Il Castello a Austria ~ The Castle in Austria

Thanks to the generous gift of a sister in the Lord, who knew I would get to know people in the congregation better and practice my Italian, I'm still savouring the afterglow of our recent CC Montebelluna church retreat in the Austrian Alps.


"Rapunzel, Rapunzel..."

I wasn't too sure how well I would sleep in a dorm room with 9 other women and girls, but it turned out to be quite peaceful.  My lower bunk bed was closest to the bay windows, which nobody seemed to mind me keeping open all night to breathe the cool, fresh air. What a multitude of brilliant stars twinkling in the pitch black sky ~ and a very bright moon that chose my pillow to illuminate in the middle of the night, waking me up much annoyed. Then I realized it was God making His presence known, and smiled. There's something very reassuring knowing "His eye is on the sparrow", especially when the bat flew in and soared around!

Early mornings in the prayer tower, rich fellowship over shared meals, singing songs of praise, precious words of wisdom from the Word, long walks along the lake, and lots of quiet time with the Lord.  Heaven on earth.

Window Seat, Please!

La Mia Nonna ~ My Grandmother

This morning, I decided to read all of the red letter words of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke.  When I came upon Him sending out His disciples in chapter 9, I was suddenly reminded of my grandmother.  But why?  How strange.  Then I realized that my grandmother had been the first person to share Jesus with me.

As a little girl, I spent many an overnight at grandma's house.  Bedtime there was special.  From the dresser drawer, she'd pull out a very plain, black notebook binder filled with torn out magazine pages of Bible stories she'd read to me.  Then we'd look at a Little Golden Book of Prayers together.  My favorite illustration was of a blonde-haired girl kneeling at her bedside praying with her head bowed.  I think my grandma and I both thought of her as me.

Then at the ripe old age of nine or ten, I discovered choice.  Grandma was always ready to drive all the way down the hill on Sundays to take my younger brother and me all the way back up the hill to her Presbyterian church, which was only a block away from her house.  But sometimes, if we hadn't already chosen to go to the horseraces with our Irish grandfather instead, we'd sneak out of the house to go fishing before she arrived.

When Halloween rolled around, I thought my grandma was really mean.  While all of the neighbors would greet us costumed trick-or-treaters with loads of candy (except the dentist who gave out disappointing toothbrushes and toothpaste), my grandma's house was always dark.  Curtains drawn closed.  Front porch light turned off.  Universal signals to all trick-or-treaters not to bother ringing the doorbell.  But one time, I did.  I was sure she was inside.  Hiding.  I rang, but she didn't answer.  I was so hurt.  It was me!  Didn't she know?  Didn't she care?  Only decades later did I understand why she'd left those silly candles glowing in her picture window: to shine His light into the darkness.  Today I hate Halloween.

Thank you, Lord, for my grandma.  For sharing her faith in Jesus with me.  For reading me Bible stories, and teaching me how to pray.  For providing me with a solid foundation upon which to land when I fell at His feet after a lifetime of wild and crazy days of disobedience.

"Train up a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not depart from it."
(Proverbs 22:6)

The Hills Are Alive!

Montebelluna lies at the foot of the "pre-Alps".  South are the flat plains to Venice.  North are the Dolomite Mountains.  And here in between?  Hills.  Lots and lots of hills.  To explore.  And I've finally started.  After only 8 months.  In the hottest month of the year, August.  Of course.

Armed with iPod music, fully-charged camera, journal & pen with enough ink to write as much as I want, factor 30 sunscreen, and water bottle, my 5-year-old tennis shoes and holey jeans help me conquer the surrounding terrain covered with vineyards, churches, cornfields, and fruit trees. I even discover some caves in the rock cliffs that were used from 1915-1918 to hide personnel and supplies during WWI.

 

My second day out, the only goal is to locate the big canal at the base of the Montello, the biggest hill in our area.  That too easily accomplished, I decide to forge ahead. 

2 hours later, I find myself thinking of the great walker St. Francis of Assisi and of Martin Luther, who walked all the way from Germany to Rome...and back again!  3 hours later, I walk into a coffee bar in another town.  To buy a bus ticket home.  

