Holidays are here!

I can tell the holidays are here because it's quite the adventure to go shopping, even for small things like groceries.

Yesterday I needed to get some things to make pies for Thanksgiving. I knew it was going to be an adventure as soon as I got a glimpse of the parking lot. My assessment was verified the monent I hit the isles. I think half of Spanish Fork was in the store!

Luckily I have experience navigating tight places where there is no room to maneuver. My driving experience in the Naples area of Italy came in quite handy as I tried to negotiate the crowd. It's amazing how that skill just kicked in, subconsciously.

Well, I make it to the checkout only to find out my cost for making 10 pies was $93. Man-oh-man, I could have purchased pies from Marie Callender's at a cheaper price. But then again, it would not be as much fun!!!

I send my love to all of you at this time of year. I am VERY thankful to each of my friends and how my life has been made better by each of you. Thank you! Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Our Church Meetinghouse

I absolutely LOVE Caserta! (Caserta is the name of the city where our church meetinghouse is.) It is a quiet city. I feel safe and at home here. The people are very friendly and there is almost always someone out on the street.

The picture above is a view of the street Corso Trieste looking north. Our meetinghouse's address is 180 Corso Trieste. I've listed the address in case you would like to look it up on Google Earth. Our door is the green one. Up the street about 6 blocks is la Reggia di Caserta (the Caserta Palace). It was an alternate home to the Naples royalty which ruled this area about 400 years ago.

The upper  left picture is Corso Trieste looking south. There are a lot of  "bars" where people stop to eat or drink a coffee.

Bars are the Italians version of our McDonalds or Taco Bell. They stop here and sit for breakfast, lunch and late at night. You will see people there at all time of the day. They are in no hurry. They will sit and read the paper (mostly in the morning) or visit with others (mostly at night).

We are quite amazed because their pattern of use of the bars are not deterred by the weather. Whether a nice sunny day or in the sweltering heat of summer or cold of winter, you will find people sitting outside at the Bar. Generally there is no sitting inside a bar. If people are stopping by for a quick cup of coffee, they may stand at the counter while they drink it and then off they go.

This is what we affectionately call "the hole". This area is under the building where our meetinghouse is. Our meeting house is actually a floor of this building that has been remodeled to accommodate our needs.

This area, as you can see, is the parking area. When we first started parking here the lights were controlled by light switches. However, we knew nothing about the lights or the switches. Our first experience was at night. How funny that was! You should have seen us.

Getting our of "the hole" was easy. We just headed for the entrance, which we could see because it was lighter outside, anything would have been lighter than the darkness of "the hole". Upon leaving I did make note of the ground to see if it was level and if there were any holes or ridged that we might trip upon our return to our car. (I may not be the smartest cookie around but I am not all nuts either.)

Anyway, our return trip to our car was quite the adventure. It was pitch black! Not one speck of light. Luckily for us we were giving a ride home to the missionaries. One of them was smart enough to think of using the backlight on his phone to give us a little light.

Well, obviously we make it safely.

How funny it was when one of the members told us there were light switches! We just chalked it up to one of our many missionary experiences.

Notice this grate. Above the grate is the sidewalk outside the building. Elder Warner loves to get a new missionary, at night of course, who just happens to be standing above close to the grate and Elder Warner starts makes errie sounds while down in the parking area. It is really funny, especially if his companion is playing along; because after all, Elder Warner has previously done it to him.

How many children do I have? 6 or 7? He always keeps me laughing.

You will notice the exit at the far end of the picture. The first time I had to driver the car out of "the hole" I felt like I was on my 4-wheeler and climbing one of our hills. It was very scary for me. Hopefully you will see what I mean if I can get the video to link up OK.

I know my brother Bill will be laughing his head off at the thought of me "Climbing this BIG hill!".


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cXycagG9bk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmz_mN5ag6o

Garbage, Garbage Everywhere, well - almost!

