VBS

Vacation Bible School started on Monday! The theme for the kids is Avalanche Ranch, and the adults are studying the Mosaic covenant. The first night had a wonderful turnout. We had almost 30 kids and a packed room of adults. A lot of the kids were older (13-16), which is a little different than what was expected, but they seemed to really enjoy everything. The theme for the night was “God is real.” Along with the teenagers, there was also an adorable one year old, who kept me company for the night. J

Tuesday evening we saw even more people come, and had another great time. Jim said he rarely sees some of these kids smile, and it was so cool to see them smiling and laughing and having a good time.

Please keep this ministry in your prayers!

Switzerland

The team from the US that will be running the VBS arrived on Saturday, and we will help them as well as get to be a part of the tourist-y trips that Jim and Lynda take them on. Yesterday we went to Switzerland. It is only about an hour to the border, and then we drove another hour to a town called Bellanzona. It is a beautiful drive through the mountains. Switzerland has a different look to it. For one thing, it is so clean! The main thing we got to do is visit a castle. We climbed up one of the towers (13 little flights on stairs going round and round and round…), walked along the walls, and enjoyed the views!

At the waterfall:

the Italian Beltrami Ave!

We returned from Domodossola to Milan yesterday. It is hard to decide which pictures to post! On the way there we got to stop at Stresa on Lake Maggiore The “lake district” is one of the top places we hoped to visit. Can you see why?




While in Domodossola we stayed with the missionary family from Crossworld there and got to see a little bit of their ministry. Our favorite part was an open air program in a park for kids. He told the story of Noah with a sketch board and sang song and played games. We also helped distribute tracts, which definitely isn't our favorite form of ministry. And Corey got to share a message at church on Sunday, which was translated into Italian. It was an interesting experience for him! We really enjoyed getting to meet a family of local believers and wish we could have gotten to know them better.
We also got to play tourist for a day and visit a waterfall up in the mountains. It is beautiful and its claim to fame is that they turn in on and off daily in the summer for tourists through a dam on a lake higher up. Then we got to eat some really pizza!
(We will post pictures of this soon. The site is being fussy, and now it is time for VBS!)

Greetings from the Alps!

Since Wednesday we have been in a town called Domodossola. It is about the size of Bemidji and it almost in Switzerland. Which means it is in the Alps and absolutely beautiful! We will be here until Sunday. Corey is preaching at a church in the morning and then we head back to Milan. We will write more and post pictures later, just wanted to let you know where we are! Ciao!

Luggage is a good thing

Hello from rainy Italy! Apparently the lovely MN summer we were having followed us here... they said it is usually in the high 80's or 90's by now, but it is been drizzly and chilly since we have been here. Not that I'm looking forward to high temperatures, but some sun would be nice.
Yesterday was a tough day for us. On top of gloomy weather, jet lag really hit as we woke up at about 6:00 and could not get back to sleep and then were dragging all day long. But the thing that topped it all of was still no luggage, and the tracking system online was saying it was lost. Jim called and did everything he could, but finally we went shopping and bought a few clothes and things to get us through at ridiculous European prices. Boo.
Of course, shortly after we did that they called and said our luggage showed up! So we had to drive an hour to the airport, go through the security, and be sent multiple places before finally getting our bags. Which look like they have been dragged through the mud and beat up. But they are here and we are glad!
As seasoned travelers, here is our advice: pack more than one change of clothes in your carry on, and never fly American Airlines.
Today Corey got to go to a meeting this morning and we will attend a Bible study tonight, which we are excited for. (We also have Bible study on Tues. nights back home, nice to keep the schedule consistent... :)
Thank you for your prayers!

Getting started

After making it to Milan, Pastor Jim picked us up at the train station and he and his wife Lynda have been taking good care of us. He is the pastor of the Milan Bible Church, which we got to visit on Sunday. The church building is shared: in the morning there is an Italian service, and then in the evening a service in English for the many immigrants and university students and for those just passing through. The people were very welcoming and it was great to get to experience both services. The feeling of them is very relaxed, with lots of time for sharing and prayer, and less focus on time altogether, along with good biblical teaching. We both really enjoyed that. We look forward to being a part of the church for a couple months.

We have also started to get settled in to where we will be staying, a house of a missionary family who is back in the States for the summer. It is a very nice house and quite big, and we share it with the one inhabitant left behind, Honey the bunny rabbit.

We have already enjoyed some delicious Italian food, thanks to Lynda. Some highlights have been real fresh mozzarella (it is so much better here!), of course some wonderful pasta, melon and prosciutto (kind of like ham), and gelato.

Thank you for your prayers! Ciao!

We made it!

We are finally here in Milan! After our flight to Rome, which also was delayed, we rushed to get a train into the actual city of Rome (the airport is on the outskirts) and then 4 1/2 more hours into Milan, which we found out is the biggest train station in the world. Our luggage did not follow us to Rome and we're not sure where it is. Hopefully here with us soon!
We were able to get quite a bit of sleep last night, and we just got back from our first Italian church service.
More details later!

Let the fun begin!

I write to you from Milan, Italy. . . just kidding! I write to you from the O'Hare Inn and Suites, where we checked into last night, I mean morning, around 12:30 after getting the run around from the airport and refusing to pay $350 for one night at the Hilton. Aren't airports fun?
Our first flight from Minneapolis to Chicago was delayed because of weather and then congestion of the Chicago airport, meaning we missed all of our connecting flights. The next flight we could get that was reasonable was non-stop to Rome 3:35 Friday afternoon. So we're going to Rome! And then somehow getting on a train to Milan. . .
Corey and I are both doing fine and are flexible enough to handle this kind of stuff, and are SO glad to have each other! (I love being married. :) We know we are the best place we can be, which is in God's hands and seeking to follow Him with all our hearts.
Pray for this flight to go well and wisdom on getting to Milan once we reach our destination.
We will let you know when we get there and love you all!