Missionary Life

 It hardly seems possible that we've now been here in Italy for over three months.  I remember our boys describing the passing of time during their missions where the days seem like weeks, and the weeks seem like days.  

Yesterday, Liz and I headed down to Lecce, a city of 100,000 people located in the heel of Italy.  Our Taranto missionary district had their weekly district council at the branch meeting house so we headed down to join them.  The drive from Bari is very beautiful and one of our favorites, as it follows the coastline down with the Adriatic Sea to our left and miles and miles of olive groves to our right.  On the way down, we decided on diversion and left the main road to pass through Ostuni, know as the white city.  It is built on a hill overlooking the valleys of olive groves and the sea to the west.  The church has been working on producing the Book of Mormon videos, and they recently filmed the video for the allegory of the tame and wild olive trees, found in Jacob 5, at an olive grove in Ostuni.  The video segment is still in post production, but when you're finally able to view it, you can catch a glimpse of the beauty all around us here in the Puglia Region.

After our district council, we had made arrangements to take the sister missionaries in Lecce out with our car to find and meet less active members in the area.  In our efforts, we had a curious encounter with a black cat.  We stopped to look for a family in a several story apartment building.  Thinking that the family lived on the fifth floor, we took the elevator up and all got out.  When it turned out to be the wrong floor, Liz and I headed up and the sisters headed down looking for the right door.  On our way up, we passed a black cat, siting on the staircase.  On our way back down the the fifth floor, we startled the cat and he jumped on to the window sill as though he were trying to get out.  Good thing the window was closed as we were very high up.  One floor down, we met a woman who described the cat as a stray that had wandered in and couldn't find it's way out again.  As the sisters were equally unsuccessful in finding the family, we decided to head every further up the staircase.  As we again passed the now very agitated cat, it gave each of us a menacing and threatening hiss and snarly as we passed.  I passed last, and as I did, it ran and jumped up behind me and over the opening in the staircase, barely catching the opposite stairs heading up and ran up to the floor above us.  A miss and that cat would have dropped several stores to certain death below.

Now we were all a bit jumpy and decided to take the elevator up to the top floor bypassing the menacing cat on the floor between us.  However, once we reached the top floor, we discovered the cat guarding our exit from the elevator.  I managed to shoo it away but it gave us all a start to find it there hissing at us as we got out of the elevator.  Unfortunately, we weren't successful in finding the family we were looking for, but we did find a couple of people yesterday.

We love serving as missionaries in this beautiful land among this amazing people.  We miss our children and grandchildren, parents, siblings and friends, but we truly love being here.  We'll try harder to keep this blog more up to date and relevant.

Love, Luke & Liz

Our first trip to Calabria

A week ago we made our first trip to Calabria (the 'toe' of Italy) to visit three branches, located in Crotone, Cosenza and Catanzaro (also know in the mission as the Three-C's).  We left last Friday morning to Elder and Sister Jones' place in Crotone.  They are a senior couple there working to help shore up the little branches there.  In their branch in Crotone, he serves as the Elder's Quorum and Sunday School President and she serves as the Relief Society First Counselor.  Outside of them and the missionaries, they regularly have six members in attendance.  While in Crotone, we were able to visit with Katia, one of our sweet YSA's.

On Saturday, we headed to Cosenza with the Jones'.  They went with us as far as Santa Severina, a tiny village perched on the top of a hill protected by a foreboding castle.  The castle was in remarkable condition and very nicely restored.  After touring the castle and the nearby Duomo, we had a lunch outside in the main square before getting back on the road.  The Jones' headed home while we continued on, up through the mountains of the National Park of the Sila, in the toe of Italy.  As we approached Cosenza, we dropped off the mountain in a series of switchbacks, passing through quaint little towns as we did so.

In Cosenza, we had an activity planned with the YSA's in the branch, and we had four of them in attendance.  It was delightful to meet these young adults and visit with them.  Gigi, who also serves as a stake YSA leader, organized the activity.  She is originally from Brazil with Italian heritage, and she's currently getting her missionary papers started and will soon be heading into the mission field.  Another of the YSA's was Lord from Nigeria, who's only been in Italy since January where he is attending university on a scholarship.  He's also a returned missionary, having served in Ghana.  In all, it was a very enjoyable evening.  Afterward, we headed back over the mountains to the Jones' home.

