Eight Days till' Home

Eight more days! We love it here in Italy, but we also miss home immensely. We have gotten reports that our animals are doing well as is our whole house. Today Dad finished up his leadership training with the people here at the mission. It started last week. These last three days he helped lead them through a process of redefining their mission statement and goals. It went very well. They have been doing that in the mornings and then we have done various things for lunch. Tomorrow Mom and Dad start a three day leadership retreat with the some of the couples from the church at Froncavilla (Chieso de Cristo).

Today we went to a "Bella" (beautiful) restaurant called "Villa Reale". It was out in the country and was privately owned by a family. It was "Bellisimo" (Delicious)! We really enjoyed that. After lunch we came back to the center and met Bennedetto, the owner of the land that the center is on. He was a truly "bene" (good) man.

We also wanted to say how much we appreciate the comments on the blog. It is nice to here from people even though we can't respond personallly. Thank you for your prayers!

Posted by Marie

Italy Pictures

I'm not sure how many we'll get loaded due to the speed of the dial-up internet service but we wanted to share a few pictures...


JEFF AND MARIE IN FRONT OF THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS IN VENICE (Sorry about this being sideways - I'll fix it next time!)

JEFF TEACHING AT FRANCAVILLA CHURCH OF CHRIST

MARIE HOLDING UP THE TOWER OF PISA!

Hey, Wanna have a three course potluck?

Yep, you heard me right. A three course potluck. Here in Italy, that isn't even out of the ordinary. That is just how it is and, do I like it. Our three course potluck was yesterday afternoon after church. The first course was not one, but three pasta dishes: bolognese, creamy fish sauce, and artichokes with yellow peppers. The second course had six different choices. They were, Eggplant parmesean, sausage, ricotta cheese loaf with procuitto, meat loaf, rice balls with cheese, and turkey with potatoes. You didn't have to get all of them, just which ones you thought looked good. I personally got 4 of them. And the last course was beatiful miny pastries of all kinds, and of course, Italian coffee, or as it is called here, caffè. It was delicious. Well it is time to go have our three course lunch this afternoon, so I have to sign off. I always have a passion for food! As you can probably guess by reading this, it was written by Marie. Love You all!!

Two weeks down, two weeks to go!

Caio to everyone!

This evening (Saturday) we will complete the three night "Learning to Love to Pray" seminar at the Francavilla Church of Christ (Cheisa de Cristo). There have been people from this church and the Latiano Church of Christ as well as others that the mission team is working with to lead to Christ. We can't thank you enough for your prayers. God is present and working. The people are hearing, accepting and responding to the teaching. Please pray that the Lord can overcome some of the cultural things that will stand in the way of people applying this teaching to their lives.

We've been having meals in some of the homes of the members. We've really enjoyed learning about the food and culture of this area. The food is unlike anything we've ever experienced before and is delicious! Not only in the preparation but there are foods here that we do not have in the states - especially fruits and vegetables. Oh, they eat horse here too - bleh! There are butchers that sell only equino carne (horse meat). I don't think Marie would be able to choke it down if she knew. The missionaries here tell us it is a sweeter tasting meat. I think we could possibily had some meat balls that were equine in Murano because I couldn't recognize the taste. It wasn't until after we had eaten that it dawned on me what it could have possibly been but I didn't ask because I didn't really want to know. Other than that possible instance I think we've managed to avoid it. There is a fruit here called "cockrel" that looks like a tomato but is soft and sweet. They eat it with a spoon directly from the skin of the fruit. The meals we've had have been three and four course meals. The first course is usually a pasta of some type - lasagna or something else. Then, the second course is a meat and vegetable - fried chicken and eggplant or veal scallopini and peas. The third course is usually salad - the only dressing available is olive oil and vinegar and it is delicious. Always on the table are fresh veges like cucumbers, celery, fennel, etc. The fourth course is always fresh fruit. Then sometimes there is a fifth course that is a sweet - ice cream or cake of some type. The last course is served with coffee - not coffee "Americano" but Italian coffee, which is expresso.

