Malta Week 26

Malta Week 26 - A week of gratitude, Thanksgiving in Rome, putting up our Christmas Tree, and so much more!

We had such a great time teaching our English Class on Monday night. Since it coincided with Thanksgiving week, we took the opportunity to introduce our students to the holiday's traditions. We talked about turkeys, pies, football, food, and Black Friday!  We shared photos of our Thanksgiving dinners and family, which set the stage for a 'speed dinner conversation' activity. Topics were displayed on the board, and the students discussed each for 30 seconds before rotating to the next partner and topic. Due to an odd number of attendees, I joined the rotation. The prompt, "Talk about someone who has done something nice for you," paired me with Mauricio, a student who we've known since our arrival. It was heartwarming to hear him talk about us; he talked about the difficulty of coming to Malta by himself, the loneliness, and the struggle of being away from loved ones. He expressed how we had always made him feel loved and included. Overwhelmed by his gratitude, I teared up, but the timer signaled the end of our 30 seconds, and we had to continue the activity.

We also talked about gratitude.  I gave them a short lesson and a gratitude notebook and issued the Gratitude Dare Challenge that Heather Choate put in her book several years ago.  They were excited, so I'm hoping they'll do it.

Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving without food, so I decided to bring some cookies.  It would have been nice to bring a pumpkin dessert, but they don't have canned pumpkin here and I don't have the time or wherewithal to make my own, so I gave them chocolate chip cookies.  They took one bite and went crazy!  They thought they were so good!  It made me so happy that they liked them so much!

Tuesday, we got a new dryer!  We haven't had a dryer since we moved here.  We have a washer/dryer combo that takes 5 hours from start to finish to wash and dry our clothes.  When it's finally done with the 5 hour cycle, the clothes are damp and super wrinkly!  I figured it was just part of the Malta Experience, and we have been hanging our clothes out to dry on the balcony.  It only took about an hour for them to dry in the summer, but now that it's winter, it takes about 12 hours for them to dry on the rack.  I just mentioned the problem in a casual conversation with Elder Leavitt who is over missionary housing, and he suggested we get a dryer.  I didn't think I could because there wouldn't be anywhere for it to vent.  But to my surprise, he told me that they have dryers come with a container where the moisture goes and after each cycle, you empty the container.  That is amazing!  Our apartment is small, but I found a corner of the bedroom where we could fit it in.  This is bigger than Christmas for me!  It dries the clothes quickly, removes most of the wrinkles and there is a signal to let us know when the clothes are done!  Just like home!!!! It's amazing!  So very grateful!!!!

Tuesday night Institute:  I love when they all stay to talk and eat.  It's small party every week and we surely enjoy it!

This young man (behind the photo bombing Sis Vedovi) is Christian.  He has been taking the missionary discussions and coming to church for the last several months.  He always comes to Institute and any other activity we have. Unfortunately, he will be leaving us and going back to Columbia.  He too, touched my heart when with tears in his eyes, he said he had never felt so much love as he has felt over the last couple of months while attending our church.  He is such a sweet guy and he will be so missed.  We're sorry to see him go.

Wednesday was PDay and by now you probably recognize where we are in this picture!  We're back at the Blue Grotto!  Most of the missionaries hadn't been there yet and they really wanted to go there for their Pday activity.  Since Elder Wilding will be going home next week, we told him we would pick him and his companion up and give them a ride, while the others could ride the bus and meet us there.  I encouraged them to get a picture with the Falcon like the pictures we had previously had taken.  The Bird Man immediately recognized us and took some great pictures of both of the Elders.  Then we started to walk away and he called us back and told us we should take one too.  We told him he had already taken one of us, so we weren't planning to do it.  But he insisted.  So we took this picture.  He also took a cool video that we haven't figured out how to post on the blog.  We started rummaging through my purse to pay him and pulled out some bills and he refused to take them!  I insisted he take the money, but he wouldn't.  As we walked away, I commented to the Elders about what a nice man he was.  He overheard me and shouted out, Thank you so MUCH!  That just made my day!  Next time I'm getting a picture with him. 

Although the day was overcast, and the sky was blue and the pictures we took were beautiful!

Elder Wilding and Stewart

When the sisters' arrived, we went down to get them set up for a boat ride. Since there wasn't enough room for us on the boat and we had already taken the ride two other times, we opted to take pictures instead.

