{Unexpected} Service Launch

We have been planning towards and working on getting organized for the launch of our church services in Caselle. Little did we ever think that today would be that day--6 weeks earlier than planned! A complete last-minute decision with just hours left in our Saturday to let people know and work out a few necessary details. i.e. Was Jonathan able to handle the one-man show?

So you are now asking yourselves what would possess us to just throw something this important to us together in this unprepared fashion? Well, the answer lies in the fact that the entire city of Torino is prohibiting all traffic within the city today from 10am - 6pm. They will do this on occasion to control the air pollution in the city. This is the first time we have been affected by this restriction. For those of us living outside the city limits and unable to drive to church today we decided to have a service in Caselle.

Jonathan played and Lino led vocally and also served as music stand

So this morning we gave this our first shot. Jonathan had just met yesterday with two others to work on the music. Little did we think that this morning they would be playing and singing together to lead our small group in worship. Our only glitch this morning was when we tried to print out some song lyrics and our printer gave us a fatal error. We called someone in the group and had to email them the file to have them print and bring to church. I guess we will be printer shopping tomorrow! In total we had 15 adults and 4 children. It was a very special feeling, although odd in a way. It did however, give us a very heightened excitement to have these services regularly! Jonathan brought the message and with just a curtain dividing the kids from the rest of the group, I managed to keep our three quiet and entertained with a Bible story and activities done at a whisper level.


Jonathan preached from John 6, and was thankful the message was still fresh in his mind as he used it last weekend to speak to the youth group. It was wonderful for us to see some faces that we have not seen much of over the last year, especially including Tony who was just recently released from the hospital after months of hospitalization following a liver transplant. With a couple of missing families today and a few others who are committed to our group, it will be a packed out facility when we meet again for Sunday worship!

Also, as a side note...we had 15 at our Bible study this past Tuesday. That was a record for us and a HUGE encouragement to our hearts!!

Art by Luca

I know this is really hard to see as it is drawn with colored pencil. However, I just had to brag on Luca today. He truly surprises me sometimes when we decides to be intentional and focused in his creativity!

Saturday Snow Fun

Friday morning we woke up to falling snow and a good fresh coat lay on the ground from the night before. The kids were excited for the snow and since this morning brought with it sunshine, it was the perfect day to romp around in the yard. I dug out the snow pants from the garage, happy to know that I had a pair for each child in their appropriate size. All the kids were so excited about the snow bibs that they have been wearing them all day. Emma and Luca insisted on napping with them on. I'm sure they will soon wake up in a sweat. I just picked up a pair of snow boots for Emma yesterday because she'll need them for her school snow trip in a few weeks. She was happy to test them out this morning.

Despite our lack of a sled we tried to improvise using a storage bin lid. Unfortunately, it didn't work too well even with our sloping driveway.


I had a flashback of using a shovel as a sled for the few times we went to the snow in the mountains as a kid growing up in California. So with our wide scoop shovel we gave it a go and it worked wonderfully! Jonathan got his workout pulling the kids around and the kids were giddy with delight for the increased speed and doughnuts they were spun into by him. It was a good morning enjoyed by all!

The Tooth Fairy Forgets

Yesterday, Samuel lost his 5th tooth. It was a crazy morning having let the kids sleep in closer to 8:00 a.m. That only made getting five people out the door by 8:25 all the more frenetic. I forgot to administer their last dose of antibiotics, pushed Emma out the door with no breakfast and got Samuel to school late because we had to make sure the bleeding stopped from having just pulled out his tooth. He was brushing his teeth with just minutes to spare before departure when a bottom tooth flipped out horizontally. With my own hands still coring and cutting an apple for his school snack all I could do was hand him a napkin and tell him to tug on it. Thankfully, he gave it a good enough tug to extract it himself. Only once have I had to pull a tooth out for him and it gave me the heeby-geebies. So I am very thankful he is more than capable in that matter. Samuel is always so proud when he loses a tooth! He came home very disappointed that no one was interested in seeing his missing tooth. I asked him what he said and his translation was sort of made up, so the kids probably weren't interested because they didn't understand what he was trying to say in Italian.

About 10 minutes after tucking the kids in to bed last night I heard Samuel calling me. We had forgotten to put his tooth under his pillow for the Tooth Fairy. I should have immediately written myself a note but, alas I did not. You can guess what happened when I turned in later at 11:30 p.m.

