In Fair Verona

Last Monday, Joel, Melody, and I went on an adventure to Verona...and what a grand time we had! The air was crisp and fresh, the streets and sidewalks not nearly as crowded with tourists like Venice.

Below is their Arena, one of the most well-preserved ampitheaters in the world. Opera performances are still held there today.

We enjoyed lunch in a beautiful piazza, where the next three pictures were our surroundings as we ate a delicious meal outside... 

We then walked to Piazza delle Erbe, where we were able to go up into a tower to see the city. I believe it was the Lamberti Tower...we paid to ride a lift part of the way up, then continued up the stairs to get to the top. It was breathtaking! Not just walking up the stairs, but the view! :)

See the mountains in the distance?!

And so much green...beautiful!

There is pink marble all over Verona...like these stairs are made out of.

We stopped by Juliet's house, of course.

The window...

We then ventured on to Castelvecchio, a 14th-century fortified castle...

which had the most beautiful moat I've ever seen!

I was quite intrigued with these intricate posts at the top of this railing.

The view of the Aldige River was beautiful from a bridge adjoining the castle...

Here I am on the bridge...

The bridge and castle are made from red bricks.

What a wonderful time we had in beautiful Verona! 

"But You, O LORD, are a shield for me,
My glory and the One who lifts up my head."
Psalm 3:3

We're all learning...

As you can imagine, the kids I'm working with are precious. Yes, I'll let you see for yourself! :)

When they arrive, we start with snack time.

Then we move to group story time....by the end of the week and usually sooner, the older children can read the story to the other children.

We then split up into individual classes, based on their reading/English skills. Here is my class! Melody and I work with this group. They aren't all pictured because some of them don't come everyday. Having different children each day makes it a bit more difficult to plan lessons and all move along smoothly together, but we make it work!

We teach them a Bible story each week, a memory verse, and usually talk about different vocabulary words from the story. Then we do different activities to teach them phonics and work on English and reading skills. They have special workbooks they're working on, and we also have A Beka readers to go over together. They enjoy doing flash cards, games, and reading stories to us. Since they only come on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 4-6:30 pm our time seems to go pretty quickly.

This is Junior...he is so eager to learn! I love seeing his face as we're reading a new Bible story, and even the way he lights up as I turn over a new flash card. He loves to learn, and gets so excited when he gets a word right or remembers something from the story. Our kids are doing great at remembering their phonics, and sounding words out to read stories on their own.

The last part of our time together is spent dancing and singing to kids music videos, usually Hillsong Kids Live Worship. They love it! Melody & I are still trying to learn all the actions and words to the songs from Maira, who has helped with the after-school program for the past 2 years. The kids know the songs so well they could practically teach us!

Melody and I planning our lesson and getting everything prepared. We've also been working on making lots of flannel pictures to go with new books Patti brought back from the States.

Like I said, they are precious!

Just in case you were wondering...

Yes, the after-school program has started! I just don't have pictures to post yet. I'm working on it! It's going well. So far we've had about 12 kids. We have snack, group storytime, then break into different classes and go over a Bible story and memory verse each week, and work on phonics, reading, A Beka curriculum, etc...We also pray together and have a time of praise, where the kids get to dance to Hillsong kids videos. They get so excited, and do such a great job remembering all of the actions to the songs.
I'll post more later about this later...and children's church, because I've started helping with that too.
Ciao!

Venice!

