June 21-25 Our Trip to Rome!!

Because there was a Sunday with no concert, we decided to take a trip to go to the Rome Temple.  This has been a dream of ours ever since we stopped in Rome after our Germany mission and saw the Temple under construction.  In fact, construction had just been halted because of inferior workmanship of the local workers.  In April, it was dedicated and the 12 Apostles and the First Presidency came.  The Visitors Center is also beautiful, and has replicas of the Christus statue and the 12 Apostles statues that are in Copenhagen, Denmark.  The grounds were also incredible.

Grounds in front of the Temple housing

In front of the Stake Center

 Lee with the Christus and 12 Apostle statues.  The painting behind is absolutely incredible with it's luminous lighting and symbolic lambs, wheat, and a fallen Roman column, suggesting that Christ will overcome all worldly powers.

 Stained glass window in Visitors Center has scenes from the parables and events in Christ's life.

Miracle 

.  We experienced an unexpected and incredible miracle while we were in Rome.  We attended the Temple all day on Saturday and went to church on Sunday.  On Monday we drove to Naples and after getting back to the hotel, we decided to go to the Mall before going to dinner.  We looked around and bought some food for our trip home the next day.  As we walked out and were getting into the car, a woman approached us and said, “Temple”.  She was obviously Italian and didn’t speak much English.  I said, “Yes, there is a Temple here”, thinking she was just asking if there were a Temple in Rome. Then she said “Go to Temple”.  Finally, we understood that she wanted us to take her to the Temple.  She had no way of knowing that we knew anything about a Temple, that we knew where it was or how important it is.  On the way there, in short phrases, she explained that she had taken the train to Rome with the intent of going to the Temple for a few days and had gotten lost.  She stopped and prayed for help, and as soon as she opened her eyes, she saw us, and felt that we were the answer to her prayer. And we were!  I cannot express how marvelous it was to be part of this miracle.  As we dropped her off at the Temple housing unit, she pointed to the sky and said, “A miracle from God”!  Her prayer, in this case, was answered immediately and we felt the goodness of God to us and to her.