Malta - Week 13

A few weeks ago, Rachelle paid a visit to Steve's mother at her assisted living facility. Despite battling dementia for several years, she was unusually cheerful, conversational, and clear-minded that day. We were lucky that Rachelle used Zoom to share that moment with us. Unbeknownst to us, it would be our final conversation with her. Shortly after, her condition worsened quickly. She passed away yesterday, at 94, on August 25, 2024.

Her absence will be deeply felt, yet we are profoundly thankful for the impact she made on our lives and the cherished years we spent together. It is comforting to know that she has reunited with her sweet husband, Max, and through the plan of salvation, we know we will be together once more.

The memorial service is scheduled for September 7. We have received permission to travel back for the ceremony and are in the process of arranging flights to Utah to join our family during this period.

Fortunately, we have a week to prepare for our departure. Until then, it remains business as usual here in Malta.

Monday Night's English Class

On Tuesday night, we had the pleasure of dining with the Morrises. Torch Morris, who is from the US and a member of our church, has been married to Gloria, a Maltese Catholic, for just under a year. Torch has lived in various parts of the world during his life and career, and he owns multiple homes across the US. Currently, they are residing in Malta for a three-month period before returning to the US to spend time in either Idaho or Utah, after which they will return to Malta. They alternate between attending her church and ours every other week while they are here. They are a charming couple, and we have enjoyed our growing friendship with them.

Their apartment is quite spacious, feeling more like a home than our modest missionary apartment. It is tastefully decorated with art, making it a pleasure to wander through the rooms and admire the diverse artwork adorning each wall.

They extended an invitation to the sister missionaries and us for dinner on Tuesday night. We happily accepted and informed the Elders that they would be solely responsible for game night.  It was wonderful!

Wednesday English Class

One of our students is employed at a restaurant named GoGo Grub in St Julian's Bay. We promised to come see him there, but when we got there, we were told he was working at a different cafe. Consequently, we decided we didn't want to eat there, so we strolled around St Julian's Bay and chose to revisit the Rain Forest Cafe. Surprisingly, we found ourselves thoroughly enjoying the experience. It seems we have a strong craving for American-style restaurants!

St Julian's Bay

On Friday night, a senior couple from the office arrived in Malta. They needed to conduct an audit on Sunday, so they decided to come a few days earlier to enjoy what Malta has to offer. We introduced them to our new favorite restaurant, Fortizza.

We were fortunate to get a seaside table.  We loved the view.

The Leavitt's are a delightful couple. We had an enjoyable evening together. Since there are no other senior couples on this island, it's always a pleasure to spend time with other couples when we have the chance.

Last Saturday, we visited a Turkish restaurant where the entrees were surprisingly large! Steve ordered a Pide! (Pictured) It goes without saying, our waistlines aren't shrinking during our stay here!

Transfers were coming up in a week, so we had to take the famous chair shot!  The chairs and the numbers represent how many transfers you've been on your mission.

The serious

The corny

And the "Hats off to you Elder Wilding!"

We had the missionaries and the Leavitt's over for dinner on Sunday. It was my first attempt at making French Dip Sandwiches here, and they turned out to be a huge success! I prepared more than I believed we could possibly eat, yet not a single crumb remained by the end!

These girls looked so adorable, I had to take their picture.

A YSA couple in our branch has started a cake business.  I want to help them out, so we ordered this amazing lemon bundt cake for dessert.  It was delish!

Sunday Dinner with the missionaries!  

A great way to end the week!