I'm Embarrassed to Say

I've done it!  One of those typical things missionaries do...

Need I say more? 

Sorry we haven't been very talkative lately...  The buildings are just taking time and it has been a long wait for the concrete and rebar to be finished. When the walls get up we will get to some more interesting phases. 

Here's the temple from across the street. Soon they will be working on the towers. There is a place on top of the mall where we can climb the stairs and take pictures. The Patrons Housing building is on the left and behind a bit... peak of the Visitors Center behind the Temple and Stake Center on the right behind the trees.

Here is the entry gate to the site... where I waited 15 minutes to get through  the other day... sitting on the curb... hot very hot. 

... Therefore.... I got this!

My own clicker! 

Power... I now have the power!!

While I was out there... I took a picture of the fence that surrounds the temple property.

We're quite secure around here!

Tour of Vatican Gardens: 

 One of the contractors here took us to the Vatican to tour the gardens.

 Here we are with a very old Mermaid. This was just a pond inside. It seemed very very old. The rock formation was very different!

We were there in early Spring so it was a very green perfect day.

This wall is centuries old and surrounds Vatican City

A statue just inside Vatican City

It was interesting to view this historic site... I didn't take a lot of pictures and we will probably never go there again, so  I should have taken more.... Historic grounds where Popes have walked for centuries, and interesting that this is not Italy... it is it's own country inside a country. I appreciated and respected the history and what this city means to the Catholic religion. It is their headquarters, world famous... but I couldn't help but feel a little empty as I walked the grounds.

Let's see how about a picture of a pizza... 

Typical dinner here in Italy. 

Margherita Pizza 1/8 inch thick... cheese and tomato sauce.

Davids looks a little more tasty... with fungi. Just the fact that they call it fungi is enough for me not to order it!!

And a typical day :)

Elder Fenn walking out to the temple

Love and Good Wishes to all.

Remember Me and I Will Remember You

Pietru Ursuleasa is one of the workmen on the temple. A couple of months ago he came into our office to pick up a picture David had taken of him while he was working. While he was there David took him in to see the site model. He really loved seeing the model of the temple and took some information home to read.

Pouring the second level floor of the temple

 Later David asked him if he had read it and he said he had and would love to come to church with us. Since he started he has not missed a Sunday. 

From the beginning he told the missionaries, if this was true he would be baptized. On Saturday evening that happened. :) Pietru got baptized.

During his last discussion and while we were planning his baptism, we were talking about  the sacrament and the importance of remembering Christ and our covenants.  And Pietru kind of stopped everyone and said... Well, it's like the Book of Mormon says, "Remember Me, and I will Remember You."

 So I decided to title this post after his words. :)

To us, the Temple itself has had it's first baptism... He is the first of the workers on the temple to accept the gospel.

It's been a pleasure watching the conversion process and seeing Pietru gladly accept the gospel. He loves it and is very active. 

Pietru, Bishop Celestini and Anziano Fenn

Happy Mother's Day to Everyone.

Much Love, David and Carolyn

2 Visits!

 Logan and Dresden came to visit... with a suitcase full of goodies.  Yes!!

 We had such a great time having them here. We really took advantage of evenings and weekends so that we could see Rome together. It is really easy to get down town with a bus/metro ticket which costs 1 euro. So we can catch the bus just down from our house... OK, tiny apartment.. and ride about a half hour to the metro, then hop on that to get into the heart of town. Each ticket lasts 75 minutes so we can travel round trip for 2 euro.

 2 really cute faces!!!

They also saved my bacon. Dresden spent a day with me on my computer helping me learn things I really needed help with. Logan got Davids computer all cleaned up and got us functioning so much better. Can't even say what a help they were to us!! 

David, Logan and Dresden standing in front of the Pantheon. Lots of walking to get there!

Me and Dres in Bracciano a little village we all walked through for about an hour enjoying the quaint houses built on top of each other.

Romantic... YES! but remember, you can't stop at a 7-11 on your stroll. Bring water and eat before you leave the house.    One more.....

and another :)

Before we knew it Dres and Logan had come and gone, but we made some memories that will last a life time. 

