Kirbys in Catania

I titled this blog "New Family" because: 1) there have been two weddings this summer and 2) we have a new family member in Christ. If any of you religiously read my blog, I'm sure you remember that on several occasions I have asked for prayers for one of our students Davide. If you don't read the blog religiously, don't worry, I'll give you a background story. Davide and his family Somewhere around January, Alan was at the church one morning when a man walked in and asked him about our English classes sign and also what kind of church a church of Christ was.  Turns out this man, Davide, has a job where he uses English every day. He said he would like to come and practice his English with Alan and study the Bible. Lessons started, and it became quickly obvious that this guy was searching for the truth. He was raised Catholic like most other Sicilians, and immediately jumped in and started asking serious questions about the differences between "our...

The day after VBS ended, Alan and I flew to Rome, took a bus from there to Ascoli, and met Titus and Joele who gave us an hour ride from the town up into the mountains of Meschia for camp. We actually arrived a day after camp had started, but better late than never, right? This was our second Italian camp experience. There are many similarities and many differences between camp here in Italy and camp in America. Probably, the main difference is that they rent a structure that has several dorm-type rooms. So the kids all sleep inside the main building instead of out in cabins like many camps in America. The structure of the day is fairly similar, though maybe a bit more relaxed here. Here is a typical schedule to give you an idea: Morning Devo 8am: breakfast 9am: morning devotional all together 10am: 1 hr Bible classes divided by age groups 11-12:45: organized activity time (arts & crafts, chorus practice, and theater) 1pm: lunch 2pm: 1 hr "rest" time i...

I've had several people comment that it's been a while since I've posted. I apologize. This summer has been absolutely cram packed, crazy, busy! Instead of cramming a whole bunch of goodness into one post, I'm splitting it into three posts. Summer Time Part 1 Last time I blogged, I told you all that Alan and I were busy prepping for VBS. Well, the month of June we dedicated most of our time to finishing the preparations. We were still teaching our classes as well, so between teaching and working on vbs we were at the church from morning until night most days that month. The theme was "The Armor of God" taken from Ephesians 6:10-18. We decided and the elders agreed that it would be ok to try to spread VBS out over three days (in the past it's been a one-day experience).  So we had VBS June 26-28th. The first evening we covered the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness. The second day, the kids studied the shield of faith and the s...