We had our first weekend full of church events. At a prayer meeting on Thursday we met a good portion of the congregation and were a little overwhelmed with everything (an hour of prayer in language we didn’t know!), but everyone was very welcoming and friendly.
Saturday afternoon was our first English class. This week was an introduction to the class, so Eric and I talked about ourselves in autobiographical form for about an hour and then took questions. We chatted with Pastor Ferrari afterwards about how things went and feel a little better prepared to tackle a prepared lesson from a book this weekend.
There is a broad range of English knowledge among the students and it’s hard to know what vocabulary is new and unfamiliar, so we’ll try to stop often to ask questions to see if everyone is tracking.
the sanctuary
Eric was given the first Sunday to adjust and get a feel for the church service before preaching. We would have been totally lost in the service except there is one member who is from the UK (Moved as a 6 year old to Italy) and knew English well enough to translate some points through notes. I’m really looking forward to this Sunday and hearing the sermon in English! (with Pastor Ferrari translating)
After church we had a fellowship meal where we had the traditional Italian fare of a primi dish (usually pasta), then secondo (meat) and salad, then dessert.
The style was a little different than what we’re used to in the US. Instead of all the dishes being laid out pot-luck style, each family served their own dish to each family member. Then if there were leftovers, they were passed around the table to share. Eric and I, as the newbies, were offered just about every single dish and ate waaay too much. We slept it off in the afternoon before returning to church in the evening.
We had a wonderful time fellowshipping with the church members and hope to get to know many of them better in their homes for dinner in the upcoming weeks.
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