The team was utterly exhausted but still had a smile on their collective faces. We made it to our home-away-from-home for the week and landed with a big “Thump.” The ministry in Catania rents a home used for interns in the summers and visiting camps, like ours. It is called The Nest, and we’ll add pictures later this week of the beautiful European layout and amenities.

We met together in the common room to review details of our upcoming days, ask questions, and pray. One team member said the prayer time was the hardest part of the trip, as she could barely stay awake!

We travelled to the city centre in heavy evening traffic. Shane took us to an abandoned lot that he hopes will someday become the location of a vast urban garden. We stood at the wall and fence which surrounded plot and prayed together that this place might benefit many in the community in the future. An interesting thing happened while we stood there, looking into the paved section of land; two Italians walked up and stood beside us, looking in, wondering what might have captured our interest.

After we finished, someone noticed a little cross placed on the wall. No one knew who put it there or how long before, but one has to wonder if someone else doesn’t also see a vision of what might be, a future purpose for this vacant lot.

From there, the team participated in a city Scavenger Hunt. In pairs, they walked up and down the city centre, looking for headless statues, points of interest, and a snack or two. It was a creative and fun introduction to the city, the place where many refugees spend their days and evenings, walking among the locals, trying to fill their time.

We ended our day with a dinner that left every person filled to overflowing. We enjoyed delicious meat rolls, mouthwatering pasta dishes, delicate quail, scrumptious clams, sparkling water, and conversation. The two-hour meal left us fully satisfied, body and soul.

Today promises to be another exciting adventure as we return to the city streets to investigate and pray in the daylight, to hear from the team on the ground about their work and the progress they’ve made in the short time they’ve been here, and to visit a camp in the afternoon.