FEBRUARY IS . . . GONE. . . and MARCH comes in like a LAMB (sorry Utah and Idaho)!!

     I actually "owe" two emails--I have just been. . . .well, I just dislike that "I'm so busy" excuse, don't you? So--I'll just try to catch up with the Happenings here in Rome. First of all--

WE HAD VISITORS!! Our very first Visitors, Bob and Penny Wright, from Preston, Idaho, came on Wednesday, February 15th to spend a few days with us on their way to a 10-day Tour of Jordan and Israel.

 

Bob and Penny Wright--traveling "light"   

                                               

Carol and Ron and Penny and Bob Wright--enjoying some Gelato that Bob had to convince the owners to re-open their Gelateria and serve us.

                                                                                                

                                     Enjoying some Pizza di Napoli--with the Owner--who sang and danced for Ron

 We enjoyed their visit so much! We even ventured out to the Airport to pick them up. Wow--they had a lot of luggage--but even more Wow--they had an extra piece of luggage so they could bring us some "stuff" from home. (According to Missy--it was "a lotta of stuff"!!) AND WE SO APPRECIATED IT! BUT-- no more talk about luggage. We are just glad our little Corolla had a place for it all!  After we packed them all in the car--and got back on the Freeway to drive to our apartment--the sound of the something is not right inside the car  alarm going off and no amount of driving or re-closing doors was going to help. THEN--Bob (or was it Penny?) thought to connect the middle seatbelt in the back seat--where 2 large bags of luggage had been put for the ride home. BINGO--THAT WAS IT!!  AS long as that seatbelt was fastened we were ON OUR WAY! It was really our first trip on the Autostrada--European Freeways--AND they do travel FAST!!

     Like I said we did enjoy our Visitors--hoping they had a great time too. Only 3 full days in Rome--hardly seems enough to see much in Downtown, Rome Temple visit besides throwing in a GOLF OUTING to the Marco Simone Golf Course--Home for the 2023 RYDER CUP COMPETITION! Yep!! Another Dream Come True for Anziano Mumford!  And what a beautiful Saturday it turned out to be!!  Now for those who are not Golfers, let me (with my notes from Ron) tell you about the Ryder Cup, so you can maybe see why this is such a BIG DEAL.  THIS GOLF TOURNAMENT is hosted every year--back and forth between America and Europe. Those in charge of the planning of this Golf Competition choose a Golf Course to Host and then a Committee (or such) chooses a TEAM of 12 GOLFERS from Each area --USA vs EUROPE. It is held at the end of the Golf season--so these Golfers are chosen as to how well their Season has gone. They are surely among the very top as you can imagine with COUNTRY PRIDE riding on the waves (Atlantic, that is). There is a huge Trophy that brings "bragging rights" back to the Winning Country or Continent. So--Marco Simone Golf Course, I find out after we have been in Italy for about 3 weeks,--not only is it the HOST GOLF COURSE--but it is within 15-20 minutes from our apartment!!  Cielo (heaven), Ron's in Cielo. So we drive out to check it out  and see if there is a VOLUNTEER LIST that Ron could get his name on. Well, it is a Private Course and yes, the Volunteers have ALL BEEN PROCURED. BUT HE LEFT HIS CONTACT INFO--JUST IN CASE. 

So, he did find out that even though the Course is Private--they are happy to take a non-member's (of the Golf Course, that is) money to play a Round of golf. And that's how Ron and Bob were able to Golf 18-holes on this quite challenging course on Saturday, February 18TH, 2023 in the countryside of Rome. Ron and I traded shifts with another couple--and then they came in 'early' to relieve us--so we could swing by our apartment and pick up Bob and Penny and travel out to the Course for a 12:10 Tee-Time. We had to rent clubs, a cart for both couples plus green fees. Not cheap--BUT OH THE MEMORIES!! Like I said, a beautiful day--low 60s, almost no wind and not a cloud in the sky. 

Bob and Penny Wright (on the USA Cart)

                                    

                                             Ron and Bob in front of the Golf Course Club entry   

                         Ron and Carol (on the European cart)

I have so many photos of that amazing Golf Outing--you'll have to check my Blog for those cherished shots!! WE did make that memory and finished just as the sun was setting (It gets dark earlier here).

So the Wrights left on Sunday Feb 19th, 2023--heading for Amman, Jordan and the start of a very rigorous 10-day tour. Good thing they are in shape. We so enjoyed the time they came and spent in the Rome Temple and time at the Visitor's Center while we did our Temple shift. Wonderful day.

