It’s hard to believe that it is already Tuesday. We have five working days remaining left for this trip, with one travel day. The time is flying!
A quick side note might be helpful for you. As a group, we agree to avoid posting any pictures of the faces of the people we meet in the camps or on the street. We want to protect their privacy. I’m sure you understand; however, this means that many of our interactions will go “unrecorded” and we are all okay with that.
Before I share about our Sunday, I want to let you know that as I write this early Monday morning, that a thunderstorm is rolling through Catania. It is creating a beautiful symphony of echoing thunder and gently falling rain. The smell of the new water in the air combines with a fragrant flower that lines the back courtyard. It is a beautiful morning.
Now for the update.
We are settling into a rhythm. For instance, yesterday morning, we all enjoyed breakfast in The Nest and started to learn about European apartment living. As an example, I learned that if you flip a particular switch on the wall, you turn off the electricity to the water heater and no one else in the group will get a hot shower after you’ve used all the water for yourself. Hint: this does make you the cleanest person in the group but not the most popular.
Thankfully, we are learning about a lot more than plumbing. Time yesterday morning was spent in prayer, walking to different points around the city center and praying for specific needs; the refugees, of course, but also the citizens of Catania, those who live in Sicily, the police, organized crime, those trying to make a difference in this hectic and confusing situation. It happened to be a national holiday celebrating the country’s military and police which allowed for an exciting opportunity to witness a parade that included flags, hats with a magnificent array of feathers, and patriotic music played over loudspeakers in the Piazza Duomo.
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 left the airport in Indianapolis and landed in Boston. There we met our friend and guide for the week, Shane. Once the team was united, Jeff suggested a traditional Boston crab lunch at Legal Seafood. Unbeknownst to the rest of us, Jeff doesn’t even like fish!
So, while some enjoyed crab salads, wontons, and clam chowder, others (Jeff and Shane) opted for a turkey sandwich. It was an excellent lunch, and we were ready to get to our final destination.
After a quick adjustment to Anita’s ticket from the last row of the plane to a seat with the rest of the group, we boarded, found our places, and flew overnight from Boston to Rome. Once through passport control, we made our way to the gate that was our last barrier to Catania. In Rome, many of the airplanes are parked far from the terminal and getting loaded requires a bus ride across tarmacs and through fueling stations. However, climbing the steps in bright sunshine and the Mediterranean air was well worth the wait and the journey.
We only have two pieces of luggage that didn’t make the complete journey and are currently on a different plane in Rome. It so happens that the bags are Anita’s and we suspect it is due to her ticket confusion earlier. We’ve napped and are preparing to hit the streets of Catania to complete a scavenger hunt and learn more about our tasks for the week.
Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we recover from hours of lost sleep we start the work.