Permesso di Soggiorno in hand...and other fun things from Italia!

OH MY!! What a week!

News Flash!!! TODAY Mark and I picked up our Permesso di Soggiorno cards... only took 3 hours. But now we are official - and officially finished with the Questura. At least until we have to take the girls back....

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I guess in total, it has been 10 days that we have been going non-stop. We have packed and unpacked 3 times and celebrated both girls’ birthdays (Italian style!) We have taken trains, buses, rental vans, taxis, and walked many miles. God has shown us His grace, His beauty, and His timing in all of it. I will do my best to be brief as I catch you up on the latest happenings.

New Staff Training:

Sunday morning (9/26) 8 of us piled into a rental van and headed out to a little farm outside of Sienna to have our new staff training. All together, there were 18 of us including our trainers. We had great times of devotion and worship, and we learned more about Agape Italia. Also had some time to just talk about - and work through -some of our “issues” about living here. Indeed, there are days when it’s so hard we just want to pack up and get the next plane home. Then we remind each other that God has called us here and He has a purpose in it. One quote we heard (from a man who has served here for over 20 years) was that, “Italy will strip you of everything but Jesus.” Wow.... I have to say we have felt this to some degree. It was good to hear that the things we have felt are not uncommon.

Milano:

We got home Wednesday afternoon and on Thursday morning I left for Milan. There I had two straight days of meetings to talk about “Magdalena” strategy. Our support staff from Orlando is here this week, so they met with Kylie, Elfi, and me. We also met with the ladies from Milan who were instrumental in putting on the premiere there last April. They have huge hearts to see this film bring enlightenment and change in Italy as it relates to the dignity of women here. We had a wonderful time with our new National Director, Franco Bosio and his wife, Maria. They have joined us in our excitement about distributing the film here in Florence at Christmas and then an Italy-wide distribution on March 8th. (More on this strategy later) Franco is one of the most expressive and passionate believers I have ever met. So thankful to be working alongside him and the whole team!!

Got home late Friday night... yes, LATE!! When Kylie and I tried to buy our train tickets at the station, the tickets were sold out. So we had to take a later train that went to the sketch (yes, I said it!!) station in a different part of town. Thankfully, the amazing Gary Runn came and picked me up since there are no buses and it was 10 PM. While waiting in the Milan train station I was thinking how people can be categorized by their treatment of pigeons.... It all started when the man sitting next to me in the long row of cold, metal chairs decided to throw his pizza crust out on the ground for the pigeons to eat. You can imagine the mayhem when the birdies saw what he did. But the problem was, this was right where people had to walk to get to their train connections. So, there are the Dodgers, the Scardie-cats, the Kickers (you know who you are!!), the Oblivious, the Annoyed... you get the picture. Great way to pass an hour delay in case you are ever in this situation.


Tanti Auguri!!:

Saturday morning dawned early! My sweet new friend, Laura, insisted that she have a little birthday party for Emily and Grace. I wanted to help her get ready and so we made plans for me to meet her at 10:30. When I arrived at her house she had switched the plans on me, and instead was taking me to this very cool street down in the city with many shops. They call it “The street of 100 shops.” There we met up with another friend of hers named Cristina. She and her daughters would be joining us later at the party. So, instead of preparing for the party, we strolled the street and had coffee and I practiced my Italian. After we finished, she took me home. I asked her about helping and she said, “no... just come over at 4:30.” These people are so gracious!! 

We spent the afternoon with Laura and her family, Cristina and her family, and our staff friends, the Runns. There were also a few other teens there. We ate three different fabulous, home made desserts and the girls were sung to in English. Aside from the 50 mosquito bites Grace go out on the grass in their backyard, the evening was perfetto!!

Cinque Terre:

Two months ago I booked us a room in Riomaggiore - a quaint little beach town that is part of 5 little towns along the north/west coast of Italy. Course, we didnt know how busy we would be right now, but when I booked it I wanted to do something special for the girls’ birthdays. So, early Sunday morning we got up and went to the train station. Here, I have to confess that I got my family there an HOUR earlier than necessary... what was I thinking?? I dont know... but when we got there we thought the train was at 9:57 and it was at 10:57. They all just looked at me... deer in the headlights.... Thankfully, they are all so full of grace that we just raised our eyebrows and went to Micky D’s for an Egg McMuffin. We arrived in Riomaggiore around 1 PM and went through the tunnel as directed by Mario (the man we rented the room from.) He said he would find us at the end of the tunnel, and sure enough!! He did!! We spent most of the day hiking the trails and being amazed at God’s beautiful creation. I have to say, seeing and hearing the ocean were water to my soul. More unforgettable memories made with Mark and the girls!! I mean, we won’t soon forget the ocean views, the olive groves, the steep climbs, nor the slippery rocks. We might forget that the short train ride from the last terre to ours was 1.5 hours late while we shivered on the cold platform.... But we are getting kind of used to “Italy Time.” Stuff happens late - or maybe it’s just God’s timing. We are learning to relax and go with the flow. Those of you who know me well know that this isnt always easy for me. More sharp edges being filed away.