Christmas 2011 in the Italy Rome Mission

Decorating the tree 

Nativity scene in Sardegna

Rome Zone

Napoli Zone

New Missionaries

June 29, 2011 New Missionaries Arrive

June 29, 2011 New Missionaries Arrive

August 10, 2011. New Missionaries Arrive.

September 21, 2011. New Missionaries Arrive.

November 2, 2011 New Missionaries Arrive.

Mission Presidents Seminar - Copenhagen Denmark

Copenhagen Denmark Temple

Zone Conference - August 2011

Jumping for Joy! Zone Leader Council at the Mission Home

Visit to the Malta Branch

The Gospel Unlocks Our Potential

Life in Rome is going well.  Our missionaries continue to find people to baptize.  Last week as I walked by the dumpster (they're everywhere in Rome) I saw this chair that had been discarded.  It was in pretty bad shape....the seat was missing and it was broken up pretty badly.  But I could see the potential it had and so I asked Tom (AKA President Kelly) to help me carry it home.  We were about a mile away from home.  So, we each grabbed an arm and off we went.  It was quite heavy and so periodically we'd change sides to give our arms and shoulders a little rest.  We got the chair home and I could see that it was going to need some cleaning, a new seat, some sanding, some dark stain and a  pretty cushion.  No problem, the next day the chair was restored to a beautiful chair where we can sit on the porch and enjoy a little reading or visit with a missionary.  I'm including a picture. This is  a great analogy of the way we, as missionaries, find people to join the church.  When we find them, they may have a lot of problems. Their lives may be broken.  Maybe they smoke, or drink, or don't really feel like they have a purpose in life.  They may have some ruined relationships and not understand their relationship with God.  The Gospel can heal us all.  It can heal our souls.  We also have the Word of Wisdom to help us feel healthier so we can do so much with our lives without those addictions.  I am so thankful for the Savior and His healing powers.  We all need his strength and sustaining as we serve Him and help Him with His work.  I have found that serving a mission reveals many of my weaknesses.  I need the Lord to help me in every way.  He is waiting for us to "knock" at the door and ask for help.  Sometimes we forget that we have Him waiting to help us.  We also are disciples of Jesus Christ and many people would accept His message but "they know not where to find it."  Our mission is great!  We are the messengers!  May we all be blessed in sharing this message of "healing" that comes through faith, repentance, baptism and the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  I love the story of the man by the Pool of Bethesda.  We are all blessed by the Savior who can heal us all.  May the Lord bless you every day as you Serve Him.  Love, Sorella Kelly  

Italy Rome Mission Welcomes 20 New Missionaries!

We are so happy to welcome 20 new missionaries into the Italy Rome Mission.  They arrived on Wednesday, May 18th.  What a wonderful group of missionaries!  Even though they were exhausted after a very long trip, their spirits were bright and they are ready to do missionary work.  Here are their names  (in alphabetical order).

Elders:  Andersen (Cave Creek, AZ), Bradshaw (Hawthorne, FL), Bunker (Cedar Hills, UT), Cardinet (Newcastle, CA), Embree (St. Anthony, ID), Esplin (Pocatell, ID), Gibson (Pocatello, ID), Gibson (Orange, CA), Hansen (Smithfield), Hill (Valencia, CA), Holland (South Jordan, UT), Larsen (Draper, UT), Nelson (Spanish Fork, UT), Pettry (Frankfort, KY), Shipton (Rigby, ID), Simonetta (Glibert, AZ), Sloan (Red Cliff, Cananda), Wright (Rochdale, MA),

Sisters:  Hicks, (Tecumseh, OK), Johnson (Hyrum, UT), and Turley (Buckley, WA).

They are all assigned to trainers and are now out in the field all over Sicily, Sardegna and Southern Italy.

Here is the entry to the mission home with the jackets from the elders hanging on the railing.  It's always so great to have the missionaries in the mission home!

Catania Zone Conference

Catania Zone Conference May 2011

Rome Stake Conference - May 8, 2011

May 8,  2011. Rome Stake Conference.

With Elder Donaldson, an Area Seventy from Wales.

Elder Donaldson and Brother Hanno Luschin, the Head Project Manager for the Rome Temple.

Sunday Visit to the Pescara Ward

Thank you to Sorella Burt for providing these photos!

The young man (second from left) was recently baptized, and his parents (also in the photo) have set a baptismal date.

Sorella Burt and Sorella Kelly. Since the Ward meets very close to the Sea, we  went after church to take some photos.

President Kelly with Anziano Osmun and Anziano Hopper, the missionaries serving in the Pescara Ward.

Members of the Pescara Ward.

With Brother and Sister Giusti, members of the Pescara Ward. They were baptized almost 3  years ago. Brother Giusti as a renowned orchestra conductor and conducted the choir that sang at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Rome Temple. 

Feeding an Army of Missionaries

February 3, 2011. One of my responsibilities is cooking for missionaries.  They arrive, they depart, they come to the mission home for all kinds of reasons.  We also have zone leader councils here at the mission home and they spend the night.  So, over the 6 week transfer cycle I cook LOTS of meals.  Here I am at ASSSO, that's right...3 S's.  It's a kind of Costco.  Missionaries have big appetites and it's more about the quantity than the quality.   This past week we even helped out with a youth conference.  We had 23 spending the night here at the mission home along with breakfast. They were great young men from Pisa, Florence, Napoli and Rome.  It's so important to bring the youth together so they can feel the spiritual strength from each other.

I brought lots of cookbooks to Italy.  Problem is I can't find about half of the ingredients!  So, I'm learning to cook italian style.  They have wonderful produce here!  One thing on the market right now is the "blood orange".  It's from Sicily.  A very sweet orange with streaks of red throughout it.  Never seen it before! But I really like them. Plenty of pasta, gelato and lots of good pizza.  Shopping and cooking...a big part of being the mission mom!