Around the world and back

Our flight for America was scheduled for June 8th. we would arrive that evening around 10, and be ready for Nathaniel and Ashley's Wedding (Eric's younger brother and newly wed wife) less than 48 hours later. 

The week before our scheduled take off day was certainly a blur! We had lunch with Ninetta. She is an elderly lady at the church in Taranto. I havent mentioned her previously, because up until this point that we have been in Taranto, she has been staying with her son and his family in Florence. Now she is back in Taranto for the summer. We also visited Anna Maria, had a "farewell Taranto" pizza dinner with our students, went to the beach with Fabrizio, Luca, and Andrea, and then ended with a great visit from our friend Earl Lavender. He and his family have worked in Italy for several years now, in fact Earl grew up here in Italy. It was a treat and of course a great encouragement for us to personally get to meet him and discuss the work here in Italy. Saturday night (June 4) we, Fabrizio and Luca, Earl, and the Verardi family all met right outside of Ostuni (the white city) for dinner and then enjoyed the night together with a stroll through the beautiful city of Ostuni.

Waiting on the Verardi's. . . oh the things we do together =)

Ostuni

Earl, Eric, Franco,and Luca

Earl, Anna Maria, Me, Eric, Luca, Mino, and Fabrizio

Me, Eric, and Earl

This is a photo of one of the underground restaurants that we passed during the night. Its not the best photo, but if you look closely you can see the restaurant below. They were so neat.

Anna Maria and Me

 Since Eric, I, and Earl are all from Ohio, we wanted to spread a little bit of Buckeye pride while we were together. . . O-H- . . ! =)

The photo above was taken the night of our arrival in Ohio. My birthday is June 9th, so we went ahead and celebrated a little that night. Here is Marie helping open my presents =) 

Eric's brother's wedding set the time frame for our first visit back to the states after 9 months of living halfway across the world. This first visit for us was a much needed recharge and a chance to relax and enjoy our families. We arrived late in the night on June 8th and were back in Taranto midnight of July 2nd. In total a three week stay. Because of the wedding and our families both being in Ohio, this trip ended up being an exclusive Ohio visit. We really wanted to program in a trip south during this visit, but we agreed in the end that we very much needed this time of rest. We are in the process now of planning a second visit to the states in December in which we will take a week to visit our other supporting congregations, both in Arkansas and West Virginia. ..so we are coming soon! we cannot wait to see all of you in the south and share all of the things we are witnessing and are learning here in Italy. 

The next day was going to be a very busy one. Because Eric was in the wedding party, he had plans to be with the groomsmen all day golfing, and we would meet later that evening for the rehearsal dinner. I also had plans to get a much needed haircut (after 9 months), and a visit to the dentist for a check up. All of this to say, I knew that during the day there wouldn't be much time for cake, so I decided to have it for breakfast =)

I want to say a few things about landing in America after being foreigners in country half way across the world for nine months. There was a certain sense of fear and anxiety leaving what has finally become "normal"  to us here in Italy. I would say about three weeks before we left for America, Eric and I began to feel differently here in Taranto. Instead of being the "Americans" living in Taranto, somehow, all of the sudden, we became one of them. Something changed inside the people here. It's not that we were ever not welcomed or not included, nothing of the sort, but we felt what we were, which is Americans living in a foreign country. This being said, while on one hand we were counting down the days for our return to America, on the other hand, we were sad! Because somewhere along the way, we had changed. We had become in a sense Italian.

I cant explain to you how, or when this happened, but I can tell you that it feels great, and it has made everything worth it. We have turned the corner, and are seeing many prayers being answered and experiencing lots of growth, not only in ourselves but everywhere around us. When you pray for us, please prasie God! And please pray for God to continue to use us here. There is so much work to be done. 

Boarding the plane for America was surreal. For nine months we had imagined what it would be like and how we would feel. Our trip was a long one- 17 hours in total including layovers and time changes. The night before our flight we drove to the Verardi's house in Latiano, because it was 45 min closer to the airport. The next morning, we were in Brindisi, then to Rome, Rome to NY, 9 hours later we landed in Columbus. 

