Recent News From Italy

Well, I guess I haven't been doing a great job with keepin' y'all updated with everything that's going on here.  The week after the last post I was down with a migraine, and this past week I have been playing catch-up with school work and work here, but here is what has been happening...


Eric and Jessica went to visit the church in Taranto, which is in South Italy and Ryan and Laura went to visit the church in Rome.  They all had a great time meeting the people in those churches.  While they were gone, David took Andrea, Angela, and I to an old church not too far from Scandicci.  It was very beautiful.  Here are some of the pictures of that outing to the church:

After we went to see that church, we went to the Harding villa because we were throwing a surprise party for one of the members, Luigi, of the church here in Florence.  He is in the process of taking tests to be a conductor, I think.  Well he passed his first test and we decided to celebrate.  While there he played his clarinet for us and his wife played the piano.  They are both amazing musicians.  I took some video at the concert, but for some reason it wouldn't load onto the blog.  Sorry about that.  Maybe I can figure how do fix it and add it later.

Last Saturday we all went out to eat with Mario, a member of the church here, and we ate at his favorite seafood restaurant.   The food was amazing and, like every Italian lunch, it was HUGE.  We had squid, octopus, prawns, shrimp, some kind of fish that was very good, vegetables, bread, gelato, and caffe.  It was awesome to spend time with Mario and to talk with him.  After lunch, Ermenita took me to the Saturday market here in Scandicci to do some Christmas shopping.  The market is kinda like a flea market but they have clothes, mainly for women, and all kinds of delicious food.  It was my first time there and it was a very interesting experience.

Last Sunday we had a concert at the church as well.  It was a quartet based here in Florence.  They were very good as well.  We used this as a way to invite our students to church and meet the members of the congregation.  We also sent invitations to the American universities here in Florence, including the HUF students, as well but a few from Peperdine and the Harding students showed up from that crow.  We had a really good turn out from our students and members of our church, close to 100 people.  I got to meet some of Ryan's, Laura's, Jessica's, and Eric's students that I see when they come for their classes but never get to talk to.  It was good to talk with them and get to know them a little (plus I got to practice my Italian with them and for they practiced their English with me).  After the concert, we had a chili supper and then had singing, in both Italian and English, at the church.  It sounded so beautiful.

This weekend was pretty relaxing and I didn't do a whole lot.  Emily took Ryan, Laura, Eric, and Jessica to Vincenza this weekend to visit the church there and they left Saturday morning and got back Sunday night so they house was pretty quiet with 5 people gone.  We did, however, do a massive clean of the building on Friday because we are starting to have a lot of guest come through this month.  I finally got to dry my clothes, but had to take them to a laundry mat down the street because the dryer here is broken and it has rained everyday for the past two weeks so nothing on the clothes lines will dry.  It was nice to have a quiet weekend because this coming week will be very busy.  I start teaching English this week and have three students so far.  I will tell y'all more about them at a later time after I get to know them.  We are also cooking a HUGE Thanksgiving meal for some of our students which will be on Saturday.  I think we have about 60 people in all coming for this meal, so we will be start cooking at least 3 days in advance.  Language school is still rough because I have to concentrate on everything word and try to figure out what they are saying.  I am getting the hang of it and I can understand a lot more than I can speak.  I can listen and figure out what they are saying, eventually, but when I try to speak it is very rough and takes me forever to say what I would like to say.

Please keep us in your prayers.  Pray that God will continue to use us for his glory and that we will allow ourselves to be used by God.  Pray also for the churches here in Italy and that we all will work for God rather than for man.  God bless.  Ciao

New Friends and New Places.

 I know its been about a week and a half since I blogged last, and a lot has happened since then.  Last Friday Ermenita had her "American Graduation".  It was the first time that the school has ever done one, so we went to support her.  Here are some pictures from her graduation:

Here we are anxiously awaiting for Ermenita's Ceremony

  And here is Ermenita getting her degree! Yay!

After the graduation, we had a movie night here at the school for our students and their families.  We watched Monsters Inc.  And to tie it into Halloween ,the ladies here made "witch finger" cookies (sugar cookies in the shape of a finger with green food coloring and an almond for the fingernail), a "witch's brew" punch (a fruit punch), and Emily made her famous caramel popcorn.  It was a lot of fun to watch it in English with the students and they really seemed to enjoy it.  It was good to meet some of the students that I have never met before like Samuele.  He is one of David's students and speaks English very well.  He works as a college professor in Firenze teaching History and Philosophy.  He is a very interesting guy who has lived and gone to school in a couple of different countries.  I tried to talk to him, and our other students, only in Italian and they were all very forgiving of my bad grammar and limited vocabulary.  Here are a couple of pictures from the movie night: 

Here are the Witch Finger cookies.

