Class Pictures

The kids just had their class pictures taken for the year and I just thought I would post them for you to see. I'll spare you from reading all of the kids' names and just include their teachers' names. Click on the image if you want to view in a larger form.

Scuola Materna
Via Dogliotti - Leini'

Samuel's Class
with Teachers (L to R): Vittoria, Bianca & Nennella "Nenny"
(Samuel must have been in a bad mood. He said he was just being quite)

Emma's Class
With teachers: Marisa & Patrizia

Guitar Lessons

Jonathan has been teaching guitar lessons since March with a group of kids in Lanzo. This was his first experience teaching in a group setting with about 9-10 students. It was a bit of a challenge at times in keeping everyone focused but overall things have gone really well. He did a great job learning all of his chord symbols (Do-Re-Me...) and terminology in Italian. The kids come faithfully each week so that has been an encouragement.

As much as we can we like to involve the whole family in our ministries and activities. It would be way easier and much more convenient for me to just stay at home with the kids after school while Jonathan went to lessons on his own. It would be great to not have to come home and prepare dinner and then eat at 8 o'clock at night. However, it has been such a blessing for us as a family to support him by tagging along each week.

The hour and a half that we are usually there for lessons has been a highlight for my week as well. It has been such a blessing for me to have more conversation time with some very dear believing ladies and to develop deeper relationships with them. They are very patient with me and are always helpful in correcting my Italian. They have also gone above and beyond in helping me learn the culture of the Italian kitchen. Our cooking exchange was born out of a genuine interest in each others cultures and a desire to share and learn from each other.

Although, I have been cooking Italian since I arrived to Italy, there is nothing compared to learning from the experts. Most of their recipes are passed down from generation to generation without written record. "This is how my mother always did it" and "you just have learn from experience to get it just right". I am very American and like precise measurements in my recipes, so the cooking with improvisation and general guidelines in a recipe has been a good stretch and challenge for me. So far I have learned how to make pizza, polpetta (their type of meat loaf), spaghetti alla carbonarra (includes eggs, bacon, cream, Parmesan) and tiramisu'. I in return have taught them how to make Mexican rice and chocolate chip cookies.

The school year is coming to an end in three weeks and therefore, this ministry will conclude upon the start of summer vacation. Jonathan hopes to resume lessons in the fall at our community center in Caselle. We'll see if he retains the students with the location move. We will have an end of the year picnic sometime in June with the students and their families so hopefully I'll be able to post a group shot where you can see everyone. Here are some pictures that I quickly snapped this past week.

Matteo & Emanuele

Eleonora

Anna

Maruska, Noella, Sabrina & Silvia (plus kiddos)

Usually there are about six little ones which makes for a great playgroup while the mothers fellowship and cook together.

Swimming Lessons

This past week we signed up to be parent helpers for Samuel's swimming course. He has been asking us to come and watch him swim and we were glad to finally do so. We observed that with 15 plus kids in the pool it was more of an introductory/acclimation to the water type of class. They did get one-on-one attention here and there but my expectations of him knowing how to swim at the end of the course are not high. We'll see though. He certainly looks forward to Tuesdays and going to the pool.

Jonathan was able to snap a few pictures before we were reprimanded for taking photos of the kids. Italians are very suspicious that they might be used in an inappropriate way so you have to be very careful in general when photographing around other children. We even have to sign a permission form for them to take pictures of our kids at school. Anyway, here are a few photos.

Community Pool in Borgaro

Can you tell who the American is? I know we always talk about our need to be all things to all people, but the "Speedo" thing is a line we are unwilling to cross. Samuel thought it was quite funny the first lesson or two that his male classmates were wearing chonies (underwear).

Sitting in the back of the bus with Samuele ready to go back to school and have lunch.

The morning was torture for Luca. He was trying his hardest to scale the wall that separated him from one of his favorite places in the world. He is the true water bug of the family. For the sake of his safety, he needs to learn how to swim ASAP because there is no fear in this child! We'll have to get to the water park this summer for sure.

Mothers

I know this is past the official celebration of "Mother's Day," but it is always timely to give honor and thanks to our mothers. I know that growing up far too often I took for granted my mom's endless acts of service, and enduring source of love and encouragement. She was the glue of the family keeping us all in order and making our home a place of refuge, joy, security and love. I loved being home as a kid and hanging out with mom was always a delight, even to this day. I have learned so much from my mom and continue to do so on a regular basis. I am so very blessed to have a godly mom who has so deeply impacted my life!

I am also so thankful for my mother-in-law. It is a joy and honor to be welcomed in to another's family and to truly be considered and treated like a daughter. Although the relationship has been for a briefer period of time her love, service and godly insights have also shaped and impacted my life. Not to mention I benefit from her influences on a daily basis in the husband that I am so blessed with. The examples of godly mothers in my life are a gift from God of which I am truly grateful! By the grace of God their influence continues to impact future generations.

As a mother of three, I can only appreciate the sacrifices made by my mom all the more. There has never been a job more rewarding, more thankless, more exhausting, more challenging, more stretching than the role of a mother. There are days in which I feel like a complete failure as a mom. But I am so thankful that God works even on our worst of days and that his grace abounds in the lives of His children. I am thankful that His mercies are new each morning. And I am astounded of His great love for me even while I was yet a sinner!

I find it interesting how "Mother's Day" is celebrated so diversely here in Italy. The kids made special gifts for me at school and the abundance of flowers for the special day were seen throughout the city. However, after wishing a few mothers a happy mother's day at church I began to realize by their perplexed looks that something was not jiving. I received more well wishes from our neighbors than I did at church. No one even gave acknowledgment to the mothers during the service. How diverse from how this day is celebrated in the States with the whole sermon being devoted to mothers, flowers passed out etc.

One kind woman was gracious enough to share a cultural insight with me. She said that in Italy "Mother's Day" is traditionally a day in which Mary is celebrated and honored. So for the evangelicals they now swing to the opposite spectrum and do not celebrate the day. I know for a fact this is not always the case as the church where we attended in Perugia did honor the mothers (however, that was a church started by American missionaries). Believers here try to separate themselves as far away from Catholicism as they can. This is seen even in the way they decorate their churches. In the states you would be hard pressed to find a church without a cross somewhere on it's premises. However, in Italy it is just the opposite as the evangelical churches are very plain in decoration and crosses are rarely found.

That was my cultural lesson for the week and just thought I would share it with you.

Congratulations!

We just wanted to extend our congratulations to Benjamin T. Kleis (a.k.a. "Uncle Ben") upon his graduation from Cedarville University last weekend! He obtained his degrees in Philosophy & History. May God use your gifts and talents for His glory. We love you and are so proud of you Ben!


Side note: Our family history at Cedarville began in 1994 with Noella's sister beginning her freshman year and has now concluded with Ben's graduation 15 years later. And no, there were not any breaks in having a Fisher or Kleis there during that entire time. Crazy! I think the parents are also deserving of highest honors for their years of sacrifice in order to give us all a Christ-centered education!