Church services highlight day 8 of BYU's Italian tour

SORRENTO, Italy – Sunday marked a full week since the BYU women’s soccer team arrived in Italy for its 10-day playing tour; the team began the day in Rome, and ended it in Sorrento, a coastal hillside city roughly 150 miles to the south.

Services at a Rome LDS chapel began the day, with the BYU group substantially boosting the size of the local congregation, which volunteered translators to allow the visitors to hear the spoken word in both Italian and English. A few members of the BYU travel party spoke from the podium on a day reserved for the sharing of personal testimonies.

After the meeting, the group loaded buses for the drive south to Sorrento, on the northern coast of the Sorrentine Peninsula. Upon passing through Naples, the southward trek offers striking vistas of the western coastline, and once Sorrento came into view on a cliff-side descent, the buses pulled over to give everyone a chance to capture the moment. From the city of Sorrento itself, a northward perspective showcases Mt. Vesuvius, while the island of Capri sits just off the coast to the southwest.

Sorrento is known for, among other things, its lemon trees. They dot yards and street-sides, and the fruit serves as a symbol of sorts for the city—the visual representations are everywhere in town. Directly next to the team hotel stands a private residence featuring lemon trees on the spacious property; late in the afternoon, as players, coaches and families settled into their rooms, the home’s elderly owner could be seen tending to his greenery.

A late-afternoon arrival in Sorrento allowed for some free time, before the entire BYU party convened in the city center for a multi-course, two-hour dinner at a local restaurant. The meal included a rendition of “Happy Birthday” for senior midfielder Elena Medeiros; the day also marked a wedding anniversary for associate head coach Chris Watkins and his wife Karen. It seemed appropriate, then, that fireworks peppered the sky during and after dinner—in this case, a celebration of Italy’s annual Labor Day.

Monday’s early-morning wake-up call will precede a hydrofoil trip from Sorrento to Capri, where the team will remain through the lunch hour. Upon returning to Sorrento in the afternoon, the Cougars will prepare to depart for Naples, site of the third match on their four-game tour. BYU will on Monday night face Serie B club Carpisa Napoli, before returning to Sorrento after the match. The final game of the tour will be contested Tuesday night in Rome.

***

PLAYERS’ PERSPECTIVES—

Senior midfielder Elena Medeiros:

This trip has been one of the greatest experiences of my life! This is the first time I have ever traveled out of the country and it has definitely been something I will never forget. I’ve loved learning about the rich culture and deep history Italy has, through various sculptures, art, religious traditions, etc.

Today we went to church in Rome at an Italian ward! I was going in thinking I would not be able to understand anything, but the ward provided us with a translator. It was such a sweet and memorable experience. I couldn’t help but smile as I listened to the members joyfully sing each of the hymns in Italian. Sacrament meeting was also neat as we listened to countless testimonies in Italian, English, and even Spanish. I felt the warm spirits through each of the ward member’s words and smiles. It was amazing to see that no matter where you go in the world, the church and its members are still the same.

After church we had a long bus ride to Sorrento (about 4 hours), but it was well worth the wait. We stopped at a cliff that overlooked the entire city and Mediterranean Sea…literally picture perfect. We continued our journey until we got to our hotel where we took a little break to rest. Dinner was followed in what looked like a greenhouse. We stuffed ourselves with Italian pizza, rice balls, ravioli, and the yummiest lemon cake!

Oh, yes, and I also turned the big “21” today. I blew out an Italian candle while my team sung to me for what seemed like the 20th time—haha, it was awesome! I can honestly say it’s been the best birthday yet. Not many people can say they’ve spent their birthday in Italy with some of their very best friends. As we walked back to our hotel, there were fireworks going off close to the sea in honor of my birthday. Just kidding, not my birthday, but in honor of Labor Day. It was the perfect ending to such an amazing day!

--

Senior forward Ashley Hatch:

Today was definitely one of my favorite days. We woke up early to load the bus and make it to church on time. Sacrament meeting was amazing because we had the opportunity to listen to testimonies spoken in the Italian language, but felt with the same spirit! We were lucky enough to have translators there who translated from English to Italian and Italian to English and it was really neat to see them use their spiritual gifts to bless those around them!

After church we jumped on the bus for a long but beautiful drive to Southern Italy. We stopped halfway for lunch and then continued on until we made it to Sorrento where we are staying. Words cannot describe the beauty of our view once we got to the coast! It is BEAUTIFUL! Once we unloaded at the hotel we went to a local restaurant where we ate more delicious Italian food and then walked home with fireworks going off above us because today was a holiday here in Italy. Also, its Elena's birthday so we like to think they were for her...

We are so lucky to be here with such great friends, family, and teammates, and we look forward to the adventures of tomorrow!

--

You can follow BYU's Italian tour on the BYUCougars.com women's soccer page, and via the team's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.