I can't think of a good title for this

Please keep the Walle family in your prayers. Lindsay Walle is our friend and fellow Avanti worker. She has been planning on joining us in February, after she graduates from Harding University in December. Her father passed away this past weekend. I can't imagine what a difficult time she must be having. Again, please pray for her and her family.

Yesterday, Francesco came for his 2nd English lesson. He opened up a lot more and seemed to enjoy the class. We talked about when Jesus was 12, and was in the temple with the wise teachers. It was neat, because Francesco is 12. After the lesson, he let me listen to the Jonas brothers on his phone :) He explained to me, in Italian, that he doesn't understand any of the lyrics, but he still likes to listen. He also had Justin Timberlake on his phone and I got to explain to him that I am from Memphis, like him, and that I have been to his house. He didn't believe me at all.

Today, Alessandro and Rina both came to class. Alessandro learned about Noah's Ark and a bunch of English words for the animals. Rina is doing so much better with her English already! It's very exciting! She is getting more comfortable with speaking. She got really excited when I told her that I couldn't roll my "r's" the same way she can't make the "th" sound. She said it made her very happy that she is not the only one who has a difficult time!

Debbie leaves tomorrow to go work on a cruise for 2 weeks. She will be doing sign language for the hearing impaired. We will miss her very much!

Little Victories

This morning, we went to get our Codice Fiscale. It is basically like a social security number. It was pleasantly simple in every way. It didn't even take that long.
Later, I went into the kitchen to ask Rosa what I could do to help with lunch. Rosa does not speak English to us. (Whether or not she CAN speak English might be a different story ;) She asked me, in Italian, to go get a specific type of bread from a certain grocery store. Not the kind of store where you walk in, find it, and buy it. I had to actually walk up to the counter and ask for it in Italian! Was I nervous? Yes...but I had to be brave. And I did it! I was so excited! I had saved lunch! I was full of joy and pride walking back to the Bible school with my half kilo of Tuscan bread until I got to the door an realized I had forgotten the key when I left, in my haste to impress Rosa. All was well, though. It's the small accomplishments, ya know? I shall conquer this language, one trip to the bread store at a time!

Tonight, Lisa and I studied about the verb "to be," adjectives, articles, and the Baptism of Jesus. It was fun to watch her excitement as she understood the story and applied the grammar she had just learned, to answering questions that I asked her about the scripture. She was so proud of her little accomplishments, and I was proud for her.

Fall Back

We didn't know that there was a time change last night, so we got to the church building an hour early this morning :) Apparently, Italy "falls back" a couple of weeks before the States, so be watching out for that one!

Brandon and Kristen Edwards are in town with their new baby, Charlotte! She is absolutely adorable! They are Avanti workers in Catania in Sicily, where Chad will be going at the end of the year. They have done a lot of amazing work in the short time they have been in Catania. For all you Great Oakers, Brandon is the son of Terry Edwards, and the brother of Chelsea Cates!

I got to help teach the 2 year old class today! The lesson was Noah's Ark, but they were really only interested in playing with the plastic animals. After worship, I had the privilege of going over to Marco and Kelly's house for lunch. Kelly came here as Avanti worker a couple of years ago, and just recently married Marco. We had a lot of fun walking around the Scandicci market after lunch.

It's been a beautiful weekend here in Florence!

San Lorenzo Market

I have been meaning to take some pictures of the San Lorenzo market because we walk through it everyday on the way to school. Talk about temptation!

These two pictures are at the beginning or entrance to the market. It goes on for several streets and has just about anything you could possibly want.

New Pictures!

Today Manuela came to study English. She is 17 years old, and the sister of Francesco. She understands more English than my other students. I am excited about being able to be a part of her life at such an interesting age. She is very sweet, and I think she is going to do very well with the English conversation. I took some pictures today that I realized I hadn't taken yet.

The street that our Italian language school is on, is under construction. That's our school with the reddish brown shutters.

Our Italian language school in Florence

The castle in Scandicci

Jesus IS the message

Today I got to meet my new student, Francesco. He is 12 years old. His English is minimal, but so is my Italian. I apologized and told him that I would help him with his English if he would help me with my Italian. He smiled really big because I said that to him in Italian, so he understood. His sister, Manuela will be coming tomorrow for her first session. Lisa also came back for her second session today. She did a great job. I am glad that I am going through the process of learning a new language at the same time they are, because it really helps me to understand what they are going through. It is an incredible experience.

After our lessons, Mr. Jim sat Chad and I down to talk to us about cross-cultural communications and the message of Jesus. He took us through some scriptures and shared with us his thoughts and the story of how he came to understanding the message. If you know Mr. Jim, you know that his joy is contagious and you never tire of being around him. I appreciate so much his taking time out to share with us some of his thoughts. It is always a pleasure to hear what he has to say.

"...God annointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him...they put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear...and he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
Taken from Acts 10: 38-43

Oh yeah, and Italian telephones say "Drin Drin" instead of "Ring Ring"

"Quando prendiamo al cielo..."