Well, we are off to the Italian market today. It is like a flea market but offers everything from food to clothes to household items. And you have to bargain with them on the prices! Jeff says this is right up my alley - it's in my blood (from my father!).

Please pray for Marie who is very homesick for her animals - everyday she talks about how much she misses them. Yesterday (Friday) she was very down. We're at the halfway point of our trip and looking forward to being home.

Love to you all!

Arriving in Oria

After a 10 hour train ride we were thrilled to see Gianni Bruno waiting on the platform for us! He took us to the center and we had dinner with he and his wife Stephany and her parents Jim and Carinita Wolsiffer (the founders of the mission. They welcomed us and showed us our beautiful lodging for the next two weeks. We start first thing in the morning with a Leadership and Planning Retreat so we are off to bed. But we just wanted to let everyone know that we are safe and sound in Oria, Italy and looking forward to a busy schedule of ministry and encouragement.

Our love and blessings to all,
Jeff, Linda and Marie

Leaving Venice

We are on the eve of leaving Venice and wish our visit could have been longer. This is by far, our favorite place yet on our travels. Tiny streets, no cars (or scooters -ask us about this when we get home!). It is absolutely the most unique place we've ever been in our lives.

We will post pictures later when we have more convenient access to the internet.

Beginning Monday, Jeff will be leading a three day retreat with the mission leadership team entitled "Spirit Empowered Ministry". Please pray for God's Word and message to translate into the message He has for them to hear.

We have a full day of train travel tomorrow (Sunday). Please pray for our safety and connections!

Buon Giorno

We are in Italy making our way through tiny streets and beautiful ancient cathedrals and piazzas. It is truly a remarkable experience! We have been to Rome, Pisa and Florence. Today we are making our way to Venice.
We appreciate the driving in the US now! If you think Americans are aggressive drivers, you havent seen anything until you visit Rome! The road signs and lights are just for decoration according to the guide we had in Rome. And wow, how interesting it is to navigate the train system|
What an amazing experiences to walk some of the same roads that Paul walked. It was from here (Rome) that Christianity spread around the world. We recently read about how so many of the cathedrals are built on top of pagen temples. It is said that the Italians are somewhat the same, religious on top and pagen underneath. Its clear to see why Paul wanted to come here first.
Thank you for your prayers and gifts as we continue our journey.
Our next message will come when we have access to the internet again. (Todays entry is from an internet cafe in Figlini Valderno, Tuscany). We miss everyone! Ciao!

Italy bound!

We're down to the last 24 hours before departure to Italy! The flurry of last minute preparations has us all in a tizzy. I'm racking my brain to remember what I've forgotten to do or get for the trip.

Last evening as I was out "talking" to the horses, I noticed a huge swollen place on the belly of Marie's pony, Scotty. So, I go back in the house to try and get the vet on the phone to see if he can come and look at it today. Doesn't that just figure? As I'm walking through the den I notice the dust bunnies in the corner and think to myself that we've got to get the floors cleaned before we leave or the person who is staying at our house will think us such slobs - now when is that going to happen? I'm on Marie to get her homeschooling done for the week so she won't be behind when we get home. That creates its own tension. Plus we have to get our ministry newsletter out before we leave so all of our supporters will know what's going on and can keep our prayer cover strong - so we're licking and sticking and stuffing about 200 envelopes. And there is so much more!

However - we're trying to keep our eyes on the goal and not let all of these distractions keep us from the real purpose of this trip. Stay tuned and try to keep up with us as we jet half way around the world to labor for God! We welcome your participation in any way.

The latest on Dad

First let me say thank you to all of you who have been praying for us. There is nothing we desire more from you than that!

We have been informed by the doctors that the only medical option for my dad's condition at this time is surgery. He has chosen not to go that route and we completely agree with this decision.

At this time, our goal is to make sure he is comfortable, doesn't overexert himself, and manage the fluid retention problems caused by congestive heart failure. We are going to look into getting him a scooter so he doesn't have to walk too much and yet can still get out and about as much as he wants. The fluid retention we are addressing through prescription direutics and occasional trips to the ER (or possibly a visiting nurse) to help with fluid elimination.

Please keep praying for us all!