Cadegliano

I have now been in Cadegliano, north Italy for about 5 days. It's a nice
place and the people are very nice too. It is close to the Swiss border - a
few days ago I walked to Ponte Tresa which straddles the two countries,
although I forgot to take my passport! Ponte Tresa is on a lake and looks
very pretty when approaching it from the mountain (the YWAM base in
Cadegliano is up the hill from it).
I have spent a lot of time reading - I was given a book on Hudson Taylor
(missionary to China) before leaving England and there is also a bookshelf
that is well stocked with Christian books in English. I have also spent lots
of time resting.

To give an impression of what it is like here: A couple of days ago I was
sat in the grounds on a chair looking out over the mountains. In front of me
was a lizard traversing a wall, then it too stopped and seemed to be
watching me. Birds were singing loudly from the various trees, while I
enjoyed the shade of one of those trees. In the distance a dog barked, but
still it was very peaceful. Then some of my newly acquired Italian friends
appeared with food. One carried a large pot, containing the ubiquitous
pasta. We sat down at the table, the sun glinting through the cherry tree
above us. The conversation meandered around, mainly in Italian. Occasionally
I could understand some of what was said, and aided by the expressive
gestures, was able to share in one of the rounds of laughter. It all helped
to make me feel part of the family.

It's still rather quiet (peaceful) here as the Discipleship Training School
(DTS) students have not yet returned from their mission placements. Some are
due back on Tuesday evening from Sicily, others are not back from Africa
until later in the month.
I am very much enjoying the time resting, reading and praying. It feels like
what I really needed to have. I don't know when I am going to move on yet
and continue travelling, maybe Wednesday/Thursday, or maybe later. I have
been made to feel very welcome.

Yesterday (Sunday) I went with the base leaders (who are Norwegian) and one
of the Italian staff members to a church in Varese, led by a Dutch pastor.
Tonight I am going to the house of the base leaders to watch the football
(Italy v Denmark), have pizza and even join them in their staff meeting to
worship God and pray. We have joked that I should come and do a DTS here.
Who knows!