Malta - Week 20

SHANE AND SAM'S VISIT 

We had our first guests arrive this week! Shane and Sam came to visit.  This was quite an event because Sam had never taken an international trip and she had a hard time leaving her kids to fly so far away!  After over 25 hours of travel (including layovers), they finally arrived in Malta close to midnight Friday night!  We were so excited to see them!!!

The next day we were up at the crack of dawn, heading to Sliema to head out on a boat tour for the day!  Warning:  Major photo dump on this post!  It was so beautiful; we took a lot of photos.  I'm only posting about one fourth of them.

It happened to be a beautiful day!  We left from the Sliema Harbor.

This is St Paul's Island, where he was believed to be shipwrecked.  If you look closely, you can see a monument on the right side of the island.  St Paul's Bay is where we perform our baptisms, but I had never seen the island from this side.

We arrived in Gozo and there was a bus waiting to take us to the Capital City of Victoria.  Our first stop was Dwerja, where were able to take a photo stop for this gorgeous view.

In the center of the capital city, is the Citadel, a historic fortified city. 

Below are some of the amazing views from the Citadel.

After exploring the Citadel, we had just enough time to roam through the city and grab a Gelato.

Next, we boarded the boat and headed to the Blue Lagoon

It was so gorgeous there.  It really lived up to its name.  The water was so blue!

Shane and Sam had a lot of fun taking the slide and diving into the deep blue sea.  While Steve and I took off on foot to explore Comino Island.

After spending a few hours on Comino, we reboarded the boat and set off through the Crystal Lagoon, admiring the stunning views of the sea caves.

The scenic beauty as we headed back to Sliema

As we returned to the harbor, the iconic skyline of Valletta unfolded before us.

After disembarking, we walked to Fortizza, where we enjoyed our dinner against the backdrop of the setting sun.

The Maltese specialty is rabbit. I've never ordered it because the idea of eating rabbit seems strange to me. However, Shane wanted to immerse himself in the local cuisine, so he ordered the rabbit dish! I tried a bite, and now I can say the best rabbit I've ever tasted was in Malta!

Sam is getting her baby fix with Sierra, the Branch President's baby

On Sunday, we walked to church. 

It was fast Sunday and the testimonies we heard were powerful!  The spirit really filled the room. We had a record number of people there this week! Naomi who is a YSA in our branch had her large family(9) visiting.  There were other visitors, friends and Shane and Sam, totaling over 90 people in our small chapel!  Naomi's father is an Area Authority, so he closed the meeting with his testimony. Sam said that she had never felt such an overwhelming feeling as she looked over congregation which included so many nationalities in one small room!  We had people there from six different continents!  It's such a wonderful experience to serve in this part of the world with such cultural diversity!

Following church and dinner, we went on a sightseeing adventure. We stopped St Paul's Bay, the location of our baptisms. This is St Paul's Island as seen from the shore, which was captured from the sea just yesterday.

This is where we enter for baptisms.

The next destination was Popeye's Village, the filming location for the Robin Williams movie "Popeye" in the 1980s. Originally constructed for the movie, the village was slated for demolition post-filming but was ultimately transformed into a theme park. Here, visitors can enjoy making a short film, mini golf and water inflatables. I have yet to explore inside, but the view from the cliffs offers a stunning overlook of the town.

Our next stop was the Coral Lagoon.  It's a large hole where swimmers love to come dive.  No swimming for us. We just wanted to admire the beauty of this amazing rock formation at sunset!  (That's Sam out on the edge!)

The beautiful sunset made a picture-perfect ending to our day!

On Monday, we were given the unique opportunity to tour the US Embassy. Located near our home, we've often passed by and wondered what is was like on the inside. Two families from our Branch work there, and with Monday being a US holiday and few employees on duty, Jason Beck offered to give us a tour.

Having never been to an Embassy before, we had no idea what it would be like, but it turned out to be quite remarkable. Although we were not permitted to take photos inside, we managed to capture a few shots from the outside.

US Embassy

The next stop was the Blue Grotto, a scenic favorite on the island. Across the grotto, on the cliff, there were climbers rappelling the mountain. You'll have to look carefully to see them.  They look pretty small in this picture.

A Maltese Falcon!

Next, we boarded the Luzzu for the Sea Cave Tour. Initially, I had decided not to take additional pictures since I had already shared some on our blog from our first visit, but the overwhelming beauty compelled me to capture several more images.

I love how the water is so many different colors.  Here is it green.

Here it is red and purple.

And here it is an orangish rust color.

Next, we see a beautiful deep turquoise.

The water is so intensely blue, your hand will turn blue if you put it in.

I love the way this picture captured the sun! It is untouched and turned out to be incredibly beautiful!

Deep Blue

Mdina

Lunch at Fontanella

Monday night's English class was fantastic! We focused on pronunciation. Having Shane and Sam assist us as we split into groups for practice was incredibly helpful.

Valletta, the Capitol City

Valletta offers an abundance of sights and activities, making it impossible to experience everything in one visit. However, we thought it was important for Shane and Sam to tour St. John's Co-Cathedral. We waited in line with them, but since the tickets were quite expensive and we had previously toured the cathedral, we opted to wait outside. However, to our surprise, when we reached the front of the line and they saw our missionary tags, we were graciously given complimentary tickets, allowing us to enjoy the tour with them.

One of the Cathedral's highlights was viewing the two Caravaggio paintings. These pictures simply don't do them justice. They are even more astonishing when you witness the Caravaggio Immersive Experience. The first time we took the tour, we ran out of time and we weren't able to enjoy that, so we were thrilled to have the opportunity this time.

Our next stop was Nenu for some authentic Maltese Fitera Bread

We made it just in time for the Cannon Salute, but didn't get a picture.

No trip to Valletta is complete without a visit to our favorite Gelato Shop.

Next event: Institute!

Wednesday morning, we had just enough time to tour the Mosta Dome.  This is the largest church in Malta with the third largest unsupported rotunda in the world.

Interesting Quote!

The Mosta Dome, or Rotunda, is a block away from our small chapel. Its immense size makes it visible from many locations on the island. It gained fame due to an incident during the war when a bomb fell through the dome but miraculously did not detonate. The hole made by the bomb is circled above. The tile has been left unrepaired as a constant reminder of the incredible miracle that the bomb did not explode.

 

On 9th April 1942, a group of around 300 worshippers was gathered in the church for the evening Mass at around 16:40 when a 500kg (1,102lbs) German aerial bomb pierced through the ceiling and bounced off of the head of Christ in the picture above and then landed on the floor without detonating.

Luckily, no one was hurt or killed. The highly religious Maltese people of the time declared this to be a miracle and a sign of divine intervention from God who was protecting the nation during the Second World War.

In total, three bombs were dropped on the church – two deflected without exploding, and one went through the ceiling.

It is believed that the bomb landed close to this after bouncing off the picture of Christ.

Members of the Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal unit defused this last one and dumped it into the sea off the West coast. This is a close replica of the bomb.

Beneath the church are World War II Shelters

Transfers were scheduled for next week, so we needed to take our traditional chair pictures.  We met the missionaries at the church to get the pictures.

Sadly, for us, Sister Hobby is going home on the next transfer.  They call that dying.  She is depicting her death in this last picture!

Shane and Sam wanted a picture with the missionaries!

Next stop:  ROME!