This year’s vacation was spent in Edinburgh, Scotland. The best day was Saturday when we went to St. Andrews to watch the British Open. There are no pictures though because for some reason they will not let you take in a camera or phone. Boo Hoo! We did get to follow Tiger, Phil, VJ, Sergio and several others. I’d say it was the highlight of the trip.

Lily spent most of the time underneath the rain cover in her stroller.
We also had to buy jackets for all of us and a hat for Lily because it was so chilly and rainy. I even got to drink hot chocolate.

Changing of the guard at Edinburgh Castle.

William Wallace

A fake William Wallace

Inside St. Giles church

St. Giles again….very different from the churches in Italy.

Statue of John Knox

I wish Lily could wear her new yellow peacoat and fun hat all year long.

These guys were everywhere

reading with Mom at our B&B

Lily turned 7 months while we were on vacation. She weighs 6.5 kg or 14.3 lbs. and is 70 cm long.

Yesterday when I came home from visiting a neighbor I found that Paul had been home while I was out. I know this by the evidence he left behind: a World Changers shirt, a nice little note, and a box of chocolates in the fridge….or so I thought.

Yes, on further investigation it was a box of the wonderful Gay-Odin chocolates, which I really like. I did what any other non-diabetic woman would do. I dug into that box of deliciousness. However I noticed on the box there was a note that said “From Jeremy”, who is one of the adults here with International World Changers. After eating a couple of pieces I put the box back in the fridge, not wanting that brown gold to melt in the crazy heat.

Yesterday afternoon I went down to meet the volunteers and I sat down by Jeremy and thanked him for the chocolates and how much I enjoyed the pieces I had already eaten. He told me about how his wife likes chocolates as well. And then I left to go get Lily from Paul.

Upon arriving at the other end of the piazza I told Paul how thoughtful it was that Jeremy bought me some chocolates. Here is the dialogue that followed:
Paul: “You didn’t eat any did you?”
Me: “Yeah, I ate like 2 or 3 pieces.”
Paul: “Didn’t you see the note that said FOR JEREMY?!”
Me : “What?? I thought it said FROM Jeremy!”
Paul: “Those are for his wife. I put the note on it so you wouldn’t eat any of them.”
Me: “But I thought it said From! I thought it said FROM!!!”

I asked Paul to go with me to find Jeremy to apologize for eating some of his wife’s expensive chocolates. Turns out he was watching me find out what I had done and took pictures of my reactions. We all had a good laugh and I came home and put the ribbon back on the box.
Yummy chocolates eaten: check. Embarrassing moment for the day: check.

Here is an update from last week’s efforts in collecting urine from a six-month old. We took Lily to the doctor yesterday and guess what?? Everything is fine. She is in fact, just a small baby.

Who would’ve guessed?

Would you like to know what we’ve been doing so far this week?

Last week we took Lily for a check-up and the little booger had only gained 150 grams in about 20 days. Needless to say, she is not packing on the pounds even though she eats a lot of food. I mean, a lot of food.

So, she is either a small baby or is not absorbing nutrients. Considering I’m small, my mom is small, my grandparents are small (you get the picture) she is probably just a small baby. But just to make sure we had to have test run.

Monday we went to the lab to have blood drawn. Ever had to do that to a six month old?? Not the way any of us, doctor included, wanted to spend our day. Dr. Nasti told us before he ever started that we were going to try one time and if it didn’t work then we would have to go to the hospital. Here’s the set-up: Lily sat in my lap, a man held one arm on the table, Paul held the other arm and her head, and Dr. Nasti drew the blood. At first no blood would flow, then it flowed a little and stopped, but finally Dr. Nasti was able to get all he needed. Meanwhile, Lily cried and cried and cried in pain. I don’t blame her though. Needles hurt. Overall though she did really really well.

But we’re not done yet. We have to get a urine sample….from a SIX MONTH OLD! You’re asking how? We asked the same question. I have no idea if this exists in America, but here in Italy you buy a little bag with a hole in the appropriate place depending on whether you have a girl or a boy that you stick to your child. You hope that some urine gets in the bag and that your child does not do anything else in that diaper because if by some miracle of a chance the urine gets in the bag it will be contaminated and you have to start all over again.

After three days we were finally successful. Today I took Lily’s sample to the lab and we will have results Friday afternoon. And that is how my week has gone so far.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Armando (you can read about it here). Last week Paul took him to a church close to our house and I think he enjoyed it. Today we all went to another church that Paul and I attend.

