Two earthquakes and a funeral...

Life is a delicate gift, and we never know what will come our way. In uncertainty and vulnerability, we cling to the promise of our Savior Jesus Christ, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). It is in this sacred pledge of faith in a divine being, whose atoning sacrifice is central to the great plan of God, that our inner hope can spring into strength and knowledge that there is more to our eternal journey than a parting at death. Because of Jesus Christ, we can overcome sin and death, and be reunited with our loved ones forever. In the past two weeks, we rallied to shower our dear friend Oscar with love, as he is navigating the devastating loss of his older brother and only living relative, who passed at the young age of 28. And, we have sought to ease the fears of those feeling anxiety over repeated earthquakes in the greater Naples area.

We continue to see so much hope in the faces of our dedicated GANS - (YSAs, Young Single Adults) who are "ALL IN" and come regularly to our weekly Institute class, where we teach lessons about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Some are regulars, some are new, and all are in search of the peace, hope, purpose and perspective found in the teachings of Jesus Christ. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/jesus-christ-and-his-everlasting-gospel-teacher-material-2023?lang=eng

Oscar is from a little town on the outskirts of Caserta. The service, held in a local Catholic Church, was very personal, meaningful and comforting. Although Oscar is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, his brother was not. The Priest was very tender and careful, as he, with the entire congregation - came to "lift the hands that hang down, mourn with those who mourn, and comfort those who stand in need of comfort."

We felt such reverence in this beautiful city cemetery. In Italy, loved ones are laid to rest above the ground. Those with greater economic means have a family house/chapel that is encased with built-in vaults from floor to sealing.

Others are buried within a large building, with multiple floors, all with floor to sealing vaults.

Igor was laid to rest on the 4th floor of this cemetery building.

For those reading our blog, please include an extra prayer for Oscar.

After the burial, we stopped by to drop a few things off to the elders. Right in line with Cliff's "Mr. Fix-it" theme has been bike repairs. In just one week, he fixed an elder's bike, a sister's bike, and the bikes of two strangers he saw were struggling (on different days) on the side of the road. Let's just say, he has been a bike angel!

Over the last couple of weeks, our car has regularly found its way to Caserta (almost an hour from our house in Pompei.) We love running into these beautiful sister missionaries, who are doing so much good!

We changed our Napoli Institute class to Sunday, so we could spend some time with our GANS in Caserta on Saturday. Cliff taught a beautiful class on miracles. We loved spending time with Elena and Denis, who are two of the finest young adults you would ever meet!

We also went to Church in Caserta on Sunday. We arrived early, so we stopped for a moment to go in this magnificent cathedral that is part of the Giubileo 2025 Pilgrimage of Hope. Since we are here for the "Jubilee" that happens every 25 years in Italy, we have been very intentional in our own personal pilgrimage of hope.

"A pilgrimage is a journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life." Millions of visitors will come to Italy this year on religious pilgrimages. We loved reading the posters on the sides.

This poster is the "Walk of Prayer." Others read "Hope", "Charity", and "Faith."

The artwork was beautiful, especially this depiction of the "Last Supper."

We were touched by this painting of an angel accompanying a young boy. We truly believe angels are among us, walking with us, guiding, watching over, inspiring and protecting us.

Many people ask us why we do not focus on the cross - or images of Jesus Christ's death on the cross. Rather, the art that fills our homes, churches and temples is either of Jesus Christ in His ministry or of a risen Lord, representing a living Christ, the resurrection and the hope of eternal glory. We loved seeing this depiction of the living, resurrected Jesus Christ above the alter of this Gubileo Church. As a mission, we have focused on "The Living Christ." If you have never read this, it is worth the read! https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/the-living-christ-the-testimony-of-the-apostles/the-living-christ-the-testimony-of-the-apostles?lang=eng

Speaking of hope and eternal families, we absolutely loved attending the baby blessing of sweet Samuel. A doctrine we believe is that families can be together forever. This life is not the end. We really love this wonderful family, and looking at this perfect baby, straight from heaven, we wondered who was there for his send off. We wonder who was assigned to be his guardian angel, and we wonder about our own; although, we have a pretty good idea of who is watching over us on our mission here in Italy.

