The future is in good hands!

No finer group of young adults could be found! Our GANS (YSAs) love the Lord, love to attend the temple, are full of light and joy, and they bless others through their leadership and kindness.

Kekko, our stake YSA leader, organized this GANS Campania & Sardegna temple trip, and everyone had a fantastic experience!

He even made pasta alla carbonara for everyone!

This was a VERY exciting day, as we were preparing for Annamaria to open her mission call when we returned back to Napoli. We loved watching everyone rally around her with such great love and excitement!

Cute Zaira, Franca and Marco did an amazing job on her Called to Serve banner.

That evening we all went downtown to the Rome Institute Campus, which is right next to Piazza della Repubblica.

They are all so happy gathering together!

We loved that the Institute teachers are our dear family friends - Gabrielle & Jeimy Celestini.

Their lesson was exceptional, relatable and relevant.

Afterward, everyone enjoyed hot dogs and french fries. America has really rubbed off on the Italians!

We loved attending the temple together. It is always such a bonding highlight!

It's also so rewarding to watch sweet friendships develop.

They really lean on each other for support, and they have great fun together.

We especially loved that some of the GANS from Sardegna joined with us!

It is so incredibly special to see our GANS as temple workers.

The temple is truly the house of the Lord, where we find so much joy, peace, and purpose.

Over the last 16+ months, we have witnessed these capable GANS be changed for the better; in great part, because of regular temple attendance. They are the future leaders of the Church, and it has been a beautiful experience serving along side them. In Elder Patrick Kearon's General Conference talk last Spring, he said - "God is in relentless pursuit of you. He wants all of His children to choose to return to Him, and He employs every possible measure to bring you back." We know for sure that God will forever be in relentless pursuit of these wonderful Latter-day Saints.

We headed back to Napoli and were so astonished to see snow on the top of a mountain. We haven't seen snow in over two years!

The time finally arrived for Annamaria to open her mission call. We had everything all decorated and set up before she walked into the Church - including a map where people had guessed where she might be assigned to serve.

The Bishop was the only one who knew ahead of time - which was purposefully planned, so he could order a cake with the country flag on it.

It was the sweetest thing, as she read her Mission Call. Her lovely mom Rita was so pleased she was called to serve in the Italy, Milan mission - not too far from home. Although Rita is not a member of the Church, she is so very supportive of Anna's missionary journey.

We are SO PROUD of our beautiful Anna. She has put SO MUCH effort into preparing for her mission - and no doubt, she will be a great blessing to everyone.

Her experience has been very unifying for our GANS and for the Napoli ward.

Would you believe she was assigned to fly out to the Provo Missionary Training Center (MTC) the same day (March 10th) we would be flying home after finishing our mission?!

It's not a coincidence that Cliff was able to coordinate her flights with ours, and we are sitting together on both flights. This is a great relief to Anna's dear mother, and to Anna, who has never before flown on a plane. We actually will accompany her right to the doors of the MTC. Everyone is so happy for our soon-to-be Sorella Vitale!

What a perfect evening! On our drive home we enjoyed the Napoli Christmas lights.

Our next adventure was the opportunity to give service to a family in great need. A sweet, very stressed GANS (Young Single Adult) was caring for her dying grandmother (who raised her), and working full-time. We stepped in to give a little help.

The Castellanos join us in being so happy to have the new Military Relations Senior Couple, the Carpenters join us! They are so full of life, energy, and love for service. They had finished a Military Relations mission in Germany last summer, then decided to go home for a couple of months to see family, then begin again. What a blessing they were assigned to our area! We sincerely thank them every time we see them - for coming out to help. Senior missionaries have the ability to be such an abundant blessing to every mission. If you are thinking about it, don't hesitate to pull the trigger and submit your papers; you are needed!

These missionaries know how to work! Their moms would be so proud! We seriously have the greatest missionaries!

Isn't Sorella Castellano so adorable! Even as senior missionaries, we develop such special friendships we know will last forever!

We finished in time to be dumped on by buckets of rain.

It was a crack up running into a nearby store to grab some things to take to a member (from Castellamare) in the hospital in Napoli - without getting completely drenched!

Bolagi was so very grateful to receive some much needed supplies and snacks. He was in much better spirits than the days before.