The summer of 2008, just before we came here, there was a garbage strike in the Naples area. From what I was told the garbage was piled so high that you could not see at intersections. I remember when we had such a terrible winter in Utah in 1998 that the National Guard had to take the snow and dump it out in the desert because the piles were so high that it was obstructing the intersections and people could not see traffic. From that experience, I'm glad I was not here during the last garbage strike.

Yes I did say LAST because I have been told by the members on base that as of last week Naples and Caserta are to experience another strike. Lucky us!!

We were beginning to see the garbage pile up - just a minute - I'm getting ahead of myself.

Let me explain the garbage set-up here. Garbage is picked up every day. For us Americans where garbage is picked up once a week that seems overkill. At least it did when we first came here. There are several reasons for daily garbage collection here:

• On the most part, living conditions are very small. I am amazed at how little space Italians live in compared with Americans. I never thought I would be able to survive such a small kitchen.
• The Italians have such an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, I will miss that when I return to the states, that they have a large amount of compost garbage. Because of the weather here, the heat and humidity, having this type of garbage build up over a week would be horrible. 
• When I asked an Italian about the daily garbage collection, his first response was that it creates jobs. I found it interesting that their first consideration for garbage pick-ups on a daily basis was for the benefit of work for the people.
• Schedule for garbage pickup:

              Monday, Wednesday, Friday - Compost Gargage

              Tuesday, Saturday - Garbage Garbage

              Thursday - Recycling (plastics, tin cans, paper, cardboard)

              Glass is put into special containers so each person is
                  responsible to find those containers and deposit
                  their glass

Anyway, back to today. As we were driving around this week, we noticed garbage starting to pile up on the roads in front of all houses. It's not unusual to see garbage in areas with no houses, plots here and there and short sections of roads with agricultural fields between the small communities, but to have the garbage neatly bagged and stacked in front of all houses and businesses was a different story.

Yesterday Larry was driving from the church building to our apartment and he was redirected to another street because the police were out in such great numbers (he thought every officer they had was on duty). It appears the garbage was being picked up and the police were closing off streets in a wide area (about a 2 block radius) around the garbage collectors. Almost like we would for a parade. 

Well, at least the garbage in our town is being picked up. I did notice last night that in Porto di Caserta the garbage was not picked up. Time will tell what the future brings for Naples and their every perplexing problem of garbage!!!!

Christmas with the Gibbs Family

What a wonderful Christmas we had this year. It was a quiet day surrounded by friends. Crystal Gibbs invited us and the Caserta missionaries to come over for the day.

As you can see, Crystal invited us for breakfast. She made Aebleskivers. They are Danish pancake balls; and they are S-O-O-O-O good!! She cooked them in coconut oil instead of corn oil which added a fantastic flavor to them. Thanks Crystal, I think this has just become a Christmas tradition in our household.

The Gibbs have 3 great kids. Noah is 8, Alex is 2 and Samantha is 9 months. 

Eric is currently deployed and Crystal is fantastic at "keeping the home fires burning".

Eric, we miss you and know you miss being home with the family; but they are doing well and are anxious for your return.

Noah, being a typical 8 year old boy full of energy, spent most of the morning outside with his friends; but we had a great time with Crystal, Alex and Samantha while he was gone.

Even the Elder's found time to play and enjoy themselves.

It's great that no matter where you go there are always others there to share the important times of your life. Time where you spend loving, laughing and lifting each other. 

We hope you all had a great Christmas. But then, how could it be anything other than "great" since we have the best gift of all, the life and atonement of Jesus Christ, which makes it possible for us to repent and continue improving and growing like our Savior and our Father in Heaven. After all . . . that is the plan; for all of us to return to him. 

( PS - this is not the house of a missionary - it is the house of a Relief Society President)

We pray that the Lord blesses you this coming year as you face the challenges, blessings and trials which the Lord sees fit to come across your path; as he molds you to become worthy to return home to him. 