At Church on Sundays, twice a month, the women meet for "Relief Society." If you are interested in what this is, check out this link.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/callings/relief-society-organization/work-and-purpose?lang=eng

The meeting was so special, and I felt so much love from and for these inspiring and lovely women, some of whom I know, and some whom I just met. We love attending Church, where we feel uplifted, included, and instructed about eternal principles that can bless and enhance the quality of our lives. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/moro/6?lang=eng&id=5-6#5

We gave Sorella Smith and Sorella Petty a ride home, and we were THRILLED to see they are keeping their apartment so very clean! Our responsibility is to see that the mission apartments in Campania are kept clean and in good repair. A+ to the Caserta sorelle!

Can I just say, I love this good man! It's not often we slow down enough to take a rest and fall asleep. As I was watching Cliff fall into a light Sunday snooze, I had to capture it!

Sunday brought us back to Napoli for another round teaching our wonderful GANS!

Cliff is a gifted teacher and has beautifully mastered the Italian language. I never tire of hearing him speak or teach. He is an inspiration to me.

On Monday, we took a break from cooking and checked out the food court at a new mall near our house. The best part was this fountain light show, set to music.

Or actually, maybe the best part was gelato. I had a cone, and Cliff enjoyed his in a brioche.

We were back in Caserta teaching the elders how to deep clean, how to use Italian cleaning products, and Cliff needed to repair their ceiling.

We were pretty dirty and dusty in our work clothes. We stopped again by the sisters for Cliff to fix their bike, and again their apartment was so clean, and we were so happy!

Well, this area of Southern Italy has been pretty seismic lately. In May of last year, the 3.9 earthquake did some pretty good damage to the apartment above, which is right next to the sister's. (They moved them out and later put them in a different apartment.) In December, the building was found to be structurally sound, so we cleaned it and moved in the elders. Actually, we had 2 sets of elders living there. In February there was a weekend of tremors, and after the strong 3.9 in the middle of the night, followed by strong tremors, we moved out the unsettled sisters to join the other sisters in Caserta.

On our daughter Francesca's birthday, March 13th, the Campi Flegrei in Pozzuoli (pictured above) became very active... From the news clip - "The 4.4 magnitude quake, the strongest in 40 years, had its epicenter 3 km deep near Via Napoli in Pozzuoli and was preceded by a loud roar. The quake triggered a seismic swarm, with seven smaller tremors recorded by 9 am. Experts link the event to accelerating ground uplift caused by worsening bradyseism. Italian seismologists said the 4.4 magnitude tremor struck at 01:25 local time (00:25 GMT) on Thursday at a shallow depth of 3km (two miles), on the coast between Pozzuoli and Bagnoli. The quake was felt across Naples and power supplies were disrupted in parts of the city." (The next day was another earthquake, but this one was 3.3 and less frightening. Many tremors continue, but are not felt. Pozzuoli actually sits on a super volcano.)

As you can imagine, we woke up to calls and texts. Cliff went right to Pozzuoli to check out the damage (there was none in our missionary apartments) and see how the elders were doing. He moved Elders Zepeda and Carrigan to join Elders Potter and Marziale in the deeply cleaned Caserta house. Thankfully, all our GANS were also okay.

This is what the skies looked like the day of the 4.4 quake.

Volcanic evidence is everywhere in this area.

The sea was turbulent; the skies and the water matched the emotions of the residents in Naples and Pozzuoli who were feeling very uneasy that day.

We moved one companionship of elders to the old sister's apartment, which can withstand an earthquake of up to 7.0. Almost a week later, everything seems to be back to normal. Some damage and a few injuries were reported, but all-in-all everything held up well. That's not to say residents are not weary. Many of our friends (including our GANS) rushed out in the middle of the night and stayed on the street, until they felt comfortable going back in. They slept in their clothes, with their shoes on, just in case they needed to run out again.

We love that "back to normal" is seeing this horse trotting down the road right in the middle of crazy, hectic Napoli!

