This was the week for zone conferences, which now take place every six weeks. We went to the one in Alessandria, so the office elders could be with their assigned zone at Cimiano, while we "minded the store." On Wed., it took us a little over an hour to drive to Alessandria, and we got there early in case we needed to help with something, which they didn't need. We are no longer doing lunches. I send the zone leaders money, this time €7 per person.
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This is Anziano Pyper, one of the assistants to the president in the chapel of the Alessandria meetinghouse conducting the conference. He and Anziano Brooks do a great job.
In addition to signing hymns, they like to have musical numbers for zone conferences. Four of the sisters sang a hymn, and did very well, accompanied (on a very bad piano) by another sister who no one knew could play the piano. Anziano Wagstaff, played a medley of hymns, which it seemed he was improvising. He plays very well. He also plays the organ and told me has always wanted to play one in a cathedral, which I said I would help him figure out how to do sometime.
They had to pick up the pizzas, and also bought fruit (apples, oranges, tangerines, grapes) and gelato, and had money to give back.
A few of the athletes are trying to get in better shape, so, instead of pizza, they opted for veggies for lunch.
Like green beans
Anziano Hansen only had peas.
The sister trainer leaders did a presentation on being focused, and I thought they did an excellent job, the emphasized role play.
They also divided up for role plays. Anziano Wagstaff is on the front left.
A stake president, Ganero, came to give a talk, which was about sacrifice. He didn't speak long, although in pretty good English, but gave a powerful address. He said, when he was a bishop, he had a counselor who had only been a member for a year. His passion was going to professional soccer matches, and had season tickets which had been in the family for 4 generations. He could go to church in the morning and watch soccer in the afternoon, but, as he became more mature in the gospel, realized he shouldn't (go to soccer). So he sacrificed going to matches on Sunday and became very spiritually strong--stronger than the bishop, because he had laid something he loved so much on the altar. President Ganero is only 39 years old, but could easily pass for a young missionary. (The backlighting in the chapel made picture taking harder.) He is a good example of the wonderful local leaders.
In the chapel at Alessandria, on the second floor adjacent to an Esselunga grocery store, they have this baptismal font, which reminded me of what we had 50 years go, when the APs brought it out to us from Zurich in the back of the mission's Volkswagen van.
At the end of the conference, after signing the mission hymn and a kneeling prayer, we took a picture.
Alessandria is out in farming country, where spring planting is underway.
This week office anziani, Hogan and Simmons, made pizza from scratch, and gave us some.
We could hear them talking while they were mixing the dough, that this would be a good date activity for when they get home. Notice my apron on Anz. Hogan, which Sorella Allen gave me for Christmas.
Also, this week, Anziano Christian Ta Maari, from New Zealand, stopped by the office to pick up his bags. He has been touring with his parents, following the completion of his mission. He and his father performed a traditional Maori haka dance for all of us in the office, which I recorded. Too bad I don't know how to post video. Their loud cries must have been heard by everyone in the 4 story building.
There were two senior couples visiting from Germany (technology specialists) that day, and we put together an impromptu lunch (pizza and salad) for 15. After the haka, Anziano Te Maari presented President and Sister Allen with stone necklaces, which brought tears to everyone's eyes.
Us with Anziano Te Maari, which the office anziani described as a Hoopes sandwhich. He was an excellent missionary and will be a great leader in the church in New Zealand.
Because it was also the day of Carnevale (holiday just before Lent starts) I bought some of these fried treats (traditional for carnivale) at Coop that morning for our dessert. (This is all that were left from a half kilo, €6.50)
On Saturday, we, along with Salatinos, went with President and Sorella Allen to Bellinzona, a town north of Lugano, in Switzerland, to check out their their three castles, as places where we might want to take our visiting kids. Unfortunately, the day was overcast and rainy, but we had a good time and would like to go back when the weather is better. I snapped this just as you just get in town You can see the top of one of the three castles in the background.