Turns out that February was a month of "gearing up" to say more Good Byes--to not 1, but 2 Senior Missionary Couples. Lyle and Susanne Anderson from Monticello, Utah and Eric and Loree Thorderson from Gilbert, Arizona.  These 2 couples are some of the first Couples called to the Rome Temple Mission after the Temple opened in March of 2019. They got here--the Thordersons first and then the Andersons. Served for a short time (well, not so short for the Thordersons--they served in the Temple Baptistry for a YEAR) and then Covid-19 hit with a vengeance in Italy and they were sent home. After a year or so--when the Temple was barely reopening--they were called to Return. Both Couples served "more than the 18-months of a normal Mission. It turns out that the THORDERSONS  ended up serving 28 months--but not continuous. Sorella Thorderson said in her parting words to us at their "Arrivederci Party" this past Wednesday, March 1, 2023, that her children (they have 4 girls) were starting to feel like maybe the Thordersons "loved the Italians more than them--they had been gone so long. "  Yes--it's probably time to Return Home.
     

Loree Thorderson, Carol Mumford, Ron Mumford and Eric Thorderson (all 6'8" of him)

 Our Missionary Group and Some of the talian Ordinance workers. at Anderson's Depart

                                                                                                                         Lyle and  SusanneAnderson (with Carol and Ron Mumford in the background)

   THE ANDERSONS were "celebrated" a few weeks ago--and then they have had family visiting for 2 weeks. So they also departed this week. They will ALL be sorely missed.  Both of the Anzianos served here as young men and their command of the language returned very well. And both Sorellas have worked so hard to become conversant in Italian and the Italians loved them for that effort!! They are like the glue that really kept things running and were often seen at the temple during extra shifts to make schedules work and see how best to solve some problems that our Temple President Toronto had no experience with. WE HAVE ONE EXPERIENCED SENIOR COUPLE LEFT--THE LEES. (Who will depart in early June of this year). That will leave 6 Senior Couples left here to serve in the Rome Temple---newbies for sure--the range of service from 6 months to 1 day, with 1 more Couple arriving in 10 days. We are on "High Alert" to RUN FASTER and JUMP HIGHER!! Missions are great--but saying Good Bye to those that you serve with 5 days a week --6 hours each day--is REALLY HARD. 

I admire these Companionships so much for the Trails they have blazed and the legacy they leave.  Both Couples really wanted to gather a record of "Conversion Stories" of the italian Saints--but especially Anziano Thorderson. So he started looking in the records and approaching these wonderful Italian Saints about either writing their stories or agreeing to an Interview where the story of their Conversion was told and then typed up to be added to a huge book that is being kept at the Visitor's Center. There is also a website where Local Italians take turns reading the Book of Mormon so those of us who are attempting to read and study it--can hear the words pronounced correctly as we listen and follow along. Wonderful idea! 

     The weather in Rome has really started to warm and the Italians say that "Primavera" (or Spring) is just around the corner. And Spring begins the big Rush of Visitors to Rome and to the Temple and Visitor's Center. We are so excited for this--as this past few weeks we have had large groups of Single Adults (not YSA--but SA--over 30 yrs of age), come down from Milan and surrounding areas to participate in all Ordinances at the Temple.  Two Endowment Sessions were full to the max of 64 (and that with extra chairs brought in) and Sealings were busy with all 3 Sealing Rooms going and over 15 people in each. The Baptistry was maxed out all morning on the 2 days this Group of SA was here.  Ron met their "Organizer" and boy! was she organized! She cares about this Program and wanted as many to participate as could and it was planned and carried out with perfection. It is so thrilling to see the Temple full of Patrons and the lavoranti (Ordinance workers) working and accomplishing the Lord's work insieme (together).

     Well that's going to do it for this email--but i already have 1 or 2 others "forming in my head"--so there is much to tell you about.  It is beautiful here but our prayers are for you that have had so much snow in Utah and Idaho.  We pray the snows will melt slowly and THAT FLOODING WILL BE KEPT TO A MINIMUM. We know that this winter has been a real blessing for these areas---and therefore, our complaints should be kept to a minimum--but also that much snow and cold temps create their own problems, too. So we send our love and support to you all at this time!

With  from Rome,

Sorella and Anziano Mumford

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!   HURRAH!!