Love You Two!

You can read all about their trip on their blog here

The temple construction is going along . We are still at lots of concrete and rebar stage, so I don't have a lot to say that 's new. Lot's of cement trucks everyday. :) Elder Fenn greets and talks with the workers daily and has made some good friendships. Many of the guys have questions about the church and he is able to talk with them in an easy manner. Next time I have a story, but it has to wait.....

PIETRA SANTA

Elder Fenn went on a very fun adventure last week. He loved every minute of it. The contractor rented a van and hired a driver to take the Rome team,  and the architects and design team from Salt Lake City to the stone company where the exterior and interior stone for the temple is being fabricated. They drove north for 3 hours. Pietra Santa is located west of Piza near the coast in Tuscany. The drive was beautiful.

A hillside view of Pietra Santa from SAVEMA the stone supplier. The church is always taller than any other structure in town.

                                                                  

Savema fabricates stone from all around the world. The stone in the temple will come  from Spain, Bolivia, Brazil and Italy. The exterior is from Italy. whoot whoot! I had to say that. It was a very productive trip. Final decisions were made for interior and exterior stone that will be used.

Large saw cutting through marble. One cut can take up to 24 hours.

Maybe these pictures can give you a feel for the place. While he was there he saw the stone that is being prepared for the Freedom Towers in New York. He thought that was fun.

and one more...

How many Mormon's does it take to choose the stone for a temple.....? I guess we can't post the selections yet. So I won't but they are beautiful. David found this trip fun. He is a friend to all here on the site and they rely on his translation for so much. Not just with the language but he helps to tie the cultures together and helps them understand each other.

What? You want another picture of the little village?  Ok, but just one.

We send our love to all.  Elder and Sister Fenn.

Ordinary People doing Extra Ordinary things

Being IN the mission field gives you a birds eye view of the work that is going on out here. My hat is off to the missionaries for all of the hard work they do.  They are generally a little on the thin side, seem to speak the language well, and have smiles on their faces. It's fun to see them in action and makes me appreciate even MORE, the work my sons, son in law and ALL of the young Elder's and Sister's I have seen go out into the field to do the Lord's work. HAT's OFF to all of you!!

I'd always heard the value of SENIOR couples in the mission field, but watching them and seeing what they give to the mission has given me a whole new perspective! Meet:

The Valentines: 

They are at the mission office at 9 am everyday and stay until 5, 6, 7 or 8 pm. Whatever is needed. He is the finance secretary and she helps the missionaries get "legal". They work tirelessly keeping the mission running smoothly and helping people like us adjust, find the grocery store, take us on Saturday afternoon outings and what ever else is needed. When they aren't at the office the missionaries can reach them on their cell phones and can expect a cheerful welcoming hello!! They have been true friends to us. We have already shared plenty of laughs and a few tears together.  Hat's off to the Valentine's!! Thank you for all you do for us!

David's birthday lunch... happy 55! 

Management Team on Rome Temple Site... We like to call ourselves the A team! :)

Ramon Lopez, assistant site manager, Carl Champagnie, site manager, Elder Fenn, assistant to the managers and Alvaro, Ramon's son... just back from the Priesthood session... Sunday Morning.

This is Ramon's first project with the church, he is newly hired and raring to go! It took 6 month's for Ramon to get his apartment established and his family moved here to Rome... in the meantime he flew home to Madrid, Spain on weekends to be with them... they are glad they are finally set up! 

Carl is from Manchester, England and has worked for the church and traveled all over the world being involved with temple building. He was involved with the building of the Hong Kong, Ghana, Copenhagen, Nigeria, and Preston England Temples, also the remodel of the London Temple. Sit with this guy for an evening! He has stories to tell! He just got married in December . He was never in one place long enough to find a girl! His new wife Barbara is lovely. 

So with Ramon's Spanish, and Carl's English Accent and the work crews' Italian, David is a big help pulling them all together. His language is getting better all the time!!

I hadn't thought about the time difference!

Saturday afternoon session 10pm til midnight. 

