Angel Moroni

Angel Moroni was placed on the Rome Temple on March 25, 2017.  Big Day for the Rome area saints.  We were not invited to attend, this photo was taken by our Mission President, which he shared with me.

I think the bird's eye view of the Rome Temple complex is really cool.  You can see clearly the temple.  Straight across will be the visitors center, which will have the life size statue of the Christus, as well as all 12 apostles, all made in marble from Carrera (where Michael Angelo got his marble for the Pieta!)  On each side of the temple with the red roofs:  the stake center and the patron housing...I'm guessing the larger building is the patron housing.  The parking is in a semi-circle around the complex. (which is also cool).  The one tid-bit of info that you might find incredulous:  there were no historic ruins found when they dug the foundations!  Impossible in Rome!!!  Also built AFTER they had the land for the temple is a huge mall across the street which has 8 million visitors a year!  And from the mall terrace is a bird's eye view of the temple.  Now how about that?

On the same day that Moroni was placed on the temple, we (along with the couple that was training us in refugee aid from Frankfurt, the Stays) went to the east coast to a village of the name of Pescara.  There we took part in a service project putting together hygiene kits.  The Red Cross were the first to arrive and be welcomed.

Tom talking to Angelo Melone, now in the Stake Presidency but prior was the public affairs director and the man who organized the service project.  So on the same day we met Angelo Melone was the same day that Angel Moroni was placed.

 Angelo Melone....Angel Moroni.....

There was a great community feeling about the project with lots of good feelings and comradery.  Red Cross, Civil Protection, Psychologists for the People, and San D'Egidio (Catholic organization) and the Mayor's Office.  The Stays are the Europe Area Refugee Specialists and they gave a presentation on the Church's humanitarian efforts.  Very nice to have that overview, for members as well as non-members.

The assembling of hygiene kits.  It was chaos to the max, but in a couple of hours it was all organized and ready for delivery.  Amazing.  Everyone participated.  It was inspiring.

Sunday.  A member of our ward Hanim Shakir (far right) brought her investigator friend.  He only spoke Arabic so she translated for us.  Both are Egyptians.  He was a refugee who arrived back in 2012, before the huge influx of today.  His story was of becoming a Christian and being tormented for his beliefs, to the extent that he had to flee to protect his life.  His wife was unable to join him and has since passed away in Egypt, and of course he couldn't be with her.  Hanim's story:  Two marriages and two children and then joined the church at 54 (missionaries first talked to her in the park!), after which her family disowned her because of her Christian beliefs.  First son shot by the police b/c he was on drugs and doing illegal things, second son slowly took all her money.  She has served temple missions to Switzerland, London, and Frankfurt and also a mission to Manchester!  She is now 74!  Amazing woman with a burning testimony.

The Stays who came from Frankfurt for specific training in refugee aid.  Here we are for a simple lunch after church on the terrace of our small temporary apartment.  We loved that place:  right by the metro stop!  Aaargh, we miss the convenience b/c we find we have meetings almost every day downtown!

Sunday evening Senior Potluck dinner (every 6 weeks at the Mission Home)  This was our first time to attend.  It was great fun to meet all the other couples.  Most are actually working on the temple.  Front and center is Anziano Simmoncini and he does all the procuring of apartments and their upkeep.  Second row from right:  the Fenns who are the directors for the temple building: They have been here SIX years!!! Then next to them is a couple from Deseret News (Taylors, and they were just visiting). They are also the Branch Pres for the missionaries going to Rome at the MTC.   They were here to report on the placing of Angel Moroni and are good friends with the Mission Pres.  Too hard to explain everyone else, just know it was super fun to chat and get to know so many other couples here in Rome!

We were back at Tiburtina Train station to visit with MEDU and also had a meeting with the Director of Baobab:  Andrea Costa.  It was a very fruitful meeting in that we identified ways that we could help their efforts.  They truly are hands on with the refugees and are doing a lot of good. Here they are lined up for food which volunteers bring in three times a day!

  I wanted to share just one story that is printed in the MEDU booklet:
  "Today Vos Hestia Ship arrived in Pozzallo Harbor together with 300 rescued persons from two different operations.  Migrants are mainly coming from West Africa, some of them are also coming from Pakistan, Sudan: there are 105 not accompanied minors.  Many report fuel burns. Almost all the migrants said they had suffered violence and torture in Libya.    An 18 year old boy from Ivory Coast referred to the MEDU team spent more than 7 months in a Libyan prison where he was brutally beaten every day and forced to hard labor.  The boy shows clear physical signs of violence on his body and says:"My body is full of scars but larger wounds are in my heart.  I do not know if I will return to the person I was before."
A 30 year old woman from Ivory Coast lost 2 daughters, aged 14 and 6 just before boarding.  The woman told us that traffickers entered the connection house and started taking people, and they took the 2 girls.  These stories were collected by Flavia Calo, coordinator of MEDU team in Sicily. 

I like to end my posts on a lighter note.  Just a pretty hilltop town outside of Rome.

A small lake just outside of Rome.  Our P-days are really P-afternoons.  The luxury of a full day seems just that, a luxury.  Maybe it will slow down when the Italian heat sizzles?