We Made it to Church and Home Again Today!

Normally this wouldn’t be a statement that deserves an exclamation point, but today it may even deserve two. We left our hotel this morning at 8 a.m. and walked a little more than ½ mile to a bus stop. The Linguist and Pianogurl checked out the route yesterday, so we were traveling with some confidence. Upon arrival, however, there was a yellow sheet of paper that had changes to the bus route because of the October Festival. Using our broken Italian, we determined that the changes probably didn’t affect us. The only other person at the bus stop was a cute, little old gentleman who couldn’t talk, so he wasn’t very helpful. (He had a hole in his throat because of cancer.) We opted to wait, realizing that even if the bus was on time, we’d be a little late to church. Well, the bus didn’t come. And it didn’t come. Finally we saw a bus with our number turning onto the road from a different direction (and far ahead of where we were standing). We started rushing that way and then realized that another bus with the same number was approaching our stop from behind. So we ran back the other way and got on.

Here we are minutes before getting on the bus...

We arrived at church about 15 minutes late and were greeted warmly. The Linguist went to Priesthood Meeting, and the kids and I stayed in Relief Society. One of the Elders came and interpreted for me. I was pleased to realize I understood much of the conversation. It helps that the gospel is the same everywhere! Many of the same comments and discussion on the Word of Wisdom I’ve grown up hearing were discussed today in Ferrara. Sunday School was a little bit harder. My brain had had enough about halfway through, and I just sat and listened to the Elder…and tried to rastle Rosa into being quiet. Next week I’ll take more activities for the kids to do quietly during RS and Sunday School so that it’s more pleasant for them. The ladies were quite taken with all of the kids and there was much patting of heads and soft pinching of cheeks and lots of “familiga bella” (which means beautiful family). Sacrament Meeting was wonderful. We enjoyed singing the hymns especially. There’s no piano since we are currently meeting in a hotel and our meetings some weeks will be shortened because of other people who have booked the rooms ahead of us!

After church, the Elders pointed out that our family nearly doubled the branch…it grew from 8 to 15 members in one day! It was the best listening experience we’ve had since coming to Italy since the members were all chatting around us and didn’t mind that we were listening and trying to understand. Many of them spoke to us and we were able to communicate and understand most of the time. Rosa even invited one of the ladies back to the hotel with us! I asked the Elder to explain to her that we are living in a hotel currently, but that we’d love to invite her to our home when we have one again. All in all, it was a wonderful experience. The Spirit is the same and the ward members are so warm and kind that not being able to speak or understand everything really didn’t matter.

We’re still trying to figure things out, but we may attend here on Sundays and drive the hour and a half to Vicenza during the week so that the kids can attend Scouts and Young Women. There’s an English-speaking branch there that is nearly ward size. But until we have a vehicle of some sort, we can’t check it out.

Which brings me to the return home…we walked back to the bus stop – this time on the opposite side of the road and waited for 20 minutes or so for the bus. We climbed aboard. We are a spectacle on the bus because it’s a total novelty. The kids stand up and then sit down and giggle when it goes faster or slower and holler about cool things they see from the window (like laundry hanging or people painting on buildings). I’m sure people think we’re nuts. Some glare. Some try not to look. I have a feeling I’m going to become immune to all of the stares/glares pretty quickly.

Bus-side view near the train station.  Notice all the bikes.
If you don't use a lock, your bike may end up here...for sale. 

So we rode the bus and rode the bus. It looped around by the train station and we passed a road that we actually recognized. Then we crossed the river and went right out of town! I could tell the Linguist was getting uneasy. Then we passed a sign that said we were leaving Ferrara. We figured it’d just be a longer ride. It was. We entered a smaller town called Occhiobello and admired the church and everything else.

The Net poses in Occhiobello

Then the driver stopped the bus and turned it off! I wasn’t too concerned because I figured worst-case scenario, we’d call one of the Americans and ask them to come and rescue us! We talked to the driver and from what we can tell, we should have gotten on the bus that was on the other side of the road? Apparently there are 4 buses that are marked #11. Yesterday The Linguist and Pianogurl had no trouble at all. I figured in light of our adventure, we were probably lucky to make it to church!

Stranded in Occhiobello...?

Anyway, after a 5-minute smoke break, he tried to start the bus again and it sputtered. I looked at Pianogurl, who was holding her breath, and I saw her let out a deep sigh as he tried again and we heard the engine come to life. Whew! Slowly, we made our way back into Ferrara and back around the train station -- but this time we ended up back at our stop….where we hoofed it the ½ mile back to the hotel. We arrived cold, hungry and with a better understanding of what members in other places have to sacrifice to get to church!