Let There Be Light!

After the utilities guy turned on my electricity and gas, an electrician came to deal with the fact that no lights were functioning despite the presence of an electrical current, and two other men came to fix the hot water heater, I am delighted to report that this weekend I moved into my apartment, equipped with water AND light and heat! I am looking forward to putting everything in its proper place, and I love the apartment and its location. My landlords own the lamp store below on the street level; they are very friendly and have been so helpful in getting everything taken care of. I have been enjoying learning my way around town. Vicenza is not very large (population 110,000-120,000) and so easy to walk around.

Here I am with the awesome family with whom I stayed the past two weeks.

my apartment is on the top corner

view from my apartment of the main street through the center of town

Thursday afternoon I met my first new English student! He is from Sri Lanka and in his 40s. We began studying the Gospel of Mark, and he has a notebook in which he writes all the new words he learns : ) Thursday night was my first time at our mid-week Bible study, and we are currently in I Corinthians. The people from church are so wonderful, and I greatly enjoy their company.

Friday I went to visit a missionary family in the nearby town of Padova, as they had invited some friends over for a Christian evidences night. We watched two very interesting documentaries about creation and evolution, one of which focused on the Galapagos Islands. I spent the night there and really enjoyed getting to know this kind, hospitable family as well as the other missionary couple in Padova. It’s neat to have a mission team close by, since there aren’t very many American missionaries in Italy.

Yesterday morning I began teaching the Sunday school class for seven- to ten-year-olds! I made a Bible Jeopardy game to get an idea of what they had already studied, and we had a lot of fun. We had a smaller turn-out at church than usual because no cars were allowed in the center of town for the day except for those using methane or propane. Apparently the city does this once every few months in an effort to reduce pollution.

Take Two

When it comes to accomplishing tasks in Italy, lowering expectations is imperative. If you set out with too ambitious a list of errands, or the notion that a particular item must be completed that day, your plans will almost certainly be thwarted. If you rejoice over each small step forward and glean cultural knowledge from each moment, you can have a great deal of fun in the circus that is Italian life. As futile or exhilarating as running errands can be, jumping through all the legal hoops we foreigners face is at a whole 'nother level.

Last year I returned home before actually receiving my permesso di soggiorno [permission to stay] card. Last week I sought to have my utilities turned on in Vicenza but was denied due to not having my permesso. But sometimes, the second time is the charm. I had a major dose of déjà vu as I turned in my permesso application at the Scandicci post office (almost everything important happens at the post office) to the same kind attendant I had a year ago. This time, I was assigned a follow-up appointment in two and a half weeks, as opposed to eight and a half months. How the Italians miraculously streamlined the bureaucratic process, I'll never know. Lest I get too excited, I won't actually have my permesso card in hand until a third appointment, projected to be a month after the second. The receipt for the application, however, is what I was really after, for with these three all-important slips of paper, I was able to go this morning to make the contract to get my utilities turned on. The workers are scheduled to come Wednesday morning!

While in Florence for the last few days on my permesso adventure, I also attended the Thursday night English class and Bible study at church, observed Emily and Jillian's weekly English lesson at a local kindergarden, sat in on a planning meeting for the women's retreat to be held in Tuscany in March, celebrated the eleventh birthday of a sweet girl in Pistoia, caught up with several of my former students, and enjoyed seeing everybody at church on Sunday. Here's a photo with one of my former students and Emily, her new English teacher:

All Roads Lead to Rome

After surviving the Christmas Eve blizzard and escaping the Arctic freeze that hit Oklahoma City as I was departing, I pretty much felt like I was in the tropics when I arrived in 50-degree Rome on Saturday morning. I am so happy to be back in Italy and able to resume my work with the Avanti Italia program! God worked out all the details of my return, as a meeting to plan the summer camps was being held in Rome that very afternoon, and a couple friends from Vicenza were in attendance. They picked me up from the airport, and having a ride home that night saved me 5+ hours' worth of train rides with all my luggage! We had lunch at the home of a wonderful family from the church in Rome, and then while the others went to the meeting at church, I got some much-needed sleep. Apparently I was volunteered to help in several areas; I cannot wait for camp to come in June! On the way home we stopped for dinner at a gas station and ran into the Avanti Italia people from Florence: David, Debbie, Emily, and Jillian! They had also been at the camp meeting, and I was so excited to see them! Later this week I will be going to Florence to take care of some legal paperwork, so I look forward to visiting with them more as well as seeing my other friends and English students.

Sunday morning was a combined worship service; typically separate services are held in Italian and the Ghanaian language Twi. I enjoyed meeting many of the church members and am eager to get to know them all better. The last couple days I have spent a lot of time with Titus and Angie, who have been missionaries in Vicenza and are returning to the States tomorrow morning. They have been so wonderful in helping me get settled and introducing me to people, and I have enjoyed learning more about Vicenza from them and playing with their adorable little girls while they finished packing! One of Titus' English students called me today to see if he could continue his studies with me, so I am delighted to already have one student lined up!

This afternoon I signed the contract and received the keys to my apartment! Tomorrow I have to go put in a request for my utilities to be turned on, and I can start moving in. In the meantime I'm staying with a very kind and hospitable family from church. My apartment is in the center of town and basically down the street from our church building, so it will be very convenient.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and encouragement! I cannot wait to get settled in and begin my work here!