Mărțișor

We headed to the Peasant Museum to find some little houses to go with our shepherd and flock. Surprisingly there was a market for Mărțișor. This is a Romanian tradition celebrated on the first day of March, marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring. For a week every year, artists come and sell martisoare. 

The tradition involves giving and receiving small, handmade ornaments, typically a red and white string with a small jewel, decorative object, or flower attached. These martisoare are believed to bring good luck, health, and strength to the wearer, and are often given to women and children as a sign of respect and admiration. 

The variety of pins was shocking. Each artist created unique and creative pieces--nothing from China. Since it was a market, there were other items as well.

These wool pieces of art are deliciously cute!

Who wouldn't want a spinning top?

And a little delicious treat to go!

We found two little houses that fit perfectly with our village.

Time to Go Home

 After a week of warm weather, delicious oranges, peaceful worship, and historic sites, it was time to go home. I know many people have the Rome Temple on their bucket lists. But I never thought I would have an opportunity, so I didn't even consider it. When you were a child, did you ever wish for something for Christmas, but never tell anyone? And then it appears under the tree? That's how I felt. This was a total drop-out-of-the-sky opportunity for me. We were just serving a mission in the Rome Temple district. If there weren't a war on, we would be in Kyiv. 

These double camellias were the most beautiful camellias I've ever seen. They lined the street across from the temple.

We walked to the bus stop and made our way to the airport. It was sad to say goodbye, but we'll be back!

Leaving the warmth of Rome. Here is the Adriatic from above. If I looked closely, I could see ships travelling east.

The Danube travelling through the snowy fields of Romania welcomes us home.

Downtown Rome

 After a morning endowment session and some time performing sealings, we decided to go downtown on the bus. It was pretty easy to navigate our way there even though it was sprinkling. Here is Paul going through the gate called Porta del Popolo. It was surreal. I had a hard time not taking photos of everything.

The Piazza del Popolo has three roads emerging from the center. Our choice was the one to the right: Via di Ripetta.

As we walked through the city, we saw so many cute shops, artist boutiques, and delicious food. The age of the buildings changed every 30 feet. And we we shocked when the Pantheon came into view.

Since we didn't have time to go in and look around, we kept walking. Next we found the Trevi Fountain.

The rain was really keeping people away and we were able to go right to the front for a closer look. We then walked to the forum and around many ruins. The Altar of the Fatherland towered over everything.

In about 4 hours we were able to see most of the exterior sites, though not in-depth. We even found a fabric shop with some DMC floss that I needed. The gelato was nice because we were able to sit down. I loved this clam shell design on this window. If you have to put bars on the window, you might as well do it with style.

Rome Temple

We woke up to warm weather and a 9am temple session. Without wasting time we hurried over and collected everything we needed. Our first session was delightful and we waited and attended the second as well. It was fun to see so many languages available on the translation device. I was surprised at how comforting it was to listen in Spanish. 

At lunchtime we walked down the street to find some pizza. Super Pizza was a hit. They actually sold pizza slices by the kilo. After choosing our slices, they weighed them, then heated them up and we ate outside at plastic tables and chairs.

We returned for a short nap to catch up on our sleep and then back to the temple for a third session. This was the last session of the day, so we walked across the highway to find a grocery store. As we walked we took more pictures.

Look! It's popcorn popping on the apricot tree!

When we arrived at the mall, we got lost and ended up on the roof. It did make for another good shot of the temple.

When we finally found the grocery store in the mall (after asking at the IKEA and buying licorice), we saw senior missionaries shopping. The Lambs had just arrived that morning from Saratoga Springs. They were excited but exhausted. There are so many couples serving in the area that they all can't live on site at the temple grounds.

Inside the visitor's center is a model of the temple interior. It's so cute to see the little chairs and baptistry font.

The sister missionaries giving tours were delightful. One was from Fort Collins, Colorado, and one was from American Fork, Utah. They taught us that each of the apostles is holding something that describes their mission. Of course, Peter is holding the keys of the priesthood.

The young sisters asked if they could take our picture and we were happy to oblige.

Anniversary Trip to Rome

 We were excited to fly to the Rome Temple to celebrate our anniversary. Unfortunately, it started snowing on Monday.

After morning meetings and getting packed we decided to walk to the bus and get to the airport early. Since we were traveling on the cheapest/worst airline, we packed very light--just backpacks. When we got off one bus, we had a 300m walk to the next stop. Wouldn't you know it, I stepped right in a puddle that looked like solid eyes and my tennis shoes were soaked. We arrived at the airport at 4:30pm for our 6pm flight, but it didn't take off until after midnight. 