Samuel was the last one to wake up this morning and I could hear him talking to himself in his room before coming downstairs. He then came and sat at the top of the stairs in total tears saying "The Tooth Fairy didn't come!" My heart just sank! How could I forget such a thing?! I have not felt so bad since the day I was late to pick him up from school. He was so distraught and upset. I'm sure you can just picture his disappointment. After several minutes with still more tears coming down, I asked if Mamma could give him a quarter for now. He accepted my offer which took away a bit of the sting of being forgotten by the Tooth Fairy. I was scolding the Tooth Fairy and asking outloud "how could she forget?!!" Samuel thoughtfully responded "She must have been at another little boy's house." Why yes, of course! Maybe there were a lot of other kids who lost a tooth yesterday and she visited them first. She must have gotten too busy and ran out of time, but WILL FOR SURE VISIT TONIGHT!! Samuel is content to try again tonight.

I was struck to think how real the Tooth Fairy is to him. I don't remember when I figured out it was my mom who slipped in to my room during the night to leave a quarter or two for me to find in the morning along with disposing of my tooth. Maybe ones discovery of the real Tooth Fairy disqualifies you of future earnings? How long do I lead him to believe in the little-wanded fairy? What do I do with all his teeth? Just some questions to muse over and to help me keep my task for tonight on the front of my mind so I don't forget again.

[And just so you don't think I'm completely horrible for not feeding Emma breakfast. The side benefit was to treat her to breakfast at the bar before school. Emma was quite thrilled to get to school later and to eat a doughnut for breakfast on top of that.]

Summing up January

It has been my intention to blog on what has been going on since we dug back in to our ministries three weeks ago. However, there was always an issue of time or not feeling inspired or overwhelmed with trying to think of how to recap everything and the excuses continued. I am determined to fill in some gaps for you and will try to organize my thoughts by subject. (Be warned: this might be long!)

ESL Classes: resumed on January 13th. Many students returned enthusiastically, however, there was still room for more in all 4 classes that are being offered. The following week we redistributed flyers in Caselle and are once again at capacity level, except for the middle school level. We are very encouraged by this ministry and the doors of opportunity it has given us to know people in the community.

CineForum (Film Night): We held our first film night of the year on January 23rd. This ministry continues to be received well and provides a unique opportunity for discussion. Jonathan had one of his students comment that for him it's not so much about watching a good movie, it is the discussion following that he enjoys with everyone. Our first film night back in November brought 17 people and this most recent one brought 8. At first Jonathan was disappointed but it turned out to be just as great as the discussion allowed for more intimacy and participation in a smaller setting. So big or small turnout--we see this as a profitable ministry that we will continue to do on a monthly basis. This last time brought marriage and the roles of men/husbands to the table for discussion.

Ladies Gathering: We resumed meeting on January 18th. We meet at a home here in Leini' on Mondays. I have been blessed by the simple fact alone of just being with other women on a regular basis without kids! Sometimes there might only be three of us and other times we might have six women. I am really praying that more women will be able to join us regularly as all of them are unable to attend our Tuesday night Bible studies. Each week we study what was taught the previous Tuesday night. It is our attempt at trying to keep everyone on the same page and growing as we study the same things, even if it takes two separate venues to do so. Please continue to pray for my growth in the language. It is so frustrating to want to express something and then get tangled up on how to phrase something. The ladies are very patient with me, but I've got lots and lots and lots of room to grow!

Bible Studies: We resumed on January 12th. We started out with a night of looking back on this past year and looking ahead to this coming year; noting growth areas, points of praise and where we would like to see ourselves in another year. We then completed the second part of study that Jonathan began in December. We will leave our study of the Gospel of Mark for 7 weeks to focus on "Who we are" and the mission and identity of our church. It might be a little American to have this high emphasis on vision, mission, identity etc. but we believe it invaluable to giving our people unity, focus and clear direction as we look to start our church services soon. Maybe at a later time I'll be able to post our 6 points, visually demonstrated with arrows and how they identify who we are.

Reset (Evangelical Cultural Center): is nearly ready to soon host church services. We are currently trying to find a solution to create a more sound proof barrier between the two rooms instead of the current barrier of curtains across an arching doorway. A "must fix" so that the kids will not be a distraction during the services. Sheet music has been copied and we are working on organizing our first worship team practice. We are very blessed in our small group with gifted musicians. Our goal is to do a "trial run" on March 21st and then have our official "Kick-off" service on Easter Sunday. Lots to get ready in the meantime!

