Off To A Busy Start.

Well it has been one week since I arrived in Italy.  I did come a month late because my friends Jonathan and Bridget Lindsay got married!  Here are some pictures of my newlywed friends and me:

 The Bride and Groom

Here's Jonnie and me

 And here is Bridget, Jonnie, and me.

I am currently staying in Scandicci, just outside of Florence, at La Scuola Biblica.  This is also where we teach our English classes, have Bible studies, and other special events like youth retreats or preacher conferences.  Three times a week, Rosa cooks lunch for us and we are not allowed to speak English during the meal and if you do you have to pay 50 cents, which goes toward a pizza night.  I was excused from it last week since it was my first week here, but this yesterday was the first day I was not allowed to speak English.  So I didn't speak often during lunch, and when I did speak I just simply said the name of what I wanted in Italian and pointed.  Here are some pictures of the school:

The outside of the school.  You can't see my room from this view, but I am on the 3rd floor.

Here is our living room and dining room.  This is where I spend most of my time and do most of my homework and where we eat lunch and sometimes diner.

And here is our kitchen where I quickly eat breakfast before running off to catch the bus.  I haven't had a chance to do a lot of cooking yet, but hopefully soon I will.

Once I landed in Italy, I hit the ground running with my work.  I started language school the day after I got here last Tuesday.  I am at the same school as the rest of my team, but I have two private teachers and I only go for 2 hours a day instead of 4 hours like everyone else.  The plan is to try to catch up with the rest of the team in a month so I can join their class.  That means I have a lot of work and homework with my Italian.  It is challenging but I know it will be worth it.

It has been a busy week besides starting school.  Ermenita graduated with a degree in economics and her family stayed at the school with us, Debbie's mom came in last week to visit, and we had a preacher's convention this past weekend.  We made all the meals for the preacher's meeting and got to talk with them a little bit.  On Friday Emily, Andrea, Angela, and I went and read a story in English, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, to the children at the library.  It was good, encouraging, and fun, but I can't wait to be able to talk with them in Italian.  I will give y'all a more detailed schedule next week once I start my English classes.  Please keep praying for us while we are here.  Pray that God will use us for his glory and that we will take advantage of every opportunity we have to spread the Gospel.  God bless. Ciao!