I have a confession to make. I try my best to only report the good news on this blog. Obviously, nothing is perfect and there are always struggles. I feel as if now, more than ever, I am being tested because of the decision I have made to serve God here in Italy. It can be very frustrating to try to adapt to new situations and new people that make up a new life with a new language, new customs, and so much confusion. Of course I love Italy, but it can be difficult to adjust and always have the best attitude, so far away from the people I love. I have not said anything about this until now, because I didn't want to sound neagtive or unappreciative of the opportunity that I have to be here. Because of something that happened today, I decided to share this:

A few of us (some Americans, some Italians) were all trying to communicate with one another before worship this morning, and it seemed impossible. Then one of the men said,
"Quando prendiamo al cielo, faremo tutto capisce l'un l'altro. Una lingua," which means
"When we all get to Heaven, we will be able to understand each other. One language."

I don't know how to describe what I felt when he said that, but it was so beautfiful. It struck me so deeply, and put everything into perspective for me. I just wanted to share that, and a couple of verses. I also wanted to apologize to those of you who I have complained to about such small things, when my purpose here is so much bigger than myself.

"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing...Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him."
James 1:2-4, 12.

I felt compelled to share this in the hopes that it would help someone else who might need to hear it. Then, almost as if "someone" had planned it, the closing song today was "When we all get to Heaven" which we sang in English and Italian simultaneously.

"Is this really necessary?"

...asked David as he knocked on one of the classroom walls, that seems to serve no purpose. Haha, I guess all of this rearranging and updating has gotten some of us a little over zealous. The Woodroof's have done a really great job on the school. They have put of lot of time and energy into making improvements. It looks great!

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting the 2nd person with whom I will be studying English and the Bible. His name is Alessandro and he is 8 years old! He was absolutely adorable and very excited about learning! I'm anxious to put together some "fun" lessons for him. I am amazed how well our "students" fit with each of our personalities. I know that God worked it out that way for us, and for them.

Yesterday in Italian class, we learned some vocabulary used to discuss animals. Because the teachers don't speak English to us, they had to make different animal sounds to describe the different animals. To my complete surprise (and amusement) I learned that the animals sounds are not universal! For example, most Americans would probably say that a bird says "Tweet Tweet" but Italians say "Cheep Cheep" and Japanese say "Peep Peep" Dogs in Italy say "Bow Bow" and frogs say "Cra Cra" instead of "Ribbit." Haha, I just thought that was really funny.

This week, all of the public school students are "striking." It's what is called an Occupato, and is apparently quite common. From what I can understand, they are upset about a lot of the new policies dealing with grading and faculty downsizing. There are all kinds of signs up on all of the schools and the kids stay there all day and night.
They really like to protest stuff around here. Tomorrow there will be a transportation strike throughout ALL of Italy. There will be no trains, and the busses will only run for a few hours during the day. There will be a HUGE protest tomorrow in Rome for everyone who is unhappy about something...from students to workers. I'm not really sure how everyone is going to get there.

One thing that I love about Italy today: The cute dogs that sit on their balconies, squinting their little eyes and watching carefully to make sure everyone is behaving properly. They bark at certain people who pass by to make sure we all know that they are watching and in charge.

The Men's Convention begins today here at the Bible School. There will be leaders from churches of Christ all over Italy...convening. I really don't know what all is involved, but I will be sure to post an update when I find out!

Rina and Lisa

Sorry it has been so long since I updated. I have been sick as a dog. But I'm all better now and I have some exciting news!

First of all, I still love my Italian classes! My teachers are hilarious and my classmates are a lot of fun. Everyday, Daniele and Daniella reassure us that what we are learning is very easy-haha. Yeah...for them.

There is a new woman in my class who is from Brazil, which is neat for me. She does not speak any English at all, so it was fun to try and have a conversation with her in Italian. Notice, I said try.

The Woodroof's went to worship in Milan yesterday. So it was just Chad and I that went to the church in Florence. We were a little nervous about not having any translators, but it went really well! I was asked to help teach the kids class, which of course, I was really excited about! I love kids! One of the teachers came here as an Avanti worker about 18 years ago! She got married and has 3 sweet children. She helped me with translating.

I had my first English lesson/Bible study today! It was with a sweet woman named Rina and her daughter, Lisa. She lives in Scandicci and attends the Catholic church. The study went very well and I am so excited to begin working! They even scheduled to come back separately, which shows they are very interested! Please pray for them, and for David, Chad, and I as we continue our Bible studies.

The Best Day Ever!

Well, maybe not EVER...but it has been a really great day!
Chad and I headed into Florence for our first day of Italian class before the sun came up. We conquered the bus system like old pros. We are in different classes because of our previous studies in the Italian language. The first 2 hours, his teacher is Daniele and mine is Daniella. Then, they switch and I have Daniele and he has Daniella for the next 2 hours. Confused? Chad is the only American in a very small class with he and 4 women. My class is about twice the size with people from all over the world including: Japan, Slavakia, Brazil, Vietnam, England, Mexico, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Massachusetts, California, and of course Tennessee. Because of all of our different languages, we have to speak Italian to communicate, which is great! I feel like I was perfectly placed into this class because I understood everything that was going on (the teachers teach only in Italian) and I felt that I was on the same level of understanding as the other students. I am hoping that some of the students in my class will even want to practice their English, so that I can invite them here to the Bible School for lessons! Beginnings are always exciting, especially when things go so well.