Everyone gathering for the movie

Here I am talking to Samuele

The day after our movie night we had the HUF students over for a devotional and some games.  We made tacos for them (and by we I mean that Laura, Jessica, Andrea, Angela, Emily, and Ermenita aka our awesome cooks made the food).  This was the first time I had a chance to meet them all and I discovered that three of the students were in the youth group I worked at in Little Rock.  We sang for a while and then Ryan, Eric, and I read a few verses about Mission work.  I read the accounts of the Great Commission from Matthew, Mark, and Acts and also Col. 3:23-24, where it says to work with all your heart for the Lord and not for man.  It was a verse that I read a couple of days before during my own study time. We tried to encourage them to serve God when they could and wherever they were, whether in a foreign mission field or somewhere in the US.  After our devo we played Pictionary in English and Italian.  We all had such a wonderful night.

This past weekend we all took a trip to Aprilia for a youth conference.  We left on Friday after lunch with Lindsay, an A.I. worker in Vencenza, and some of our Italian friends who were here in September: Luca, Marco, and Daniela.  The whole weekend was about evangelism.  it was all in Italian, so I had to really concentrate to hear the words and then try to understand them, but I was able to get the gist of the sessions by reading the Bible verses they referenced.  So at the end of the days I was exhausted.  But it was awesome to meet people our age, and a few years younger than us, from the churches all over Italy.  We sang all weekend long and Vittorio, the preacher there in Aprilia, spoke at the sessions, and ate wonderful food prepared by the wonderful ladies at the church there.  We did have some free time on Saturday so a bunch of us went to take coffee and hang out in the park.  And we also played a game of Charades with them!  I was very blessed and encouraged by this weekend and making new friends and has been one of the best experiences so far for me.  Here are some pictures form this weekend:

Me and my new friend Luca

Another new friend Marta

The MEN!!

Hangin' out at the coffee shop

 

During a session

Hanging out in our free time

Hangin' out with our Italian friends in our free time

And here are some silly pictures of the game of Charades that we played:

What a great weekend!  We left early from the retreat on Sunday (well after lunch) to come back to Florence for the HUF Halloween party.  It has been a busy couple of weeks, but God really is blessing me.  Please keep praying for us, praying that we will let God use us and that we will be transparent with each other and with the people we are ministering to.  And please pray for all the churches here in Italy.  Hopefully I will be more diligent about my posting and do it more regularly.  Thanks and God bless.  Ciao

Schedules, Meetings, and Meanderings.

Ciao!  I am slowly making progress in taking care of everything so I can live in Italy.  I have registered at the police station, gotten my codice (which is like my Italian social security number), and my cell phone.  I still have to get my health insurance and fill out some more paperwork.  Hopefully it will all get done this week.

I know i told you that I would post my full schedule, but I haven't started teaching my English classes yet.  So i guess that i will tell you about my students another time.  So the schedule so far, everyday, is to wake up and get to school by 11:00 am Monday and Friday and 9:00 am Tuesday-Thursday.  On Monday nights we have a separate Bible studies for men and women, and this past week was my week to lead the study.  One of the Italian men in the group has some questions about specific passages in Bible that he doesn't understand, so we spent the hour talking about John 6:65.  He has such a great heart and is honestly seeking to know God better and to understand his word.  After Bible study on Monday night, there is a beginner's English class that Ryan, Andrea, and Angela teach here at the Bible school in Scandicci.  This beginner's English class also meets on Tuesday and Wednesday night and I got to help out on Tuesday night this week.   It was great meeting knew people and helping them understand English.  I would say that their English is better than my Italian!  On Thursday night we do another beginner's English class at the church in Florence, and also an advanced class if anyone there would rather do that than the beginner class.  After the class we have dinner and a Bible study in Italian.  We sing a few songs in Italian and then Robbie, the Harding University in Florence or HUF director, leads a Bible study.  Right now we are studying about the Lord's Supper.  On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon, after a wonderful meal from Rosa, the Avanti workers have a David and Debbie to talk about things that need to get done during the week.  After the meeting on Friday we have "Physical Fridays" where we do something around the School that needs to be done like painting, cleaning, moving furniture,
"e cetera". 

I have been here for two whole weeks now and have been able to do a little sightseeing of Florence in my little free time.  I went on my own last Thursday to the Duomo and the San Lorenzio market, and at 3 my language school went to the Accadamia, an art museum that has Michelangelo's David.  On Tuesday Ryan, Eric, Allen, and I had a guy day and we went around Florence to see the Duomo, the Piazza della Signoria, the Ponte Vecchio, the Piazzale Michelangelo, and of course got gelato.  Here are some pictures of my trips around Florence:

 The outside of the Duomo (above and below)

And a view of the dome and inside the Duomo:

Here we are in the Piazza della Signoria and behind us was the Di Medici family palace was.