On Sunday morning, we caravanned with the Jones' to Catanzaro to attend church.  It was a very lively branch where most of the members are native Brazilians.  I was asked a few days earlier to speak in sacrament meeting.  We had a lovely time and enjoyed being with the saints there.

After church, we then headed directly home, about a four-and-a-half hour drive.  In the process, we were able to catch glimpses of all three of Italy's Seas, the Tyrrheanian, the Jonian, and the Adriatic.  It was a very beautiful road trip through mountains, olive groves and plains.  Once home, we prepared for the second leg of our four-day sleepover with the Jones', as they came up to Bari to attend Zone Conference on Monday.  They also stayed until Tuesday where we took them to Matera to see the Sassi there.

On Thursday, we had the opportunity to drive the Libertà Sisters to see a less active member who lives about 30 minutes away.  It was a sweet visit, and I had the opportunity to give her a priesthood blessing.  Later that evening, we were asked by the Poggiofranco Sisters to sit in a lesson they had scheduled with a man who attends their English class.  It also was a very sweet experience for us.  As Liz and I walked home that evening, we talked about our remarkable day and reflected on the amazing experiences we're having together here on our mission in Italy.

We love you all and we're very much looking forward to participating in General Conference this evening.  The 10:00am session will be live for us tonight at 6:00pm.  We'll watch the second and third Saturday sessions tomorrow, followed up with the Sunday morning session again Sunday evening.  We'll likely watch the last Sunday session sometime next week.

Love,

Anziano & Sorella Ellsworth

Castello di Santa Severina

With the YSA's in Cosenza

At Matera with the Jones'

Transfers

 This week we experienced our first transfers in the mission. It is a strange feeling to be saying goodbye to missionaries we have grown to love and also excited to be welcoming the new ones and realizing that everyone will move in and out but us.

We said goodbye to Sorelle Beus and Thompson in the Bari District as well Sorella Groberg and Anziano Wilding in Taranto District. We have loved working with each of them.  

One of our responsibilities is helping with transfers so Wednesday and Thursday we did a lot of trips to the train station. On Thursday we had a mix up with luggage. Right as the train was ready to leave Sorella Beus realized that her backpack with all her study materials didn't make it out of the car. She was transferring to Castellammare which is about 3 hours from here. Soooooo, road trip for us!

Friday morning we got up early so we could get Sorella Beus' backpack to her early. We were there by 10:00 am. With our scheduled cleared until 7:00 pm we decided to take a little side trip to Sorrento and then we drove the Amalfi Coast. What a spectacular drive. In the summer it gets really congested and they have put restrictions on the amount of cars. But in March it isn't too crowded yet.  And by too crowded I mean no traffic jams. In every town there were cars parked for at least a kilometer from the town. The Amalfi Coast is incredible and draws crowds year round, but in the summer the traffic can get backed up by 5 or 6 kilometers. It is a crazy drive full of narrow roads and hairpin turns. You are also on the edge of a cliff the entire drive. It has been rated one of the best drives in the world! We can see why! It was spectacular! We marveled as city bus drivers made the incredibly tight turns around curves in the road. That is some driving skill for sure!

The other excitement this week was Stake Conference in Taranto which is about a 90 minute drive from here. We decided to stay overnight in Taranto since we had been asked to speak in the GANS class on Saturday as well as the general session Sunday morning. The GANS class was really great because we were able to meet several of our young adults who we hadn't yet. Speaking in both meetings was nerve wracking for me  but Luke handled like a champ!

The Sorella of Bari

Sorrento Coast

Amalfi Coast

Amalfi Coast

The Missionary Life Continues

Liz and I continuing to adjust to missionary life and we continue to work on our Italian.  I've got the advantage of having previously served as a missionary in Italy, so I have a good understanding of the language.  Liz is still working hard and doing well, though it can be frustrating for her on occasion.

This past Sunday we attended church at the Taranto 1st Ward in Statte.  They met in a lovely old building converted into a chapel.  The members were warm and welcoming and we enjoyed seeing Sisters Groberg and Gray, the two young missionaries assigned to that ward.  After the meetings, we were invited to have pranzo (lunch) with a family that lives within the ward boundaries.  We were surprised to find out that they live 40 miles away, in the city of Bernalda.  They had a remarkable conversion story they shared with us--and we love hearing the member's conversion stories.  They then fed us a scrumptious lunch of many courses.  We had fried cheese balls with fresh cheese and olives as an appetizer.  The first course was a hearty serving of an amazing lasagna.  By now we were pretty full.  But wait, there's more!  The second course was breaded fried chicken filets.  I had to beg off part of my second helping of the chicken to Liz for the assist!  Next was French fried potatoes.  Then finally, the end was in sight.  She served us some very yummy gelato, then we had our pick of pistachios and brazil nuts.  In all, we were there about three hours and we such a lovely time.  Our host confessed that her dream would be to be able to serve a pranzo to a dozen people each day.  She also told us that when she hosted missionaries (the sisters were with us), that she felt like she was hosting the Savior.  We were a little embarrassed with the comparison, but grateful for her sincere desire to serve us.

