Meet "Mac"

Today we welcomed to our family, "Mac" the guinea pig!  That would be short for "MacGyver".

The kids (well, mostly Emma) have been wanting a pet for a really long time.  We were always a bit hesitant, as the reality of our lives is that when we leave we have to find someone to take care of the pet.  We had a fish acquarium in the past and that was great, but we never replaced the fish when we got home from our first furlough.  We all would love a dog, but that is a lot more work and imposing on someone to watch when not everyone has a yard like we do.  Recently, we have been giving the idea a lot of thought, mostly because of the insistence of dear Emma who adores animals.

Today we headed to a garden store that also has a zoo garden (i.e. pet shop).  We did not make any promises to the kids in case things did not pan out as we wanted.  We ruled out the hamsters because of their nocturnal disposition and plus I didn't want to lose something that small in our house.  The guinea pigs seemed like the perfect choice.  They are cute, small and love to be held.  The kids thought they each could pick one out.  Umm, no.  Thankfully, Mac was a unanimous choice for all!

The kids all know that this is their pet, NOT mom and dad's.  They will learn responsibility in feeding, cleaning, holding and looking after something other than themselves.  I am excited for them and I have to say my heart is captured too.  I grew up surrounded by animals and I am so thankful that now our kids can enjoy this little pet.  (And hopefully next summer we can find a 3 month Mac-sitter.)

Easter Camp

Thank you so much for your prayers for us over these past few days while at the Easter youth camp.  We were exhausted going in to the camp, and we are even more so now afterwards.  However, the time between was truly used by God and we are so thankful for His daily strength and grace he gave us.  Speaking twice daily on Friday, Saturday and Sunday is a lot!  Not to mention that sometimes Jonathan didn't even get to start speaking until 9:30 or 10 at night!  Jonathan spoke on our new identity in Christ using the gospel of Mark.  There were 27 campers in total.  One girl put her trust in Jesus on the final night!  Many others came forward to rededicate their lives and confess sin in their lives.

We are so grateful to have had this opportunity to minister to teens.  We also were able to develop friendships with many of the staff and counselors.  They were truly a blessing to us.  This camp was run by another evangelical church in Torino, so these brothers and sisters in Christ are new friends to us.  How encouraging it was to us to see this national run church serving and growing.  25 years ago they were a handful of families (like us in Caselle), now they are around 150.  That seems to be the trend in Italy...25 years to see a church grow to this size and serving on their own initiatives.  Yes, we are in this for the long haul and yes, we need to remind ourselves of this often when we get discouraged.

Jonathan began each morning with 7am staff meetings and his day ended around midnight on most nights (the final night was 2am).  The kids and I began our day with breakfast at 8:30 followed by some free time before the morning meeting.  I brought a storage container of activities, books and games for the kids to do during our free time.  They were well occupied with Leapsters during the speaking sessions, so I was able to listen and take in what was being said.  We had fairly good weather during our time.  Lots and lots of wind and just one day of light rain.  But what can you expect from the mountains in the early spring?  The kids stayed up late each night, which went over much better than our camp experience 3 years ago.  Emma and Luca got naps a couple of days which helped.  The food was awesome!  Next time, the kids should be big enough that I can work on staff in the kitchen.  How great would that be?!  The dishes are so simple, but the flavors are absolutely incredible.  Our kids scarfed everything down (all except Luca of course).

I took snippets of video and put them together in the following video.  Nothing spectacular, but it does put more life in to our time at camp for you to see versus just pictures.

A camping we will go

Tomorrow we head off to camp in Oulx!  I imagine the Alps will be boasting a bit more snow than seen in this picture taken in the summer of 2009, when were last there at the camp.  Jonathan is the speaker for the Easter youth camp.  Please be in prayer for our few days spent with about 25 youth.  Jonathan will be speaking five times on the topic of our new identity in Christ.  He also will be facilitating a film discussion night on the movie "Chariots of Fire."  The camp runs from Thursday to Monday, so it will be intense and no doubt a lot of fun!

Pray for our stamina, wisdom in our interactions and conversations with the youth, and that many hearts will be forever changed by what they hear from God's Word.

