Church.

I've wanted to do a post about Matt's branch since our first Sunday here but never got around to it. Matt's parents were both baptized while living in the boundaries of this branch...and have always lived here. So everyone in the ward watched Matt grow up. And they all watched him through his punk teenage years, and his mission, and his engagementS. They really like him - he's like the returned prodical son. Our first Sunday there was seriously a line to talk to him. One woman even jokingly asked, "Do I need a ticket to talk to him?" They are all anxious to hear how he's doing and hear his stories and meet his wife (although I met most of them on our last trip) and daughter. It's kind of fun to stand back on watch.

Well, on our first or second Sunday, the branch president asked if he'd give a talk on our last Sunday (today) here. So funny! He'd barely walked in the door and he got an assignment. He gave a great talk today...it was the first time I'd heard him give a talk/testimony in Italian so it was really fun for me. He did a great job. He was a little nervous because he's losing his Italian so he actually wrote out his talk, which he never does. But he remember almost all the words!

Anyway, it's fun to see him among "his people". They all seem so proud of him...so proud of "their" little boy.