Graduation, baptisms, the passing of our Prophet and a dream date!

Italians know how to celebrate! That's one of the many things we love about these beautiful people, who have become like family. They rally to support one another - especially for big occasions, like Michele's university graduation.

Our highlight was a text Michele sent to the GANS (YSA) group chat, "Now you can call me Dottore." Michele has a heart of gold. Sometimes he puts on a front that he's not listening or paying attention, but we know he catches every word. He never misses Institute and is always willing to help.

We are so proud of Michele! This was the happiest we had ever seen him, and that filled our hearts!

We were so thrilled to finally meet his father.

Michele loves good treats, so we made him this candy necklace and some chocolate chip cookies. He never lets anything go to waste - not even brownie crumbs.

We've been impressed with Angy; she is such a loyal and good sister to Michele. They really support one another. Angy is also the life of the party; she loves good music and karaoke. You can always count on her to make things fun!

We are always so happy when Oscar and Denis come from Caserta.

They are some of the finest men you'll meet! And of course, our lovely Anna is always so present with every activity - whether it is cleaning the church, helping the missionaries with lessons, or contributing to Institute. We just love all of our wonderful GANS - the ones pictured and those who weren't lucky enough to have my camera catch their smiles!

Angy is our GANS (YSA) leader in Napoli, and Kekko is the GANS leader for the Rome West Stake. We are so grateful to them both for their love and leadership; they are so dear to us!

It's so fun when Angela comes down from Rome on many weekends to join in our GANS (YSA) fun! She and Rebecca are truly lovely in every way! You can just see the kindness and goodness that emanate from their beautiful souls.

It was so fun watching the Bishop join in, dancing with everyone at the party. This was a full weekend of gathering together!

Michele's graduation party was in the evening. We began our Saturday with Mario's baptism in the morning. He is the newest member of the Caserta ward. Because there is no baptismal font in Caserta, they have their baptisms in Napoli or Pozzuoli.

In the afternoon we dashed back to Castellamare for Catello's baptism in the sea.

It was so very special; he was so happy and full of joy.

The weather was so perfect; we wanted to pinch ourselves as we gazed out on our beautiful surroundings. We are always so amazed by the beauty of God's creations. After the baptism, we hurried back to Napoli for Michele's party.

We woke up to a text on Sunday that our dear prophet, President Russell M. Nelson had passed away at 101. What a beautiful life he has lived! President Nelson's love and teachings have blessed us so deeply, and we will truly miss him. Our hearts were tender all throughout the day, and our tears were close to the surface.

We went to church in Pozzuoli. The weather was truly perfect, and the view from the church patio is always so breathtaking. You can see the island of Procida in the distance.

It was the perfect day to attend church in Pozzuoli, as our beautiful Rosa spoke in Sacrament meeting. She gave the most incredible talk. She is full of light, grace, and testimony, and we just love her! She is our GANS (YSA) leader in the Flegreo ward.

Rosa and Salvatore are engaged, and they are such a great couple. Salvatore is very supportive of Rosa and attends church with her each week.

We've watched so many people's lives change for the better after making the decision to "Come unto Christ and be perfected in Him." Our lives have been so blessed as we make Jesus Christ the focus.

After church we had the honor and pleasure of being invited to lunch at Angie's nonna's home. We loved every minute of our time all together; her lovely home has such a beautiful spirit!

Sorella Carrano prepared 10 different dishes for us; everything was so savory and delicious! It felt like Thanksgiving dinner! We enjoyed the most wonderful pranzo with Peter, Angy, Anna, Sorella Carrano, and Cinzia and her husband.

After lunch, we hurried back to the church in Napoli, where we taught Institute. The lesson was on prophets, and we took most of the time to share insights and teachings from our beloved Prophet. We read the touching tribute article about his life. It became our own memorial service, and it was very tender and sweet. We concluded by singing together, "We thank thee oh God for a Prophet." I'm sad I forgot to take a picture.

When Sorella Williams has gone to Mission Leader Council in Rome, her companion Sorella Barcellos has stayed with us, and I become her companion. It's so fun, and we always look forward to showering her with our love. After dropping off Sorella Williams at the train station in Napoli, we decided to run up to the infamous Cameo shop everyone loves so much. Now we see why! It's a generational family run business, and they have had a special relationship with Church leaders, members, and missionaries for years and years. They have created timeless handcrafted cameos of the Savior and the Rome temple.

Cameos have a long and storied history, dating back to ancient Greece and Rome. The early cameos were often carved from agate or onyx and featured intricate depictions of mythological scenes, portraits, and various motifs. The art of cameo carving was highly valued in these civilizations, and owning a finely crafted cameo was a mark of prestige and wealth.

