“Piano la lumaca arriva a Gerusalemm”
Slowly, like a snail comes to Jerusalem....
This is what our new Italian teacher told me this morning when I said that I dont speak Italian well. She told me, “tranquilo” which basically means to “relax.” And that it is a slow process. But... like a SNAIL sliding to Jerusalem??? The girls and I almost had a huge laugh attack right there in classe!!
We like our new teacher, Ari. She is young and sweet and from Pisa. She takes the train every morning at 7:30 AM from Pisa to Firenze so she can teach Italian to people like us. All this, by the way, she explained in Italian. So, maybe I am actually learning something! We have with us in class this time two boys from Kosovo (ages 17 and 18) and a young man from South Carolina whose mom is Italian. Should be an interesting 5 weeks.
My Italian actually came in handy today in sharing the Gospel!! Some of you may know that we have a gelateria almost directly across the street. I haven’t actually counted the steps, but I would guess it’s less than 30 from door to door. It is owned and run by an older couple and their thirty-something son. The son’s name is Giuseppe, as we learned today. He speaks a little English, and loves to practice on us. So while Grace and I sat on the little patio outside his store, he came out and chatted with us. In a mixture of Italian and English (would that be Italish??) we talked about why we are here for this year. We told him that we were here to help distribute a film about Jesus, told from the perspective of Mary Magdalene. He asked if it was a romance. We told him it wasn’t, but that it was about Jesus and that He is God. Giuseppe was confused because he thought Jesus was the son of God only. At this point, Grace and I decided to tell him we would like to give him a copy of the film and he could watch it and we could discuss afterwards. Emily and Grace went back to the store with the dvd. He was so excited and grateful that he gave them free gelato!! God is so powerful, and so gracious that He allowed us to have this conversation today even though we only have 42 hours of Italian class under our belts. We may be moving at a snail’s pace, but God is putting people in our path as we slug along.
Slowly, like a snail comes to Jerusalem....
This is what our new Italian teacher told me this morning when I said that I dont speak Italian well. She told me, “tranquilo” which basically means to “relax.” And that it is a slow process. But... like a SNAIL sliding to Jerusalem??? The girls and I almost had a huge laugh attack right there in classe!!
We like our new teacher, Ari. She is young and sweet and from Pisa. She takes the train every morning at 7:30 AM from Pisa to Firenze so she can teach Italian to people like us. All this, by the way, she explained in Italian. So, maybe I am actually learning something! We have with us in class this time two boys from Kosovo (ages 17 and 18) and a young man from South Carolina whose mom is Italian. Should be an interesting 5 weeks.
My Italian actually came in handy today in sharing the Gospel!! Some of you may know that we have a gelateria almost directly across the street. I haven’t actually counted the steps, but I would guess it’s less than 30 from door to door. It is owned and run by an older couple and their thirty-something son. The son’s name is Giuseppe, as we learned today. He speaks a little English, and loves to practice on us. So while Grace and I sat on the little patio outside his store, he came out and chatted with us. In a mixture of Italian and English (would that be Italish??) we talked about why we are here for this year. We told him that we were here to help distribute a film about Jesus, told from the perspective of Mary Magdalene. He asked if it was a romance. We told him it wasn’t, but that it was about Jesus and that He is God. Giuseppe was confused because he thought Jesus was the son of God only. At this point, Grace and I decided to tell him we would like to give him a copy of the film and he could watch it and we could discuss afterwards. Emily and Grace went back to the store with the dvd. He was so excited and grateful that he gave them free gelato!! God is so powerful, and so gracious that He allowed us to have this conversation today even though we only have 42 hours of Italian class under our belts. We may be moving at a snail’s pace, but God is putting people in our path as we slug along.
See? I TOLD you that you were learning more Italian than you realized!!! SO cool about the guy at the gelato place---I will be praying for him!
ReplyDeleteLove you guys so much!
"Slug along"....assume pun was intended? :)
ReplyDeleteDude, love these posts and keep bringing the gospel to the people. Love it!
Ari was my language teacher!!! She's so sweet--you all are so lucky! Can't wait to see how you all've settled in--I'll be in Florence on Monday!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear the latest report! God is good.
ReplyDeleteLove it Les! And what a blessing to be across the street from Gelato, it could have been a butcher or worse! God is good and so creative! Good job on the Italian. That is the holy spirit intervening when you are talking. Great to know you are in the center of His will!
ReplyDeleteSo awesome and encouraging! keep them coming as God places these folks in your path (hope you are not leaving a slimy trail behind you...)
ReplyDeleteSo, was the "slugging along" really your reference to learning Italian or running? Hey man, would like to be with you on those runs...don't you just love the adventure? Even when hunted down by the "orange vests" goons. Gotta love it...
ReplyDelete