Ciao! So a lot has been going on here. I am about a month away from being done with language school, which is exciting and sad. I have met a lot of great people there, but I am excited to have more time to focus on practicing conversation with people. I have a friend here, Lorenzo, who has been helping me a lot with the language. He has been coming to the Bible School for several years and his parents are close friends with the directors, David and Debbie. Lorenzo's mom is a doctor in Florence and his dad works at the Harding University campus here in Scandicci. Lorenzo comes to almost all the events here and has started coming to the men's Bible study on Monday nights, which is exciting. We also had his family over this past weekend for American breakfast. We had pancakes, egg casserole, bacon, American coffee, and chocolate milk. They especially loved the pancakes. There were about 15 from their family that came! It was a lot of fun.
American Breakfast!
Watching the pancake process...
My students have been wonderful. I have truly enjoyed getting to know them. I went to Florence one Saturday with one of them and she showed me some of her favorite places to go. It was so much fun! We have had some really good talks. We have talked about the Italian culture and what people believe here. We discussed her beliefs, thoughts about life and what she wants to do in the future. She is a sweet girl and really does have a good heart and wants to help other people. It has been so encouraging spending time with her. She has also been helping me with Italian. There was an Italian holiday recently so I did not have school. She came over for an American breakfast. She loved the pancakes and peanut butter! She stayed for almost three and a half hours talking and helping me with Italian.
Another one of my students, she is 22, is also so nice and has also been a blessing. She is helping me with Italian as well. Last time we met I asked her how she was. She immediately said, "Oh I am just down right now." Come to find out, her aunt had died the week before from cancer. I felt so terrible and didn't even know what to say. I was telling my roommate, Ermenita, who has lived in Florence for 8 years, and she explained to me how that is pretty common for Italians. When they are feeling down, they do not try to hide it. It really made me start thinking about how great that is. They do not try to put on a face and act like everything is okay when it is not. I was encouraged to hear that because, in a sense, I think that is how it should be. So often we tend to say, "Hey, how are you?" "Oh I'm good." but we don't really know what is going on in other people's lives. At our Bible study at the University of Florence a few weeks ago we watched a video called Fellowship. The narrator talked about the importance of what "fellowship" really means and how vital it is. He was saying how it is important that others see us, as a body of believers, interacting with each other. That's one place where they can truly see Jesus. Seeing a group of people interacting, who truly love and care about each other, is attractive. It is something people desire. A group of people truly involved in each other's lives. We were put here together for a reason. He also told a story in the movie about a man who used to be a member of a gang and then was converted. One comment the man made was how he thought that being part of a church would be like when he got into his gang. When someone is in a gang, everyone "had his back." They were like family. But he didn't feel that kind of relationship with people at church. A family kind of relationship. This video was very impactful on a lot of the Avanti workers as we are trying to understand what true fellowship looks like, how it should be here in the Church in Florence, and what needs to change. One thing that has been very good for "fellowship" is our visitation days that we do every Thursday. Meeting with church members outside of church really gives you a chance to get to know them and encourage them. Every time we meet with people they always talk about how much they enjoyed the time, which we do too! It's a win win..haha..but really it is so good to spend time with people other than 15 minutes every Sunday morning. That is one thing I have learned more about after being here.
Last weekend we went to a retreat in a small city called Bondeno. It was for all the churches in Italy. It was definitely a unique experience, but I loved it. Everyone was extremely welcoming. I am still getting used to the Italian greeting, which if you don't know, is an "air kiss" on either cheek. Definitely not American..haha..but it is the norm here, whether you really know the person or not. So as soon as we walk into the Church in Bondeno, there are about 30 Italians all greeting me with the Italian kiss, and not to mention all speaking Italian, a bit overwhelming, but so much fun. That night we stayed with different members from the church. The family another Avanti worker and I stayed with were great. The dad of the family, Stefano, was hilarious. He was such a character, so charismatic and outgoing. On Sunday morning before church he was wandering around with a can of Cherry Dr. Pepper offering it to everyone. They love Dr. Pepper, but you cannot buy it here. Most of the time at the house I had Laura, the other Avanti worker, who could translate for me, but on Sunday morning at breakfast while she was getting ready I was on my own. It was so much fun talking with the family, with the amount of Italian I know and the amount of English they know. It was a lot of charades, but I think we understood what each other were saying...haha. One thing that has been great here is that the tune of a lot of songs are universal, so when I walked into the kitchen for breakfast, even though I didn't understand all the words, I knew Stefano was singing the tune of Happy Birthday to me..haha. Which is also the tune to a song that teachers in Italy sing to children when they come into the classroom..."Good morning to you, good morning to you..." haha. We talked about their daughter who married an American and is now living in Nashville. I loved staying with them. I plan on visiting them at some point to spend time with them and work on my Italian.