After the pranzo, we had to get home fairly quickly to host the young adults in the Bari wards to our weekly family night.  We got to drive past such beautiful scenery on the way, past yet more olive groves, blossoming peach and apricot orchards, green fields with cattle grazing, mountaintop villages made of stone, and deep canyons and rolling hills.  This region is Basilicata, in the instep of the Italian boot-shaped peninsula.

Then this past Wednesday, we drove up to Foggia to inspect the Elder's apartment there, then to take the Elders out on a preparation day activity of their choice.  They chose well, and we headed East into the Gargano National Park.  We drove up a very steep, windy road to the city of Monte Sant'Angelo, 2,600 feet above the Adriatic Sea spread out below.  After stopping for a picnic lunch, we headed up to the old part of the city to see the Sanctuary of Saint Michael the Archangel.  This is a very old shrine with the main chapel having been dug deep in an underground cave.  As we descended down the grand staircase, it was interesting to see many of the dates carved into the soft limestone.  One I noted was written in pencil by Angelo, from the city of Gifoni, dated February 1664.  I considered all that had happened since that date!  

After the visiting the Sanctuary, we headed back up to the top of Mount Gargano to the Castle.  With Liz being such a castle buff, we had to see the castle too.  And it didn't disappoint.  The oldest part of the castle, the Giant's Tower, dates back to the year 979.  It has bee nicely restored and you can access many parts of it, including some gloomy prison cells, and a very nicely restored principle residence that shows what it likely looked like in its heyday.  The views from the wall were truly amazing, with vast views to the South over the Adriatic, and views to the North over the Umbrian Forest.  It was overcast, but the clouds gave our photos great lighting and effect.

Afterward, we were able to get our Elders back to their apartment in Foggia a little after 5:00pm, so they still had some time to visit with their families before resuming missionary work.  We drove home in time to attend the Poggiofranco ward council.  We truly love our work here and love being missionaries in this remarkable land.

District Pranzo after district council

Our first "chair stack" to show how many transfers we've been on our mission

Appetizers

First Course, Lasagna

Second Course, Chicken

Third Course, French fries

Then, gelato for dessert

Then nuts if you're still hungry!

Our First Zone Conference

We participated on our first zone conference this week and what a special treat that was.  In addition to the 28 full-time missionaries here in the Puglia Zone, we also had our mission leaders, President & Sister Morris, the assistants and a dear service missionary serving here in Bari.  It was an amazing time for us.  All the missionaries look forward to zone conference, which happens once each transfer (six weeks).  We all loved the opportunity to meet, learn and grow together.  We hosted Anziano and Sorella Jones, a senior couple serving in Crotone, about 5½ hours south of us by car in the Calabria region.  We regularly meet at district council with the Bari and Taranto districts, so it was fun to get to know the missionaries that serve rather remotely in the mission in the Calabria district.

We got to shuttle several companionships back and forth between the train station and the chapel, including our mission leaders.  It was nice to get to know President and Sorella Morris a little better.  In all, it was a very sweet day and couldn't help but think that any of the parents of these wonder missionaries wouldn't do to be able to attend and feel the amazing spirit of these meetings.  I felt very privileged to be there and participate there.  Words can't describe the joy we feel as we serve alongside these sweet Elders and Sisters.

In other news, Liz and I went on a field trip to check out Matera.  We had heard that it was pretty amazing  but didn't really know what to expect.  Well, it turned out to be pretty amazing after all.  The Sassi di Matera (Rocks of Matera) was an area settled millennia ago by people who carved their homes into the cliff walls along the river below.  Due to extreme poverty of the Sassi dwellers, the area was emptied in the 1950's with the inhabitants relocated to a new city built above.  Since the 1980's, as interest had increased, the Sassi have been gentrified and restored.  It was truly an amazing place to see.

