Work and Play

Ciao tutti!  Well, as I mentioned in my last blog, may parents came to visit!  It was the first time we had seen each other in person since I left the States almost 8 months ago and it was their first time to be in Italy!  I got to take some vacation time and show them around Tuscany and Rome.  I learned more about Florence and other places we went because I had to be the tour guide!  We spent three days in Rome and saw Vatican City, The Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, The Colosseum, The Forum, Palatine Hill, and The Spanish Steps (on accident haha...sorry mom).  I could have spent all three days in the Forum, Colosseum, and Palatine Hill and still want more time to see everything!  Then I took them to one of my favorite places in the world, San Gimignano.  We walked through the town for a while enjoying the views and then went on to Siena to see the church there and the Piazza del Campo.  Mom and Dad said the bus rides through the Tuscan country side that day were well worth it.  I also took them to Pisa to see the Duomo there, the baptistery, and crypt, and of course the famous Leaning Tower.  And of course I took them around Firenze for two days.  They had a good time and it was good to spend some time with my family.  I learned more about Florence and other places we went because I had to be the tour guide!

Mom and Dad on the train to Rome

Mom and Dad at San Gimignano

A couple weeks ago, we had a bunch of the Italian young adults and teenagers here from Rome, Fararra, Bergamo, Bologna, and of course our friends Eric and Jessica from Taranto.  It also corresponded with Game Night with our students.  We played a live game of Clue!  We used rooms here in the school, we were the characters, and the students and youth were split into teams.  In every room they had to play different games administered by the characters.  Ryan was Professor Plum, Andrea was Mrs. Peacock, Laura was Miss White, Ermenita was Miss Scarlett, David was Colonel Mustard, and I was Mr. Green.  They had to do different games like the human knot, musical chairs, guess riddles, etc.  On Saturday we all went to Valambrosa, about an hour away from Firenze, for the day translating songs, eating lunch, and playing volleyball and frisbee.  Saturday night we grilled out and watched Inception in Italian.  Friday and Saturday we also had devos; one of the Italians, Joele did the devo on Friday and did a great job.  Eric did the devo on Saturday night and I did it Saturday morning.  I was very proud of Eric and Joele for speaking.  On Sunday we had so many people at church.  We had the 16 youth from the retreat, the new 35 HUF students, and everyone else who is in the church in Florence.  It was awesome to see so many people there worshiping.  We also have made some new friends.  An art student that is studying here for a month and two girls from Harding who are traveling through Europe on their own for a few week.  It has been fun to hang out with them and to get to know them a little.  We also got to hang out with our friends from A.I.M.a couple of weeks ago.  We went to see a movie, the 4th Pirates movie, and had dinner.  It was fun and good to spend time with other missionaries.  They were such an encouragement to us and, if any of them read this, thank you and God bless.  Here are some pictures from Game Night and some of my Italian friends:

My alter ego: Mr. Green!

Miss White and Professor Plum

The Nanny

Col. Mustrard

Sara and Me

My friend from Rome Giacomo

Alex from Bergamo

Viktor and Joele from Rome

Me, Andrea, and Daniela

The Smiths who are working in Taranto

Me and Marta

Me and Daniela

On Saturday night we had The Gathering, and it was Austrian Night with Arnold.  We told us a little about Austria and then cooked us an Austrian meal.  The he taught us the Austrian waltz.  I was terrible!  But it was fun.

As of yesterday we have 26 Harding athletes staying here at the school with us for a month.  Its a program called BAT and its for the athletes that wouldn't really be able to do an overseas program.  So we have been working extremely hard to get the school ready.  Our semester with our students is officially over, but i am still planning on meeting with mine as often as I can.  Its all about relationships, what we do here.  Our relationship with God, with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and with our students trying to show them Christ through our actions and our words.  So please keep us in your prayers.