Get Wisdom, Get Understanding

I laid in bed last night feeling I had left something out of my blog. I realized it was incomplete because I had left out the text of the message of the Plan of Salvation. For my kids, all of you should have PEACH MY GOSPEL in your homes. It is a good resource for Family Home Evenings. For those of you who do not have Peach My Gospel and are interested on what the pictures mean, here is a link to the text.

http://broadcast.lds.org/Missionary/PreachMyGospel___07_03-2_PlanOfSalvation__36617_eng_007.pdf

A few years ago our son, Jason, was reading Proverbs and telling us how much he loved it. I have to admit I have not read Proverbs since I was a teenager. At that time it did not seem very interesting to me. However, I am now in that part of my studies of the Old Testament. I now see what Jason was talking about. I love it too.

Yesterday I was reading Chapter 4. I love the guideline for the flow of our spiritual progress:

• v-1 - "Here, ye children, the instructions of a father, and attend to KNOW UNDERSTANDING." First we must  gain knowledge. But knowledge is not enough.
• v-4 - "He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS." Knowledge is strengthened and explained as we keep his commandments. It is then that we gain _______________
• v-5 - "Get WISDOM, get understanding." We can only gain wisdom by experience or by the teachings of the Holy Ghost.. Wisdom is knowing why and how knowledge effects us. 

As we follow this pattern; what is the blessing that the Lord wants us to achieve?

• v-12 - "When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straightened (NOT DISTRESSED); and when thou runnest, thou shalt NOT STUMBLE."
• v-13 - "Take fast, hold of instructions; let her not go; keep her; for she is thy LIFE."
• v-18 - "But the path of the just is as the shining LIGHT, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

Everything goes back to the Plan of Salvation. Why are we here? Does my life here have a meaning other than the few years I'm here? How does my life here effect my life with God? 

As I ponder the answer to these questions my heart swells as if it will burst; my love for my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ becomes so strong that there is nothing they can ask that I will not do. I know who I am. I know why I'm here. And I know where I'm going. 

I encourage each of you to ponder on this and then do as the Lord says will bring us life and light; that is to get knowledge, obey his commandments and you will be blessed with wisdom and (eternal) life and light.

I know these things are true. I have put them to the test and the Lord has blessed me beyond measure. This is my testimony, that He lives and loves us. I say these thing in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

PLAN OF SALVATION - for you

Some of my children have asked me to send them my PLAN OF SALVATION kit that I showed on the blog "I am thankful for my experience in Italy". I thought I would post it online in case anyone else wanted it for their use.

I got the idea from one of the missionaries, Elder Bradford. His sister had created one for him that was in Italian. I love to play with Photoshop Elements, probably to much, so here is what I came up with. It is not professional and you can tell it it made by an amateur, but I had fun doing it and the families we teach seem to like it.

You will most definitely want to be sure to print the pages out at 8.5"X11" in order for the dimensions to be correct.

Be sure to watch out for shadows, like with the arrows and the title scroll.

Also, I use clear contact laminate in order to make the spirits. I start by cutting the boy and girl out including the background (the boy's blue background and the girl's pink background). Then I fold the contact laminate to it's self and scotch tape the boy or girl to the laminate. That way I can cut out the person and the spirit at the same time and they will be the correct proportions.

I like to make more than one set of spirits; that way there will be spirits in the pre-earth when the boy or girl are born to the earth.

When I'm explaining the plan of salvation to people, I will put the body under the "RIP" to signify the burial of the body while the spirit goes to the spirit world.

I would love to hear how your teaching goes and any suggestions for making the kit better.

Have Fun!

Art Linkletter was right . . .

Kids say the darn'est things!

Here is a picture of Derek & Valerie’s family. David is the oldest, he turned 6 last week; Cheyenne is next, she will be 5 in early January; and Emily was born 4 days before we went to the MTC to start our mission, she just turned 1 late August. Not that I’m prejudice, but, what a cute family!

