Sunshine in our souls!

The words of this favorite hymn describe our last two weeks, "There is sunshine in my soul today, More glorious and bright; Than glows in any earthly sky, For Jesus is my light. There is springtime in my soul today, For when the Lord is near, The dove of peace sings in my heart, The flow’rs of grace appear. There is gladness in my soul today, And hope and praise and love, For blessings which he gives me now, For joys “laid up” above. Oh, there’s sunshine, blessed sunshine; When the peaceful happy moments roll. When Jesus shows his smiling face, There is sunshine in the soul.

You really do come to love the people you serve; and, joy is always a bi-product of service. We wish you could all know our AMAZING GANS (YSA, young single adults). As we've said before, they are our WHY! We are here to love, serve, support, and help them along their path of discipleship - and it is so rewarding, and so much fun! Our next post will highlight watching General Conference together.

Spring is around the corner, and we are watching Southern Italy blossom! Look forward to lots of flowering posts! We were about 30 minutes from home the last Sunday (before General Conference), and we stopped in Nocera in search of the baptistry, built in the 6th century, with a beautifully preserved baptism by immersion font. The Baptistry was closed, so we will go back when we can.

But we did love learning that this is an official pilgrimage stop on the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope. For those interested in learning about the condition to receive indulgences, read this poster; is very enlightening. (Try out Google Translate.)

Since we were already at the end of the Amalfi Coast for Church, we brought a picnic lunch and decided to drive by the Paestum ancient temples nearby. We had never been to this area, and we loved our picnic on the bay of Salerno.

For Christmas, Cliff bought us these little chairs to leave in the car... just for times like this - when we want to sit for a minute and enjoy the landscape. They sunk deep into the sand, and it was a crack-up trying to get out of them!

Behind us is the Amalfi Coast. Our destination was Paestum (an ancient Greek city formerly called Poseidon.) It was the festival of The Annunciation, nine months before Christmas, celebrating that Christ’s life on earth began at conception, not just at His birth. It commemorates the moment when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and proclaimed that she would conceive Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Every kind of stand was set up along the walking path next to the temples.

All the food stands had a pig on display. Not sure of the significance, but worth a photo, for sure!

They put out special candy booths for festivals, with toys to bring in young visitors.

We found it fascinating to see a 2500 year old temple next to a stand selling socks.

Built about 550 years before the birth of Christ, these Greek temples in the city of Poseidon existed before the Roman empire. It's crazy to contemplate all that has occurred in world history since the dedication of these classical doric temples honoring women.

The whole area of Paestum is classic countryside charm.

It is preserved as a Unesco World Heritage site.

The temple of Hera (or Neptune) is the most stunning. It was dedicated to Hera, the patron goddess of women and marriage. It's actually one of the best-preserved ancient Greek temples in the entire world!

This temple of the goddess Athena was dedicated to the goddess of war, wisdom and heroism. Dating back to 500 B.C., it was later used as a Christian church.

This Greek city was considered protected by two great goddesses and was preserved as a place of worship throughout antiquity.

We love being able to make quick stops to learn about this area of the world - and we are always fascinated by the citrus trees all along the way.

You can always tell what is classic "Roman" verses classic "Greek." Romans coined the arch, while Greeks invented the columns. Growing up in Northern Virginia (Vienna), I fell in love with the classic architecture all around me. I loved school field trips - first studying, then going out to identify which was a doric, ionic, and/or Corinthian column. As we learned once on a tour in Athens, "Everything comes from Greek!"

Back to why we were in this area to begin with... Our fantastic GANS leader in Salerno is Gabriella. She is originally from Honduras, served a mission in Ecuador, and we had a meeting after Church to talk about how we can love, care, invite, and unite the GANS in Salerno. She is full of love, light and courage, and we are inspired by her story.

We also got to see Noemi, whom we absolutely love. Her cute dog waits outside during Church. She also loves event planning, so we are kindred spirits!

Meet Taylor with his beautiful fiancé Joselin. Josy was our GANS first, but we have gotten to know Taylor since he moved from Rome to Salerno, and we really love him too. They are getting married in October, so we'll see if I get to put some of my wedding planner skills to work! Josy's parents are the ones who spear-headed the "Scaldiamo Salerno" Light the World service project, donating clothes to those in need. Top notch people, all around!

Our Institute program, where we teach classes weekly about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is growing by the week! The lessons have been a marvelous way to prepare for the Easter season - as was reading the 4 Gospels as a Mission. Saturday, we had 20 people- we wish we had taken a picture of everyone present. Our fabulous GANS attend, and the missionaries bring their friends. Alexandra, Kekko, Gabino, and Anna team taught our lesson with us; each was inspiring and heart-felt as they shared insights on the resurrection. We always have fun sharing a meal afterward. Kekko (in the sage green in the back) is our stake GANS leader. He is the head of our committee group in Campania and is really growing into this responsibility.

