O Fiorentinaaa...

Last week I journeyed to Florence to participate in a youth weekend, welcome the new Avanti workers, and get together with friends and former students...

First was the youth weekend! We had times of singing and Bible study, an excursion to Florence and a picnic overlooking the town, high-spirited rounds of Italian pictionary and charades, a barbecue, and a pancake breakfast. We also divided into four groups and translated In Christ Alone from English into Italian, with each group translating one verse. We then presented the new song to the Florence church on Sunday and hope to spread it to other congregations as well.

Three different cities were represented among the young Italians; I brought along one from Vicenza. One of the girls in attendance was baptized a month ago and excitedly showed us a video she had compiled with photos and footage of the event. At the summer camp she had been seriously contemplating this decision, and we are so happy for her! I also found out that another girl from camp who had also been thinking about taking this step was recently baptized!

some of the girls at the youth weekend

Six new Avanti Italia workers have recently arrived in Florence (a seventh is coming in October), so it was fun to get to know and spend time with them. They are all so eager to learn Italian and build relationships, and I can't wait to see how God will use them to impact countless lives. On the right of this page, I've added links to their blogs, which exude their enthusiasm for this new journey and chronicle how God has called them to and equipped them for this mission. Monday night we had an orientation where several former and current workers shared advice.

The next morning I went shopping with Ermenita, who joined the Avanti program in April and is about to graduate from the University of Florence. Ermenita was looking for a dress and shoes for when she defends her thesis and thereby graduates a couple weeks from now, and I am glad I got to take part in this special moment. She has worked so hard on her thesis, and we are all so proud of her!

shopping with Ermenita

While in town, I got together with several of my former English students and enjoyed catching up on what's been going on in their lives. I was especially delighted to get to see a student who last fall had moved to Arezzo, an hour outside of Florence. We have kept in touch during the last year but were never able to get together on any of my trips to Florence last winter... so I went to Arezzo! She invited me to have lunch in her apartment, and then she showed me around town (where Life is Beautiful was filmed). A few months ago, she had written me, "I always remember our lessons with the reading of the Bible and it was very nice! You took part in my spiritual progress, so... thank you!" Probably I'll never see most of the growth from the seeds I'm planting in these two years, but I know God can use all our efforts to advance His kingdom and make eternal differences!

reunion in Arezzo!

forever young

Since my last post, I have spent a majority of my days supervising children and teens... The last week in August, I went to the mountains to babysit three kids from church since their mother, a young widow, had to stay in Vicenza and work. The kids, ages 9, 10, and 13, were wonderful, and we had fun taking walks, playing in the park, going on a day trip to Asiago, playing card games, and cooking together. I also helped them with their summer English homework. I thoroughly enjoyed being surrounded by God's beautiful creation and getting to spend time with these precious children!

on a walk with the kids

picnic in Asiago

This weekend, several teens from Rome/Aprilia came to visit their friends in Vicenza. The first two days we were in town, and the next two days we spent at a mountain house belonging to a family from church. Not an official youth retreat, this was a time the kids had organized to hang out together before the end of their summer break. Each night we had a devotional centered on the theme of "Why Believe?" Being responsible for a group of teenagers, outside the church camp setting, was kind of a different experience, and thankfully the Padova missionaries helped out as well.

youth at the mountain house

In between these excursions, I added a new English student, a twelve-year-old girl from Moldova whose mother is a friend of one of my students. My other students are continuing to progress, and I enjoy hearing their insights and witnessing their dedication to learn.

I am delighted to report that I have quite comfortably survived a summer without air conditioning. I had to turn on a fan a total of about ten days in July and one night in August, and the rest of the time, weekly rains kept the temperatures between the 60s and 80s, and it was quite lovely. One advantage of growing up near Houston is that nowhere else I go feels humid, even if everybody else thinks it is (here it's 72-82% year-round).

I have now spent several winters, springs, and summers in Italy, but I have never been here during September-December, so I am looking forward to experiencing autumn here, as well as having everybody back in town after the mass exodus that was August, the month when all Italians flee to the mountains or the sea.