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Well, Jessica! :-) You've been buggin' us to set up a web site, so now we have. It wasn't all that easy, just so you know. I think the computer was mad at me tonight. ;-) I think we've got at least a workable skeleton now though. Hopefully we can keep adding stuff and keep it updated. I do think it's a nice idea to help people keep up with us and how we're doing.
Today we had our third worship meeting at Ghedi AB. We had seven people attending again today. This seems to be a core group. We sang several worship choruses, partook of communion, then watched a video on the Mosaic Age of the Bible. It was informative and prompted some good discussion afterwords. We've taken to praying for each other and for the rest of the Ghedi population. We're also meeting on Tuesdays for some marriage enrichment videos by Gary Smalley. These may sound like small insignificant happenings, but in truth it is an answer to prayer.
When we arrived at Ghedi there was a complete vacuum of spiritual encouragement. We had to travel over an hour for the closest English worship service on Sunday morning. We've prayed that something would get started here at Ghedi, and now we are seeing it happen. It's so encouraging to be able to worship and study with people you will see throughout the week. It's great to feel involved as well, and to know that we're making something available to others in our community who may be seeking the Lord.
I hope you all enjoy the web site. I'm sure Amy will post something as soon as I show her how. ;-)
26 Aug 02
Not much new to report today. I finally started my Italian 112 class. It is a small class, and all of us seem to be understanding the material pretty well, so hopefully we'll learn a lot and be parlar'in in no time. :-)
Our neighbors keep bringing us over produce from their gardens. The Lord has surrounded us with the sweetest people over here. We've got more cucumbers, zuchinis and eggplant than we know what to do with! :-)
We've been blessed to see the Holy Spirit working over the past few months in the life of someone we know and love. This person seems ultra close to handing their life over to Jesus. This is a clear answer to a lot of prayer, so PRAISE THE LORD!! Some of you know of whom I speak and others don't, but some things just need to stay personal. Sorry! :-)
That's about all I have for today. We'll be adding more to the web site as I get time. I haven't posted the salvation plan yet, and we're hoping to add a guest book. Y'all come back now ya hear!
27 Aug 02
Well, this evening Amy and I watched our second in a series of marriage enrichment videos produced by Gary Smalley. They are fun to watch and contain some insightful advice on how to make the most of a marriage. That was fun.
I added three pictures that Amy took at work to our web site. They were taken with our cheesy (but free) digital camera, so the quality is not very good, but you can get an idea of how small our 'BX' is. :-)
I just found out today that an old and dear friend, Suzanne, had what doctors think was a stroke on the 17th of August. She was released from the hospital after 4 days and is recovering, but slowly. Those of you who know her, please pray for her. You can pray for her if you don't know her too. She's quite a sweet person.
Well, today was busy, but not eventful, so that's about all I have to write. Ciao!
28 Aug 02
Buon giorno ragazze e ragazzi! Come state? Non ho niente di speciale per scrivere oggi. Sono andato ad una lezione d'italiano stasera. Ho imparato molte cose questa volta. Parlo piu italiano adesso, ma conosco ancora poco. Allora, ciao a tutti!
(Good day ladies and gentlemen! How are you? I don't have anything special to write today. I went to an Italian lesson this evening. I learned many things this time. I speak more Italian now, but I still understand little. Anyway, ciao to all!)
There, that was your daily Italian lesson. :-) Just joking. I am enjoying my Italian classes though. They are paying off. I'm nowhere even approaching fluent, but I'm much more comfortable here than I would be if I didn't know any of the language. Plus, I can interpret the menus for you at the wonderful Italian restaurants when you come to visit!
Well, I've been so busy today with work and Italian class that I don't have anything else to write. (I'm not writing about work in this journal) Plus, I've been away from my wife all day, and I miss her. So, I'm going to cut this short and go have some us time.
30 Aug 02
Hello Everyone!!! Today has been nice. It is Friday, the first day of a four day weekend for me. We have Monday off for Labor Day of course, and today was a Ghedi "family day".
Amy and I went to Vicenza today to stock up on groceries. We bought some new computer speakers while we were there, because our old speakers got fried by a shorted transformer.
After we got home, we took the motorcycle to Desenzano del Garda by the lake to eat at our favorite restaurant. The waitress kept laughing at me because I was using formal Italian and she kept telling me to use informal. The meal was very good. We'll take you there if you come visit. Afterwards, we took a short trip up the lake on the bike, then returned home to our temporary dog Lobo. (We're watching him for friends while they are away)
I decided today to try this crazy Weight Watchers diet thing with Amy. She's been doing really well with it, and I think, between her, her sister, her mother and even her dad, they've lost like 17,462 lbs. or something. Well now I see why! You can't eat ANYTHING!!! By the time I get done with breakfast, I can't eat anything else all day! You see, the way it works is everything you eat has a point value. For instance, an apple is 2 points, a piece of chicken breast the size of a chicken wing is 4 points. A Whopper is like 563 points. Ice cream is 9,712 points! I think brussel sprouts and beets are 0 points. Well, you're supposed to keep track of all your points. To do this you need Weight Watchers charts and books and calendars and pocket calculators and a master's degree in abstract boolean calculus. The good news is, the more you weigh, the more points you can eat each day under "THE PLAN". So, if I bomb, and gain 50 pounds, at least I can then have lunch! :-)
Anyway, I finally posted another devotion on our site. I promise there are more to come.
31 Aug 02
PRAISE THE LORD!!! I finally got the salvation plan completed and posted on our web page. Check it out! Copy it and use it to witness if you want. I'm praying that it may reach someone who needs Jesus someday.
Today was our nephew Riley's Birthday! Happy Birthday Riley Cade! He is now one year old. He's walking all over and keeping mama busy. We really miss him and look forward to seeing him again. We may be getting Birthday pictures shortly, which we will of course display on this very web site! :-)
Well, my mind is amazingly blank today of anything interesting to write about. Keep an eye out for a new, rather long devotional on baptism in the Holy Spirit. It may be a few days yet, but it's coming. Keep coming back to visit; we update our site almost every day!
GOD BLESS Y'ALL!!