Yesterday was wonderful, as well. Mr. Jim Woodroof had a fantastic sermon. Mario and Luigi were also part of the worship service :) Afterwards, there was an AGAPE which is the monthly fellowship meal. All of the HUF students, as well as some Pepperdine students attended. We even saw one of the girls from Pepperdine today in Florence. It's always funny to run into someone you "know" in random places in foreign countries.

I am getting ready to start on my Italian homework. I thought I would never say that again when I graduated! It's ok, though, because this time it's fun. I know that being able to communicate witht the people here is one of the most important parts of the work.

Thank you all so much for the prayers and the emails of encouragement. They mean so much to me, and I couldn't be here this far away from home if I didn't have all of your support :)

Goodbye Emily...again!

Ok, we think Emily is gone for good this time. She should be somewhere in London by now. Hopefully she will make it to the States tomorrow!

Jim and Louine Woodroof just got here! They are David's parents. I expected them to be tired from their flight, but they came bubbling in just as perky as ever! We are all very excited that they are here!

I was feeling very domestic today. So after going to the Saturday market, I came back to the school and did laundry, cleaned my room (I mean, REALLY cleaned it!) and cooked lunch. I also bought my school supplies today :) I also worked on my lesson plans for my English classes. After feeling proud of my productive afternoon, I got to talk to both of my cute little parents on skype!

Tonight, I went over to Sarah's to help her cook a dish for the potluck lunch after worship services tomorrow afternoon. Sarah came to Italy as an Avanti worker 7 years ago, and stayed as the church's secretary. From what I hear, she is "the glue." I had every intention of being a big help until I realized that she owns all 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls on DVD. I'm not much of a cook anyway...

Tomorrow is the beginning of the new week, and marks the beginning of our work here in Florence. The time we have been blessed enough to get to settle in has come to and end. I am very excited about all of the exciting things that are about to happen. Please pray for our continued enthusiasm, courage, strength, and endurance!

Welcome back Emily!

Poor sweet Emily was trying to fly standby from Rome back to the States, and all the flights have been overbooked until the 6th. She is on a train back to Florence right now. Hopefully she will be able to fly out from London sometime tomorrow. She has had a really rough day with no sleep since 2 nights ago, so please pray that for her safety as she comes back tonight, and as she ventures out again tomorrow.

Also pray for Jim and Louine Woodroof, David's parents, who will be boarding a plane any minute now to head to Florence! They will be here visiting for about 3 weeks, and we are all very excited!

David and Debbie loved the lesson plans for our kids' class! We all got a lot of work done today in the classroom to get it ready to be used for the kids and for the annual Men's Convention that will be held here in a couple of weeks. In going through everything, we even found some great puppets in great condition that we can use!

Cultural tip of the day: Do not assume that you can move to Italy and paint the inside walls of your house any color you would like. Upon entering the paint store, you will be asked what the paint will be used for. The store owner will then decide whether or not he will sell you the paint color that you want. In most cases, he will not. He will then choose the color he thinks your room (that he has never seen) shall be. Probably white, or a variation thereof.
Brought to you by: The Woodroofs, who learned this this tip through several trips to the paint store while painting the Bible School.

Meet Nancy!
She is rather difficult to photograph because she is so fiesty. I had trouble getting her sweet little eyes. She and Mario came to the Bible School to have lunch with us today.

Goodbye Emily :(

It's going to be so hard to see people come and go. Emily left today, and we are so very sad. She is so sweet, and will be missed very much. She and three of her friends plan to join the Avanti program next year! Keep them all in your prayers as they make their plans.

Since David was busy taking Emily to the train station, that meant that Chad and I had to brave the elements on our own on the busses to the Thursday night Bible study at the church building. Dark, cold, rain...well, sprinkles anyway :) It was not bad at all! We didn't even get lost! I actually understood a lot more this week in the study, but I think Nancy fell asleep.

Anna Maria left to visit her husband in Catania this weekend. Pray that she has a safe journey there and back.

Chad and I spent most of the day preparing lessons for the 7-10 year old class we will be teaching here at the Bible School. We will be presenting our ideas in tomorrow morning's meeting with David and Debbie. After that, we will be preparing the classroom for classes!

Exciting New Stuff!

We have been hard at work today! David, Debbie, and Emily started working on the Bible School long before Chad and I arrived. They painted, cleaned, rearranged and everything else you can think of! Today, we continued that process by moving furniture all over, and up and down the 3 flights of stairs. I can't take too much credit, though. The boys did most of the heavy lifting while Debbie, Emily, and I pushed furniture across the marble floors :)

I have added a link that you will see if you look to right left side of my blog <--- It is another blog I have created especially for Debbie's monthly Avanti Italia Newsletters! Click here to see it!
Also, for all of you who are on Facebook, a special group has been created by David, Debbie, and Emily for information, news, and updates specifically for Avanti Italia. I have been told that all you have to do is sign into your account, and search for the Avanti Italia group! It is an open group, so everyone who is interested is free to join.

Tonight