As of the first Friday in October we started our Friday night activities. The first Friday of every month is movie night. Ryan and I wanted it to be a Halloween theme so we tried to find an appropriate "scary" movie. We couldn't really think of one so we decided to show Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl because it is kinda creepy and has the zombie-type pirates. Since this was our Halloween movie night we wanted to dress up as pirates! We also told out students that they could dress up if they wanted to and a few of them came through in style! Cooking School was the next week and Debbie did a wonderful job as always. The menu was: a veggie tray with dip, scalloped potatoes, stuffed hamburgers, and frozen bananas split. The stuffed hamburgers were interesting, and delicious, plus I have had never heard of them before. You brown hamburger in a pan on the stove and put the other ingredients in and let it cook together for a while. Then you hollow out dinner rolls and stuff the meat into it and cook it in the oven for 20 minutes. 2 of my students showed up plus a few of my friends. It is always good to see them more than just once a week. The other activity that we are doing this semester is Choir. David wanted to get a choir together for some time now and sing Christmas songs. So the last Friday of every month is Choir practice and they sound really good.
As of this week I have two new students. They are Matteo and Marco, brothers and cousins of my student Lorenzo. On Tuesday we met and talked, asking questions so we can get to know each other. As it turns out I have a lot on common with them. We like the same type of movies, books, and games! They speak pretty good English but they said that they said that they would like to know the rules for grammar. We are going to start reading The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Andrea, their last teacher, started reading it with them but didn't finish, so I will continue reading with them. I am really looking forward to their class every week.
A few weeks ago, we went to Bondeno, the church where Andrea is working, because they were doing a small covegno and the topic was Christian families and marriages. We got to see some old friends from Bologna, Vicenza, and Roma as well as our friends at the church in Bondeno. We actually have another convegno that we are going to this weekend. The convegno in Aprilia. I am very excited to go and see all the people there!
We have also gotten to do some fun things as well this past month. Probably the biggest, as least for me, was my birthday! We had movie night on my birthday so we didn't celebrate until the next day. I got to sleep in for a little while then I met Ryan in town and we decided to do a couple of things that I have never done before such as climb to the top of the dome in the Duomo and climb the bell tower at the Duomo as well. As a present he and Laura paid for my lunch and my ticket into the Dome. By the time we finished climbing up and down both the Dome and the Bell Tower my legs were shaking! But the views were worth it! We stayed in town until dinner where I had made reservations at the Greek restaurant and everyone at the school plus my student Lorenzo came to celebrate! I am so blessed to have such great friends and brothers and sisters in Christ!
Below are The Birthday Adventure in Firenze:
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| from the top of the Duomo |
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| from the Bell Tower |
Harding invited us up to the Villa for their Halloween party. So we went but the rule is you have to have a costume. Well our friends at church, Luli and Daniele, called me and asked if I would be part of their ensemble since they needed a fourth person. I agreed and we went as the characters from the Wizard of Oz. Luli was the Tin Man, Daniele was Dorthy, I was the Cowardly Lion, and Arban was the Scarecrow.
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| Tin Man, Dorthy, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion |
One weekend in October we took another Scooter ride, this time through the Chianti region of Tuscany; where they are famous for their wine and also where we went for the grape harvest. We actually tagged along with some Americans that Kyle met here in Firenze. They work at a travel agency that sets up trips for college students who are studying in Italy. Its always nice to meet new people and make new friends, and I got to share my faith with one of the girls. She is searching for something and I got to tell her why I believe in God and the hope I have through Jesus Christ. I hope that what I said planted a seed and that one day that seed will grow.
As of October 5th I have been living in Italy for 1 year! It seemed kinda weird to think that I have been here for 12 months already and that I only have another 12 months with Avanti. I really do love what I am doing here and it is a lot of fun. There are difficult times and times when I want to be able to spend more time with my family and close friends because I am missing out on some important events in their lives; and there are days when I am so frustrated because for some reason I am struggling to speak Italian and also days when nothing seems to go right. But I have been so blessed by my time here. I have been blessed by the people that I have worked with, blessed by the people I have met in the different churches in Italy, and even blessed by my Italian students and friends. And of course I have been blessed by the support that I have through you, my Christan family in the States. So please continue to pray for the work we are doing here in Italy. Please continue to pray for the churches here in Italy and our students that we may show them love and Christ through our lives. Pray for us in Firenze (Laura, Ryan, Angela, Erme, Kelly, David, Debbie, and me), in Taranto (Eric and Jessica), and in Bondeno (Andrea). I thank you again for the support, encouragement, and love from you. God bless.
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