Sunday, July 27, 2008

A Sunday in the Rome Mission...

Our first Sunday in Rome was quite an amazing one. We went to church and the missionaries translated everything. It was wonderful to be able to hear what they were saying! Once when I was talking to Elder Greener (the British missionary), I was thanking him for translating. I told him how I was falling asleep during the baptism program Saturday night without the translation. He said that listening to Italian, when you don't understand it, is like listening to a beautiful lullaby. It's true.

After church, we ran home and made the feast of a lifetime! I think this is pretty common of an occurrence for Karen. She invited everyone she came in contact with, so it seemed. We had missionaries (both Elders, sisters, and couples), some ward members, investigators and even some non-member friends of Acersons that live nearby. We had a true American dinner of pork roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, carrots, green salad, and homemade rolls with butter and jam. Everyone seems to love Karen's American cooking. They don't cook like that at all here. They were all raving about her rolls, saying they were so sweet. I'm sad that I forgot to take any pictures during dinner. I was too busy stuffing my face!

After dinner there was lots and lots of visiting. We even had a fun arm wrestling contest between some of the missionaries (I can't find the picture, but I will post as soon as I can). We were saying goodbye to a missionary couple, the Wilkeys, from England. They were leaving to go home the next morning.

The missionaries then headed down to the Spanish Steps to sing. We tagged along because it sounded like an adventure (and, I hadn't seen much of Rome yet). It was really a great experience.

It was raining a bit, so we gathered all the umbrellas we could. Once we started singing though, it had stopped.

While we were analyzing what the rules/regulations were about public singing on the steps, a few of us got drinks from the fountain. It is so interesting here in Italy. All of the fountains have water that is really fabulous well water. It is safe to drink and tastes wonderful!





We found a spot right down the street from the steps and started singing. At first I just watched, then I joined for a while. It was fun for me, although I kept telling them I was ruining the sweet spirit there. It was hard to sing familiar hymns in a different language. When I would think that I finally had the chorus down, we would move to a different song.


I love this picture of Sister Ferry, talking to this dad and his two daughters.


It was cool to watch the missionaries talk to those that walked by. What courage and dedication it takes to be a missionary. I am so proud of these Elders and Sisters here in Rome, they are impressive for sure.

3 comments:

Moab Cozzens said...

It has been so fun to watch your "tour" of Rome. I loved your pictures of the missionaries mingling and talking to people. I wish there was someone in France who could take those pictures of Brennan for me. You should try to get those pictures to those missionary's parents. They would love them!

Darrell said...

Looks like you had a fantastic time!

الخشب said...

Hey Ellen, its your long lost nephew Derek. I really enjoyed the pictures of your trip. If you want to look us up, we are derekandjanelle.blogspot.com
I hope all is well with everyone.