Visitor in Rome

March 29, 2015


Michael's niece was on a European tour and spent a day in Rome.  We were able to meet up with her for a few minutes.  It's nice to see family.

Church in Rome 5

March 29, 2015


We attended church in the Rome 5 Ward today.  One of the sisters who lives in that ward is leaving in a week for a mission to Spain.  For the past year she has been attending our zone conferences in Rome to help prepare.

Palm Sunday

March 29, 2015

Palm Sunday (also Passion Sunday) is in the Christian tradition a holiday commemorating Jesus Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem before his suffering and death on the cross. In many Christian churches it is associated with the blessing and procession of palms or twigs (sometimes decorated with flowers) from local trees. (In Italy they use olive twigs.)  This tradition corresponds to the palm branches the crowd scattered in front of Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem.

Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week which also includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Of course, the date of the Palm Sunday depends on the date of Easter Sunday and hence it varies each year.

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We went to Fiero Romano to attend the Roma 5 Ward.  Before our church began we visited the site where one of the local Catholic churches was preparing for their Palm Sunday procession.

Sights Close By

March 28, 2015

Spring is in the air.  We've been in Rome nearly 21 months and just realized there's a nature preserve close to the villa and and a horse riding park just a short distance away. 

Beehives in the nature preserve

Nature Preserve

One blue eye & one yellow eye

Horse Park

Chamber Concert

March 27, 2015

The orthopedic doctor who treats many of our missionaries plays in a Chamber Orchestra.  She and the mission nurse have become good friends (because they see each other so often).  We attended one of her concerts in a church near the Pantheon and presented her with a CD of the Tabernacle Choir.  She had heard of the choir and was thrilled with the gift.

Quote of the Day

Polignano a Mare

March 23, 2015

The sights of Italy are just like the pictures on a never ending calendar.  Around every corner is another treasure.

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The city of Polignano a Mare is located just outside Bari, Italy.  We passed through it as we were returning to Bari.

Polignano is a pearl, positioned on a steep sea cliff dotted with grottos and history along the splendid Adriatic coast of Puglia.  Its origins are ancient and connected to the Greek City of Neapolis (IV Century BC), which then became known as Polisnea and Polineanum.
Its territory further North however, was inhabited during the last Ice Age (10.000 years ago), and testimony of villages dating back to the Bronze Age (3.500-1.200 BC) have been uncovered in the present day historical centre.

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Rainwater

Church of Purgatory

"Volare"