Oh my dear ones! It has been an
exciting, brief, and beautiful week. General conference was amazing,
exactly what I needed, and I felt so lifted afterward. I especially
liked the talks of Jeffrey R. Holland and Deiter F. Uchdorf. I took so
many notes. We have spent many hours in Bicicletta over the last few
days and I just love riding through the Italian countryside. Yesterday
we did service at il Giglio and worked and talked with the handicapped
people there. Yesterday was an especially good day because we were able
to really lift and brighten attitudes and see smiling faces. I will miss
doing service with them there so much. I hope I never forget Cleliana,
Loris, Francesca, Domenico, Sara, and others. After service we
discovered that Sorella Sloan's bike tire was completely flat and we
were mighty far away from home. I was delighted. We had quite the
adventure walking to the Durazzani's to leave our bicycles and then
walking another 45 minutes to find a place to eat. We ended up just
buying some random things from the grocery store, namely, bread with
pumpkin seeds, ricotta, brie, prosciutto and pears and then having a
sort of picnic on the sidewalk. It was so much fun. Sister Sloan thinks I
am crazy for enjoying it, but it was unexpected and I love that.
Fratello Durazzani helped us get our bikes home, thankfully, because we
were pooped. We have two new investigators, this young couple with a
beautiful baby boy. Last week we taught them with Sorella Durazzani, who
introduced us, and it was obvious they had some severe marital
problems. We told them to read the Book of Mormon for 5 minutes together
everyday. Yesterday we taught them again and they had done it. They
talked about the peace they felt and the blessings they had already seen
and the impressions they got from what they read. It was an incredible
and an obvious change to see in them. I have a testimony that the
scriptures really do change lives, families, and homes. It is so
important to read them. They change me everyday. Make it a part of your
life if you haven't already. Today the missionary couple, the Jacobs,
took us to Clauzetto, where part of Dad's family is from. It was an
extraordinary trip. So beautiful! It is a little Italian village in the
mountains. They call it the balcony of the Friuli area. I wish I could
have brought you all there. This morning was a little gray and there was
a low lying fog in the mountains and along the fields. The ride was
beautiful and the view when we arrived was even better. I haven't been
on that many switch backs in quite a while. Dad would love it. We saw a
little castle near by and then returned to Clauzetto to visit the church
and the cemetery. The church was closed, but we walked through the
cemetery for a while. When we entered I saw the name"Cescutti" all over
the place and very enthusiastically said, "shut up!" as I am prone to
do. Sorella Sloan replied, "I think they already have." Cracked me up.
Anyway, there were many Cescutti and Fabrici like on the family records I
have and I took scads of photos, both of the headstones and the
extraordinary views from behind the church. I wanted to look at records
to see where some older graves were, but there was no one to ask. It was
a lovely trip. With that many people with the same last name, chances
are we may still have relatives there. So lovely! We are about to head
over to Sorella Rigonat's who is likely to teach us to make la colomba
today. I am so excited! This, I am sure, will be a day for the history
books! Remember how special you all are! Love you so much!
Sorella Lloyd
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