The next morning we went to the massive wholesale flower market by our house to get poinsettias for Zone Conference. We were all literally drenched; it was so funny! The Castellanos always pass on sugar, but the Carpenters indulged with me, and Cliff was so happy I brought him home a fresh chocolate croissant.

We always set up the Church a couple of days before Zone Conference, and our Napoli young elders are SO HELPFUL! It's quite a feat to lug everything in for set up, and it would be too crazy to set up and lug in all of the food we prepare at home - all at the same time!

It was a little tricky, because our double Zone Conference (Campania and Puglia) was on actual Thanksgiving Day. We were especially organized and strategic in our assignments and cooking, because we had the wonderful opportunity to have dinner with Elder Gerard and his dear wife the evening before. It all worked out perfectly, and none of us were stressed.

We only had the green salad to prepare before the meeting.

The spiritual feast was amazing!

And so was the Thanksgiving feast! Our senior couple cooking team was terrific and so very capable, in spite of tiny kitchens and small preparation spaces. The Standings and the Castellanos were STELLAR in their planning, and boy are they masters of the crockpots! We couldn't have done it without the Carpenters, who have access to the Military Base Commissary. Because of them, we were able to have the full menu!

I love this photo of Sorella Walker! She and President truly are fabulous Mission Leaders. We are so grateful for their leadership, love, friendship and trust in us.

Not only did we have delicious hot turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, corn, green salad, warm rolls w/strawberry jam and cranberries; but also - chocolate cream torte, banana cream pies, pumpkin pies, and apple pies!

We were all truly fed by Elder and Sister Gerard, from the Europe Area Central Presidency. They are masterful teachers of doctrine - and they are full of wisdom, love, and the spirit of the Lord.

Everyone had an unforgettable Thanksgiving!

The missionaries were so happy and so grateful; they all stood and gave the Senior Couples a very long standing ovation. It was the sweetest thing. It really warmed all of our hearts to make them a homemade, hot Thanksgiving meal.

Of course we missed our family. Our girls gathered together with some of my siblings and my mom.

We FaceTimed and had fun watching them learn a Tik Tok dance.

They were so sweet to go put up Christmas for my mom in her home.

We gathered on Saturday for Institute and made our GANS a yummy taco salad dinner.

Then we all got to work and decorated the Napoli Church building for Christmas.

We went to church in the Flegreo ward in Pozzuoli. Cliff and I were asked to teach the combined 5th Sunday 2nd hour meeting. I prepared the slides, and Cliff gave the lesson, which went really well. He is a fantastic teacher and a master of the Italian language. With Institute each week, and rotating between 5 Church units, we are always teaching something.

It's always a treat to see Rosa, our beautiful GANS who runs a very successful bakery out of her home. I didn't get a photo of our lovely Luisa, who is always so busy translating.

We got to see the Carpenters again. They rotate between the two wards with Americans in the military - Flegreo and Caserta.

Our wonderful friends the Parisis invited us for dinner after Church. She is an amazing cook, and she completely spoiled us! They are stalwart pioneer members in Pozzuoli, and they have forever been pillars in their branches/wards. Fratello Parisi is 86 and is still going strong, currently serving in the Bishopric. Their daughter Teresa is our dear friend, who served in the Catania mission. We love their family so very much! They are so good to us, and we are so grateful for their outpouring of love and frienship!

We have mentioned this before... We are responsible for the apartments in our area. We incentivize missionaries who are willing to raise the cleaning bar, by offering a dream p-day in exchange for 3 weeks of nightly videos showing us each room in their clean, orderly apartment. These sisters are fantastic, and their videos were impressive every day for 3 weeks. They trained into Pompei from Caserta, and we picked them up at the station by our apartment.

They chose an Amalfi Coast p-day. We stopped along the driving route to enjoy some lemon granita from a vendor off the road.

We also ran in to peek inside a church I had always wanted to see. It was finally opened, so I was thrilled.

What impressed me most were the holy doors. I'd never seen any quite like this.

We had time to drop the sisters off to wander a few minutes around beautiful Sorrento.

I'm not sure why, but the police, carabinieri, and guardia di Finanza regularly do random stops throughout our region to check documents. We have had it done 4 times. This was a first for the sisters, and I'm sure it made their weekly p-day email!

