Dinner at HU's Villa

The first picture above is of our BAT students taking the long hike up the hill to HU's villa located on the outskirts of Scandicci, outside Florence, in the beautiful Tuscan hills. On a clear day, you can see the Florence's bricked-dome over the hilltop. It is a lovely location and is such a special place to me and Clay and A-C; it was where we were first introduced to Italy, it was were we first got to know Robbie and Mona and the others at HUF, and it was where our marriage was strengthened (there's nothing like TIME TOGETHER that helps relationships!). Returning to this hillside home brought back memories and made new ones.

The second picture is of A-C running to hug Robbie at the front door of the villa. Seeing her run up the path to the front door flooded my emotions-I just felt that she was covered with love and was so appreciative of the opportunity to have her with with this BAT group; she will grow in her own way this summer.

Our BAT group was able to eat an American dinner with the HUF group - sloppy joes, beans, coleslaw, potato salad, chips, and even Cokes! We got gelato - red (strawberry), white (vanilla), and green (pistachio) - that was homemade from a shop down the street in Scandicci that very morning! The gelato colors were the colors of Italy's flag since we were participating in the Italian holiday celebration of the Republic. After our meal, we went outdoors to the courts (basketball/volleyball) and a devotional (Robbie led our thoughts and it pictured above) consisting also of songs and prayer. Jeremy Daggett, who works at HU's international programs office in Searcy opened us up with a prayer; Jeremy has been quite a help getting us settled in, doing some shopping for supplies/food, and simply taking care of us while we are new at administering an overseas program while teaching. He and his wife Katie have gentle spirits and kind, gracious hearts, and our BAT students (and us!) have reaped the benefits of having them here in Italy.
The fourth picture (I hope they'll be displayed in the order in which I intend!) --behind Jessica in her pretty green dress--is of Casey and Kelvin exchanging the traditional Italian greeting - touching both cheeks and kissing the air - we all had fun practice! It was really an enjoyable evening of fun and relaxation and worship of our Creator with two special groups of young people; calling our students "young people" makes me sound ancient, but you know what I mean... Actually, needing more sleep than I'm getting is making me feel ancient!

After workouts today, classes, and lunch at the Avanti Bible School House (I fit it all in there, didn't I?), the students may either head out of town or stay here. They have a one-nighter of free time before being back to Scandicci on Saturday night at curfew - yes we have curfew. These are athletes-- we MUST bring them back in good shape! It takes rest and workouts and brain power to perform well, and you know that Clay is a big proponent of getting enough sleep... We'll see them safely back here Saturday night. Then we'll worship together on Sunday at the church in Florence; I imagine it'll be partly in English but mostly in Italian, and what an experience it will be! Wish our group "safe travels" for the afternoon/day tomorrow!