Sicilia

Travelled to Sicily from Naples, and went to a YWAM base in Piedemonte Etneo, between Taormina and Catania. The people there were great and there was a surprising large number of native-English speakers. Nonetheless, I still had a lot of opportunity to practice, especially when helping to lay concrete for three days with a group made up solely of Italians. Sicily in fact has it's own dialects - at least 8 different ones!

The YWAM base is in the foothills of Mount Etna, one of Italy's four active volcanoes. Every time I looked I could see smoke coming out of the main crater. In spite of this, people still build on the slopes, probably because the land there is so fertile.

Whilst on the base I was also involved in pruning vines and olive trees, and since I have been reading Romans 8, 11 and John 15 in the Bible, which are about God's life flowing through us like life in a vine and in olive trees, it has made all the more sense to me.

Yesterday I had the experience of being given a personally addressed envelope containing quite a bit of money. It was anonymous.

A few days ago I got an email, inviting me back to Albania, so right now I am in Brindisi waiting for a ferry, having travelled across from Sicily last night.