Valerie was talking to us today and telling stories about the children.

It seems, Cheyenne is quite the little housekeeper.

Valerie was lying on the couch and Cheyenne brought Emily to her, and in the "I think I am quite grown-up" voice said, "Here, watch your baby! I'm trying to do the laundry!!!!"

I am thankful for my experience in Italy.

The weather this fall has been absolutely WONDERFUL! It has only rained a few times; but, when it rains it POURS! Last year, after, Halloween, it was rainy and cold and rainy and cold. Luckily this year it has been very warm, for fall that is, during the day and relatively cool at night. We are grateful because it has been very helpful with our utility bill. We only run our heaters at night and in the morning when we take a shower. During the day we open the windows because it is warmer outside than it is inside.

Since everyone lives in such close proximity to each other, their houses are made to be as fire resistant as possible. They do not use wood in the construction of their homes; instead they use clay or concrete blocks. They do not use insulation or sheet rock either; they plaster the inside walls and put a skim coat of mortar on the outside. Even the paint is a white-wash which makes wiping the walls impossible without taking the paint off. They do not use carpeting, but all the floors have tile everywhere. Our window casings and sills as well as the door jams are marble. This gives the home a lot of character but it really keeps the outside temperature, whether hot or cold, transmitted to the inside of the house.

Our central heat is furnished by radiators on the walls. These are fed by a gas boiler (hot water heater). My mom and aunt will understand the advantages and disadvantages, but for those of us who have grown up with central heat/air conditioning, we are at a loss. In our apartment, thanks to the previous missionaries, we also have heat/air conditioning units in the living room and our bedroom. We also use small space heaters in the two bathrooms.

We have a built in control that helps us reserve our electricity; our electric meter. We can only run two appliances at a time. If we run a third, it flips our meter and the electricity to the apartment is shut off. When that happens we have to go downstairs and flip the switch to turn it back on. What a pain! (I can see the Drapers laughing right now.) But, I'm glad since electricity is very expensive and this helps us keep our costs down. So it turns out to be a blessing in disguise.

I can see why older people are usually wiser than younger people, at least that is how it was for me when I was younger. I'm finding that I become wiser as my experiences increase. I am so grateful for the experiences I have had here on my mission. My eyes have been opened to a way of life that has changed me. I am open to learn not only the way other people do what they do, but also to ask myself why and how does this knowledge help me become a better person.

I see that I have grown spiritually while on my mission. I think a lot of this growth is because I have been totally focused on the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation. As I study to learn the truth of the gospel in such depth as I have not done so before and as I teach others, the Lord also is teaching me. He is opening up my mind to the things of eternity. I have always said to my children, "it doesn't have eternal consequences". I am learning a deeper meaning to that phrase. Some of the things I thought were essential to have or to do don't seem as important as before. I am learning to do with less and I am perfectly happy and content.

And I'm still alive!

Another part of Italy that has penetrated our lives is the cost and availability of some foods. Milk, cheese and meat are extremely expensive so they are used as condiments or sparingly used to flavor the food. The bulk of their meal is pasta and rice and lots and lots of fruits and vegetables.

Where have I heard this before????

. . . The order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days . . . a principle with a promise . . . all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature and use of man - . . . every fruit in the season thereof . . . flesh of the beast and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly . . . All grain is ordained for the use of man . . . to be the staff of life . . . that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground . . . And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walk in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health . . .

I hope to come back a wiser and healthier person.

I LOVE being on a mission! Words cannot describe the joy of missionary work. How great it is for the youth of our church to have this experience at the beginning of their adult life where they now have such spiritual strength and a lot more wisdom as to the importance of decisions that will affect their eternal life.

We too have grown tremendously in the last year. A year! A year? We can't believe it's been a whole year since we have left our loved ones at home, yet at the same time it feels like we have been here our entire lives and will grow old and die here (don't worry kids, the Church is sending us our return ticket).

