I Hope Heaven is Like a Gigantic Eternal Convegno and... The Rains Came Down and the Floods Came Up

Last weekend I went to a youth retreat in Aprilia (near Rome)!! Those of us coming from northern Italy met up at the Florence Bible School and journeyed to the retreat together. About forty young people ages 15-25 participated, and Vittorio Vitalone from Rome spoke on the theme of evangelism. The weekend consisted of times of singing, study, prayer, fellowship, charades, a movie, and worship and a potluck with the Aprilia congregation on Sunday. Church members hosted us in their homes for the weekend. I enjoyed getting to spend time and catch up with friends from different parts of the country. Vittorio's messages were really encouraging, and the theme verse was I Peter 3:15:

"Always be prepared to give an answer
to everyone who asks you to give the reason
for the hope that you have."

Avanti Italia workers and friends outside the Aprilia church building

all the Avanti Italia workers

some of the retreat participants and their younger siblings at church on Sunday

The highlights of the potluck were 1) the lasagna and

2) getting to hang out with the little kids from camp.

The kids insisted that I find a way to be at camp next summer. Knowing this was probably the last time I will see most of these people before I move back to the States in February made saying goodbye and heading home even harder than usual. I've gotten used to running into friends all over the country at the various convegni (retreats, meetings, conferences), and, not knowing when our paths will cross again, I can at least look forward to the reunion that will one day be like the ultimate Italian convegno, where nobody has to go home at the end, for we will already be home...and I hope all these precious souls I've been working with the last couple years are there, too!

On the way home Monday I received the news that Vicenza was flooding. Three days of rain and a sudden temperature rise that caused the snow in the mountains to melt created an unforeseen crisis worse than the flood of 1966. We got as far as Padova with no problems other than a little holiday traffic, and then what should have been an 18-minute train ride to Vicenza turned into an 8-hour saga when our train was re-routed to Verona, skipping the Vicenza train station, which was partially under water. The highways in the area were also closed. We were stuck in the Verona train station overnight until we could get out on the first train, which thankfully was able to stop in Vicenza. Thus I got home at 5:30 a.m., nineteen hours after my departure from Aprilia :)

The crazy trip home, however, provided an opportunity to already put into practice what we had learned at the retreat. In the Padova train station we befriended a traveler (Pasquale from near Naples) who up to that point had been having a worse day than we had. On our wayward train, Marco (the teen who was baptized at camp this summer) pulled out his Bible and began to read, and immediately Pasquale began to ask questions and was really interested, and Marco shared his story. Pasquale wanted to know if he could participate in these convegni, and I told him about the church nearest him (strangely enough the little town he's from is one of the places my mom and I visited in April). Marco left him an informational brochure, and they exchanged phone numbers. We don't know what may or may not come from this encounter, but it was a prime example of how evangelistic opportunities are born out of questions and curiosity, as Vittorio had outlined at the retreat. Who knows? Our tiring trip might just have been a divine deviation.

The flood came really close to but did not enter my apartment building (except for the underground storeroom of my landlords' lampstore). North, east, and south of me the streets are really muddy, and in some places the water was as high as 1.5 meters! There were 40 cm (15.75 inches) of water in the church building. The water has been pumped out, and we've mostly cleaned up the building, which is in pretty good condition, all things considered. The street in front of us flooded (and is still partially closed off), and the river behind us got higher than the level of the windows.

inside the church building, two days after the flood

All the king's horses and all the king's men
trying to put Vicenza back together again!

City workers, the army, the media, and the volunteer registration booth have all set up shop in this piazza between my house and the church building. Yesterday 200 volunteers set out to tackle mud around town: students, retirees, Scouts, and immigrants. To see photos of the zone near us on the day of the flood, I encourage you to visit the flickr link below [#1, 2, 4, 8 are just south of the piazza; #3 is the river behind the church building; #5 is the bridge; #6 is our street, and our church is almost in the picture; #7 is the piazza between my house and the church]:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/flaviomagno/sets/72157625295126634/with/5135973903/

pumping out water in a piazza at the end of my street last night

"The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;

the LORD is enthroned as King forever.

The LORD gives strength to his people;

the LORD blesses his people with peace."

Psalm 29:10-11