Malta Week 28

Christmas lights, gelato and a baptism are just a few of the highlights of this magnificent week!

On Monday night, the Vizzinis invited us to their home for dinner. They are a lovely family from Africa. Very few people invite us to dinner here; the only ones who have so far have been Americans. We had the missionaries step in for us and teach our English class that night.  We really enjoyed the delicious food and more importantly, getting to know them. It was a rare treat for us to spend the evening with this cute little family.

Tuesday night Institute

Earlier this month, the mission office challenged all the missionaries to test their smoke detectors.  They had to do it within 10 minutes of our weekly Zoom meeting and send a picture to the senior couples.  You can see Steve in this picture testing ours!

The reward for testing the smoke alarm was for their senior couple to take them out for Gelato.  

We took them to Tiffany's in Valletta, our favorite Gelato Place!  We needed to get white elephant gifts for Zone Conference next week, so we went early with Sister Bennet and McIntyre and got some shopping done.  It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed taking the missionaries out for a treat! 

We left them to shop and Steve and I sneaked off and had lunch!

I really want to ride the Ferris Wheel before the Christmas Season is over.  But Sister Bennet and McEntyre needed a ride home, so we didn't have time that day!

Wednesday Night English Class

The town of Mosta is fully decorated for Christmas now.  The lights are beautiful.  This is the street that leads to the Mosta Dome.  All of the lighted banners have Christmas words on them.  After our class on Wednesday night, we decided to walk down the entire street.  It was a chilly night, but our hearts were warm as we felt the spirit of Christmas!

The Mosta Dome is adorned with simple but beautiful lights.

The main street in Mosta is stunning!  I love driving to our church each night and enjoying this beautiful sight!

Saturday at The Christmas Market in Rabat  

We enjoyed walking through one of the chapels that featured these beautiful Creche Displays

The streets were lined with these little markets selling lots of Christmas Crafts.

This is the one that really caught my eye.  This booth had dozens of little Creche Displays.  The ones that interested me most were the three little ones in the front.  They were made in Peru, but they were to represent the people of Malta.    

I was captivated by this piece featuring a Maltese knight as Joseph and a Maltese fishing boat as the manger. I purchased it to add it to my collection.

Saturday night we had another successful YSA Activity, playing Christmas Carol Pictionary and Love my Neighbor. 

 

The highlight of the week was the baptism of Seyi Opeyemi Oretuyi on Sunday afternoon.  It was a cold day at St Paul's Bay.(Pictured is St Paul's Island)

Elder Grinceri agreed to perform the baptism, which was an act of bravery in those cold, frigid waters!

Following the Baptismal ordinance, Sister Alvarado and Sister McIntyre sang a beautiful song, and the confirmation followed. 

Despite the cold weather, there was an amazing turnout from our branch.  The sisters didn't think we needed refreshments because they didn't think that many people would come and/or stay to eat them.  But Seyi surprised us all by bringing refreshments for all of us.  Despite the cold weather, everyone stayed for about an hour to visit afterwards.  It was wonderful! 

Earlier during the day in Sacrament Meeting, there was a talk given by Jamie Valencia Gomez, our branch president's sister. She gave the talk in Spanish with the help of a translator. The theme she was given was the conference talk by Elder Kearon, The Church of Joy. I loved her talk because it so perfectly described the feelings and experiences of many of the people in our branch.  With her permission I am sharing it on my blog.  As you read it, I hope you feel the spirit of joy that is here in the Mosta Branch of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints:

Good morning, sisters and brothers.

Welcome to the Church of Joy.

 I feel that these words are really special for the Malta branch. As you know, I come from Pereira, Colombia, and there the church is bigger. My family, the Valencia family, is about 30% of all the members, which made it very normal to feel in a place of trust. But when I arrived in Malta, I felt something completely different. It really is like arriving directly at the grandparents’ house and receiving hugs and kisses from the heart. You can feel the joy from the entrance, all the way to sharing the classes with each of you.

I would like to begin with this scripture...

2 Nephi 2:25

"Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."

Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said in the October 2024 General Conference:

We are members of the church of joy! And nowhere should our joy as a people be more apparent than when we gather together each Sabbath in our sacrament meetings to worship the source of all joy! Here we assemble with our ward and branch families to celebrate the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, our deliverance from sin and death, and the Savior’s powerful grace! Here we come to experience the joy, refuge, forgiveness, thanksgiving, and belonging found through Jesus Christ!

For me especially, coming on Sundays has become just that—a place of refuge. Surely, you have all seen me cry throughout the sacrament meeting. Don’t worry, it’s simply because this has become my safe place, and that makes me feel each of your words as if you were speaking directly to me. I truly feel the love of Jesus Christ in my life.

President Russell M. Nelson said in the October 2016 General Conference:

Life is filled with detours and dead ends, trials and challenges of every kind. Each of us has likely had times when distress, anguish, and despair almost consumed us. Yet are we here to have joy?

How, then, can we claim that joy? We can start by “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” “in every thought.” We can give thanks for Him in our prayers and by keeping covenants we’ve made with Him and our Heavenly Father. As our Savior becomes more and more real to us and as we plead for His joy to be given to us, our joy will increase.

Philippians 4:7

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

This has been a difficult journey for me, mainly because I had to leave my family, my career, my city, and the perfect weather. But truly, God prepared the way for me to be here with you today. I always felt that He was holding my hand. Coming here and reuniting with my brother filled my heart again because he is still my baby. Sometimes I have to see him as the president, but he will always be my baby. And even though I was the one who took care of him for many years, today it is he who looks out for me and gave me the opportunity to come to Malta with his support.

Then, despite the difficulties I have had to face, this branch gave me amazing angels who are with me in every moment and made it possible for me to reach the Rome temple. I still feel like it was a dream, but even though it seemed impossible, everything fell into place. Despite the trials and challenges I have faced, God made it possible for me to come to His house of prayer and feel the greatest joy possible. He made it possible for me to keep my eyes focused only on the blessings He gave me every day, and because of that, I was able to feel close to Him again.

Thank you all for your support, my angels here, who—even without being able to communicate well—know exactly when to give me their hand. Thank you all for your love and for showing me that, despite challenges, we are a church of joy.

I testify that this is the true church, that if we focus our eyes on the Savior and on the blessings we receive daily, we will clearly see His love and how great is the joy He gives us every day.

I leave this in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.