It has been very fascinating to view others and their relationship with God and their observance in their religion. Granted this is a highly populated area of Catholicism where the religion has been a major force for centuries, but as I look at others I reflect on my relationship with God and my observance of my religion. Do I go to church just to go to church or for appearances to others; is my worship truly worship where I am focused on my Father in Heaven and my Savior Jesus Christ, to show gratitude for the blessings in my life, to renew my covenants with the partaking of the sacrament with real intent, to learn what I should learn, to serve as He would serve? I think this is a constant concept we must ponder on and continually work at if we are to become the people of God, a Zion people.

This is what I am learning as a missionary. To be a truly righteous daughter of God, and show my gratitude by doing the things He would have me do; to take upon me his name and do his will:

• To love God with all my heart, might, mind and soul;
• To love my neighbor as myself.

This is what I am learning to do to a greater degree than ever before and I love the feeling of joy and peace I receive by doing this.

Herculaneum

A few weeks ago we visited the ruins of Herculaneum. Here are some pictures we took and some things we thought you might find interesting.

Herculaneum was a small town (the urban area was equivalent to about 1/3rd of the area of Pompeii - Population 4,000-5,000). It was situated on the furthest slopes of Vesuvius between 2 rivers overlooking the sea.

Here are some views of the past and present. The city of Ercolano is built over the ruins. In both pictures, the new city begins at the yellow buildings.

In 63 A.D., this town was abruptly interrupted by a disastrous earthquake which devastated not only Herculaneum, but the entire Campania region (by the way, we live in the Campania region). The town suffered serious damage.

The earthquake was only prelude to a far worse catastrophe. On August 24, 79 A.D., the town, still undergoing repairs from the earthquake damage, was engulfed by a huge river of boiling mud and debris produced by the terrifying eruption of the volcano; penetrating every home, every street, every building, every square, everything in its path.

The eruption of 79 A.D. radically altered the lay of the land; by raising it over 20 meters (over 65 feet). As Pompeii was destroyed by lava, ash and white-hot rock, Herculaneum was destroyed by a huge river of mud and debris; thereby preserving items such as tables, chairs, beds, etc.

The walls you see here were the western border of the city. The water of the Mediterranean Sea would come up to these walls.

Another difference from the fate of Pompeii was that the population of Herculaneum probably had time to escape towards the sea. However, for most of the fugitives, the attempt to reach safety failed because of a violent tidal wave preventing them from fleeing the catastrophe.

Historically, Herculaneum had Greek orgins. The Greeks of Neapolis ruled Herculaneum from the 6th century B.C.

Between the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C., Herculaneum was one of the Campanian towns which fought against Roman domination. But in 89 B.C. the town of Herculaneum was forced to yield to Rome.

The Greek influence is seen through out the town, from the architecture and construction of it's buildings to the layout of the city (main roads running north-south and the secondary ones running east-west; built at right angles in a strictly regular pattern).

Look closely at the column which has damage to it. This is a special glimpse inside the making of their columns. We were surprised to see the structural base of the column (or center) was brick with a covering of decorative concrete or marble.

Interesting!

Their walls were build with bricks and then covered with a thick layer of plaster. If you look closely you will see different types of bricks used and laid out in different patterns. The plaster would then be decoratively covered.

The homes were built around an open courtyard. The walkways around the courtyard was left open on the ground level.

The size of the homes and the lavishness in which they were build and decorated, says much about the inhabitants who lived here.

This particular home is the largest one found; some if it is unable to be excavated because of the town above it. If you look closely you should be able to see the stairway on the right in the back.

What surprised us the most was the way in which they handled their sewer and water delivery. Herculaneum had an underground sewage system as opposed to Pompeii's open sewer, the streets. Each home in Herculaneum had their sewage piped to the main line under the streets; which dumped into the bay.

