church camp and convegni PART2

. . . picking up where we left off...

right after church camp, a heat wave hit florence.. .  and in the middle of it, we decided to finally patch up our apartment walls and ceilings-- sure, maybe not the best timing, but around here, you have to use the time when you get it!

long story short, i learned that i prefer dry wall to cement walls!

 if you havent ever dealt with stucco walls count yourself fortunate! haha maybe most of you already know, but with concrete walls, when cracks appear, you must fix them by smoothing on stucco. after applying the stucco, you must wait 24 hrs for said stucco to dry. Next in the process, is sanding the stucco down until it is flush with the wall. then you must wipe down the walls with water to clear from the dust that is everywhere, paint on the primer, . . . . . and then you are finally ok to paint! This certainly was a long and physically demanding process when its just the 2 of you, but it was equally worth all of the effort. Our apartment finally feels a little like home. Hopefully all of this work will not be a benefit only to us, but also to whoever comes after us. 

Eric and I always try to consider how what we do, especially relating specifically to the school itself, will benefit whoever come after us. Its important that we remember that we are part of something much bigger than ourselves. 

Poor minnie!

all of this work took about 1 month to complete- we were able to patch up everything except the kitchen and our bedroom.  ( the kitchen needs more than what we can physically do ourselves ) during all of this, the dogs would follow us from room to room, im sure trying to figure out what in the world was going on! and because the whole place was a mess, at the end of every night, the dogs were covered in the white dust from the stucco! poor babies! 

While we were working on our apartment, the 4 workers worked on 2 other bedrooms upstairs. 

Miles patching up and repainting the second girls dorm room.

David and Meredith putting together the new armoir for the boys second bedroom.

After all the painting was complete, we finished up by replacing the old armoirs with new ones from IKEA. where would we be without you IKEA?!

to recap, so far, we have completed 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms (with the exception of new windows that we really need the funding for- it would be especially helpful if we could replace at least the back windows before winter to prevent the mold and moisture of growing and destroying all of our hard work). please email eric about this.

We are projecting to hopefully finish the upstairs with the help of a couple of groups that are coming summer 2016. Mainly the girls and boys large dorm rooms and hallways. please join us in prayer about our efforts to take care of this school that God has blessed us with. 

S T U D E N T S / studies / and friends

our monday night study is going so well! over the summer, we were few in number due to vacations and various obligations of the italians, but we still kept meeting together. Even though the group wasnt complete many of the studies, we still were being strengthened by the Spirit. He has made a beautiful bond between us and we are overjoyed and grateful for this. Monday night is quickly becoming our favorite night of the week! . . . since starting back the semester, we are growing in number. . .  it is a very exciting time :)

Giuseppe, Eric, and Esmeralda

Also during the summer, we began playing the game called "Ticket to Ride." After the Bible study, we would eat something small, and then play the game together.  its a fun game that still allows one to socialize while playing. it may sound a little silly, but this time together has really brought us together as a group! we have continued our dining and playing even into this new semester! 

W H A T   E L S E ? ? ?

A little highlight of our summer memories.

During the summer, we celebrated David's birthday by going to a Florentine soccer match as a team!

We were able to see sandra and her family often.  One of those evening together eric, Jodi, and i went to meet them near their house at the beaches in Pisa. after walking along the shore, they asked if we wanted to see the wild boars! i was obviously confused! but we followed along as they walked us down a boardwalk and we arrived at a restaurant. they said, just wait and watch, they will come. i thought maybe this was a joke seeing as how wild boars are both  W I L D  and dangerous! but on the contrary, there they were! it was night time, but as we waited, we saw them poke in and out of the bushes looking for bread that others had left them! i was stunned as this was all taking place 5 yards from a restaurant!!! (in the collage, the boar is pictured in the second small dark picture drom the left!)

Also pictured are the beautiful Dolomite mountains. To escape the hot temperatures, our sister from Taranto, Anna Maria, travels to this region every summer for the month of august. ( a 12 drive from Taranto ) we havent seen our Taranto family for such a long time, that we decided to go and visit Anna Maria in the mountains! we could only stay one night, but it was a blessing to get to see her and enjoy her company.

Another night, I received a txt from our sister in Pistoia asking if we wanted to come to the baptisim of her friend Vicenzo! Without hesitation Eric, Jodi, and I said YES! please keep our new brother in your prayers as well!

. . . .a few more memories :)

We also spent time with our students, out for dinner, a walk downtown, chit chatting together- it was all precious time enjoyed together. Andrea Masini is pictured in the previous collage with the wild boars, as well as the one above. he is our brother from Florence, and we make regular visits to brighten his day :) recently we are getting to know his wife a little better as well. Please keep them in your prayers. You also see a small red picture of me with two of the teen christian girlies- Beatrice and Laura. They were traveling through florence and Jodi and i were thrilled to be able to spend a day with them! 

The new Library.

Lastly, We want to show you what we worked on in the library. After cleaning it out when we first arrived a year ago, we found a couple of folders and shoe boxes with the most amazing photos. The photos were from when the school first began back in the late 60's as a Bible school for italian christians. we loved going through the photos! we decided that the history of the school should be displayed for all to see and appreciate! we started with this wall in the library and hope to continue in this effort as we take care of and update the rest of the school. 

looking through the pictures and articles, i was greatly encouraged by the efforts of so many others who have came before us to do this same work.. . all for the glory of the Lord. Just as i was saying above, its important to remember that the work we are a part of here at the school is something much bigger than ourselves. something orchestrated by the Holy God whom we serve. we are so so so grateful to be in His service.

can you find Minnie?

believe it or not, there is a Part 3! Part 3 Florence Youth Retreat is coming  S  O  O  N ! i cant wait to tell you about all of the ways we were blessed by these kids.

