We have sadly said good bye to Wally and Pam and “ciao” to Carol as Steve and I head to the Puglia region of Italy (think achillies heel area of the ‘boot’).
Carol’s request was to seek an American cemetery south of Rome where her Uncle Albert was supposedly buried. He was one of the many brave soldiers who came to Italy via Sicily and fought up the peninsula to recapture this land from the Germans in 1943 & 44. He was one of many, many casualties.
It was about this time that Mussolini was disenfranchised from Hitler and Italians in general didn’t want to fight anyone (and they actually changed sides).
There are (too) many fields of crosses where soldiers lay. Anywhere a U.S. soldier falls, our country knows and keeps track and honors them. There is not a blade of grass not manicured or a marker that isn’t gleaming here in Nettuno, or Florence, or Normandy or….
The dear people who watch over this particular facility knew just where to find Uncle Albert and we were escorted to the site and given Italian and American flags to place into the lawn at his grave.
It was a special and moving moment for us all, but for Carol it brought tears. She had told her family members she would find her mother’s lost older brother, but she cried because she couldn’t tell her mom. Mom passed away last week.
It feels like home to be among the folks at Focus on the Family here in Colorado Springs! They welcomed us back with lots of new projects and challenges. And we couldn’t do it without our friends, Wally and Pam Hasbrouck opening up their house for a WHOLE MONTH! Can you imagine house guests for that long?
For the third year in a row, we are serving a christian organization that we have financially supported over the years. This time we are in Colorado Springs at 
So that is where we stand and we are giving them our time in affirmation of that. We have met so many delightful people, guests, staff, and fellow volunteers. Easter week we greeted over 6000 guests to the visitors’ center. We have worked banquets, Steve is working on data entry for a department, and I am doing decor and fresh flower arrangements for the annual Volunteer Banquet (for which we got an invite). Pam and Wally Hasbrouck have given us the run of their house (only 5 minutes away) and that enables us to be here for a full month. 
Really enjoyed being shown Colorado Springs with Pam and Wally Hasbrouck and hanging in Denver with Pam. We went to church at Woodland Valley where they sync two locations.(you had to be there) with two worship teams and one pastor.