Ciao!
Well, our last week in Italy has finally rolled around. I must admit, I will be quite sad to go back home. Although it will be good to be back with friends and family, I will definitely miss the Italian culture and the people we've met here.
The plan of action for this week will be to meet with our Italian friends we've made. We will try to introduce them to the missionary staff that live here full time, so that they can follow up after we leave. Tomorrow night we will have an appertivi time (appetizers) at a local cafe that we have invited several of our friends to, as a way for them to also meet the staff. You can pray that students will be willing and able to meet this week before we leave.
On a fun note, tonight I got to go learn how to make several Italian dishes. A local cafe some of the staff know offered to teach our group how to cook. We learned how to make a broth, risotto, two different ragu sauces, two different types of pasta dough, as well as how to shape ravioli, tortellini, and several other pasta shapes. Best of all, we got to eat what we made- it was delicious!! I can't wait to get home and try out some of the new recipes.
Well, I will go for now. Love and miss you all!
-Kaila
Monday, June 22, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Buongiorno!
Well, it's been quite a week since I've last wrote. Our time here has been very exciting, as we've started to meet the students at the university. Wednesday, our first day on campus, we split into small groups. We used the picture cards to start conversation. Another day we also used some written surveys and a short film on the dvd players.
It's been a really cool experience to initiate conversations with the students (it's really made me get out of my box!). Students are very open and friendly when we talk to them. They love talking about their culture, where they are from, and they love to ask questions about American life too. A lot of times when we ask them what they think about God, they will say that God is good for other people but not for them. Many say they do not believe in God at all. Our questions about church bring responses of where a nearby cathedral is or that they attended only as a child. It is somewhat frustrating that so much of this generation of Italians has this idea. They lack the concept that you can actually have a relationship with God. It is my hope that the conversations we are having with the students will spark a curiosity to explore who God is.
There are several girls I have met this past week that you can be praying for. Maria Elena and Ciara are language students here at the university. Emily Wilson, another girl on our team, and myself have met with these girls several times to hang out and build a friendship. Yesterday we met with them and we talked about God and our relationship with Him. They were very attentive and asked some good questions. These are really awesome girls, so you can pray that their eyes will be opened to the amazing love God has for them.
I think I will sign off for now. Tomorrow our team is going to Rome for the weekend to see the sights. I'm pretty pumped, except for the fact that we have to leave our apartment at 6:45 in the morning to catch an early train. So for now, Arrivederci!
Well, it's been quite a week since I've last wrote. Our time here has been very exciting, as we've started to meet the students at the university. Wednesday, our first day on campus, we split into small groups. We used the picture cards to start conversation. Another day we also used some written surveys and a short film on the dvd players.
It's been a really cool experience to initiate conversations with the students (it's really made me get out of my box!). Students are very open and friendly when we talk to them. They love talking about their culture, where they are from, and they love to ask questions about American life too. A lot of times when we ask them what they think about God, they will say that God is good for other people but not for them. Many say they do not believe in God at all. Our questions about church bring responses of where a nearby cathedral is or that they attended only as a child. It is somewhat frustrating that so much of this generation of Italians has this idea. They lack the concept that you can actually have a relationship with God. It is my hope that the conversations we are having with the students will spark a curiosity to explore who God is.
There are several girls I have met this past week that you can be praying for. Maria Elena and Ciara are language students here at the university. Emily Wilson, another girl on our team, and myself have met with these girls several times to hang out and build a friendship. Yesterday we met with them and we talked about God and our relationship with Him. They were very attentive and asked some good questions. These are really awesome girls, so you can pray that their eyes will be opened to the amazing love God has for them.
I think I will sign off for now. Tomorrow our team is going to Rome for the weekend to see the sights. I'm pretty pumped, except for the fact that we have to leave our apartment at 6:45 in the morning to catch an early train. So for now, Arrivederci!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Hello friends!
I am so excited to finally be able to get on the computer! The apartment for us girls was not ready when we arrived, so we stayed in a hotel up until Sunday morning. Since we moved into our apartment though, we have Internet access at last. I will try to get on more frequently now :)
The plane ride went really well. We only had a little turbulence, so that was good. I was able to grab some naps throughout the flight as well, although when we arrived in Italy, I definitely was feeling major jet lag. All of our luggage arrived in one piece, which was a huge answer to prayer.
So far, Italy has been amazing. The food is soo good! We've eaten out quite a bit here at the beginning, and so far I have yet to eat at the same place twice, and each one has been absolutely delicious! (For example, artichoke, mushroom, and prosciutto pizza, pasta with pesto, and tortellini with bologenese red sauce. Gelatto is amazing too- so far my face is limone [lemon]). We've also gotten to experience some other aspects of Italian culture. Saturday some of us hiked up to San Luca. It's a chapel on top of a hill here in Bologna. The portico (covered sidewalk) leading up to San Luca is the longest portico in the world. Although the climb was quite strenous (maybe 4 miles up hill), the view was amazing. On one side you could see the Tuscan hills, on the other the Italian Alpines (Alps )- absolutely breathtaking!
Our team will be officially on campus starting Wednesday. Students have had exams and have been off from school for a holiday weekend, so Wednesday will then our day to start off. We will have several outreach strategies for the students, such as pictures cards with prompting questions and some short movies we'll show on portable dvd players. We've been learning from missionaries who live here in Italy that the Italians are very relational. However it takes a lot of time and trust to break through their barriers. I'm excited through to start meeting the students and forming these relationships.
Thank you again for all your prayers. Please continue praying that our team will be effective and have safety as we are here in Italy. Also pray that God will give us opportunities to meet students and share with them.
Love from Italia!
Kaila
I am so excited to finally be able to get on the computer! The apartment for us girls was not ready when we arrived, so we stayed in a hotel up until Sunday morning. Since we moved into our apartment though, we have Internet access at last. I will try to get on more frequently now :)
The plane ride went really well. We only had a little turbulence, so that was good. I was able to grab some naps throughout the flight as well, although when we arrived in Italy, I definitely was feeling major jet lag. All of our luggage arrived in one piece, which was a huge answer to prayer.
So far, Italy has been amazing. The food is soo good! We've eaten out quite a bit here at the beginning, and so far I have yet to eat at the same place twice, and each one has been absolutely delicious! (For example, artichoke, mushroom, and prosciutto pizza, pasta with pesto, and tortellini with bologenese red sauce. Gelatto is amazing too- so far my face is limone [lemon]). We've also gotten to experience some other aspects of Italian culture. Saturday some of us hiked up to San Luca. It's a chapel on top of a hill here in Bologna. The portico (covered sidewalk) leading up to San Luca is the longest portico in the world. Although the climb was quite strenous (maybe 4 miles up hill), the view was amazing. On one side you could see the Tuscan hills, on the other the Italian Alpines (Alps )- absolutely breathtaking!
Our team will be officially on campus starting Wednesday. Students have had exams and have been off from school for a holiday weekend, so Wednesday will then our day to start off. We will have several outreach strategies for the students, such as pictures cards with prompting questions and some short movies we'll show on portable dvd players. We've been learning from missionaries who live here in Italy that the Italians are very relational. However it takes a lot of time and trust to break through their barriers. I'm excited through to start meeting the students and forming these relationships.
Thank you again for all your prayers. Please continue praying that our team will be effective and have safety as we are here in Italy. Also pray that God will give us opportunities to meet students and share with them.
Love from Italia!
Kaila
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