Our hosts!
So the retreat went very well. I met so many great people. There were a lot of young members at the church which was really encouraging to see. Many of them I will see next weekend when we go to a city near Rome for a youth retreat. I am very excited about that!
New Friends!
Like I mentioned before, one thing that has been extremely encouraging is that the church songs have the same tune as the songs at churches in America. Even though I don't know all the words, I know the English words and what the message of the song is. That has been one of the most helpful and encouraging things here, since I do not know the language extremely well yet.
For Halloween we went to a party at the Harding University Villa. Everyone was dressed up and we helped the HUF director, Robbie, with a "scary walk" that the students did. They walked around the villa and listened to a scary story while we did different things to scare them. Several of the members came from the church. Their kids dressed up and went around to the rooms where the Harding students stay and "trick-or-treated." It was so funny seeing all the Italian kids running around trying to say "trick-or-treat." I also saw a few kids around town, most of which were dressed up as ghosts. haha...they do not have entire stores dedicated to Halloween here, so the costumes are limited, but it was refreshing to see simple costumes.
Sunday we had a the "agape" at church. It is basically a pot luck. There was a lot of good food and it was good for everyone to spend more time together. Pot lucks have only a few difference here from the ones I have experienced. One is, obliviously the food. There are not 10 different kinds of potatoes casseroles with corn flakes on top, which is definitely one of my favorites at pot lucks in America. But, the first thing we eat at the "agape" is pasta, which is really the first course. Then you get up and dig into other foods. And of course, after lunch and dinner here you have café, which is, in my opinion, very strong and bitter espresso. I am still getting used to it, but they love it here. I don't think Starbucks would stand a chance here. I explained to my friend who came for breakfast about different creamers and how in general, Americans love to put all kinds of flavors in their coffee. Here, they take a shot of espresso at the bar (coffee shop) in the morning and leave. They don't carry their drinks to work in mugs like we do..haha.
Some the Avanti workers have been meeting with a family that attends the church in Florence every Thursday. This family has 7 children and all live in a motor home. They do not have jobs so they come to the Church on Thursdays to learn how to weave. They make scarves and other things to sell. I am not able to work with them while I am still in school, but we have been praying a lot about that family and that they are benefiting from that time. I know it has been a tough experience for some Avanti workers, but they have been so great and had so much perseverance with that family. Robbie, the HUF director, has also been so great with this family. He has so much compassion for them and just genuinely loves them no matter what. No matter what their motives are or their past is like or where they are now. It has been very encouraging and inspiring to watch him with that family.
The children's class is going very well. Last week we had about 8 kids. They are always enthusiastic and excited to come and learn. Below are pictures of the class.
We also had a reading at the local library a couple of weeks ago. We read a book in English and taught them some new vocabulary. Then we did an activity with them. This time we played Bingo, which they loved! There were about 30 kids there and the parents love that we do it. That was the first time that I remember a child saying something to me and me actually understanding! haha..I don't know exactly what words she used, but I somehow understood what she was saying to me. The language alone has been such a unique experience.
People always ask me how things are and what it is like here, and really all can say is that it has been one of the most unique and interesting experiences I have ever had. I go to language school with people from all over the world. Some of which, the only language we have in common is Italian, so it makes it interesting when we are trying to work together..haha..I was lying in bed one night listening to my roommate, Ermenita, who is from Albania, talking on the phone in Albanian and realized how many different languages I hear on a regular basis. I hear Italian, Dutch, French, Spanish, English, and Albanian almost every day. Then building relationships and learning about people from totally different backgrounds is so interesting. Seeing how people come to believe what they do, how Churches are here, and just the culture in general, is, for lack of a better word, awesome. I have learned so much about myself in this short time, but also about others and God. I have definitely come to realize how small I am and how huge the world is, but even more so, how much bigger God is than all of this. God's mission is so much bigger than all the little things that I tend to worry about. Life is too short to not spend it on something that matters. God is too big and too powerful to not put complete trust in, even when it is hard. I admit, there are definitely some hard days here. It is not just like a vacation, but because of God, it's ok. I don't know how to describe it, but there is a certain kind of solid assurance and peace that I know only comes from God. I am also so encouraged by the other workers here and their perseverance through different issues they have to deal with. And I know that none of this would be possible for any of us without your support and especially your prayers. Thank you so much for all of that and for all of your comments. God is definitely using you as an encouragement to me! And we will definitely be in touch!
