Best GANS activity ever!

From the first days in our mission, our GANS (YSAs) talked about going to Carney Park and how much they loved it! Now we know why it is the best GANS activity ever!

Our wonderful GANS committee for Campania planned the activity. Paulo was in charge and took the lead. We were so proud of him; he did an amazing job!

Patrick grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, which were so very tasty!

Everyone came! It is a US Navy facility, and Brother Lord from the Caserta ward sponsored us. He was also kind enough to get us hamburger and hotdog buns from the navy commissary. Everyone loved the food.

And everyone loved being together! We were so happy that Roberta came! She will finally be an official GANS in January. We were thrilled to finally meet Ilaria, from Pozzuoli. It was just great to have time to visit and play with everyone. It meant the world to us that Lucia, Patrick, Luke and Molly could be a part of this special activity and meet our GANS!

Paulo is a top notch GANS leader from Caserta and we loved visiting with Emmanuel, who is good friends with Paulo.

Our GANS are very accomplished! We celebrated that Salvatore, Denis, Rebecca, and Michele graduated from university. Luisa graduated with her master's degree. Rosa (who runs a very successful bakery) made this adorable and yummy cake to celebrate the graduates!

It was terrific to be together outside the hustle and bustle of the city. Everyone enjoyed time to relax and have fun in the park!

You can really get to know people better in this type of setting. We loved it!

Our GANS were so cute with Molly and Luke, our little celebrities! Luca, Rebecca's boyfriend had so much fun playing soccer with the kids.

We also got to make new friends, who we just loved!

Luke was super cute. He said, "Nonna, everyone here really likes me!" That could not have filled my heart more!

We found out that Luisa, Rosa, and Ilaria grew up together. They owe me a picture of the three of them as little girls; I'll post it on the blog!

Of course everyone was smitten over Molly; how could you not be? Anna, in particular loves her so very much. They spent lots of time together in January, and Molly remembered her!

Delightful is probably the best word to describe our wonderful activity. I love the quote,"Time together is the glue that binds friendships." We are so grateful to have such cherished friends. "In every shared experience, we leave a mark on each other's hearts." Our hearts are truly changed.

We love you forever,

La Coppia Montagnoli

Martha and Cliff