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from the streets of Rome. As you read, please pray! Our Next Ministry Trip will be starting April 11, 2022.


Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Italian Way of Life Wednesday - Hospitality

Every Wednesday, we hope to bring you just a little tidbit of the Italian Way of Life. Just for fun, we'll call it Italian Way of Life Wednesday....

This week we have had so many opportunities to see what true Italian hospitality looks like! It is fun getting to interact with our neighbors and meet them. Just saying hello to them as we see them on the veranda is neat enough, but this week we have been able to really spend time with them. That has been amazing!

Saturday we greeted our neighbor, Gabriella, with a customary Buon Giorno. We began "talking" and asked if she knew where a supermarket was. "Dove il supermercato?" we asked. She began to tell us that there was a small supermarket near the house, but that if we wanted a larger one it could only be reached by car. She kept repeating a certain word that we didn't understand, but finally after hearing it several time, we realized she was telling us that she would be our companion and take one of us to the store. We agreed to go on Monday morning. What hospitality! I'm sorry that I didn't get any good pictures, but I had a great time as she took me all around town and showed me several different places. We stopped and shopped. She even took me to a paniceria (bread and sweet store) and while I bought bread, she bought us both an extremely yummy treat! Remember, this is a person that I had just met just 3 days before! She doesn't speak ANY English, and she had to listen to my very poor Italian, but we had a great time and I am so very thankful for it!

Today, we were on our way down to the beach with the children. I had met another neighbor who spoke some pretty good English. As we were heading down, I was able to introduce everyone else to Marco. Marco has a very nice bike and so we were looking at it and asking if he knew where we could find a used one to buy. Right away, we were loading up into his 1986 Chevy Suburban... yes, a Chevy Suburban... and heading to his friends bike shop! Marco introduced us as his family to Peppe, the man who owned the bike shop. He was very friendly and had a few bikes that we tried out. What an experience!

As we are developing these friendships, our main desire is to be able to communicate Jesus love to them. There is no greater hospitality than for a man to lay his life down for a friend! Please pray for Gabriella and her husband, Alesandro, as well as for Marco.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

What an experience that must have been! Sounds like you have some nice and helpful neighbors to take you around town. What a treat! Love your blog and the music.

Anonymous said...

It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is they faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

Anonymous said...

watched a youtube video called Easter is coming and thought of you, worth watching if you can.

Hebrews 11:13,15,16

... These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off and were PERSUADED of them, and EMBRACED them, and CONFESSED that they were STRANGERS and PILGRIMS on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country... But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.