Angy and Anna are the most dedicated disciples of Jesus Christ! They are full of life, love, and energy. Whether volunteering to clean the Church, teaching lessons with the missionaries, or organizing ward GANS events...they are diligent and faithful! Angy is the leader of the GANS in Napoli, and Anna is over publicity. Pretty soon, they won't need our help at all; they are meant to lead!

Two Saturdays ago was a long and wonderful day. We were amazed by how many people shop on Saturday at the mall! It wasn't even a holiday. We were so looking forward to this activity with our GANS from Caserta. Our leader Paulo does such an incredible job and has caught the vision of "Living, Caring, Inviting, and Uniting" - which is the four-fold mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Back to the reason we were at the mall in Caserta...

We had a Go-Kart race, and as you would imagine, I "nonna 5 (for 5 grandkids)" came in last, and Cliff came in first!

Then we had lunch together - Marco, Paulo, Cliff, Elena, and Denis. WE LOVE THEM! We were so happy to finally get to know Denis's brother Marco! These fantastic GANS really step up to lead; in fact, Denis, a convert of I think 4 years and a returned missionary, is in the ward bishopric.

Elena is absolutely adorable, and we had so much fun together! She is the Institute teacher in Caserta and a returned missionary from England. We just love her bubbly personality and magnetic smile!

Here is our fearless leader in Caserta, Paulo. He really goes the extra mile - both in organizing weekly activities and sending meaningful spiritual thoughts. He served a mission in Spain, and boy is he one faithful, capable young man!

Here they are - the FAB 5! They look more like astronauts than Go-Kart racers.

Our highlight is always quality time together, really getting to know those whom we serve.

This is Martina, who is dating Peter. We had the sweetest connection from the moment we met! She has been coming to Church for a while now and has become such a dear friend. She is a hair stylist and was so very kind to give me a much needed hair cut.

Sorella Castellano continues to be an incredible angel - finding and connecting Cliff's Italian ancestors. This is something he has dreamt of, and words are not adequate to express our appreciation to our inspired and incredibly knowledgeable friend. When we arrived last fall in Italy, we were at an information block; now we have unimaginable records to research.

Our beloved Sorella Taylor finished her mission the first of the year and came back with her family to tour her mission cities. We loved meeting her wonderful family and were of course so thrilled to see Kenna and give her big hugs!

Sorella Petty and Sorella Smith are the sweetest, most wonderful missionaries! I had to capture this moment, as they expressed their love for us and told us they were praying for us and our family. We saw our name on a sticky note, above their bed - on their "prayer wall."

This last transfer, we spent a significant amount of time in Caserta - cleaning and transforming it from a 2 to a 4 missionary apartment. It also took 4 trips to scrape the peeling bathroom ceiling paint, mud it, sand it, then prime it. His last trip will be to paint it.

And here we thought we were retired from remodeling houses!

The other day Lucia asked if the mission was wearing out her dad - she feared we would come home and he'd have no energy to play with our grandkids. We got a chuckle out of that and assured her that dad would be full of time and energy after our mission.

We are now very familiar with Leroy Merlin, which is the Italian equivalent of Lowes or Home Depot. Since re-painting our Murray rental house before we sold it last year, I have officially hung up my paintbrush. I am grateful Cliff is superman and has eternal extra reserves of strength.

Cleaning seems to be the theme of our last transfer. (Mission time is calculated in 6 week periods, called "transfers" in mission lingo.) Young missionaries usually stay in an area 2-4 transfers, while senior missionaries stay in one apartment the whole mission. Thank goodness! We spent lots of time in Caserta cleaning alongside the elders - "teaching them how to fish," so to speak.

We were over the moon proud of them, when we went in as an 8 man crew to serve the most lovely family - who just welcomed a new little one into their home. Anziano Potter and Marziale tackled the bathrooms with the skill of professional cleaners! They knew what Italian cleaning products to use and how to deep clean and make things sparkle! I told them their mothers would be so proud, and their future wives would feel like they won the husband lottery!

Sisters Petty and Smith were the loveliest rockstars - quickly moving from room to room to organize the children's rooms and the playroom. The kids helped them and were so happy to be together.

Serving together is so energizing!

We truly love this little family and were so happy to give them a little lift!

We are so happy that it is Spring and the markets are filled with fresh fruits and vegetables!

We have eaten a little too much bread and pasta and look forward to a healthy season of primarily fresh fruits and vegetables.

We have been buying fresh strawberries by the case; they are soooo good!

We couldn't help but include this picture of a car (not ours) going into our gate.

Probably 1/2 the cars in this area are dented in some way. Driving is truly crazy.

With Easter just around the corner, the traditional cake in the form of a dove, or"Colomba" is on the shelves.

It is so yummy!

We just love Emanuela, our GANS who was baptized in December.

Keeping with our Caserta theme, Church last Sunday (before Conference) was so special. It was their ward conference, and it was just beautiful and so spirit-filled. We are always in awe of the capability, testimonies, and leadership of these incredible GANS and missionaries!

