Buona Pasqua

Has it really been two weeks since I have posted? Time flies these days. I have something say that I am very excited about! We finally got our internet at full power! A technical person came about a week ago worked on it for about two hours and our DSL turned on 3 days later! It makes Skype and our vonage phone way more consistent. So feel free to call if you want but do not call past 4 in the afternoon. The time in Salerno is on our blog so you do not forget :)

We have been trying to get back in a groove here being on campus without leading a bunch of Americans around who do not speak much Italian. We have gotten in some good conversations where we have built some relationships or shared the gospel or both. We try to rely on the Holy Spirit to guide our conversations. Please continue to pray for us.

Our Bible study with Marko, Gian Luca, and Andrea continues to go well. God has really blessed us with 3 guys that want to go deep and also understand a ridiculous amount of English so that we only have to talk in Italian a little. They converse in Italian about what we are talking about in English. I almost think it is better because it forces them to talk to each other for understanding and it is interaction between them and not just us. The first picture below is of Gian Luca and his band. He is the lead singer. Andrea is also in a band as a drummer. The second picture below is a set with him playing drums and his friend Mimmo playing base and singing.

God also has been dealing with me in the area of my repentant heart from one of the Bible studies. It is a deeper issue that God exposed to me through the study. It is an awesome thing that God has been growing me and humbling me because here I am supposed to have it all together, but I don't. This is one of things we are trying to implement. We need the gospel just as much as any Italian.

This past week we have gone at half speed as we want to continue to be intentional but it is our Spring Break and a week where Easter at end causes the university to be more empty. I got to spend more time with Francesco. His picture is below. Also Jaime and Tyler came in town and got engaged. They were interns on the team last year. The bummer of this week was that Grant was sick for a few nights and caused us to not get as much sleep. We missed a few days that were beautiful that we could have taken day trips. We do not always have a lot of time blocked off to do a whole day because a lot of times on Saturday or Sunday we will hang out with students or at least do church related events.

It was Pasqua yesterday and Paquetta today. Basically in English Pasqua is Easter and Pasquetta is little Easter or Easter Monday. The tradition on Pasquetta is to go some other city and have a picnic with friends and family. We met some friends at Marko's hotel from Battipaglia that attend the church there.

For Pasqua you give huge chocolate eggs to people. I asked a few people if they have had Easter egg hunts or heard of the Easter bunny and they said no. So it is weird that their is the tradition of the Easter egg. Wikipedia translated says that the commercialized Easter egg is more prevalent where there is more traditional Easter and thus Easter egg hunts have not become as popular. It is basically the same as the tradition of the Christmas tree at Christmas. It is the merge of two different traditions that happen around the same time of year. Here is some of the big eggs decorated beautifully with sweet surprises in them. The first picture are Juventus and AC Milan eggs which are big soccer clubs in Italy.