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!

Pictures from the first 6 months.

June 29, 2010. At the Salt Lake Airport leaving for Rome.

President Acerson introducing the two assistants, Anziani Cooper and Herrick,  to President Kelly.  A poignant moment as President Acerson hands over the care of the wonderful missionaries of the Italy Rome Mission. 

July 1, 2010. At the mission home with President and Sorella Acerson and missionaries serving in the Rome Zone.

At the mission home on the first day.

Very first Zone Conference in Sardegna.

Very first Zone Conference in Napoli, Italy

Zone Conference in Bari, Italy.

Assisi, Italy.

Farewell Dinner with missionaries in the mission home.

July 2010. A group of new missionaries from the Provo and Madrid MTC.

September 2010. Elder Ballard and other leaders came to Rome to meet with Catholic leaders at The Vatican.
(L to R) Bishop & Sister Edgley, Elder & Sister Causse, Brother Carl Champagnie, Elder and Sister Ballard.

The Island of Malta!  Malta is one of three islands in the Italy Rome Mission (the other two are Sicily and Sardegna).  Malta is rich with history and is a beautiful island. This is Sorella Kelly with Elder & Sister Tilley, a couple from England who are serving in the Malta branch. 

Zone and district leader training in the mission home.

Caserta Palace

Sorella Kelly with sisters serving in the Rome 2 Ward.
(L to R) Sorella Riffaldi, Sorella Urban, Sorella Kelly, and Sorella Askew

October 2010. A Group of new missionaries from the Madrid Spain MTC

October 2010. Mission Presidents Seminar in Dresden, Germany. With Pres. and Sorella Wolfgramm of the Italy Milan Mission.

With Elder Gerald Causse at the Freiburg Germany Temple.

This Temple will be built in the Eternal City.

Italy Rome Temple Groundbreaking.

A Latter-day Prophet breaks ground for the Italy Rome Temple. President Monson's visit to Italy was the first by a President of the Church in over 35 years.

Pres. Kelly breaking some ground at the Temple Site.

Patriarch and Sister Calabrese.

With President Dinolfo at Groundbreaking Ceromony.

Brother Carl Champagnie at the mission home. Brother Champagnie recently moved to Rome to supervise  the construction of the Italy Rome Temple. He also supervised the construction of the Preston England and Accra Ghana temples. 

(L to R) President Dinolfo, Jason Swenson, President Lord, and President Kelly.
President Dinolfo is from Consenza and is president of the Calabria district. President Lord is president of the Napoli district. Brother Swenson is a reporter with the Deseret News and was in Rome to report on the groundbreaking ceremony of the Italy Rome Temple.

Zone Conference in Sicily

Some of the missionaries serving in Malta came to Rome for Zone Conference. They took a quick tour of the city during their stay in Rome.
(L to R) Anziano Jones, Sorella & Anziano Crawford, Elder & Sister Tilley, Anziano Nielsen.

L to R. Pres & Sister Kelly, Elder & Sister Burt, Elder and Sister Marcucci, Elder and Sister Crawford.

Thanksgiving Dinner at the Mission Home
(L to R) Anziano & Sorella Marcucci, Brother Calabrese, and Sister Calabrese and their grandson. 
Brother Calabrese joined the church in Italy 25 years ago and is currently serving as Patriarch of the Italy Rome Stake. He also spends countless hours helping the missionaries in the mission office.

December 2010. Mission Tour with Elder Gerald Causse. 

Zone Leader Council at the mission home with Elder Gerald Causse.

New Missionaries from the Provo MTC. December 2010.
Top Row (L to R):  Anziani Wester, Flitton, McAffee, Wright, Schertz, Anderson, Hughes
Bottow Row (L to R):  Anziano Hopper, Sorella Ashman, Sorella Stebar, Anziano Shaw

Christmas Bells

Christmas Party with missionaries serving in Rome.

Pres and Sister Kelly with Anziano Schwing, a brand new missionary from the Black Forest area of Germany. He broke his hand at the Provo MTC and so he had to stay a few extra weeks. His flight to Rome arrived on Christmas Eve. He already speaks excellent english and italian.