This post isn't meant to be preachy, it's simply my feelings on my system of belief. Please recognize the respect I have for other churches and belief systems and, in turn, grant me the same.
Siena has a branch here for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the church to which I belong. I've never been abroad, but with missionaries and friends, I've known lots of people who have and it's always been reassuring to me that the LDS (or Mormon) church can be found almost anywhere in the world.
The building was really hard to find. We took a bus, we walked awhile, we found the street we thought was right, we realized we were going the wrong direction, we walked past the street number, we walked back, we found the street number, we wandered into a little center with businesses and shops, we wandered some more and finally we found a shiny golden sign with the typeset I will probably always recognize. It looks like this:
The branch is small; as far as I'm aware there is only one married couple that regularly attends. Lots of the members are women, single or married with husbands who are not members. As far as I can tell the "branch president," or person who oversees and conducts the branch, is a missionary. I can't imagine what it would be like acting as a dual missionary and branch leader.
The people in the branch are nice and sympathetic to the fact that we don't all speak Italian fluently. They are willing to let the missionaries translate for us, but I was surprised by how much I was able to understand on my own. A big part of that is probably the fact that I have heard these stories and principles many, many times. I'm grateful the Church reaches out to small communities like Siena where the congregations are small, but the people still need to be "nourished by the good word of God." It reaffirms to me that we do have a Heavenly Father who loves us, looks after us and tries to take care of us each, individually. I find it such a great blessing to have this belief; that my God is a personal God who loves me.