We went to the center of the town, where they were having an open market--it was Saturday. I wanted to check out the church, and on entering, found that a concert of organ and transverse flute had just begun.
The music, from the printed program, was ancient Italian through Mozart, and was very beautiful.
I was able to sit and listen to one number, along with the few people who attended.
But there was more interest in what the vendors were offering and in seeing the castles.
This little guy was tired of riding in the carriage behind his dad, and wanted to walk.
This guy was selling polenta, only 4 Swiss Francs for a large container, cooked on this interesting polenta cooker. The stuff needs to be stirred for about an hour while cooking, so this looks like it did a good job.
His competitor had to stir his polenta with a large wooden paddle. We didn't get polenta, unfortunately.
We went to castle No. 1. Actually, they had an elevator from the parking lot up to where you walk into the castle on the rock hill, but the museum part, which cost 5 Francs, was not open.
From the inside of the castle, there were these cross shaped windows, where archers could shoot at the enemy below, where I got a pretty good shot at the center of town. In the middle is the church where the organ and flute concert was happening.
Standing back a little you can see that the cross shaped windows were pretty good protection.
The main door to this castle; there are three of them (castles) in Bellinzona.
Had there not been so much fog, we could have had a great view of the town below from this walkway.
This picture says, at the top, "The castles of Bellinzona"
"Yesterday they closed the alps" "Today they are the father of humanity."
The watch towers were impressive.
In olden days they did not have these modern staircases--they climbed rickety wooden stairs.
From above you can see the courtyard within the castle, now a restaurant, which would be pleasant on warmer days.
This sign says the museum is open from 19 March through 31 October, 2016, and from 1 Nov through 8 Jan 2017--so we were apparently a week or so early, and the new sign is not yet up. On the right is something we saw elsewhere in Switzerland, a yellow container for doggie droppings, Bravo, for helping keep Switzerland clean, which it certainly is.
The drawbridge at castle No. 2.
Sorella Salatino pointed out that in the wall is a medieval potty, just climb up the steps and sit on the hole and have your Bravo moment.
President Allen was willing to demonstrate.
I ran outside the castle wall to see, in the dead center of this picture, the hole, through which the Bravo passed down into the moat, now growing grass.
Back inside the castle, this is the medieval public water fountain.
To the right is one of the chefs from the restaurant coming out for a smoke break. There was a small chapel within the walls of the castle which
apparently functioned from 1479 until 1934 (probably the war had something to do with 1934).
Anziano Hogan loves cats, so I took this pix of the friendly castle cat for his collection.
We were by then pretty hungry, so we drove around trying to find a place everyone could agree upon. Actually there was a kabop place in the middle of Bellinzona that looked pretty good.
We went to a nice, modern, warm and clean restaurant, made friends with the owner, who is from Cremona, and had his special of the day, which I didn't think to take a picture of until it was about consumed. This is home made noodles cooked with some veggies (spinach and potatoes) served with a small piece of pork, with a sauce, for only €20 (not bad for Switzerland). We also had a pizza, which, even though it cost double what it would have cost in Italy, was excellent. They served us a liter of San Pelegrino, not Swiss, mineral water.
Salatini suggested a chocolate factory, which had just closed, although we were able to go to the store, eat free samples to our belly's content, and stock up on chocolate confections, including 100 gm bars for only €1.29. (We didn't get to go to Migros, which has wonderful 100 gm bars for .50)
I had never heard of Alprrose chocolate, but it was still attracting tourist buses after the factory closed for the day.
On the way home we passed by Lake Lugano, which I snapped this pix of just as my phone was ringing--it was a sister asking how much money she had left on her mission card.
We got home to see that they had a parade down our street, while we were gone. The city sent a sweeper to clean confetti, of which there was a lot.
Today was fast and testimony meeting, which was good. Notwithstanding the fact that I said the opening prayer. Sister Danzi gave a good Sunday School lesson, and we invited their family to dinner on Tuesday, after which I will go home teaching with Bro. Danzie.
Ciao for now.
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