Last Monday, Maira, another girl here named Vana, myself, Joel, & Melody took a little trip to Venice. It still seems a bit unreal that I live only about 30 minutes away from such a tourist hotspot. I didn't even really know what to expect. I have heard so many things from people who have been to Italy, but it's been an entirely different experience for me...actually living and "working" here. It was a gorgeous day in Venice...we couldn't have asked for better weather--thank You, Lord! Sunshine, no rain, beautiful! I must say, Venice is one of the most unique places I have ever been. I guess I thought there would be one main canal with buildings along it. I had no idea there were canals going throughout all the buildings...utterly amazing. To watch people step out their back door into their boat, to have gone the entire day without hearing a car or even seeing many bicycles, to see clothes out to dry...over the water! It really was a very enjoyable day. We took in some sights, stopped into a few shops, and took some time to just chat and relax by the water. Thank you, Lord, for a beautiful day, wonderful friends, and for this opportunity we've been given to get to know and fellowship with one another.
"Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done!"
Psalm 40:5

Here are Joel & Melody, a lovely American couple who are here helping at ICF until the beginning of December. It has been such a blessing to get to know them and serve with them.

This is the tower where Galileo studied and made various discoveries

Boats in their "backyard"

You see all the clothes hanging out on the lines...over the water!

I visited the first ghetto...and learned "ghetto" actually had a different meaning then than how I've heard it used. Ghettos were where the Jews were forced to live.

Here in this first ghetto, they now have plaques remembering the horrors of the Holocaust and the many Jews who were persecuted and killed.

Hopefully you can read the English on the sign:

Men, women, children, masses for the gas chambers

Advancing toward horror beneath the whip of the executioner

Your sad Holocaust is engraved in history

And nothing shall purge your deaths from our memories

For our memories are your only grave

The city of Venice remembers the Venetian Jews who were deported to the Nazi concentration camps on December 5th, 1943 and August 17th, 1944.

It's hard to believe there are people who say this never happened. It's very real seeing the reminders here.

"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved."

Romans 10:1

Getting settled

My first church service here in Padova at International Christian Fellowship was great! It was such a privilege to worship with those from so many different cultures and parts of the world. I've been meeting Albanians, Nigerians & other Africans, Brazilians, Filipinos, Italians, Chinese, as well as those from England and America...and I'm sure I left some out! I'm learning so much just getting to know all of these wonderful people. It's such a joy to worship with them, talk with them, and get to know more about them and their culture.
Praise the Lord I have people here to "show me the ropes." I've been to the market a couple of times, thoroughly enjoyed a tea party with some of the ladies from church, survived riding a bike to and from several places around the city, taken the bus once, and of course, I've done lots and lots of walking everywhere! :) Without being able to speak/read the language, it's been a bit intimidating for me to get out and about. But God has provided such amazing people to help me in my time of need. I'm even taking Italian lessons once a week from a university student who goes to our church. I've enjoyed delicious meals, some Italian, some Albanian, Filipino, and an American woman in the church even made chili the other day! I've been blessed to be a part of a student group (even though I'm not a student anymore) that is made up of some university students here in Padova. I've been told that Padova is called "A City of Students"...there are over 60,000 students here. The University of Padova was the second university ever established in Italy, and is one of the oldest in the world...Galileo taught there. I went on a prayer walk with the student group, and we prayed over different buildings, for the students and the faculty. The campus is spread throughout the entire city of Padova...with classes being held in numerous different buildings.

Here are some photos of Padova...

Prato della Valle, the largest square in Italy and one of the largest in Europe.

People call the tower in the distance Galileo's tower, although Galileo never actually used this observatory. He used the tower in Venice, which you can see in my next post.

Statues like these, especially the lion on the top are seen all over Padova. Anytime Venice conquered an area in Italy, they put up their lion statue.

And here I'm standing on part of the "Roman road." When this restaurant was digging to make their basement, they discovered this portion of the Roman road...it's so neat that they decided to cover it so people can still see it while they're eating here.

My First Outing

Three days after I arrived, Patti (one of the missionaries I'm serving with here) decided to take myself and the other 2 MAPS volunteers on an outing to Cittadella and Bassano. We usually get Mondays off, so we're free to travel somewhere if we choose to. She wanted to spend some time with us, so she drove us to Cittadella first. It's quite the city. I'll let you see for yourself...

I read that Cittadella was erected in 1220, and the four gates correspond roughly to the points on a compass. The walls are still intact except for a stretch destroyed in the 16th century during the Cambrai war. Amazing!

