Preparing for Milano

OK we drove to a city called Treviso on the saturday after we arrived and stayed there for sunday and monday. On Sunday we drove from Treviso to Montebelluna, about 30 kilometers north to attend the Calvary Chapel there. And after we met with the Pastor, Craig Quam, we drove back to Treviso and met with the Pastor there, Mark Nigro. We went to Venice, about 40 kilometers to the south on monday.

Il sabato dopo siamo arrivati nell’Italia, siamo andati alla città di Treviso. Siamo rimasti là domenica e lunedì. Domenica abbiamo guidato a Montebelluna, 30 chilometri al nord ad assistere il culto a Calvary Chapel. Abbiamo incontrato il pastore Craig Quam, a dopo siamo tornati a Treviso ad incontrare il pastore di Treviso, Mark Nigro. Lunedì siamo andati a Venezia, 40 chilometri al sud.

Ecco due foto del Calvary Chapel Montebelluna.

The church is set in an industrial building. Go through the blue door at the end of the building and you’re in the church.

Shelly is standing on a bridge over one of the 2 rivers that meet in Treviso and flow through the old city. The old city of Treviso is surrounded by a moat and a wall. Yep, I said a moat. But I love the water and found the city irresistable.

Shelly su un ponte sopra una dei due fiumi del Treviso. La vecchia città è circondata con un muro ed un fossato. Adoro sempre i fiumi ed ho trovato fantastica la città vecchia. 

Here are the four of us standing on the monte in montebelluna. There is a church up there and it overlooks the city. One of the brothers at the church, David Downs, showed us around town and took us up to the top where we got some pics of the city.

Eccoci in piede sulla «monte» di montebelluna. Lì si trova la solita chiesa sorvegliando la città. Uno dei fratelli, David Downs, ci faceva conoscere il paese ci portava là a fare delle foto.

Ecco una foto di Dave Downs. Here is a picture of Dave Downs and I.

Here is a picture of Pastor Mark and his wife Renata and thier little baby. They took us to dinner in the old town and then walked us around and shared about life in Italy and ministry there.

Ecco il pastore di calvary chapel Treviso, Mark Nigro con sua moglie Renata e loro bimbo. Abbiamo mangiato insieme nel centro ad un ristorante elegante, poi facevamo una passeggiata parlando della vita italiana ed il lavoro di Dio là.

Pastore Mark ed il bimbo con Dave e Kristi. Parliamo di non so che cosa. Pastor Mark, Dave and Kristi talking about who knows what.

2 pics of Ronnie and Kristi. Due foto di Ronnie and Kristi.

Nice picture of the center and one of it’s streets.

Il centro di notte ed una sua strada.

Venice tomorrow. Domani, Venezia.

This is the view from the Hotel dei Fiori where we stayed in Milano. The block of apartments is typical of the housing in the city. The parking is typical too.

This was taken as we went from the hotel to the metro station to get into the downtown area. There is a “Milano” sign above us that the local kids modified.

This was our rental car, a Fiat Idea. The cars in Italy are typically very small. This is considered a midsize. More to come.

OK, I’m in my hotel room right now, I paid the 9 euros to have internet access for 24 hours and thought I’d write an update. The weather has been fantastic here for most of the trip. We got heavy rain for the first two days, some on and off rain for a few days after that, and since then, it has been nice. It is actually starting to get pretty hot now. We met with the pastors from Montebelluna and from Treviso last Sunday and were encouraged. We also met some other americans living here while we were in the grocery store that were christians and they encouraged us as well.

We had our first milano church service from our hotel room this morning, but we are looking forward to seeing the real thing happen. After some initial rough patches, it seems like everything is coming together. God has definately blessed our stay and our path.

Anyway, we head back tomorrow, and should be back in town around 5ish. Looking forward to seeing everyone again. God bless.

The current weather forecast is rain and thunderstorms for the entire time we are in Italy. Doesn’t make for good sightseeing. But last night at Daryl and Kayo’s send off to Cambodia, one of the brothers said that they shouldn’t fear the weather. I don’t know if that meant anything to them, but it did to me. Today I am reading in Jeremiah 10. Verse 12 and 13 say “He made the earth by His might, established the world by his wisdom, and by His understanding stretched out the skies. When He makes His voice heard, there is a rumbling of water in the skies; He makes the vapors rise from the end of the earth, He makes lightning for the rain, and brings forth wind from His treasuries.”

God makes the earth and stretches out the sky and he brings the rain. So if he wants it to rain, we won’t be afraid of the rain. Basically not a whole lot has been straightforward about this trip. There has been a lot more than I will reveal in this blog….. but through it all, God keeps clearing the obstacles. So rain or not, we are going to have a good time in Italy and may His will be done in our lives.

Il previsione attuale dice pioggia, rovesci e temporali per il nostro tempo in Italia. Non fa buon sightseeing. Ma ieri alla festa per Daryl e Kayo Record, i nostri amici che partono per Cambodia, un mio amico ha detto «non temere il tempo». Non so se questo aveva un significato per loro, però era quasi una profezia per me, perché dentro di me, mi preoccupavo moltissimo del maltempo. Non volevo che il nostro viaggio fosse rovinato per la pioggia. E oggi, ho letto questi versetti nella Bibbia, Geremia 10:12-13- «Il signore potente ha formato la terra, con la sapienza ha creato il mondo, ha disteso il cielo con la sua intelligenza. Al suo comando le acque si accumulano in cielo. Egli fa salire le nuvole dall’estremità della terra, scatena temporali con lampi e pioggia e sprigiona il vento impetuoso»

È fondamentale che il Signore ha creato il mondo ed è lui che comanda le acque. Allora se lui vuole che piova, non avremmo paura della pioggia. Non tanto di questo trasferimento- e pure questo viaggio- è stato facilissimo, ma……. nonostante Dio ancora rimuove ogni ostacolo. Che ce ne importa la pioggia? Andiamo all’Italia, ci godiamo, e la volontà del Signore sia fatto nelle nostre vite.