Apostle Christofferson came to our mission this week and we had a conference with all members, about 750 showed up at the Milano stake center on Wed evening, and then just with the missionaries on Thurs, (about half the mission, the other half live too far south and weren't invited, they will go to one in Florence. On Saturday he met with about 350 stake presidents, bishoprics and high counselors in Rome. Today for priesthood meeting the high councilor in our ward presented a lesson to the young men, and invited the 3 high priests, to attend, and discussed his attendance at the meeting with the apostle yesterday.
These are the 4 mission office elders, with whom we work closely, who prepared pass-along cards for the districts in the mission, to give out at the meeting with the apostle. They are to be given out to inform people they can view a website with a new video of Jesus for Easter. This pix was taken in the conference room across from our office.
We prepared lunch, chicken salad in croissants, for the 140 missionaries who attended the conference. It was a lot of work, but fun.
One of the other senior missionaries at the pulpit asking the young missionaries to take their places and listen to the prelude music (I was playing at the piano at the bottom) about 45 minutes before the meeting with the apostle started, he hadn't come yet--the mission president took him and the 70 and their wives to Como (famous lake up north) and to the Last Supper in Milano that morning for their cultural experience.
All 9 senior couples in our mission came to the conference, and I was asked by the president to be the host, because he was picking up Elder Christofferson. They stayed at the nearby Golf Hotel (name of the hotel, it does not have a golf course) and we took them to lunch at a nice near by restaurant, where we asked a couple who are going home to bear their testimonies (they said they didn't ask to come to Italy but have felt they were in paradise for the pat 16 months), they copied old records that will be indexed in the future. I also took the couples to the old abbey where we sat in the old choir seats and sang "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee," with words by St. Bernard, who actually spent time in that abbey (about 1200 AD), where we also sang St. Francis of Assisi's words to "All Creatures of our God and King" (in Italian) and then ended with "We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet," one of whom we listened to that evening. It was a lot of work but a wonderful experience.
There wasn't enough room for all 140 of missionaries to eat in the same room at the church, so we set up several rooms.
Outside of the stake center in Milano.
On Sunday afternoon we drove out to an old sanctuary (church) of Mary at the Spring, which is near an old dairy and palace, although I don't know who lived or lives there. The sign says that the affreschi (paintings on plaster) are from Leonardo (da Vinci) school, although I didn't see them. Before Easter, Catholic churches hide all of their most beautiful art work and then display it with all of their splendor on Easter and leave it up until next Lenten season.
It was a very beautiful afternoon and it has been a pleasant day. Myrna is up baking cookies for tomorrow. At church today a young man, actually 37 years old, is taking the lessons from the APs, and today came up to Myrna with a cookie she baked about 3 weeks old wrapped up and in his coat pocket. He said he loved them and wanted the recipe, although I doubt he will bake any, he couldn't find the ingredients--it took Myrna a long time to find them, but she will send cookies with the APs and the recipe.
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