April | 2015 | MacKenzie M Davidson

It’s been a week of first experiences here in Salerno. The first of the first things that happened is something I’ve been dreading and looking forward to for the last five years. Dreading in the sense that I would have to say goodbye to precious people in my life and put them in someone else’s hands. Looking forward to in the sense that I would be able to do some things I haven’t been able to do alone or at all for the last five years…you know like go to the bathroom without someone yelling at you from the other side of the door that they couldn’t get the PlayDough lid off or find their Captain America costume.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, this happened this week.

We dressed our kids in their grembiules (school apron), strapped on their backpacks and set off for the uphill climb school. I was somewhat nervous the whole way up. I was sending them into an environment where they would not know anyone and would not be able to communicate with the exception of gesturing. And to top it all off, I had to say goodbye to the little people you have filled my every moment for so long. I have never envied parents on the first day they send their kids to school. Just the thought of it in the past has left my face tear-stained. Friends were praying for them and me.

As we approached the door, the inevitable lump began to swell in my throat. We walked up the steps and to my surprise one of the administrators opened the door, greeting us with a smile…and she spoke in ENGLISH!! Monica walked us to the kids’ classroom, introduced us to the teacher, Katarina, and helped us get the kids settled.

Then we left.

We walked away.

We trusted that God would take care of them in a very difficult situation.

I left the school crying a little but feeling ok about the people with whom I had just left my children.

Paul left the school captivated by the view, and well, who could blame him.

The second of the first things that happened was that we saw the creature in the below photo walking around at the medieval festival.

Have you ever seen a giant faun walking around? I turned looking for Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy running from the White Witch.

I’m not sure if the third of the first things that happened this week is more or less significant than the first of the first things that happened this week. So I’ll let you be the judge.

This, my friends, is a bucket of bacon doused in BBQ sauce. Pick yourself up off the floor, rub your eyes, and realize that this actually happened. There is a burger joint here that has as a menu item Bacon Fritte – or fried bacon. The description suggests that it is tempura fried bacon. Well, being good Americans, we had to try it. What we got was a bucket of bacon with BBQ sauce. Now, I have lived in the south the majority of my 34 years, and I have NEVER had someone bring me a bucket of bacon. That’s not to say I haven’t eaten the same amount of bacon let’s say at the Shoney’s breakfast bar, but this was above and beyond anything I have ever experienced. Maybe it’s because I haven’t had bacon in over a month. The BBQ sauce took it to a new level. Do yourself a favor, go fry up some bacon and pour some of your favorite BBQ sauce on it. You’ll thank me. So do you see why it’s hard to decide if the first or third thing was more significant?

Of course I’m joking. The two most precious little people in my life started school this week. That trumps all the other first.

We began praying for our home in Salerno last summer before we had even put our home in Winston-Salem on the market. In the beginning I think my prayers were very general, but as I began to dream about what I would like our new home to be I dared to ask God for specifics.

I need outdoor space to make me happy. You can check my personality test…music and the outdoors make me happy. So I began asking God for a first floor apartment with a small garden area. Somehow over the last ten years I have developed a liking for cooking. In my younger years I couldn’t cook beans out a can, but since I know fancy cooking I began asking God for a kitchen that would be big enough to work in…not excessively large, just large enough to have some counterspace and fit more than one person at a time. We also wanted a space for guests and an office. In Naples, and you know this if you ever came to visit, our guests had to sleep in the living room. Nobody ever complained, but we thought it would be nice for people to have a separate space. And Paul needed a place to work.

It was a lot. I felt greedy at times and in those times I wouldn’t pray about it. And then we had lunch with a couple and somehow the house came up in conversation. The man we were eating with looked straight at us and said that God cared and He could deliver. Right there in the middle of a fish restaurant he prayed to God about our house, with specifics.

The closer we became to our leave date, the more I began praying about the house but I added something to it. We had, at that time, not been in a home of our own for seven months. It’s longer than it might seem. Wanting to get our family settled as quickly as possibly, I asked Him to provide a home for us the first day we went looking.

The Thursday after we landed we went to look at three apartments. We walked with the real estate agent and Justin to one home that had a private entrance. We entered in to a large patio. I tried not to get my hopes up. We walked up some steps to the front door and the terrace. My heart began racing. We walked into a house that had a large kitchen space, an upstairs, balconies everywhere, and space for a office and guest space. My heart was leaping out of my chest at this point. I began praying. The rent was too much. The owner would have to come down a few hundred euro. I prayed while we walked. I prayed while we looked at another apartment. I prayed while I ate. I prayed and prayed and prayed some more. Even as I prayed I knew this was our home. This was everything we had prayed for and more.

Less than two weeks later we signed a contract on the apartment. We’ll move in May 1.

God is faithful…even in outdoor space, kitchens and guest rooms.