Today has been exhausting.  We have 3 very excited kids about today being their first day of Easter vacation.  3 very out of control balls of energy who can't wait to get to camp.  One mamma who is trying to pack, clean and get everyone ready for our time away while running sibling interferance every 5 minutes.  The day is almost over and the littles will soon be in bed.  Glad there will be lots of open space for their energies to be released tomorrow!  And I don't have to cook for 5 days!  Tired but so thankful for this opportunity ahead of us!  

Book of the Month: March

I was hoping that I would have 2 books to report on for the month of March, however, it was a busier month than anticipated.  One big reason was the move of our colleague.  Remember the one that I started house hunting with, oh, 6 months ago?!  She found a house the end of November and patiently waited for the reconstruction to be completed, finally making the move 6 weeks after the promised move in date.  To make a long story short, she painted the walls one week prior to moving in only to discover that it was all done in vain.  There was a huge problem with humidity and mold in this place and her walls looked like this.

Not exactly good for one's health!

She made the move with all her things and started to unpack only to decide 4 days later she had to move.  Everyone was in complete agreement on the matter.  The only issue was that this house took us months to find.  Thankfully we serve the God of the impossible!  The Tuesday she decided to move, that evening she received a lead from a friend in our church who knew of an available apartment in his complex.  She made a call to the landlord the next day and was able to view the apartment on Friday.  By Monday she received the official "okay" from him and was given the keys on Wednesday.  That was after he fixed several cosmetic things and repainted the apartment for her at his expense!  And then move #2 occured on Friday, just two weeks after the first move.  Catherine lived with us during those two weeks.

Having just completed my reading of Practicing Hospitality: The Joy of Serving Others by Pat Ennis and Lisa Tatlock, it was a timely application for me.

I would highly recommend this book to every Christian woman.  It begins with the Biblical foundation of hospitality and what the character traits of a hospitable person are.  Then over the course of the book the authors address the issues of practicing hospitality to strangers and to your own family.  How to manage your home and create a home that is a center for evangelism and refuge.  How to teach hospitality to your children.  How hospitality works to show compassion to others.  How different cultures impact hospitality.  How hospitality is essential to ministry.  These are just a brief recap of the chapters.  This book is an excellent read individually or would be great in a group setting as well.  In the Index there is listed for each chapter it's theme(s) and a scripture reference for each of the themes.  So if you want to do a Bible study on your own or with others, this is a great working base to start from.  The book is also filled with many recipies at the end of each chapter.  All around a super helpful and practical book for me since hospitality is my major avenue of ministry here.

One of the major things I took away from my reading was how often I fail to bathe each phase of my preparations (cleaning, cooking etc.) and "event" (conversation etc.) in prayer.  I so easily get caught up in the prepping and trying to make things perfect that I can easily lose sight of the "why" I am doing what I am doing.  The goal is not to have the perfect home or perfect dinner, but to make people feel invited in to our lives and use each opportunity as a way to show the love of Christ to them.

I am so thankful for the generations of women in my own family who have demonstrated to me the joy in serving others.  My grandma taught my mom, and my mom taught me.  I am continually learning from them BOTH as I observe them practicing hospitality in so many ways.  Just this week my mom made 3 meals for families in need.  (And she would never want to be recognized for that, but I say that to emphasize the example she is to me and my desire to be more like her in this area).  It is a running joke in our family that whenever the Fisher's get together for a meal, there is always enough to serve an army (literally).  However, that was just one way of extending their service and love to others as each family was able to take a full meal home with them from the leftovers.

If you read this book, I can guarantee you will be challenged, encouraged and inspired!

More Celebrating

We love birthdays in our home!  We love to see the excitement build months in advance and then to delight in the joy of celebrating another year of life given by God.  Luca had a fun week of continual celebration in his honor.  The festivities concluded this past Sunday as a few friends were able to come and celebrate with us.  I love the little traditions we have for birthdays.  So much fun!

Talk about true excitement!  He is one stellar dot-to-dot pro!

Thank you Papa and Nano for my swords and shields!

"Luigi"