Italia 2017-Day 6-Rome Temple

One of the reasons we wanted to go to Rome was to go and see the progress on the Rome Temple. After our day in the city center of Rome we drove out to the Temple (about 20 minutes east of the colosseum). It started to rain as we drove over and when we got there we were shocked at the huge construction wall that blocked the view of the Temple. Since it was raining Andy got out of the van and climbed up a dirt pile to get a picture while we stayed in the car. We couldn't see much except the spire with Angel Moroni which was put on in March. There's definitely progress happening but definitely a ways to go. After Andy got in the car we sat there for a while and I finally asked if he wanted to go. Andy told me that he wanted to go but he couldn't get the address to pull up on the map to get back to our apartment. He logged into VRBO to get the address and couldn't log in. Strange. We had every address in the history of the maps since we had been in Italy and couldn't get the most recent one to pull up. And now we couldn't get logged into VRBO when we had accessed it everyday for a week? Andy had Alessia's phone number who was the owner of the apartment so he texted her for the address but we got no response.

In the meantime, a car pulled up and a couple got out and the car left. No one was there the entire 20 minutes we were there so it was crazy to see someone walk up. Andy rolled downed the window and said "Buona Sera" because we thought they were Italian and they responded with "Hello" and came to the car window. We talked and introduced ourselves, where we were from and what brought us to Italy, etc. After Andy said he served his mission in Italy, Greg said, "Hey do you know a Nordfelt?" Surprised at his question Andy said, "Spencer Nordfelt? We served in the mission office together for 9 months. How do you know him?" Greg laughed and said, "He's our Bishop!" He proceeded to text Spencer a picture and got a quick response... "Honeyville!" Greg called Spencer and Andy got to talk to him and tell him all about how Carla told him he needed to find Nordfelt and here we were on Conference Weekend in front of the Rome temple, 2 American families meeting and making the connection in order to have Carla's prayers answered. Heavenly Father is so aware of us no matter where we are, orchestrating 2 families meeting clear acrossed the world at the exact moment they needed to in order to be an answer to a prayer. I can't even describe the moment. It was so amazing to be a small part of such an extrodinary experience. It was the highlight of the whole trip.

It began to downpour so we invited Greg and Emily Wells to get into our van so they wouldn't get soaked. They were so kind and we had a great time talking with them. They were going to get an uber to go back to the city center so we offered to give them a ride back. After we dropped them off we made a wrong turn which turned out to be a wonderful mistake. It took up us a hill that had the most magnificent view of the city. It was incredible. It was such a wonderful day in Rome. As we have reflected on how this Italy trip came together, adding Rome to the itinerary, and seeing the hand of the Lord through this whole process has been such a growing experience. I'm so glad I was allowed to experience this day. I will always remember this experience when I think of the Rome Temple for the rest of my life. The best part is I know my kids won't ever forget it either.