While sitting in the airport we were able to watch Aunt Ruth's funeral in Nampa via Zoom. I was so touched by the ward that celebrated Ruth in such a loving and kind way. So few family members came. They had wonderful talks, a beautiful musical number, and friends shared memories. I'm so grateful for our Church family wherever we go.

It's funny that the tarmac looks as light as day. But it was cold and I was tired of sitting for 7 hours in the airport. (We were lucky to even have a seat.) We boarded the plane and then waited for 90 minutes until it took off. We landed in Rome at 1:30am. I was a little worried about our accommodations at the temple since we were so delayed, but security was there waiting for us with our key. I was elated!

I had to stop for a second and take a photo. It is just gorgeous.

I love temple housing. The apartment was well-furnished and comfortable. We dropped into bed and were out like a light.

Happy Valentine's Day

 We were busy with zone conference on Valentine's Day. Sister Ward had set up the food ordering, so we really didn't have to do much. Elder Bednar's area devotional was at 10am so we were able to zoom it in the kitchen. He said he was testing a little bit of material on us before General Conference. 

He suggested that when we see "endure to the end" in the scriptures, that we could think "is possessed by the pure love of Christ." Enduring to the end is not meant to be a torturous hanging on, but a mighty transformation of our lives.

The lunch was from a Mexican restaurant and it was delicious! I made two cakes--one chocolate, one vanilla--so everyone could celebrate. Everything tastes a little different from home, but ingredients are a little different in the world.

We hurried home for another meeting at 3pm and 4pm. It's nice to be busy.

Last Day at the Temple

We spent the last day, Thursday Feb 20th, at the temple until they closed. Paul attended all the endowment sessions and I wandered from place to place. I was blessed to be with a friend from my own branch in Bucharest doing initiatory. She was performing work for her husband's grandmothers. How precious. I had no problem understanding the Italian--so much like Spanish. I enjoyed some sealings with a group of missionaries. I really wanted to get some baptisms done as well so I joined a family there. A young father was baptizing his two children and he was happy to baptize me for 3 ancestors. His Italian was perfect and suddenly he switched to English. When I asked him where he was from he said Liverpool. Amazing! 

I returned to the apartment to spruce myself up and realized we had a meeting with our manager over zoom. Paul walked in just as the meeting started, but we were still able to make the last endowment session of the day. Unfortunately, just before the session started I started getting aphasia in my right eye. Usually when I get a migraine it starts with lighting rainbow lights for 10 minutes, then followed by 20 minutes of verbal aphasia. This time, I started having pain on my left side.

I chatted with a couple at the recommend desk who were from Show Low. They knew the Frost family that we know from Hong Kong. I love making connections. We walked to the pizza place to eat for the first time that day. I think we were really hungry.

My migraine developed and I had 2 more lightning aphasia episodes. I've never had head pain that bad. By 2am I was feeling better. Thank goodness Paul had brought a few ibuprofen tablets.

Piano Performance

On Tuesday night we took the bus to the Romanian Atheneum for a piano performance by Dominik Ilisz. The program included my favorite Chopin pieces. I absolutely loved his Ballade No. 1. I don't think I will ever get that piece up to tempo.

The Atheneum is a great venue. We were in a small room for some great acoustics. Although we originally were going to attend with another senior couple, they were unable to come.

We walked home after a short bus ride home, but it was 25 degrees. Goodness it was cold!

35th Anniversary

 On Sunday we celebrated the 35th Anniversary of then-Elder Russell M. Nelson dedicating Romania for the preaching of the gospel. Missionaries had been in the country before World War II, but once communism fell on December 25, 1989, it was only a short time later on February 9, 1990 that Elder Nelson arrived to deliver the dedication. 

We watched a video that included President Nelson reflecting on his calling to be over Eastern Europe by President Ezra Taft Benson in 1985. Almost all the countries were under communist rule during that time and he felt completely overwhelmed by the challenge to open the areas to missionary work. By 1990, these countries had emerged: Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Eastern Germany, Bulgaria, and Romania.

We had quite a few members attend the Panduri chapel, more than I have ever seen. We had a one-hour sacrament meeting and two hours of talks and music. I played for a small group of women singing "Come, Come Ye Saints."

Elder Stevens came from the area office to share the story about his grandfather. Before Elder Stevens left for his mission to Frankfurt as a young man, he visited his grandfather to talk about his own mission to Frankfurt. But it was only recently that he found out his grandfather (pictured 2nd on the top left) had served in Brașov and Sibiu. These areas were part of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1911, but now they are in Romania. Pictured above are the missionaries with President Thomas E. McKay (center front), older brother of David O. McKay. I'm so glad Elder Stevens, who is serving with his wife as area auditors, could come to Romania as the second member of his family to do so.