Family Retreat in Velletri

Around half past nine last Friday morning, Eric and I, along with Franco, Mino, and Anna Maria, set off for the family retreat in Velletri (the same place where the women's retreat was held in February).

A little over halfway there, we stopped to visit a woman who was baptized 11 years ago. She is the only christian in her family and she lives in this little town pictured above. The church she attends has an interesting story, and I wish I would have snapped a picture of the building itself. Apparently, Franco told us that it used to be a old abandoned building out in the country. A few years ago Franco and a few other men of the churches in the south of Italy somehow heard about this church ( this is one of the times where my lack of Italian comprehension fails me), and they decided to fix it up! As of now it is still very small, only about 7 members, but at least now there is a place to attend! Isn't it incredible what we can take for granted? Can you imagine being a newly baptized Christian with no where to go and worship?

Almost there!

Velletri was beautiful this time of year! Everything was blooming and the sun stayed out all weekend!

The resort site.

The little girl on the left is named Karen. She and her family are from Colombia. Their room was across from ours and we were able to talk with them over the weekend. They have been in Italy for about 14 years now. The little girl was incredibly sweet. The other little girl on the right is named Amelia. Her parents are American missionaries living and working in Padova, Italy. They have been here in Italy for about 7 years now, and they also have a one year old little boy.

I believe this song is called (when translated) "Christ Will Come with Me," isn't it beautiful?

The boys! We were so happy to get to see Joele and Viktor again from when we last met at Bologna! Joelle is on the back left, he is from Rome. Viktor is from Aprilia, which is also very close to Velletri. On the far left is Francesco, who came with us from Taranto =)

Getting ready for one of the lessons... the theme for this weekend was the Economic Crisis and God's Providence.  In my opinion it is an interesting topic for a family retreat. However, in Italy during this time it is very difficult to find work. There are many families without jobs and the economy is suffering. It was encouraging to hear what the men had to say in their lessons. One of the verses that sticks out in my memory the most from the weekend is the later half of Hebrews 13:6,

"Never will I leave you, Never will I forsake you." 

Fabrizio

Luca

Bellissima Anna Maria 

Stefano Spina. 

The second day of the retreat,  the girls from the AIM program in Prato had planned to come and provide a program for the kids. Right before the services started around 10 am, we received a phone call saying that the van had shut down and that they weren't able to make it! So, the two American missionary moms, me, and Innead (another American missionary), went out to see what we could do! There were zero books, crayons, paper, lesson plans, or puppets. Innead split the kids up into three groups based on their ages. My group was the age in the middle, the 8 and 9 year olds. We read the creation story and then I tried to translate a creation song that I knew in English for them to learn on the spot! It was fun  . . .  and entertaining.

After about 45 min of our lesson, we decided to let them all play a little before it was time for lunch.

I cant remember the name of the little girl on the left, but the next one is Laura, and the last one is Julia. Julia is the daughter of Stefano and Rina. Laura is the sister of our friend Andrea (from Rome), who we got to see in Bologna a few weeks ago. 

While the change in weather is nice, spring time for me is always a nightmare. Sadly, I am allergic to grass, trees, flowers, and most definitely pollen. While the girls and I were out playing, I was sneezing so terribly that I could not catch my breath and had to go inside for awhile to recoup. I was probably in the cafeteria for about 20 min, when I heard little footsteps running up the steps, and I saw one of the little girls who told me I had to come with her immediately because she found something she wanted me to take a picture of. . . any guesses what it would be?

A PUPPY!

Somehow this sweet little dog found our resort and a lot of love from 7 little kiddos =)

Mollina (as they finally decided to call her) looks like a queen in this picture!

At lunch with Amelia showing off her missing two front teeth.

Eric made a new friend. Ha. This is Noah, he is the son of the American missionaries, Heather and Roger, who are working in Pistoia. His Italian totally blew my mind. In fact, at breakfast on Saturday, he was speaking to an older Italian man in the buffet line, when all of the sudden he saw me and immediately switched to English. The Italian man stood staring at him and asked "Are you Italian or American?"; followed by, "You speak better Italian than I do." Ha!

The monster face.

After lunch and a little time to relax, the boys got together to play soccer.

This chorus is a group of members at the Aprilia Church of Christ.  

It's hard to find them in this picture, but Sergio and Franca are a part of this chorus! If you remember, we stayed with them at the very first youth retreat in Aprilia- back in November.  It was great to get to see them again! In November, we had only been in Italy for a little over 2 months, so when we stayed with Sergio and Franca, communication consisted of sign language and a few rounds of gestures. This time it was so nice to be able to speak with them! =)

Stefano giving his lesson.

Franco giving his lesson. Eric and I always love listening to Franco. When he teaches, everything always points directly toward Jesus. Not toward the church, or what he or anyone else thinks, but to Jesus. This is so refreshing. At one point he put up on the screen all the questions that we want answered to our "unfair" problems surrounding the economical crisis or problems in general. The next slide was a picture of the hands of Jesus being nailed to the cross. Powerful. He also showed a picture of when Marco and Francesco were baptized last summer at camp. Francesco gave this testimony when he asked to be baptized: "I came to turn this camp upside down, but Jesus turned my life upside down."

Viktor and Francesco giving the Lord's Supper.

Stefano and his wife Rina lived and worked as missionaries in Taranto for many years. They are originally from Catania Italy (much further south Italy, on the smaller island where Sicily is). Five years ago, they moved back to their home town, and they now live and work there. They have done a lot of good work in and around Taranto for the Lord, and we have heard so many wonderful things about them. It was a great pleasure to finally get to meet them. 

Meet Innead and her husband. They are Americans who have been living and working as missionaries in Italy since 1964. In the mean time, they have raised a family who have now all went to the states, leaving Innead and her husband her in Italy. When I look at them, now that I have  a little bit better understanding of what it means to work as a missionary in a foreign land, I cant help but think of the words Jesus said in Matthew 10:37-39 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever looses his life for my sake will find it."

Thank you to everyone who is keeping us and the work in Italy in your prayers. I will be honest and tell you that it is not always easy being so far from our families and what we knew to be "normal" in America. However, we know that you are praying for us, because it shows! We are beginning to feel more relaxed, at ease, and joyful here. Our language is coming along, as well as our comfort with our new friends, the city, and church family here in Taranto. Most importantly, we are learning how to really desire and rely on God's strength and wisdom to lead us here in Italy. It's amazing the things we have witnessed; the hearts and lives that we are now a part of in the name of Jesus.

Please continue to pray for all of us here working in His service.

"As the Father has loved me, so I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one other than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:9-13