Miscellaneous: In addition Jonathan has preached at a sister church this month and will be speaking to the youth group this Saturday.

Family: With the above schedule and prep time needed for each ministry you might be wondering if we have any time left for each other or family. This year we have made it a point to carve out one night a week for a "Family Fun Night." The kids highly anticipate Friday nights for us to be able focus completely on having fun together. So far it has always included a game and something special for dinner. One time it was McDonald's and another time it was making homemade donuts together. We are looking forward to some warmer weather to get more creative on these nights. Samuel suggested pizza and a museum. At six, I never would have thought a museum could be fun, but he apparently has gotten accustomed to them and enjoys them. Jonathan and I also will get one date-night in a month. It may sound pathetically insufficient but it's better than what we have done in the past. Sitters are not in abundance for us to call upon which is the big drawback from not living near family.

Health: Let's just say, we have had better months. Emma has missed at least one day of school each week because of illness since being back to school. I have had to stay home the past two weekends from church because of a child's fever. This week all but Jonathan has been hit by Strep throat along with the kids battling influenza--fevers, cough, runny noses and sore throats. Just today the kids and I all received antibiotics. Praying for a healthier February!

I think that about sums up the major happenings...I told you this would be long! Next month I promise to stay more on top of things. Thanks as always for your prayers!

Pocket Treasures

Everyday Emma comes home from school with a pocket full of drawings...little treasures in my opinion. Each masterpiece is folded up very tiny and stored for safe keeping in her pocket that upon returning home is unfolded and revealed for us to admire. I thought today's treasures were particularly creative and worthy of bragging on her free-hand drawing ability.
A dragon getting ready to take a bath with Dragon Yoshi on his back and of course a frog.

A frog swinging from a tree vine, with a snail, fox and wolf.

Quirks and Funny Quotes

Over the past month we have been introduced to a new "phase" (at least we hope) involving Emma and her fear of germs. Don't ask me how it got started. Maybe I should have not used the scare tactic over the summer and early fall about getting germs from biting her nails--although true. Nail biting was a habit she resumed over the summer and then quit after a couple of early fall sicknesses. I enforce washing hands after using the bathroom and when we get home from the store or school. And I always carry a bottle of hand sanitizer in my purse when we can't get to a sink to clean little hands. What mother doesn't take these basic hygienic habits seriously?


A constant question emerging from Emma's mouth as of late is: "Does this have germs?" You might have noticed her comment in the video from the aquarium. She will wash her hands for at least a minute before then yelling to me wherever I might be in the house to ask if it was long enough? Sometimes an entire wardrobe change follows if she touches her clothes before washing her hands in the bathroom, because she has contaminated her clothes. And finally, once she emerges from her hand washing routine she immediately comes to me and asks me to smell her hands. "Do they smell good? Do they smell like soap? What about this side (as she makes sure I smell both palms and back of the hands)" No joke!

So now I am trying to diffuse this fear in her and replace it will a healthy and non-paranoia awareness of germs. I have hope that this will be just a phase--with God's help. We all have our fears, big or microscopic, and the question remains for us to examine if we cling to those fears or turn them over to God.

In another aspect, Emma has made us laugh several times over the last week with some of her comments. Here are just a couple stories:

The other night I was tidying up the kids' rooms before their bedtime. Emma's room was littered with costumes and clothes. A quick sweep of clothes into the drawers and it was a transformed room. Emma then came in to her room while I was touching up the boys' room...

Emma: Wow, my room is all clean!! Who cleaned it?
Mamma: Who do you think cleaned it?
Emma: Jesus!

She then noticed my own need for a quick clean in my room, and hoping to do what "Jesus" did for her, she quickly offered to clean my room for me. So while I took a shower she was working hard at cleaning my room. So sweet! And even though I did not get any credit for my work or even being her object of imitation and service...at least she understands the servant attitude of Jesus and that he came not to be served, but to serve.

Last week, when Jonathan was picking Emma up from school he was walking in step with other parent to pick up a fellow classmate of Emma's. The following conversation was between Emma and this classmate.

Emma: Ecco tua nonna!! (There's your grandma!)
Classmate: NO, non e' mia nonna! E' mia mamma! (No, it's not my grandma! It's my mom!)

Jonathan was the one embarrassed for sure! I guess Emma still has trouble comprehending that unlike her own grandparents, on average someone in their 50s here in Italy is more often a parent of a preschooler rather than a grandparent.