ITALY!

So we have been here in Italy for almost two weeks. We are staying in a small town an hour out of Milan, called Casorate Primo. We are staying in a church so we are just sleeping on the floor in the sanctuary and cooking our own meals in the kitchen. We also don’t have showers so we go to one of the neighbour’s houses to use theirs. They have been so kind, letting us come in every other day or so and taking over. That is the only time we can use the internet as well, so I’m only able to get online for a couple minutes every few days. This church is really great.. it is a very active evangelical Baptist church among all the catholic churches in Italy. They are also connected with the YWAM base in Milan, which is just getting started.

Casorate Primo is probably the cutest little town ever. It is one of those places where everyone knows everyone and you can walk anywhere within a couple minutes. There are quite a few old people here and everyone rides bikes everywhere! They all have the cute little bikes with baskets on the front. We have also gone into Milan a couple times – such a nice city. The architecture is awesome, and there is a lot of history here. We saw the square where Constantine gave the speech that legalized Christianity, which is pretty cool. The one thing that is really interesting about Milan is that there is a lot of graffiti. It is everywhere! I kind of hate it and love it at the same time.. It sort of makes the place look dirtier, but then it makes a cool contrast between the old architecture and the crazy graffiti. Also, Milan is a fashion capital so everyone is dressed very well. There is so much good style here! The most important thing is the shoes.. there are stilletos everywhere – even when people are riding bikes. It can be pretty intimidating trying to talk to people because they just all look so cool! It is a way different vibe from SA, where everyone is open and laid back.

In terms of ministry, we actually haven’t been too busy. We are getting involved in everything the church is doing and we have also been going into the city to do evangelism. The church has this massive evangelical campaign in a couple weeks, where they are basically trying to reach every single person in the town and talk to them about God. It should be pretty cool to be a part of. What I have really enjoyed about this part of outreach is how we have really been included in the life of this church and these people. They have welcomed us into their family, which is really cool. And because this is such a small town, we are able to get to know a lot of people. I like being in this little town because we are able to see how real Italians really live. This is a tourist area and practically nobody speaks English so we have to use our terrible Italian and they try to speak as much English as possible. We are experiencing the real Italy :)

I really like Italy. I like their gelato :) And I am excited to see what God will do here. Please pray for opportunities to open up for us to speak with people and really just minister to this city. Prayer for our team is also much appreciated. We have now been together for a long time, and I think the unity isn't as good as it should be. I think we might be getting tired of eachother... or maybe just tired in general.

I love and miss you guys! Thanks for your support!

PS. Some fun facts about Italians: they LOVE to say ciao (we say it all the time - for hello or goodbye), they greet eachother with cheek kisses, they use their hands like crazy when they talk, their coffee is a small espresso shot (really strong, really good), they are super good looking, they are loud, they care a lot about style (especially about shoes! But this might be specific to Milan), they drink a lot (beer taps in McDonald's, wine everywhere), they drive fast and crazy, they speak really fast and it sounds amazing! There are many more things about Italians that I am learning, but that's all I can remember for now. Ciao!