The day was so beautiful that we wandered around, taking more photos!

The whole gang!  Eight junior missionaries and two slightly older ones(us)!  We love all of these young men and young women so much!

That night, we took a flight to Rome as we had a fingerprinting appointment scheduled for the next morning. It was disappointing to miss spending Thanksgiving with our American friends in Malta, but when the government sets a date for visa requirements, attendance is mandatory.

This is the line we got to wait in on Thanksgiving morning for our fingerprinting appointment.  It wasn't as bad as it looks.  We've heard horror stories from other missionaries about how they had to wait up to 5 hours for this. The line was long in the beginning, but once we got in, it was only about an hour to complete.  

A very nice thing happened while we were there.  Before we could go in, they searched our bags and made us take all liquids out, even small containers that would easily get by at the airport.  I had a small bottle with spray hand sanitizer in it and I had to leave it behind.  They told me I could come back and get it when I was done.  But I completely forgot about it.  As I walking out the exit door, I heard a man shouting at me to come back.  I had no idea what for, until he grabbed my hand sanitizer and handed it to me.  I thought that was so nice!  It seems like every day of our mission someone does something nice for us!

Experiencing the autumn colors in Rome was delightful. We don't get sights like this in Malta.

That evening, we set out to explore the city alongside other senior missionaries. It was a splendid night, and aside from a few light rain showers, the weather was ideal.

The Fontana della Barcaccia, or the Fountain of the Old Boat, is a Baroque-style freshwater fountain located in Rome's Piazza di Spagna, just beneath the Spanish Steps. Its name derives from its design, which resembles a half-submerged ship with water spilling over its bow. Commissioned by Pope Urban VIII, the fountain was completed in 1627 by Pietro Bernini and his son, Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

The unique shape was inspired by an event before the construction of the river walls when the Tiber River frequently flooded. In 1598, a severe flood left the Piazza di Spagna submerged under a meter of water.  After the waters receded, a boat was left marooned in the square. Thirty years later, Bernini designed the Fontana della Vecchia Barca, mirroring the flat-bottomed river barges that were used for transporting goods along the Tiber in the 17th century.  

The Piazza di Spagna, located in the heart of Rome is a renowned square. Positioned at the base of the Spanish Steps, it gets its name from the Palazzo di Spagna, home to the Embassy of Spain to the Holy See.

The Christmas lights and decor were beautiful!

The Pantheon

Situated directly in front of the Pantheon was this beautiful little outdoor cafe.  

This is where we had our Thanksgiving Dinner this year!

YUP!  Pasta for Thanksgiving!  When in Rome....

No pumpkin pie this year, but the Gelato was amazing!

After dinner we took a stroll around Rome!

The Colosseum at night was so beautiful!

We drove back to the temple at the end of the night to meet up with our host couple, the Whitings.  As we walked around the temple grounds I noticed this beautiful reflection of the temple in the window of the Visitor's Center.  

The next day, we had enough time to do a session in the temple and lunch with the Whitings before we headed back to Malta. 

 

Our apartment may not have much space, but on Saturday we put up a somewhat charming little tree, added a cute Christmas tablecloth, and I put my phone beneath the tree to play some festive holiday music.  Let the Christmas spirit begin!

Sunday:

Our second YSA Sunday School class took place last Sunday. We swapped rooms with the Primary to accommodate our group in a larger space, yet it was still packed! The YSAs thoroughly enjoy gathering together. Naomi led the lesson once more and did an outstanding job! Here is Naomi capturing a selfie with our class.

After church, we hurried home to prepare dinner for the Elders. We were happy to also include Darwin and Emilio, who are newly baptized members. 

It was Elder Stewart's birthday, and he requested my Andes Mint Cookies.  Most of them were eaten, but he got a few to take home!

It was also Elder Wilding's last day in the mission.  He will be going home on Monday, and we will really miss him.  He has been an amazing missionary and we've grown to love him.

That's me, photobombing Darwin and Elder Wilding!

Next, we met with our YSA Leaders to plan activities for the remainder of the year. Working with Naomi (top left) and John Paul (bottom center) is a delight. We are looking forward to our upcoming activity. Keep an eye on our next post to see how it turns out!