I have met with all my students several times now. I have five students, plus a children's class. I started reading the book of Luke with a few of my students. One of them is 22 and is studying chemistry at the University of Florence. We read about the birth of Christ. She had heard the story before but was surprised to learn that the Catholic Church uses a different Bible, also that I am not Catholic. She also talked about how she liked the Bible we were reading from better than the Catholic Bible because it was easier to understand. We then got on the subject of prayer, which is a difficult word for some Italians to pronounce. She asked about prayer and what the most important one was. She was referring to the prayers that are said at Mass, like Ave Maria. It was such an interesting talk and I think that reading Luke will provoke more good conversations.
I will start Luke with another student next week. She is about 19 and is also studying at the University of Florence. This week she asked me to help her with her English homework, which was analyzing an 18th Century poem. There were words in it that I did not even understand! haha...but we worked through it together and I learned a few new English words from it. I am really excited about getting to know her. She is very shy, but she really wants to learn and she comes to all the events we have at the Bible School, which is very encouraging.
I am also meeting with two other women. Last week was our first meeting. They are such nice people and are so eager to learn. I will also be reading Luke with them as well. They come to the Bible School with their boyfriend and husband, who meet with another Avanti worker. The men are also studying Luke.
Another student I meet with is 19 and is studying French and English at the University of Florence. Her English is very good so she is mostly coming for conversation. I am so excited about getting to know her. She has been so sweet and has helped me feel welcome in Italy. She has offered to help me with my Italian and to show me around Florence and take me to her dad's restaurant. I am really looking forward to spending more time with her.
On Wednesdays, I am helping with a children's class. We usually have about 4 to 5 come. It has been so much fun! We have been teaching them colors, numbers, shapes, etc. We also read a Bible story with them every week and teach them new words from the stories. Some of the Avanti workers have also gone to a local school to teach an English lesson. The parents love it and keep asking us to come back. I will also help with reading at the library. We read to between 20-30 children and do a small activity with them.
Last week we had our first event at the Bible School. It was movie night and we had about 14 people come! It was a lot of fun. And this weekend we had our American Cooking School. We taught how to make scalloped potatoes, stuffed hamburgers, vegetable dip, banana splits, and American coffee. There was a great turnout of people. Several of my students came. They loved the vegetable dip. I told my students how at most American events, there will be some kind of dip. The events here are a lot of fun and are good time to talk with our students more.
Preparing for Cooking School. (Peter, Ermenita, and I)
Cooking School!
My student and I!
We have started what we call "The Gathering." An Avanti couple who is working at the church in Florence, started this as a way to get more involved with the students at the University of Florence. There are two girls that come who are from Albania. They are not able to come to church on Sundays so this has been very encouraging for them. We are continuing to think of ways to get more interest from other students.
There are a lot of things going on here. So many opportunities to talk with people. We have had several people who just come up to our door and ask if they can study with us. Just this week we had a man come to our door as we were leaving and ask if he could come to church with us. He has a brain tumor and has maybe one to two years to live. He said that he was Atheist, but was looking for a church. He came to our Bible study at the church this week and also had lunch with us.
So those are some of the things going on with the work in Italy. Thanks again for your support and prayers! This would not be possible without you! We'll be in touch!
