and the walls came tumbling down...

Sunday was my first agape (potluck) in Vicenza! The Italians and Ghanaians had a combined worship service, part in Italian and part in Twi, with some singing also in English. Then we enjoyed a smorgasbord of food and fellowship. The agape happened to fall the day before the 43rd anniversary of a couple from church, so we celebrated with song and tiramisu.

The children wanted to present a skit at the end of the agape, so for the last couple weeks we've been preparing to re-enact the story of the fall of the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6), which the kids selected since they had already constructed the Ark of the Covenant. The "city" consisted of songbooks set up in a circle like dominoes, which effectively contributed to the general clamor at the end of the scene when the warriors shouted to bring down the walls.

They had lots of fun getting into costume!

the priests sounding the trumpets

the procession around Jericho

The children did such a great job! Then the parents wanted them to demonstrate some of the English they have been learning, so we sang "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "Father Abraham." I'm so proud of my kids for both their skit and spontaneous English presentation :)

For the last two Thursday nights, our Bible study has migrated to the apartment of a couple who lives next door to the church building, as the man is in poor health and unable to get out much. This 8:30 study usually finishes around 10 p.m. but is always quite lively, with discussions of the passage of the night, stories of life in Italy in years past, and two or three people speaking simultaneously in a combination of Italian and the Veneto dialect. It's neat to get to visit church members in their homes, especially when they are not able to get out due to chronic or temporary health concerns. Begonia and I have also been to visit a lady from church who recently had foot surgery; her recovery is going well, and hopefully she will be able to walk on it soon!

I just found out that the 18-year-old younger brother of one of my English students in Florence passed away due to a heart attack while playing soccer. Please keep the De Vita family in your prayers!!