Here are some photos from Bassano...I think what made most of an impression on me in this city was the devastation it has endured. That sign on the tree below shows the name of the person hung right there in 1944. There are more signs just like that one all along that street, either on trees or posts, remembering the lives of those who were killed there.

You can still see the bullet holes on the sides of these buildings.

I was still a little out of it since I had arrived only 3 days before we went on this little outing, but it was great to spend some time with Patti, as well as Joel & Melody, the other Americans who are here helping right now.

Adjustments

I'm trying to catch you up on this past week. I'm so grateful the Lord is with us through everything, and faithful to help us adjust. It's been more challenging than I expected. I was extremely sleep-deprived...I had only gotten about 2 hours of sleep the night before I flew out. I didn't sleep on the flight to Philadelphia or Venice at all either. Then when I arrived in Italy at 9 AM, everyone told me to stay up for that first day so I could sleep during the night. That all worked out great...except for the sleeping during the night part. I just couldn't fall asleep. Emotions, hormones, and exhaustion were still taking their toll. I was desperately missing everyone back home. My body was experiencing serious jet lag. For my first 96 hours here in Italy, I probably got about 8-10 hours of sleep. At times, my mind seemed to be going crazy. Negative thoughts, doubts, confusion....Each night I would get out my journal, open my bible, and spend time in prayer with the Lord. Verses like "My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word" took on a whole new meaning! My heart was very troubled, but He led me to the Rock that is higher than I. He draws me closer in the midst of heartache and difficulty. He has been faithful to reveal Himself to me and help me to adjust. Thank you all for your prayers!

One of the Lord's greatest blessings upon my arrival... this is Maira, my roommate. I am so grateful I didn't have to move into an empty apartment and live alone. She has immensely helped me adjust. I praise the Lord for you, Maira! 

Hello Italy!

Wow! I've officially been here in Italy for 13 days now. And what a journey it's been! My welcome was a bit rough. To my pleasant surprise, I arrived about an hour early in Venice and my 2 bags came out together soon after my arrival. I then proceeded to go to the area where I thought I would meet the missionary picking me up. After standing there for almost an hour, I decided maybe I was in the wrong place! I tried asking different people outside and inside the airport for help...to no avail. I tried calling on a credit card pay phone...it didn't work. I then tried not to panic as certain realizations set in...I was at Marco Polo Int'l airport alone with an American cell phone that didn't work. I don't speak Italian, I have no euros, and I don't even know what type of vehicle the missionary drives or where she would be parked! The one sure thing I knew to do--pray! I thanked the Lord that He goes before me and behind me. I asked Him to connect the missionary and I somehow. I thanked Him for His protection, guidance, and that the angels concerning me are guarding me in all my ways. It's really sobering to be in a foreign country alone, disconnected from everyone, but to trust in the assurance that He is always with me. You're probably wondering how the story ends, right? As I was leaving the "Help Desk" (reflecting on how I really hadn't been helped at all), I saw Patti standing there. Her back was to me, but I just knew it was her. My tears welled up as she turned. All my exhaustion, emotions, and relief came flooding out as she said, "Sarah?" I just nodded and said, "I am so glad to see you." She told me she had been standing in that spot for the past hour...that she must've gotten there only about 10 minutes after I had already walked by that area.
Aren't you so grateful the Lord never leaves us or forsakes us? I am!
"For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways."
Psalm 91:11
"So we may boldly say: 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'"
Hebrews 13:6
"I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears."
Psalm 34:4

Superior Support

As I prepared to leave for Italy, I had such an outpouring of love and support. Here are some glimpses of my fundraiser luncheon. This was just one of the many ways in which my dear friends and family provided me with abundant encouragement and support. I am SO grateful to everyone who helped, attended, and contributed. I wish I could picture all of you, but the pictures would be endless! Glory be to God for His goodness and provision!