In the spirit of checking in on everyone, we stopped in at the Castellamare English class to help out our wonderful sister missionaries (Sorella Austin & Miller.) We love our friends we've made and enjoy being together - whether it's practicing English or discussing how the teachings of Jesus Christ can bless our lives today. We love this quote from President Russell M. Nelson, "As we invest time in learning about the Savior and His atoning sacrifice, we are drawn to participate in another key element to accessing His power: we choose to have faith in Him and follow Him." https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2017/04/drawing-the-power-of-jesus-christ-into-our-lives?lang=eng

Sorella Castellano and I attended the sweetest Relief Society birthday event in Napoli. A lovely woman named Lucia, who was in charge, went so many extra miles to create a meaningful event. Our beautiful Roberta decorated with Lucia, and our GANS leader Angy gave a wonderful talk.

The Relief Society President, Cinzia spoke of how important women are to the Savior, and that ran deeply true to my heart. I love the scripture in John 11:5 that reads, "Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister and Lazarus." I know we are all so very loved and important. We watched the world-wide broadcast from the General Relief Society Presidency, and it was very uplifting and unifying. If you missed it or would like to view it (in English), you can click on the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or14QSjMjw8

We were back in Napoli again in the evening, to teach Institute and for Cliff to attend a special meeting for Priesthood holders. In fabulous Napolitano fashion, we enjoyed good food together afterward. Something magical and bonding happens when you share special experiences and good food. We have come to truly love our dear friends on this side of the world!

We started out this week with huge relief! The usual 2.5 hour trip to Rome took us 4 hours (because of an accident) - and I even got to step out with others to stretch my legs.

I had my mammogram/ultrasound and blood work done at the Paideia Hospital, and everything looked great! Cancer free continues to feel so good!

Since it was late and past the restricted time to drive in Rome, we stopped by the Spanish Steps to enjoy the view and reminisce.

For fun, Cliff went searching for our friend's wallet with an air tag that was still pinging from a robbery last year. He thinks it was probably ditched and thrown down into the bushes below.

Down the street from the Trinità dei Monti church at the top of the Spanish Steps is the edge of the Villa Borghese and Medici expansive gardens and properties. This is actually where Francesca had Junior Prom.

And yes, we were those parents who stalked her in this very cool place!

We drove down to Piazza del Popolo and had some nostalgia moments of picnics and walks with Francesca and Lucia after Church, when we lived in Rome in 2009/2010.

This marvelous, historic city has such a special place in our hearts.

We finish this blog post with yesterday's highlight with some pretty amazing people! The Parisis are Pozzuoli natives and long-time members of the Church. They are "in the know" - as is their wonderful ward clerk, Sebastiano.

We enjoyed a multi-course, delicious meal together, laughed and loved hearing all their incredible stories! They were generous and kind - some of the great ones, long-time disciples of Jesus Christ.

In the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus leaves the 99 to find the 1. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/luke/15?lang=eng

One by one, we went through a list of young adults in Pozzuoli who are important, known, and loved by our Heavenly Father. What a good use of our time in the months ahead - to find and visit the 1 and let them know they are loved.

This piece of art hangs in the Parisi's home. It really spoke to us. What does it mean to you? We know that angels are among us, both earthly and heavenly. We also know that this life is not the end. We have the opportunity, because of Jesus Christ and his Great Atoning Sacrifice, to be with all our loved ones forever. This life is not the end! Years ago when I was a young camp director, we learned this song in sign language. The lyrics from "Angels Among Us" by Alabama express the feelings of our hearts. We'd love for you to take a listen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtegaQNsaRg

I bought this painting by Annie Nader the day I was diagnosed with cancer. Although I was alone that day in the hospital when I received the news, I was very much not alone. We are never completely alone. We close with one of our favorite scriptures, "And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." D&C 84:88

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/84?lang=eng

May each of you, our dear family and friends - enjoy the ministering of angels, to comfort, guide, support and bless you. May you feel the peace and hope the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings to us in complex and troubled times. In whatever "earthquake" or "loss" you are facing, please accept all the help heaven has to offer. We believe in the power of prayer, and whether we are the one giving or receiving, all are blessed when we follow impressions of the spirit to help, lift, love and serve others.

We love you forever,

La Coppia Montagnoli

Martha and Cliff