Artisans have a centuries-old tradition of carving detailed images into seashells, often paired with metals like gold and silver. Each cameo is a small, unique and unrepeatable masterpiece, made precious owing to the artisanal approach to crafting. Authentic Neapolitan cameos are known for their unique, hand-carved quality, making them prized, timeless pieces of art and jewelry. 

Just across the street from the Cameo shop is a magnificent view of sprawling Napoli.

Sorella Barcellos and I were touched as we gazed out upon all the many churches. I put a little pink heart on the ones I could pick out. Italy's deep history is so rooted in Christian faith. It's etched into every facet of life. I could fill up many blog posts with the shrines of Mary and the Savior in every neighborhood in Campania.

The next morning Sorella Barcellos and I left at 6:30 am for the flower market by our apartment. It actually opens at 5 am and begins closing up by 7 am. Afterward, we enjoyed a nutella croissant at the bar across the street. (A bar in Italy is where you buy your breakfast, snacks, soda, etc.)

Later this month is Josy and Taylor's wedding, and we are helping. I needed to do some prototype arrangements to make sure I understood the bride's vision.

We dropped off Sorella Barcellos to be Sorella Castellano's companion, since we had to run an hour and a half away to Agropoli for wedding planning/coordination.

It was kind of funny how things went down. Josy had sent me a voice text indicating she couldn't meet with us at our appointed time, because she had to stay longer at work. My phone only works well on wi-fi, so when I played her text, it was just blank. We headed to their dreamy home, located in paradise - about an hour south of Salerno.

When we arrived, her lovely sister Zaira (who just came home from her mission) laughed with us about our messaging debacle. We realized it turned out perfectly, because we were able to visit with Zaira, which we had been wanting to do anyway!

And we just love their mom Stefania, and it was great to visit all together.

And, we are sure with all they have going on, everyone was thrilled for us to take the wedding decor back to our apartment and finish putting things together.

Just down the hill from their house, the boardwalk area is so quaint and charming! We stopped and got a gelato brioche. The last time I had one was when I was a young missionary.

They live in vacationland, and I had dreamy thoughts of being on vacation in this beautiful place!

Behind Cliff is the shadow of the Amalfi Coast.

The sun set on our dreamy wedding planning day, and we headed home to Pompei. The land you are looking at in the distance is the Amalfi Coast. We live on the other side of the furthest land point, which is Sorrento. The island you see is Capri.

And now we conclude with our dream date! I got my hair cut, then we went out to dinner in the old town of Caserta.

We try to stop in every Jubilee cathedral we pass. They have "holy doors" with depictions of the life of Jesus Christ. The doors open during the Jubilee year (every 25 years) and as Christians come to these cathedrals, entering thru the holy door is symbolic of purification and entrance into heaven. This year, millions have come to Rome to walk through the holy doors of the 4 main Vatican cathedrals. We have loved serving here doing this Jubilee year of HOPE!

Italians are devoted to Mary, the mother of Christ.

They love the ancient apostle Peter, always seen holding keys - the keys of authority bestowed by Jesus Christ.

The ancient apostle Paul, the greatest missionary, is always depicted with Peter. Both Peter and Paul taught the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ in Italy, and to this day, their resolute statues are symbols of devotion, loyalty, steadfastness and faith.

Evidences of the birth, life, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ are everywhere - in every neighborhood, town, city and church.

Our hearts are always touched by the reverence toward Mary, the mother of Christ. I love the word remember, which is defined as, "to bring to one's mind an awareness of (someone or something that one has seen, known, or experienced in the past)". Remember is often used in the scriptures. Remembering plants seeds of faith and testimony. We have found in our year in Italy that people here remember those most important in the history of our Savior. It is very sweet and endearing - and so easy to have a meaningful conversation about Christianity. This is a beautiful land, with beautiful, good people.

Speaking of beautiful - we had a bucket list wish fulfilled this last week! One of our favorite Italian artists came to Caserta, and we attended her concert! As senior missionaries, we can take part in any kind of wholesome recreational activity. Giorgia's concert was AMAZING!

It was in front of the Reggia palace; the twin to Versailles in France.

We were on row 14, and our seats were incredible. It was literally the best concert, and one of the best dates we have ever had!

I actually cried when she sang two of my very favorite songs, "Come Saprei" and "Il Sole D'Azzuro." I turned to Cliff and said, "Babe, it was worth coming on a mission just to see this concert!"

We have had many, many moments like this. We know for sure that the timing of our mission was exactly orchestrated by heaven. We feel so blessed that Cliff was able to retire so early and that we could serve where we are, with the people who are shaping our experience. We know that God, our Heavenly Father is in the details of the details. We feel His love and His guiding hand throughout each day. We know there are no coincidences, especially in spiritual matters. The scripture we will close with - which expresses our feelings of this week, is "Be still and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10

We love you, and we love being missionaries -

Sorella and Anziano Montagnoli

Martha and Cliff