Afternoon shadows forming

An old chapel carved into the stone cliffs

Overlooking Sassi di Matera behind us

Duomo di Matera

P-day and other travels

 On p-day this week we took a little trip out to Castel del Monte about an hour west of us. The castel (Italian spelling) is a beautiful octagonal castle built in the 1240s. Everywhere we look here seems like a reminder that our own country is so young in comparison! Castel del Monte is incredibly well preserved. As we walked thorough it I could imagine it being lived in. I do have to say that was absolutely freezing inside (even though it wasn't a terribly cold day). A reminder that I do appreciate indoor heating! One of the unique features of this castel is that had indoor plumbing. The builder of the castel took the idea from Arabic castles and apparently was ahead of his time!

After we toured the Castel we drove into the town of Andria. We happened to hit the town during pranzo and it was more or less a ghost town. Pranzo is interesting, in the big cities or tourist areas you don't see it as much, but the entire town closes up and takes a break. Everything closes, including all the restaurants. So, generally between 1:30pm - 4:00pm there are no stores or restaurants open. We wandered around Andria for about 45 minutes and only saw one or two people. 

We are putting lots of kilometers on our little car. We also did the drive to Taranto (about 80 mins south of us) twice this week.  The drive to Taranto is fun because we go past miles and miles of Olive trees. Apparently there is a castle in Taranto as well. We'll have to check that out after District Conference next week.

Adjusting to life in Bari

 We have been here in Bari for a week now. The weather has been unseasonably cold and we are looking forward to it getting warmer so we can get out more and explore our new home.  We are slowly figuring out what to do with our time. There is no set schedule for senior missionaries so we get to decide how to fill our time with meaningful activities. Right now most of our responsibilities happen in the evenings. I am sure as time goes by we will get busier and find more to do. 

On Saturday the missionaries welcomed us with a get together at the church. We were hoping to meet some of our Gans (Giovani Adulti Non Sposati or YSA) that evening but due to last minute scheduling it ended up just being the missionaries and one other sister, Sister Viterbo who is serving as a service missionary here. We were delighted to meet her and look forward to getting to know her better.

On Tuesday we attended District Council with our district in Bari. We have four Anziani (Elders) who work and live in Bari as well as the two Foggia Anziani. We have four Sorelle (Sisters) who are in  Bari also. After the meeting we invited the Anziani to have pranzo (lunch) at our home. Next week we will have the Sorelle. We enjoyed getting to know Anziani Sorenson & Stafford (Poggiafranco), Whitney & Olson (Liberta) and Seamons and Reynolds (Foggia).  We have been so impressed with all the young missionaries we have met!

On Thursday we drove to Taranto which is about an hour away from us. Driving in Italy is always an 'exciting' thing. Cars will whizz past us on either side of the vehicle whether there is a passing lane or not! My favorite move (and I use that term loosely) is when the cars pass on the left and basically go between the two lanes on a two lane road with cars coming at them. Nobody seems phased by this behavior and I wonder how long it will take for us to get used to it! Luke is unflappable as always and I have vowed to never drive here! 

In Taranto we attended the District Council for the Taranto area which consisted of two sets of Sorelle (serving in Statte and Lecche) and four Elders (serving in Taranto and Brindisi). After D.C we toured the empty sister apartment near the ward building. Taranto has a rather large group of GANS and we are thinking of using the empty apartment as our home base when we visit Taranto. 

The Taranto apartment is huge! It is sparsely furnished (a typical missionary apartment) but it is in a safe, modern building. It hasn't been used in over a year so it needs to be cleaned. The heat, water and gas are all turned off right now, but we are excited about the possibility of using the apartment to we can be more present in Taranto. 

One of the fun things about being in a new city is discovering the area. This week we went to the amazing open air market down the road. They have an excellent variety of fruits and vegetables for sale. We think we will shop there for most of our produce. We also have had fun sampling local cuisine. The missionaries pointed us to the best place in town for focaccia. Yum, it did not disappoint. Everyone is telling us we need to try the panzarotti (a deep fried pizza pocket), we look forward to trying that soon. 

We are so happy to be here in Bari. The members are wonderful and the missionaries have been so fantastic. We are hoping to start teaching English classes this next week which will give us more to do. We love it here already and are excited to be a part of this wonderful work.

                                                               

                                                    The open air market near our apartment!

                                                             

 

                                    Back Row: Anziani Sorenson, Stafford, Olsen and Whitney

                                     Front Row: Sorelle Beus, Viterbo and Cheney

Warm focaccia on a cold day!