The work goes on:

Pouring concrete at the Patron Housing Building & tying rebar...all day long

and Forming Stairs

 The work goes on!!

We hope all is well with all of you. 

We send you LOVE  and some WILD POPPIES  that are just everywhere here in Rome.

ENJOY!

PS: We accept email, snail mail, facebook messages, blog comments, skype, pictures....

Temple Model is Now on Site.


The model of the site has been kept at the mission home for the past year or so and now has a new home. David has wanted to bring it here for some time now feeling it would be a good thing to help the work here. So the AP's helped David load it into the mission van and carefully transported it across town. It is nice to show the site workers what the site will look like when it is finished. They seem very interested and it helps to start so many conversations about the church.  It was made as part of the announcement and presentation of the temple to the city and has kind of traveled around in the past years... We love having it here!

  A View of the Temple from across the street.

An office building behind the site has a set of outside stairs and the members in the ward like to climb up them and see how things are coming along with the temple. I thought I'd do the same and  check out the view.  The work is going forward.. it seems slow day by day, but looking back over the month sooo much has been done. I love the construction sounds outside my window.

Two of the very capable hardworking men here with Elder Fenn

        In a member's home... Families are Eternal...  I loved it

2 Saturdays:

A Countryside Lunch

Life here really is different than what we are used to. Some of it is hard, but some of it is a true adventure... for instance, take this lunch at the countryside home of the owner of the construction company who is building the temple. Now this was authentic!!

Their home is situated on a slopping hillside overlooking a beautiful Lago Bracciano. We asked if the lake was man made and the answer was... this lake has been around since prehistoric times. Kind of like a lot of the buildings here.  Just kidding... But you can see the setting from this picture. Very serene and lovely. The other side of the slope was covered with Olive trees from which he produces his own olive oil... Somewhere around 600 liters a year. A good "hobby" and gifts for friends. I can't believe I didn't take a pictures of the trees. They were very pretty. The pool was pretty simple compared to a pool of this nature at home, but he was quite proud of his "Infinity Pool".  It was very lovely and open to the kids to just climb and play around... something that you would not see at home either.


Lunch was 5 courses... Starting with Italian cheeses , bread and green olives... We ate those until we were full....

Then the 2nd course was you guessed it... PIZZA! Cooked in their outdoor brick pizza oven :)

                                                         It was fun to watch the cooks !!

The pizza's just kept coming and coming and coming... it's customary ;) to try every kind. I wonder if we will still want to eat pizza after we get home... will we be sick of it? or will we expect it...? I think I already know the answer to that...

                                  The 3rd course... Grilled steak, bacon, sausage, ribs.....

After that a Green Salad, which was mostly lettuce with some vinegar and oil. I think we do that part right in America... who wants a bowl of lettuce at this point? But it's about the only green I've ever seen at a meal and  they say it helps you digest your food. 

No pictures of the lettuce or the dessert which was Italian pastries and cookies. But it was an adventure for me... fun to watch the way they keep the food coming!!  I DO miss the balance of an American meal, but was most grateful for their hospitality and generosity in having us to lunch!!

But to me the best part of the day was meeting his wife. I noticed she was passing out books to some of the ladies and I asked her if she was the author. She said yes would you like one of my books? YES! She didn't give me one because she wants to get me the first one in her series and didn't have it there... so I said, this is cool I'm meeting a real live author! She said, don't be too impressed, but I do sell out.

Dresden and I decide she could be "Joan Wilder".   When she brings me her book, I'm going to trade her for a Book of Mormon. ;)

And an Old Castle: "Orssini"

It's kind of fun what you just run into while driving around this crazy country!! We planned to come out and find this castle but its just sitting there right on the edge of a little town. Like it was no big deal... just part of the town.

 It was amazing... the tall carved beds and fancy, but very old bedding, the big rooms and fireplaces.  Beautiful in it's own way, but so dark and cold. The weapons room was a little overwhelming...I tried to imagine putting on an armored suit and I just couldn't do it!! Indeed grateful to live in the times we live in. 

The castle Prison

Thanks for peeking in on our blog. We miss you and love you!