Well thanksgiving was certainly not the same in Palermo. It was just a Thursday here. People had to go to work, there was no turkey, no overeating, and there was no one camped out in front of stores early the next morning. To tell the truth, I honestly forgot when it was until I received a few emails wishing me happy thanksgiving. Days are really flying by. It’s going to be two months that I’ve been here very soon and it seems like it was last week that I got off the plane.
That is not to say that God hasn’t been working though. I have been getting busier and I do enjoy that as well. It makes me feel much more productive. A couple of weeks ago a group from CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network) came to Palermo and I got to hang around with them for most of the day. The CBN employees and the donors that were here with them went to visit an orphanage in Palermo and had the opportunity to hand out presents to the kids. The orphanage is run by nuns who have really taken Jesus message of tending to the needy at heart. When sharing one of the nuns said that “when someone suffers, God suffers with them”. It was a very cool testimony of how no matter what denomination or nationality we come from, God can get through to us in special ways. It was a joy seeing how excited the kids were about the presents. That day they also premiered one of the cartoons for the first time in Italian. I got to translate a little for some of the donors while talking to the kids and also for a couple of the interviews with the kids and the nuns there.
Things at the church have been moving along smoothly as well. Last week I did the music by myself for the little kids ministry on Saturday. Its called Ora Felice which means Happy Hour, a different meaning from that of the one in the States. It was pretty cool and here’s a picture of me and the kids that were there this week.
There was also the monthly men’s dinner which I got invited to. It was very cool to hang out with all the men from our church and also some that came to participate from other churches.I enjoyed being with everyone and hearing their stories about their old days, which are apparently a lot older than my "old days". I also loved the food they had prepared, that seems to always add a nice highlight to all the events!!