We find this random tree stump carving along the Amalfi Coast so very funny.

This is our favorite picnic spot, overlooking Positano.

It never disappoints.

The wow factor never stops.

Driving or ferrying the Amalfi Coast never gets old.

Because it is winter, and there are relatively no tourists, the driving restriction down into Positano was lifted. How could we not stop to visit this Yummy Gelato shop calling out to us?

We also had to stop and take a picture of the Hotel Sirenuse from the movie "Only You".

This was a very tender day for our zone. Our wonderful zone leader, and former AP, Anziano Milner, lost his father to a heart attack just before Thanksgiving. He returned home for the funeral, and we gathered at the train station in Napoli to welcome him back, with all our love and support.

Anziano Milner is our hero - doing really hard things, with such a Christlike, consecrated mindset. It is in times such as this that you really focus on what matters most. It was (and still is) quite emotional for all of us, as we rallied (and continue to rally) and pray for this kind, wonderful, devoted missionary.

We truly love them all, and what better way to welcome Anziano Milner home to Napoli, than with pizza.

Our Institute lesson on the Infinite Atonement of Jesus Christ was perfect timing. Even in our grief and deep sadness over the loss of a loved one who passes away, we can still feel joy and hope because of Jesus Christ. His Great Atoning Sacrifice provides all of God's children with a way to one day be resurrected and have the possibility of eternal life. It's a beautiful truth, to know we will see our loved ones again after this life.

Cliff's lesson was very meaningful and personal, and we were all uplifted and united as we felt the Spirit bare witness of the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Then it was time to have some fun and to celebrate our lovely Alexandra, who turned 22 earlier in the week. She is so darling! She made the most beautiful and delicious birthday cake! We LOVE her so much! It seems like yesterday she was baptized; the first week in March it will be one year.

We were definitely not short on sweets!

We love that the Carpenters have quickly come to love our GANS! We are cherishing our days with Justin - before she moves to the Venice area. All of us will deeply miss her!

Our activity after Institute was making ginger bread houses, which everyone has been wanting to do for a long time.

I think this was Annamaria's very favorite activity!

Their houses turned out so adorable!

We finished the night with a piñata Alexandra brought. It was such a fun night for everyone!

The next day we went to Church in Caserta, and it was wonderful to see beautiful Elena!

And of course, we love every minute we are able to spend with our incredible missionaries!

After Church we ran up to Rome in time for Alessandra and Michele to totally spoil us with the most delicious homemade pasta! We have loved this couple for a long time. I did their wedding a few years ago, and we are their American Zii (Aunt & Uncle).

We loved meeting Francesco, a new GANS convert, who is also one of the Rome East Stake GANS leaders.

Take a minute to absorb the enormity of this grand gesture of long-time friendship! We have known Alessandra since she was 14. She has grown into the most beautiful and talented woman, and we are so happy she and Michele are doing so well. They really rolled out the red carpet for us - with a delicious lunch and dinner - and wonderful company for both meals!

We actually stayed the night with them, because we needed to be in Rome anyway the next day. Monday before our event, we finally were able to see the Church of St. Clemente. It is quite the experience and is one of our new favorites!

Here's a little history... It is a unique "time capsule" church, featuring three distinct historical layers. Completed around 1123, the current Romanesque basilica was built over a 4th-century church, which was constructed upon a 1st-century Roman villa and 2nd-century Mithraic temple.

Excavated in the 19th century by Irish Dominicans, these subterranean levels reveal early Christian, Roman, and pagan history. The Church is named after Saint Clement of Rome, who was born around 35 AD, about the time scholars believe Jesus died. He grew up as the early Christian church was first spreading throughout the Roman empire.

Early Christian writers suggest that he knew some the apostles personally, and that he was directly influenced by their teachings. He is mentioned in Philippians 4:3 in the New Testament, "And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.

Philippians 4:4 goes on to say, "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice."

We love rejoicing in the Lord! That is what our mission is all about.

After visiting this marvelous, historical Church, we headed down to Piazza della Repubblica, for a very historical event - which caused us to "Rejoice in the Lord!"

Stay tuned for our next blog post!

Until then,

Anziano and Sorella Montagnoli

Cliff and Martha