Aparently There is Such a Thing as Love at First Sight

This will be brief -- just a quick update.

We have a new van!  Well, new to us.  :)   It's a 2009 Dodge Caravan.  It's shiny and black and all of the doors open and close themselves with the push of a buton.  Oooohhhh: robotic!   It's uber comfortable.  We feel so grateful for it!  Now when we buy drinking water and food, we don't have to carry them a sort of long distance to get them home.

Speaking of groceries, here at the Commissary, if you want to get a shopping cart, you need to have a Euro coin.  After five weeks I finally figured out how to get Euro coins on the base!

There are so many little details that it would be helpful to know.  I'm thinking about compiling them on a website.

We might have had the van a week or two sooner, but just before we made the transaction the window was smashed by a thief who stole some of Matt (the previous owner)'s belongings.  Tough luck!  The officials here warn us that we must never leave anything at all in our cars.   I guess we better go ahead and follow that advice...

It's midnight and the fireworks are going off.  Happens almost every night.  Not a problem -- they're distant and they only last a minute.  Just interesting culturally, you know?

We are meeting so many beautiful families and making friends with some really neat people.  It's just like kindergarten -- it feels so very awesome when someone decides they like you and want to be friends!  It happens so easily among the people here.  Maybe it's because we're all in (or have been in) transition? 

We have made the decision to live in the beautiful villa in Castel Volturno where Mark and Donna Lunsford have been residing (see earlier post).  We saw many beautiful homes, but this one continues to sing to us.  It was the first house we saw!  But the shopping around was necessary and good for us: it got us familiar with the area, and helped us to come to understand what we really wanted.  Today we made it official at the housing office, in a meeting with Anna and Paulo, our future landlords.  We expect to move in a few weeks -- around the end of June.

Living in Castel Volturno, we'll be attending church services on the coast in Pozzuoli.  We've been attending the Casserta Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  I'm sad that we won't be staying with the Casserta Branch because I really like the people there.  But I am sure we will love the folks in Pozzuoli, too.

Church here is really fascinating.  The Casserta Branch has fully bi-lingual services.  People translate for each other so that everone understands what is being said.  The missionaries and others use radio devices to transmit translations to everyone during group meetings.  Everyone who speaks only one language holds a device, and when a person speaks in one language, it is immediately translated into the other.  In smaller meetings, someone sits nearby and translates for you.  (I really appreciate the kindness in that.)  Hymns are sung in both languages simultaneously.  The sacrament is blessed first in one language, and then in the other, before it is passed.  There is always a need for willing hands to help with the work of the church, as there are only about 20 families in the branch.  So yes, we already have been given some assignments, even though they know we'll probably be in the other branch before long.  People have been so generous!  Trish met us at the airport and saw to it we had some food and water in the house when we were too exhausted to get some for ourselves.  She's been looking after us now and again.  So kind!  And Sara watched our children the first full day we were here.  She is amazing, and I am so thankful for her friewndship.  Pina made sure I had someone to sit by in church and then cooked us yummy italian brownies.  They've made sure we had rides to church.  Awesome, generous people.

OK, it's late.  Enough for now!  Good night!