(from left to right: Eric, Me, and Allen)

Some in the Piazza di Singnoria:

And are the A.I guys with the Ponte Veccio behind us:
(Me, Ryan, and Eric)

And here are some views of Florence from the Piazzale Michelangelo:

And here are the infamous A.I. guys at the Plazzale Michelangelo:

This past weekend while everyone was taking their own trips, I stayed at the School to study, get my phone, help David move some furniture, and some other necessary chores.  Language school is still going well and getting difficult. I was told that I would have to butcher the language before I mastered it, and currently I am butchering it. However, it does help to speak it with other people and Italians who will correct me.  I have put more pictures of my Florence adventure on Facebook, so if you are my friend then feel free to check them out.  Well that's all for now, but please keep praying for us over here.  Pray that we will open ourselves up to God and he will fill us with his spirit and use us for his glory.  A presto!

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!

The Avanti 2010 team!

Here are the introductions to the 2010 Avanti team.  I know I said that I would post it last week, but I have been sick, so forgive me.  So here are the amazing people that I got to know during training and will be working with in Italy.

 This is Ryan and Laura Stevens.  They were both nursing majors at Harding and graduated in 2008.  Since then they have both been working as nurses in Memphis.  Ryan is originally from Mobil and Laura is from Memphis and Laura and I were in the same youth group at Highland Church of Christ growing up.

 This is the other married couple on our team, Eric and Jessica Smith.  Eric graduated from Ohio State and Jessica graduated from Harding with an art degree.  They are from Ohio, but have been living in Arkansas where Eric was working as a surveyor and Jessica has been working in an art gallery.

Here is Andrea Gallman from Houston, TX.  She is a graduated from ACU in 2006 with a secondary education degree.  After she graduated, she moved back to Houston and has been working as a government and economics teacher.

And last but certainly not least is Angela Withrow (right).  She is from Garland, TX.  She graduated in 2009 from Harding with a degree in Computer Science and a minor in Spanish.  She moved back to Garland after she graduated and was working there until she left for Italy.

Here is the team that I will be working with and God has really blessed me with such amazing people.  I am the last of my team here in the States and I will leave on October 4th and arrive in Italy on October 5th.  I ask that you will please continue to pray for my team.  Pray that God will use us for his glory and that we will grow closer to him as well.  Thanks and God bless.

Our INTENSIVE Training!

For the past two weeks I have been with my team in Searcy, AR, doing some very intensive training!  Our classes started at 8 am and ended at 5 pm, then someone from College church would provide dinner for us which lasted at least until 9pm.  So our days were pretty full.  It was great though!  We all learned so much and I grew, spiritually, very much!  My team is absolutely amazing!  I will make introductions later this week.  

Our first class was group dynamics with Carl Michell.  Carl and his wife Frankie were missionaries in Italy with Howard and Doris Bybee.  On Monday and Tuesday, we talked with L.V. Pfeifer on the doctrines of  Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, both of which are apparently very active in Italy.  The rest of training, we spent time with Howard Bybee talking about Catholic doctrines.  Then we had a VERY BRIEF overview of church history, from the time of the Apostles to the Stone-Campbell movement, with Allen Diles and Fred Jewell.  After the church history lesson, we had singing/Italian lessons with Jolie and Paul Love.  Paul and Jolie also fed us authentic Italian food for lunch everyday, and it was SO good.  We sang songs in Italian that the churches in Italy like to sing and they were teaching us to sing in parts.  In the afternoons during the first week, we had cross cultural communication with Howard Norton, Getting to Know Jesus with Jim Woodroof, and Faith and Evidences with Don England.

Here is a picture of Jim (above) about to teach class and a picture of one of Jim's classes (below):

The second week of training we had some of the same classes like Group Dynamics with Carl, Catholic Doctrine with Howard, and Faith and Evidences with Don, but we didn't have the singing lessons or church history.  But we still had great classes like The Beatitudes with Jim, where we looked at the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 and how they are guidelines for Christian living; Gordon Hogan gave us brief looks at Islam, Buddhist, and Hindu doctrines; Bruce McLarty had a class on post-modernism and pluralism; Dan and Suzanne Reed, former missionaries in Venice, talked about their work in Vince with the church and the children's ministry they started there; and then Noel Whitlock, the preacher at College church talked to us about the importance of the church.  

We did have the weekends off.  The first weekend, Angela, Andrea, and I saw Toy Story 3 at the dollar theartre and then we played cards with some of Angela's friends at a coffee shop.  On Saturday, I got to play racquetball with Jim and Angela.  I didn't think that I would've gotten beat in racquetball by a 77 year old man, but Jim is awesome at the sport!  This past weekend, I played golf, twice, with Eric, Ryan, and Howard.  It was my first time to play golf ever and it was pretty amusing to watch me play, especially since Ryan and Eric are awesome golfers!  It was also a very humbling experience getting beat in golf by Howard, haha!  

I have been so blessed by God the past two weeks, and I thank God that the men who taught our classes were there to share their wisdom and experience with us.  I was praying that I would grow, but I didn't imagine that I would grow that much and grow so close to my team.  I will post later this week and introduce my team.  Please keep praying for us and the work that God will do.  God bless.