30 June, 2019 - The Sabbath is a Delight

June 30, 2019

This morning, we promptly woke up, prepared ourselves for the trek across town to  attend church once again at the Rome 1 Ward. We got there in plenty of time to sit a bit before the meeting began. Barbara came and sat by us. It was a really good meeting. I was really impressed by the first speaker. Hers was a dear testimony about Jesus Christ and His role in her conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Islam. It was simple yet heartfelt. Jesus Christ is the Word, and we must follow the Word, and live according to His voice. We had the combined meeting today, so Sherry Ann and I were able to sit together. She had problems with her translation receiver, and I had problems with the 2 sisters next to me talking, so I didn’t hear a whole lot of what was said. We were all the way at the back of the meeting room.

After church, there was a baptism. We were invited to stay, so we did. The young boy, Julio, is 8, and comes from a part-member family where the mom is inactive, and the dad is not a member. It was a sweet ceremony. They had refreshments afterward; chocolate cornetti, potato chips, and rice salad. It was good (not so much on the rice salad). Sherry Ann and I are craving potato chips, root beer, and hamburgers. Good thing July 4th is coming. 

We waited for our bus and made it safely back to the apartment. Since Sherry Ann did not sleep well during the night, and I was ready, too, we took an Italian siesta. It was too hot to be outside anyway. LOL. When the buildings started casting longer shadows, we ventured out again. We really didn’t eat a whole lot today, so we went and found some pizza and sat in a nearby park by a flowing fountain and ate it all! Well, we can’t take it back to the apartment, there’s no oven or microwave. 

After dinner, we made our way to La Fontana di Trevi. I warned Sherry Ann that there would be a lot of people, and she said, “Ya, but it’s Sunday.” I laughed and commented that that’s why there will be more people tonight...it’s a weekend. It was amazing how many people were there. The piazza (already pretty small) was filled with people! You had to push your way to get to a decent place to see the fountain and get a picture. But it was worth it. We did not take coins to throw into the fountain, so we’ll have to go back Tuesday evening. Pazienza. 

From the Trevi Fountain, we walked back to the apartment by way of the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. We stopped at Navona for a while and sat on a bench just soaking it all in. It started to hit us that we only have 2 more days to enjoy Rome before we head back home on Wednesday. Sherry Ann sat there and held me, crying because she wants these memories to last. 

We made it back to the apartment and Sherry Ann has been talking to Mattina Ann and Tanner. I need to end this so that I can write my weekly to AJ. Buona notte da Roma. Ciao!