Church was packed, and afterward they had a "linger longer" lunch. The food was delicious and it was so helpful to have most of the Stake leadership in attendance, so we could do some updating and coordinating.

This historic season in Italy is amazing to behold. Floods of people are searching for the truth, desiring to increase their faith and spirituality - and they are finding the missionaries. So many people self-refer, responding to social media adds which invite people to "Come unto Christ," and to find peace through prayer and worship. Uii (in the hoodie) is one of those people!

Our stellar GANS lead out in helping the missionaries with this effort! They have filled our hearts with their love, and we are witnessing their spiritual and leadership growth.

This beautiful angel was baptized, and we loved watching her joy light the room.

The man on the left with the jacket was also baptized, and one thing we love is how involved our GANS are in making every baptism special! Lately, baptisms are every week!

Sorella Petty sang at the baptism, and every time we hear her sing, it fills our hearts! We would pay good money to hear her perform; she is that talented!

We had a baptism in the morning and a funeral in the afternoon. Our beautiful Sorella Eleonora suddenly passed away after suffering a stroke. This was a real tragedy for everyone in Napoli. She was very beloved and is sorely missed.

As always, Peter was there to lift everyone through his beautiful music. He plays every Sunday, for baptisms (he's the ward mission leader), and is so important to the ward.

What a blessing it is to know that this life is not the end. Because of Jesus Christ, all will be resurrected and have the opportunity to eternally live with their loved ones.

We had to run to Pozzuoli to move a bed frame out to Caserta. We had the elders with us and were driving past a stunning cathedral we had wanted to see. We pulled over and took a quick look. Honoring important women was a continual theme in the art and many of the sculptures.

We had Zone Conference, which is always so very uplifting and inspiring.

And as always, Anna came to help make sure the building was clean, since the funeral was the next day.

Our wonderful Zone Leaders joined in, and I felt very mom proud. We have really emphasized the importance of keeping their apartments clean and orderly.

Preparing for Zone Conference is always fun. We team up with the Castellanos to decide and divvy up the plan.

Anziano Castellano made his grandmother's arancini recipe, which was a huge hit! They even bought a special fryer and went ten extra miles making it special - down to the tablecloths. The saddest part was that Sorella Castellano woke up sick that day!

The Conference was centered on faith in Jesus Christ. The Assistants to the President, the Zone Leadership and the Morris's do an outstanding job. Any time you speak of, learn about, or testify of Christ, the spirit is always present, and everyone can't help but be uplifted.

It's always happy to put together a nice presentation of yummy food! The spoons are for the gelato we served afterward with the cookies.

The pizza was so good!

The Morris's are truly outstanding Mission Leaders. The know, love and serve each missionary. They are excellent teachers, insightful speakers, and give 100% in every way.

Speaking of 100%, the elders in the Caserta apartment spent 2 weeks sending us nightly videos of their clean/or "zoomed" apartment. The reward was an Amalfi Coast p-day!

We also had a zone floor cleaning contest, and our fabulous baker, Sorella Miller...

And her amazing companion Sorella Austin - were the 1st place contest winners!

They were also promised an Amalfi p-day, and the Castellanos made it possible to caravan everyone into 2 cars.

It was very special for us to provide them with a p-day they couldn't do on their own.

It couldn't have been a prettier day. Can I just say how much I love sharing this experience with my eternal companion. I loved my companions when I served a young mission in Italy, but in comparison, there is nothing better than serving with your spouse!

The water was so beautiful, and the giant cement thimbles made this a fun photo.

The Cathedral of Saint Andrew in Amalfi is spectacular. We met up with the elders from Salerno. It was Anziano Bruni's last p-day, and that made the trip even sweeter.

Can we just say how much we love these beautiful, faithful sisters! Sorella Austin and Miller are serving in Castellamare, which is only 15 minutes from us, so we get to see them often, which makes us family. Enjoy scrolling through the pics of our truly magnificent p-day on the Amalfi Coast!

As we input these pictures, we are realizing how much time we spent with all the missionaries in our zone this transfer.

Each 6 week period, we get together for an in-person district council, which is always a treat. The Castellanos were on the road with Family Search, and we all missed them!

This winds up our 5th transfer. Stay tuned to our next post - a trip to the temple with our GANS, General Conference, transfer news, and our "Senior Missionary Retreat" in Rome.

We love our mission, and close where we began.

We love our mission, and we love all of our new friends here - our GANS, our missionaries, our members, and our friends we meet day-to-day. It's a bright and fulfilling journey, to serve the Lord at this time. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf's words express our feelings as we end this post.

"Love is the grand motive of the plan of salvation; it is the source of happiness, the ever-renewing spring of healing, the precious fountain of hope. As we extend our hands and hearts toward others in Christlike love, something wonderful happens to us. Our own spirits become healed, more refined, and stronger. We become happier, more peaceful, and more receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit." We are being changed for the good, and we are so grateful.

Happy Spring to all of you - our dear family and friends!

We love you forever,

La Coppia Montagnoli

Martha & Cliff