This picture shows the pipes they used to deliver the water to the houses. They are made of lead.

Iron was used in the structural support for the building as well. We found iron, as shown in these two pictures, in the ceiling and side walls. There was even an iron I-Beam in the wall of the men's gymnasium.

As shown in the picture above, the Greek influence is no more prevalent than in the homes. Each home had an area for worship of their Gods. They had these sacellums (some were small as above and some were large as shown to the right) where the statues of their Gods would reside.

What fascinates me is the likeness the Catholic's sanctuary, which they have for their statues that are placed at several of the homes, to the sacellums of the Greeks.

The floors of the homes were lavish and intricate. Here is a picture of the floor in one of the rooms of the men's gymnasium. Imagine laying each of these tiles!

If you look carefully you can see that the floor has dropped. There is a step in the upper left-hand corner. Originally there was no step; it was one level floor.

The white tiles in this home are laid out in a certain pattern. Although they are not florescent, they could be seen at night to help those walking around know where to walk.

Some homes had wells. This opening was marred by the rope used to draw the water. That is what these marks are from. Originally the opening was smooth and round.

There were some businesses in Herculaneum. Those businesses were support for the residence. There were laundries and food establishments and whatever other business that were needed to support the residents at the time. Here is a picture of a food establishment that was uncovered in the excavation.

That was our venture into the past at Herculaneum. We only explored about 1/3rd of what was there. We Hope you liked our short tour.

We send all our love to our family and friends. We think of you always.

Elder and Sister Warner

Kids are so smart these days!!!

I was just talking to Emily about her new baby's blessing, which was today, and she told me Makayla knows her alphabet. That's not such a big deal except for the fact that Makayla is only 2 1/2 years old. Children now days just blow me away!

Here is a picture of Emily's children:
Artie, Makayla (they call her Kayla), Samuel (they call him Sammy)

Cute Vehicles

I cannot believe it has been 3 weeks since I have posted to the blog! Where does the time go??

Everything seems to be going well at home. The babies are growing. Emily is a year old now and I am on my second year of birthday presents. Emma was baptized last month, Audrey will be baptized in November, Kameron and Aric will be ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood this next year and 3 babies have been blessed and one more in on the way. Why did everyone wait until we decided to go on a mission to get pregnant? Life is just not fair!!!

But we love our work. We love the gospel of Jesus Christ and spending our entire time focused on that, except when talking to family, is such a spiritual high. We work hard and are very busy. We each have duties in the local branch. Dad is the branch clerk and I teach a primary class. I also take care of a bulletin board that's theme changes each month. It is really stretching my creativity (and for a "bean-counter like me that is quite a challenge). I use a program called Photoshop Elements. Luckily a sister in the branch, Jennifer Merkley, has been gracious enough to help me learn the program and has been a big influence in a lot of the creative concepts. She is going back to the states in a month and I will miss her smiling jovial personality very much.

We also teach an Institute class on Thursdays nights and Dad volunteers at the Chaplain's office on Tuesday & Friday mornings. I visit the sisters when I can and we will be starting an Italian class, of course taught by our full-time missionaries who are very fluent in the language. That class will be at the home of one of the members.

In this post I wanted to share some of the more interesting vehicles we see on the roads here. Notice I did not say cars, because as you will see they are not at all what we would see on our roads in the US.

I loved this car on the left. It was parked at the base. It has character.

The yellow car is owned by our neighbors across the street. We see quite a lot of these cars around. It reminds me of the car Tom Selleck was driving in the movie 3 Men and a Little Girl. It is very, very, very small.

This next vehicle is something I would never in my wildest imagination (now remember I am a bean-counter) think could be used for a vehicle. A rototiller???

We have seen several, over 10, of these on the streets. I need to get one of these for Derek.

Well, that's it for now. We hope all is well with our family and friends wherever you are.

I would love to hear from you so feel free to leave a post.

Bye for now,
Mom