Leaving... on a jetplane...

Well, it is hard to believe that my time here has come to an end. It seems like for so long I have been talking about this trip, and now it is over! My flight is tomorrow (Tuesday) at 8:30 AM. Rome is about two and a half hours away from here, so we are planning to leave at about 3:30 AM. Yikes! My connection is in Munich and then on to LAX.

I think last time I wrote I had just been able to move in here with Antonio and Dolores. It has been nice being in their home, despite the challenges--a broken furnace and a broken washing machine! It is a good thing I brought a lot of clothes. :) See, it pays to be a girl at times.

Being in the house has allowed me to get to know them better and also to see what their daily schedule is like. I have sat at the computer with Antonio and seen a little of what he does. He had me edit a vision statement that they had drawn up for NTM Italia. It was good to have some work to do, and working so closely on the vision statement kind of cemented some things in my head.

The ministry they are doing here is unique for NTM. They have a dual ministry--serving as representatives for NTM and being involved in a church plant in the city of Campobasso. We have talked about ways I could be involved in both. Antonio needs a lot of administrative-type help in the office, which I have a lot of experience doing. He has also talked about my being involved in following up with people who are interested in serving with NTM in some way, whether it is going to Bible school, going on a short-term trip, etc. He would like to have someone who can develop a relationship with those who are interested and answer their questions. I might even be involved in going on some of the short-term trips or taking people to the NTM Bible school in England to check it out. On the church plant side, we have talked about helping with the music in some capacity and also developing relationships/doing discipleship with young girls or women.

Of course the first thing I will have to do is learn Italian! :) I have been able to understand a little, thanks to my Spanish. However, I would probably come and first take a chunk of time to study and learn the language.

On the lighter side, I have done a little traveling around this area. Last weekend we went to Termoli, which is on the coast. We met some missionaries there, and they showed me a medieval village. By the time we got there, though, it was evening and VERY cold, so we did a rather quick run through. I did get to eat gelato while I was there, which made me happy. :) Here in this area they do not have gelato due to the weather, so I was glad to find some there!

This weekend we went to Napoli to visit another missionary couple. They are considering coming to work in this area, so it was fun to meet them--potential future co-workers if God leads us both here. I have to say that I was kind of shocked when we got there because Napoli is a huge city, and it is extremely dirty. There is trash everywhere, and most of the buildings are very run down. Antonio and Dolores said it is the only city in Italy that is that way. Also, the people drive like maniacs! I am grateful we got there and back safely. :)

One interesting thing I did get to see in Napoli is the third-largest amphitheater in Italy. The others are in Rome and Verona. The ruins are actually in pretty good shape, and we got to go down underneath to where the gladiators and the Christians would have been. There were a lot of columns, carvings, and statues here and there--some very deteriorated and others in fairly decent condition.

Well, I should probably wrap this up. I need to head upstairs and do my final packing. When I get back and have an opportunity, I will post some pictures of my time here.

Arrivederci!