 7:30 AM and I still don't dare drive here, so I had to go with him. I was teaching the Relief Society Lesson that day and we had to bring our food already prepared in a crockpot and leave our apartment by 7:15. The closest parking to the church is about 2-3 blocks away, so we have a bit of a distance to walk to church after we park. Somehow, we managed to pull it off, though we were a few minutes late! We mostly spent our time visiting and avoided eating too much because the Beck's had invited all of the missionaries and us to dinner that same day at 5:00 PM.
The Beck's work for the US Embassy and live in Sliema, right on the Harbour. This is the amazing view from their Apartment.
Celebrating Sister Paulo's birthday one more time!
Dinner at the Becks' was a feast! The food was amazing, and it was so nice to be in their beautiful home!
As soon as dinner was over, we enjoyed this beautiful sunset!
The missionaries have a tradition of taking photos with chairs before each transfer. They arrange the chairs to represent the number of transfers they've completed during their mission. With transfers occurring every six weeks, this acts as a visual countdown of their mission duration. It's not necessarily indicative of their personal reassignments, but rather a general rotation within the mission. This photo was captured on Sunday, with transfer announcements scheduled for the following day. Elder Chandler had completed 14 transfers, while Sister Paulo had reached 12 transfers, totaling 18 months. As Sister Missionaries serve for only 18 months, Sister Paulo was preparing to return home. Elder Curtis and I, on the other hand, had just completed our first transfer.
When missionaries complete their service and return home, it is often said that they 'died' in their last area of service. Thus, Sister Paulo 'died' in Malta. Unbeknownst to us at the time this photo was taken, Elder Chandler would not be 'dying' here but would be transferred the following day. Both will be dearly missed.
Ah, the chair transfer picture! I have seen many of these in Sister Thurgood's photos in her letters I read while she served in the Italy Rome Mission. It's fun to see you guys doing the same thing.
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