Love you all! 

xoxo

E and J

church camp and convegni PART1

ciaoooo tutti!

JUMPING IN

classes officially start back this coming week. while the summer semester brings different opportunities to travel and with different churches and partake in "convengi" ( italian word for "retreats" ) , i for one am ready to jump back into the swing of things here at the school!

picking up where we left off, immediately after returning from the states, we were on the road again . . .  this time to church camp!

C H U R C H  C A M P

church camp is held just outside of a small town called "Ascoli" near rome. the camp is held high up on a twisting mountain in a remote village named "meschia". Meschia is so small there isnt even a stop light. . .  just to paint the picture. We are surrounded  by woods, stars, and wild boars alike.

in years past, they have separated the kids according to age and facilitated 2 weeks of camp. this year, it was all ages combined. however, reflecting on what we have been noticing in the other retreats, attendance was low this year- barely 50 in attendance. . .and remember, this is a church camp for the entire country. definitely a different reality than to what most of us relate our church camp experiences.

i'll be very honest and say we were all disappointed with camp this year. its difficult to see the "gray" in the youth. personally, as previously stated, i believe a lot of this to be due to the society in which we live today. the new age philosophies, post modernism glorification of man, and.... technology. yep, technology. the kids are grappling trying to live among all of this.  its hard for them. a lot of times, they feel alone. they love God. they believe, but they feel so different and alone at times. so when they come to these retreats, they are excited, and at the same time, im noticing that its confusing for them. in a world where everything is compartmentalized, its difficult for them to embrace following Christ fully - not an uncommon problem for any of us in one way or another if we're completely honest with ourselves. 

its hard for any teen to understand being in the world but not of it, but especially if you are the only teen in your church, town, city, school, group of friends ... its disheartening bc we as Americans are beyond blessed, even if you think that you arent, in comparison with the rest of the world, we are - even if only by the virtue of being an American. one of the girls told me that she often imagined what it would be like to grow up in America- a big church, a big group of christian friends...but then she concluded by saying that she is now grateful that she wasnt born there. In italy, its a challenge for her to grow in her faith and to believe, and she's grateful for the struggle! how beautiful is that? 

Jodi and I volunteered to be the counselors for the teen girls ages 13-17.

the girls were great. as for me, being the adult isnt always fun, but its certainly always rewarding. i know i can say this also on the behalf of jodi, that we feel blessed to have spent the week with these young women. they are all different and unique, each with her own gifts and struggles, each loved deeply by our heavenly Father. sometimes in this work, a person can loose oneself, sometimes in ways that feel devastating, but then are times, when the goodness of the Father is almost too much to bear. When i think about the privilege we have to be in His service and to witness Him work tirelessly for the good in the lives of so many, i sit back and am overwhelmed. Our Father knows each of us deeply for who we are, for who He created us to be. He knows our strengths, our weaknesses, our fears, our dreams, bc He made us! to realize that He allows me to witness Him work in others as He simultaneously works inside of me is    b r e a t h t a k i n g   . im confident that He is at work in these girls, and its exciting to think about what the years ahead will bring.

while the age gap is obvious between jodi and me and the girls, it was fun to be let in our their music tastes and chit chats in the room during rest time :) one of our deeper talks lead to the modesty topic. this was interesting. we quickly learned that it is viewed as a "culture" issue, not a Biblical one here in italy. this was of course shocking at first. we gathered our marbles and began to talk with them about why it isnt a cultural issue. we talked about our bodies as living temples, self respect, boys, fashion, and future husbands. it was a little premature- they were still a little confused but they were listening. it was a good opportunity to have deeper talks with the girls and jodi and i were thankful for that!

S T U D Y 

Eric with Beatrice and Anna in the "boat". 

Each morning, the day would start off with singing and a small devo.

Another morning with David leading the devo.

Afterwards, the kids were split into different Bible classes. 

Anna, Dyan, and Laura 

David and Goliath

towards the end of the week, each class put on a skit that they had been working on all week. 

another one of my favs - The Good Samaritan

S P O R T S

In the afternoons, a lot of time was spent on sports.

Eric, Guiliano, Jeff,  and Miles helped orchestrate the sports and activities. .. we even built and brought our own corn hole games!  :)

While the older kids played sports, i soaked up some time with the little ones making bracelets, giggling, and talking about life ;)

A R T S and C R A F T S

materials used: shaving cream, food coloring, and card stock paper  = original hand dyed paper.

Jodi and i were also in charge of the arts and crafts, and it was no joke! the kids worked really hard and we made a lot of cool crafts! many thanks pinterest!

Modge podged tissue paper balloons made into lanterns!

looms, dyed paper, and wreath.

not pictured-we also made 3 tie blankets that we plan to take to the nursing home later this fall!

 L A T E  N I G H T  H I K E

Jodi and me and the girls! 

Every year, we all take a late night hike up the mountain. We stop at a grassy spot where we enjoy a devo while gazing up at the beautiful stars. 

all together :)

didnt our lanterns turn out good? eric and i brought back glow bracelets and passed them out to the campers before the walk. they also served as lights inside our lanterns!

"So we, who are many, are one body in Christ and individually members of one another."

Romans 5:12

This was the devo for that evening on the hillside. 

Marie and Minnie

church camp was a very unique experience. . .  but our Florence retreat that followed blew all of our expectations way out of the water! i hope to get part 2 of this post up before classes start on monday!

God bless each of you wherever you are and in whatever work you are doing for him!

xoxox

E and J