Malta Week 11

Holiday Week & Zone Conference!  

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints operates a welfare program aimed at supporting the needy and fostering self-reliance. Many in our branch struggle to make ends meet and require aid. In the U.S., Bishop's Warehouses allow for food shopping or placing orders, but such facilities are absent here. We frequently assist branch members with grocery purchases, meeting them at their preferred stores and using the church credit card for payment. This week, we were asked to aid a sister in need. She visited her chosen store and sent us a location pin. When we got close, we couldn't find a grocery store or a parking place. Her accent made the store's name unclear, and despite our efforts, we found nothing that looked like a grocery store. I got out of the car and ran up and down the streets checking every convenience store and mini mart in sight to no avail. Eventually, I heard her calling to me from this door.  It's no wonder I didn't check there, it didn't even remotely resemble a store.

When I got inside, it looked even stranger!  This was it! This was the whole store. She is from the Philippines, and this must be what a Filipino grocery store looks like.  It had large freezers in the center of the store and shelves around the outside. She reached into the freezer and pulled out two of the largest frozen full-size fish I had ever seen and plopped them in her bag!

She then found these huge sweet potatoes and grabbed a few of them as well.  

Next, I found myself at the checkout stand where I quickly discovered that the store didn't take credit cards!  Yikes!  Good thing I had enough cash on hand.  I quickly paid and she was on her way!

With the holiday week, we thought the numbers at our English Class on Monday would be small.  We were pleasantly surprised that we had so many show up!  

 Our group for game night was small, but sometimes I think it is actually better that way.

We thought they had finished decorating the town last week, but more banners were still being hung for the holiday with each passing day!

They are particularly beautiful at night!

We still had one more piece of furniture to assemble for the Sisters' apartment.  The bed frame was the only thing we could not fit in our car, so we had to wait for it to be delivered.  It finally came and Steve went to work, putting it together.  I love how he's working so hard, while Sister Hobby and Christeche are in the background with smiles on their faces, posing for this picture!

Sister Martinez was so happy to finally get her own bed after sleeping on the couch for over a week!

Wednesday night is when they have one of the biggest celebrations for the holiday, so we were pleasantly surprised that these students came to our class.  

After class, we walked down to the town square to observe the holiday celebrations.

Here's a brief overview of this holiday:

The Feast of the Assumption of Mary on August 15th is a public holiday in Malta, where the majority of the population is Catholic. This day, also known as the Feast of Santa Marija or the Feast of Our Lady of Assumption, is celebrated with the climax of festivities occurring on August 15th, marking the Virgin Mary's ascension to heaven. As a tradition across the Maltese islands, the week leading up to this feast involves elaborate preparations, including the adornment of churches and streets with statues and banners, numerous band marches, and impressive fireworks displays.

This date holds additional historical significance for Malta, as it commemorates a pivotal moment during World War II when Malta was a strategic point for both Allied and Axis forces. The islands endured severe bombings by German and Italian air forces, which disrupted the crucial supply of food and medicine. In their dire need, the Maltese people turned to prayer for assistance.

Their prayers were answered on August 15, 1942, when five out of fourteen ships from a convoy managed to dock at Valletta's Grand Harbour, delivering essential supplies for Malta's survival. This event coincided with the Santa Marija celebrations and has since been regarded as a miraculous intervention by one of Malta's most venerated saints, reinforcing the nation's faith.

On this day, a special 'Marian Mass' takes place, followed by a procession where a statue of Mary is carried from the churches through the streets. It is customary for the community to participate, singing and praying as they accompany the statue. 

Upon our arrival to the town square, Evening Mass had just concluded at The Mosta Rotunda.  It is the largest church in Malta, and it is only a short block away from our little chapel and yet we had never been inside.  Since the doors were open, we took the opportunity to enter and view its stunning interior! 

The town was bustling with crowds, and we enjoyed mingling and chatting with the friendly locals.  

In this picture, you can see a man manually ringing the church bells from within the clocktower.

We celebrated with gelato at a charming little restaurant located across the street from the Dome.

Crowds surrounding the Mosta Dome

Fireworks lit up the island's sky, beginning gradually at 9:00 PM and culminating in the grandest display at 11:00 PM. However, that was past our bedtime. We opted to head home and enjoyed the fireworks from our balcony for a short time before calling it a night.

The following day was the actual holiday, and many of our congregation members had the day off, so we organized a Branch Social at the beach.

The social was at Pretty Beach!  I don't know why they call this pretty!  The water is beautiful, but the right side of the bay is filled with Ship Cranes! It was probably named before the cranes were there.

The left side looked a lot prettier

Our Branch President with his cute little baby

A good time was had by all!

We left early due to our super early flight the following morning. Next on our agenda was the Zone Conference in Rome!

We arrived at the airport at 6:00 AM.  The sunrise was beautiful! I quickly snapped this picture in the airport parking lot.

We left early so that we could spend the day in Rome with our amazing hosts, David and Sue Vicchiarelli.  They took us for a drive up in the mountains.  It was wonderful!!!

We went to San Benedetto Lake

It was so lush and green!  Malta is a desert isle, so it felt good to see so much green foliage for a change!

This reminded me of Provo Canyon!

Another missionary couple, the Chipman's joined us, and we hiked to a waterfall

Translated: 

THANKS FOR VISITING

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN

SAN BENEDETTO LAKE

Next, we headed up the mountain to tour the Monastery

The artwork adorning the walls and ceilings was breathtaking!

After a wonderful afternoon, we had dinner at this cute restaurant.

The weather was perfect.  The setting was beautiful. It was a delightful evening, and a splendid conclusion to our day!

The weather was perfect.  The setting was beautiful.  It was a delightful evening, and a splendid conclusion to our day!

Zona Di Roma Ovest Sisters

Zona Di Roma Ovest

We always appreciate the inspirational messages delivered by our mission president and his wife during the Zone Conference. The other speeches are likely inspiring as well, but since most are in Italian, we, being the only missionaries in the mission who speak exclusively English, face a language barrier.

The cooks in the kitchen!

Sue was in charge of the lunch for the Zone Conference, and I was grateful for the opportunity to help her out!

 One last picture of the three blondies!

This is the last time I will see Sue in Italy.  Her mission is concluding, and she and David will be going home before the next Zone Conference.  She has become one of my favorite people and she will be missed dearly!

As soon as the Zone Conference ended, we were whisked off to the airport, arriving 3 hours early, only to find out our flight was delayed by two more hours!  Our BeReal picture in the airport!

The Beck's invited all of us to dinner on Sunday.  They fixed a Cafe Rio meal, and it was absolutely amazing!!!

After the meal, the junior missionaries went on their way, and we stayed behind for a game night.

Alex, Lindsey, Jason, and Jackie Beck, Karen and JP and the two of us!

After getting through holiday traffic, Karen and JP joined us for game night. The fireworks bursting right outside our window sometimes drowned out our conversation, and we've begun to question when these nightly fireworks displays will finally cease!

We had a wonderful evening and we're so grateful for the Beck's kindness and hospitality.  We love spending time with them!

As we left the Beck's apartment, we were greeted by the stunning sight of the Valletta skyline, now illuminated against the night sky.