After the service Armando randomly left my side as we were walking out of the church to go talk to someone he knew. Turns out the man he was talking to was a childhood friend. They had grown up together in the same building and gone to school together. How random, exciting and awesome is that?

Armando has been sharing his new faith with his daughter who has shown some interest in what he now believes. Please pray for her and continue to pray for Armando as he seeks and learns about God’s love and restoration.

I am reminded today of summers in Mississippi. A lot of our time was spent in the garden, on a lawnmower, in a pool, in a tree, on top of haybales, or lying in grass making shapes out of clouds.
But we also spent time under the acorn tree. What were we doing there? Sometimes we were husking corn. Sometimes we were shelling butterbeans and peas. Sometimes we were drinking sweet tea and visiting with friends (that sounds very Southern doesn’t it). And sometimes we were eating up some delicious watermelon.

I can remember my grandfather’s obsession with growing watermelons. This obsession was passed down to my father. He would gather us under the tree in our front yard and unload the watermelons he had just picked. We would crack open all the different varieties of melons and go at it. Man, just thinking about sitting there with a slice of melon and juice dripping off your chin and down your arms….it’s a sweet memory. (No pun intended)

Why am I thinking about this? Today, Paul came home with a yellow-meated watermelon, which we have never seen here and which I have always told him are so much sweeter than red-meated ones. He now believes me. The funny part of this story is that while at the fruit stand some Italians were asking the vendor what the yellow-meated watermelon was. He told them it was a watermelon mixed with bananas. And that is why I love Italians.

Thursday, June 10 at 4:00p.m. Giovanni and Francesca were married. Paul and I served as witnesses for Giovanni, and it was such an honor, blessing, and privilege to be a part of such a wonderful day. Paul was able to pray over them and present them with a bible. He did a very good job, especially since he had no idea he was going to do it prior to arriving at the church.

The ceremony was a true worshipful event. We sang some great songs and I thought Giovanni was going to start dancing down the aisle at one point. We were all praying that those there who were not believers would hear something that would bring them closer to the Truth.

Giovanni’s friend, Marko, gave us a ride to the church and reception. He and Paul had some in depth conversations about the ceremony and traditions and what evangelicals believe. Paul also talked with Francesca’s cousin, Alfredo, and the photographer, Enzo, about Christ and what we believe.

And now for the reception. It was held at a beautiful restaurant and was al fresco. We started on a patio with tables and tables of antipasto. Afterwards we moved into the dining area, which was still al fresco. Usually at weddings here you are served seafood and we were but since I cannot eat seafood at the moment I ate the carne menu. Here’s a rundown of what we had:

First plate: Frutti di mare (seafood pasta) or eggplant pasta
Second plate: Risotto with sausage, radishes and something else
Third plate: Fish and a fancy potato thingy or filet mignon with some kind of creamy black pepper sauce, a fancy potato thingy and asparagus
Fourth plate: Fresh fruit
Fifth plate: wedding cake and other pastries and desserts

The food was AMAZING!

There was an artist doing caricatures, which was so funny to watch. Everyone got one done, including Paul, Lily, and I. There were also three musicians playing old Neopolitan songs. At the end of the night they sang a song called “Americano” to us. Several of our friends joined in. It was at this moment I felt that I was in some kind of Italian movie, maybe at Carla’s wedding in “The Godfather”. It was the most Italian thing I have been a part of to date. It was really awesome.

We ended up arriving home around 1:30 a.m. Where was Lily during all of this, you ask? She was with us. During the service our friend Marta watched her, but of course she was passed around the church during the service. During the reception she stayed with us and you would have thought she would have gone to sleep, but no. She stayed awake almost the entire time.

A couple of Sundays ago one of the Baptist churches that we partner with held a service in the piazza. Here are some of the things they did.

Cardboard testimonies

There was some preachin’.

This is Pasquale giving his testimony, which is really powerful. He had cancer about 5 years ago and came to know Christ during his treatment.

There was also music.

Casey helped take care of Miss Lily, who had to be taken to the shade because the sun was too bright and her head was bare. Yes, it is correct to deduce that an Italian woman told me this, but at least Lily didn’t have a burnt head when we got home.

There were also puppets.

which were really, really heavy.

This is Pierlo. He may be THE nicest man I’ve ever met. And you should hear him preach. He LOVES God.

Rita and Debora. Two of my favorite people.