Its a funny story bc we arrived and found no one to great us! We thought, well the plane is over 30 min early, so we went on to baggage claim, got our bags, and waited for another 20 min or so (which felt like an eternity). By this point we were getting curious, where are they?! We only had Euro change, a couple of American dollars, and no cell phone, but around the corner I saw a pay phone. 5 min later, after asking someone for change for a dlloa and feeling like I was in the dark ages without a cellphone on hand,  I see my dad riding down the escalator! They had been waiting upstairs around the corner where we first came in! In fact my sister had made us two giant big welcome home signs! Later, my mom was telling me that everyone who passed were saying things like aw, how nice! Wish that was for me! How sweet! haha, They had been looking throught the crowds for a half an hour while we were waiting down in baggage claim!

It was SO amazing to see my family. It was as if no time has passed. We picked up right where we left off, and it seemed as if the life Eric and I had in Italy was a different life completely. A strange sensation indeed. 

Believe it or not, it also was really difficult to speak English at first! With my parents we skype in English; Eric and I still talk in English, but with virtually everyone else we speak Italian. Coming off the plane the airline stewardess said something like Goodnight thank you for flying with us! have a great evening! I stood staring at her because my brain was so confused. What language are you speaking? My mind was wanting to translate, and then after much debate I would realize, oh wait, I already understood what she said...talk about a delayed response. This reverse effect lasted probably for the first week. 

Arent they a beautiful pair? It rained literally every day that we were in America. This is very unusal for Ohio. However, I think God had a hand in keeping the rain away from 5-8 pm on June 10th.

Mom and Dad

My little sister Hannah and Me

Can I just remind all of you who have siblings how lucky we are?! Hannah and I had the best time laughing and cutting up for three weeks. I have truely missed my sister.

This is Eric's sister Stephanie and her daughter Taylor.

Both of Eric's sisters together: Stephanie and Angie- come belle voi siete!

Eric and Angie

The kiddos =)

Eric e Io

After the wedding, there was more down time fore relaxing with our families. Eric enjoyed going golfing with the dads and his brother, while I enjoyed some shopping time with Mom and Hannah =)

This is me squeezing my Minnie.haha. Those of you who know us well, know that our pups are like our children... literally. When we left America the first time, we certainly we heartbroken. 

It was soooo awesome to see them again!

Marie and Eric

A fun experience we had was taking the dogs swimming one day...I think we enjoyed it a little more than they did. Within the first 5 min Marie jumped head first into the water and of coure went under. When she came up, the look on her face was priceless- it said get me out of here! We're still not sure what she was thinking when she dove in nose first. . . 

Another not so fun activity was having to retake our drivers licence exam again! Since our license had expired while we were living in Italy, we were aware that we would have to go to the BMV and pay to renew our licenses. What we did not expect was having to retake not only the written test but also the 

maneuverability! Aparently, the reason we had to retest was because our old licenses were out of Arkansas. Anyone who comes into Ohio as a "new resident" has to retake the driver's written exam, and if the previous license is expired, you have to take both. Who knew after all these years we would have to face those orange cones once again!

Also, while in America we played some put put ...

Went to Kung Fu Panda 3 at the drive in movie theater with the kids. . . 

ate some American food....

and some not so American food....

enjoyed Starbucks. . .

watched two star softball players. . . 

celebrated Father's day at Donnie and Gene's. . . 

went to the lake. . . 

presented the work in Italy. . . 

cooked and enjoyed a "real" italian meal together... 

had a sleepover. . . 

watched Trent turn 8 years old. . . .

loved on our girls. . .

and cherished every second with our families. 

We feel so fortunate to have had this time to recharge and remember what loving and supporting families we have at home. God certainly has richly blessed us. Thank you all for your prayers, love, and support that allows us to spread the love and name of Jesus here in Italy. 

"Your love has given me great joy and encourgement. . ." Philemon 1:7