When I tell the barista I've just walked from Montebelluna to Giavera del Montello, his very green eyes grow very big as he exclaims, "You walked 12 kilometers!"  There's something kind of satisfying about impressing a young Italian guy who once ran a pizza place on an American base in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

I Battesimi ~ The Baptisms

You know you're in Italy when...the Sunday afternoon church picnic suddenly transforms itself into a sumptious banquet feast under the canopy of trees along the rocky shores of the Piave River.

  And all to celebrate the precious moment in which 8 believers make a public declaration of their faith in Jesus Christ!

 

Pastor Mark Nigro
CC Treviso

Pastor Craig Quam
CC Montebelluna

 



Andiamo a Auronzo!

Dean, Silvana, Gigi, Gabriella & Emanuela

Pastor Dean drove us up to Auronzo, a small lakeside town in the Dolomite Mountains, two hours north of Montebelluna. 

Although we went to bless a sister in the Lord, we all came back blessed ourselves.  Che bel giorno!

Silvana's an artist.  She was also once the Director of 200 Avon ladies!  Now she's returned to the mountains of her youth to help caregive her 80-year-old brother, who used to be a champion skier.  Now he has Alzheimer’s.  This is no easy task for a very independent, single woman. 

Please pray for the Lord to provide Silvana with the strength, patience, stamina and rest she needs as well as for Him to show us practical ways in which we might encourage her.  And please pray for Emanuela to know the love of Jesus as she's been seeking the truth for a very long time.

Learning La Lingua

Olive Shop at Treviso's Outdoor Market

I love that the Italian word for language is the same as the Italian word for tongue.  Too bad things can't always be as simple as that!

Attending a private Italian language school full-time for six months was easy compared to mustering up the boldness and courage it takes to engage with real live Italians in real life situations.

Some days I understand almost everything I hear.  Other days it’s as if there’s cotton stuck in my ears.  I never know into which sort of day I’m going to wake up.  And did you know that each place has its own dialect?  So much for all that Dante’s Italian I studied. 

All of this can be a bit frustrating for someone who loves conversation, and wants to get to know the locals. But the truth is, I speak too much English. No wonder the most popular secular advice is to find an Italian boyfriend. 


You Laughing at My Italiano?

Piano, piano (slowly, slowly) I improve.  Thanks to not being afraid to make mistakes, patient listeners, and mostly the help of the Holy Spirit...who was definately by my side at a recent dinner party where animated Italians spoke in rapid fire Italian for over 3 hours about Italy's favorite subject: food!

Slow Summer Movement

I find myself floundering a bit sometimes as I’m no longer doing the things I’m used to doing during the school year.

Bible College and “English Time” are on break until September, and my private English lessons have trickled down to nothing as Italians shift their focus to holidays in the mountains and at the seaside. 

MY plan was to make the most of this downtime by somehow getting to California, but the Lord had other plans for me.  He often does.

Now my constant prayer is for Him to make me a good steward of His time this summer.

English Time ~ Spring 2012

Crazy Chairs!

Thanks to CC Treviso sharing their English Club program with us, we had a foundation from which to launch a conversational English club at CC Montebelluna. 

Meeting every Thursday night for six weeks, we saw many new relationships formed and existing ones deepened in the congregation.

The Lord also stretched people outside of their comfort zones; and all survived. Here are two brave Bible College students trying their hands at something new.



Sharon Translating

Johanah Teaching English




Several local Italian elementary school teachers came to visit “English Time”. One of them invited us into her classes!  So in teams of three, we volunteered our native speaker skills to help public school students practice English. 

 

Praying now for another "English Time" and being volunteers in the local schools come Fall Semester starting in September!




Volunteering With Jake & Dean

 

CC Montebelluna Bible College ~ Spring 2012

When the Lord suddenly moved me from Treviso to Montebelluna this past December, I had no idea that Calvary Chapel Montebelluna had been praying for Him to grow their team.  Nor did I know that I would be one of several missionaries He would bring here, all at about the same time!

 

What a privilege it was to teach my first class at the Bible College.  “Biographical Sketches” focused on the lives of seven single women missionaries of The Great 19th Century. I hope the students learned as much as the teacher!

 

Here we're on a one day trip to Trento, which you may recognize as Trent, where the Roman Catholic Church councils met to clarify doctrine in response to the Protestant Reformation.

CONGRATULATIONS to the three graduates of the Class of Spring 2012 ~ two of whom enjoy the added distinction of being the first Italians to be graduated from CC Bible College of Italy.  Bravi!